Yeah, it may get hot enough to fry a Sonoran hot dog on the sidewalk. But you know what, the next few months are my favorite time of the year.
Why? Because summer is an excuse to drink sangria: that divine fruit punch that can turn any bottle of cheap red wine into a rhapsody. One sip of that shimmering crimson juice and you’re transported to the Spanish coast, where the weather is less a torture chamber than a convenient reason to break out your beach blanket and a flowery tunic. (Sorry, I guess I’ve been going on Expedia too much this week …)
Drinking the red sangria at downtown’s Barrio Cuisine is one of those transformative experiences. When you see it, a pint glass of shimmering plush purple juice, you may think it’s a fruit bomb. But muddled with fresh cucumber and topped with sparkling water, the sangria is surprisingly light.
It’s quite different than other sugary restaurant sangrias that come packed with so much fruit and ice you get about three sips in before you’re empty. Other than an orange slice on the top, the only fruit left in Barrio’s drink is the little bits of pulp that you slurp up through the straw.
Bar manager David Guerrero wanted to make a dry sangria, something refreshing that won’t weigh you down. To give it a little Mexican flavor, he uses a house-made tamarindo syrup, and then salts the rim like you would for a margarita. (Note to self: Do this next time at home! It really adds that extra something.)
But the best part is at the end. After you’ve drunk up all the citrusy ambrosia, you move on to the long slice of fresh cucumber on the top, curled up like a crisp green pappardelle noodle. It’s just so soft and springy in your mouth. And cold too.
