We sat on the middle patio, a level down from the Hyman Avenue mall but above the dining room. You can order from the bar menu, lounge on couches, and still be outside. It’s pretty awesome.
So is the Vermonster’s face … he’s pretty excited about the drinks. The creative concoctions feature fresh juice.

We really did order one of every app on the bar menu. Calamari (legit), roasted artichoke, ceviche (so fresh), spinach salad, and crab cakes, which were sweet enough to be considered dessert. For three drinks and five apps plus tip, we got away for under $100. That’s a total win in Aspen!

The service was impeccable, the atmosphere just right, and the food outstanding. No wonder there’s such a buzz on Ellina. We’ll be back for more of you.

Aspen, Colorado 

“As far as mountain towns go, Aspen is one of the few that holds up in summer and winter,” Cockrell says. “Of course it has the usual ski-bum haunts, but it also has places like 39 Degrees Lounge, an urban-style oasis with a pool frequented by a chic crowd. In Aspen, you can have any type of night out you want within its few main streets.”

True, Aspen is hoppin’ summer and winter, and there are bars for all types.

Austin, Texas

“So many great bars here, just choose a street — South Congress, East Sixth Street, South Lamar — to get your fix, then end your night at one of the nation’s greatest food carts (download the AustinFoodCarts app to find out where they are),” Cockrell says. New bars on the east side include Yellow Jacket Social Club and Eastside Showroom. “South Lamar is a little more authentic Austin,” Cockrell says. “Don’t miss the laid-back Barton Springs Saloon, a repurposed gas station with a pool table and pinball machines, or the super divey Horseshoe Lounge.”

Also true. Pick a mood, pick a corresponding street, and then go.

The other 8? Listed below.
Leblon, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Dublin, Ireland
Williamsburg neighborhood, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Ohio City neighborhood, Cleveland
Seville, Spain
Portland, Oregon
New Orleans, Louisiana

Yeah, I only see nine too… good work USA Today.

Point is, we love our booze, we love local, and we LOVE local booze. Even if it’s from an hour down the road in San Antonio.

Cue Cinco Vodka.

Here it is on my shelf:

This vodka is ridiculously smooth. Perhaps that’s why they bill it as “the martini lover’s vodka”??

Besides the fact that I simply love stars and you can pretty much get me to love any product featuring stars on its packaging, Cinco Vodka is made from amber wheat from Idaho and Edwards Aquifer water naturally filtered through the Cordova Creme limestone underneath San Antonio. A super-premium, totally stateside vodka? Europeans everywhere are turning up their noses, but they shouldn’t. This vodka is worthy of its five-star theme.

Produced at the Cinco Ranch, where they recycle all their wastewater, Cinco Vodka is available at Twin Liquors and costs $26.99 for 750 milliliters, $32.99 for 1 liter, and $44.99 for 1.75 liter.

Haddington’s, which had already developed a strong following in Austin just a few weeks after its launch, beckoned on a recent sunny day. I’ve heard most about the deliciousness of the drinks, but I’m sad to report that I didn’t imbibe on this day.

The patio made for most excellent people-watching, next door and across the street from Sandy’s Walton’s and Bess, respectively, a nice vantage point on West Sixth.

I ordered the $14 burger + $2 for bacon. All happy meat, local. The waitress, who was a sweetheart, promised this would be the juiciest burger I’d ever eaten.

For me, the burger was WAY TOO fatty. Like chunks of fat were ground up in the beef, to the point where I physically removed one such chunk from my mouth. That is gross. It was juicy, to be sure, but the texture was chewy and lumpy, and I was not a fan. (My current fave? Either Second’s or 24 Diner’s)

My companion had the trout salad, which she liked a lot. It looked a little small to me for $12, and who puts potato salad on trout salad?

I think Haddington’s is an odd cross between English fare (which I don’t generally like to begin with) and gourmand, making it a foodie playground but a regular-person oddity.

For this reason, I recommend Haddington’s for drinks, even without having tried them, because of the great reviews I’ve heard and the legendary drinksligner Bill Norris (formerly of FINO) at the helm of the inventive menu.

RSVP: http://austin.gotidbits.com/events/a-sugary-sweet-affair

This is Chartreuse Juice. It has cucumber, apples, kale, celery, wheatgrass, and lemon. It is awesome!! ($8 for 16 ounce, $6 for 12 ounce)

Even more awesome, I went in to Honeybee Organic Juice Bar [which is in the atrium of the Ute City Bank Building, kind of between Little Annie's and Burberry], ordered a drink, and quickly realized they don’t accept credit cards. I told the woman to stop making my drink because I didn’t have any cash and she said, “oh, it’s okay, you can just come back sometime. You’re local, right?”

I was floored. I’ve never had someone do that! Gotta love Aspen.

So I went back about a week later and told her I’d like another Chartreuse Juice and to pay her back, and expressed my excitement that she was kind and trusting enough to let me come back to pay her. She said she does it all the time because so many people don’t carry cash.

Seriously. Gotta love Aspen.

And gotta love Honeybee, which actually has a functioning website (so rare here) and is stocked with delicious raw desserts (coconut chia seed balls and mango tongues with honey and nuts!) as well as heartier smoothie options with raw almond milk and “hot & steamy” drinks.

Seriously, go. It’s worth stopping at the ATM.

Sabia, Criquet Apparel, and Dulce Vida Tequila would like to invite your readers to our special Manuary party, next Thursday, January 27.

Sounds good for the fellas and the ladies, no?

Want to join the Aspen Public Radio membership? All first-time members ($60 for individuals, $100 for families) will receive a $15 gift certificate to Takah and be eligible for cool drawings and door prizes.

Snack on hors d’oeuvres and a complimentary holiday cocktail will be served (while supplies last!). A cash bar will be available throughout the party. This year’s party will benefit LIFT-UP’s Baguettes Fund, which stocks an Aspen food pantry. Make a donation by purchasing a raffle ticket or two ($10 for one raffle ticket; $20 for 4 tickets) and become eligible to win a fabulous door prizes.

Attire is holiday festive. 6-9:30pm at Sky Hotel

Scamps and Scoundrels: An Urban Dog Challenge benefitting Austin Pets Alive! On Saturday, December 4^th, registered teams of one dog and 1-4 humans will figure out clues to local, downtown dog-friendly businesses. Once there, the teams will be required to complete a fun task before moving on to the next location. When all tasks are complete, the teams will travel to the new Austin Pets Alive! building to check in to the finish line and join a HUGE party awaiting them.

The party (open to everyone!) will run 5-8pm and will feature Tito’s Vodka, Sweet Leaf Tea, Republic Tequila, Uncle Billy’s, Amy’s Ice Cream and a “drool-worthy” silent auction.

Blair Smith and Alesha Mathews of Dirty Dog have long dreamed of having an event for dogs and their owners in which they could do an activity together while checking out some of Austin’s favorite dog-friendly businesses. Sarah Wolf and Beth Bellanti round out the talented team of planners.

To learn more or register: scampsandscoundrels.tumblr.com/