Each week The Times seeks out unique drinks, one with alcohol and one without, made on Martha’s Vineyard, and a bit about the people who make them. Email calendar@mvtimes.com with your suggestions.
Smoothies from Beetlebung Cafe
On your way to Menemsha beach, stop by Beetlebung Café on 24 Basin Road for a hearty sandwich and refreshing drink.
Servers at the café recommend two smoothie flavors: the banana split (pictured) and the mango smoothie. Both contain organic plain yogurt, milk (or soy milk), and a little green tea. The banana split smoothie is made with a banana and Ghirardelli chocolate syrup, making for a sweet and creamy concoction. Added to the mango smoothie is a mango purée, giving the drink a fruity summer taste. Either can be topped off with whipped cream for added sweetness.
Though filling, to make either drink a meal, employee Andreanne Breton-Carbonneau suggests pairing it with the North Beach Panino, a sandwich made with turkey, mozzarella, pesto, and tomato, to create a balance between sweet and savory.
Beetlebung’s smoothies cost $4.95; $5.45 for a large.
The café is open Monday through Saturday from 6:30 am to 7:30 pm, and on Sundays from 6:30 am to 5 pm. For more information, visit beetlebung.com.
The Shnooki from Sharky’s Cantina
The Mexican Bulldog, aka “The Shnooki,” is the sort of drink that makes a person double-take. It starts with a margarita – mixing 100 percent Blue Agave Exotico Tequila with triple sec, lemon, and lime on the rocks. Then an entire beer, a Corona, is upended inside the drink. Through the wonders of physics, as long as the top of the Corona is in liquid, the Corona will stay put, with only a small, tasty bit of fizz seeping in to the margarita.
After one is done with the margarita, the Corona will flood into the cup, making a super chilled, deliciously limey Corona. JB Blau, owner of Sharky’s Cantina among other businesses, got the name for “The Shnooki” from watching Snooki throw the drinks back on “Jersey Shore.”
The Shnooki is a popular menu item, and when one goes out, it draws eyes, and more orders pour in.
The drink is literally two drinks in one, and falls in compliance with the classic, (though perhaps erroneous) adage, “Liquor before beer, you’re in the clear; beer before liquor, never been sicker.”
The Schnooki costs $12.
Sharky’s Cantina in both Oak Bluffs and Edgartown are open until 1 am. And the concoction goes well with nachos. For more information, visit sharkyscantina.com.
