Bottoms Up!

The drink of the Super Bowl: Introducing the beer Rita, lesson included

Mixing a classic margarita with your favorite beer, the Rita Especial is theperfect Super Bowl drink.
A lesson from restaurant pro Scott Lindsey, Marcy de Luna learns how to makethis exquisite libation.
The ingredients for a Rita Especial: 1 ounce each Triple sec and Cointreau, 2ounces of Sweet-n-sour mix, one tall glass of ice and your favorite beer,Mexican preferred.

Bottoms Up!

We have started a new feature here at CultureMap, Bottoms Up! Each month we will spotlight a favorite cocktail and include the recipe plus video footage so you can follow along as a cocktail connoisseur demonstrates how to combine the ingredients for that perfect blend.

With Super Bowl XLV on the near horizon in Dallas, we thought it fitting to select a cocktail that incorporates some sort of ale, When I think of football, I think of beer. Thus, this month’s featured “Drink of the Month” is the Rita Especial from TQLA Houston.

This libation was inspired by a trip to New York, when one the owners sampled a similar beverage. Add TQLA’s personal touch and you have a margarita with no aftertaste — this margarita is smooth and easy to drink. Leave the beer in as you sip with a straw, the bottle will empty out as you go.

Be on the look out for TQLA’s grand opening party in early February and make sure to sign up for the bar's tequila seminars offered the first Wednesday of every month, gratis no less.

Rita Especial

1 oz Triple sec
1 oz Cointreau
2 oz Sweet-n-sour mix
1 tall glass of ice
1 bottle of beer (your preference)

Blend all but the beer in a blender for 30 seconds, pour into a margarita glass and then toss a beer in. Quick, easy and delicious!

Have a favorite cocktail? Write in with your suggestions for our February “Drink of the Month”!

Your beer Rita lesson:

unspecified

Farewell, ElRo

Creative Montrose pizzeria will shutter after only a year-and-a-half

Photo by Julie Soefer

ElRo Pizza & Crudo

An acclaimed Houston pizzeria will soon serve its final pies. ElRo Pizza & Crudo will close after service on December 31.

In a post on Instagram, chef-owner Terrence Gallivan thanks his staff for their dedication and his customers for their support. “We hope to see you all over the next couple weeks. Come celebrate with us,” he writes.

Open since June 2023, ElRo intrigued diners who enjoyed Gallivan’s work at pioneering Houston restaurant The Pass & Provisions. At ElRo, the chef served a modified version of the Provisions pizza recipe alongside crudos and shareable small plates such as arancini and housemade sausage. It earned four nominations in this year’s CultureMap Tastemaker Awards, including Best New Restaurant and Chef of the Year.

Sadly, Gallivan tells CultureMap that business has seen “a steady decline in business for many months.” Recently, the restaurant had tried a number of initiatives to draw in diners, such as steak night on Tuesday and fried chicken on Saturday.

The early announcement gives diners two weeks to make one more visit (or two) to the restaurant before it closes. Customers may want to time their visit for happy hour, which takes places from 3-6 pm Tuesday-Friday. It includes half-off glasses of wine, $4 draft beers, $9 select cocktails, and food specials.

Gallivan adds that he doesn’t know yet what his next move will be. Hopefully, he’s got one more comeback in him. Houston is a more fun town to dine in when Gallivan is cooking in it.

news-you-can-eat pizza closings