4 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
It's Piña Colada Weather
I started drinking piña coladas as a child. They were alcohol free, obviously, and my parents allowed me to order as many of them as I wanted at Frankie's, our local red-sauce Italian restaurant. Why did a red-sauce spot in metro Atlanta serve piña coladas? I don't know. But I was hooked from that first sip — and I still am.
I simply love coconut in every iteration, even its divisive seltzer form. (A coconut La Croix sipped right out of the fridge is so life-affirming, don't @ me.) Piña coladas taste exactly how the best summer days feel: sweet and sunny and easygoing. I would love to solely dedicate this newsletter to the cocktail, but I've been instructed by my editor, Mark, to include food options as this newsletter is apparently about dining. You win, Mark.
When in search of a piña colada, a bar espousing tiki culture is usually your best bet. That's what brought me to Tiki Chick, an airy corner spot that looks like it just washed up onto Amsterdam Avenue, though it's been around since 2019. It's from the same restaurant group behind Jacob's Pickles, so expect a fair amount of kitsch and the inappropriate use of pickle juice.
You're going to be tempted to order the restaurant's viral pickle painkiller. But it's actually too pickle forward — and this is coming from someone who swears by the pickle brine margarita. Just stick to the piña colada served in a tall, curvy glass and made with two kinds of rum. It put me into a bit of a tipsy stupor that even a saucy and surprisingly affordable ($5!) hot honey chicken sandwich with an appropriate amount of pickles on it couldn't ward off. Then again, what's better than riding the subway with a bit of a buzz going?
517 Amsterdam Avenue (West 85th Street)
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