by Steven Doyle
This week was filled with cocktails as I prepare my tasters for the upcoming cocktail event in Dallas. Last evening I had a chance to stop into Tate’s on McKinney for a nip and found superstar barman Matthew Ceneviva managing a packed house. I asked him if he had a special cocktail he wouldn’t mind throwing down for Drink of the Week and he happily obliged.
Ceneviva is a recent transplant to Texas but said he is enjoying the landscape rather well. He was quick to dispel the myth that Dallas is far behind the folks in New York or Chicago. He said that simply isn’t the case and the good people in Dallas are kicking it and tacking names in the booze department.
That all sounds great but he is still hit with dudes coming in at 1am wanting a gin and tonic or a vodka soda. How do you remedy that situation and educate the young drinking public? Ceneviva has a small solution, and it is pretty entertaining.
If you look on the menu you will find at least one friendly cocktail called Whiskey and Koke. Note that they make their own sodas in house so they can spell it any way they wish. But this isn’t the usual drink you might be thinking of. If you order this at Tate’s you will get a quasi Manhattan with a slight cola after taste. I issue another ‘genius’ tag today, this time for brilliant cocktail names to stave off the humdrum blues that can be associated with uninteresting blends of familiar juices and spirits.
After I tasted the cocktail, which you should order by the way, Ceneviva mentioned something about changes that will be happening at the lounge. They will be serving large plates of food as opposed to their sliders and such they have now. Something to look forward to. Tate’s does everything so well.
Look for one of Tate’s weekly $6 drink specials.
