one meal three drinks zero logic

Food gets all the attention.

People will spend hours debating pizza toppings, arguing over barbecue styles, and defending their favorite burger joint like they're appearing before the Supreme Court.

But nobody talks enough about the drink.

Not the pre-dinner cocktail.

Not the bottle of wine somebody spent twenty minutes pretending to understand.

I'm talking about the drink that actually sits next to your plate.

For example, tacos.

What are you drinking?

A Paloma?

A margarita?

A cerveza?

There are no wrong answers here. Some combinations are simply more enthusiastic than others.

As for me, I don't spend much time worrying about what the experts say. I drink whatever sounds good with what I'm eating.

Sometimes that's homemade lemonade. The kind that makes a hot summer day seem a little less hot.

Sometimes it's a Shirley Temple.

And before somebody starts talking about Luxardo cherries, let's settle this right now.

Luxardo cherries are for cocktails.

A Shirley Temple requires a neon red cherry. The kind that glows like a brake light and stains everything it touches. The kind I remember from childhood. The cherry has spoken.

Sometimes it's a Roy Rogers.

And sometimes it's a fridge cigarette.

For me, that's a Diet Coke.

Ice cold. Fresh from the refrigerator. The can snaps open. The first sip hits differently. Suddenly things don't seem quite as urgent as they did thirty seconds ago.

Now let's talk about Chinese food.

What do you drink with Chinese food?

People tell me wine is the answer because it cuts through the richness and balances the flavors.

Maybe they're right.

But when General Tso's chicken, cashew chicken, fried rice, and lo mein show up on the table, I'm probably reaching for a lemonade or a soda.

I know. Not sophisticated.

Neither am I.

Then again, I also enjoy a very dirty martini with sushi.

I fully understand that this may not be approved by the International Association of Beverage Pairing Experts.

I don't care.

It tastes good.

And if you ever find yourself in Richmond, Vermont, stop by Stone Corral Brewery and order a root beer.

Not a beer.

The root beer.

It's freaking amazing.

Maybe that's the lesson.

Drink pairings are fun.

Rules are optional.

If it makes the meal better, you've already won.

Even if your victory involves a Diet Coke, a neon red cherry, or a dirty martini sitting next to a spicy tuna roll.

The cherry has spoken.