Friday, May 29, 2009

Class at Cibus’ patio in Dallas’ NorthPark Center hosts breezy margarita how-to

By Teresa Gubbins

DALLAS — The tranquil center courtyard outside Cibus Restaurant at NorthPark Center in Dallas was the setting for a ridiculously cheap ($15) and fun "cocktail class" on Thursday night that offered hands-on advice on how to make a margarita.

A stickler might observe that Cibus, being an Italian restaurant, had no obvious connection to a cocktail generally viewed as Mexican. Or that the 40 jovial attendees seemed only marginally committed to learning the art of making a margarita and more on board for a quirky happy-hour session. None of this detracted from the breezy silliness and fun factor of the class itself.

For Alecia Kennedy, 43, and Lisa Baker, 50, both of Dallas, the class was a tolerable way to spend an hour, drink a few cocktails, and nosh a few bites, as the price included not just a tutorial on making three margaritas but also snacks passed around on trays such as mini pizzas, sausages wrapped in pastry, and toasts topped with various cheeses, plus take-home mementos that included Patron shot glasses and plastic-clad cocktail shakers.

For Cibus, it was an opportunity to show off their hidden-find patio overlooking NorthPark's CenterPark (home to Corridor Pin, Blue, the fantastical sculpture of a giant pin done in 1999 by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen); and to tempt attendees into sticking around for dinner after the class, which many did.

Cibus manager Linda Mazzei introduced the session as a "cooking class with alcohol," and said that the restaurant hoped to continue hosting classes every month. A representative from Patron, who supplied the three grades of tequila used in the class, explained that every Patron bottle is hand-blown and so no two are alike.

Mixologist Matina Catania stepped the class through 1. a basic margarita containing lime juice and tequila, 2. a margarita with OJ, and 3. a "muddled" version with blood oranges and lime wedges. [Mazzei divulged that blood oranges were well out of season, forcing her to plead with her produce supplier who found a random case from somewhere in the world and had it shipped to Texas.]

Each table had its own stock of cocktail shakers, ice, glasses, plates of salt and lime juice (for the rim of the glass). Servers delivered plastic ramekins filled with portions of alcohol, OJ, and other ingredients. The big thrill lay in the shaking: chikka chikka chikka.

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