Chinese BBQ, Cocktails, and More at Wu Er by WOW Barbecue (Brookline, Boston, MA)

First started as a truck serving Chinese BBQ skewers in Chinatown, Wow BBQ has a brick and mortar location in Malden and has recently expanded with Wu Er in Brookline. Unlike the truck, Wu Er serves a lot more than skewers.

When they get seated, each table gets a plate of fried mantou drizzled with condensed milk. Dessert first? Sort of, and why not?

Originally, Wow BBQ is all about the Chinese BBQ skewers, so of course, I had to get those here as well. The lamb is definitely one thing to get, but they also have all kinds of other options - both meat and vegetarian skewers.

While these are not for everyone, some of my favorite skewers are the chicken hearts and the lamb kidneys! I also tried the beef neck tendon, but that was too chewy even for me.

What I also particularly like about Wu Er is the cocktail program. It's pretty uncommon to have great cocktails at a Chinese or Asian restaurant, in general (although I have to say this is not particularly true in Boston, with Sichuan Garden II and Shojo and all). If you're ever curious about trying baiju, or cocktails made with baiju, Wu Er is a great place to try.

Moonlight over the Lotus Pond (Citadelle gin, lime, kaffir lime, jasmine tea, absinthe, egg white) - a nice sour with kaffir lime and jasmine, two of my favorite ingredients!

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A Day of Wine and Spirit Tasting in Cape Cod with Truro Vineyards and South Hollow Spirits

When summer arrives, Cape Cod comes alive. With beautiful beaches, seafood shacks, and more, this New England coastal getaway draws massive amount of tourists each year. If you're planning a visit to the Cape this year, consider a visit to Truro Vineyards for a tour of their vineyard and distillery. This relatively off-the-beaten path destination offers a great day of wine and cocktail drinking with grape vines in the backdrop.

Actually, Truro Vineyards is not a completely hidden gem - it's a popular spot for bachelorette parties and other celebrations, and once you get there, you can easily see why. Day drinking at its best!

Truro Vineyards has been producing and tasting wines for a while, but there's a recent addition to the family: South Hollow Spirits. Started by the son, Dave Roberts, South Hollow Spirits is producing rum and gin that are definitely worth a taste. We actually started out with the spirits tasting first before moving on to wines. I have to say , I loved all three spirits.

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Lifehouse Tonics & Elixir: Taking Smoothies Up a Notch

Los Angeles loves their juices and their healthy foods, but at Lifehouse Tonics and Elixir, they take juices and smoothies a step further in terms of their health benefits. They mix smoothies and juices with healthy and medicinal tonics - but don't worry, they still keep the taste sweet and delicious like the treats smoothies should be. Oh, and it's all vegan.

Lifehouse opened a cool little shop on Sunset Blvd in Hollywood, blending tonic-infused smoothies and elixirs. You may find ingredients you have never heard of or cannot pronounce, but everything is natural, including the sugar substitute that they use, like erythritol and stevia.

The menu board describes the drink with its main health benefits and the main flavor component. For example, the Greenhouse Chip is described as "energizing", "alkalizing", with mint as the main flavor component.

Greenhouse Chip (almond milk, cashew milk, mint extract, cacao nibs, barley grass juice, wheat grass juice, oat grass juice, maca, eleuthero, astragalus, cordyceps, tocos, cacao butter, almond butter, coconut oil, erythritol, stevia, $14)

This is perhaps their most popular drink, and it's easy to see why. It tastes like mint chocolate chip shake! I haven't heard of a lot of the ingredients, so I googled some of them. Maca, for example, is a Peruvian plant from the Andes region. People use the root of maca plant for medicinal purposes, including increasing stamina and also for hormonal imbalance in women.

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