MAY 12, 2016 // 23
BOOK SHELF // GLIMPSE // WILDLIFE // POP CULTURE // WORDS // Q&A // FOOD // FUN
COLUMBIA BAR
A G LIMPSE I NSIDE
Mango Rita
Sea Gypsy Gifts
By RYAN HUME
By MATT LOVE
Just up the street from Haystack Rock
on a recent sunny Saturday afternoon,
there was plenty of bustle inside Cannon
Beach Hardware & Public House —
though this crowd seemed to be searching
out sustenance and the type of screwdriver
that is neither standard nor Phillips.
The Screw & Brew, as it is colloquial-
ly known, isn’t just a popular destination
with locals and tourists alike because of
its quirky, relaxed atmosphere and the
novelty of its invention, but also because
the small kitchen and bar are turning
out a menu of scratch-made food and
cocktails as well as plenty of pints. You’re
not going to fi nd house-made pastrami
and sour mix at Home Depot, no matter
how hard you try. And yes, the Screw &
Brew may be the only coastal hardware
store proud to serve up both Rusty Nails
and saltwater-resistant fasteners.
So, sure, there may be two fl oors
of home improvement, gardening
and plumbing supplies, but it’s what’s
behind the bar that counts. Here you’ll
fi nd a rotating supply of infused spirits
made in-house that can shake the dust
off any old margarita or Mary. More
often than not, infusers confuse the
word “fruity” for “sugary” and the Screw
& Brew’s subtle dry infusions are a nice
reminder that those two words are not
synonymous.
This is not a recipe for a mango
margarita. You can put away your
blender and your Slurpee straw. This is a
recipe for a classic margarita, balanced
on the edge of tart and citrus forward,
accompanied on the backend by a
smack of mango, that juicy stone fruit
that takes salt and pepper so well. To get
it right, make your own sour mix, like DK
does at the Screw & Brew. “It makes all
the diff erence,” he said.
Ingredients:
1.5 ounces mango-in-
fused tequila*
¼ ounce orange liqueur,
such as Triple Sec or Grand
Marnier
1 teaspoon agave syrup
(or simple syrup)
1 ounce sour mix
Ice
Orange wheel
Lime wedge
Coarse salt
2911
291 1 Marine
M arine
i Dr
D r #B
Astoria, OR 97103
503 791-2466
Directions:
Squeak a lime wedge
around the rim of a Ma-
son jar, highball or other
cocktail glass and dip the
rim into the salt. Add ice
and then stir in all of the
liquid ingredients. Finish by
squeezing out the juice of
the orange and the lime be-
fore depositing what’s left
of the citrus into the glass.
*The Screw & Brew uses Luna
Azul tequila for its infusions,
though any moderately priced silver
tequila will do. Add some peeled and
chopped up mangos and the tequila
to an air-tight container and let sit
in a cool, dark place or in the back of
the fridge for fi ve days or so before
straining.
—Recipe courtesy of David
Kinhan, bar manager of Cannon Beach
Hardware & Public House
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I asked Naomi Pena, Astoria’s
premier mermaid costumer and
owner of Sea Gypsy Gifts on
Commercial Street, if any tourist
couples ever bought a mermaid
outfi t when they came into the
shop or at her booth at the Asto-
ria Sunday Market.
“Sure,” she said, kind of wink-
ing, certainly smiling. “It happens
all the time.”
It does? That surprised me.
I tried picturing the mermaid
role-playing scene unfolding in
a room at the Cannery Pier Hotel
or Lamplighter Motel or maybe
a tent at Fort Stevens State Park.
I wasn’t seeing it. This is a gillnet-
ting and vaping town to me.
PHOTO BY MATT LOVE
Sea Gypsy Gifts in Astoria
sells mermaid costumes.
But Astoria is changing. You
can feel it in the air.
“To spice things up?” I asked.
“Sure,” said Naomi. “Why not?”
Why not indeed? What hap-
pens in Astoria stays in Astoria.
That goes for mermaids, too. This
Prohibition-era town was once
Capitol Sin City with gambling,
booze, drugs, brothels and
shanghaiing. Maybe it’s on the
way back. I hope so. A mermaid
costume craze would really spice
up the old brand.
Naomi reckons she’s sold close
to a thousand mermaid costumes
in the last decade. That has to be
a record in Oregon. Halloween is
the hot season, but why not get
one for the summer and surprise
that special someone or fi rst
date? Imagine the look on that
person’s face when you unveil
the costume in a dark Chinese
restaurant lounge.
Why not indeed? Head down
to Sea Gypsy Gifts, and Naomi will
set you up in style.
Matt Love is the author/editor of 14 books,
including “A Nice Piece of Astoria.” His books
are available at coastal bookstores or his
website, nestuccaspitpress.com
C L AT S O P CO U N T Y MASTER GARDENERS TM PRESENT
2016
MAY 14 • SATURDAY • 8:30 - 2:00
Clatsop County Fairgrounds
into
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Donations to Clatsop County Food Bank
gladly accepted.
PLANTS · CLASSES · ADVICE · VENDORS · RAFFLE
Clatsop County Master Gardeners Association present:
“A Feast for the Eyes”
___ Gardening for Taste and Beauty ___
9:30-10:30 am - Incredible Edible Ornamental Gardens, Weston Miller
11:15-12:15 am - Container Gardening with Beautiful Ornamental Edibles, Maggie Stuckey
12:35-1:30 pm - Let’s Eat Flowers - Demos and Tastings, North Coast Food Web
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Must be 21 y years old.
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OSU Clatsop County Extension Oi ce
2001 Marine Drive Rm 210, Astoria
(503) 325-8573
www.facebook.com/ClatsopCoMGA
www.clatsopcountymastergardenersassociation.com
www.extension.oregonstate.edu/clatsop/gardening/master-gardeners