Friday, August 24, 2012

Strawberry Basil Lemonade at Mick's Karma Bar - Irvine

I've spoken effusively about the burger at Mick's Karma Bar more times than I can count. I estimate I've written about a half dozen posts here on this pitiful blog and at OC Weekly's Stick A Fork In It.

But I've yet to even mention Mick's strawberry basil lemonade. It deserves at least an an equal amount of words as I've devoted to everything else about this juice bar turned burger destination.

What? You haven't had it? Well, I'm sorry to say that you've been doing it all wrong.

If you've only ordered the burger but not the combo, or the combo but opted for Coke instead of this lemonade, you've missed the point. This beverage, which is now probably the best thing at Mick's after the burger, is drinkable gold. To not order it with the combo is tantamount to throwing away money.

Here's why.

The burger by itself is $5.50. The lemonade by itself is $3.25. The fries by itself is $3.95. But the burger combo with all of the above? $8.75.

What you need to know about the drink is, of course, already in the name: mulled strawberries, crushed basil leaves, topped off with lemonade and ice. While the sweetness of the strawberries softens the tartness of the lemon, the basil leaves tames them both. It is absolutely the perfect thing to sip after a bite of burger and a mouthful of fries. There's something about this ambrosia that resets your mouth, much like what a swirl of good red wine does to a rich steak. Is it the herby basil? The fleshy strawberries? The citric acid?

I think I'm over-analyzing. It's refreshing. Period. And so popular these days, they've set up an assembly line of cups with the basil and chunky strawberry puree ready to be mixed with a pour of homemade lemonade. The drink will be made-to-order before you have the time to pay for it.

Heck, I'd go as far as to say it's worth the $3.25, if you just want the drink and not a meal. And there's this: it's apparently refillable with more lemonade!

So there. If you haven't already, go to Mick's, order the strawberry basil lemonade with your combo. Next post you'll see from me will be about the fries. Oh those fries!

Mick's Karma Bar
2010 Main St # 165
Irvine, CA 92614-7267
(949) 851-6316

THIS WEEK ON OC WEEKLY:
The Corner - Huntington Beach

4 Comments:

At 3:55 PM, Blogger Jenny Cleary said...

I agree, really takes the whole burger experience to the next level. I can't imagine not getting a refill and Mick makes it so easy by offering free refills, yay!

 
At 8:22 AM, Blogger elmomonster said...

Jenny,

Hear hear! I second that!

 
At 3:56 PM, Anonymous HungryHuy said...

They really price it so if you're going to get 2 of anything, you might as well get the combo huh? $8.95 is decent pricing for a spot like this. I do love the strawberry basil lemonade here! Do they serve this year round?

 
At 8:57 AM, Blogger elmomonster said...

Huy,

Yep! Year round! Or at least everytime I've been here, which spans the seasons.

 

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