Here's my BIG IDEA. Start every morning with micheladas!!!

It’s rare to meet a Texan with an identity problem; these folks are loud and proud to let the world know exactly where they’re from. But the lineage of the Lone Star State’s quirky beer-over-ice concoction is a different story. The Michelada—pronounced mee-cha-lah-dah—struggles with a murky past. Perhaps it was invented by a revolutionary general named Don Augusto Michel or came about when the Tecate Brewery encouraged drinkers to rub a lime and sprinkle salt on its newly introduced beer cans to diminish the tinny taste. Even though Michelada loosely translates as “my cold beer,” maybe the name does refer to the days when the drink was made with Michelob. However, despite its questionable background, there’s no mistaking the Michelada’s link to Tex-Mex border culture. When the food is spicy and the sun is hot, it makes sense to keep your beer cold.

The Hotel San José Recipe

(an approximation)

Ingredients:

• A couple of dashes Tabasco

• A couple of dashes Worcestershire

• 1/2 fresh squeezed lime

• dash of black pepper

• dash of salt

• 1 bottle south-of-the-border beer

Rim a 20-oz. glass (with straight sides) with coarse salt. Fill the glass halfway with ice cubes; the denser the cube the better (melts slower). Add all ingredients except beer over the ice, and garnish with a lime wheel. Serve with a stirring straw and beer on the side (add beer to glass per individual taste).

Yield: one serving