Atlanta Restaurants & Food

Buy This: Cuban soda, plus cool stuff for salt snobs and home bartenders

Materva is a soda made from yerba mate tea. Photo: Ligaya Figueras.
Materva is a soda made from yerba mate tea. Photo: Ligaya Figueras.
By Ligaya Figueras
Aug 8, 2016

Stock Up: 3 food and drink picks for Atlanta shoppers

This week, we're cracking open a Cuban soda, flaunting our salt collection and upping our home bartending game. Here's what to stock up on right now.

Materva

What are you washing down your Cuban sandwich with ? You're not doing the Cuban thing unless you're sipping Materva. The carbonated beverage that originated in Cuba but that holds popularity in other Caribbean and South American nations tastes like fizzy sweet tea with a touch of fruitiness. If you already drink mugs of hot mata yerba, you're halfway there. With Materva, you get that tea chilled, with bubbles and a dash of saccharine. This brand isn't easy to find. We found it - where else? - on Buford Highway $1 per can, La Chiquita Mic, 3669 Clairmont Road, Chamblee. 678-894-0441, www.amarillasinternet.com/lachiquatamic.

Show off your love for salt with these porcelain salt cellars available at The Merchant at Krog Street. Photo: Ligaya Figueras
Show off your love for salt with these porcelain salt cellars available at The Merchant at Krog Street. Photo: Ligaya Figueras

Salt and pepper cellar set

Do people make fun of you for your salt collection? Don't apologize. Flaunt it with the Rosanna Farmhouse Pantry salt and pepper cellar set. Lay bare your love for sodium – kosher, sel gris, smoked, Hawaiian, Himalayan and others – with these fancy vessels. The set of four porcelain saucers, each with its own dainty spoon, was inspired by vintage American milk glass. Rock on, salt snobs. $30, The Merchant at Krog Street, 99 Krog St. NE, Atlanta, 404-331-1200 , themerchantatl.com.

Make cocktails like a pro with Mixology 101: The Art of Crafting Cocktails, a deck of cards that provides starter recipes, including classic cocktails, syrups, infusions and bitters. Photo: Deckopedia.
Make cocktails like a pro with Mixology 101: The Art of Crafting Cocktails, a deck of cards that provides starter recipes, including classic cocktails, syrups, infusions and bitters. Photo: Deckopedia.

Mixology 101: The Art of Crafting Cocktails

Learn to stir and shake drinks at home like a pro with this new cocktail guide that comes in the form of a deck of cards. The "Mixology 101" deck provides 27 starter recipes for classic cocktails, syrups, infusions and bitters. Other decks in the series include "International Mixology: Classics and Crafted Cocktails From Around the World" and "Cheers! Just Because: A Collection of 50 Mood-Inspired Cocktail Recipes." Available online only, the trio makes a great gift for your imbibing buddy. $19.95 per deck. Deckopedia.com.

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About the Author

Ligaya Figueras is the AJC's senior editor for Food & Dining. Prior to joining the AJC in 2015, she was the executive editor for St. Louis-based culinary magazine Sauce. She has worked in the publishing industry since 1999 and holds degrees from St. Louis University and the University of Michigan.

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