Santosha Chocolate is raw, fair-trade, humanity-committed chocolate made in Asheville, NC. I met, or re-met, rather, founder Don Rowe at the Santa Cruz, CA, home of one of my best friends. Her husband happens to be Don’s step-brother, and I happened to be down for a visit the same time he was this past December.
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Meadow of Love Absinthe Superieure Delaware Phoenix Distillery Walton, NY   Let’s be real — Meadow of Love is a very hippie name for a spirit. And let me be realer — hippie names speak my language. I went to college in Santa Cruz, people. I’m not an ideal hippie myself, but the culture is
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Mint 504 Franklin Street Downtown Chapel Hill Website Entrees: $13 to $20 Mint is an upscale Indian restaurant that resides in a former bank. Thus mint serves as a double entendre for the location and the popular herb in Indian cooking. Most of the space is full of light from the storefront glass, complimenting the
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Mexicano Mojito  Bandidos Woodcroft, Durham $5.95 There are two things you can count on a Bandidos drink being: stiff and affordable. The Mexicano Mojito fulfills both of those qualifications, though it leaves something to be desired in the flavor department. That’s because the strong alcohol from three, count ‘em, three rums—Bacardi Light, Bacardi Dark, and Bacardi
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Three Knights 2006 Russian River Valley Merlot Sonoma, CA Prunes and strawberries dominate the nose. There’s a crushed mint flavor that accentuates the wine’s primary notes of pepper and a bright berry somewhere between blue and boysen. Plenty of dry mouth left when the wine’s been swallowed.

Visne Vodka 456 W. Franklin Street Downtown Chapel Hill Website $9 This nearly perfect cocktail was made from Absolut Kurant, visne cherry juice, sour mix, and mint. There was a great tartness to it that came from the sharp cherry juice and the sour mix. It was a smooth drink that made me dream of
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