The $30 drink challenge

Velvet Margarita's spiked smoothie vs. Bigfoot Lodge's hump-day specials

By Alexandra Le Tellier, Metromix; and Robin Lee, Special to Metromix

March 19, 2008

Sometimes our thirst for booze is bigger than our wallets. So we here at Metromix HQ thought we, and maybe you, could benefit from a cocktail comparison chart for the financially challenged. Because hey, it's hard to feel the hole burning in your pocket when you're drunk.

To splurge...
Remember when $30 was a nice chunk of change? Now, it'll go so far as to buy you the signature cocktail at Velvet Margarita—not including tip! But it is a doozy of a drink; not only is it served in a hollowed-out pineapple, it's made with fresh fruit and top-shelf tequila. Owner Big Daddy Carlos won't tell us the recipe, but he describes it as "an alcoholic pineapple-strawberry smoothie on 500." At least it doesn't cost $500!

Or to get smashed...
The possibilities of getting drunk for $30, while still allowing for tip, are endless at Bigfoot Lodge on Wednesday nights, when Newcastle, Guinness and gin beverages go for $3 a pop! That means 30 bucks will get you seven pints, or four pints and three gins, or three pints and four gins, steady slur included. Or you can order five gins and two pints and save $4.69 for a bottle of Advil.