Monday, January 23, 2012

Margarita Monday: Sassy Ann's; a Fanatical Recycling Endorsement

No matter where ya live, there is always some place that claims they make "the best Margarita in town." I am of the opinion that this claim is usually falsified. It is an attempt to sell a Margarita or multiple Margaritas. The claim should usually read, "we sell a lot of Margaritas" to our regular clientele when they need a break from drinking Bud Light. Personally, I pull no punches in regard to Margaritas, I could probably make the best Margarita in town and I can tell you where to get the best Margarita in Knoxville.

But this post isn't about the best Margarita in town, it is about "the claim." Any hole-in-the-wall can make the claim, fortunately, with the help of my lovely assistant Sally, we have found a hole-in-the-wall that can actually backup "the claim." We have an old bar in Knoxville named Sassy Ann's which I've heard of since I moved in to town and finally visited for the first time last month.

Sally had visited Sassy Ann's a few years ago, before I moved to Knoxville, but we had not been there together. As we were out this past Saturday celebrating her birthday we chose to include a visit to Sassy Ann's in the festivities. Sassy Ann's makes the Margarita claim and we wanted to submit them to our Margarita snob test.

First, I would like to point out what makes Sassy Ann's unique. I can find very little about the history of Sassy Ann's on the entree-net but I would guess that it has been opened nearly 15 years, if not longer. So, this doesn't make it an old, established business but it is in a Victorian era house which is, understandably impressive.

Sassy Ann's is not elaborately decorated by an means, nearly every surface is covered with the simplicity of wood-grain. I can't imagine that anyone would ever describe the interior of Sassy Ann's as "nice." I can't imagine that anyone would describe the exterior as nice either but every bar tends to be run down. Bars always have dust in the corners, there's always a leaky pipe somewhere and some loose or broken ceiling tiles. This is part of the appeal of bars, that they have the "lived in" look, and what better place to feel like home than an old home. Sassy Ann's has character and a welcoming atmosphere. Even before I ever visited the place I knew, from my many friends who had told me of Sassy Ann's, that it would be a relaxed, friendly and enjoyable watering hole, greatly worth visiting...

And they don't make a bad Margarita either. The Margaritas at Sassy Ann's come in a pint glass. I didn't watch the bartender make our first round of drinks and my first impression was that it was sour. But it was a good sour, fruit juice sour not sweet n sour mix sour. Sweet n Sour mix is a sure road to a bad Margarita, it's so easy to attempt to make Margaritas with the mix and no fruit juice. If you don't have, at least, lemon juice in a Margarita you're not doing it right. These Margaritas had a good sweet and sour taste combination from fruit juice which earns Sassy Ann's the right to "the claim." Then I watched the bartender as he made Margaritas and learned that they use no Sweet n Sour mix but use orange juice as the base.

The Margarita blend at Sassy Ann's is very simple. A simple blend that earns them right to the claim, one of the, Best Margaritas in Knoxville. If your ever in Knoxville be sure to visit Sassy Ann's. In fact, contact me and I'll be glad to introduce you personally. If you're a Knoxville resident and have never been to Sassy Ann's, you need to put it on your "Things to do in 2012" list.

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