As the pandemic plods along and I continue to largely self-quarantine at home with my partner, our dogs and my mother, I have been coming up with imaginative and increasingly desperate ways to pretend like I’m somewhere else.
I know I’m not the only one. I’ve read articles about parents setting up in-home “pub crawls” for their newly 21-year-olds, Zoom dance parties for milestone birthdays and virtual tours of tropical isles. I read a great essay by a kindred spirit who opened a “pretend restaurant” for her and her husband in their home. I did the same thing with themed dinners in the early days of our home stay. My favorites have been Italian steakhouse (homemade focaccia and ricotta to go with rosemary- and balsamic-marinated flank steak and heaping glasses of Sangiovese) and French bistro (a puffy, cheesy, eggy Dutch baby pancake paired with a vinaigrette-kissed heap of little gem hearts and a chilly glass of Chenin Blanc).
But my zealous escapism manifests most boldly during cocktail hour. I’ve gone through an intense tiki phase – it might have escalated into a full-on lifestyle – to pretend I’m in Hawaii. I’ve mixed margaritas, palomas and mezcal cocktails to pretend I’m in Mexico. I’ve steeped pitchers of sangria and poured glasses of Rioja to pretend I’m in Spain. My latest imaginary happy hour spot: Capri, the Italian island I’ve never visited but have lovingly stalked on Instagram for years. One summer (was it last?), it seemed like every celebrity I followed on Insta was wearing chic summer hats and sipping Aperol spritzes in Capri.
So when Postino announced its new Spritz Kitz, which give you all the ingredients you need to make spritzes of your very own at home, I was ecstatic and grateful to receive a media sample. DIY spritz + my pool + cute sunglasses + straw hat from Target = imaginary vacation to Capri!
The Spritz Kitz could not be easier or cuter. For $45, you get everything you need to make six spritz cocktails: a bottle of Cocchi Rosa Aperitivo, a bottle of Bonelli sparkling rosé, a bottle of San Pellegrino sparkling water, a fresh grapefruit and a recipe card to ensure you get your ratios right (so key to a great cocktail), plus a darling canvas tote that says SPRITZ SPRITZ SPRITZ all over it and makes you happy just looking at it. I guess I can carry it around my house until it feels safe to be out in the world again.
The directions are easy to follow and include a quick tutorial on peeling and expressing citrus peels to rub around the rims of your glasses and plop into the drinks as aromatic and flavorful garnishes. I’ll be transferring this skill to my other mixology exploits. Plus, now that I understand the basic gestalt of the spritz, I feel more confident in experimenting with my own concoctions. I have a bottle of Campari and a bottle of Aperol in my liquor cabinet that will be called into spritz service soon.
Fortuitously for those of us who require hearty noshes with our booze, Postino also recently rolled out “large-format” takeout versions of its best-loved dishes called Food for the Crew. For $22-$40 each, you can get huge to-go platters of panini, salads, meatballs, antipasto, veggies and more. Buy one or buy a few and live off the leftovers for a few days. Multiple happy hours set up in one go! We went for the skewers, juicy chunks of generously seasoned petite filet and chicken impaled by wooden sticks and lightly grilled. The accompaniment? Sicilian garlic yogurt with olive oil. It’s like they knew I was going on a pretend vacation to Italy.
