Eugene Weekly : Culture : 04.24.03

Mojito Mojo
A sweet, sour, refreshing new drink.
BY MARIKO FUKUYAMA

Eventually the weather will warm up in Eugene, and when that happens, add this to the list of good things that come with it: enjoying the Mojito. For some people, Mojito is a familiar indulgence and for others it's just beginning to flash on their radar. This trendy Cuban-import cocktail, is concocted mainly from mint, lime and white rum. It bursts with a unique, refreshing flavor, and deserves its growing success.

Long considered the unofficial cocktail of Cuba, it developed out of a drink called Draque and became popular with Havana's high society during the 1920s. Bringing together some of the best offerings from the island — one being rum, which is distilled from sugar cane — it is still enjoyed in many Latin countries and restaurants.

This drink has a cult-like following. Part-time Cuban resident, Earnest Hemmingway himself wrote on a famous bar napkin in 1954, "My Mojito in La Bodeguita, my Daiquiri in El Floridita." The Mojito made a transoceanic leap in the summer of 1998, when it emerged in London as the hipsters' summer drink of choice, and has since re-crossed the Atlantic, gaining fans on its move west.

Mojito's particular appeal comes from its distinct balance of rum with the strong flavors of mint and lime. Never too sweet, slightly sour, it refreshes the mouth and pairs well with spicy foods. When done correctly, each ingredient should be distinguishable, no ingredient overshadowing the others. A simple blend of sugar and mint leaves — manipulated by a tool called a "muddler" — combined with limes and rum will yield a fabulous Mojito. The muddler, similar in function to a grinding pestle, looks like a six-inch wooden baseball bat. Its function is to crush the sugar and mint together, releasing the essential oils. A little extra time is involved, but Mojito is meant to be a whole experience — mixing, sipping and relaxing go hand in hand. Nibbling the pieces of mint as you think good thoughts are part of the experience, and your breath ends up better when you're done.

You can find Mojito at a handful of restaurants and bars in Eugene — not only Latin influenced joints — and undoubtedly more will crop up as summer approaches. Taco Loco, Luna, Red Agave and Lucky Noodle are all currently serving it up. Even if it is not explicitly on the drink menu, inquire about it anyway, especially if another drink on the menu features mint.

To be your own personal bartender and experiment with flavors, try the following recipe. I think it tastes best if made by the individual glass, but it is also great by the pitcher for summer parties. Just remember — though you can't taste the rum, it's still in there packing a punch!

BASIC MOJITO RECIPE:
1/2 tsp. sugar
7-10 sprigs of fresh mint (never use dried mint – sacrilege darling!)
1 lime, cut in wedges
2 oz. white rum
Crushed or cubed ice
Splash of soda water

For a single Mojito, the tools you will need are a highball glass and a muddler (a bar spoon can substitute). Put the sugar and the mint in the high ball glass and mash the two together. The mint should be broken down into small bits and releasing its fragrance. Squeeze the juice of the lime in, reserving one of the wedges. Add the rum and enough ice to almost fill the glass. Mix it all together until the mint pieces are distributed evenly throughout. Top off with a splash of soda water — the size of your splash depends on your personal taste and tolerance. Float the lime wedge on top. Drink with a straw.

Local Boy Done Super
Mike Allred among the talented at the Eugene Comic and Collectables Show.
BY DAVE ROLLAND

Living in Eugene today without reading comic books would be the equivalent of ignoring rock 'n' roll in 1963 Liverpool. Local comics creator Mike Allred puts that same energy and panache into his work that the Beatles crammed into their music. And while you can't take a time machine to the Cavern Club, you can go to the Lane County Fairgrounds from 10 am to 5 pm Sunday, April 27 and meet a master of comic art.

More than 10 years ago Allred pumped out a comic book called Madman, combining angstful existentialism with yo-yos and superheroes. Each panel Allred drew was reminiscent of a Roy Liechtenstein painting. The plots were filled with humor and a zest for life while the colors were brightly provided by Mike's wife, Laura. He created a universe filled with aliens, private investigators, and an amnesiac Santa Claus that left readers with a false sense of déjà vu of a Hanna-Barbara cartoon that never existed. With Madman the quality was consistently fantastic, but the quantity of new work became unfulfilling.

Allred focused on making independent movies, getting a Hollywood production of Madman rolling and doing everything but what made him beloved by strangers: writing and drawing comic books. But at the dawn of the millennium Allred made a New Year's resolution to stop putzing around. He created a comic book company called AAA Pop Comics, turned the Madman movie over to Robert Rodriguez (director of Spy Kids), and cranked out 15 issues of The Atomics. The Atomics were a group of beatniks turned superheroes where Allred continued with his themes of alienation, self-loathing, pop culture obsession, and the notion that love conquers all. The characters were distinct and intriguing while the art always threw amusing jokes into the background.

But The Atomics abruptly ended when the big boys of Marvel Comics came knocking at Allred's door. Allred along with writer Peter Milligan were assigned to revamp a second rate X-Men rip-off called X-Force. Under their new creators X-Force (which is now available monthly but under the name X-Statix) became a comic book about people who became superheroes for fame and fortune rather than to help their fellow man.

These characters were obsessed with marketability rather than nobility. The superheroes range from Phat, an Eminem wannabe who is now struggling with his homosexuality, to Venus Dee Milo, a young virgin (but only because she does not have a physical body), to Mister Sensitive, a character impaired with acne and hypersensitivity. But fear not, despite their descriptions, these characters are anything but poignant. They are fleshed out and very real but Allred and Milligan remembered this is still a Marvel Comic, so they keep it simple. A comic that teenagers of all ages can enjoy.

Allred's comic books are, like the early Beatles, filled with simple fun and charisma rather than layered with meaning and a desire to change the world.

All of Allred's work, (Madman, The Atomics, X-Force and X-Statix) is compiled in trade paperback or you can attempt to collect the original back issues from the many vendors at this Sunday's comic book convention. And while you're there you can bug Allred about when the heck we are going to see Madman again.

Upcoming Literary Events
BY LOIS WADSWORTH

Poets Deborah Narin-Wells, Nancy Hager, Alice Evans, Joan Dobbie, Ursula Evans, Leslie Wolf, Carter McKenzie and Sonia Sampson read at 5 pm April 26 at Tsunami; open mike; music, Evan Belize. ...25th Annual Friends of the Library Book Sale from 10 am-8 pm April 26 and 10 am-4 pm April 27 at Lane County Fairgrounds. Some 60K books, price $1. Supports programs, materials at Eugene Public Library. ...Bill Sullivan (Oregon Trips and Trails) gives a slide-illustrated talk at 7 pm April 29 in Browsing Room, Knight Library, UO. He also speaks at 7:30 pm May 2 in the Bascom/Tykeson room on the first floor of the Eugene Public Library. ...Meg Lemke, agent for Wales Literary Agency, Seattle speaks at 6:30 pm May 1 in Baker Downtown Center. ...Runner Marla Runyan (No Finish Line) speaks at 7 pm May 1 in UO Bookstore. ...Local author Gary Michael Linz (The Rainbow Lanes Exchange) reads at 7 pm May 2 in Barnes & Noble, where his paintings will be on display through May 10. ...Memoirist Janisse Ray (Ecology of a Cracker Childhood) reads from Wild Card Quilt at 12 noon May 5 in OSU Bookstore, Corvallis, and at 7 pm May 6 in Broadway Books, Portland. ...John and Diane Cissel (Best Old-Growth Forest Hikes) speak at 7 pm May 7 in Knight Library Browsing Room, UO. ...Memoirist Paul Lisicky (Famous Builder) and poet Mark Doty (ed. Open House: Writers Redefine Home) explore house as a metaphor at 8 pm May 8 in Gerlinger Lounge, UO. ..."An Evening with Mr. Trout and Mr. Bass," fundraiser for the Yaak Valley Forest Council, features readings by novelists, nature writers and activists Rick Bass and David James Duncan at 7:30 pm May 8 in The Old Church, 1422 SW 11th Ave., Portland. $12 gen./$8 students. (503) 236-4854. ...Colleen Sell, editor of the Cup of Comfort series, reads from her book for mothers and daughters at 2 pm May 10 in Barnes and Noble. ...Eric Schlosser, author of Fastfood Nation, speaks about his new book, Reefer Madness, at 7:30 pm May 13 at Powell's Books, Portland. ...Lucy Jane Bledsoe speaks about her new novel, This Wild Silence, at 7 pm May 14 in Mother Kali's Bookstore. ...Literary historian Paul Collins (Sixpence House: Lost in a Town of Books) speaks at 7 pm May 14 in Knight Library Browsing Room. ...Mayan shaman, visionary author and teacher Martin Prechtel speaks, signs his new book, The Toe Bone and the Tooth, at 7 pm May 15 in Tsunami Books. ...Poets Donna Henderson, Ingrid Wendt, Janice Gould and Jane Glazer celebrate indie press CALYX and read from its new anthology, A Fierce Brightness: Twenty-five Yeas of Women's Poetry, at 7 pm May 15 in UO Bookstore. ...Hip Mama magazine editor Ariel Gore reads from her biography, Atlas of the Human Heart, at 7 pm May 22 in UO Bookstore. ...Retired UO Physics professor Dr. Amit Goswami reads from his latest book, Physics of the Soul, at 7 pm May 29 in UO Bookstore.