Trying Chili's Hennessy's Harvest margarita
Hennessy's Harvest, November's margarita of the month at Chili's. Credit: Newsday/Scott Vogel
It’s November, and you know what that means — margaritas? Well, yes, at least at Chili’s, which, to be fair, recommends margaritas year-round and features a different iteration each month. Hennessy’s Harvest is Miss November, a $5 concoction the color of sundowns.
Which somehow seemed like an appropriate hue for the crowd that by 11:30 a.m. had already gathered at the bar of my own neighborhood Chili’s. “You can’t get Hennessy for five dollars anywhere,” confided the bartender before pronouncing herself a “Henny person,” and declaring the Harvest her own favorite among her employer's limited-time cocktails.
My own verdict is that it is sweet and perhaps a bit too potent for 11:30 a.m.— perhaps! — though perfect for loosening up at happy hour. Which is to say that Hennessy's Harvest is a powerful mix of its eponymous cognac, Lunazul Blanco Tequila and sour mix.
Elsewhere on the chains front, Applebee’s $1 drink of the month is another non-season-appropriate gem: vodka cranberry lemonade. Meanwhile, there’s good news and bad news over at TGI Friday’s. The good is that the folks there are at least aware of what time of year it is. The bad is — well, I shouldn’t judge. I haven’t had their pumpkin spice sangria, pumpkin spice mule or something called an angry apple punch (aka the Bad News). I’m all for dedicating my liver to the cause of high-quality, low-cost alcoholic beverages, but pumpkin spice sangria is a bridge too far, I'm afraid.
Chili’s, Applebee’s and TGI Friday’s have multiple locations throughout Long Island.
Newsday writer and restaurant critic Scott Vogel aims for a refreshing, gimlet-eyed take on the Long Island food scene, often while drinking a refreshing gimlet.
