Holy spirits

City of God cocktail

For Lent this year I decided to give up tasty and relaxing adult beverages. But I hadn’t realized, at the time, that Sacramento Beer Week also commenced the first weekend of Lent—I mean, not even Jesus had to put up with that kind of temptation, but whatever. As much as I love beer, what I really want is a City of God. Yes, it’s a cocktail named after the 2002 movie City of God and served at the new Indian-food eatery, Monsoon Cuisine of India. This drink will set you back $9—yeah, that’s more than an entire pitcher of PBR, but some things are just worth more than four-and-a-half glasses of Pabst. At Monsoon, bar manager Tim Varner uses fresh, organic and some local ingredients for his innovative, spice-infused syrups. The drinks are all named after Varner’s favorite movies, and many of them are inspired by Indian recipes. City of God’s starring flavor is tamarind; and the drink is balanced out with a mouthful of apricot and wisps of lime—the perfect spirit to douse a parched Lenten palate. Lord knows I’m weak. Monsoon Cuisine of India, 1020 16th Street; www.monsoonsacramento.com.