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BEHIND BARS

By Lawson Roberts

Last week, the Bacardi Mohito challenge was held at the South Carolina Aquarium.

For those of you who don't know, this is a fantastic annual event benefiting the Special Olympics. An array of local, fine-dining restaurant bartenders compete to see who makes the best tasting and most creative Mohito. Let's be honest, some are really good, and others just aren't.

Fig's blackberry Mohito was a huge hit, as well as High Cotton's Peach Mohito. The repeat winner of the Mohito contest this year was Coast Bar & Grill and bartender John Aquino.

Island Vibes

My traveling partner in crime and I hit the road again last week in search of the cocktail scene on beautiful Hilton Head.

First, I would like to thank Charlie from the Hilton Head visitor's bureau. He was a great help pointing us in the right direction. Bare in mind that Hilton Head is known for a lot of things — golf, tennis, water sports — and now seemingly an amazing dining and cocktail scene.

We started our day off at the Hilton Beach Front Resort in Palmetto Dunes Plantation, with a late lunch and a delicious pomegranate Mohito. It is served just as you would think, with white rum, mint, soda water and a splash of pomegranate juice.

We then got ready for dinner and ate over at Michael Anthony's, 37 New Orleans Road. The place is truly Italian and the wine list was off the charts. The restaurant has an intimate wine bar.

After dinner and a bottle of wine, we headed over to a cocktail lounge on the Island that had been recommended to me. The XO Lounge, 23 Ocean Lane, was just built as an addition back at the Hilton Beach Front Resort. The place is full of fine furniture and fixtures. I have not seen such a sleek set up since I was in Manhattan. I was looking forward to having some cocktails and maybe some champagne to get that big city feel.

A two man band was playing "Margaritaville" as we walked in. It seemed like the ultimate oxymoron. I know that Hilton Head is a resort, but in a room as nice as XO, it would seem that a DJ spinning would be a more appropriate choice. It was also odd to me that in such a beautiful space, that the wine list was small. No reserve list was offered. They did have several martini options. Overall we were rather disappointed with XO.

We quickly finished our cocktail and our friend picked us up to take us over to the Metropolitan Lounge, 33 Office Park Road. Metro, as the locals call it, has a great vibe. The room is divided in two, with one large bar and a very friendly and generous bartender. The place boasts 80 wines by the glass. The place did have a wonderful reserve wine list. All in all, it seems our sister island to the south is certainly a wonderful option for a night or two. For details on any of the mentioned places, drop me a line at lroberts@postandcourier.com.

Pre-Dave party

Johnson's Pub, 12 Cumberland St., is getting your pump primed for Friday's big Dave Matthews show with a party that starts at 2 p.m.

Only $15 will get you complimentary draft beer, a pig roast, beer bong tournaments and free shuttle service to and from the show. The bar will also be hosting a huge after party that night.

Make your plans now, as this is certain to be a great time.

Healthy cocktails

I'm back to my old tricks again.

I kicked the kidney stone and I am feeling better than ever. I got back in the gym more motivated and wouldn't you know it, I am down 25 pounds and 4.5 inches off the waist.

What's funny is that people are actually starting to notice the weight loss. I can't lie, it's really pretty cool.

However the workouts are not getting easier as I thought that they might. Marietta, my trainer at Blue Fish Fitness is making the workouts harder. She really does mean business. This week we started working on that big, gray bouncing ball. I'm told it's a balancing ball. Well, the only thing I managed to do was bounce myself right off of it almost every time I tried to do crunches. We did the circuit training and I was running steps this week.

I do have to share with you my greatest fear happened to me the other day. I was in the grocery store and I ended up somehow stuck in the middle of the cookie aisle. The next few moments are out of a very bad '70s dream sequence. The boxes started calling my name. You know, doing little dances on the shelves. It was as if they knew I couldn't eat them. I just wanted to have one cookie.

I very promptly ran as fast as I could grabbed the rest of my dinner and a Diet Coke and got the heck out of the store.

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