Tiny Margarita at Brewery Bar II

Oxymoron, or just moron? I’m trying to adopt a Great Dane that I want to rename Tiny — or, if I’m willing to spend the rest of his life explaining his name, Chopine (that’s a bottle of Bordeaux containing a third the volume of a standard bottle of wine). I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for both oxymorons and large, dumb animals, which would also explain many of the men I’ve dated. So when I walked into Brewery Bar II, a classic joint on Kalamath (the long-gone original was in the Tivoli) and saw the “Tiny,” a 24-ounce margarita made with Cuervo Gold ($10.75), I knew I had to order it. But while the menu advised that “the bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten,” the QuickWay sweet-and-sour in this margarita soured me on it after just a few sips. But then my food arrived, and after a bite of Brewery Bar’s rightly famous, spicy, pork-filled green chile set my mouth on fire, I quickly reached for that Tiny and some sweet relief. — Nancy Levine