Skip the Tabasco -- and double up on the horseradish.THAT'S what makes it health food!

A good Bloody Mary is a vehicle for horseradish.

Regional aside (remember, I'm a New Englander now, in New Hampshah) -- in Milwaukee, if you order a bloody mary, you will almost always be given a small beer on the side -- ranging in size from a little mug the size of a shot glass to and almost full size pilsner glass (at The Chancery restaurant).

The Chancery also makes sure the "plumage" on the bloody mary is almost a full meal -- pickle, scallion, pickled mushroom, olive and a miniature summer sausage. Geez, that and the included beer, I wonder why anyone bothers to order lunch!

This isn't necessarily a plug for The Chancery (although I've had several nice lunches there while visiting the past coupla years), but just a travel note as to where I had the most elaborate bloody mary I've ever had.

Here in Portsmouth, NH I've attended the Bloody Mary Festival several times and I'm mostly decidedly under-impressed with the offerings of various local bars and restaurants. One seemed to use barbecue sauce in the mix -- yuck! Too much Tabasco and you can't really taste the drink. And, well, you know I'm prejudiced towards enough GOOD horseradish in the mix.

Linn