Drink Up

Bold new spiked beverage introduces Dallas to organic alcohol and zero sugar

Let's take a quick poll: Who's off sugar right now? Counting calories? Trying to live a more organic life? If you still want to enjoy what you're drinking, that's where Crook & Marker comes in.

The vibrantly flavored spiked and sparkling beverage is made with zero sugar, organic alcohol, and less than one net carb per can, all for only 80 calories. Here's its story:

First, the stats.
Crook & Marker drinks are the only spiked and sparkling beverages of their kind. Not only is there zero sugar but they're also made with a proprietary organic alcohol known as BaseBrew. This comes from superfoods and ancient grains such as quinoa, millet, amaranth, and cassava root, then the drinks are brewed and meticulously filtered. They are sweetened from natural sources, gluten-free, non-GMO, and vegan, with 80 calories and less than 1 gram net carbs per can and 4 percent ABV.

Next, the flavors.
There are eight luscious, natural fruit flavors: black cherry, blackberry lime, coconut pineapple, grapefruit, mango, peach, strawberry lemon, and tangerine. You can get them in two-flavor eight-packs and single-flavor four-packs.

Wait, where to buy?
Crook & Marker beverages are sold in retail stores, bars, restaurants, and other locations nationwide. In Texas, they are available at retail chains such as HEB, Target, Total Wine & More, Whole Foods, Goody Goody, and Specs.

Lastly, the name.
For every 100 white sheep, a shepherd places one black sheep — also known as a marker — among them to help keep track of the flock. While the shepherd wields a heavy crook to corral the herd, the marker is a rebel who refuses to be penned in and often resists the shepherd. It's this balance that inspired the name of the decidedly untraditional drink, which refutes the claim that "good for you" and "great taste" can't co-exist.

But that's not all...
Beverage innovator Ben Weiss, who previously founded Bai Antioxidant Beverages before starting Crook & Marker, recently announced a line of spiked sodas. They're made with the same organic alcohol and zero sugar as the spiked and sparkling beverage, and come in classic cola, lemon lime, ginger ale, and root beer flavors. The new line began rolling out in select regional markets in October, with a national launch expected for early 2020. Crook & Marker spiked soda will be available in Target and other stores across Texas beginning December 29.

Crook & Marker dares to be different.

Photo by Ashley Gongora

Crook & Marker dares to be different.

Fried Chicken News

Chicago restaurant debuts its fried chicken and boba tea in Frisco

Chi Tea

Chi Tea burgers and chicken sandwiches.

A new restaurant serving boba tea and fried chicken just opened in Frisco: Called Chi Tea, it's a chain from Chicago that opened its first location in Texas at 4760 Preston Rd. #228, in a former Bonchon Korean in Frisco Village.

According to a release, It opened November 1.

The concept was founded in Chicago in 2020 by brothers Zak Ayyubi, Aman Siddiqui, and friend Abdurahman Sharif, with an unusual goal to pair fried chicken sandwiches, fries, and bubble tea drinks. They've since opened two more locations in Illinois; Frisco is the fourth and the first outside the state.

The name is a little misleading, as it implies it's a beverage place, but there's equal emphasis on the sandwiches and fries. They also tout their welcoming vibe, encouraging customers to eat, drink, and linger.

Their menu features three sandwiches — Nashville hot fried chicken sandwich, a grilled chicken, and a burger with grilled onions, jalapenos, pickles, cheese, and Chi-sauce — which can also be ordered in a smaller slider size.

There are also fries, loaded fries, popcorn chicken, chicken tenders, and mac & cheese, which can be customized with bacon, beef, fries, and other toppings.

Prices typically range from $5 for a single Chi Tea Classic slider to $13 for four-piece chicken tenders.

Boba drinks are entirely customizable, starting with choice of blended smoothie or over ice, with choice of flavor ranging from pineapple to brown sugar milk tea to horchata; and toppings, like popping pearls or cream cheese foam. A regular starts at $5 and a large starts at $6.

Notably, Chi Tea was among the restaurants selected in the recent Spongebob Krabby Patty promotion during October that took place in 12 cities across North America, included a dozen restaurants in Dallas.

"We are very excited to finally bring a taste of Chicago to the Greater Dallas area," says Ayyubi in a release. "This move has been very promising and we cannot wait for the community to welcome us and for us to serve this beautiful city."

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