Before even setting foot on stage to kick off the first of two headlining sets at this year’s Austin City Limits Music Festival, Dua Lipa made headlines for her adventures in the capital city.
The professional vacationer, also known as the “Vacanza Queen,” made all the right stops while she was in town, visiting classic institutions like Allen’s Boots, Jo’s Coffee on South Congress, and the Broken Spoke dancehall. But it was her trip to the East Austin eatery, La Barbecue, that turned the most heads.
There, she introduced the world to her own custom drink — a beverage I can only describe as diabolical.
On TikTok, Lipa, sporting a black, studded leather vest, sat nonchalantly at one of the restaurant’s bench tables, laying out the ingredients for her drink. “Everyone’s staring at me,” she said, before taking a swig. “The lady in the back is like, ‘What the hell is she doing?’”
Pouring Diet Coke over a cup of ice, she then added pickle juice and jalapeño juice, garnishing with a few slices of each pickled vegetable, and stirred them together. There were no exact measurements, just vibes. While one of Lipa’s friends called it “not bad,” another seemed horrified after taking a sip. Earlier this week, celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey gave it a try, he immediately spit it out. “Dua Lipa! For god’s sake girl, you’ll ruin your vocal chords,” he said after coughing up the drink.
It’s unclear how the mind behind a global pop brand, and the entire “Future Nostalgia” era, could have dreamed up something so unsavory, but I knew the second I saw the video that I had to try it for myself.
Now, in the name of unbiased journalism, I have to confess three things: I’m a massive Dua Lipa fan (I was here before the dance lessons), I think Diet Coke is an insult to the real thing, and I absolutely hate pickles. As a Dua defender, I know this isn’t the first time she’s come under fire for her unique culinary combinations. The singer previously surprised people by sharing that she likes her vanilla ice cream with a pinch of sea salt and olive oil, which, as far as ice cream flavors go, seems much more harmless than whatever the psychopaths at Van Leeuwen Ice Cream are regularly putting on shelves.
With that in mind, I ventured over to La Barbecue trusting in the same popstar whose other recommendations — like the books of Min Jin Lee and the films of Pedro Almodóvar — have yet to steer me wrong.
After picking up the ingredients, and a chopped brisket sandwich (I needed to see if the drink went better with barbecue, obviously), I returned home with my haul. The biggest obstacle I had to overcome was the pickle juice, and after rewatching the video, to my horror, Lipa added a healthy amount.
It took a few sips for my brain to even process the strange mix of flavors that I was subjecting it to, but once it adjusted, the drink wasn’t half bad. Not great, maybe not even good, but definitely not bad!
The kick from the jalapeño subdued the vinegary taste of the pickle, leaving just a hint of tartness. Best of all, it managed to mask the artificial sweetness that usually makes Diet Coke undrinkable to me. Most shocking of all: I actually found myself going back for more. Paired with one of La Barbecue’s hearty brisket sandwiches, I could even see how the tangy spice of the drink was a nice complement to the smokiness of the meat.
Will I ever make this again? Probably not. But at least I know my taste buds are stronger than Gordon Ramsey’s.
