Taste This: Mexican Style Shrimp Cocktail ($17 as of Oct. 4, 2025) at The 1 Food and Spirits, a restaurant located inside BLU-tique Akron, a hotel in downtown Akron.  

Creator: Latrice Walters, executive chef and culinary lead. 

Eye Test: This version of shrimp cocktail has a spirit of its own. Lively and sun-warmed; more Baja Beach Café than banquet table. It’s created with housemade tortilla chips dusted with salt, pepper, smoked paprika and Aleppo pepper, a Mexican spice.

Think crisp edges meeting cool citrus and tender shrimp in a perfect balance. One crunch and the blend of citrus, spice and sea takes center stage. The appetizer is served in a vintage-style, short-stemmed, crystal coupe glass. 

Mexican-style shrimp cocktail at BLU-tique Akron
Mexican-style shrimp cocktail at BLU-tique Akron. (Gary Estwick / Signal Akron)

What makes this item special: Walters shared her perspective on this popular dish as “simple, light and fresh,” meant for those who appreciate flavor without fuss. The dish is a quiet celebration of contrast — the kind of appetizer that wakes the palate without overwhelming it.

Process: After shrimp is poached in hot water and immediately placed in an ice bath, it is chopped and delicately folded with fresh avocados, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, jalapeños, cilantro and a mix of tequila and lime juice.

The salsa or ceviche-like mixture is spooned into a vintage cocktail glass. It’s then topped with fresh slices of avocado with a juicy lime slice slipped onto the rim of a vintage cocktail glass. Homemade tortilla chips are flavored with salt, pepper, paprika and a Mexican pepper to create a classic look as they are scattered around the glass.  

Taste This

“Taste This” is our glimpse of the Akron area’s tastiest, distinctive and popular (or soon-to-be-famous) food, drinks and desserts — and the local culinary talents behind them. Tough job, we know. Know any menu items we should consider? Tell us here. 

Pairs with: A crisp pinot grigio, mojito or margherita. There’s also a honey paloma, a close cousin of the margarita, which charms with tequila, grapefruit juice, lime, sparkling water and a touch of honey syrup. 

Creator’s back story: Walters is a self-taught cook inspired by generations of family members who helped her craft her style. Though this is her first full-time chef position, her ease in the kitchen suggests she’s been preparing for it all her life. She owns her own home bakery, where she often creates signature desserts for the restaurant.

A passion fruit cheesecake found its way onto the menu a few weeks ago. During Walters’ interview, she had to prepare four dishes in three hours and showcase specialty desserts. She nailed the taste test.

How to buy: The 1 Food and Spirits’ kitchen is open 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 5 to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday; 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 5 to 10 p.m. on Saturday and 7 to 11 a.m. on Sunday. Click here for more information, including bar hours.

Patricia Sheahan is a professor, student teacher supervisor, installation artist, educational consultant for the integration of the arts across all disciplines and a freelance writer. Sheahan enjoys more than four decades of education experience at K-12 schools in New York and Pennsylvania and higher education at Seton Hill University, the University of Pittsburgh, Duquesne University, Penn State and most recently the University of Akron. Her favorite courses to teach are Social Justice Through the Arts, Ethics, Introduction to Critical Education, Classroom Management and Integrating the Arts K-12. Interests include visiting the Akron Art Museum, Akron Library, Civic Theatre, walking downtown to view murals and window light installations plus the stunning flower and plant arrangements, antiquing, especially from her own vendor space at The Brothers North Antiques in Medina. She also frequents Akron restaurants and local boutiques, travels and spends time with her family; a daughter and her newly blended family in North Canton, a son and his family in San Diego and a son in Dallas.