Our Rating:

Type of Margarita Tasted: 1800 on the rocks

Ingredients Listed on Menu: none

Review:  Fiesta En Guadalajara is operated by the same group that owns El Palenque so we had high expectations entering this establishment.  The first few sips of our drink had a non-alcoholic juice taste which eventually transformed into a respectable margarita, leading us to believe that the drink was not mixed properly.  After swirling the straw around in the glass a few times, we were able to get a better feel for this low-sweet mostly lime pronounced margarita.  In the end, after the jumbo margarita was consumed, the initial impression and slight unbalance prevented it from rating higher.

  ]]> http://margaritatexas.com/review/index.php?entry=entry100129-154838
Address: 1111 South Shepherd Dr, Houston, TX 77019 (map)

Our Rating:

Type of Margarita Tasted: Riazul Blanco and house margarita

Ingredients Listed on Menu: Riazul Blanco and Grand Marnier

Review:  You will find no margarita menu at Tila's Restaurante on Shepherd, just an extensive list of tequilas ready to be transformed into a margarita.  After a lengthy process of selecting a tequila off their menu, we decided on Riazul Blanco, a 100% de agave tequila and some Grand Marnier to compliment.  The drink served was on the small side but the flavor was huge on our palates with the tequila and lime dominating over any sweetness .  Tila's house margarita is similar in taste but you will get better results picking out a smooth Blanco right off the menu.

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Address: 1939 N. Fry Rd, Katy, TX 77449 (map)

Our Rating:

Type of Margarita Tasted: Victor's Top Shelf Margarita and Grand Gold Margarita

Ingredients Listed on Menu: Victor's Top Shelf Margarita - Corralejo Anjeo tequila and Cointreau; Grand Gold Margarita - 1800 tequila and Grand Marnier

Review:  Victor's drink menu is fine tuned for margarita enthusiasts, all feature 100% de agave tequila and quality components.  For testing purposes, jumbo sized margaritas were ordered of both variations to make sure we had an adequate sampling size.   The top shelf was phenomenally smooth with the agave flavor from the tequila featured above all ingredients.  The Grand Gold margarita was sweeter than the top shelf which worked well to balance the rich flavors found in a reposado. Victor's Casa Garcia absolutely knows what they are doing when creating and mixing their margaritas.  When we are in the area, this will be an unquestionable stopping point for quality refreshments.

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Address: 12348 Gulf Fwy, Houston TX 77034  (map)
                6925 Cypresswood Dr, Spring TX 77379 (map)
                24108 SW Freeway, Rosenberg TX 77471 (map)
                12330 SW Fwy, Stafford TX 77477 (map)
                2601 Underwood, Rd La Porte TX 77571 (map)
                2202 E Broadway St, Pearland TX 77581 (map)
                3005 Kirby Dr, Pearland TX 77584 (map)
                10200 Emmett F Lowry Expy, Texas City TX 77591  (map)

Our Rating:

Type of Margarita Tasted: Silver Star on the rocks, Texas Tivo Margarita on the rocks and Sangria Margarita

Ingredients Listed on Menu:  Silver Star - Patron silver tequila and Patron citronge, Texas Tivo Margarita - Sauza Conmemorativo Anjeo tequila and Gran Gala

Review:  Visitor's to our website can be credited with introducing us to the margaritas at Gringo's Mexican Kitchen.  Various drinks from this location were recommended so we thought we would start off with the restaurant specials.  Our waiter described the Silver Star margarita as exceptionally smooth, which was confirmed by its rapid (but responsible) flow rate through the straw.  The taste of tequila and fresh lime were present in every mouth watering sip.  We ordered a second to validate the bartenders consistency.  Customers that order the Texas Tivo margarita, will not only get a excellently presented flavorsome beverage, the shot glass is included to take home.  Following suit, Gringo's sangria margarita was as equally balanced as the rest.  This will surely not be our last visit to this restaurant as more variations remain to be conquered.

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Address: 421 E Commerce St, San Antonio, TX 78205 (map)

Our Rating:

Type of Margarita Tasted: Rio Rio Margarita and Rio Don Margarita

Ingredients Listed on Menu: Rio Rio Margarita - Gran Gala and gold tequila with orange and lime juices; Rio Don Margarita - Don Julio Silver tequila and Gran Gala

Review:  At the counsel of our bartender at Rio Rio Cantina we ordered the Rio Rio margarita and its premium tequila cousin the Rio Don.  Our first impression was the upfront orange flavor and immediately knew OJ was a key ingredient.   Although, behind all of that citrus hid a fine rita looking to escape.   We would like to note that we are not the biggest orange juice in margarita fans so its difficult to have an overall opinion about all of their offerings.  Upon further review of their menu, most of their selections do not include orange juice so a trip back to this location is required.

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Address: 25615 Boerne Stage Rd, San Antonio, TX 78255 (map)

Our Rating:

Type of Margarita Tasted: Top Shelf Margarita and Sangria Margarita

Ingredients Listed on Menu: Top Shelf Margarita - Antigua Cruz Anejo and Grand Marnier

Review:  Dining out on the patio at Scenic Loop Cafe provided the perfect environment for partaking in some serious margarita research.  The ingredients for our top shelf margarita were hand picked from the menu listing of various tequilas and orange liqueurs.  This was a notably flavorful margarita but the saccharine taste slightly outweighed the agave.  A bump in tequila or recalculation of sugar or mix could potentially make this a special drink.  On the other hand, the finely balanced sangria margarita could possibly be one of the best we've tasted.

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Address: 910 S Alamo St, San Antonio, TX 78205 (map)

Our Rating:

Type of Margarita Tasted: Top Shelf Margarita and Sangria Margarita

Ingredients Listed on Menu: Top Shelf Margarita - 1800 tequila

Review:  Some late night dining and margarita consumption at Rosario's turned out to be an excellent decision.  The mouth watering top shelf margarita went down quickly which forced us to order another.  We were impressed at the blend of ingredients that equalized the tart and sweetness leaving a glass of lime and tequila goodness.  Our sangria margarita was just a notch too sweet but worthy of ordering another. 

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Address: 215 Losoya St., San Antonio, TX 78205 (map)

Our Rating:

Type of Margarita Tasted: House Margarita and Top Shelf

Ingredients Listed on Menu: Top Shelf - Don Julio tequila and Grand Marnier

Review:  If you are wondering why there is a picture of water next to this review, you are mistaken.  The glass actually contains fresh squeezed limes, tequila and Grand Marnier.  The effort was there, bartenders hand squeezing limes and adding simple syrup to balance out the tartness, but the execution was way off.   Both margaritas tasted like sugar water and were missing a crucial component, lime flavor.   After hearing so many positive stories about their margaritas, we find it hard to believe that this is what they serve on a consistent basis.  Maybe they had a batch of bad limes or missed the glass when pouring in the lime juice?  A future second round of samplings may be required.

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Address: 4820 Sanger Rd, Waco, TX 76710 (map)

Our Rating:

Type of Margarita Tasted: House margarita on the rocks

Ingredients Listed on Menu: 1800 tequila

Review:  On our once a year journey to Waco for the Margarita and Salsa Festival we always find ourselves sampling a new restaurant margarita to see what this city has to offer.  This year, we stopped at Casa De Castillo for one of their house margaritas with 1800 tequila.  The version presented is average for what you will find in a majority of Mexican restaurants, moderate sweetness from their preferred margarita mix with a hint of the tequila flavor sneaking through.  We found it high on the drinkability scale in that it did not leave a syrupy after taste from the mix.

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Address: 9799 Katy Freeway, Houston, TX 77024 (map)

Our Rating:

Type of Margarita Tasted: Don Julio Especial and Mango Tango

Ingredients Listed on Menu: Don Julio Especial - Don Julio Anjeo tequila, Grand Marnier, fresh lime juice and a splash of orange juice; Mango Tango - Frozen margarita with "ripened juicey mangos"

Review: This was our first visit to Guadalajara Hacienda in Houston.   We ended up sampling two margaritas that night and felt the Mango Tango was the superior drink.  Their  version was even tastier than the mango margarita recipe we made last Cinco De Mayo, which was especially pleasing.   The Don Julio Especial looked delicious from the ingredient list on the menu, even though we are not huge fans of orange juice in a margarita.  After the first taste, we knew the OJ turned a potentially magnificent drink into a tart unbalanced top shelf rita.

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Address: 2704 Navigation Blvd, Houston, TX 77003 (map)

Our Rating:

Type of Margarita Tasted: Blackberry margarita, Fresh California Cherry Margarita and The Perfect Margarita

Ingredients Listed on Menu: Blackberry Margarita - Patron Silver, Citronage Liqueur and fresh lime juice; Fresh California Cherry Margarita - Patron Tequila "muddled with fresh bing cherries"; The Perfect Margarita - Patron Silver, Citronage Liqueur and fresh lime juice

Review:  During the month of July, the Original Ninfa's on Navigation is featuring a Bing Cherry Margarita which peeked our interest of this location.  We were pleased to see that a 100% de agave tequila was standard for all three variations sampled.   Some restaurants will use a cheaper mixto tequila in "specials", forcing you to make a pricier substitution.  While other fruit based margaritas can be exceedingly sweet, the perfect pour of tequila in our drinks produced the perfect meld of flavors.  The occasional clogged straw did not deter us from ordering another.  We were informed that the restaurant is focusing heavily on their margarita offerings and can't wait to see and consume what hits the menu next.

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Address: 15703 Longenbaugh St, Houston, TX 77095 (map)

Our Rating:

Type of Margarita Tasted:  House margarita on the rocks & Don Eduardo silver + Grand Marnier margarita on the rocks and frozen

Ingredients Listed on Menu: none

Review:  Our most recent margarita tasting brought us to Romero's Las Brasas, a restaurant and tequila bar in Northwest Houston.  While seated at the bar, we were treated to a tasting of a few blanco tequilas including Don Eduardo silver, Jose Cuervo Platino and Antigua Cruz silver.  After settling on the Don Eduardo, our bartender mixed up our margarita using an unlabeled pre-made mix.  The agave flavor of the tequila came through and paired nicely with the fresh lime taste.  Unlike its souped up cousin, the house margarita lacked these qualities and came out more on the sweeter side.

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