Favorite Margaritas: What's Your Choice in Mid-County?
What do you recommend when friends ask for your favorite place for a margarita?
With Cinco de Mayo just around the corner, we thought it would be a good time to talk about margaritas, those sweet and sour concoctions that, as Jimmy Buffett is fond of saying, helps us hang on.
This week, we're interested in your favorite Mid-County spot for a margarita. Every week on Mid-County Food Fight, we're looking the best places to dine and drink.
Please give your recommendations for places in our Mid-County Patches: Clayton-Richmond Heights, Kirkwood, Ladue-Frontenac, Maplewood-Brentwood, University City and Webster Groves.
Here's how Food Fight works:
- Today, we ask for your nominations.
- We invite you to post your nominations in the comments below.
- We hope you'll also spread the word about this every week to your friends on Facebook or Twitter and get them involved.
- Submit comments until noon Friday.
Then:
- We'll take the top nominees and post an article the next Monday.
- That article will include a poll highlighting the top nominees.
- You vote till noon the following Friday.
- On Saturday, we announce the winner.
So where's your favorite spot for margarita in Mid-County?
So show your hometown pride and pick a place near you. Boast about that small family restaurant or other great eatery in your neighborhood.
And, if you are pulling for a certain restaurant, share this column on your personal Facebook page and Twitter feed and ask your followers to vote.
This column is all about you—your ideas, your feedback and your voice—so we hope you will chime in and check back.
Randy Hapchuck
6:21 am on Monday, April 30, 2012
"Top Shelf", includes Grand Marnier @ Hacienda is hands down #1. Senor Pique "VIP" with Grand Marnier is easy #2. If your poll is for "house"/cheap margaritas, that is a different question entirely. Then, perhaps Las Palmas is at the top.
Solambe
7:13 am on Monday, April 30, 2012
HACIENDA!!!
Maggie Rotermund
9:33 am on Monday, April 30, 2012
From Twitter - Mi Ranchito.
Carol Jane Bickel
12:33 pm on Monday, April 30, 2012
Hacienda!
Carol Jane Bickel
12:34 pm on Monday, April 30, 2012
They are the best!
Brian Lueken
6:18 pm on Monday, April 30, 2012
Las Palmas
Janet Noe Anderson
7:36 am on Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Las Palmas
or Applebee's *Perfect Margarita
Roger G
7:58 am on Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Maya Cafe. No doubt.
CreveCoeurDad
2:52 pm on Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Warning: Foodie snob comment coming....
No one in mid-county St. Louis makes a decent margarita. They all make a sickeningly sweet dilute concoction that contains tequila. That is not a proper margarita, which should contain no sugar, does not use triple sec, and ideally contains fresh lime juice.
Easy to make at home, just use a ratio of 2:1:1
2 oz 100% agave tequila (silver or gold, your choice, decent quality, but "sipping grade" is a waste)
1 oz fresh squeezed lime juice (this is the key, as it's what you primarily taste)
1 oz Cointreau (Grand Marnier acceptable, cheap triple sec will ruin the drink)
That's it. Mix over ice and pour in a glass with or without salt on the rim. Ideally do not serve on the rocks, as it will dilute the drink, but that's personal preference. Will blow away any restaurant margarita. It's also very strong, so don't drink like a restaurant margarita.
mormit
10:05 pm on Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Yeah but most tequila is quite nasty and has yet to live down the worm myth.
No thanks.
Ivana
9:41 am on Thursday, May 3, 2012
if you want a margarita like that, you should try the traditional margarita at Amigo's in Kirkwood! I don't like tequila but I love theirs!
Owen Skoler
3:25 pm on Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Amigos Cantina in Kirkwood via Kirkwood Patch Facebook.
Ivana
9:41 am on Thursday, May 3, 2012
I agree!! it's amazing!
Dana Merritt
7:10 am on Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Maya Cafe Hands Down. Fresh hand juiced margaritas. No cheap per-mix
Bart Karnowsk
7:28 pm on Wednesday, May 2, 2012
You people who say Hacienda are kidding right? I went there and had a whole pitcher of margarita. You know why I had a whole pitcher? Because there was almost no liquor in it. And for 24 dollars it was quite the rip off. Since you apparently need lessons in ethnic food, here is a good rule. Go to Mexican places where actual Mexican people go to eat. I have NEVER seen a Mexican person in my awful experiences at Hacienda. The food there is terrible, the management staff is unfriendly, and the margaritas are far from superior. You folks need to venture outside of the Rock Hill area, which is know for its ethnic flavor. Maya Cafe is fantastic, but because they don't desperately boast happy hours, they aren't popular. Las Pamas is very genuine, and it doesn't matter what shelf the liquor comes from. Thanks to Hacienda for bastardizing Meixcan food, drinks, and culture.
David Weaver
7:53 am on Thursday, May 3, 2012
You're absolutely correct, but you're oddly so angry about it.
maureen
8:31 am on Thursday, May 3, 2012
Hacienda! Bart, the regular margs are good (and double the alcohol), but they may not have the strong taste you may like. Take it from me, either get a handmade regular margarita, 24 karat or top shelf.
john rodriguez
10:09 am on Tuesday, May 8, 2012
No restaurant is ever going to satisfy everyone's tastes and we're no exception. We have plenty of authentic menu items like our barbocoa, chile rellenos, pozole, ceviche, tamales, etc. that are all made with traditional family recipes. While our margaritas may not TASTE strong I assure you they are not watered down, almost half of the recipe is liquor. Our family has taken a lot of pride over the years in being one of the first restaurants to introduce Mexican food, drinks and culture to the St. Louis area and I hardly think that accusing us of "bastardizing" it is fair.
Bart Karnowsk
7:52 pm on Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Oh, and food snob guy. Stay in west county with your salted rims, please. No real drink needs salt.
Ivana
9:50 am on Thursday, May 3, 2012
If you haven't, make a trip to Amgio's Cantina in the heart of Kirkwood! The traditional margarita is made with Hornitos tequila, Cointreau and a secret mix of agave nectar and such. That is what a REAL margarita is supposed to taste like. Most people are so used to having triple sec and simple syrup or sour mix in their margaritas, but after you try this one you will never go back to that stuff. Each traditional margarita is hand shaken and always on the rocks. Do yourself a favor and try it sometime :)
Sara S.
10:21 pm on Thursday, May 3, 2012
I 100% agree with Bart, but I also agree with David. Hacienda should be at the bottom of everyone's list. The margs there are cheap and made in mass quantities -- which is evident in the taste. Let's be honest, the real draw of Hacienda for most people is the large patio...
That being said, the best margarita in Mid-County used to be served by the now-defunct Tejas restaurant in Clayton. I waited tables there briefly back in '04 after college when I first moved to St. Louis and was still looking for a "real" job. Tejas has since been replaced by Oceano Bistro, which is unfortunate if only for the amazing margaritas they used to serve. The margaritas there were about as fresh as you can get. They consisted of only lime juice (freshly squeezed daily...I watched the bartenders do this), tequila, and a house-made simple syrup. They also had other really cool flavors like coconut and prickly pear.
Nowadays, "the best margarita" is no longer in Mid-County but can instead be found at a tiny little dive off of Kingshighway in South City called Lily's. The margaritas are even better than Tejas. I would highly recommend checking it out this summer.