After four stops and an extra large Margarita at Tower Taco, my group and I decided that we would cut it short and make our fifth stop, Diablitos Cantina, our last of the night. The first thing that we noticed was that Diablitos Cantina had a decor unlike any Mexican place I had ever been. It felt like an upscale nightclub. It was definitely the most festive atmosphere of the night. Almost everyone in our party said they wanted to go back for the full experience with a meal as well as Margaritas.

Our table ordered a couple of pitchers of Margaritas to share. Unfortunately, I’m not sure which particular Margaritas were ordered as that was handled for me, but I believe it was either the House Margarita or Top Shelf Margarita. I guess I’ll just need to go back and try both! Regardless, the Margarita we had that night was very good. Well balanced and tasty. My only comment was that the sweet component had a unique taste to it that I couldn’t quite identify. Because of that different taste, I believe the Margarita was a House Margarita, as I could see the flavor coming from orange juice and/or triple sec, but I’ll need to go back to verify. Regardless, I give the Margarita I had that night an 8.

Having finished my first Margarita run, I can say it was an extremely fun experience, unlike anything I’ve ever done before. Pretty much everyone in our party also said they had a great time. We visited places that were upscale like Milagro’s and Diablitos, traditional like Pubelo Solis, festive like Amigos Cantina, and unique like Tower Taco. St. Louis may not be necessarily known for great Margaritas, but I think I proved that this town can definitely hold its own. We’ll need to do another Margarita run in the future, so start letting me know where you think I should go next time!

After sampling a couple of Margarita pitchers at Pueblo Solis, I had strayed from my plan of only having one Margarita at each stop on my Margarita Run. Since a couple of pitchers gave us each a little more than one full Margarita, I had a little extra. No big deal, I thought. I’d just get back on track at stop #4, Tower Taco. Well, I was wrong.

As with the other stops on my Margarita Run, I chose Tower Taco because of the reviews I had read. But Tower Taco also sealed the deal with the description of their Top Shelf Margarita on their web site. It seemed they really knew what they were talking about with their Margarita so  Tower Taco made the short list. We ordered our Margaritas and waited with anticipation. We certainly were not disappointed.

The only problem, not that it would have been a problem any other time, was that Tower Taco doesn’t mess around with their Margaritas. They came in a big fish-bowl sized glass and they didn’t skimp on the tequila. So instead of “one” drink, this was more like two. The fact that the drink was a little heavy on the tequila was just a slight detraction from the flavor, and of course if you like stronger tequila flavor than it’s no distraction at all. I’d say this was a “good” strong and otherwise the flavors were well-balanced. The only issue for me and my group was that we were already 3+ Margaritas into the night so this big and strong Margarita was enough to push us into tipsy territory! Some of us tipsier than others, not that I’m naming names. Then as we were leaving, the owner found out it was my birthday and offered me a shot of their tequila. Of course it would have been impolite for me to refuse, so I accepted and downed what amounted to another drink. Predictably, several minutes later I was moving beyond the capacity for rational thought. Overall, I would give the Tower Taco Margarita a 7.5. Of course, I’ll need to go back to verify my rating.

The ride over to our next stop, Diablitos Cantina, was quite animated as most of us were more talkative than usual. I wonder why that was?

With two stops done, our Margarita Run moved on from Amigos Cantina to our third location of the night, Pueblo Solis. I read more than once that Pueblo Solis had very good Margaritas, so it made my short list of places to visit this night. Now it was time to find out if the Margaritas could hold up to the hype.

Given that our group was composed of 9 people and that the restaurant looked busy, we were pleasantly surprised that were seated very quickly. The staff was definitely very accommodating and friendly. Our group decided to order a couple of pitchers of their “premium” Margarita, which was made with Grand Marnier and El Set tequila. I find that when ordering Margaritas, ordering a pitcher is sometimes a toss-up. It’s hard to know if they are made with the same care as a an individual serving. I’m happy to say that the Margarita pitchers we had that night at Pueblo Solis were not disappointing. Overall they were very good with a nice flavor and balance. Plus they were served in a very cool cactus-style glass! The consensus among our group was that they weren’t as good as at Milagro’s, but better than at Amigos Cantina. I’d rate the Margarita at Pueblo Solis that night a 7.5.

After finishing off our pitchers, we moved on to our next location, Tower Taco.

Other than our first stop at Milagro’s Modern Mexican, I had never been to any of the places on my Margarita Run. I have been researching the best Margaritas in St. Louis and each of the locations on my list were chosen because they appeared on one or more “best of” lists and also because of reviews on sites like Yelp. Amigos Cantina in Kirkwood, MO was our second stop, claiming to have been voted #1 Margarita by St. Louis Magazine.

Never having been there, Amigos Cantina definitely had a nice festive atmosphere and the staff were all very accommodating. We were seated in their outdoor patio area, which was specifically designated as non-smoking. This was a nice touch as most outdoor seating in our area is seemingly there to accommodate smokers. It was a pleasant afternoon so it was nice to sit outside without needing to deal with cigarette smoke. From what we saw of the food on tables and in the menu, it will definitely be a place I’d like to go back to eat sometime soon.

The description of the Margarita sounded excellent: 100% Puro de Sauza Hornitos Plata Tequila, Cointreau, fresh Lime Juice, & premium Organic Agave Nectar. The menu claimed “They’re Strong, Tangy, and O’ so Delicious!” Interestingly, other than the specific tequila used, the ingredients were exactly the same as the Top Shelf Margarita at Milagro’s, so we were all excited to sample this Margarita.

Such a beautiful sight!

Amigos has a bar right on the outdoor patio so I got to see a little bit of the Margarita making process, although I didn’t get to see the ingredients being put together. Looking back, I really wish I could have seen the ingredients going in because unfortunately, the Margaritas we had that night were a bit disappointing. The flavor had what I could only describe as a bitter “twang”. It was noticeable on the initial taste as well as the finish. Unfortunately, this bitterness distracted from the overall enjoyment of the Margarita. I’m not sure if this is part of what they consider “strong” flavor, but it just didn’t seem right.

For the description of the ingredients listed, I can’t quite figure out where the bitter flavor could have come from. It tasted almost as if they had used a mix instead of fresh lime juice, but why would they do that? I’ll give Amigos the benefit of the doubt and assume they didn’t substitute a mix. Hornitos tequila has a good reputation and I wouldn’t think that the tequila would impart this type of bitter flavor. So the only possibility I can think of is that they overdid the Cointreau. Never having tasted Cointreau straight, I’m not sure of its flavor, but from what I’ve read Cointreau is drier than most orange liqueurs, so it is within the realm of possibility.

I waited to see what others in our party thought of the flavor before I said anything just to be sure it wasn’t just me. One person had a very strong opinion that it was a terrible Margarita. Most, however, concurred with my assessment: the Margarita wasn’t bad, but the overall flavor just wasn’t great. Had I been at Amigos eating a meal, the Margarita was good enough that I probably would have had a second, but I wouldn’t go back just for the Margarita itself. My hope is that perhaps this was just an off-night and that something went wrong with the preparation of the drinks. But for this night, I’d give the Margarita a 6.5. However, I’ll definitely go back to Amigos Cantina and give the Margarita another try as the food alone looks worth the visit.

Having finished our drinks, we went on to our third stop of the night, Pueblo Solis.

I have had a concept for a “Margarita Run” ever since I started this blog. Basically the idea was to get a group of friends together, visit several places in one night, and sample Margaritas everywhere we went. However, plans kept falling through so it had yet to materialize. However, May being my birthday month and this being my 40th birthday year (#yearof40), my wife and I made certain a Margarita run happened this time. I researched a lot of places in St. Louis and made a list of places we would visit this night. Our first stop was one of our favorites, Milagro Modern Mexican.

Our original plan was to stop at 6 different places and try a Margarita at each. This later got shortened to just 5 places! Regardless, I planned to pace myself and have just one Margarita at each stop. For Milagro’s, I chose their Top Shelf Margarita with Don Julio tequila. As before, the Margarita was amazing. Looking over the ingredients listed on the menu, this isn’t surprising. It is very similar to my “Pure Mexican” Margarita that I’ve been making at home: 100% agave tequila, fresh lime juice, agave nectar, and a Cointreau float. With the only difference being the Cointreau, I knew the rest of the ingredients could make a very good Margarita. I strongly suggested that everyone in our party have a Top Shelf Margarita with their choice of tequila and just about everyone did. The consensus was that this was one of the best Margaritas they’ve ever had. Given that we’ve been to Milagro 3 times now, their Margaritas have been excellent every time, and adding to it the opinions of our Margarita Run party, I now rate the Milagro Top Shelf Margarita a 9.

Having had our fill of tasty appetizers and Margaritas at Milagro’s, we were on to the next stop on my Margarita Run, Amigos Cantina!

After stopping at Margarita’s in Belleville, my wife and friends decided to stop at one more place before heading home. The nearest place was Mariachi’s Mexican Restaurant and Cantina so we took the short drive to get there.

Again, being Cinco de Mayo, I wasn’t expecting too much from the Margaritas I would be served. The Margarita at Mariachi’s was certainly more flavorful than the Margaritas we just had at Margarita’s. However, while being told that the Margartias are made fresh every morning, the flavor seemed to indicate that there was a pre-made mix used. The flavor wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t great. But again, given the volume of drinks I’m sure they were serving that day, I wouldn’t be too surprised if shortcuts were being used. While I would rate the Margarita I had at Mariachi’s a 6.5 that day, I would like to stop by again one day to try a Margarita on a normal day.

Cinco de Mayo is probably the best known “Margarita holiday” in the United States. So of course my wife and I met up with some friends and celebrated as well. Now to be fair, in my experience, many restaurants will not serve their best Margaritas on days like Cinco de Mayo, likely because they are serving so many that quality control tends to slip. So I won’t be too particular with my review of the Margaritas I tasted this day.

When my wife and I arrived at Margaritas Mexican Restaurant & Cantina, our friends had already ordered a pitcher and had started on it. So we joined in on that pitcher as well. To be honest, it was a pretty low-key Margarita. It wasn’t a bad tasting Margarita, but simply not a lot of flavor. Everything was well-balanced but the overall flavor was just fairly weak. Now that being said, after two pitchers shared between our party, the tequila really caught up with us. So there are worse things that we could have been drinking. Overall, I would give the Margarita at Margarita’s a 6 this day. One day I’ll probably stop by again and give their Margarita a taste on a day other than Cinco de Mayo.

My wife and I have a soft spot for The Melting Pot. We started eating there probably 15 or 16 years ago and I consider it our first tentative steps into foodie-ism. We usually try to go a few times a year, and we had an opportunity to go there recently. Of course, I figured I would try a Margarita this time.

My wife and I always get the Mojo fondue main course. It’s just that good. We normally get the Swiss cheese-based fondue to start as well. If you’ve never had fondue at The Melting Pot, I highly recommend it as it is quite an experience to cook your own food at your table and sample all the various dipping sauces. Our favorites are the Green Goddess, Gorgonzola Port, and Yogurt Curry. So regardless of the Margarita served, The Melting Pot is one of our favorite restaurants.

I don’t recall ever having a regular Margarita at The Melting Pot, but I do remember having a blackberry Margarita and thinking it was pretty good. But this time I wanted just a regular Margarita so I could review it. I noticed that the bar had a very good selection of tequilas. I chose Don Julio as I’ve had good luck with this tequila before. Unfortunately, the flavor of this Margarita was extremely tart and extremely sugary. It was pretty clear that they used a sweet-and-sour mix to make it. Now I love citrus flavor. But there is a difference between fresh citrus and just plain tart. While I like tart flavors, this was overpowering. So as with many places, the quality of their mix will determine the quality of their Margarita. Of course, it would be best if they used fresh lime juice instead of a mix, which according to their menu they do use on their blackberry Margarita. So I wouldn’t be surprised that if asked they’d make a Margarita exactly as requested because they are very accommodating at every Melting Pot we’ve ever been to. But for this night, the Margarita there only gets a 5.

On our way home from St. Petersburg, we were looking for a hotel that had an indoor pool and hot tub and one of the few we could confirm was located in the town of Smyrna, just outside of Nashville, TN. Our hotel was located in an area that had several places to eat, but most of them were chains so we picked O’Charley’s because we were familiar with it but hadn’t visited in a while. Of course, I checked out their Margarita offerings and was pleasantly surprised with what I found. My choice that night was the O’Fresh Margarita, which the menu said was made with Cabo Wabo Reposado tequila, Cointreau, and freshly squeezed lime juice.

This was an interesting Margarita. First, I really liked the glass it was served in. It was like a short martini glass, but with nice coloring. The drink itself had strong citrus and sweet flavor components, which were well-balanced and made for a good tasting drink. However, I couldn’t really taste the tequila. Now maybe it was because it was really well “hidden” (which some people like), or perhaps the other components were simply overpowering it. I also had a slight cold that night so maybe my taste buds were off (but I didn’t seem to have a problem tasting the other flavors). So while it was a really good drink, Margarita lovers might miss the tequila flavor, so I rate the O’Fresh Margarita a 7.5.