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¡Viva la Margarita!

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I had similar results with a tequila taste test over a decade ago in which I compared super-premiums like El Tesoro with common brands and found little difference in flavor. The ultra-premium vodkas and tequilas appeal to the same people who buy Kristal and Dom Pérignon -- people who seek to impress others with how much money they have. There will always be a market for such luxury products.

It's not clear whether we are ready for $45 margaritas in Houston, but I have no doubt we'll soon have a chance to buy them.

Ra Sushi Bar on Westheimer is owned by Benihana, the company that coined the word "eatertainment" to describe the experience of dining on Japanese food while watching the chef clown around with cooking utensils. The company has evidently branched out into the related field of "drinkertainment" with this new venture. The square footage of the chicly decorated second-story space seems to be equally divided between the bar area and the dining room. And on a recent Thursday night, all of the tables in the bar area were occupied, while the dining room sat mostly empty.

I ordered a mango margarita, which is served on the rocks in a tumbler garnished with a lime slice. Mango margs are usually frozen, so I asked the waiter what was in this one. He said it contained silver tequila, triple sec, sweet and sour mix, and mango syrup.

I also asked him what kind of sushi he recommends with a mango margarita. "The crazy monkey roll," he replied without hesitation. The roll includes smoked salmon, mango, cream cheese, avocado, tempura bits and cashews. The drink and the sushi roll pair well -- they both taste like mango, and they're both horrible. If you're wondering when it was that sushi bars started serving margaritas, you haven't been paying attention.

A couple of weeks ago, on a long highway trip, I pulled into the Applebee's at the intersection of I-30 and Texas 59 in Texarkana, Texas, looking for a decent hamburger. The dining room of the restaurant was designed around a prominent bar. At my booth, I found a table card with a special margarita menu that included frozen mango swirl margaritas, frozen wildberry swirl margaritas and a premium Cuervo 1800 margarita with both Cointreau and Grand Marnier, shaken over ice.

The appetizer menu included queso and tortilla chips; "nachos nuevos," made with spicy ground beef, black beans, chile con queso, sour cream, lettuce, tomato and jalapeños; and a "chicken quesadilla grande" stuffed with grilled chipotle chicken, melted cheese, onion, tomato, bacon and jalapeños.

Top-shelf margaritas and nuevo Tex-Mex at Applebee's, a Kansas-based restaurant chain known for its burgers and boneless skinless chicken breasts? Perhaps it was inevitable. No American restaurant with a liquor license can afford to ignore the profit potential of margaritas.

Margarita Recipes

Frozen Margaritas (From The Tex-Mex Cookbook)

Here's the easy way to make frozen margaritas at home. The frozen limeade concentrate makes the drinks extra-slushy without the addition of too much ice. Don't get the limeade concentrate out of the freezer until you need it!

Makes 1 large or 2 small frozen margaritas

3 shots tequila plata

1 shot triple sec (or Cointreau)

1/4 cup (3 heaping tablespoons) frozen limeade concentrate

2 cups crushed ice

Coarse salt

Lime wedge

Combine tequila, triple sec, limeade concentrate and crushed ice in a blender and puree until slushy. Put the salt in a saucer. Wet the rim of the glass with the lime wedge. Invert the glass in the saucer and coat the rim with salt. Pour the frozen mixture into the salted glass.

Variations

Sabor's pomegranate margarita

Pour 2 ounces pomegranate drink concentrate into a clear margarita glass, then pour the slush over the top.

Strawberry margarita: Put 3 tablespoons pureed strawberries in a clear glass and pour the margarita over the top.

Astroturf margarita: Pour a shot of Midori (green melon liqueur) into a clear glass and pour the margarita over the top.

Chuy's Mango Margaritas

You can use mango nectar if fresh mangos are too expensive, but this drink tastes much better with the fruit. If the drink tastes too sweet, add more lime juice.

Makes two small cocktails

2 shots tequila plata

1 shot Cointreau

1/4 fresh mango, peeled and chopped

1/2 cup fresh orange juice

Juice of 1/2 lime

1 cup crushed ice

Lime slices for garnish

Combine all the ingredients except the lime slices in a blender and blend until slushy. Serve in large martini glasses. Garnish each glass with a lime slice.

Applebee's Perfect Margaritas

The Applebee's version of the shaken margarita is so beloved in the heartland that recipe knockoff sites on the Internet are offering copycat recipes. Here's the real thing, according to an Applebee's bartender.

Makes one

1 1/4 ounces Cuervo 1800 Reposado tequila

1/2 ounce Cointreau

1/2 ounce Grand Marnier

1 ounce fresh lime juice

1/2 ounce simple syrup

3 ounces sweet & sour mix (or limeade)

Shake all the ingredients in an ice-filled shaker for at least a minute and then strain into a margarita glass filled with ice.

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