In Baton Rouge, La Carreta, Superior Grill and Mestizo see
droves of people, many that hop from restaurant to restaurant to take advantage
of music, food and of course, the tequila-laced drinks.
Chihuahua beauty pagent contestants will compete in two categories at Mestizo Saturday--Snooky and Paula Dean. Photo courtesy of 225 Baton Rouge. |
“Every year our celebrations gets bigger and bigger,” said
Jim Urdiales, owner of Mestizo. “This year, our celebration will span both
Saturday and Sunday with a Chihuahua beauty contest and a tamale eating contest
all to encourage a festival like atmosphere.”
Mestizo’s Chihuahua contest will feature two categories—the
Snooky for the under 10 pound toy breed and the Paula Deen for those tipping
the scales at 10 pounds or more. A “Pimp your Sombrero” contest encourages
patrons to get creative with the iconic headgear. Local artists will be onsite
selling their creations, and on Sunday, the restaurant will have comedy and
karaoke segments.
“We are really focusing on social media this year,”
explained Urdiales. “To capture those individuals who are out and about and
drive them to our restaurant, we’ll constantly provide photos of the
action.”
In New Orleans, Superior Grill will host their annual Cinco
de Mayo block party with live music and margaritas specials throughout the day.
This event attracts thousands and has been known to rival other events in town
for attendees.
Where Y’at Magazine in New Orleans hosted a pre-Cinco de
Mayo Margarita Mix-off Finals at Manning’s on Fulton Street last night and we
have the top three winning recipes!
Tales of the Cocktail founder Ann Tuennerman posted photos to her Twitter and Facebook accounts during the event and felt the competition showed great imagination of the bartending professionals.
"I am constantly excited and encouraged by the level of talent in our local bars and restaurants," said Tuennerman, known also as Mrs. Cocktail. "The ingredients were creative and the end results were all delicious."
First place belongs to Lauren Holton of High Hat Café with the Ruby Red Margarita.
Ruby Red Margarita
1.5 oz Cazadores
.5 oz Cointreau
1 oz Ginger Simple Syrup
1 oz Fresh Squeezed Rub Red Grapefruit Juice
1 oz Fresh Squeezed Lime Juice
Pinch of Salt
1.5 oz Cazadores
.5 oz Cointreau
1 oz Ginger Simple Syrup
1 oz Fresh Squeezed Rub Red Grapefruit Juice
1 oz Fresh Squeezed Lime Juice
Pinch of Salt
Second place winner was Steve Yamada of R'evolution with
Pancho Villa:
Pancho Villa margarita took second place at the Margarita Mix Off. Photo courtesy of Ann Tuennerman, Tales of the Cocktail. |
1.5 oz Cazadores Resposado
.5 oz Cointreau
1 oz White Grapefruit juice
.5 oz Honey Syrup (2:1)
2-3 slices fresh jalapeno
Add all ingredients into mixing glass. Stir and double strain into a chilled coupe and garnish with 4-5 drops of BBQ Bitters.
And placing third in the Margarita Mix Off was Michael
Glassberg of the Carousel Bar with his version of the margarita:
1.5 oz. Cazadores Reposado
.75 oz Cointreau
.75 oz Fresh lime juice
.5 oz Del Maguey Chichicapa Mezcal
.5 oz Agave Nectar
.25 oz Aperol
Tbsp. Cilantro leaves, cucumber slice (garnish)
1.5 oz. Cazadores Reposado
.75 oz Cointreau
.75 oz Fresh lime juice
.5 oz Del Maguey Chichicapa Mezcal
.5 oz Agave Nectar
.25 oz Aperol
Tbsp. Cilantro leaves, cucumber slice (garnish)
Half rim a rocks glass with salt, muddle cilantro with lime
juice, add remaining ingredients, shake w/ ice, and finely strain over fresh
ice in rocks glass, slice of cucumber garnish
Getting an early jump on the fiesta, the Louisiana Restaurant Association staff went in a little different direction than the
traditional margarita recipe. While there are many flavored liquors you can add
like Chambord, Crème de Violette, limoncello, Midori (we hear it’s making a
comeback) and a host of others, as well as fresh fruits like Louisiana strawberries, blueberries, mangos or pineapples, we were in a champagne mood
and had a bottle on hand.
The Champagne Margarita recipe is credited to Chicago chef and Top Chef Master Rick Bayless,
although we didn’t follow it, rather just used it as a guide. We used what we
had on hand which was yummy Louisiana strawberries, agave nectar and rimmed the
glass with Sabores de Mexico salt our friend brought back from her trip to Mexico recently.
Inspired by Chef Rick Bayless, the LRA kicks up their Champagne Margarita with fresh Louisiana strawberries, Mexican salt and locally grown limes. |
1 oz. fresh lime juice
1 oz. Cointreau, we used Patron Orange
1.5 oz. of silver tequila, we used Single Estates Tequila Ocho
.5 oz. Monin Agave Nectar (in place of simple syrup
1 oz. dry or brut champagne (depending on how sweet you like it)
5 muddled strawberries
Salt for the rim
Add all ingredients into a shaker, with the exception of the
champagne. Add ice and shake. Serve in a champagne glass and rim the glass with
salt. Strain mixture into glass, top with champagne and garnish with a
Louisiana strawberry.
Where are you headed for Cinco de Mayo? What is your
favorite margarita recipe? Are you a purist or opt for the creative?
This article is perfect, since I've actually been looking for a new Mexican restaurant in Opelousas, LA to try. The Pancho Villa sounds especially good right about now!
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