Everyone's heard of Taco Tuesday, but how about a little Margarita Monday! Oakhurst has two fantastic Mexican restaurants (basically) across the street from each other, so obviously, we had to try all the margaritas! We grabbed our neighbors, Courtney and Jonathan, and headed to Oakhurst get our margarita on!
The first stop on the Margarita Monday train was Matador Cantina. Matador is a little more on the TexMex side, but everything we've ever eaten there has been super tasty. We tried a total of SEVEN margaritas here. Oops. Haha!
The first round of margaritas were as follows :
Erica - Sangarita
Adam - Texas Margarita with Mezcal
Courtney - Texas Margarita the way they normally make it
Jonathan - Jalapeno Margarita
Adam - (Mezcal Texas Margarita) The mezcal definitely gave this margarita a point up. The smokiness of the mezcal balanced well and it wasn't sour whatsoever. Crushable margarita. 9/10
Erica - (Sangarita) This was Matador's red sangria with a float of frozen traditional margarita on top. I definitely stirred before I drank it. I was afraid it was going to be too sweet, which I don't prefer, but it wasn't! 8.5/10
Courtney - (Regular Texas Margarita) Drinkable and dangerous. I would get another one and not even be curious to try a different flavor of margarita. Can zero percent taste the tequila. 8.5/10
Jonathan - (Jalapeno Margarita) Traditional margarita on the rocks with fresh muddled jalapenos. The bartender told us sometimes the peppers are hotter than other times, so the spicy level changes, but I found it to be really well balanced and just the right amount of spicy. They also use a jalapeno tequila to kick it up a notch. Didn't need salt at all. 8/10
The second round of margaritas were:
Erica : Mezcal Margarita
Adam : Pace 23 (muddled lime, tequila, soda water and topped with frozen margarita)
Jonathan : Classic Margarita
Courtney : None... lightweight.
The second round wasn't as successful as the first round, but they were still good. We're not going to rate the second round because, well... they were just okay.
The Verdict - The margaritas were standard, but solid! We would all definitely come back for another round! 8.5/10
We found the margarita list at Mezcalito's to be a little more on the adventurous side. They had margaritas with different types of fresh fruit, spirits and herbs. We were running a bit behind and racing the clock, so we each just picked the margarita that sounded the most appealing at first glance!
Erica - Blood Orange Margarita
Adam - Tamarind Margarita
Courtney - Basil Margarita
Jonathan - Ancho Chile Margarita
Erica - I love a good Blood Orange Margarita, and this was no exception! It was the perfect amount of sweet vs. tart. Pro-tip : don't try to eat the blood orange garnish. Not the tastiest... 9.5/10
Adam - Presentation was awesome and definitely an original margarita. Bright and fresh. Tamarind flavor wasn't overwhelming, but still there. If there were a tamarind garnish, I'd give it a higher score 8/10
Courtney - Tasty, but seemed like a confused mojito. Somehow lost the basil and cucumber, but it was refreshing in the end 6.5/10
Jonathan - In terms of spicy margaritas, I prefer the one from Matador, but the ancho paired really well with the smokiness of the mezcal, so it was a nice flavor combo 7/10
The Verdict - We really liked the inventiveness of the menu and are excited to try more of the menu soon! 7.75/10
Margarita Monday Mix-Off - Winner!
Each restaurant had it's pros and cons, but I think overall, we preferred the taste of the margaritas at Matador Cantina, and the originality and presentation at Mezcalito's. Matador just inched out Mezcalito's since taste is everything, but I think we'll have to double check sometime soon. ;)