In Part I of our List of the 10 Best Margaritas in Tucson, we reviewed the cocktails of lo Esencial and Ritz-Carlton Dove Mountain. Our next tastings were Downtown, starting at Agustin Kitchen in the Mercado, then on to the Tap Room at Hotel Congress, and finally to El Charro Café in the Presidio District.
On this Saturday afternoon, Ms. Karen & Ms. Rosemary joined me.
Agustin Kitchen
The first piece of interesting news as we sat ourselves down at the bar was that Chef Ryan Clark is no longer at Agustin Kitchen. Circling back a month to the press release on Mr. Clark’s departure, I assume from the “everybody’s happy” verbiage, that the owners wanted him gone in the worst way. Mr. Clark was not only the chef, but also a business partner. The buyout must have been expensive.
Sally Kane has taken over Chef Clark’s place as chef and business partner. Ms. Kane is chef and part owner of The Coronet at 9th Street and 4th Avenue. I’ve dined there and could not find anything on her menu I could get enthusiastic about. Some folks like her dishes. I’m just not one of them. Thus, I have recused myself from writing a dining review of Coronet which is popular in some taste circles. Here’s hoping that changes in the menu at the Kitchen are more to my taste.
About That Agustin Kitchen Margarita
The bartender at Agustin Kitchen this Saturday afternoon was Tyler Sunderman; a young man who clearly enjoys his craft. I told him why we were there and he offered us a Classic Margarita. Given that we are looking for the Top 10 Margaritas in Tucson, I suggested he thrill us with what he considers his best. He offered us two from which to choose: a Classic & a Pom Sour.
Tyler’s Classic Margarita was … well, classic.
- Fresh lime juice made every morning
- House-made triple sec
- Pueblo Viejo Tequila Blanco
- Orange garnish
- A dash of Simple Syrup (sugar water) to balance the citrus.
- No salt on rim of glass unless requested. (Not cool, in my opinion.)
The taste of this Classic was clean & refreshing, with the definite taste of good tequila; much to my liking. ($9 regular; $5 happy hour). Ms. Karen ordered the Calamari, ($10), crispy shreds mixed with shreds of poblano chiles and a hot sauce.
Having enjoyed our first tasting, mixologist Tyler placed his Pom Sour in front of us. It’s coloring looked like strawberry. Now, to my recollection, a Pom Sour is a Pom SCOTCH WHISKEY Sour. But his was a Pom TEQUILA Sour.
Tyler makes this quasi-margarita with tequila blanco, fresh lime juice, house-made triple sec, and pomegranate balsamic. I’ve experienced pomegranate balsamic reduction in combination with lamb and chicken, but adding it to a Margarita seems original.
We all three thought the Pom Sour was definitely sweeter than Tyler’s Classic. Ms. Rosemary said that it had a “fuzzy, bitter after taste”. That was not Ms. Karen’s nor my sensation, but nevertheless, we all preferred Tyler’s Classic.
Avoiding The Tequila Trap
At this point in our Margarita tasting adventure, we were all hyper-aware that we had to avoid the “Tequila Trap”. This is where amateur reviewers usually screw up. The “Tequila Trap” is the common sensation, given the amount of alcohol consumed, that every Margarita tastes better than the last.
However, the glasses Tyler’s Margaritas were served in were hardly bigger than a shot glass. Since half of our drink was crushed ice, there was little chance we were going to fall into the Tequila Trap.
On to Hotel Congress and Tiger’s Tap Room.
Margaritas at Hotel Congress
Full disclosure. I lead Southern Arizona Guide’s “Tucson History & Libation Walking Tour”, usually on the 3rd Sunday of every month. Our lunch & libation is typically at Maynards, owned and operated by the same folks who own and operate Hotel Congress across the street. The reason? They always serve an excellent lunch plus fine beer & wine. I appreciate their quality and consistency.
The bar in the Hotel lobby was not open when we arrived, but the Tap Room was. Behind the bar was Heidi Sanderson, not Tiger Ziegler who has bartended here for some 56 years. Ms. Heidi, we discovered, has been a Tucsonan for all of 4 years. According to Ms. Heidi, Tiger has earned his weekends off. We commend the Hotel’s generous employee work policy and mentioned that in only 52 more years, Heidi too can qualify for weekends off.
We told her our purpose and asked if she made a good Margarita.
“The best!” she replied.
“OK then”, we challenged. “Give us your best shot.”
Ms. Heidi returned shortly with a classic Margarita. As we sipped, we learned she is from the San Francisco Bay Area, as is Ms. Rosemary. They exchanged familiar landmarks, some of which Ms. Karen & I recognized from occasional vacations to Northern California in the old days before Tucson.
About That Tap Room Margarita
Ms. Heidi’s Classic Margarita was different from what we had experienced at Agustin Kitchen less than an hour earlier. We immediately noticed that her Margaritas are served in glasses twice the size of Tyler’s. The second thing we noticed was that Hotel Congress does not have a weekend happy hour. Thus, while servings were larger, so was the price: $8 vs. $5. Without a measuring cup, I would guess that the volume/price ratio is slightly better at Hotel Congress. The tequila served with the Tap Room Margarita was Milagro Silver.
The third thing we noticed was that Ms. Heidi’s Margarita was a bit sweeter than either of the ones we enjoyed at Agustin Kitchen. That being said, it exhibited some nice flavor, but we wondered if it may be too sweet. Along with our Margaritas, we enjoyed a basket of French fries with two dips, one of which was aioli ($5). Garlic is interesting, but we prefer catsup. We left wondering if Tiger’s Margaritas are significantly different than Ms. Heidi’s. We may circle back to find out.
On To El Charro Cafe
El Charro has been in the same family since 1922. This, plus the fact that our bartender was a true Mexican, gives their Margaritas extra cred if not taste.
Our bartender at El Charro was Miguel Niebius, who was born in Sonora, but learned mixology in Tucson. He has been serving thirsty El Charro customers for 3 years.
We first explained to Miguel why were there and asked him to serve us his best Margarita.
He said he would serve two. One he calls the “Natural” and the other is their especial Cadillac Margarita.
I admit here that the best Margarita I have ever enjoyed prior to our little contest was the Cadillac Margarita at El Charro. I am going to try hard to be objective.
About That El Charro Margarita
Miguel makes his “Natural” with fresh lime juice, of course, and lime & lemon served as garnish ($11). What I thought was interesting is that Miguel blends two tequilas: Milagro Silver & Reposada Gold in equal proportions. Unlike Tyler at Agustin Kitchen, before he prepared our cocktails, Miguel asked us how we like ours served. On-the-rocks? Salt / no salt. Nice.
As at Hotel Congress, El Charro’s cocktail glasses are much larger than Agustin Kitchen’s.
We three agreed, the “Natural” was delightfully tangy; citrusy and slightly tart, but definitely not sweet like at the Tap Room. As Classic Margaritas go, this one is a beaut!
Then came the “Cadillac” ($12). Miguel mixed fresh lime juice, Grand Marnier, and orange juice with both 1800 Silver and 1800 Reposada (gold) in equal parts. Ms. Karen thought it slightly sweeter than the “Natural”. She liked it, but said she preferred the “Natural”.
Ms. Rosemary judged the “Cadillac” smoother than the “Natural” and very good. One characteristic I noticed about both was that the taste of the tequila was nicely forward and blending silver & gold tequilas gave both a distinctive taste.
Conclusions
Overall, both Ms. Karen & Ms. Rosemary like Tyler’s Classic Margarita at Agustin Kitchen best; even though the serving was chintzy. Ms. Rosemary thought Miguel’s Cadillac Margarita at El Charro was “a unique twist on a traditional margarita.”
Which one would I chose if I could only ever have one? At this point in our taste tests, Heidi’s Margarita at Hotel Congress is out; as is the Pom Sour at Agustin Kitchen.
However, at this juncture, I’m conflicted. I really liked Agustin Kitchen’s “Classic”, miniscule as it was. But I still lean toward El Charro’s “Cadillac”. We may have to return several times to Agustin Kitchen and El Charro to sort this out.
Moreover, I’ll have to take Ms. Karen & Ms. Rosemary to lo Esencial and the Ritz-Carlton to get the ladies’ opinion of the Dove Mountain Margaritas. The race is on. Stay tuned for Part III of the Ten Best Margaritas in Tucson.
If you missed Part I in our Best Margarita series find it here.
Contact us to tell us your suggestions for the Best Margarita!
Stay tuned for Part three of our search for the Top 10 Margaritas in Tucson.
