Magnificent Margs A Loose, Tequila- Soaked Quest Where can you find this town’s greatest margarita? The question has intrigued me for a few years. As I ate Southwestern, Mexi- can, and Arizonan food up and down the Valley for my gig as food editor and then food critic, I also drank. And many times, thanks to a healthy budget provided by Un- cle New Times, when I ate alone, with friends, or with family, I drank margaritas. After enjoying versions of the Mexico- born, Jalisco-spirited, stupendously refresh- ing, easy-to-make, easy-to-botch classic cocktail from South Phoenix to Cave Creek to Peoria to Gilbert, I finally know where I can find my favorites. So, which are best? Before plunging down this tequila- soaked rabbit hole, we must sketch a road- map. FThe Margarita’s luid Possibilities When I take my first sip of a margarita, I want to get electrocuted. I want to be utterly clobbered by the supreme freshness of the drink, which should blow over the brain like a polar wind, the lime impossibly fresh, the agave of the spirit dancing, that tequila start- ing to do what tequila does. Immediately, then, several things can happen — all of them beautiful. At once, the desert heat becomes irrele- vant. Your fatigue from the world’s slow crush of infinite responsibilities dissipates. For as long as your cold glass sloshes with ice and cocktail, you may feel bursts of nos- talgia, surges of joy, and even flickers of complete indifference to mortality. Beyond tapping into certain states of mind, good margaritas tend to have certain focuses. Many highlight a 100 percent blue agave blanco tequila while softening its edges with the balancing power of fresh lime juice. Sugar can provide some depth and balance, too. So can orange liqueur, though too much can obfuscate the simple drink. Interestingly, the margarita might not be especially old. Cocktail historians trace it to between the 1920s and 1950s. “The margarita has almost as many histo- ries as rabbits have bunnies,” cocktail writer Gary Regan notes. He pinpoints five possible origins. >> p 20 The Premier Cru margarita at CRUjiente Tacos. Debby Wolvos IN SEARCH OF THE VALLEY’S FINEST VERSIONS OF THE LEGENDARY TEQUILA COCKTAIL. BY CHRIS MALLOY 19 phoenixnewtimes.com | CONTENTS | FEEDBACK | OPINION | NEWS | FEATURE | NIGHT+DAY | CULTURE | FILM | CAFE | MUSIC | PHOENIX NEW TIMES SEPT 9TH – SEPT 15TH, 2021
