On The Border, round two, 10/52

On the border, round two. 10/52




There will come a time when I will revisit a place, because I happen to like that place. When I revisit a place, and they have many choices of margaritas on their menu, I will then blog about the 'rita I get, making sure it's not the same as the 'rita I already blogged about. So, on my second visit to OTB, I went for a different 'rita. This time, I went for the "Mercedes Margarita." Different then what I normally would have gotten, but hey, it has Reposado tequila, how could I go wrong?




The 'rita:
For starters, when my "Mercedes Margarita" came to me, the first thing I noticed was there was quite a bit of room between my drink and the rim of the glass. I would guess this drink was missing an ounce or two! Not a great start, but lets give it a try before I develop an opinion. First sip, an eye opener, a tad strong. OK, this could be good, strong means one will do, right? I have learned over the past year of "tasting" margaritas, there are two different types, strong and sweet. It's very rare that a place gets a balance of the two. This 'rita, no different, no balance, all strong. (Not always a bad thing, as long as I have enough salt to make it through to the end.) During the consumption of this 'rita, I noticed an odd thing. The 'rita and the salsa was not a good pairing. After having some chips and salsa, and going back to the 'rita, I noticed an unpleasant flavor in there. UGH, not the best 'rita at all. The salsa and 'rita together produced an almost woodsy taste, like adding a branch as a stir stick. Any way, once I put the salsa down, to finish my 'rita with out the woodsy notes, all was good. Except for the lack of any real buzz. Oh well, next time I will stick with the house 'rita. Better priced and better tasting. This one ended up being $8.99 and not covered in the happy hour special. I'm not sure this one was a bad as a 3 star 'rita, but I sure cannot give it 4 stars. So, I'm gonna have to give this one 3.5 stars.




The food:
The second reason why we pick where we pick when going out. (Ya, the 'rita is the first thing we think about when we choose where to go out.) I'm not gonna lie to you, I have not been the biggest fan of OTB when it comes to food. In my opinion, this place is all about happy hour and the 'rita! But, food is required in life, so here we go. I got the chicken flautas, which are half price on the HH menu, I have gotten them before, and I have been happy with them before. On this particular night that we went, the flautas were not so good, they were actually over cooked. But, I am not the type to say something to the server over a small detail, it really was not that big of a deal. OK, but not perfect. Thats all I really have to say about that.

All in all, not the best visit, but I have been here, at this location, many times and I would go back again. Not the best 'rita and not the best flautas, but it wont stop me from coming back. The service is always wonderful and every one is always so nice.

Please follow me on Twitter to see where I go next! @MamaGMaHaRita

Changing names!

A quick note, not a review, just a name change note. I have found a new twitter home for my blog, I really hope to find followers soon!

@MamaGMaHaRita

Drop on by, follow me and look out for more reviews, soon. Coming up soon, had a great 'Rita, or two, at DownTown Disney!

9/52 Chili's in Poway

Time to hit some new places. Chili's in Poway. To start off with, this is not a place we go to often, my husband is not a huge fan of their food, but the food is not horrible. This really is a place for drinks if you are into drinks. Just my opinion any way. Sometimes it can be loud and not as kid friendly as some would like it to be. We did eat on the dining side, not the bar side, so we did not get to take advantage of HH. (That and we were about a half hour too late.) This particular location is open during a remodel, so, there again, a distraction.




Lets start with the margarita. As I was looking at the menu, the server came up and asked if I wanted a 'rita. HA, YA I DO! But I had not yet looked at all my choices. So, I did what any one would do at this point, ask for a recommendation. I had in mind top shelf, but the menu was a bit confusing, add this, add that, sort of thing. You can get a base 'rita and add a shot of this or a shot of that for different add on prices. Odd, but cool, all at the same time. I asked my server and she gave me the, "Well, um…." I let her know that the choice of 'rita mattered to me, I want the best, because I was going to blog about it. She got totally excited and went for a great suggestion, "Presidente Margarita." This 'rita is top shelf all the way. Sauza Tequila, Patron orange liqueur and Presidente Brandy. A lot of what I have not heard of before, but it sure was a bunch of GOOD! This 'rita came in a shaker, at which the server, Dana, did the first pour and then she handed it to me, I was all on my own now. Now, I am not bad at pouring drinks, but with these shakers, you do have to be careful. The lid was a bit leaky, and a little did spill on the table, WHAT? Tequila on the table? This 'rita was almost good enough to lick the table. Just kidding, I'm not that OCD about my 'ritas! Lets talk about the taste. It started off with a clean start, trailed by some sweet. Not too much sweet, just enough. By middle of the drink, I was still on the fence with the flavor, it was the most original 'ritas so far out of all the 'ritas I have reviewed, but it just was not perfect. I have to say though, I was enjoying the wedge of lime on the rim, as I consumed the beverage, the smell of the lime really added to the drink. Once the 'rita was done, and the buzz was OK, I think I will have to give this 'rita a total of 4 stars. Strong, but not perfect. Well done Chili's.




All right, the food. On this particular night, we really were not in it for the food, it was late and we all had some dinner already. We were happy to stick with appetizers, and we have always wanted to try the Chips and Queso. We were going to get a dessert too, but the Queso was filling enough! The Skillet Queso is a cheese dip with seasoned beef, to be honest, the color was not that great. It was an off-putting color for food indeed. But it was tasty. What I enjoyed the most, was the flavor pairing of the Queso with the 'rita. A great pairing indeed! Of course, this was not something I could of had in place of dinner, but it was a nice end to my long day.

Well, thats just about it. I hope this review was helpful to you, especially if you were to venture to a Chili's for some 'ritas and chips! Please feel free to follow me on Twitter as I look for the best 'rita in San Diego! @SD_Rita.

Miguel's in 4S Ranch 8/52

Lets talk about the place that started this whole 'rita craze for me. Miguel's in 4S Ranch. Wondering where that is? Its the far west, and I mean FAR west, end of Rancho Bernardo. As a matter of fact, these folks in 4S would like to believe they are not in RB at all. So, its pretty much between RB and the ocean. A lovely a little community with some nice dining! When I say this place started it all, I knew going into this 52 'ritas in 52 weeks, that I would be comparing a lot of drinks to this place. Why? Because this place is 5 stars all the way. I think I could sit there all nigh drinking 'ritas. (Having a driver with me of course.)




Happy hour is on the patio and bar only, I believe 4 to 7pm. Make sure that if you go, don't wait too long, you'll never find a seat!


Lets start off with the 'rita. I ordered the House Margarita. They have two house 'ritas. The Miguel's 'rita and the Brigantine's house 'rita. They are all in the same "group" so the drinks are pretty much the same. I asked them, "Whats the difference between the Miguel's house and the Brigantine's house?" Grand Marnier! The Miguel's house has Grand Marnier and the other one does not. Same lime and juice, same sweet and sour what ever, but that GM makes the biggest difference in the world! Now, this is the first time I had one of there 'ritas on the rocks, usually I order mine blended here. But because I am now choosing to have all my 'ritas on the rocks, I decided to stick to that here. They deliver the 'rita in a shaker. The surfer suggested I be careful, the lid was a bit on the loose side. With the warning in mind, my next pour was very careful, I did not want to lose a drop! They did not disappoint. Just as good on the rocks as it is blended here. One of the few places where you can get yours on the rocks or blended and be happy no matter what. A rare gem! You take one sip of this drink and it takes you to fresh lime heaven. its so fresh and light, no salt required here. (My husband was lucky to even get a taste of this one, I always let him have a sip of my 'ritas.) The menu price on this one is $9.50, but during happy hour, they take a couple of bucks off, goes to $7.50. At that price, if not driving of course, I could have more then one, and in the past, I have had more then one! I am going to say, its not the perfect buzz, but its still a good one and due to that and flavor, I am giving this 5 stars!


Lets get to the food. Mmmmm, the food. I think, so far, this place and Claim Jumper are the only two places who have been able to deliver great drinks AND great food! Usually, its one or the other. The chips are fantastic and they come with two dips. A chunky salsa, that I pass over to my man, and a creamy cheese dip. That cheese dip is SO fantastic! I always have to ask for seconds on that. Once my food arrives, I like to dip my food into the cheese sauce! Mmmm, I am getting hungry just thinking about it! I ordered the flautas, from the HH menu, and as always, they were perfect. I ate them before I remembered to take there picture.

Thats about it, service was great and fast, food was perfect and the 'rita was tasty! You really cannot ask for more when dining out. Way to go Miguel's in 4S Ranch!

I would love for you to follow me on Twitter as I go around San Diego looking for the best 'ritas! Follow me @SD_Rita.

Outback steak house, Poway 7/52

Lets get back to business, now that I have had a day off, I can breath and blog. (Ya, I just finished working 23 days in a row)




I wanted to let you all know what I thought about my 'rita at Outback steak house. My man and I, with our 6 year old, went to the Outback in Poway, a couple of weeks ago. I ordered the Top Shelf Patron Margarita. OOPS, it was not my plan to order a Patron 'rita! The one thing that really bugs me about these places, the price of the adult beverages are not always listed on the menu. (But they always manage to list the calorie count, ugh!) Oh well, if its Patron, it better be good, right? To start off with, there were no indications of any happy hour, bar or no bar. So, I just ordered what looked good. This 'rita did have a delightful orange and lime taste, but offered to be a bit too strong and too sweet. The sweet was not so bad at first, but as I got deeper into the 'rita, the sweeter it got. Keep in mind now, when a 'rita is too sweet, it gives me a headache, this one was not that sweet. Now, based on the strong flavor, I was thinking this one was going to knock me on my bottom, however, once again, a bit of a disappointment, it did not. I left on my own two feet with not the best taste. I really did think that Outback would have been a better flavor then Claim Jumper, but it did not deliver, sorry Outback, Claim Jumper wins. On price and flavor. (And buzz.) Will I always compare my 'ritas to CJ now? I am going to give this top shelf 'rita only 3 stars. But hey, it was not so bad that I would not finish it, it just required the salt, thats all! When we got the bill, I saw that this 'rita was only $9, which is a really good, non HH price, for a top shelf 'rita.




For the food, I ordered a burger. At this point, I had no idea how much this top shelf 'rita was going to be, so I opted out of the steak and went for the more reasonable priced burger. I'm gonna have to say, the burger was a tad disappointing too. Truth be told, I have ALWAYS loved the food at Outback, I am guessing it was just an off night for them. I will say though, the toasted bun was perfect! A great touch to my burger.

Well, thats about it, I guess now would be a good time to say the service was, as always, fantastic. Good day or bad day, its still a nice place to be.

For more updates as I hit all sorts of places in San Diego, looking for the best 'rita around, please follow me on twitter, @SD_Rita.

Claim Jumper, in Carmel Mt. Ranch 5 & 6/52

Now that I have had a couple of relaxing days off, I have time for some finer things in life, such as blogging!



This past week, and the week before, we went to Claim Jumper, in Carmel Mt. Ranch, for my 'rita blog. Two weeks in a row? Yes, because their happy hour is such a great time, we had to do it twice! That, and on there HH menu, they had two different 'ritas to choose from.

Claim Jumper's HH is from 3 to 7, and only in the "saloon." During HH there is a nice selection of food, ranging from $2 to $6. I am sure you can get full service, but the HH prices for what you get is outstanding! A plate of sliders with fries was only $5. Add to that my 'rita, top shelf, for only $6. Its a deal and a half. AND, free popcorn! YA BABY! :D We arrived at 4:30 and very glad we did. By time we were getting ready to head out, 5:15, the place was packed. People were hovering over us, waiting for our table to clear out.



5/52
So lets talk about 'rita #1. The Claim Jumper Gold 'rita. Man, oh man, oh MAN! This would be their top shelf selection, with a shot of Grand Marnier on top. Oh and was this a fantastic 'rita! Ya, we are talking 5 stars! Now I have to say, I think I am leaning towards "on the rocks" when it comes to my 'ritas now. I will keep the salt, but I have grown out of the "blended" phase. Truth be told, its a bit of a joke, blended. Kind of like watering down the drink, making the drink mostly ice. I have learned it is impossible to really know what a 'rita truly taste like if its blended. For example, if its poorly blended, it separates and the top, icy part, taste nothing like the liquid part on the bottom. The top is too weak and the bottom too strong. I find myself not enjoying my drink at all! If its perfectly blended, which is rare, its all good. Most of the time, if its perfectly blended, it came out of a dispenser and not from a bartender. However, when I get my 'rita on the rocks, its the same through out the entire drink! I am grateful it did not take me too long into my project to figure this one out. Any way, back to my CJ 'rita. There was defiantly a delightful citrus flavor, fresh all the way! On another note, this one is so delightful, I really don't think the salt was needed on this one, but I still like my salt, so I will keep ordering it that way. One thing that I really loved about this 'rita, was that it did not take long for me to get that "ah" feeling, the slight buzz. At the end of the evening, I felt quite comfortable indeed. I was able to drive home safely after a break walking around Costco, so the buzz could have been a bit better, but I think it was just right. A second one, and I would not have been able to drive home myself. (I'm really not out to get "drunk" ya know) I'm gonna have to say, this one is better then my own, and I really like my own!

6/52
The second 'rita, from the second week. The second 'rita that I had gotten at CJ, was the "House Margarita." I have a confession to make, on this second visit, I actually had 2 'ritas and the first one was the CJ Gold 'rita. The second one, on this night only, was the House 'rita. (I was not driving) For this one, on the HH menu it was only $5. A great price for a 'rita and a great 'rita for a second drink! It was still good, but it was no gold! I can honestly say, spend the extra buck to get the CJ Gold 'rita! But you know, when your first drink works well, it really does not matter what your second drink taste like. During HH here, it would be just fine to get the CJ Gold 'rita first, then the House 'rita second and your set for the evening! I was so set, no more drinks needed to make my night. I really cannot tell you exactly why the two 'ritas were so different, to tell you the truth, I failed to take notes the second visit, but trust me when I say, go gold!



Lets talk about the food! Oh the food was YUMMY! Then again, this is Claim Jumper, I don't think I have EVER complained about their food! I had just a burger, with the shoe string fries. Delightful, truly great burgers here. The second visit we had, we had made up our mind to stick to "bar food" on the HH menu. For the three of us, our 6 year old was with us, we had two of the mini pizzas and an order of sliders. The pizzas were very small, easy for one to finish solo. I am not a huge pizza fan, but they sure were good. My favorite dish of all of them were the sliders. We asked for a side of BBQ sauce, and that just really hit the spot. I think next time, I will get the sliders for myself and let the rest eat pizza! :D The food at CJ is simply put, outstanding!

I thank you for taking the time to read my review. I encourage you to follow my blog as well as follow me on Twitter, @SD_Rita, where I plan on keeping you all updated in real time of all the delightful 'ritas I find around San Diego!

This week, I made my 'rita! 4/52

(The actual drink is not really green. The glass is green in color.)
This week, my margarita came from my own hands. Let me tell you, it was MMMMMmmmm GOOD! Of course, I do believe my own 'rita is good, so I had to let others tell me if they were good or not.

So, on Friday, I went to a friends house, with a few additional friends, and put together my beloved drink. I mixed up a batch, measuring everything out carefully and proceeded to poor for 4 out of 6 of us. (Two of the guys simply stuck to beer.) For the most part, serving up the drinks were quite easy, three of us were happy with salt and on the rocks. One of the ladies wanted her 'rita blended. Let me tell you, Magic Bullet to the rescue!

What did I put into my home made 'rita? Here we go:

(For one drink)
2 ounces of freshly squeezed limes (yep, I did all the work, AND broke one squeezer and had to buy a new unit that actually worked.)
2 ounces of simple syrup. (recipe to follow.)
1 ounce of tequila (My favorite right now, Reposado tequila from Familia Camarena)
1 ounce Grand Marnier (The icing on the cake.)

The simple syrup is quite easy, I guess thats why its called "simple" syrup. You take one cup of water and one cup of sugar. Put them in a pan and on medium heat on a stove top. Stir until the sugar devolves, your done! Put in an air tight container, refrigerate and its good for 2 weeks.

Obviously, you can use any tequila you like! I just personally have seen plenty of Jose to last me a life time and wanted to try something new. Thats when I came across the Reposado tequila and man, I am glad I did, its a great tequila!

I guess thats it. I would not say my 'rita is the best there ever was, but I have to say, it sure beats the heck out of most of the ones I pay top dollar for! For the record, ALL of my friends who partook of the 'ritas this past weekend, were all loving the 'rita's and were asking for more!

Please follow me as I twitter my way through this adventure, @SD_Rita.

Casa Reveles, Ramona 3/52

This past week has been insane, but I cannot neglect my responsibilities to blogging!




http://www.casareveles.com/framestart.htm

724 Main St.
Ramona, Ca. 92065

This past weekend, my family and I went to a new restaurant in Ramona, called, Casa Reveles. Such a nice little place. Actually, my husband and I are familiar with this location, it use to be another restaurant that went out of business a few years back called El Nopal. Its an old building, a bit on the dumpy side, but the owners did the best with what they had to work with.

Lets start off by talking about the service. MAN, this server was SO friendly! I had paid my dues, I worked in food service long enough to know that when someone walks in the door, SAY HI! Thats what this guy did. His name is Victor. A delightful guy who was always there to say HI when someone walked in and was always attentive to our needs. The only delay that I felt was a bit too long, was the delay on getting our ticket at the end of the visit. The service alone was worth the visit.




The food:
The chips and salsa were great, but the bowl was not big enough! I was looking for more chips in about 5 seconds.
Hummm, not my favorite! I was not a fan of the "red" enchilada sauce. I put quotes around red because it really was more orange, not a pleasant color at all. Too greasy and just not enough good when it comes to flavor. But as I have learned in the past, if the food is not that great, then the 'rita is…….




The 'rita"
Yep, you guessed it, the 'rita was SO full of flavor! There was a delightful sweetness to it that did not change even after the ice melted. A total bonus. Usually, once its all liquid, it only taste like tequila! I could smell and taste the fresh lime. As a matter of fact, I went out the next day to the market to buy limes so I could try to make my own 'rita! The inspiration was all from this place. What was really awesome was after blending my drink, there was some 'rita left over in the blender that they put in a second glass and served that to me with the 'rita! Almost like getting a milk shake at Boll Weevils! It was fantastic! This 'rita did give me a decent buzz too. Not the best buzz but a buzz none the less. I am not sure that next time I get this 'rita, I would have them blend it, I could tell this one would have been better on the rocks. I say that because it all melted way too fast. There is a fine balance when it comes to a blended 'rita and when I find the restaurant masters that, I will let you know! Now, there is something to be said about simplicity, when I said that I wanted a 'rita, I had two choices, strawberry or lime. No top shelf or Cadillac! No biggie! Their 'rita was so good, top shelf did not matter! When Victor asked if I had wanted strawberry or lime, my son, in all of his wisdom said he wanted strawberries! :D

Please follow me, as I look for the best 'rita in San Diego! You can follow me on Twitter @SD_Rita.

On The Border, Mexican Grill & Cantina 2/52

On The Border, Mexican Grill & Cantina



www.ontheborder.com

298 East Via Rancho Parkway
Escondido, Ca. 92025



Time for another review! This time my man and I went to "On The Border" in Escondido. Otherwise referred to as OTB. This was kind of an easy review to do, because we have actually been there many times. We already knew what we enjoy there, to eat, and what we enjoy to drink! Their Happy Hour (HH) is daily from 3-7, in the bar and patio only. They do stand by that one. Which is OK, even though we bring our 5 year old with us, we are still welcome in the bar area. Good to be able to take advantage of the HH prices with the family. The HH menu includes half price appetizers and I am not sure what the discounts are on drinks, but my 'rita was only $4. No matter what time of day, HH or not, thats a great price. I do not think ALL drinks are half price, but they still have a nice selection of HH drinks.

The list of drinks were nice, and extensive. Next time I go, I will venture out more to a choice other then the house 'rita. They also have a decent line up of beers. The BEST part of their beer service, is they always put your beer in a frosted glass. A total bonus for beer drinkers!




The margarita!
Lets talk about my 'rita. I ordered the OTB house 'rita. The tequila in this 'rita is Gold tequila. (Did not label a brand on the menu) Truth be told, this is my usual choice when we go. I kept true to my order, because I wanted to review it for you. The price during HH is $4. Not sure for non HH times, but I would definitely pay more. This 'rita came to me NOT separated! TOTAL bonus! However, if you take a walk by the bar you can see why it is perfectly blended, it does come from a dispenser! A 'rita from a dispenser is always a better consistency then it would be if it were made that moment by a bar tender, and it is ALWAYS the same, each and every visit. I always know how it will taste. Thats just the way it is. The down side, they don't "accidentally" bonus you up with an extra shot of something. Some times we need an extra something, know what I mean? The flavor of this 'rita is spot on. Not too sweet and surely not too "strong" ether. I found myself not needing the salt on the rim of my glass at all. It really is a perfect balance. However, I will still only give this 'rita a total of 4 out of 5 stars. Why? Because this 'rita offers a bit of a buzz, but the buzz does not last long enough, not at all! So close to perfect, so close. Also, the 'rita was not all the way full, they could have added another ounce at the top! :D

Note from my man,"This is often my complaint when the beer comes out. It looks like someone already took a drink out of it. Every ounce is precious."




The OTHER margarita!
Yes, the OTHER 'rita. My man, ordered a 'rita! For the first time ever. With me any way, he really is a beer drinker. However, he did not stray too far from home. He ordered the Margarona. The Margarona is an OTB house 'rita with a Corona sticking out of it, upside-down. As you drink away at the 'rita, the beer dispenses into the 'rita. Now would be a good time to allow my man to take over, for the review of the Margarona, "The beer really did not dispense naturally into the 'rita for some reason of physics I cannot explain. I had to lift up and let it burble out, leaving an unnatural ratio of beer to 'rita depending on how much burbled. Maybe I did something wrong, I don't know. The combination actually wasn't that bad. The only negative I came away with was the occasional brain freeze sensation from the frozen 'rita. Did not care for that, which reminded me why I don't usually order that drink. Overall, the combination of the two made the post-dinner traipse through the mall that much more tolerable!"




The Food!
The food here is OK. The honest truth is, I would not come here for the food. For me, its about the 'rita, else I am not interested. However, I have learned what I do like and do not like on the menu. What I had this time, was a single cheese enchilada. Between the chips/salsa and the 'rita, thats just about all I could consume. I did like the enchilada, but the 'rita was far better and its what keeps me coming back. The service was good too. Being in the bar and not in the regular seating, the service can be spotty, but on this night, the service was good. I really like their chips, yet they are rather large. The salsa is a bit on the tangy side, which is good when you consider the fact that salsa should NEVER be on the bland side. In my opinion any way! All in all, the food is not very especial, but the drinks are worth the trip and effort!




Note from man,"From the husband's perspective, the salsa is barely tangy, but I notice that the older I get, the less tolerant I am of spicy heat, so that's ok. The chips are unnaturally shaped. Traditionally, tortilla chips are tortillas cut into 4 or 6 triangles. These are tortillas cut in half - ONLY! That's right, half moon shaped. The chips are so big in fact that if I weren't with "immediate" family, I would have kept an eye out for double-dippers."

Thank you for reading my review on OTB, if you would like to follow me as I hit San Diego for some more 'ritas, you can do so on twitter, @SD_Rita.

Play Grill & Margarita Bar 1/52

Playa Grill and Margarita Bar



www.playagrill.com

2401 Fenton Parkway
San Diego, Ca. 92108

OK, so for my first review, my husband and I went to Playa Grill in Mission Valley. I thought this would be the perfect place to start my 52 or more 'ritas in 52 weeks because hey, its a Margarita Bar! At least thats the name of the place! Nice looking place. Their Happy Hour (HH) is daily from 3 to 7pm. The great part about their HH is you can take advantage of their HH prices no matter where you sit, not limited to the bar or patio like their web site suggests. That is a great thing because we had with us little M who is 5, VERY close to 6. The next great part, and I really mean GREAT, of their HH, ALL alcohol beverages and appetizers are half off. Most places, they offer only the house 'ritas or beer for a discounted price, and usually only a dollar or two off.

The list of drinks were quite nice, I do think they would benefit from having a dedicated margarita menu. After all, it is a margarita bar! All of the margaritas were on a menu that was titled "Margarita & Specialty Cocktails", making it so I had to weed through all of them to really tell which were on the 'rita list and which were on the specialty cocktails list. Now that I have taken on this project, I am starting to really focus on the different choices I have with the offered 'ritas and not always having to settle for the house choice.


The Margarita!
The 'rita I ordered was the "Eldorita." Menu price, $10. Happy hour price, $5. I ordered it blended with salt, the most common way for me. I choose this one because it has Grand Marnier, and I really like Grand Marnier for a 'rita. The tequila used for this one is Cuervo Tradicional Silver. That is an important bit of information because I am also on the look out for which tequila makes the best 'rita. They sure do go hand in hand, in my opinion any way. Lets talk about the "Eldorita." When it arrived to my table, it had already separated. When I see that happen, I know that it did not come out of a dispenser, pre made and a lever pulled by some bartender behind the bar. The second clue that it did not get dispensed, was the chunks of ice still crowding the drink. This is not the best start for a drink that is originally priced $10. Perhaps next time I should order this one on the rocks? The first taste, I could taste the Grand Marnier, yum! One thing I have noticed about a frozen/blended 'rita, is that when its well blended, and stays that way through out most of the drink, the flavor is constant through out the entire life of the drink. However, when it separates, the flavor is different between the frozen part and the no longer frozen part. It has a much stronger "tequila" flavor to it, which is not so enjoyable for me. I would rather be able to taste their house made sweet and sour along with the tequila and Grand Marnier. That all being said, by time I finished my 'rita, I was wishing for more salt along the rim of the glass, it was gone, but the drink was not. The best thing I can say for this 'rita, is the buzz. It was a perfect buzz, to the point where the excessive tequila flavor at the end no longer mattered as much. I did, however, save the last bite of my food for after I finished my 'rita, because I wanted to finish off with something that was more tasty! Final opinion, I would not be as happy if I had spent the $10 for this one drink, $5 was just the right price for the buzz despite the lack of the sweet lime flavor I so look forward to in the perfect 'rita. So far, Playa Grill & Margarita Bar did not deliver me the perfect 'rita. I think I would give it 3 stars, only because it did deliver the perfect buzz, with out the perfect flavor.




The other stuff!
In all, the place looked very nice and the staff was very friendly. Of course we were delighted to start off with the house chips and salsa. The salsa was nice and tangy! Just the way my husband likes it. It also came out with a salsa verde, its texture was smooth and somewhat viscous. We ordered from the "Aperitivos - Small Plates" menu, the taquitos. This came with three chicken taquitos and salsa verde. It was supposed to come with queso fresco. When we asked our server about it, she said, "oh." Then did nothing about it. When a second server brought us our food, we asked a second time about the queso fresco, he told us the kitchen is running "low" and then walked away. Needless to say, we never did get our queso fresco! Next, for dinner, my husband ordered the "Carnitas plate" and I ordered an a la carte cheese enchilada. I had a taste of my husbands carnitas and MAN it was so good! Very moist and tender. My cheese enchilada must have been one of the best cheese enchiladas I have ever had. I had the choice of a mild ranchero salsa or the spicy one. The spicy one is the same one that comes with the chips and salsa. I chose the mild and it was perfect. I really did enjoy each and every bite. I even used the salsa and cheese on my plate to continue dipping chips into, wonderful! Our son got the kids cheese quesadilla. He ate it all, which is a good sign. However, a few kinks in the kids menu. For starters, the menu says drink and dessert are included. They charged us $1 for the lemonade, because it was not a soda. They also failed to bring out his dessert. We had to ask about it as they were handing over our bill. Kind of odd.

Thank you for reading my review on my 'rita at Playa Grill, if you would like to follow me as I hit San Diego for some more 'ritas, you can do so on twitter, @SD_Rita.

52 'ritas in a year?

I am out to find the best margarita in San Diego! For vacations or other various travels, I might blog about a margarita from other locations out side of San Diego, but for now, I am on the hunt for the BEST margarita, right here, where I call home.

To start off with, I have only come across a few perfect 'ritas in this area. I think thats a crying shame! Then again, I always go to the same places over and over again! Am I limiting myself? If I only go to the same old places, I won't find the bigger and better I crave! Right? So, for the next 52 weeks, a year, I want to try 52 'ritas. (OR MORE) Heck, why limit myself? Lets set down the rules, 52 'ritas, does not mean 52 new restaurant this year! I might spend some time at the same spots as I have already been, but a different 'rita. For example, the restaurant I went to tonight had at least 10 different margaritas on there menu! For a second example, I would also LOVE to learn how to make the best 'rita possible! So, on weeks that I am just not able to go out, I will stay at home and play around with different ways to make the perfect 'rita.

Next topic, not all 'ritas are created equal, and I am a no fluff kind of lady. Meaning, I want an original type 'rita. No pomegranate or any other strange flavors! I want my 'rita to be green, have some lime, preferably blended with salt. I am OK with a 'rita on the rocks once in a while, not all 'ritas should be blended. However, salt is a must. If they cannot get salt to stick on the glass, then at least give me a salt shaker. Yes, I have done that before. I desire my salt with my 'ritas!

So, lets get started!

Follow me on Twitter @SD_Rita, where I plan on tweeting on location!