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.