Can the Margarita Reclaim Its Cool?Matthew Latkiewicz sets out to see if it’s possible to track down a margarita that’s more in line with today’s high-end cocktail culture.
El Sombrero’s Painting Enters Our Museum of WTF Restaurant ArtBecause a restaurant’s décor is sometimes much more memorable than its food, we’ve decided to open, here on Grub Street, a virtual museum of restaurant art that will range from the genuinely disturbing to the lovably tacky to the totally ugly.
The In-box
‘Cold, Sweet, Liquid Crack’ MournedDaniel Maurer recently wrote about the fact that El Sombrero is no longer offering their margaritas (or, as we like to call them, “crackaritas”) to go.
Dear Grub Street,
The crackdown at the Hat is the biggest heartbreaker. I am totally convinced that those margaritas were filled with crack. Cold, sweet, delicious, barely detectable crack. The guy gave me a wink and said they would be back, just give them time. So my fingers are crossed.
Elizabeth Spiridakis
Dear Grub Street,
FYI: The secret ingredient of the “crackarita” was not tequila at all but Everclear. I used to live across the street in the apartment above the wine store and saw them pour a bottle of Everclear into every batch.
Mario Haro
Elizabeth and Mario,
The restaurant says it uses Tortilla Tequila Silver, an obscure favorite of fratire author Tucker Max that’s pretty much the cheapest tequila money can buy.
Back of the House
To-Go Margaritas Now a No-Go at El SombreroIs it time to pour one out for Lower East Side nightlife? Recently we let an out-of-towner in on the neighborhood “secret” that hipster slum spot El Sombrero (The Hat) has long served their potent frozen “crackaritas”* to go. Shockingly, when we told our bartender we’d have the usual, he informed us that as of about a month ago the restaurant had ceased serving the potent concoction. Maybe it had something to do with the police van parked across the street? Wondering whether an A-list customer would have better luck, we sent food publicist Aimee Bianca to ply her charms.
