-Joei DeCarlo
Craft Hospitality in conjunction with Travis Manion Foundation brought Margarita Rumble to Philadelphia on Saturday afternoon for a tequila-filled fiesta! Sixteen restaurants and bars gathered at The Piazza at Schmidt’s Commons in Northern Liberties to find out which would be given the title of Best Margarita in Philly. Attendees received a wooden token upon entry and were able to vote for their favorite. Some of the competitors were: Copabanana, El Sarape, The Red Lady, Vesper Sporting Club, Coda, JJ Bootleggers, Draught Horse, Mad Rex, and more. All of the margaritas featured Don Julio tequila, who sponsored the event. The Travis Manion Foundation was the charity of choice for the event for the support they provide to veterans and their families.
Here were some of the many margarita offerings:
-Vesper Sporting Club- Vesper Cadillac Margarita
-Draught Horse- Seahorse (fresh squeezed lemon, lime, and orange juices, muddled maraschino cherries, agave syrup with a Sriracha sugared rim)
-Tortilla Press Cantina- Cantina Rita (House-made simple syrup and fresh squeezed lime juice)
-El Sarape- Strawberry-Basil
-Lucha Cartel- Rico-Rita (Cointreau, fresh squeezed lime juice, and Jaritos grapefruit juice)
Food trucks were on site for guests to purchase. El Guaco Loco had tacos, nachos, burritos, and more traditional dishes. Sweet Lavender had several unique cupcakes, and Barkley’s BBQ had barbecue favorites and mac and cheese. I enjoyed El Guaco Loco’s carnitas tacos on corn tortillas topped with onions, cheese and sour cream, and mac and cheese from Barkley’s BBQ.
After much deliberation and wonderful drink samples, my vote went to Tortilla Press Cantina’s “Cantina Rita” margarita. Although the ingredients were simple and pretty straight forward, I enjoyed the sweetness of the simple syrup and how it complimented the lime and tequila perfectly! All who participated brought their best to the competition and made for a hard voting decision.
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