Is it me or did the pandemic really fire up your interest in getting out?

One of the things that re-emerged during the dark days of lockdown, albeit in 6-foot-separated circles of friends gathered outside in the cold in the park, was raising a glass to the good in our lives. There was just so much negative we could take. So yes, looking back with the “pandemic 15” weighing on my person, perhaps a little too much glass-raising was involved, a few too many drinks imbibed, ‘why-nots?’ shrugged as we reached for another drink, cookie, helping, puzzle, fill in the blank…

But why dwell on the negatives? During the pandemic, I deeply, truly appreciated my friends, my family and my cocktails… together, whenever possible.

One special friend I gained a new appreciation for is a well-balanced cocktail. How better to drink many of them? Too sweet = too filling, too sour= off-putting, too strong = painful tomorrow, too weak = step it up! Thus we find we are on the Goldilocks hunt.

The Goldilocks Margarita. We had to narrow our search, given the astounding number of south-of-the-border gastronomic offerings in the greater Cincinnati area. This hunt focused on downtown Cincinnati. We have added a few faves from outliers.

Full disclosure, my tastes favor the slightly spicy and sour – yours may differ, god forgive you.

We hit Mita’s, Nada and Gomez Halfcut OTR. We have since enjoyed margs or marg-riffs at Gomez, Anjou, Tahona, and Enoteca Emilia.

Try them all, you can’t go wrong!

…But in our opinion (drumroll please), Mita wins the FNFT Margarita Goldilocks Award – perfectly balanced margarita.

Runners up: Cory’s classic marg at Enoteca Emilia, Gomez’s spicy margarita, Tahona’s “The Tahona,” Anjou’s “Bill Murray”.

If you’re thinking about replicating some at home, think fresh lime juice, great tequila, light on the simple syrup.

Mita craft-makes a citrus cordial to mix with their tequila and lime – empanadas and ceviche pair nicely (next time I’m trying the Luchador!).

Nada makes theirs with blanco tequila, house tangerine triple, and fresh lime,

Tahona’s namesake is spun with Patron Roca Silver Tequila + fresh ginger syrup + fresh lemon and lime juice + slice of cucumber.

Anjou’s Murray has tequila + agave + lime but throws the recipe out the door with some pisco and a sassy pineapple-mango shrub thrown in.

Get yourself a turtle (it’s not what you think), salsa and a spicy marg at Gomez – it’s like fast food but so, so much tastier.

Special note: do yourself a favor and visit Enoteca Emilia in Loveland, the halibut is to die for. If the gorgeous dutch baroque oil floral painting – turned monumental wallcovering and giant indoor/outdoor bar doesn’t win you over, just take a seat and order a drink. Cory’s not telling me the secret of his marg but, with trepidation that gaining more customers will give away our coveted outer bar-deck barstools, make it easy on yourself, just go out and try it.

Where we went for this FNFT+:

eatdrinknada.com,
gomezsalsa.com,
tahonakitchen.com,
emilialoveland.com

‘Til next friday, cheers!