419 Travis St, Houston, TX 77002
Margaritas, Really
It has been more than a year since our first trip to El Big Bad when we were organizing a margarita hunt for a friend’s birthday party. El Big Bad shows up on several online lists with good margarita reviews. Now that we have gone live with the hunt and most of our restaurant visits are for takeout these days, it was time to check out this well-known location.
El Big Bad is next to a popular pizzeria. Our order pickup was on a Friday night. The temporary curbside parking for two vehicles was busy but nothing like a pandemic free Friday evening in downtown Houston.
On a normal Friday evening, the sidewalk would be full of people heading to dinner and entertainment. Another sad reminder that our world is not back to normal. There was a slow but steady stream of customers entering the doors. We welcomed the assistance from the El Big Bad doorman who came out to help with a man holding a bottle of beer, clearly not his first of the day, and refusing to accept “no” in response to his repeated requests for money.
Just inside the front door is a long bar the length of the restaurant with a colorful mural above depicting the story of agave, mixed in with the Three Little Pigs and Red Riding Hood. Across from the bar, we caught a glimpse of the wolf.
A second floor and outside balcony will have to wait for a future visit. The doorman let someone know we were waiting on a take out order while we listened in on the bartender’s conversation with a couple standing at the bar. El Big Bad offers a large selection of infused tequilas, and some are available by the bottle for takeout when purchased with food. There are limited quantities available behind the bar. The infused tequilas are also combined with the house margarita mix and served at the bar. A few groups of two came in while we waited. They all disappeared up the stairs at the back.
After the couple left with food and their bottle of infused tequila, the bartender checked on our order and introduced himself. Steve explained the Margaritas, Really to go package we were waiting on was not a typical mixture of tequila and lime juice. El Big Bad uses fresh-squeezed lime and lemon juice mixed with agave and tequila calibrated with a refractometer for a precisely balanced cocktail. We nodded like we knew what the heck he was talking about while trying to recall ever having heard of a refractometer. Isn’t a refractometer used to measure light through a liquid or something like that?
That’s impressive stuff for a house margarita. On our hunt for the best margarita, we have tried cocktails trying to impress with the mixologist’s creativity and technique. Most did not deliver on taste. We were interested, but not impressed.
The wait was a bit longer than comfortable for a prepaid and scheduled online order with a vehicle holding in the temporary curbside area. Steve’s enthusiasm and knowledge of the infused tequilas kept us from getting antsy, and he piqued our interest when he told us of the Churro flavored infused tequila. We like churros. The margaritas were already on the high end of what we usually pay for to go margaritas, and $75 for 750ml of infused tequila would make this an expensive take out meal. It was a Friday evening, and we are trying to help our fellow man find a great margarita, and tequila is in margaritas. Two minutes later, we completed the impulse buy while receiving our to-go order and calibrated margaritas. We left with our food, margaritas, and bottle of infused tequila, hungry and ready for a cold margarita.
The fajitas and enchiladas were both good. We tried the trio of salsas: smoked tomato, salsa verde, and creamy jalapeno ranch. The smoked tomato was tasty, the salsa verde not so much. The creamy jalapeno ranch is addictive. There is probably a Tex Mex or Mexican food restaurant association ordinance broken by using ranch instead of creamy cilantro or creamy jalapeno. I’ll pay the fine. It’s dadgum good, and up there with our all-time favorite dips. Is the creamy jalapeno ranch calibrated like the margaritas?
We are on a hunt, and we have the margaritas from El Big Bad, it’s time to talk tequila. The Margaritas, Really quart is $50, which is on the high side of what we generally pay for to go margaritas. Steve mentioned something about not watering down the margaritas with ice while we were waiting on our order. Unlike the frozen margaritas or the margaritas already on ice at pick up, this quart has more undiluted margarita mix and tequila. That refractometer thing again. When poured over ice, you get eight glasses, which turns this into a happy hour value for a margarita.
We chilled the quart of margaritas and poured into frosted salt-rimmed glasses without ice. The first sip was promising with very balanced flavors. The tequila is stronger than expected without standing out. The Margaritas, Really is one of the better house margaritas we have tried this year. It competes easily with top-shelf margaritas. Perhaps there is something to that refractometer calibration. We give the Margaritas, Really a rating of four and a half margarita glasses.
What about our impulse buy of the Churro infused tequila? We first tried it poured neat. All three at the table were surprised and impressed. This tequila is not sweet like a flavored liqueur. It is smooth like a premium tequila with a nicely balanced cinnamon taste that adds to the warmth and makes it a sipping tequila worthy of the price. We also tried it on the rocks. Both work well, and we are going to enjoy finishing the bottle.
El Big Bad is worth another visit to try out more of the infused tequilas, sit at the handsome bar, and try out the rooftop once things cool off in Houston. Two visits are not enough.
The hunt continues…
I must try this! Cabo used to be here back in the day and I’ve driven past El Big Bad many times. Next time I’m gonna stop.
Thank you!