Frozen Margarita appears as a signature dish in 1 United States cities. See each city's local variant and where to eat it.
Frozen margarita · Austin
The blender invention that defined Tex-Mex bar service: tequila, lime, triple sec and ice churned to a frozen slush, with salt-rimmed glass. Matt's El Rancho runs the canonical Austin version.
The frozen margarita machine was invented in 1971 by Mariano Martinez at Mariano's Mexican Cuisine in Dallas, adapting a soft-serve ice cream machine to churn tequila slush. The technology spread fast through Texas; Matt's El Rancho in Austin had a machine running by 1972. The Austin version uses Sauza Gold or 1800 reposado, lime juice, triple sec and simple syrup churned at sub-freezing temperatures. Joann's and Curra's run avocado margarita variants; the original frozen version remains a Travis County summer rite.
Where to eat in Austin:
- Matt's El Rancho
- Joann's Fine Foods
- Magnolia Cafe
- Cisco's Restaurant Bakery & Bar