|
|
 |
|
Maya Café shares the secrets to well-executed margaritas
• by Andrea Hellmann • Photo by Josh Monken
|
 |
|
|
My uncle’s margaritas are legendary in our family; fresh-squeezed lime juice, triple sec and lots of tequila are all he needs to make the famous drink. As much as I have tried, I’ve never been able to master the art of making his margaritas at home. Luckily, I don’t need to try anymore. I have found Maya Café, where “you never get a bad margarita,” according to Grace Wilson, who perfected the drink to a well-executed art.
Located in Maplewood, this low-key Mexican restaurant strives for freshness and top-quality ingredients in its three signature margaritas: Margarita de la Casa (the house margarita), Margarita Especial (top shelf) and Margarita Dorado (golden margarita). Each drink is made to order and served on the rocks.
Wilson used the basic building blocks of a margarita (lime juice, tequila and triple sec liqueur) for all three, varying the tequila and triple sec brands. For the drinks’ base, she would squeeze fresh lime, lemon and a bit of orange juice a few times a week.
“Limes are a very fickle fruit,” Wilson said. “You’ll get a huge batch that are all dried out or a batch of limes the size of your fist.” Lemons mediate out the differences in the lime batches, and the oranges work well with the orange-flavored liqueur. To balance between the sweet and sour in the juice, Wilson also added simple syrup to the mix. Because no batch of fruit is the same, Wilson recommended tasting each batch as the sugar is added.
Although the fresh juice is important, Wilson said the secret to the margaritas is the strong presence of tequila. “One of my biggest pet peeves is ordering a margarita and not getting enough tequila,” said Wilson, a self-described margarita snob. Maya Café uses Sauza tequila in all three of its margaritas. It is not the most expensive tequila out there, but Wilson said super-premium tequilas are made for sipping, not mixing into a margarita.
Maya Café’s house margarita is a great drink at a great value (only $5.75, and you won’t need more than one). A combination of Sauza Extra Gold tequila, Leroux triple sec and the juice mix, this drink is the perfect combo of tart and tequila. As soon as the Sauza Gold hits the tongue, it is almost immediately masked by a light lime flavor. Sauza Gold is made from the sugary juice of blue agave, a cactus-like plant, and sweetened with all-natural cane sugar. “We’ve tasted a lot of tequila,” Wilson said. “For the price and the quality, Sauza Gold can’t be beat.”
For only $2 more, you can get the Margarita Especial, which Wilson said was her favorite. I have to agree; I have never tasted a better margarita – not even my uncle’s. The top-shelf version uses the exact same juice, but changes the liquors: Sauza’s Reposado Hornitos and Cointreau. Hornitos, a slightly higher-quality liquor, is “made to be in a margarita,” according to Wilson. Aged three months in oak (and also 100 percent agave), the Hornitos does not need any masking. Mixed with Cointreau, which Wilson calls a “superior” triple sec, this margarita has a crisp, clean taste. There is absolutely no bite, just a smooth, well-molded flavor. This drink lingers on the front of the palate, perfect for a hot, sunny day. It tastes like a margarita should.
At $8.75, the Margarita Dorado (Golden) has the same juice and tequila as the Margarita Especial, but it uses Grand Marnier for its orange liqueur. The Grand Marnier makes a heavier drink and masks its fruitiness rather than bringing it to the forefront like the Cointreau. It is a darker color with a darker flavor that sinks straight to the back of your palate. A little bit warmer than the other two, it seemed the perfect winter margarita.
Whether it is this summer or next fall, the next time I am craving my uncle’s margaritas, I will skip the trip to his Arizona home. Instead, I will head to Maya Café, where the margaritas are just as good, if not better. (Just don’t tell my uncle that!)
Mixer Archive
View Complete Archive
|
|
|
|
