"I have no hard feelings," says founder Mariano Martinez. "The landlord
helped me to achieve the great American dream of owning my own business,
taking a chance on me when I was 26 years old with no money or management
experience. I was lucky that they would sign a lease with me in their brand
new shopping center." This first restaurant grew into his ownership of
multiple Tex-Mex establishments throughout North Texas.

Martinez opened his namesake restaurant with $500 and a loan from the Small
Business Administration on May 1, 1971, for an initial investment of
$116,000. The restaurant made a profit the second month in business. Mariano
proudly displayed a proclamation from the state of Texas attesting to the
fact that he invented the frozen margarita in the summer of 1971. He had
gotten the idea from the "Slurpee" machines at a local 7-Eleven convenience
store. He then modified a soft-serve ice cream machine to concoct his tasty
innovation.

Phil Farco, bar supervisor then at The Hackberry Creek Country Club revealed
years later, in the July/August 1998 issue of Private Clubs Magazine,
something that all busy bartenders realize. "The first rule of bartending is
'the blender’s always broken' just because of the mess and the inconsistency
of the drinks." The reassignment of the "Slurpee" machine to the more
relevant task of Margarita making brought about reliable consistency. The
thick slushy texture of a frozen margarita from a high-powered club blender
can be difficult to reproduce with a home blender. Pros recommend purchasing
fruit juices and nectars and freezing them in ice cube trays, then
substituting them for ice in the drink. Another tip is to divide the frozen
margarita recipe into two batches, freezing one as you swirl the other in
the blender with ice.

"Remember it’s the tequila that makes your margarita special," explains
Dallas based beverage writer Renee Hopkins. "Keep tequila in the freezer for
icier, less diluted drinks (and also for making nonfrozen margaritas), and
use fruit-infused tequila for more flavor. Also, try freezing ripe, fresh
seasonal fruits and adding them to your frozen margaritas to produce an icy
drink without diluting the flavor. A few possibilities might be peeled and
sliced fresh mangoes, peaches, pineapples, melon balls, whole strawberries
and kiwis, and bananas."

The correct glass for serving any margarita is long-stemmed glass and rimmed
in salt. Chill the long-stemmed glass by rinsing them and placing stem side
up in the freezer for about 15 minutes. Pour coarse salt on a napkin or in a
saucer. Hold the glass upside down, and run a slice of lime around the rim.
Lightly encrust the rim of the glass in the salt, shaking off any excess
salt. "When recipes call for you to shake, cover the glass with a stainless
steel shaker half-filled with ice, then shake," advise Hopkins. "And
remember, the more you shake, the more you infuse the ice with the drink."

Margaritas figure importantly in the reporting of the Dallas Morning News.
Business editor Scott Burns has received much publicity for his margarita
derived savings plan. "This is not s a lifetime savings project. Not
relentless drudgery. Just put aside $167 a month for somewhere between 12
and 20 years when you are young and you'll have a cool million at 65. That
calculates out to about the price of a margarita a day. So if you can miss
one margarita a day, you can be a millionaire. Easier said than done, of
course," concludes Burns. This is based upon a relatively conservative
longterm interest rate of 9%.

Texas political types have been the receipients of late night TV monologue
jokes in recent months. For a positive example of the right-thinking quality
of the Texas Senate, go to
www.capitol.state.tx.us/tlo/77R/billtext/SR00939F.HTM to read a resolution
(May 10, 2001) in honor of the 30-year anniversary of Martinez' inventing
the frozen margarita. One should note that some of these same well-grounded
thinkers form the Texas Senate, when running for the border to avoid crucial
voting, selected New Mexico on their second, highly publicized exodus.
Previously the destination was Oklahoma. Obviously the margaritas are better
in New Mexico.