Rainy, cold-for-October Saturday afternoons don’t usually scream “margarita,” (they usually call for a favorite of Rachel’s, a Hot Toddy) but as I sat down at Lime Jungle I oddly wanted nothing more than a frozen tequila delight. Since sometimes the last squirt of lime into a margarita can be the perfect finishing touch, and the restaurant WAS named Lime Jungle, I decided to start with the lime flavored margarita.

Now, I understand a restaurant would want to give a little extra of their namesake flavor, but this margarita was taken over by the lime flavoring. I couldn’t get any of the tequila taste and even though the consistency was sufficiently thick, all that was left in my mouth was a coating of sugary artificial lime.

Luckily for Lime Jungle and my tongue, Rachel and Julia’s arrival was delayed due to service changes by our beloved MTA. My lime concoction was near empty by the time they got there. Needing another drink to accompany the (pretty great) nachos, I opted for the mango flavor this round. Definitely an improvement from the over-flavored lime, this version had a better balance of flavor and tequila while keeping the excellent frozen consistency.

I also sampled fellow nacho-eaters Rachel and Dan’s strawberry and passion fruit on-the-rocks margaritas. The passion fruit version definitely faired better as an on-the-rocks concoction. I think a sweet strawberry flavor is better served up frozen. I’m a firm believer that if you’re going to do a margarita on-the-rocks, it should definitely stick to the original recipe (save for specialty cocktails—I still dream of a summery, watermelony, Park Slope afternoon). However the tame passion fruit addition complemented the cocktail rather than turning it into a sugary-drink you would find on the menu of an Outback Steakhouse.

Sad to say once we arrived at our final destination, Terminal 5, I had switched over to my standby drink: vodka soda. So while I cannot report on Terminal 5’s margarita skills, I CAN report on the Avett Brothers’ rockin’ New York skills and they brought ‘em! Rachel has turned me into an Avett believer. Great night of music and nachos and—thanks to a save-by-the-mango—a decent night of margaritas!

For even more nacho fun

Nacho Crawl Margarita Breakdown by Maraysa Schwartz

Lime Jungle and the Avett Brothers by Rachel Anderson

West Coast Nachos by Maraysa Schwartz

Margaritas go with nachos by Maraysa Schwartz