Creative destruction on the cocktail menu
A viral frozen drink has landed in Baton Rouge, swirling tequila, lime and ice cream into something dangerously easy to love.
The soft-serve margarita was born from a fine American tradition: a restaurant problem meeting a machine it had no business using.
In 1971, Dallas restaurateur Mariano Martinez had a bartender problem. His staff could not make frozen margaritas fast enough or consistently enough. So Martinez looked at a soft-serve ice cream machine and saw not dessert, but a solution. He reworked it to pour frozen margaritas instead, accidentally creating the hypnotic swirl now found behind bars across the country.
Fifty-five years later, someone looked at the same machine and took the idea in the other direction: tequila, lime juice and agave folded into the ice cream base itself.
Naturally, it went viral. Now it has reached Baton Rouge.
This is not a margarita with a scoop of ice cream plopped into it. The soft-serve margarita is its own thing: lighter than a frozen cocktail, airier than standard soft serve, with a smooth finish, a little tequila bite and enough lime to remind you this was not made for children.
La Carreta in Mid City is serving a mango version that moves fast. At one table, a group shared one and finished it in less than five minutes, which is either a review or a warning. They also serve strawberry, and like several places around town, will swirl the two into a two-toned spiral that looks engineered for Instagram.
You can also find soft-serve margaritas at Boru Ramen, Casa Maria, Pedro’s and Las Palmas. If the early reception is any guide, more restaurants will make room for them soon.
Order one for yourself. Order another for the table.
