The first ever "The Margarita Party" event is over. I have before me the party margarita review sheets. Just by looking at those pieces of paper, I can tell we had a good time. A few margarita splashes there.. some barbecue sauce here, good stuff. Long before the evening was over, we were discussing where to hold the next event..pretty darn good sign if you ask me.
So, on with our review. Our location of choice was Chovy's Italian Casual, located in Meadville, PA. Chovy's is a local favorite and serves, you guessed it, Italian food. We decided to review the margaritas here at the suggestion of one of our Party Members, Wendy. The atmosphere of the place is great and the bartenders were friendly. Our Party Leader, Beth, suggested that I not tell them we are reviewing next time. Maybe that affected their service? I don't think so.
Chovy's drink menu offers margaritas in original, strawberry and pomegranate, in the ultimate or grande size. (We did screw up here.. I don't remember what size we ordered? Pretty sure it was the ultimate). The bartenders also offered to get "creative" if we needed them too. (LOVED THAT)
The first three of us to arrive decided to go for top shelf. We all ordered on the rocks, two original and one pomegranate. They were awesome. Seriously, just awesome. (You have to be a pomegranate fan to enjoy that one though). The "kick" was perfect, we started feeling that happy margarita buzz almost immediately. We were soon joined by more members. The bartenders did get creative and concocted a raspberry margarita for one of us.
Party members who arrived a bit later, did not realize we had ordered top shelf. This was great for our review. One commented that her's had no kick, so we all tasted tested the bottom shelf offering compared to the top shelf. Must say, it's a big difference. You will definitely get what you pay for.
Price: Well, only one member actually filled this part out. The top shelf original margaritas were $8.95, the fruity pomegranate and raspberry $7.95, and bottom shelf original $5.95. I guess it depends on your own personal budget, but they were a bit pricey for most of us, even the bottom shelf.
Kick: I kind of talked about the kick already. Those of us who had the top shelf offerings could taste and feel the kick. Some comments were "Kicked my butt" and "Great kick, as in I'm smiling 1/5 into it.". The bottom shelf drinkers, well, they wished they were them. "Could have been a little stronger" was the general consensus.
Taste: Once again, the top shelf margaritas ruled. Great taste. The bottom shelf, not so great.
Overall Ratings: Out of 5 stars, a 4. The bottom shelf ratings dragged it down, because those of us who had the top shelf rated 5 out of 5 consistently. Would we go back?.. definitely. Everyone agreed that the atmosphere was wonderful and we all had a fun time.
Comments from the reviewers. " The BEST one I've had in years.", "Great job with the creation.", "Ask for top shelf", "Loved that they dipped my pomegranate margarita in red sugar.", "Was definitely fun." and "Lots of laughs".
Have you ever had a margarita at Chovy's? I know all of us would appreciate hearing from you!
What is more summer than fresh cold melon and margaritas? Fresh Cold Melon Margaritas!! I found this recipe at the Winnepeg Free Press site. 
