20130426Margarita Meltdown_Katie Bernet0289

Doing the limbo at Margarita Meltdown in the Bishop Arts District Sunday. Photo by Katie Bernet

The third-annual Margarita Meltdown happened in the Bishop Arts District Sunday. Soleo Mexican Kitchen won the bartender competition.

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Full disclosure: I’ve never attended Margarita Meltdown. But Advocate readers have complained that past events were poorly organized and that the revelry left a mess for business owners to clean up afterward.

According to David Spence of Good Space, however, this year’s meltdown was much improved. Spence reviewed the event on Facebook, giving kudos to the organizers for clean-up and organization. Last call could be earlier, Spence suggested, as “biochemically, a lot of the risks of intoxication would be avoided if alcohol were served for 4 hours instead of 5.”

Now that's what I call a party. Photo by Katie Bernet

Bishop Arts District neighbors celebrate Memorial Day with a front-yard party Sunday. Photo by Katie Bernet

But let’s back up here. The winner was Soleo, which is up on Hillcrest at Northwest Highway. They have a tequila bar. That’s cool, but it might as well be in Arkansas because I’m not driving that far for a margarita. Which brings us to this question: Who makes the best ‘rita in Oak Cliff? It is a question the CliffDweller researched extensively back in 2007. But so much has changed since then.

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The strawberry pequin margarita at Outpost. Photo by Cristy Martinez

My knowledge is probably lacking on this topic, as I typically order frozen with salt. But I did have a dang good margarita at Outpost American Tavern Friday. Their strawberry pequin margarita is made with El Jimador, Cointreau, strawberry syrup and pequin peppers. Sweet, hot, refreshing. They cost $7, but all Outpost cocktails are half off at happy hour, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. daily. Summer is just about here, Oak Cliff. So school me. Whose margarita is queen?