Stirred and Shaken

"You'll think you've died and gone to San Antonio" gets my nomination for advertising slogan of the year. The Tex-Mex at Lucinda's [2415 Dunstan, (713)394-7280] is heartwarming. There's a bakery turning out cookies and desserts right inside the front door, and the fresh flour tortillas are made by hand. It's too late for the free happy-hour appetizers, so we have a sizzling comal of fajitas with a couple of Hornitos margaritas. The decor is a little bright for my tastes -- the giant red peppers painted on the walls begin to pulsate midway through the large margarita.

Lucinda's Hornitos Margarita:Mexican and key limes are the little ones. If you substitute Persian limes (the big ones), you'll need only half the fruit. Most bars use a commercial margarita mix. These are widely available in liquor stores, but I like limeade more.

Crushed ice
Juice of one Mexican lime
4 shots Sauza Hornitos tequila
2 shots Hiram Walker triple sec (or Cointreau)
1 cup limeade
Salt

Fill a shaker with crushed ice and squeeze the lime juice into it. Wet the rims of two margarita glasses with what's left of the lime. Dump a little salt on a dish towel and spin the moistened rims in it. Shake off the excess salt. Add the tequila, triple sec (or Cointreau) and limeade to the shaker. Shake the cocktails and pour them into the glasses carefully to avoid messing up the salted rims. Makes two.