Margarita News

Taco Cabana expands its margarita selection to 12 flavors year-round

No more limited edition, this is the real thing.

Taco Cabana

San Antonio Tex-Mex chain Taco Cabana is giving the people what they want: all the margarita flavors, served year-round.

According to a release, the company is calling dibs on the title of Margarita Headquarters by featuring 12 permanent margarita flavors on the menu, each available for $3, all day.

Available flavors will include their classic flavors of Lime, Strawberry, Mango, Strawberry Mango, and Mangonada, plus five flavors featured as previous limited-edition offerings and two brand new flavors:

Blue Curacao *returning
Watermelon *returning
Dragonfruit *returning
Blood Orange *returning
Green Apple *returning
Coconut *NEW
Pineapple *NEW

The decision comes after three launches of the company's popular, limited-edition "MargaritaPalooza," in the past two years, which CultureMap has studiously documented, with the kind of diligence that news about margaritas deserves.

Taco Cabana first debuted the limited-time promotion in July 2020. The "talker" back then was the quirky Dr Pepper flavor. According to Restaurant Business, the promotion brought in "record sales of margaritas," making it a positive story during the darkest days of the pandemic when positive stories were few and far between.

Not content to let well enough alone, they retired six of the original dozen flavors in August 2020, to make room for the six new flavors coming in. That was ultimately a good thing since three of the new flavors were deliciously authentic: pineapple chamoy, spicy guava, and the best one, tamarind.

They returned in April 2021 with a third round, this time featuring ultra-creative flavors such as Pickle, Violet, and Pistachio.

Taco Cabana Chief Operating Officer Ulyses Camacho says in a statement that Margaritapalooza was a "game changer" for the company.

"There was so much fun and excitement for both guests and team members when we previously executed it across the TC system," Camacho says. "We pride ourselves on listening to what our guests want, and they have consistently asked us for on-going, everyday margarita innovation and variety, not just during certain times of the year. We are now thrilled to establish ourselves as the ‘Margarita Headquarters’ with so many margarita flavors for our guests to choose from each and every day."

Flavor No. 13
In addition to the 12 margarita flavors, a rotating 13th flavor will also be seasonally available for $4. Previous seasonal margarita offerings have included flavors like Pickle, Pumpkin Spice, and Cherry.

New or returning seasonal margaritas will be announced on an ongoing basis. Maybe tamarind, Taco Cabana? How about tamarind?

Margarita Headquarters launches first in San Antonio on Wednesday, July 20, and then at locations across Texas on Wednesday, August 3.

Also, discounts
They'll also be offering a summertime happy hour, Sunday-Thursday 4-7 pm, with $2 Lime or Strawberry Margaritas, $2 domestic beer, half-price bean & cheese nachos, $1.50 bean & cheese chalupa, and $1 bean & cheese taco. That'll start in San Antonio, and eventually make its way across Texas, as well.

And they're bringing back their beloved salsa bar, with Roja, Fuego, Salsa Ranch, Taco Cabana’s new salsa Verde, Pico de Gallo, and pickled jalapeños, which were shut down during the pandemic.

Taco Cabana was founded in 1978. The brand specializes in Tex-Mex-inspired food including enchiladas, fajitas, quesadillas, flautas, burritos, tacos, freshly-made flour tortillas and a selection of made-from-scratch salsas and sauces. Taco Cabana operates 142 company-owned restaurants in Texas.

cocktails

Burger News

Family-owned Patty Lou's Smashburgers will open in old downtown Plano

Photo by Sara Aurora Cimminiello on Unsplash

Smashburger

A new restaurant starring a buzzy burger is coming to old downtown Plano: Called Patty Lou's Smashburgers, it will feature the namesake smashburger, and will open at 1004 E. 14th St. #105, in a historic location that was most recently home to a Starbucks.

Patty Lou's is a new concept from Urban Family Concepts, the hospitality company whose other restaurants include Urban Seafood Co., Urban Rio Cantina & Grill, and Italian restaurant Urban Crust, all located in the downtown Plano area.

Patty Lou's is their burger entry, a quick-service spot serving smashburgers, the flattened version of a burger with crisp edges that's been a hot trend for the past year.

According to Urban Family Concepts partner and spokesperson Dana Blaugrund, the restaurant will open in late spring.

Patty Lou's is also a sweet homage to a family member — named for Patty Lou Peters, of "Patty Lou and her Texas Sweethearts" fame, an all-female country & Western / Western swing group founded in the '40s, when female groups were a rarity.

Patty Lou was the mother of Bonnie Shea, who co-founded Urban Family Concepts with her husband Nathan Shea. Infusing the personal touch into everything they do is part of the company DNA, says Urban partner Michael Lee.

"Urban is generally driven by what we like," Lee says. "Urban Rio, our Mexican concept, came about because Bonnie loved that cuisine, and Urban Seafood Company, Nate loves seafood. Burgers are a favorite of their son-in-laws."

Their version of the smashburger will feature American cheese and onions that melt into the meat, Lee says. They'll be served on potato buns, and there'll be some toppings — but they won't go too crazy.

"It'll have onions, lettuce, and pickle, but we're going to stay minimal, with additional toppings on the side," he says. "Going overboard with ingredients can get complicated. Our goal is, very simple burgers that taste very good, at a value price, so that everyone can enjoy coming back and getting a burger."

The menu will also feature smashed chicken burgers, hand-cut French fries skin on, lightly battered onion rings, and milkshakes. They'll also serve alcohol, including bottled beers, wine by the glass, and a signature frozen cocktail. Eventually, they'll add specials like a burger of the month.

The location was originally home to the Ice House, built in 1917, an institution that provided ice products to Plano residents and businesses, says Urban partner Payton Hickey.

"You could pull up and get a block of ice from workers with tongs," Hickey says. "During remodeling, we could still see the raised floor where the freezer was, where they kept the ice."

They operated a licensed location of Starbucks in that space until 2024, when Starbucks opened a store nearby with a drive-thru in the former longtime Jack in the Box at 15th Street and US-75.

Decor at Patty Lou's will embrace a diner feel with counter seating, while incorporating elements from Patty Lou Peter's life, Blaugrund says. (It's a nice coincidence that her name syncs up with "hamburger patty.")

"We'll have her original guitar and some memorabilia in the restaurant — a cool mixture of country music and burger restaurant," Blaugrund says.

burgers openings