Margaritaville

Apparently, the best margaritas in Texas are at Esparza’s, a Tex-Mex fixture in Grapevine. Never heard of Grapevine, Texas? If you’ve been to DFW (Dallas Fort Worth) airport, you’ve been in Grapevine, although Erika would say you haven’t been to Grapevine.

So what brought us there? Was it country music, barbecue, or sports? No! It was BGG Spring, a five day board game convention. BGG stands for Board Game Geek. The convention itself was fabulous. It was in the airport. Literally. The hotel was just outside the C concourse, which seems weird, but somehow worked great. We played three or four different games a day, met a bunch of interesting and fun people, and brought home half a dozen FREE games. What could be better?

Texas is known for its friendly people and hospitality, but there can’t be anywhere more friendly than Grapevine. When DFW airport was constructed on the cantaloupe fields and dairy pastures of this small town, this enterprising community shifted gears and doubled down on local history to attract visitors from across the region and around the world. Grapevine’s story is told with pride through its history museum, visitor information center, and local design standards. The colorful bungalows adorned with flags are classic Americana. Restored and replicated facades make for a picturesque Main Street, which is crossed at one end by tracks for both a historic train and the modern commuter line to Fort Worth. Main Street is filled with restaurants, boutiques, and wine tasting places. They also have an impressive festival calendar. 

Saturday night in Grapevine was the most happening place we’ve been since before COVID. On weekends they book a band in the main square and music spills out of eateries on every block. It’s no surprise that superstars Demi Lovato and Post Malone graduated from Grapevine’s High School.

We had to try the best margarita in Texas, so we made our way to Esparza’s Restaurante Mexicano. Our only disappointment with the meal was that it wasn’t practical to take our leftovers back to our hotel room. The margarita was well-balanced with just the right blend of citrus, sweet, and a very smooth tequila. The following day we wandered into Tolbert’s Chili Parlor for a taste of their authentic Texas specialty and a little live music. Tolbert’s makes a solid margarita as well, with your choice of salt, sugar, or Tajín rim.  Guido thought it was better than Esparza’s, but he might have been influenced by the $4 price. It was definitely a very good margarita.

Texas surprised us. We had an even better time than we expected at the convention and in Grapevine. A big part of that was the warm and affable people. This presented a conundrum for us because the “friendship” state is a big supporter of the political movement that demonizes immigrants and LGBTQ people. Values like freedom and independence are woven into the fabric of Texas. At one time, we might have accepted that people have different perspectives on these foundational American values and embraced the contrast. Yet in our current era, we know that certain phrases and images have been co-opted into a new code that divides and excludes.  Except for a few political ads, nothing was in our face about it. We did not discuss politics with anyone we met and we didn’t assume they held any particular views. Yet, the cognitive dissonance between the dominance of that political movement in Texas and our experience there as a whole made us feel a little bit like we were looking for our lost shaker of salt.