Get Your Drank On: Cinco de Mayo 2013 in Los Angeles

Howdy LA booze enthusiasts! It’s that time of year again, the old Cinco de Drinko and LA is ripe with excellent food and drank deals all over town! But first, did you know why we celebrate this special day? Cinco de Mayo commemorates Mexico’s victory over France at the Battle of Puebla back in 1862 during the Franco-Mexican War. Impress friends and strangers alike with that fun fact, preferably after you’ve had a tequila shot or four – Drunk History tales are the best!

Apparently, Cinco de Mayo isn’t a huge holiday in Mexico, but Americanos certainly love it – elevating the spring holiday to a boozy celebration only second to St. Patrick’s Day! In this spirit, we offer you these fine events and specials all over the city.

Have another deal that must be shared? E-mail us at TheHappyHourTour@gmail.com!

Cheers! --JB

La Cuevita – 5922 North Figueroa St.
Highland Park Hipster Heaven with live music and DJ + $5 Margaritas or Dos Equis w/ tequila shot!

Holy margarita, Batman! Highland Park’s popular neighborhood joint formerly known as the Cave celebrates its 1st anniversary as La Cuevita (meaning “little cave”) with a Cinco de Mayo Fiesta running from 4pm to 2am. Don’t miss $5 margaritas and Dos Equis drafts w/ tequila shot all night! Plus, live music (Los MuerTones and El-Haru Kuroi start at 6pm) and DJ Jimmy James at 10pm. Pow! Bam! Boom! I’m excited like a fight on the old Batman show!

Tortilla Republic – 616 N. Robertson Blvd.
WeHo Block Party with DJ’s, Mariachi Band, Tacos, Margaritas, and a Pintata Pit!

West Hollywood’s margarita mecca, Tortilla Republic, is going all out for 5/5 – can you say Grande Cinco de Mayo Block Party?! The party is truly a Sunday Funday affair running from 2-7pm, and in drink & do good news – proceeds will go to a great cause, Project Angel Food. A $10 donation gets you in and $20 offers VIP access - looks like the donation is just to get in, your margaritas and goodies will be extra. The open-air party will feature DJ sets and a Top 40 Mariachi Band; tacos, tacos, and more tacos; margarita pitchers, and a Pinata Pit. I don’t know what a Pinata Pit is, but it sounds AWESOME! Those WeHo boyz & girlz sure know how to throw a partay!! Get your tickets now here.

The Mission Cantina – 5496 Sunset Blvd.
East Hollywood Cantina with food & drink specials on Saturday and Sunday

¡Ay, carumba! One of my personal favorite East Hollywood Mexican bars (great food, cool regulars, sweet décor) offers up double the fun with Cuatro & Cinco de Mayo. On both May 4th and 5th, Mission Cantina will be open from noon to 2am and will feature mariachi music, a photobooth, food and drink specials, and giveaways (what, oh what, are they giving away?!).

The Mixing Room – 900 West Olympic Blvd., 1st Floor
Celebrating the Cinco with a roaming Mariachi band, food & drink specials on Saturday & Sunday

The Mixing Room at the beautiful Ritz Carlton in downtown LA will also be featuring a double-header of Saturday and Sunday deals including Made-to-Order stations (Burritos - $12, Tacos - 2 for $10, Nacho Bar - $10), House-made Guacamole for $7, and Chocolate Tamales at 2 for $7! Drink specials haven’t been listed yet. And I know, I know – you can get the best burrito of your life for a third the price at Cactus Taco, but sometimes, well, sometimes it’s just fun to be fancy!

Las Perlas – 107 East 6th Street
Downtown tequila bar offers nice tequila shots between $5-7 213’s tequila bar

Las Perlas is offering up sweet deals all day long – from 4pm-midnight. They’ve got: $7 Herradura Blanco Shots, $7 Herradura Reposado Shots, $6 El Jimador Margaritas, $6 Palomas, $6 Batangas. $5 El Jimador Tequila Shots. For vittles, Julia Arenas will be serving up street tacos. I don’t know what the means, but I trust the 213 group to provide a fun evening of tequila and tacos!

Border Grill – 1445 4th St.
Santa Monica’s rad restaurant features $3 shots and $5 draft beers and margaritas + food deals on Cinco de Mayo

Promising the best Mexican fiesta in town, Border Grill is going to keep fun going from Friday, May 3rd – Sunday, May 5th with $3 shots and $5 beers or margaritas! Stay on the 5th for $3 Tacos, $5 Ceviche & Taquitos, $7 Carne Asada Fries, plus Karma Tequila prizes, a photo booth, and more! I’m gonna hold them to this being the best fiesta, umkay?!

Angelenos, as you can see, there are plenty of great options to get your drank on! However, should you choose to stay at home and booze while watching ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO or something equally lame (CUT TO: me sitting home boozing and watching ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO :)  – here’s my personal favorite au naturel margarita recipe!

1. Ya start with 2 oz. of Tequila in a glass. I prefer Hornitos Reposado and Milagro Silver.

2. Squeeze in juice from half of a lime.

3. Stir in ½ tablespoon of agave syrup.

4. Pour the mixture over freshly made ice in a cocktail glass (home bartenders take note, a terrific homemade cocktail starts and ends with fresh ice)!

5. Add lime-flavored club soda. Stir one last time to mix the soda and tequila-lime-agave mixture.

6. Ta-da! Drink up!!