Readers' Choice: Where Do You Go for Your Favorite Nearby Margarita?

There are a lot of legends about how the margarita cocktail came to be. It was invented in Acapulco, Ensenada, Tijuana or even Galveston, Texas, depending on whom you believe.

The Galveston version has the star-struck bartender mixing it especially for singer Peggy (Margaret) Lee and naming it for her. The earlier Ensenada version has his counterpart honoring the daughter of the German ambassador. The Acapulco mixologist was supposedly love-struck with a beautiful local senorita.

The most believable tale, however, is less romantic; it has Americans during Prohibition crossing the border for drinks and ordering the then-popular Daisy – a popular concoction made similarly except with brandy instead of tequila.

The Mexican barkeeps then supposedly adapted it to their national liquor.

The evidence for it is that there are much earlier accounts of such a drink than all those other wish-it-were-so stories – and that "margarita" is the Spanish word for daisy.

Whatever its origins, the margarita in its many forms has become one of the most, if not the most, popular mixed drinks in America.

Patch would like to know where you would go to get what you consider the best margarita in Wauwatosa or Brookfield.

Purists will insist on the original: An ounce and a half of white tequila, a splash of orange liqueur and the juice of half a Key lime on the rocks.

But the long morphology of the margarita also allows for fondness for any of the many variations, including the blended version of the original, those made with gold tequila, those made with incredibly expensive tequila, and all those frothy fruity flavors, strawberry leading the way.

Want a margarita made with mango? Somewhere, somebody's done it.

Kiwi? Prob'ly.

For starters, and out of respect for tradition, we're listing only the Mexican restaurants we know to serve them in our fair cities:

• , 2711 N. Mayfair Rd., Tosa; 15375 W. Bluemound Rd. and 3705 N. 124th St., Brookfield
• , 11320 W. Bluemound Rd., Tosa
• , 869 N. Mayfair Rd., Tosa
• , 7118 W. State St., Tosa
• Jimmy's Island Grill & Iguana Bar, 2303 N. Mayfair Rd., Tosa
• La Fuente, 9155 Bluemound Road, Tosa
• , 20371 Blue Mound Rd., Brookfield
• , 19035 Blue Mound Rd., Brookfield

But it's a rare restaurant, nightclub or hotel bar that won't serve one, so if you know of a watering hole, your personal Margaritaville, where this drink is made to beat all others, let us know in the comments and we'll add it to our poll.

Results, based on votes, comments and reviews in our directory, will be posted Friday, so don't delay your nominations.