These Little Forest Hills ladies are serious about their margaritas. They call themselves “the maidens of margarita madness and mayhem,” and since 2003, they have met monthly for dinner at various neighborhood restaurants — preferably those that serve Mexican food — to support local businesses, spend quality time with neighbors and, of course, drink margaritas.
The goal is to try a different restaurant every month. Picks have ranged from La Parrillada, a hole-in-the-wall taco joint on Gaston, to the longstanding El Fenix in Casa Linda and beloved Mariano’s on Skillman, with occasional repeats to group favorites like Fish City Grill and Matt’s Rancho Martinez. But the restaurant responsible for it all was Dos Charros, a now-closed Tex-Mex place popular among the circle of neighborhood friends.
“We went there all the time; we loved it,” Susan Remele says. Remele and her dining companions enjoyed their visits to Dos Charros so much, they decided to form an official group. Their intricate name stems from simple facts about the members: “We all love margaritas,” Remele explains. “And we’re all kind of crazy, so there is some madness in there.”
Donna Mason, Kay McKinney, Dianne Evan, Paula Schmitt and Susan Remele are some of the founding members of the margarita madness group. PHOTO BY MADELINE STEVENS
They began sending emails inviting other neighbors to join, and over time, what started as an intimate dozen or so women grew to a list of almost 60 names. Although everyone on the list has never shown up for a meal at one time, dinner attendance has reached as many as 30 people, Remele says.
“There are about 12 people that usually come all the time,” she says. “About four or five of them are from the ‘original’ group.” And while the members are all female, men occasionally have been invited to take part in their dining antics. “We would invite the boyfriends and husbands for, like, one time a year,” Remele says. “They always love it when they can come.”
She attributes the group’s success to the “incredible leadership” in Little Forest Hills — namely that of neighborhood association co-presidents Max and Denise Davis.
“They are always promoting everything they can find that people do and sending out messages through the neighborhood association,” she says. “The neighborhood has been very crucial in getting the word out.”
The “margarita girls” have even marched in neighborhood Fourth of July parades on occasion — margarita glasses in hand, naturally.
