Vida Verde in Hell’s Kitchen Has Silky, Ultra-Cold Frozen Margarita | Eater NY

"For now, while walking through New York feels like wading through a sloppy bowl of gumbo, I drink my frozen margaritas at Vida Verde, which opened last July in Hell’s Kitchen. Some nights it’s a packed, DJ-driven party — complete with a DJ wearing over-ear headphones and walls hung with photographs of pretty people in Día de los Muertos face paint drinking blue cocktails — an atmosphere that tips its hat to Tao; most nights, though, it’s pretty chill, so you grab a seat at the bar and order a margarita. The mixture — fresh lemon and lime juice, Goza blanco tequila, cane syrup, and Combier orange liqueur — is piped out of a frozen margarita maker: beverage director Lucas Wilde makes the drink in batches, lets the mixture chill in a 40-gallon cooler, and then force-feeds it into a 10-gallon mixer. The result borders on silky with almost none of the ice crystals you notice elsewhere; texturally it’s closest to a movie-theater Icee but markedly colder, the chill stinging the tongue and recalling the nitro burn of Dippin’ Dots, often causing a massive, momentary headache. That extreme temperature and bright acidity make these margaritas an essential foil for tacos with fatty, smoky chorizo or the oversized “personal nachos,” but honestly the margaritas stand alone — they’re $14 each and I’m calling them a BUY; I’ve rarely left without having two." - Ryan Sutton