Help choose the best margarita and taco in the River Cities

The will be held from 12 to 7 p.m. on Sept. 1 at Festival Plaza in downtown Shreveport.

The Pour Off is a friendly competition for prizes between local restaurants and bars to determine the best local margarita and the best local taco. This will be a family-friendly event, with a designated kids’ area and Lucha Libre-style wrestling that’s sure to be entertaining for all ages.

“The goal of the Pour Off is to bring all of the best restaurants and local vendors to one central location for a day filled with entertainment for the entire family,” Nico Ponce, event creator, said. “The judges for the margarita competition are the customers that pre-purchase margarita-sampling coupons. They will receive one margarita sampling card plus prepurchased margarita-sampling coupons.”

The event was started by Kevin Jones and Nico Ponce in the hopes of bringing local communities together. “Our goal is to support local non-profits and enterprising local entrepreneurs,” Ponce said.

$15 GA ticket buyers can expect full entry into the festival. “This means they have access to Lucha Libre Wrestling, live music performances by Southern Roots and The Caravan Band, options to purchase retail, food and tacos from local vendors. Margaritasampling tickets can be purchased separately,” Ponce said.

Proceeds from the event go to benefit GO SBC, a local non-profit that was created to support the community and help develop an urban-style lifestyle in the Shreveport-Bossier City areas.

Returning champions this year include Superior Steakhouse, who has won back-toback championships.“We are excited to have them back!” Ponce said.

Ponce’s favorite margarita right now is the Ghost Tequila Margarita made with passion fruit and a smoked sea salt rim. There’s sure to be more delicious offerings this year as well.

There are two ways a bartender can win a $500 cash prize this year.

How it works: Best Damn Margarita

• Each establishment competing in the margarita competition from 2-6 p.m. will have a six-foot table decorated as they wish to promote their restaurant, bar or casino.

• On each table, there will be a ballot box for them to accept a wooden chip from attendees that think they have the “Best Damn Margarita.”

• At 6 p.m. the ballot boxes are removed from each table.

• At 6 p.m. the wooden chip voting stops, and all wooden chips are tallied up.

• At 7 p.m. in the Lucha Libre ring, the top three winners will be announced.

• The winning team will receive $500 and a Lucha Libre-style wrestling belt.

How it works: Most popular

• This year each margarita sample will cost one (1) drink coupon.

• Each competing establishment will have a second box located on their table directly behind the ballot box.

• An attendee will walk up to the table they want to sample, then hand the bartender one (1) drink coupon for one (1) margarita sample.

• The bartender will place the drink coupon into the dedicated container behind the ballot box on the table.

• At 6 p.m. the ballot box and drink coupon container will be removed from each table.

• At 6 p.m. all drink coupons will be tal- lied up.

• At 7 p.m. in the Lucha Libre ring the top three winners will be announced.

• The winning team will receive $500 and a Lucha Libre-style wrestling mask.

(Any customer that has drink coupons left over from the margarita sampling may redeem their drink coupons for a cold beer, margarita or water.

All sales are final.)

Competing restaurants in the margarita competition include:

• Tamolly’s Mexican

• Flying Heart Brewing & Pub

• Port Grill • The Jump

• Fatty Arbuckle’s

• Parish Taceaux

• Posado’s Shreveport

• Alky Therapy Daiquiris

• T Shack LLC

• Hilton Shreveport

• Frida’s Bar & Grill

• Habaneros

• Vineria Fine Wine & Spirits

• Twisted Root Burger

• Superior’s Steakhouse

Establishments competing for Best Taco include:

• JBW Vending

• Uneeda Taco

• The Hot Dawg Hut

• Custers Kettle Korn

• Taqueria la Reina del Sur

• Hilton Shreveport

• El Bazar Mexicano #2

Taco Judges include:

• 94.5 FM, Jay Whatley

• Shreveport Times, Tiana Kennel

• Twisted Root, Grant Nuckolls

• Nico Ponce

• Kevin Jones

Local retail vendors also at the Pour Off include:

• Making You Glamorous

• Keep It Simple

• Simply Chic Boutique

• Paparazzi Accessories

• Gameday Sports & Autographs

• Pink Zebra

• Rapid Recovery

Ticket prices vary from GA tickets for $15 up to All Access VIP for $125 (of which only 50 will be sold). To purchase a ticket or for more information, visit www.redriverpouroff.com or contact info@redriverpouroff.com.

– Betsy St. Amant Haddox