We settled into our table and our waiter arrived, bearing a mysterious bowl shrouded in mist. He explained that it was tequila granita and was meant to be cleanse the palate before our meal. He had us at "tequila granita" and we dug right in.
After that delightfully icy starter, we each ordered a different cocktail and then passed them around the table so that we could try a bit of everything.
I went for the spicy cucumber margarita with don julio blanco, serrano chiles, combier liqueur, and muddled cucumber. So refreshing, with just the tiniest amount of heat. Went down like water...very dangerous.
Along with the granita, Lolita also gives you complementary tortilla chips and a trio of sauces with your meal (roasted tomato salsa, spicy queso, and tomatillo salsa).
Picante (avocado, tomato, serrano, onion, and cilantro), Especial (crab, lobster, and garlic-wine butter drizzle), and Bacon (applewood smoked bacon, adobo chile, and pico de gallo). The bacon guac was demolished immediately, followed closely by the Especial. Luckily, our mains soon arrived to make up for the loss. 
I went for the ancho chicken quesadilla with pulled chicken, black beans, fire roasted corn, applewood smoked bacon and Mexican cheese.
S got the blackened mahi mahi tacos with cabbage slaw, chipotle crema, guacamole, and pepitas. I didn't actually think that the mains were that impressive....sadly, they weren't as flavorful and exciting as I had expected, but we also got these delicious little buggers, which more than made up for it:
Crispy spiced potatoes with caramelized onions and cotija cheese. We ordered them for the entire table to share, but I'm pretty sure that S and I polished off most of them.
After another round of drinks, we were too stuffed to order dessert (a tragedy, I know), but Lolita had one more surprise in store for us. Our waiter whisked away our plates and then brought us a huge spool of cotton candy.
Random? Definitely, but also really fun. I've never been a big cotton candy person....not into the texture. But I found that I couldn't stop eating this. It had a nice, watermelon flavor and the sweetness was soothing after all the spiciness. And they even added a candle in honor of our birthday girl.
When we were ready to hit the road, our waiter dropped off our check, along with Lolita tattoos. The fun freebies just kept coming! Already in touch with our inner five-year-olds after eating too much cotton candy, S and I couldn't resist putting them on immediately.
Overall, I really liked Lolita. As I said, I wasn't too impressed by the main dishes, but I would definitely go back for the cool atmosphere, fun extras (free cotton candy, tequila granita, and a Goodbye-thanks-for-coming-tattoo? How can you pass that up?), margaritas, and guacamole. I think that next time, I would just order a few of the apps or sides and maybe get that dessert. If you want to go for dinner, make a reservation here, especially if you go on the weekend.
After leaving Lolita, we had more than a few calories to burn, so we headed over to The Estate to dance the night away. I think that the bouncers could tell that we were a ridiculously fun group (or that we had had too much sugar and tequila) because they showered us with glowstick necklaces and batons.
It felt a bit like being at a rave in the 90s, but we went with it.
We danced into the early hours of the morning and then headed off into the night. And slept through the rest of the weekend. These birthdays are starting to take their toll....
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