Doc's, Guero's and Malverde: Three places for margaritas that have nothing to do with that song

If you've ever been stuck in Florida for, say, a week, you realize that it's potentially a beautiful state. It's got sand, it's got sea, it's got sun. It's got Cuban food and crawdads and perfect Gulf oysters ready for the shucking.

Florida has a lot to offer, but if you wind up there for too long, you're likely to notice that something's just a tad off about the place. The drivers are notoriously slow, the tops of their heads barely reaching the tops of their steering wheels. The houses in much of Florida are either trailers or mansions. The flora and fauna usually wants to bite, sting, or prick you. The ocean either lies there, flat and floatable, or sucks you without warning into its huge, sandy maw.

And everywhere you go in Florida, from casino boat to little dive bar to grocery store, you're going to hear that song, that song that spawned an empire and very possibly ruined an entire state, that song that makes normal people scream and Hawaiian-shirted snowbirds swoon, that song about the inane pop-top, the ridiculous flip-flop and the apparently tragically misplaced shaker of salt.

Thankfully, here in Austin we treat margaritas right. We don't wail about them or lament them or wax nostalgic about them - instead we drink them. Here are three places (by no means the only or even necessarily the best) in a town full of the frothy concoctions, where you can openly curse Jimmy Buffet while still soaking up the sun and enjoying his favorite drink.

Doc's Motorworks

1123 S. Congress Ave. 448-9181, www.eatdrinkdocs.com . Hours: 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily, until 1 a.m. Saturdays.

In a sea of candy-colored Tilt-a-Whirl chairs on South Congress lies the island of Doc's, basically a huge patio with a repurposed service station attached. The patio is ideal for sipping margaritas (and they have good micheladas too), which come out in freezing-cold glasses. In fact, it was at Doc's where I first debated the merits of frozen versus rocks margaritas, finally deciding that if you don't care all that much about the type of tequila being used (admittedly, I don't), then frozen is best since 1) the slushy ice evens out the flavor and 2) frozen margaritas make you feel like you're drinking your favorite 7-Eleven drink from yesteryear. If, however, you do care about tequila, then Doc's has four different kinds of margaritas ranging in price from $6.75 to $8.50, all of which involve some combination of tequila, fresh lime juice and either Grand Marnier or Cointreau.

Doc's has only one frozen margarita on the menu (a small is $4.75, pint-sized large $7.75), and it's made with gold tequila and 'Alternate Fuel'-which our waitress said was like Everclear. Thus it's a little potent, especially considering how quickly you'll want to drink it on a hot day. One of them will make you bounce a little more in your springy metal chair, and two will make you think the grackles are actually trying to be friendly rather than steal your nachos and peck out your eyes.

Güero's Taco Bar

1412 S. Congress Ave. 447-7688, www.guerostacobar.com . Hours: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.

Güero's is good for seeing and being seen. The spot is haunted by celebrities and thronged with shoppers and tourists going from Allen's Boots to Uncommon Objects and wherever else in between. It's been in movies. It's always crowded. Dogs seem to love the sidewalk patio. And Güero's has a good feel to it - it's a bright, whitewashed space with high ceilings and plants galore. Plus it has 15 different kinds of rocks margaritas. Sort of.

When we first arrived at Güero's, we asked the waitress the story behind a huge black-and-white picture of a woman that hangs behind the bar. She actually sighed and proceeded to tell us in a bored monotone. Granted, it was a semi-packed happy hour and granted, she's probably been asked that question many times before. But then we noticed most of the workers seemed disconsolate and bored, and I'm convinced the margarita menu is one reason why. Instead of saying, 'Pick your tequila, choose Cointreau or Grand Marnier and let us add fresh lime juice,' the menu lists 15 different varieties which are all essentially the same, save for the choice of tequila. The place would be more efficient and the bartenders very possibly happier, if the customer ordered a margarita and simply specified his or her choice of alcohol, like they do in most places. But then, Güero's is heavily patronized by out-of-towners who very possibly like the idea of a Tex-Mex restaurant rather than actual Tex-Mex restaurants.