DEEP BACKGROUND: Carlos'n Charlie's built its reputation as a place for divers to unwind after a hard day wrangling groupers out on the wall. The divers are still here a decade older and 10 pounds heavier building on the day's nitrogen buzz with a few of Carlos'n Charlie's trademark margaritas. These days, though, the neoprene crowd is way outnumbered by 20- to 30-somethings who are into serious partying. Like, dude, here comes another shooter.
CAST OF CHARACTERS: College Station sorority girls in little black dresses; ponytailed import/export moguls in floral shirts and silk pants; squads of bankers-in-training cutting loose on a four-day sabbatical; honeymooners stretching the Big Event into a hazy, weeklong bacchanal of booze and beaches.
SUSTENENCE: Light 'n' tasty nachos, local seafood and burgers but unless you come for happy hour and just forget to leave (a not uncommon occurrence), this is the place to end the night, not begin it.
DIVERSONS: Slurp slushy adult beverages while the grand parade of humanity dances its way through your increasingly limited field of vision to the boom of the bar's earth-shaking sound system. By the time 10 o'clock rolls around, the ongoing limbo contest will have you fixated (if you're not slithering under the broomstick yourself). In between, you can dance and signal for another shooter: Put the heel of your hand on your head with fingers sticking up like the diver's sign for ''shark.'' You'll have a pourer wading over to you in a matter of seconds. Gulp!
LOCAL KNOWLEDGE: Carlos'n Charlie's is open daily from 10 a.m. to 1:30 a.m. The kitchen serves until 12 a.m. Try a Dos Equis, one of Mexico's heartier brews. Just about any kind of currency works here dollars, pesos, credit cards, whatever. ¡Salud!
TRY THIS AT HOME
60-ounce Margarita
In a blender, combine crushed ice; 21 ounces of water; 6 ounces each of natural syrup, lime juice and concentrated orange juice; 17.5 ounces of tequila; and 3.5 ounces of Cointreau. Blend until frothy, then pour into a large salt-rimmed glass. Be careful not to strain yourself lifting the glass.
Posted online 12/20/01.
