Would you get a look at those safety pins?!?!The Watering Hole: Pony,

Would you get a look at those safety pins?!?!The Watering Hole: Pony, 1221 E Madison St, Capitol Hill. The Atmosphere: There are two motifs that inform Pony’s decor: horses and naked men. Plastered on the walls in an old-school newspaper collage are various males– some wearing cowboy hats, some wearing nothing at all– and kitschy horse decorations give this bar a homey touch. Porn magazines from an almost-bygone era are casually laid out on empty tables for idle browsing. Other things of note: air hockey table (that I have seen patrons scale and dance upon in the past); two bathrooms labeled, respectively, “Men/Boys”; the very spacious patio outside shaped like the bow of a ship, set to sail into a gay tomorrow. The Barkeep: Taylor Fimbrez, aka DJ Teabag, who, in addition to bartending, DJs the dance night “Berzerk” every other Thursday. Originally from Phoenix, Arizona, Fimbrez learned how to tend bar at the old Pony down on the famed 500 Pine block. “Did you ever go to the old Pony?” he asks me. (I didn’t; I was underage when it was around.) “It was never a permanent location, and it was huge– like three times bigger. It was much rowdier… really insane. This is kind of like the grown-up Pony.” This grown-up Pony features a costume night every Saturday and an impressive new fog machine. The Drink: DJ Teabag’s Margarita deviates from the standard by substituting sweet for bitter. It’s muddled orange and lime, a little sour, orange juice, soda water, well tequila (Puerto Vallarta), a lightly salted rim and no triple sec or added sugar.The Verdict: The margarita I’ve been waiting for. Most times when I obligingly order a happy hour margarita, I can’t get past a few sips without recalling terribly hangovers magnified by the tequila-sugar combo. Fimbrez’s version, however, was crisp, refreshing and easy to sip down quickly, even though he admits, “I probably should have used a better tequila. This one is kind of shitty.”