With two locals, a vacationing Texan won yesterday’s mix-your-own contest to inaugurate Eclipse‘s lavish Sunday Bloody Mary bar. For their entries, the three – Caitlin Butler, Houstonite Sarah Lee and Jill Willending – each claimed a $20 gift card to the Moonrise Hotel’s restaurant.
The contest, masterminded by Eclipse general manager Sara Quiroz, drew 15 entrants in three categories: best overall, best presentation and most original.
Judge Liz Hoffner, the Moonrise’s so-called Manager of Desires, said Butler’s best-overall winner featured “complex flavors, but [was] something you could continue to drink during the day.” Lee’s best-presentation libation “looked like it was really thought-out,” Hoffner added, and Willending’s most-original entry boasted the best use of ingredients.
In addition to Hoffner, judging the entries were Caitlin Burbank, bartender at Eclipse; Ben Davison, chef at the Ritz-Carlton; and Tommy Schock, bar manager at Blueberry Hill.
Beyond preparing other fresh garnishes, Eclipse chef de cuisine Wes Johnson pickled everything from cauliflower to eggs, okra to asparagus, and crafted several house-made salts. The bar also supplemented standard tomato juice and dozens of bottled sauces with three house-made mixes (the scrumptious Steak in a Glass, Spicy Mexican and Wasabi Ginger). Johnson and Quiroz, moreover, plan to expand the offerings directly. In the meantime, the bar-unto-itself at Eclipse will continue to brighten gloomy Sundays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Photo by Carmen Troesser
This article appears in Nov 1-30, 2009.