< Previous30 COASTMONTHLY.COM | SepTeMber 2025 FEATURE she said. “First up, Whataburger chicken strips with honey mustard sauce, and Dr Pepper. Tex-Mex — they just don’t have Mexican food that tastes as good in Chicago. Barbecue and especially brisket, and craw- fish and seafood boils.” Esteban’s Café y Cantina in League City was a must-visit when she returned home for summer and she was happy to be reunit- ed with the restaurant’s queso blanco and chips, she said. “It’s just so good,” she said. “Put that in front of me and I’m happy.” Deep-dish pizza might be one of the Windy City’s most famous culinary treats, but it’s not for Morgan, although she concedes an Italian beef sandwich — like those made famous in the television show “The Bear” — are delicious, especially if you like French dip au jus poured over the sandwich. Gaido’s Seafood Restaurant’s famous pecan pie is an easy way to give a heartsick local a taste of home. Covered with Central Texas pecans, the original recipe dates back to the last century. Nick Gaido, whose family owns the ven- erated Galveston restaurant, doesn’t have the breakdown of how many pies go out of state, but the restaurant ships thousands of them all over the country every year, he said. FIL e p HOTO: J e NNIF er re YNOLDS p HOTOS: COU r T e SY LYDIA GU r G e L (Right) University of Texas San Antonio student Lydia Gurgel with boyfriend Andrew Guzman at his Air Force basic training graduation last year in Monterey, California. Gurgel and Guzman, both graduates of Clear Falls High School in League City, recently reunited while Guzman was on leave and made sure to visit Whataburger. (Below) Guzman with some of his favorite Texas foods, including Buc-cee’s Beaver Nuggets and Whataburger, provided by Gurgel. (Bottom right) Gaido’s Texas-shaped pecan pie is a fan favorite. The Galveston restaurant ships thousands of them all over the country every year.FLAMENCO VIVO CARLOTA SANTANA SAT, OCT 4 | 8 PM Rhythm, Power and Soul — that’s what makes flamenco so exciting to watch. It’s an experience! GET TICKETS! THEGRAND.COM CHRIS BOTTI SUN, SEPT 28 | 3 PM The largest-selling American jazz instrumentalist and Grammy Award-winning trumpeter and composer comes back to the island!34 COASTMONTHLY.COM | SepTeMber 2025 FEATURE MICHELIN MAN Island-born cocktail inventor wins esteemed industry award story by SHANNON CALDWELL S an Francisco entrepreneur Christopher Longo- ria has built an impressive career as a bartend- er, creative cocktail inventor and hospitality consultant culminating with the 2025 Michelin Guide California Exceptional Cocktails Award. He credits growing up on Galveston Island as a factor in his success. “Galveston definitely influenced my career,” Longoria said. “It is such a soulful, colorful and flavorful place with a real cast of characters who have lived truly interesting lives. There is a storytelling culture and that Southern hospitality along with the relaxed pace of life.” Longoria was born on the island, graduated from O’Con- nell College Preparatory School and attended Galveston Col- lege for creative writing before winning a poetry scholarship to attend graduate school in San Francisco where he also scored a record deal. Helping a bartender at a music indus- try party opened his eyes to a whole new career, he said. His career began in 2001 at the Korean Soju hotspot Rohan Lounge in San Francisco. There he was recognized as “Best Bartender to Confess Your Sins To” by the San Francis- co Bay Guardian. But he jokes that his bartending roots go back even earlier to his college days on the island. “My first bartending experience was actually at Galveston p HOTO: COU r T e SY CHAD SANTO THOMAS COASTMONTHLY.COM | SepTeMber 2025 35 p HOTO: COU r T e SY MOLLY D e COUD re AUX p HOTOG r A p HY Christopher Longoria prepares a cocktail during a 2024 Tablehopper renewal party at the Savoy Tivoli in San Francisco. Longoria, a Galveston native, won the 2025 Michelin Guide California Exceptional Cocktails Award. (Opposite) Longoria, a bartender, creative cocktail inventor and hospitality consultant, prepares a Bazaar Paloma, which incorporates tamarind and grapefruit with mezcal. College when I had a bar in my dorm room on the weekends serving room tempera- ture mai tais,” he said. “It was so bad but I thought I was so cool.” From Rohan Lounge, Longoria has built an impressive career working for a number of Michelin Star-rated or recognized restaurants in San Francisco. His résumé is studded with numerous awards from newspapers and industry groups winning titles like Bar Star, Best Creative and Beverage Professional of the Year. Winning the Michelin Guide award caps them all and Longoria is excited for the new professional opportunities it will afford. Longoria was recognized by Michelin Guide for leading a team that has made creative cocktails to complement Indian cuisine at Eylan in San Francisco. “It’s pretty wild to win and certainly opens doors to new rooms all over the world,” he said. Currently, Longoria is the bar director of Eylan and Copra restaurant in San Francis- co, which are under the same ownership. Longoria is the founding partner of West Bev Consulting and, along with his partners, travels the country working with clients to build beverage programs for bars, restaurants and events with a focus on nonalcoholic cre- ations, sustainability and staff development. “We have a cocktail symposium in NOLA coming up where we will be leading ses- sions on non-alcoholic cocktails,” he said. “I’m working with an airline to redesign their air lounge beverage program for the whole country; in the Bay Area there’s a catering company who we are creating a beverage department for; and there’s a project in India we are working on.” Training is a big component of his work and while teaching skills is important, he believes the best bar professionals have something extra. “It’s all about humility, heart and hustle,” Longoria said. “Tending bar is a physical- ly demanding job and you have to work through that. It’s about caring for customers and creating experiences for them. All cock- tails should be delicious but why does some- one want that drink, what’s the occasion, what are they celebrating, what experience do they want? Having heart is key.” Longoria, who has been sober two years, is passionate about creating delicious and complex nonalcoholic cocktails which are flavor forward, he said. “The days of putting orange juice, pineap- ple juice and lime juice in a glass and calling it a cocktail are over,” he said. With flavor being so important to his ca- reer, Longoria will taste test his creations and, like a sommelier, he’ll spit out the mouthful. In terms of fall drinking trends, non-al- coholic cocktails will increase in popularity and traditional cocktails will be flavored with comforting spices, he said. “I kind of dislike the idea of trends when it comes to cocktails,” he said. “I’m not follow- ing TikTok or trying to go viral. But when it comes to winter, it makes sense that people want comfy and cozy food and drinks, so fla- vors like baking spices can come into play.” 36 COASTMONTHLY.COM | SepTeMber 2025 FEATURE p HOTOS: COU r T e SY CHAD SANTO THOMAS Cocktails prepared by Christopher Longoria: Dirty, Trace and Weak Knees. (Above) Longoria prepares a everything but The Gimlet cocktail. A TRUSTED NAME WITH OVER 50 YEARS OF REAL ESTATE EXPERIENCE Kimberly A. Gaido 713.498.2020 REALTOR®, SRS KimberlyGaido@sandnsea.com Michael J. Gaido, III 409.457.4900 | REALTOR®, ABR, GRI, RSPS, SFR, SRES, SRS Michael@michaelgaido.com Carolyn T. 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Created by Peter Clifton, beverage director of the legendary Rainbow Lodge in Houston, the Parachute Ad- ams has a sweet, spicy bourbon base with bright notes from lemon juice and limoncello. A peach syrup brings both summery and fall notes — the fruit is cooked with fresh sage leaves and maple syrup. “The flavors pair really well togeth- er and are a nod to the transition from summer to fall,” Clifton said. “I origi- nally created the cocktail for Father’s Day but it was such a huge hit we added it to our seasonal menu. It will be available until October when we change to the new season’s drinks.” Named for a fishing fly, The Para- chute Adams is Clifton’s take on a whiskey sour, a traditional cocktail that always includes bourbon and lemon juice. “You could say my cocktail is a third-generation iteration because it’s a take on a whiskey sour, which in turn is a take on a sidecar,” he said. “There (Left) Peter Clifton, beverage director for Rainbow Lodge in Houston, pours a Parachute Adams, his take on a whiskey sour, for guests during a seafood feast at a West End home in Galveston. (Opposite) The Parachute Adams has a sweet, spicy bourbon base with bright notes from lemon juice and limoncello. A peach syrup brings both summery and fall notes. COASTMONTHLY.COM | SepTeMber 2025 39 are five cocktails considered the origi- nals that all other cocktails come from and the sidecar is one of those.” Clifton recommends using fresh peaches and purple sage for maxi- mum flavor, but frozen peaches and regular sage work fine, too, he said. He’s proud the recipe includes limon- cello from William Price Distillery in the Houston Heights. Flavor and eye-catching presenta- tion are key to a great cocktail, said Clifton, a native of Missouri City, Tex- as, who graduated from the renowned Conrad N. Hilton College of Global Hospitality Leadership at the Universi- ty of Houston. His extensive food and beverage experience includes wine distribution, bar and restaurant management and ownership. Notable positions include beverage director for the Pelican Club — a former private dining club opened by Galveston’s Gaido’s Seafood Restaurant in 2013. He also was the owner of The Ready Room, an upscale jazz bar in the Houston Heights, and the beverage director at the lauded Southern-inspired taproom and restaurant Ritual in Houston. At Rainbow Lodge, Clifton’s fabu- lous flavors include a Koppang sour featuring Thai flavors and horseradish, the rye highball with a house-made pumpkin soda, and an espresso martini with Averna liqueur-flavored marshmallows. Clifton enjoys working at Rainbow Lodge, especially given its 48-year history as one of Houston’s premier restaurants for wild game and sea- food. The restaurant is in a 119-year- old lodge that has been the setting for many proposals, weddings and family celebrations. “I’ve been in this industry a long time but I always return to my senior thesis I wrote at college,” Clifton said. “Successful hospitality is all about giving people an experience they re- member. Now, it’s more important than ever to get people to put down their phones, enjoy the moment and really be present. That’s what keeps people coming back. For hospitality profes- sionals, that’s the ultimate reward, and what keeps me in the industry.” PARACHUTE ADAMS 1½ ounces Angel’s Envy bourbon ¾ ounce Sage-Peach-Maple syrup (recipe follows) ½ ounce William Price limoncello ¼ ounce lemon juice Slice of dehydrated pear for garnish In a mixing tin or a pint glass, combine all ingredients and stir. pour over ice. (rainbow Lodge uses a big-block cube). Garnish with a dehydrated pear slice. SAGE-PEACH-MAPLE SYRUP 24 ounces maple syrup 8 ounces water 2 whole peaches, sliced (fresh is best, but frozen will do) 6 purple sage leaves, chopped (or any fresh sage you can find at the grocer) In a large sauce pot, combine all ingre- dients. If using a gas stove, simmer — no bubbles — for 20 minutes, stirring every 3 to 4 minutes. If using an electric stove or induction burner, simmer at 180 F for 20 minutes, stirring every 3 to 4 minutes. When finished, strain into a sterilized mason jar and refrigerate. Shelf life is three weeks.Next >