< Previous58 COASTMONTHLY.COM | NOveMber 2025 DESSERT ISLAND SLICE OF SPICE The restaurant is gone but you still can have a piece of Z’Tejas’ famous fudge pie story by PHIL NEWTON | photo by JENNIFER REYNOLDS I was saddened by the news of the demise this summer of Austin’s Tex-Mex restaurant chain Z’Tejas. While I willingly admit it was no longer the restaurant I frequented in the 1990s, the original location on 6th Street was a staple of my dining experience. The reclaimed old house had all the funky charm you expected from an Austin restaurant. The restaurant lost its charm after expanding to other locations, but I still have the memories of my visits to the original location. It served a fusion of Tex-Mex and Southwestern cuisine with a few other cultures tossed in. It was there that I tasted Navajo Fry Bread with fried spinach, smoked duck enchiladas and street corn risotto. Z’Tejas also was known for its scratch-made desserts, including chocolate layer cake with a warm banana sauce and my personal favorite, Ancho Chile Fudge Pie. ANCHO CHILE FUDGE PIE 1 prepared pie shell 2 large eggs ¾ cup all-purpose flour 1 ⁄ 3 cup granulated sugar 1 ⁄ 3 cup light brown sugar 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips ½ cup chopped pecans, toasted ½ cup chopped walnuts, toasted 2 sticks butter, melted and still hot 1 tablespoon ancho chile paste In a stand mixer, whisk eggs, then add sugars and mix well. Add flour and chocolate chips. Make sure everything is incorporated. Stir in the still warm nuts (it will start the chips melting). Add hot butter and mix until incorporated. Pour into a prepared pie shell and bake at 350 F for 30 minutes. Let cool. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream and a dusting of cocoa. PHIL NEWTON is a Galveston baker/cook. He’s the owner/ operator of Stiglich Corner with partner Cindy Roberts. COASTMONTHLY.COM | NOveMber 2025 59 Small Spaces BIG Impact Dare to Dream Serving the greater Houston, Galveston area through Austin, San Antonio Simplicity from Design to Installation Schedule an appointment now 3622 85th Street, Galveston www.quickquickcabinets.com (409) 454-8500 Home of Jeff & Kerri Taylor Richard DOWNLOAD THE APP TODAY NEWS ON THE GO60 COASTMONTHLY.COM | NOveMber 2025 DOWN THE HATCH A NEW FLAME Tremont House bartender will have you falling for his twist on a classic cocktail story by SHANNON CALDWELL | photos by STUART VILLANUEVA A rmed with a kitchen torch, Stuart Collette toasts the oil of an orange and watches as sparks fly over a glass of amber liquid. Satisfied with his handiwork, he drops the peel into a glass containing his latest craft cocktail creation. When Coast Monthly asked Collette, the head bartender at The Tremont House in downtown Galveston, to share the recipe for a fall cocktail, he wasted no time in creating something special. Dubbed A Good Old Fashioned Fall, it’s his take on an Old Fashioned, a classic whiskey cocktail that has been around since the early 1800s and usually contains whiskey, a dash of bitters, sugar diluted with water and a garnish of orange peel. Collette’s warming and spicy version has the traditional whiskey and orange bitters, but he amps up the flavor with black walnut bitters, maple syrup and rum. “Split-base cocktails that combine two spirits instead of just one have been growing in popularity,” he said. “We are known for our Old Fashioned and I thought this WhistlePig Rye Whiskey and Flor de Caña 7 Year Rum would pair really well together and add some interesting fall flavors to a classic.” COASTMONTHLY.COM | NOveMber 2025 61 The Tremont House’s A Good Old Fashioned Fall, a creation of head bartender Stuart Collette, opposite, is a take on a classic Old Fashioned. It incorporates aged rum, whiskey, black walnut bitters, orange bitters and maple syrup. It is garnished with orange peel, cherry and imbued with ignited oil from a toasted orange rind.62 COASTMONTHLY.COM | NOveMber 2025 DOWN THE HATCH The Good Old Fashioned Fall gets the thumbs up from his colleagues who were standing by with tasting straws. They like the depth of flavor the two spirits bring to the drink, the interest added by the walnut bitters and maple syrup, and the final flour- ishes of toasting the orange peel and garnishing with a Luxardo cherry, a sour candied cherry steeped in cherry syrup. It’s a balanced cocktail thanks to the Flor de Caña Gran Reserva 7 Year Rum known for its aromas of vanilla and coconut, and flavors of chocolate and dried fruit along with the WhistlePig Rye with its spice and citrus aromas and flavors of cocoa and vanilla. Collette has been the head bartender at The Tremont House for two years. Before that he was a bartender and before that a cook. “As a cook, I was working with flavor and heat and now I work with flavor and cold,” he said. “I get inspira- tion from all over and love to twist and bend recipes.” Although he wasn’t born on Galveston Island, he has deep roots here. His grandmother, mother and sister all were born on the island. Collette loves work- ing at The Tremont House because of the boutique hotel’s beauty and history, he said. While the hotel’s A GOOD OLD FASHIONED FALL Tremont House head bartender Stuart Collette ignites oil from an orange rind over A Good Old Fashioned Fall cocktail. “As a cook, I was working with flavor and heat and now I work with flavor and cold. I get inspiration from all over and love to twist and bend recipes.” STUART COLLETTE Favorites Buy it now! Easy Cooking, Texas Gulf Style COASTMONTHLY.COM/ COOKBOOK Toulouse Bar is popular, it’s the Rooftop Bar that patrons flock to. “I think there is some- thing primal with wanting to be up high,” he said. “People love the view and being up above the other stories.” In addition to the craft cocktails and select beers and wines, the Rooftop Bar is known for its bar bites with the seared ahi tuna, house chicharrón and pork belly bao bao buns being particularly popular. He suggests people branch out for autumn and try a Good Old Fashioned Fall Cocktail paired with the Asian glazed duck wings. 1½ ounces WhistlePig Rye Whiskey ½ ounce Flor de Caña Gran Reserva 7 Year Rum 2 dashes black walnut bitters (Collette uses Fee Brothers brand) 1 dash orange bitters (Collette uses Angostura brand) 1 bar spoon maple syrup Mix ingredients in a mixing glass until the maple syrup is dissolved. Pour into a rocks glass over a large ice cube. Squeeze an orange peel over the drink to release the oils. 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DEC. 5-7, 2025 - DICKENSONTHESTRAND.ORG GALVESTON’S WORLD FAMOUS VICTORIAN HOLIDAY FESTIVAL64 COASTMONTHLY.COM | NOveMber 2025 FEATURE MOVING PARTS Nuclear chemist finds solace in building one-of-a-kind motorcycles story by BARBARA CANETTI photos by STUART VILLANUEVA T housands of motorcycles will roll into Galveston Nov 6-9 for the Lone Star Rally, but none will look like what Corban Gallagh- er will be riding. That’s because Gallagher’s motorcycle — actually motorcycles — are handmade, forged from pieces of rusted motorcycles destined for the trash before he saved them. Gallagher harvests parts and mechanisms to build unique motorcycles with components tied to four or five different ones not even from the same line. “When restoring these bikes, everything has to be made,” Gallagher, a Friendswood native, said. “Parts are not readily available — you can’t just go online and order them. You have to figure out how to make things work togeth- er and fabricate them.” Gallagher has been interested in motorcycles since his youth, when a friend’s father, who be- longed to the Bandidos Motorcycle Club, taught them about the inner makings of motorcycles. He experimented with rebuilding dirt bikes until he found the remnants of a 1998 Buell sport motorcycle and decided to try restoring it. He broke it apart, salvaged what he could and then went searching for additional parts. It took almost a year, but the effort was worth the time, he said. The shiny motorcycle, which looks brand new, is a beauty. (Right) Corban Gallagher has been creating custom motorcycles for years. Gallagher, a nuclear chemist, harvests parts from multiple motorcycles in various makes and models and incorporates them into each restoration. COASTMONTHLY.COM | NOveMber 2025 6566 COASTMONTHLY.COM | NOveMber 2025 FEATURE “It looks good but is not practical for long distance rides,” Gallagher said. “It’s a kidney killer. No rear suspensions and a rough ride.” Three years ago, while working at his job in Houston as a nu- clear chemist and designing and building nuclear devices, he was sometimes putting in 80 hours a week. As a release, he started tinkering with motorcycles and bought a lift and began dissecting an unsalvageable bike. But Gallagher wanted to move his hobby closer to home. Hurri- cane Beryl last year granted his wish. The storm took down about 20 mature trees in his yard, making room for him to build a large, modern workshop. As a scientist, Gallagher is incredibly patient, methodical and or- ganized. As he reconstructs a motorcycle, he carefully scrapes away years of grime and rust from destroyed parts, sometimes using a tooth- brush and brake cleaner until the pieces become clean. He fabricates and welds parts and accessories he can’t find, fastening and refasten- ing fittings and components time and again until they fit. Motorcycle helmets hang atop a drawing board in Corban Gallagher’s workshop garage in Friends- wood. (below) Gallagher rolls out a massive fiberglass wheel salvaged from a water tricycle that he plans to use on an amphibious bike he hopes to build. COASTMONTHLY.COM | NOveMber 2025 67 “There is a rigid step-by-step order of operation,” he said. “I have assembled and dissembled some of these 10 times — the frame, the seats, the motor.” Gallagher gathers parts — gas tanks, seats, covers, fenders, wheels — and incorporates them into each restoration. A recent finished mo- torcycle is a hybrid of five varieties — Norton, Ducati, Triumph, Buell and Harley-Davidson. “The challenge is making the parts all work together,” he said. Because he’s attached to each one, he doesn’t sell his motorcycles, he said. He keeps them lined up in his shop for him to see and enjoy. His next test is trying to build an amphibious motorcycle using three giant blue and white floatable tires he salvaged. “I call it the Buell Frog,” he said. “I have to consider buoyancy — something new to learn.” Gallagher is living his dream — still working but also having his own workshop filled with motorcycles, parts and challenges. “It is just the best,” he said. “Being in here covered in grime and oil.” Corban Gallagher doesn’t sell his motorcycles, he said. He keeps them lined up in his shop for him to see and enjoy. (Below) Wheel rims and motorcycle tanks line the shelves of Gallagher’s workshop garage.Next >