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    Speed Rack Texas

    Houston bartender advances to national finals of prestigious all-female competition

    Eric Sandler
    Feb 22, 2017 | 9:41 am

    Sunday afternoon’s Speed Rack bartending competition may have started with a field of 19 competitors, but it became clear very early on that the crowd was rooting for Houston bartender Elyse Blechman contestant above all others. Each time she took the stage, she attracted bigger crowds and louder cheers than the other contenders.

    Thankfully, the attendees got their wish when Blechman (Tongue-Cut Sparrow) defeated San Antonio bartender Zulcoralis Rodriguez (The Esquire Tavern) to advance to the finals in New York.

    “I feel like a million dollars,” an elated Blechman told CultureMap shortly after her victory. “I feel proud for my city.”

    Now in its sixth year as a national event, Speed Rack is all-female bartending competition in which contestants aim to make four classic cocktails as quickly and accurately as possible, all while raising money for breast cancer charities. A panel of four judges grades each drink, issuing time penalties for errors. The fastest time wins.

    Although the event may fly under-the-radar of the average bar patron, it has attained prominence within the industry. A number of bartenders and bar owners attended the event as spectators, including Bobby Heugel (Anvil, etc), Alex Gregg (Moving Sidewalk), Justin Burrow (Bad News Bar), Lindsey Burleson (Grand Prize), Julie Lozano (Bayou & Bottle), Justin Lavenue (Austin's Roosevelt Room), Brad Moore (Grand Prize, The Honeymoon, etc), and Ben Baxter (Rose Gold). Others — including Lainey Collum (Yauatcha), Andy Mauer (Southern Glazer's), and Christa Havican (Kirby Ice House) — volunteered to work behind the scenes to help the contestants prepare for each round or at the sponsors' tables serving drinks.

    “I think (Speed Rack) gives people a good platform to have themselves be seen and acknowledged but also the ability to really be serious about something,” judge Jason Kosmos (founder of The 86 Co. spirits company and New York’s legendary bar Employees Only) told CultureMap. “That translates over time to other (professional pursuits).”

    Blechman spent months practicing for the event by hosting pop-up events at both Bad News Bars and Grand Prize where she would invite patrons to order four drinks from the Speed Rack-approved list of 50 classic cocktails for an eminently reasonable $25. As the competition drew near, Nobie’s bar manager Sarah Troxell joined Blechman at the practice sessions, which helped her come within seven seconds of making the finals, despite having only worked behind the bar for the last year or so (vote for her to be selected as a wild card here).

    “To always keep your cool. To always be one step ahead of failure. To make a mistake and be ok with it. To have a plan B, C, D, E,” Blechman said in response to a question about the benefits of all that practice. “Don’t practice to be perfect. Practice to be prepared.”

    In the final round, two of the judges asked the competitors to create original cocktails (“dealer’s choice”) based on certain flavors. Julep ownerAlba Huerta, who won Speed Rack Texas in 2012, requested a "sessionable" cocktail with a low alcohol-by-volume, and judge Anne Louise Marquis ordered a “sweet, decadent, dessert-y” cocktail. Blechman did not incur any time penalties on these drinks, while Rodriguez had a critical 10 seconds added to her time.

    “I literally thought about what I would like to drink,” Blechman said about her approach to the dealer’s choice drinks. “Having (certain flavors) in mind, coming up with something on the fly, if you’re creative and you can respond to people’s requests in a bar every day, you can do it at Speed Rack. I just channeled that.”

    Blechman moves on to the final in New York City where she will compete against the other regional winners and wild cards selected by an online vote. Asked to explain what she likes about Speed Rack as opposed to other competitions in the bartending world, Blechman didn’t hesitate.

    “If Speed Rack does anything, it highlights the fact that you’re a woman and it makes sense to fight for things that are women-specific, but it really just creates this mindset that you are an equal, you are a badass, and you can accomplish whatever the fuck you want.”

    Working precisely but quickly helped Blechman win.

    Speed Rack Texas 2017 Elyse Blechman
      
    Photo by Photographs By Emily Jaschke
    Working precisely but quickly helped Blechman win.
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    That's Amore!

    Pioneering Mexican chef and chic speakeasy popping up at Houston hotel

    Brianna Griff
    May 23, 2025 | 10:00 am
    Chef Alejandro Ruiz of Casa Oaxaca
    Photo courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel Houston
    Four Seasons Hotel Houston is hosting a two-night pop-up dinner featuring chef Alejandro Ruiz of Casa Oaxaca.

    Houston diners won’t need a passport to explore Mexico’s culinary capital next month. On June 16 and 17, Four Seasons Hotel Houston will host From Oaxaca, With Love, a five-course experience that teams celebrated chef Alejandro Ruiz of Casa Oaxaca with Oaxaca City cocktail bar Sabina Sabe and agave-spirits producer The Lost Explorer.

    The evening begins with Sabina Sabe bartender Mike Prado greeting diners with a cocktail in Bandista, the hotel’s speakeasy bar and lounge. The libations promise to be divine, with Sabine Sabe currently ranked No. 54 Best Bar in North America, and Bandista sitting at No. 59.

    From there, the party moves into a dining room filled with contemporary works supplied by Oaxaca Serrano Contemporary Art Gallery and underscored by live music.

    Ruiz, whose flagship Casa Oaxaca earned a spot in Mexico’s inaugural Michelin Guide, built his reputation by elevating the dishes he learned as a child cooking alongside his mother on the family farm.

    The chef stays close to his roots with recipes crafted using native ingredients such as chiles, corn, insects, and seeds purchased directly from local producers. Ruiz has long been considered an ambassador of the southern Mexican state — his enfrijoladas caused Noma’s famed Chef Rene Redzepi a moment of rapture.

    For his Houston appearance, diners can expect a true taste of Oaxaca: think a mini tostada topped with heirloom chapulines, chicatanas, and gusanos de maguey (grasshoppers, flying ants, and agave worms); red snapper cured in a bright tomatillo-rice-vinegar broth; and a slow-braised short rib finished in a fruit-laced mole.

    Prado will pair each course with cocktails such as the Pimiento Margarita, combining The Lost Explorer Tobalá mezcal with vermouth, peach, pimiento, cinnamon, and lime.

    “It is our great pleasure to welcome chef Alejandro Ruiz and Sabina Sabe to Houston, Texas,” Tom Segesta, Four Seasons Hotel Houston’s general manager, said in a statement. "These dinners, featuring these awarded ambassadors of Oaxacan food and drink, are sure to be enjoyed by our local community and guests from around the world.”

    The pop-up continues the hotel’s ongoing dinner-series format, which has previously spotlighted restaurants ranging from Emeril’s in New Orleans to Employees Only in New York and an Italian-American steakhouse from James Beard Award winner Chris Shepherd.

    From Oaxaca, With Love begins at 7 pm on Monday, June 16, and Tuesday, June 17. Seating is limited, with tickets priced at $250 per person plus tax and gratuity. Each reservation will receive a signed English-language copy of Ruiz’s cookbook The Food of Oaxaca: Recipes and Stories from Mexico's Culinary Capital. Reservations are available via OpenTable.

    Those who wish to linger can book the hotel’s Advance Purchase offer, which discounts room rates by up to 25 percent when reserved three or more days ahead.

    The menu features:

    Starter Trio

    • Mini tostada with heirloom insects
    • Zucchini blossom stuffed with ricotta and roasted banana purée
    • Hoja santa “taco” with quesillo, beans, and wild mushrooms

    Green Aguachile

    • Red snapper cured in tomatillo-rice-vinegar broth, Persian cucumber, red onion, cilantro, ginger-toasted peanuts
    • Cocktail: Pequeño Gigante – Madre Cuishe mezcal, hoja santa, ginger, lime, Oaxacan spices

    Tortilla Soup

    • Tomato-pasilla mixe broth, crispy tortillas, fresh cheese, cream, pork cracklings, mint-celery garnish
    • Cocktail: Pimiento Margarita – Tobalá mezcal, Mistela vermouth, peach, pimiento, cinnamon, lime

    Braised Short Rib

    • Anchamanteles mole, seasonal fruit relish, banana purée, crispy plantain
    • Cocktail: Agave Xerez – The Lost Explorer tequila, Palomino sherry, green apple, pear

    Textures of Oaxacan

    • Chocolate Mousse, sponge cake, ice cream, tuile, passion-fruit jelly, cacao nibs
    • Neat pour of Tobalá mezcal
    • Traditional water-based hot chocolate infused with cacao flower

    Chef Alejandro Ruiz of Casa Oaxaca
      

    Photo courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel Houston

    Four Seasons Hotel Houston is hosting a two-night pop-up dinner featuring chef Alejandro Ruiz of Casa Oaxaca.

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