Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1542302
Moon The glamorous emerald-green space has lacquered doors and cascading crystal orbs. Apollo Crust with beurre noisette- washed bourbon and cognac, scented with warm baking spices and apple liqueur. Houston, we have an answer to the boring bar problem. G lobal luxury hospitality enterprise The Bastion Collection — which boasts 10 Michelin Stars and three Michelin Keys — has joined forces with Houston catering company Cafe Natalie to form the private event catering platform Bastion Events and launch two shimmering new concepts: Moon and its next-door neighbor Soleil event space. Moon reminds us of the 37-carat Aga Khan emerald, concealed in a posh vault. Set above Bastion's Italian boîte Tavola on Post Oak Boulevard, this is arguably the chicest cocktail bar in the city. Step out of the elevator and through lacquered double doors into the opulent space, where emerald-hued crystals cascade above sinuous, channel-tufted seating, sleek black marble- topped tables, and a backlit bar framed by gold arched shelves. It's the perfect place for an après-dinner cocktail after the namesake moon has risen. Eight signature drinks play upon the shifting phases of the lunar cycle, from Morning Dew (light, floral mezcal mixed with sparkling wine, steeped with leaves of yerba maté and tiny passion-fruit-filled beads poised on a caviar spoon, $19) to Apollo Crust (beurre noisette- washed bourbon and cognac, scented with warm baking spices and apple liqueur, $23). The cocktail program is curated by Michelin-recognized mixologist Rubén Rolón, (L'Atelier Miami, Le Jardinier, Collette), who cleverly embraces Houston's role in the first moon landing with such offerings as Houston, We Have a Problem — a collection of tiny martinis made with a base of The Botanist gin and distinguished by their pairings, such as the Ignition martini shaken with cream sherry and maraschino liqueur or the Moonwalk with the French aperitif Pineau des Charentes ($12 each). Many of the delicious bites offered are the size and scale of passed hors d'oeuvres. My favorites were the two-bite petite lobster rolls ($29); potato mille-feuille with smoked egg- yolk emulsion (essentially, a savory sabayon) crowned with Kaluga caviar ($42); black truffle croque monsieur made with prosciutto cotto di Parma and oozing with comté cheese ($22), and pommes dauphine topped with garlic aioli and a slice of Iberico ham ($19). Desserts include Post Oak Campfire, the chef's delicate take on the American s'more in which a sphere of peanut butter ice cream is enrobed in a milk chocolate shell and marshmallow, then singed tableside over a small live fire ($18), and coffee mushroom, a mini sweet "fungi" built in a terrarium-like glass and crafted of milk chocolate mousse and coffee-tinged Chantilly cream with cocoa crumbles doubling as the soil ($15). Moon, 1800 Post Oak, barmoonhouston.com. By Laurann Claridge. Photography Brian Kennedy. 50