How to Live Anywhere: Bloody Marys

If you’re like me, you’re probably worried that your diet of beer and tequila might not be giving you all the nutrients you need. That’s why it’s important to drink an occasional Bloody Mary.

There was a time when I was famous for my international sex symbol lifestyle and my Bloody Marys. There are some secrets I won’t tell, but I’m ready to talk about my Bloody Marys.

I adapted the recipe from two outstanding recipes extant at the time I opened Wildhare’s. The first was the classic recipe from the Kentucky Club. Those Bloody Marys are still available, every day of the week, from eleven a.m. I’ll see you there.

The other source was a little more obscure.

Mick Lynch (who later opened La Norteña next to the bus station) used to work at Cafe Central. We’re talking Paleolithic. It might have even been during the waning years of Mike Doble’s tenure as owner. I think Mick was the chef.

Mick made Central’s Bloody Mary’s with a spoonful of Pico de Gallo. Genius, eh?

That inspired me to enhance my recipe, liberally lifted from the K Club.

(Before I had the bar, when anyone questioned my Bloody Mary recipe, I’d tell them, “That’s how they make it at the Kentucky Club.” That always shut them up. After I had a bar, nobody questioned my recipes.)

I got cilantro. I chopped it, pretty fine. I cut the onions small enough so they wouldn’t clog a straw. I threw the onions and cilantro in the standard Kentucky Club recipe: lime juice (a lot), Worcestershire sauce, celery salt, McKilhenny’s Tabasco Sauce, Clamato, and vodka (but I always told them tequila instead).

At the bar, I used to make Bloody Mary mix four gallons at a time. I never measured anything, so to duplicate my recipe, you’ll have to make it “to taste”. Except use more lime juice than you might think you have to. That’s key.

Also, since chopping all that cilantro and onion is involved, make a lot. Invite your friends over. Fry a pound of bacon. Wear pajamas.

Okay, here I have a confession to make, and an apology to offer to my vegetarian clientele. Sometimes I would add Chicken Knorr to the mix. And by sometimes, I mean every time, except if I inadvertently ran out. Yeah, well, sorry about that. If I’d been really conscientious, I guess I’d have used Tomato Knorr. These are the things that keep me awake at night.

And here’s a new idea that I’m starting to play with. I’ve tried it a couple of times, but it’s still a work in progress.

I’ve started adding red enchilada sauce. A couple of tablespoons of green would probably be good, too. Not too much. Just enough to give that Bloody Mary a little meat.

So to speak. I don’t want to offend my vegetarian friends, if I’ve still got any.