Billy Bell, lead bartender/mixologist from Emerald City in Champaign, is here for today's Whet Your Whistle.
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Bored with the usual Bloody Mary? Consider going to Emerald City Lounge for brunch this Sunday. With its fiercely furnished, yet comfortable bar and quality services, its brunch has become increasingly popular.
Emerald City’s brunch is open every Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. It generally provides a simple breakfast buffet with fresh fruits and homemade muffins and cinnamon rolls. Besides the expected egg dishes, breakfast meats like bacon, sausage patties and sausage links, French toast, sausage gravy and biscuits, hash brown or some type of potatoes, they also have an amazing build-your-own Bloody Mary bar.
The Lounge’s hearty brunch costs $9, and its customized Bloody Marys cost $4. They plan on offering a more upscale brunch for Easter and Mother’s Day, which would include more traditional brunch/lunch items. Reservations are allowed.So, that's another brunch option in CU. It was mentioned before in their One-on-One with the buzz.
buzz: How would you describe your bar?
KCS: If someone said, ‘What type of bar is it?’ I’d say it’s an upscale martini bar.
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buzz: What are the most popular drinks?
KCS: Well, by far, the most popular drink is one of our specialty martinis. It’s the Good Witch martini. I would describe it as a dessert martini, and it tastes like a snickerdoodle. Besides the specialty martinis, the next one in line is the Yellow Brick Road, which is a combination of citrus vodka, mango — it’s got ruby red vodka, it’s got some citrus and some mango in it. So it’s kind of a sweet tart combination, really nice.
...A mid-July opening is anticipated for the new Champaign nightspot Emerald City Lounge.
Previously home to the Jackson's Ribs and Tips restaurant, the building at 116 N. First St. has undergone an extensive remodeling, with a new bar, new flooring, paint, furniture and art, said co-owners Keith Cameron Smith and Tim Denoyer.
Smith and Denoyer, who were married in California, said they want the lounge to be an inclusive place, where gay clientele feel comfortable and where their friends and family are comfortable....
The space is about 6,000 square feet, plus there's a 1,200-square-foot outdoor patio. They raised a portion of the floor to create a stage and will feature local performers there. Couches were recently moved in, and televisions and art are also planned for the walls.
The drink offerings will include a selection of beers, microbrews, wines and "classic top-shelf drinks," Denoyer said. Four or five drinks that play on the "Wizard of Oz" theme will be available, but Smith and Denoyer said they don't plan to "go overboard" with the Oz theme.
