Finding drinking partners after a long holiday weekend is tough. My usual suspects were all at home, nursing their hangovers (both moral and physical), cowering under blankets on the couch, dodging my calls, regretting certain weekend decisions and choking back the shakes with every stale breath. I imagined them all sweating profusely, looking like they'd just come out of surgery, futilely fighting their demons and twitching every time an extra loud Gallery Furniture ad came on the tube. But I didn't care if they had a pile of TPS reports to finish and a PowerPoint presentation due first thing in the morning. I had a deadline too, damn it. Nights like this, I'm thankful for trusty bartenders like Chris Lawless at The Flat (1701 Commonwealth, 713-521-3528). Full disclosure: I've been drinking at this bar since it opened, so Chris and I go back a couple of years. Chris dug deep into his considerable bag o' tricks and produced the Russian Mail-Order Bride — a gold-flecked variation on the White Russian. It was just what the doctor ordered on this particular evening. While the DJ projected The Warriors onto the wall and pumped hip-hop through The Flat's impressive sound system, I quaffed a few before bopping my way back home, fully recovered from my own post-weekend torment.

1 1/2 ounces Stoli Vanil vodka

1/2 ounce Kahlúa liqueur

1 1/2 ounces half and half

Splash of Goldschläger liqueur

Pour ingredients into a rocks glass over ice and stir. Sleep well, my darlings...