Coca-Cola

Concert Pub North Gives 1960 Area All the Rock It Can Handle

"It's an exciting time for us," says Concert Pub North (CPN) talent buyer John Escamilla. "A year ago, we were a tribute [act] and local venue. Today we are being looked at like a live-music venue for touring acts." Escamilla and I were waiting for Cinderella front man Tom Kiefer to take the stage ... More >>

The Horrifying, Mystifying, Wonder-Filled World Of Houston T-Shirts On eBay

There are few things more disposable these days than a t-shirt. The problem is, you just can't bring yourself to throw one out. It's still a shirt, right? Someone could fit into it somewhere, you know? So instead of getting tossed, they go to Goodwill or get used as a dustrag or to wash the car. O ... More >>

American Idol Returns, Selling More Drama Than Music

If you can believe it, American Idol kicks off its twelfth season tonight on Fox. But not just on Fox. Here is how One India Entertainment, "India's No. 1 Language Portal," announced the news at 18:03 IST (India Standard Time) today: MUMBAI: After the successful run of The X Factor USA while cashin ... More >>

Mexico Struggle (Yes, Struggle) in 5-0 Rout of Guyana

In today's FIFA/ Coca-Cola World Rankings of soccer, Mexico is 19th in the world. Guyana, Mexico's opponent this past Friday night, was ranked 122nd. By all accounts, Mexico should have had a convincing 3-0 victory that night at BBVA Compass Stadium. Instead, El Tri struggled to win 5-0. And it's ... More >>

It's National Chili Week: Top 5 Unusual Chili Ingredients

Every region has its own rendition of chili. New Mexico has green chili (interesting), Cincinnati has spaghetti with chili (still don't understand) and Texas puts meat in its chili (definitely the best). I always love classic chili with beef or sirloin (I'm a Texas girl, what can I say?), but somet ... More >>

Last Night: T.S.O.L. at Fitzgerald's

T.S.O.L., Spastic Fit, Dead to the World, Crime Wave Fitzgerald's September 4, 2012 It seemed as though I was the only Rocks Off blogger who failed to catch a show over Labor Day weekend, so I was looking forward to Tuesday night. This summer has evolved into something of of a punk-rock history cou ... More >>

Man Falls To Death Off Escalator At Texans' Game (UPDATE: ID'd As Jonathan Kelly, 25)

A man fell from one of Reliant Stadium's large escalators and died during Thursday night's Texans-Vikings exhibition game, various media outlets say. The identity of the victim has not been released, but CBS Houston says says the 45-year-old man "fell to his death while horse-playing on an escalato ... More >>

Mel Tillis: Coca-Cola Cowboy

At 80, first-time author isn't done yet.

Top 5 Sodas That Aren't Coke or Pepsi

"No Coke...Pepsi!" Belushi's classic SNL skit is actually an homage to The Billy Goat Tavern, a dingy burger place in Chicago where you will be yelled at for your order, where they really do only serve Pepsi, and there are no fries, only chips. I've checked the place out and eaten a burger there - ... More >>

Who Grills the Best Steak? Killen and Caswell Duke it Out in the Walmart Choice Steak Challenge

What better way to spend a sunny spring afternoon than to participate in a pop-up celebrity chef challenge at your local Walmart parking lot, where the main ingredient is steak? Last Tuesday, shoppers at the Walmart Supercenter # 1409 (10750 Westview Drive) had a lucky surprise when they pulled in ... More >>

"Reply All" & the Five Other Dumbest/Most Annoying Things People Do with E-Mail

Hard to believe, but the very first electronic messages were around 50 years ago. It wasn't the sophisticated, snail mail-replacing juggernaut most of us use every day, but it existed. As it has grown, communication has shifted and things none of us ever dreamed were necessary -- emoticons, for exam ... More >>

Laundry for Foodies: The Dining Room Meets the Laundry Room

Fun fact: I'm kind of a mess. I want to be one of those together people who always looks pressed and polished, but most days I'm somewhere on the spectrum between "slightly rumpled" and "totally disheveled." My unparalleled ability to get food on myself has only been increased by my food-writer habi ... More >>

When Are Food Knock-offs Distasteful?

If your Girl Scout Cookie of choice is the Samoa, then you might be happy to know that these goodies are NOT only available through green-uniformed girl children and for $3-4 a pop. Keebler offers a nearly identical version called "Coconut Dreams," which are available year-round and often on sale ( ... More >>

Tea Party Princess

Victoria Jackson went from the big leagues of comedy to the rabid right of modern politics.

Heavy Fuel: How to Drink Like a Rock Star

If you want to be a real rock star, you can go ahead and forget about those Red Bull and vodkas you're so fond of. Legit rockers are fueled by bigger, harder and flat-out weirder doses of alcohol than the mere mortals hitting on the bartender at your local watering hole. Sure, a few of our musical ... More >>

How To: Drink Like a Rock Star

Sure, most rock stars are probably happy with any bottle that happens to be within reach. Some rock stars, however, prefer to refine and perfect their booze intake, settling on a signature cocktail that suits their outsized personalities and consequence-free lifestyles. Rocks Off salutes these exc ... More >>

The Hits of 2011

Our favorite new Houston restaurants.

On the Rocks: Cocktails Named After Musicians for New Year's Eve

Have a G.G. Allin and bring in the New Year indecently!​Everything is more exciting, sometimes even redeeming, when it has a cool name: Sexual acts, alcoholic beverages, movies, albums, etc. OK, maybe just sexual acts and drinks. Since there are thousands of sites that have the former covere ... More >>

The 10 Best New Restaurants of 2011

The challenge in choosing 10 of the best restaurants to open in Houston each year is a daunting one: Many of the restaurants I think are "the best" have little to nothing to do with each other, making for a list that falls all over the map when it comes to price, cuisine and location. Then again, t ... More >>

Five Years Later: Food Trends That Fizzled Out

I'm still waiting for Mupcakes to catch on.​It's that time of year again: No, not the time when society's ever-emphasized consumerism is rammed even more forcefully down our gullets, disguised in festive Christmas trimmings and manipulative Coca-Cola commercials. It's the time of year when eve ... More >>

Gran Success

The infused tequilas and modern Tex-Mex at this neighborhood hangout are bien bueno.

Get Lit: Everything is an Afterthought: The Life and Writings of Paul Nelson by Kevin Avery

Everything is an Afterthought: The Life and Writings of Paul Nelson by Kevin Avery 584 pp., $29.99, Fantagraphics Books ​It was a scene like out of the hardboiled detective novels that Paul Nelson loved so much when police broke into his New York apartment in 2006. What they found was a dark ... More >>

George Strait's Top 20 Songs Of All Time: Nos. 5-1

​As Rocks Off dives into the top slots of our favorite George Strait songs from his 30-year career - see Nos. 20-16, 15-11 and 10-6 - we are waiting anxiously to see if King George was able to knock Lil' Wayne's Tha Carter IV from atop the Billboard 200. A top seat for the brand-new Here For a ... More >>

I'd Like To Teach the World To Sing: 5 Songs About Coca-Cola

​It's hot outside, folks. We're starting to think the Aztecs were onto something, and if we could find a virgin and a sharp knife we might see if a little human sacrifice would appease the hateful sun god. Until then, we'll have to settle for staying indoors and drinking many tall glasses of f ... More >>

Coke: United States vs. Mexico

​Cane sugar has been gaining on HFCS lately. Dr Pepper admitted that high-fructose corn syrup is a shoddy sweetener when it turned Lawyer Pepper on its Dublin, Texas bottler. And tonic makers have created a new market from the knowledge that gin mixes with corn syrup like gin goes with police ... More >>

The Slurpees Are Back in Town

It's just an ICEE with a silly (okay, sillier) name!​Guess who just got back today? (I love Thin Lizzy; sue me.) Slurpees, that's who. While there hasn't been a 7-Eleven in the Houston city limits since the late '80s, fans of its famous Slurpee still exist. Although it's just a cleverly mar ... More >>

Top 5 Musician Novelists

Ted Barron/New West RecordsSteve Earle: What's up, Doc?​Despite what our paychecks and sometimes even our diplomas say, the perception persists that music journalists are not "real" journalists. Similarly, no matter how literate their lyrics, some folks think musicians could not possibly put p ... More >>

Dr Pepper Sues Itself, Sort Of

Photo by Amit GuptaDublin Dr Pepper: the highly-coveted Dr Pepper version of Mexican Coca-Cola.​In the long history of entities suing themselves -- Wells Fargo in 2009, the government of Thailand in 2006 -- none have been as disheartening to Texans as the latest news that Dr Pepper Snapple (DP ... More >>

My Five Favorite Virgin Cocktails

mhaithacaShirley Temple. ​For the record, I am not pregnant. But a startling proportion of my friends are heading into their second and third trimesters this summer and therefore are unable to join me in multiple rounds of margaritas. Rather than drink alone, I have decided to explore the wor ... More >>

Top Five Clint Eastwood Soundtracks

pasoroblesfilmfestival.comDr. John, Clint Eastwood and producer/director Bruce Ricker in a publicity photo for "Piano Blues," Eastwood's installment of PBS' 2003 series The Blues.​Today the one and only Clint Eastwood turns 81 years old, and he can still kick your ass. According to the Interne ... More >>

Wanda Jackson Loves Jesus, Jack White & Adele

​Rocks Off conducted an unusual interview this week. We say "interview," when perhaps a better word is "exchange." Recently we have been tinkering with the composition of our interviews, in the hopes of avoiding boilerplate questions like "Who are your influences?" in favor of something, we h ... More >>

Idol Beat: I Do Not Like That will.i.am

​Only nine hopefuls remain in this, the 10th season of American Idol (AKA the Greatest Talent Competition Since the Battle of the Bands at San Dimas High School). It's time to separare the wheat from the chaff, the post-adolescents from the mere adolescents, those who are "in it to win it" fro ... More >>

30 Seconds With Ryan Key of Yellowcard

Photo by Adam Elmakias​Rocks Off sat down with guitarist and vocalist for alternative punk rock sensation Yellowcard http://www.yellowcardrock.com, whose new video "Hang You Up" is the only reason we can think of to brave MTV these days, to see what we could learn about him in 30 seconds. Roc ... More >>

Kosher Coke: The Real Real Thing

​Often I pop into Belden's in Meyerland because it's a throwback supermarket with unique food items, and right now it has "Houston's Largest Selection Kosher for Passover." That matters because it's the short season for Kosher Coca-Cola. I'm not from Sugar Land, but I love sugar in my Coke. ... More >>

KGOW'S KAPOW KAPOW

1560AM weaves pop culture, locker-room humor and irreverence into sports-talk radio.

Idol Beat: Mona Lisas And Mad Haleys

​Hans Gruber: You are most troublesome, for a security guard. John McClane: Eeeh! Sorry Hans, wrong guess. Would you like to go for Double Jeopardy where the scores can really change? It's double jeopardy of a sort for the remaining 11 Idol hopefuls, because thanks to the judges' save of Cas ... More >>

Idol Beat: I'm About To Have A Nervous Breakdown

​My head really hurts...sorry, after last night's shenanigans, I couldn't help breaking out the Black Flag. Have you ever had one of those really bad nightmares, the kind that is so horrifying it wakes you up multiple times during the night? And even though your subconscious is trying to offe ... More >>

Super Bowl XLV Commercials: The 5 Best And 5 Worst

Baby Darth Vader is soooooo cutesy-wootsey​From Audi to Groupon, yesterday's Super Bowl Commercials ran the gamut. There was less blatant sexism than previous years, and a lot more CGI, and a few commercials sure to have people talking either due to their shock value or outright offensiveness. ... More >>

Another Time

Rosenberg soda fountain offers nostalgia to diners.

Another Time Soda Fountain: Cheaper Than a Time Machine

Photos by Troy Fields​Let's face it: The main appeal of Another Time Soda Fountain -- the subject of this week's cafe review -- isn't really the food. Sure, the burgers and chili dogs are good. But people are coming here in droves for two things: the desserts and the drinks. As the name would ... More >>

The United States of Soft Drinks

Full-size image below.​In 1998, Nebraska set a precedent for all other U.S. states when it formally declared Kool-Aid to be the state soft drink. Sure, plenty of other states have state foods or state dishes, but a state soft drink? The popular children's beverage was developed in Hastings, N ... More >>

Food Fight: Battle Gummi Bear

​Not all gummi bears are created equal. Some people - including certain unnamed members of my family - do not seem to be aware of this, and blithely purchase generic gummi bears from supermarket bulk bins. While it's hard to get angry at someone who buys you candy, off-brand gummis have a cons ... More >>

The Shady Tavern Ice House's Fourth Annual Chili Cook-Off Competition

Photos by Matthew DresdenServing up the winning recipe. ​What is the best way to prepare for an all-you-can-eat meal? There are two main schools of thought: eat as much as possible in the days before, to maximize the capacity of your stomach; or, eat as little as possible in the days before, t ... More >>

Reporting from the Southern Foodways Alliance Symposium: "Taco Trucks and Crepes Trailers: Modern Texas Foodways"

Street food is picking up steam across the country, and Houston is no exception. During the Southern Foodways Alliance symposium last weekend, attendees were invited to view the exhibit "Taco Trucks and Crepes Trailers: Modern Texas Foodways" at the University of Mississippi's Gammill Gallery, runni ... More >>

Looking for Trouble

Jemina Pearl breaks free of Be Your Own Pet on Break It Up.

No Pun Intended

It's impossible not to play on words with Hearsay, downtown's newest bar.

COACHES PUB'S COLORADO BULLDOG

Bootlegging Dr Pepper

The demand for sugar-sweetened Dublin Dr Pepper has never been higher — just ask the bootleggers

Colorado Bulldog

The Doghouse Tavern

How Do You Take It?

Our intrepid driving diner discovers the Bright & Early Coffee stand and why Houstonians like their brew weak