Subject:

Consumer Products and Services

  • Blogs

    May 22, 2012

    Why Restaurants Matter (and Why You Should Tip Generously)

    Last week's post Corkage: A Privilege, Not a Right generated a heated comment thread. "Are you f'n kidding me?" asked "Corkage Smorkage" rhetorically. "Offer your server a taste of your wine." ???? I'm already paying them a BS "fee" to open it. What's next, offering them a taste of my food so the ... More >>

  • Blogs

    April 20, 2012

    Record Store Day: 8 Ways To Annoy A Record-Store Worker

    Tomorrow is Record Store Day, which is a little bit like the Super Bowl of music shopping: People who have no interest in the sport the rest of the year will be front and center. Rocks Off would never, ever tell anyone not to go to a record store, but people not already planning to make a beeline fo ... More >>

  • Music

    April 19, 2012

    Vinyl Gets Another Spin

    Showing it has more lives than a cockroach, vinyl has been reborn, resulting in some beautiful music. But sometimes production values in records and turntables are lacking.

  • Blogs

    April 2, 2012

    Friday Night: Bomb The Music Industry! At Walter's

    Bomb the Music Industry!, Laura Stevenson and The Cans, LIMB, Lisa's Sons Walter's March 30, 2012 New York natives Bomb the Music Industry! is a project spawned from Jeff Rosenstock of Arrogant Sons of Bitches after they broke up. Bomb the Music Industry! provides anthems for taking life with a gra ... More >>

  • Music

    March 15, 2012

    Against the Grain

    Pardon the pun, but month-old Montrose craft-beer pub The Hay Merchant is already hopping.

  • Blogs

    January 30, 2012

    8 Things We Learned from the IFPI's 2012 Report

    The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) released its 2012 report this week, confirming that the music industry may finally have a reason to be cautiously optimistic about its future. The industry saw its first year-over-year growth since 2004, piracy notwithstanding. The IF ... More >>

  • Blogs

    January 23, 2012

    Must Like Texas Wine: The Wine Slinger Chronicles, a New Guide to Texas Wines

    Photo by Jeremy ParzenLeading Texas wine authority Russ Kane (left) and his wife Delia love meatballs. That's Russ with Coppa executive chef Brandi Key. Russ has called Brandi's meatballs "the best in town."​It seems inevitable that the authors of the two guides to the wines of Texas have name ... More >>

  • Blogs

    December 16, 2011

    Odd Pair: What Wine to Pair with Hospital Food?

    Photos by Jeremy Parzen.When you're admitted to the hospital to have a baby, you're taken off solid foods. As soon as the baby is born, they bring you a meal to regain your strength. In our case, it was hospital cafeteria meatloaf.​Color me pink! Tracie P and I had a baby on Monday: Georgia P ... More >>

  • Blogs

    December 6, 2011

    Me and the TABC (Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission)

    Image via the Texas Restaurant Association.TABC To Go is an excellent online TABC certification program for Texas restaurant and bar workers. Although not required by the state, many Texas employers require certification to ensure proper service of alcohol.​The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commiss ... More >>

  • Blogs

    December 1, 2011

    Why Texas Should Reopen Its Horse Slaughterhouses

    It's been five years since the nation's last horse slaughterhouse was shut down. The Cavel horse slaughterhouse in DeKalb, Illinois, closed after Congress banned USDA inspections of horse meat -- effectively ceasing operations at the few abattoirs in the United States that dealt in horses. If the me ... More >>

  • Blogs

    November 23, 2011

    Musicians Can Wait: Black Friday More About Flat Screens Than Instruments

    Back in college -- yes, in the stone age -- I worked for a musical instrument store on the north side of Houston. Over the years, there were busy days where I just stood behind the counter while a line of people handed me guitars to buy without the hint of a sales push and there were days we sat in ... More >>

  • Blogs

    October 21, 2011

    Odd Pair: Wine and Legs (or Tears That Rhyme with Ears)

    Photos by Jeremy Parzen.The legs of 2005 Langhe Nebbiolo Sperss by Gaja (Piedmont, Italy), tasted this week in Houston.​How many times have you been at a dinner party and heard some blowhard say something like the following (uttered with a fake British accent): Observe carefully: After swirli ... More >>

  • Blogs

    October 20, 2011

    Do Hit Singles Still Help Sell An Album?

    J: Cole: Zero hit singles, 218K first-week sales.​​The music industry has been reeling from a host of ailments, none more severe than crippling record sales. Fortunately, 2011 has been a strong year so far, with CD sales on the rise. Spearheaded by the likes of Adele, Lady Gaga and Lil Wayn ... More >>

  • Blogs

    September 26, 2011

    Wine of the Week: An Under-$25 Fresh, Clean Sparkler

    ​Whenever it comes to sparkling wine, the comparison to Champagne is inevitable. Together with Bordeaux and Burgundy, wine regions that the British embraced as benchmarks for fine wine in the 19th century, the Champagne "brand" is so powerful that it pervades nearly every discussion of spar ... More >>

  • Calendar

    September 15, 2011

    Beer & Brass

    ​Whenever it comes to sparkling wine, the comparison to Champagne is inevitable. Together with Bordeaux and Burgundy, wine regions that the British embraced as benchmarks for fine wine in the 19th century, the Champagne "brand" is so powerful that it pervades nearly every discussion of spar ... More >>

  • Blogs

    August 12, 2011

    Odd Pair: What Wine Do You Serve with Doritos?

    ​When asked what factors had shaped his palate and his wine collection when he first began collecting fine wine, rockstar (literally, not just figuratively) and winemaker Maynard James Keenan answered: "Mountain Dew and Doritos. Like most American kids, that's what I grew up on." This was a fe ... More >>

  • Film

    August 11, 2011

    Invasion of Piracy

    Illegal downloading costs the film industry billions of dollars per year. But does the legal strategy designed to recoup this lost bounty amount to extortion?

  • Blogs

    August 2, 2011

    Wine of the Week, Part 2: Orange Wine by Nicolas Joly, on a Mission from Nature

    ​Yesterday, after we posted our Orange Wines 101 primer, Elgreco54 noted that "Joly does knockout stuff." As it just so happens, I tasted the new vintage, 2008, of Joly's entry-level wine, Les Clos Sacrés (the holy cloisters), over the weekend. (In France the wine is called "Les Vieux Clos," ... More >>

  • Blogs

    July 22, 2011

    Greatest Grub: Best Non-Blue Bell Ice Cream Flavors

    Carrie Applegate Jaeger​As promised, here's the follow up to the last Greatest Grub featuring favorite flavors of Blue Bell ice cream. I can only imagine how many gallons of that stuff are bought in the state during these unbearably hot summer months. I know that Blue Bell is the hometown fa ... More >>

  • Blogs

    May 18, 2011

    Tuscapalooza: As if You Needed an Excuse to Drink Beer

    groovehouseAll-You-Can-Eat crawfish for a cause.​The string of tornados that tore across the Southern states on April 27, 2011 inflicted damage comparable to a category-five hurricane. It killed more 300 people and left thousands more homeless. The impact was especially severe in Tuscaloosa, a ... More >>

  • Blogs

    May 4, 2011

    Bayport Cruise Terminal: Still Empty and Unused, Except for Wayne Dolcefino

    We noted last month the interesting sidelight to the big Disney announcement that they'd be sailing a cruise ship out of Galveston -- that sidelight being that Disney was flipping the bird to the Port of Houston's boondoggle of a cruise terminal. KTRK's ever-intrepid Wayne Dolcefino has now taken a ... More >>

  • Blogs

    April 28, 2011

    Andy Surface: Alvin's Conde Nast Scammer Graciously Agrees Not to Keep the $8 Million He Got

    Andy Surface no longer wants Conde Nast's money.​Andy Surface, the Alvin man who scammed the powerful Condé Nast publishing company of $8 million simply by sending a single bogus e-mail invoice, has formally renounced any claim to his ill-gotten gains. Forbes, which first broke the story, re ... More >>

  • Blogs

    March 25, 2011

    Upcoming Events

    Italian winemaker Ezio Trinchero​Starting this Saturday, there are plenty of inexpensive ways to get your gourmet on in Houston this week, and it all kicks off at Block 7 Wine Company. Fresh off last night's wine dinner featuring acclaimed Italian winemaker Ezio Trinchero, Block 7 Wine Compan ... More >>

  • Blogs

    March 25, 2011

    Eminem's Victory Over Label Could Have Far-Reaching Effects

    Now a Recovery in more ways than one.​Eminem quietly scored a major victory in a case involving download royalties this week. The U.S. Supreme Court threw out an appeal filed by Universal Music Group, the world's largest music empire, against Eminem's former production company F.B.T. Productio ... More >>

  • Blogs

    March 17, 2011

    Restaurant Lawyer David Jordan on Tip Pools and Illegal Immigration

    ​David Jordan is a partner in the Houston office of Littler Mendelson, an international law firm specializing in labor and employment law. Before he was a lawyer, Jordan worked in the restaurant industry for several years: flipping burgers at Burger King when he was in high school; working in ... More >>

  • Blogs

    March 16, 2011

    Made in Texas: Bourbon Ain't Just from Kentucky Any More

    We got whiskey in Texas, pahd'nah!​In this week's cover story, Dallas Observer food critic Hanna Raskin goes inside the world of Texas distilleries to discover that good bourbon can be found in the Lone Star State too. Once reserved for only a handful of bottlers, there has been an explosion ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 28, 2011

    Get Your Passport Stamped Along the Texas Wine Trails

    ​While the trail riders rode into town last Friday, you could be riding out one weekend soon to hit one of Texas's 11 wine trails just as the bluebonnets are beginning to bloom this spring. The fifth most productive wine-producing state in the nation, Texas features more than 200 vineyards wi ... More >>

  • Music

    February 24, 2011

    The Pomplamoose Revolution

    How a band with no CDs or record deal is changing the music industry

  • Blogs

    February 24, 2011

    An Afternoon of Free Wine at Archway

    Photo by CrosslersAn example of home winemaking supplies.​Take a late lunch tomorrow, if you can. And maybe bring along a designated driver. Archway Gallery (2305 Dunlavy, 713-522-2409) is hosting an afternoon of free wine in its Montrose space, and this isn't your typical gallery showing. Fr ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 21, 2011

    Wine(s) of the Week: Duel Napa Valley Chardonnay

    ​I had a couple bottles of Chardonnay sent to me from different wineries, and noticed they were both within a year's vintage of one another, in the same price range, and both from the Napa Valley. So, why not do a Wine of the Week, "Food Fight" style? It was on like Donkey Kong, only a little ... More >>

  • Blogs

    January 19, 2011

    Comment of the Day

    ​Today, Katharine Shilcutt told EOW readers about the new beer bar from the guys at Anvil, which left many salivating for more info...and probably beer. Said commenter Dacano: I think 2010 was just the beginning for the craft beer movement here in Houston and Texas as a whole with the emergen ... More >>

  • Blogs

    January 11, 2011

    Tequila Coleman: Loves Fancy SUVs, Hates Paying For Them

    Land Rover: Get one by any means necessary​Apparently, Tequila Antwannette Coleman really, really, really digs luxury SUVs. They are the salt and lime in her life; without them, she is just not complete. The trouble is, she seems to have trouble paying for them, and now the 31-year-old Houst ... More >>

  • Blogs

    January 6, 2011

    Music Sales Down 2.5 Percent In 2010

    ​Nielsen SoundScan released its annual report on music sales Monday, and the results were less than surprising. Physical sales continued to decline, digital sales continued to rise, and crap pop continues to reign supreme both at the cash register and on the airwaves. During the period of Jan ... More >>

  • Blogs

    January 3, 2011

    Bye-Bye, Books-A-Million

    BAM!! It's gone!!​We always thought a major bookstore downtown was a bit of a longshot, but Books-A-Million thought otherwise. Until now, that is. Swamplot reports that the store in the new-ish Houston Pavilions will soon be shuttered. Books-A-Million is kind of a southeastern Borders, with ... More >>

  • Blogs

    November 22, 2010

    H-Town Is Now Hamburger Town

    Robb Walsh​Houston is Bayou City, Clutch City, Space City, and now....Hamburger City. Travel and Leisure magazine recently released its 2010 Best Of list, naming Houston the no. 1 metropolis in America for hamburgers. The poll was administered to visitors and residents alike, and in both categ ... More >>

  • Blogs

    July 21, 2010

    Gene Green: He's Got Everyone Wondering What He'll Do About Latest Clean-Air Bill

    Gene Green: Which way will he go?​Health and safety advocates will be watching U.S. Congressman Gene Green closely tomorrow, when his colleagues on the House Energy & Commerce committee are expected to introduce a bill intended to reduce the use of toxic chemicals in consumer products, such as ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 6, 2009

    Houston Lawsuit Calls Foul On Those "Low-Tar" Cigarettes

    Vincent Salazar, a Houston man, is the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit filed against Philip Morris and its parent company, Altria Group, in Texas, making the state one of four where similar lawsuits were filed in the last two days. The suits are seeking damages allegedly caused by years of advertising w ... More >>

  • News

    July 17, 2008

    What Mainstream Publishers Don't Want You to Know About Door-to-Door Magazine Sales

    That kid at your door with a magazine order form will tell you a story -- part sad, part hopeful. The truth will be infinitely worse than you can imagine.

  • Dining

    May 3, 2007

    Five Wines That'll Blow Your Mind

    The Vintage Mirrors the Year

  • News

    November 23, 2006

    Midnight in the Garden of PS3

    Camping out at Best Buy with gamers -- and entrepreneurs

  • Home Entertainment

    May 25, 2006

    Next Big Things

    The five biggest attention-getters at E3

  • Home Entertainment

    December 15, 2005

    Generation Next

    Microsoft's Xbox 360 fires the first shot in the next-gen console war

  • Dining

    February 6, 2003

    Dining by Demographic

    Fleming's Prime Steakhouse serves up excellent renditions of the nation's most average food and wine preferences

  • Dining

    November 14, 2002

    Steak House Shuffle

    Vallone's takes a break just in time to give Fleming's a shot

  • Culture

    March 15, 2001

    Coping with Coppélia

    Stevenson's ham-handed treatment of the ballet doesn't seem like the only melodrama on stage

  • Dining

    January 18, 2001

    Stirred and Shaken

    Champps Americana's Manhattan

  • Dining

    November 16, 2000

    Stirred and Shaken

    P.F. Chang's mai tai

  • News

    October 15, 1998

    Letters

    P.F. Chang's mai tai

  • Dining

    June 19, 1997

    Capital Idea

    Is one more palace of red meat one too many? If it's the Capital Grille, the answer is no.

  • News

    February 10, 1994

    Letters

    Is one more palace of red meat one too many? If it's the Capital Grille, the answer is no.

  • More >>
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