Durham

The 10 Best Downtown Restaurants

More than tunnels and tourist traps.

Openings & Closings: The Bar Beat Gets Busy While Sushi Spots Shutter

Weeks like this one make it hard to believe I'm actually leaving this post next Friday, because what a whirlwind of activity we've seen in the last seven days. First is news of four exciting new bars heading to downtown, north downtown and Montrose. Two of those bars are from the Clumsy Butcher tea ... More >>

2012: The Year in Openings and Closings

Here it is. The wooly mammoth of a post that we provide to you as a public service every year. All of 2012's openings and closings, listed by month, without fanfare or commentary. This is just the nitty gritty of every single restaurant whose doors have shut or opened in the last 12 months. Enjoy. ... More >>

Openings & Closings, Heavy on the "Closings"

While there wasn't a whole lot of good news to report this week, there was a rash of closings. The holidays can be killer like that. After many years in business serving martinis to the Shepherd Plaza crowd, The Davenport closed last week. Often dubbed "The Davensnort" for the, ahem, activities tha ... More >>

Health Department Roundup: Lexington Grille, Pink's, 1308 Cantina and More

If you're into lunchtime trysts, the Lexington Grille is apparently a good place to schedule one. We're guessing things were not so romantic between the inspector and manager last week, when Lexington was hit with a dozen violations. But you never know -- maybe there is some potential for romance he ... More >>

Football! This Weekend's Best Bets, Helping NBA Stars With Their Finances

To exactly nobody's surprise, the Rockets and James Harden agreed on Wednesday afternoon to a five year, $80 million contract extension, making Harden the first maximum contract player that Daryl Morey has inked to a deal in his tenure as Rockets general manager, and sending a clear message that Har ... More >>

July 2012 in Openings & Closings: t'afia Is Dead, Long Live t'afia

It's true: t'afia is closed. But only until August 14. That's when -- as chef/owner Monica Pope told us on Wednesday -- the restaurant will be reopened with a revamped concept. It's also true that our beloved Nabi is on the chopping block, as owner Ji Kang confirmed to Eater Houston. However, just ... More >>

Dumb: Robbing Cop Car Parked In Front Of Cop Shop. Dumber: Accidentally Turning The Flashing Lights On

There's dumb and then there's dumber, as Hollywood has taught us. Two thieves, whose names have not been released, apparently fit the part, according to KHOU. The two not only broke into a cop car last night, the cop car they broke into was sitting in front of the HPD substation in the Heights. A ... More >>

Is Mission Burrito Trying to Compete with Torchy's Tacos?

I get the feeling that Mission Burrito is suddenly trying to compete with newcomer Torchy's Tacos, the Austin import that features tacos with fillings like fried chicken and names like the Dirty Sanchez or the Trailer Park. Why? Because the Houston-based burrito chain has now introduced a new line ... More >>

Openings & Closings: January 2012

After 45 years in business along Washington Avenue, Guadalajara Bakery is closing its doors on February 29. Unlike previous closing scares for the longtime breakfast taco purveyor, this one is concrete: New owners purchased the building and gave the family 30 days notice to vacate. A bar is planned ... More >>

Openings & Closings: Barcadia Burns Bridges

Photo courtesy of FacebookThe Bushes and the Molinas: Texas legends.​As we slowly move out of the winter doldrums, restaurant news is getting much more exciting -- and coming at us much more quickly. On Tuesday, two big announcements got the food community all atwitter: The Burger Guys announ ... More >>

The Meth Singularity: Oklahoma Woman Tries to Cook Batch Inside Walmart

Booking photoAlisha Halfmoon: Streamlining an already lean and mean process​In last month's feature on meth in East Texas, veteran Angelina County speed freak James "Bull" Durham was positively exultant about the drug's ease of manufacture these days. Gone are the days whereby expert "chefs" n ... More >>

Thanksgiving Day Dining and Takeout Options: Because Washing Dishes Sucks

madfishestheblog.comTurkey Day doesn't have to be terrifying. ​Recently we read an article on "Facebook Depression," which is essentially a feeling of general malaise attributed to the constant comparison of one's own turbulent, unexciting existence to the seemingly glamorous and worry-free li ... More >>

25 Signs That You Aren't From Houston

That's right, you're not from Houston​Earlier this week Arturo Valdes was pulled over for speeding down the West Loop feeder road in the City of Bellaire. After finding "irregularities" with his registration (probably something other than a Bellaire or West U address), Bellaire cops called in ... More >>

Openings & Closings: June 2011

Photo by Katharine ShilcuttAssorted macarons from Petite Sweets.​This is a good time to live in Houston, folks. Never forget it. A week so filled with restaurant openings that it requires three pages (yes, I'm warning you in advance) to discuss should be proof enough of this fact. News that T ... More >>

At Least Two Injured as Truck Makes Unscheduled Delivery to Heights-Area Papa John's

Photos by John Nova Lomax​This is the scene of a two-vehicle, one-Papa John's accident at the corner of West 11th and Durham today at about 1:30. According to a witness on the scene, the driver of the HVAC truck ran a red light, smashed into the Hyundai pictured and then careened into the piz ... More >>

Notes from an Obscure Car Chase

Tased and confused on West 11th.​So last night I am cycling home, listening to Dan Carlin's Hardcore History podcast about the Red Army's sacking of Berlin. As I pedal up North Shepherd near the 11th Street Kroger, Carlin regaling me with tale after tale of unspeakable Red Army atrocities, a m ... More >>

Houston's Top 10 Crawfish Joints

Photo by Tony ChenYou must make the crawfish do a puppet dance for your amusement before eating it. Fact.​Yesterday, we showed you the proper way to eat crawfish. Today, armed with that knowledge, we're going to show you the best places to eat them in Houston. It may not officially be crawfis ... More >>

Houston: Worst Speed-Trap City in America?

Speedtraps can be thwarted​A new compilation of online complaints seems to show that Houston, believe it or not, is either a) the worst American city for speed traps, or b) home to the drivers who complain most about speed traps. CNBC looked at all the reader-submitted listings at speedtrap.o ... More >>

Don't Miss Dish

Jumbo Lump Crabmeat Nachos at Cyclone Anaya's

Robb Walsh's 100 Favorite Houston Dishes: #26 Fried Shrimp at Segari's

​Over the course of the next few months, I'm counting down 100 of my favorite Houston dishes. I chose some because they are such quintessential Houston creations, others for their cultural or historical significance, and others because they are just so damn tasty. Share your own nominations in ... More >>

Ashka's East Meets West

Unidentified Male, 66, Bayou Body Count No. 124

Down from Illinois, killed crossing the street​Charges have been filed in the auto-pedestrian accident of a 66-year-old man killed while crossing the street near a few blocks south of Washington Avenue.Brian Madden, 36, was driving a white Dodge Ram 1500 pickup around 6:15 Sunday afternoon in the ... More >>

What a Burger

The truffle Kobe burger at Table Seven

Happy Chinese Mardi Gras New Year, Tiger!

​Eat up that king cake, drain those booze bottles. Today is Fat Tuesday, Mardis Gras in French, the last day before Lent. Starting tomorrow, it's 40 days of atonement and fasting. Which means we need to get rid all of those evil temptations (like sweets, booze and fatty foods) today. But as it ... More >>

Table Seven

Openings and Closings: 2009 Edition

​The year gone by marked some very exciting restaurant openings (such as Haven, Branchwater Tavern, Yelapa Playa Mexicana and Stella Sola) and some equally important closings (such as Cafe Annie, Bedford, Las Alamedas and Felix Mexican Restaurant). To close out the yea ... More >>

Health Department Roundup: Washington Corridor Edition

​Ever notice that the Washington Corridor is roughly but uncannily shaped like a pancreas, with Washington Avenue as its pancreatic duct? We did. Without further ado, a few Health Dept. violators from the area this week: According to its website, Bubba's Sports Bar and Grill (6225 Washington ... More >>

Get All Dressed Up

There's plenty of places to go this Halloween.

Openings and Closings

This week features not only restaurant closings and openings, but reopenings as well. The first of those, as expected, was Cafe Le Jadeite (1952 West Gray), which reopened this past Monday. Despite the fact that the name and decor have remained the same, the owners and the menu have changed. B4 ... More >>

Segari's U-10 Shrimp 2-Ways

Photos by Robb WalshThe late Sam Segari was nuts about shrimp. His restaurant, Segari's on Shepherd, is run by his daughter now. But the shrimp dishes are still made with U-10s, the largest Gulf shrimp available. The cryptic code means "under ten to a pound" -- the actual average size is close to a ... More >>

Mardis Gras Specials: Mudbugs and Beads

The sign in front of the Mardis Gras Grill at 1200 Durham reads, "Every Tuesday is Fat Tuesday at the Mardis Gras Grill." So what happens there when it really is Fat Tuesday? I asked GM Renee Evans. She told me that the restaurant is celebrating its namesake day with a Zydeco band on the patio, dr ... More >>

Foreclosures, Multiple Personalities, and Swampy's

Nobody's Home

Good News: Dale Petroskey Is Out of the Baseball Hall of Fame

Mardi Gras Grill

Nicky Click: I'm On My Cell Phone

Crawfish

Mardi Gras Grill hosts a weekly eating contest

That Little Something Extra

Cahill's on Durham

Wrestling with Gourmet Tex-Mex

Don't let the upscale decor at the new Cyclone Anaya's trick you into ordering the lobster enchiladas

Cyclone Season

Two offspring of Cyclone Anaya's soon will be competing within blocks of where the original once stood

Best Pawnshop

The Marrying Kind

Cahill's Fire Engine Blazin' Bloody Mary

Force of Nature

Floyd's Hurricane

Best Neighborhood Sculpture Garden

Blossom Street Gallery & Sculpture Garden

Mudbugs: The Dirty Truth

The dirt on crawfish

Dish

Dish

Letters

Soft and Crabby

Summer's the right time for many things -- but none better than soft-shell supping

The Money Trail

Rose Marie Turford and Carolyn Stevens may be in jail, but the saga of Thelma and Louise goes on