Gulf Coast

The Final Countdown: Galveston County Puts Up Massive Countdown Clocks/Billboards for Hurricane Season

3...2...1...HUNKER! Along the Gulf Coast, most of us are keenly aware of the approach of hurricane season each year. Even if we don't know the exact date it starts (June 1), we know that the advance of summer and hotter temperatures means the tropics are about to get busy. Some people really prepare ... More >>

State Seeking To Close Rollover Pass After Almost 60 Years, To Residents' Regret

Back in the rum-smuggling days, runners used to head for the narrowest, shallowest spit of land blocking the Gulf of Mexico from entering Galveston Bay. They're roll their barrels over the land, which became known as Rollover Pass. In 1955 the state dredged the site in order to improve fishing and ... More >>

Praise the Lord and Pass the Pints

Houston's 10 best beer bars

Discovering a New Old Favorite at Joyce's Seafood and Steaks

One of the best things about grand tasting events like the Rodeo's Best Bites competition or our own upcoming Menu of Menus is the opportunity to sample food from restaurants you may have never heard of, or restaurants you've always meant to try but never got around to. Joyce's Seafood and Steaks fa ... More >>

Where to Eat During Lent 2013: 40 Days of Meatless Meals, Vegetables & Fish

Lenten season is upon us. Many people have decided to give up something that they love in their lives, and most of the time that something ends up being food or drink. I'm talking about beer, chocolate, candy, coffee and meat. Devout Catholics also abstain from meat throughout the Lent season, so, ... More >>

The 30 Essential Texas Restaurants: Nearly Made It (a.k.a. the Dan Marino Restaurants)

If you've read this week's feature -- "Eat Here: The 30 Essential Texas Restaurants to Visit Before You Die" -- then you've no doubt already asked why X, Y or Z restaurant didn't make the list. Maybe you've asked this question angrily to your computer, or rhetorically to a coworker who actually trie ... More >>

Why Should Anyone Want to Go Into Radio Now Anyway?

This blog grew out of the article Rocks Off wrote Wednesday about Alvin's "Gulf Coast Rocker" KACC 89.7, the last traditional rock station on the Houston FM radio dial and, not coincidentally, a station completely unsupported by advertising revenue. As we were talking to Mark Moss, KACC's only full- ... More >>

This Woman Made Me Drink Merlot

"The thing I like about the Houston wine scene," says the Houston Wine Merchant's Marcy Jimenez (above), "is the Gulf Coast attitude. We're a little more relaxed than the folks to the north of here." Marcy was born in the Bronx and raised on Long Island, New York. But she cut her teeth in the New Or ... More >>

Openings & Closings: Courtesy of the Red, White & Blue Cheese

As Eater Houston reported earlier this week, West Oaks Mall is losing one of its biggest anchors -- Alamo Drafthouse -- as the chain expands into other areas of Houston, namely Midtown and Cypress. In its place, West Oaks Mall is getting a western-themed bar from country singer Toby Keith, Nashvill ... More >>

ApolloCon 2012

14th Annual Gulf Coast Film & Video Festival

7 Cool & Cheap Weekenders: Tails & Tunes, Los Skarnales, Etc.

Mango's gets a jump on Cinco de Mayo with its "Cuatro de Mayo" party presented by Rockin' Steady. Cover is only $2, or free with a Social Distortion ticket stub. This could be fun: This month across the street, Numbers is letting one lucky winner create his or her own 15-minute Classic Numbers DJ ... More >>

Sampler Plate: This Week in Food Blogs

Dude, You Going to Eat That?: Adjectives on menus serve a much larger purpose than simply describing the food you're about to eat, says Dr. Ricky. Instead, he writes, they're "mostly a function of manipulating expectations" and driving up prices, which is exceptionally easy when you consider that ma ... More >>

In Midst of Komen Ruckus, Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast Has Rare Leadership Change

Melaney Linton: New head of Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast​Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast is not only one of the largest regional centers in the U.S., but it has been remarkably stable in its leadership. Peter J. Durkin has led the organization for 27 often-tumultuous years. And now, in the mi ... More >>

Festival of Lights

62nd Annual Holiday Parade Presented by H-E-B

Two Houston Chefs Honored by James Beard House

Photo by Tam VoRonnie Killen will be reppin' the Gulf Coast in New York City.​Being asked to serve as guest chef at the James Beard House in New York City is as high an honor as they come for a professional chef. And now two Houston chefs -- each completely different from the other -- have bee ... More >>

First Look at The Bird & The Bear

Fried green tomatoes and bacon on brioche...these are a few of my favorite things.​The corner restaurant on the end of a River Oaks strip mall at 2810 Westheimer has been a lot of things. It's been Rickshaw, it's been Fins, it was even temporarily home to Tony Mandola's Gulf Coast Kitchen whil ... More >>

Five Crazy Mandatory Water Restrictions: Coming Soon, Maybe

Yesterday, the mayor announced her plan to ration H2O next week if we don't get any rain. No more of this Stage 1 voluntary nonsense. If we don't want to wash our faces with Gulf Coast fish brine, we're going to have to move to Stage 2: no car washing, twice a week lawn watering, and a 72-hour cap o ... More >>

Joel Kotkin Says Houston & Gulf Coast Poised To Soar

Panama Canal expansion will bring boon​Urban expert Joel Kotkin has always been bullish on Houston, and now he's not even more bullish, he's spreading the love. Kotkin has a piece on the Forbes magazine blog saying the U.S. Gulf Coast -- including, of course, Houston -- is ready to soar, and ... More >>

Top 10 Louisiana Bands Of All Time

​Pardon the geographical pun, but besides Texas, our neighbor to the east may be the most musical state in these United States. And in terms of per capita, Louisiana, which ranks 25th in population to Texas' second, is probably second to none. Outside Nashville's Grand Ole Opry, the program m ... More >>

Brunch at Zelko Bistro: Shrimp and Grits

​It took me a while to get to Zelko Bistro. I'd heard the good reports, read the good reviews, and thought about it many times. Unfortunately, the combination of a rather popular restaurant that doesn't take reservations and a tight, babysitter-dictated schedule conspires against places like Z ... More >>

Invasivorism Hits Texas: Eating the Snails That Eat Our Oysters

A man in Lyon, France, eats a snail raw out of its shell. Even raw, the natural presentation of the snails is beautiful. The tiny snails don't look like much, their spiraling shells in varying shades of chocolate and taupe hiding a sluggish little creature inside. But these snails -- called tingles ... More >>

Chef Chat, Part 3: John Sheely of Mockingbird Bistro

Photos by Tam Vo​This week I have been sharing my interview with Chef John Sheely of Mockingbird Bistro. After our conversation, I committed the deadly delicious sin of gluttony. First up was his calamari, which was quick fried and presented with two dipping sauces: the basic remoulade and a ... More >>

Gulf Coast Reading: Karyna McGlynn, Jason Daniels and Kevin Tynan

Watch as a mystery poet

NANO Fiction Reading Series: Casey Fleming and Sophie Rosenblum

Two local authors give us pithy, pulpy fiction

Health Dept. Roundup

​City health inspectors had a relatively easy time of it this week, but we'll still follow their footsteps to some of the poorer performers on Health Department Roundup. At Pho 102 (10815 Beechnut), an August 12 change-of-ownership inspection found insects were not prevented from entering th ... More >>

Happy Hour Scene: Tony Mandola's Gulf Coast Kitchen

Photo by Paul Knight​The Place: Tony Mandola's Gulf Coast Kitchen1962 West Gray St. 713-528-3474www.tonymandolas.comThe Hours: Monday through Friday 2-6 p.m.The Deals: Domestic bottles are $2, pints of Bud Light are $2.75, and pints of Ziegenbock are $3. House wines are $3.75 and select wines are ... More >>

What Will Be Robb Walsh's No. 1 Dish in Houston?

​Since Robb Walsh first started his list of Houston's 100 Best Dishes in February with green chile chicken kebabs from Chatkhara Grill (pictured above), people have been buzzing about what the much-anticipated No. 1 dish will ultimately be. The long wait will be over tomorrow, when Walsh anno ... More >>

Gulf Coast Reading Series: Rebecca Wadlinger, Will Donnelly and Briana Rochelle Olson

Gulf Coastin'

Houston Film Critics Society

And the winner is...

"From Rice Fields to Rockets: JSC in Houston's Bay Area, the Journey in Sights and Sounds"

Explore life living next door to astronauts

38th Annual Galveston Restaurant Association Epicurean Evening

How do you cook beefcake?

Poison Pen Reading Series featuring Gulf Coast Magazine editors

Poison Girl’s monthly literary installment speeds things up

Gulf Coast Reading Series

The season opener showcases three poets from the UH Creative Writing Program

Local Authors Day

Brazos Bookstore showcases H-town literary talent

Poison Pen Reading Series

This monthly happening offers a sampling of Houston’s literary scene

Jeanine Walker

Local poet starts with a phrase and drives with it

A Gulf Coast Christmas at the Orange Show

The Soul Rebels Brass Band and Lil’ Pop Ledet crank up the holidays

G-town Jams

Duck It Out

Southern-Fried Asian to Go

Exploring Houston's "you buy, we fry" seafood joints

Asian Cajuns

At the Vietnamese-American-owned Cajun Corner, Louisiana mudbugs get a dose of special sauce

Island Comfort

Reggae Hut starts good and gets butter. (Er, better.)

Soft and Crabby

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

Back to the Classics

Goode Comfort

In a changing world, Goode Company Seafood keeps on delivering

Haute Spot

Chef Louis Cressy enlivens the Lancaster with his neo-Gulf Coast cuisine