Pakistan

Bismillah Cafe: Let's Chaat

Bismillah Cafe specializes in spicy fusion-Pakistani food, going as hot as you dare to go.

Rocks Off's Something Wicked Mini-Guide: The Experiment

BY CHRIS GRAY AND CORY GARCIA Of the dozens of electronic-music artists from all over the world playing Saturday's Something Wicked Festival at Sam Houston Race Park, the ones at "The Experiment" area bear should not be overlooked for one simple reason: They live here. Rewind: Rocks Off's Somethi ... More >>

The Full Circle Tour: DJ Cheb i Sabbah & 1002 Nights featuring Mitch Hyare and Riffat Sultana & Party

Upcoming Events: Asparagus, Honey and Dreams of Sushi

If last week's cafe review of Shepherd Park Draught House piqued your interest, then head over to Garden Oaks tomorrow for its Spring Fest Parking Lot Party. The party runs from noon to 9 p.m. and will feature beers from Karbach Brewing as well as music from outfits like '80s cover band DeLorean Ris ... More >>

Ingredient of the Week: Black-Eyed Peas

Happy New Year! Forget that pesky diet; start off 2012 on the right (lucky) foot with some black-eyed peas. (We're talking the legume, not the music group.) Eating black-eyed peas on New Year's for good luck and prosperity has long been a southern tradition. Some say it stems from Rosh Hashana, ... More >>

Chef Chat, Part 1: Kaiser Lashkari of Himalaya Restaurant

Photo by Mandy OaklanderKaiser Lashkari, owner and chef of Himalaya Restaurant​In a special Diwali version of Chef Chat, we visit Kaiser Lashkari of Himalaya Restaurant, a North Indian and Pakistani refuge in the Mahatma Gandhi district. The chef and owner, a colorful character, is 11 tables d ... More >>

Five Famous Indian and Pakistani Houstonians

India and Pakistan are 64 years old this week.​Dust off your South Asian flags, because this week we celebrate India's (August 15) and Pakistan's (August 14) Independence Days. Sixty-four years ago, India freed itself from the Brits and split itself into two countries. Luckily many crossed the ... More >>

“Other Loves: Celebrating Queer Artists”

Little India

Hillcroft and Raja Sweets have become the epicenter of Houston's vibrant Indian population.

Top 10 Musician Tweets About Bin Laden's Death

​Last night, this member of Rocks Off was sitting at a pizza parlor off Ella when he found out that our military killed Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan. It was a monumental moment in time, as we sat back and looked at the past decade and half of our lives, since we learned his name in 1998 with th ... More >>

“George Gittoes: Witness to War”

2nd Annual United Nations Association Film Festival

Ingredient of the Week: Himalayan Pink Mineral Salt

​What is it? Mined from the base of the Himalayan Mountains in Pakistan, this prized rock salt ranges in color from light beige to deeper reds, depending on the mineral content. The more minerals the salt contains, the deeper the color. Formed more than a quarter billion years ago during the ... More >>

Day Of The [Digital] Dead

No! Not...that guy!​Yesterday was the 23rd annual World AIDS Day, dedicated to raising awareness about HIV/AIDS and remembering those who have succumbed to the disease. It's a sobering occasion. Over 25 million have died of the disease since 1981, and some 33 million live with the infection n ... More >>

Captured in Afghanistan

American soldiers, vérité-style, in Restrepo.

Teri Meri Dosti, A Bollywood Glee Filmed In Missouri City, Debuts

Imran Abbas, smoldering​One of Pakistan's hottest actors is part of a new TV series that debuted this month -- a series that was filmed in Missouri City.Featuring Houston actors and the estimable actor/model Imran Abbas, Teri Meri Dosti could be described as sort of a Bollywoodized Glee, or a ... More >>

Sufi Soul: The Mystic Music of Islam

William Dalrymple explores the music at the heart of Sufism

"East End Live Art: Un/Natural Disasters"

Voices Breaking Boundaries uses art, music and poetry to address recent and past disasters in Pakistan, Haiti and here

"Living Room Art: Art Car Sprawl in the First Ward"

Voices Breaking Boundaries unveils its movable opus

Random Ingredient of the Week: Panela

​What is it? A solid mass of evaporated cane juice. Completely unrefined, its richer flavor is developed from a natural process that consists of boiling cane juice until all the liquid has evaporated, leaving behind a mass of brown fructose and sucrose. Panela is the name used for the Colombia ... More >>

Alex Berenson: The Midnight House

Readers get another exciting thriller from the author of The Silent Man

Health Department Roundup: Chain Gang Edition

This week we round up chain restaurants cited for health code violations. First up: Houston's own Café Express (1422 W. Gray). Who can resist its cornichon/roasted garlic/olive/crouton/caper bar? Amidst the overcooked chicken breasts and watery pasta entrées, the Café's delicious oddments bar of ... More >>

Fur Sure

Midtown's casually hip The Mink rededicates itself to live music.

Ali Sethi: The Wish Maker

The Pakistani author finds truth in fiction

The Sister Cities Of Houston: A Critical Appraisal, Part Two

With the recent addition of Karachi, Pakistan, Houston now is a sister to 18 other cities around the world. Hair Balls is on the case - we studied all of them so you wouldn't have to. See the first half here.Sister: Luanda, AngolaHow we are sisterly: Houston's only African sister is yet another sea ... More >>

Guantánamo's Final Days

As America prepares to close the infamous camp, what about those prisoners?

“We the People”

The Art League Houston takes on Hispanic and Muslim immigration in a multimedia exhibit

Representative Al Green Fights His Own Vietnam War

Central Library Grand Reopening Celebration

You can’t tell a library by its cover — unless it’s a $17 million cover

Asian/Pacific American Heritage Festival

Sufi rocker Junoon brings his Santana-meets-Led Zeppelin sound to Miller Outdoor Theatre

“The Assassination of Benazir Bhutto and the Future of Pakistan”

What does the Pakistani leader’s death mean for the United States?

Guantánamo: Pictures from Home. Questions of Justice

A FotoFest exhibition questions justice

Stage Capsule Reviews

Our critics weigh in on local theater

An American Brat

A Parsi girl sent to America for grrl power acquires a Jewish boyfriend

Driven Crazy

Bikini Brief

Bikini Revolution

UH student Mariyah Moten put on a two-piece and became (in)famous in Pakistan

Karachi Rock

Haven't heard of Junoon? They've sold 20 million albums, and they're at the Meridian this week.

Fire-Breathing Burgers

Exotic meat dishes are tops at Himalaya

A Base for Drums

Bounce to beats unlimited at Bayou Bhangra's monthly parties

Exploring the Subcontinent

"Border Crossings" will tell you more about South Asia than CNN will

Reality Bytes

The White House-cracking cybergang is gone. Now Houston’s most notorious hacker hopes to reboot his life and return to his love: computers.

Searching for Normal

At Clements, Muslims push church-and-school issues

Movie-House Hypothermia

Vertical Limit buries viewers under an avalanche of mind-numbing tragedies

Multicultural Masala

Have you heard the one about the American food critic and the Pakistani cab driver who walk into a barbecue joint?

The Sound of a Washed-up Career

News of the Weird

News of the Weird

Letters

"One-Man Mob"

The cops say what John Shike did to his wife amounted to "legalized stalking." And after being hit with one of the largest fines ever at the county family courts, he vowed he'd get the judge, too.