Pearland

Keep Your Tired Love-Song Cliches Off My Mixtape

I'm a firm believer in the old adage, "never date someone who makes you a mixtape," so please don't break that rule this Valentine's Day and proceed with your plans to create a mixtape full of love songs. Yes, throwing some romantic songs together may seem like a cheap way to get out of having to ... More >>

Valentine's Day Dining

Houston restaurants have special deals to help you take your sweetie out to dinner.

Upcoming Events: New Year's Dining Options Outside the Loop

It's nothing but New Year's right now, as Houston restaurants and bars throw elbows to get you to spend that special night with them and them alone. The Four Seasons Hotel is offering one of our favorite packages this year in case you want to get all glammed up to ring in the 2013. Starting with di ... More >>

Philly Poutine

A first look at the new Pappa Geno's in Bellaire.

The Rest of the Best

Houston's top 10 pizzas.

Breaking News: Funnel Cloud Warning for Fort Bend County

Click 2 Houston is passing on a weather report warning of possible funnel clouds this morning in Fort Bend County. The report says that rapidly developing thunderstorms coupled with "a very buoyant atmosphere" will lead to funnel clouds. Their report follows:

100 Favorite Dishes 2012: No. 38, Chorizo Kolaches at Peña's Donut Heaven

This year leading up to our annual Best of Houston® issue, we're counting down our 100 favorite dishes in Houston. This list comprises our favorite dishes from the last year, dishes that are essential to Houston's cultural landscape and/or dishes that any visitor (or resident) should try at least o ... More >>

Readers Poll: What Are Your Favorite Summer Albums?

You know technically if you live in Houston, summer never really goes away. It just sort of lingers on top of the region, every now and then rousing from slumber to pound us with heat and humidity. Northern parts of the country have a firm line separating the seasons, but thankfully global warming ... More >>

Openings & Closings: Making the Most of Main Street

It was a week full of news items, both big and small, starting with the big news that Ronnie Killen of Killen's Steakhouse in Pearland has leased the old Stella Sola space in the Heights. He plans to open a second location of his steakhouse in the spot after it's remodeled, after which he'll serve a ... More >>

This Means War: $1K Reward Offered for Info on the Heathens Who Vandalized Pearland's Football Field

Messing with The Rig? Have people no sense of decency these days? The Rig, which is what they call Pearland High School's football stadium, has been attacked by persons who somehow do not hold Pearland football in the high esteem it has earned. We're thinking someone from Friendswood. The Texas- ... More >>

Il Trovatore

My New Year's Resolution for 2012: Explore the East Side

I have what my friends call a "map fetish." I even have a degree in cartography. Totally useless, but what a great expenditure of my time in college considering that most degrees are basically useless pieces of paper anyway. My tendency to plot data spatially does lead to some interesting revelatio ... More >>

Marcus Camby: Weed Charges Against NBA Player Dropped

Marcus Camby, the NBA player who was charged with marijuana possession in Pearland last month, has had those charges dropped. Randall Novak, his attorney, tells Hair Balls Camby's second cousin, Kendall Johnson, entered a guilty plea to the possession and paid a $1,500 fine. Johnson was visiting f ... More >>

10 Great Pictures Of Johnny Cash

​Do you remember where you were when you found out that Johnny Cash passed away, on September 12, 2003? This member of Rocks Off was in our tiny S-10 pickup, delivering pizzas somewhere in Pearland, when one of the country stations he was flipping through delivered the news that the Man In Bla ... More >>

Gumbo and Gin

MerCheri's is at its best serving up no-nonsense Louisiana soul food.

Rocca Fellers

Former pool hall is Houston's newest hip-hop spot.

Great Gumbo and Even Better Boudin Balls at MerCheri's

Photos by Katharine ShilcuttReplacement boudin balls have finally been located and acquired.​In my review of BRC Gastropub last October, I chastised the restaurant for serving tough little nuggets that they dared call boudin balls, and suggested the kitchen staff take a trip to the Fifth Ward ... More >>

Black Congress Storms Out Of Ghoulsfest

​Earlier today, Black Congress said that the band would not be performing as previously scheduled at Ghoulsfest, Houston's newest music festival taking place at Pearland's Tom Bass Park next Saturday and featuring Bad Brains, Macy Gray and many local acts. The band announced its departure from ... More >>

Start Wearing Purple: No Bullies Allowed

​Bullies suck. Growing up, Craig's Hlist watched a lot of kids in school getting the brunt of the, quote-unquote, "cooler" people giving them hell for being big, gay, handicapped or just smart. They would start fights, make up songs or stories about them, or find ways to embarrass them in fr ... More >>

Bartender Chat: Julienne Desjardins of Wild Geese Tavern

​You would never know it by looking at her, but Julienne Desjardins is tired. "I've been taking care of a sick child all day," she laughs. Despite this, she's still hustling about on a busy Tuesday evening, pouring beers, shaking shots, and getting everyone nice and tipsy at the Wild Geese Tav ... More >>

Off the Bus

METRO execs won't be commuting after all.

Walmart's Greatest Hits... Or Maybe Not (NSFW)

​Growing up in Pearland, Craig's Hlist didn't know anything was inherently wrong with Walmart. We didn't see it as trashy. How could a place where we got baseball cards and metal magazines every Saturday be trashy? But when we got older and heard the tales of Walmart's wrongful business prac ... More >>

Mascot School: How To Entertain, And What About Having To Pee?

Photos by GROOVEHOUSEHeads up, people​See a slideshow from mascot camp. Saturday morning around eight, merely a handful of hours after my Friday night had ended, I was standing next to the administration entrance at the Toyota Center with a group of high school and college mascots, their parents, ... More >>

Chef Chat, Part 2: Ronnie Killen of Killen's Steakhouse

​We continue our chat with Chef Killen of Pearland's Killen's Steakhouse to learn the secrets about his crème brulee bread pudding and get the chef's response to Robb Walsh's unsavory review. EOW: Tell me about how your crème brulee bread pudding has made Pearland an unlikely food destinat ... More >>

Guess Who's Skipping Houston This Time?

Attention local musicians, music bloggers and music organizations: have something that should be included in Magnolia City Mixtape? Leave a comment below or email brittanie.shey (at) houstonpress (dot) com. • The Caprolites soothe our summer boredom with their new video for "I Need A lot," abov ... More >>

Footpie, Dread-Free And Jammin' The Suburbs

Each Wednesday, Rocks Off arbitrarily appoints one lucky local performer or group "Artist of the Week," bestowing upon them all the fame and grandeur such a lofty title implies. Know a band or artist that isn't awful? Email their particulars to sheaserrano@gmail.com. myspace.com/footpie​Foot ... More >>

Beavis And Butt-Head's Greatest Video Hits, Dillhole

​On the night of November 28, 1997, Rocks Off was sitting in his friend Chad's parents' house in Pearland, watching the final episode of MTV's Beavis and Butt-head. The boys had been a part of our daily lives since at least fifth grade, and as we marched into the second semester of ninth grade ... More >>

Five '90s Musical Fads We Remember Well, But Don't Really Miss

​A little over a decade ago, swing music made a strange comeback. You may remember seeing people all over dressing like '40s hipsters, jumping and jiving in Gap commercials and most every club or bar was offering swing lessons. It started with the release of the film Swingers, which still mi ... More >>

Songs We Play When We Play With Guns

​After almost 27 years, Craig's Hlist has found himself immersed in gun culture. It's not so much a masculine phallic thing (believe us, we have questioned it), as much as it is a family bonding experience. It's easier to go to a gun range with our family out in Pearland on a Sunday afternoon than ... More >>

Houston Musicians Recall Their Own Rock and Roll High School Days

​Tonight Rocks Off is hosting the first annual Texas High School Rock Off, with local bands from area schools fighting for a grand prize of $500 and bragging rights around town. This past week we have profiled the seven bands in the running: The Paperwaits, Useful Information, The Handshake, Livin ... More >>

Sub-Prime Beef

Readers give props for calling Obama to task.

He Said She Said: Songs That Remind Us of Our Grandfathers, Part 2

He Said Grandpa Songs He Said was lucky to have spent twenty-five years on Earth with his Grandpa Hlavaty, who passed away in the summer of 2008 of a brain hemorrhage. The man was arguably one of the biggest musical influences in He Said's life. The intrepid and stealthy Grandpa Gonzalez is kicking ... More >>

Inside Pearland's Mystery Mansion

Photos by Katharine Shilcutt​In an up-and-coming neighborhood in Pearland off Highway 288 and Southfork, two nearly identical mansions sit abandoned in adjoining 15 acre lots. The weeds have grown high around the entry gates to one; the other never even had gates built and sits behind a padlocked ... More >>

Who Wants To Be A Contestant On Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?

The producers of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire are coming to town Friday today to audition contestants for the show. Our Craig Hlavaty has already gone down this road before; here's his tale and some tips on how to get picked.Back in the summer of 2005, when I was slinging dough for Domino's and stu ... More >>

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 >>

Think Houston Radio Sucks? Try KACC's Lost Fidelity

Photos by Craig Hlavaty Last week, we railed on the big boys over at the Eagle and the Arrow for perpetrating hours and hours of Billy Joel and the Eagles on the ears of Houston. It seemed to us that between those two fighting for the same audience, it was in fact the listener who was losing. But we ... More >>

Last Minute Thanksgiving Shopping

Photos by Robb Walsh Forgot the whipped cream for the pumpkin pie? You might take the opportunity to check out the latest in grocery stores -- the new mega-HEB at Bunker Hill and I-10. It's only 130,000 square feet -- the humongo-HEB in Pearland is slightly bigger -- but it's still the biggest groc ... More >>

Soul Mama Smackdown

Two soul food superstars named Mama face off with competing versions of Creole cooking

The East End Trek

Killen's Steakhouse

Watch for Slurpers

Hope Springs Eternal

A northern suburb tops our third installment of rating greater Houston's taste in music

These Kids Go to the Best Public High School in Houston

This week: Our first- through fifth-place finishers

David vs. Goliath

Scenes from the Starbucks trial

Biking Dirty

BMXers eat dirt and catch air

Letters

Letters

Almost Famous

Local girl makes good in the new reality series The It Factor

Changing the Channel

For years, homeowners, developers, environmentalists and the federal government have wrangled over a flood-control plan for Clear Creek. Now a compromise is in view -- but the creek's future is murkier than ever.

Alison Cook looks back at 1996: Year of the Rat