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Openings & Closings: Goodbye to Tex, Mex and Czech

As of today, Jeannine's Bistro remains closed in Montrose with no word from owner Andrew Klarman as to its eventual reopening date. The popular Belgian bistro closed temporarily this past Saturday due to staffing issues. Plenty of other doors were shut this week, too, including the beloved Olde Tow ... More >>

Burgers Off the Beaten Path: The Hideaway

I keep finding new reasons to love The Hideaway on Dunvale, and therefore new reasons to drive west on Richmond until I hit Dunvale -- a corner of the city's that is actually rife with terrific reasons to head west. In the strip center across Richmond from The Hideaway, you'll find two of the best ... More >>

Health Department Roundup: Swagger, Kenny & Ziggy's, AKA Sushi and More

Swagger (3839 Southwest Fwy.) is a strange case. Some Yelp reviewers characterize the lounge as "hood," but it's located in Greenway, far from anything else fitting that description. (And it's good enough for Isaiah Carey). The bar's name suggests something fresh and fashionable, but Shakespeare act ... More >>

What Carrying the New "ReviewerCard" from Brad Newman Says About You

With Yelp currently tangled up in piles of Federal Trade Commission complaints about its business practices -- which restaurant owners allege range from libel to extortion -- a new scourge upon the dining scene seems poised to take its weaselly place: the ReviewerCard. First reported in the LA Time ... More >>

Houston's Top 5 Punk Bars

5. LOLA'S DEPOT It it possible for a place to look run-down -- in a good way? Some who wax nostalgic about Lola's wasteland preeminence as the place to score drugs in the '80s now joke of it as a "neighborhood bar," offering such high-class amenities as ATM machines. Remnants of the old Lola's exi ... More >>

Worst of "The Worst": Free Press Doesn't Know How Vegan Works

Note: As Omar Afra reminded us on Twitter today, "Worst of" entries are public submissions and do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of Free Press Houston. Carry on. This week, Free Press Houston released its always-scathing, usually quite hilarious "Worst of Houston List." Other than ... More >>

Houston's 10 Best Bathrooms to Bang In

"It's a list of bathrooms to fuck in, not Homer's Odyssey. Don't go over-thinking it." My girlfriend hurled this sage wisdom at me earlier this week as I planned my trek to nearly two dozen bars I visited to compile this list. If nothing else, I am sure the Greek poet would respect my legwork. Th ... More >>

This Week In Food Blogs: Virgin Kitchens and Uninformed Morons

Dallas Observer: Although Anthony Bourdain is the most famous recent convert to Texas barbecue, Gavin Cleaver of the Dallas Observer (our sister paper) recounts his own love story with smoke and brisket in this week's feature story: "An Englishman in BBQ Sauce." City of Ate: In this second of this ... More >>

Health Department Roundup: 888 Chinese, Maggie Rita's & more

Katharine Shilcutt called it one of the old-school anchors of the East End. Yelp reviewers gave it a four-star average in 66 reviews. A Health inspector was not impressed with 888 Chinese (403 Winkler), however, sticking it with 19 health code violations during an inspection last week. Issues includ ... More >>

Labor Day Laughs: Real Actors Read Yelp Reviews

On the off chance that you haven't been exposed to the thrilling beauty that is "Real Actors Reading Yelp Reviews," we've compiled the entire series into one post for you. So take a break from doing...whatever the hell it is people do on Labor Day...and remember that dining at the Olive Garden in Ti ... More >>

App of the Week: Apps That Helped on My Vacation...and a Few That Didn't

A few weeks back, I took a two-week vacation that saw me visit three states and travel by plane, car, shuttle and even by boat for a few minutes. It was all within the U.S., but I found my need for technology surprising. Because I work for myself, I did bring a computer for occasionally catching up ... More >>

Chef Chat, Part 2: Candace Chang of Dolce Delights Makes Cakes the Way She Likes Them

Dolce Delights 3201 Louisiana St Tel: 713-807-7575 http://mydolcedelights.com/ This is the second of a two-part chef chat series. Read Part 1, which ran in this same space yesterday. Two years ago, Candace Chang left the world of fashion merchandising to pursue a lifelong passion: baking. During ... More >>

The City Of Houston Releases Its Own Version Of Die Hard

It's come to this. In the wake of the shooting in Colorado and the countless other shootings in offices and public places, the City Of Houston in conjunction with the Mayor's Office of Public Safety and Homeland Security released "RUN. HIDE. FIGHT. Surviving an Active Shooter Event" on YouTube. ... More >>

Openings & Closings: April 2012

So, while I was gone last week, chef Ryan Hildebrand and his investors announced plans to open yet another restaurant only four short months after Triniti opened on Shepherd. Brande, as the new restaurant will be called when it opens in late 2013, will occupy the old Ruggles space on Lower Westheime ... More >>

Clueless -- Not Old -- People Writing on a Restaurant's Facebook Page

Tumblr has given us some great food-related bits of fascination recently. Locally, it's home to Fat City Houston, which keeps our 100 Favorite Dishes list honest. Nationally, it's given us gems like Fuck You, Yelper, showcasing frenzied Yelp reviews as beat-style poetry. This week, it's Old People ... More >>

Hubcap Grill's Ricky Craig on Twitter Outbursts and Axl Rose Rants

This past Tuesday around 10 p.m., anyone who follows Hubcap Grill owner Ricky Craig on Twitter could tell that he was having a bad night. Craig is well-known for voicing his opinions -- often stridently -- on Twitter, but Tuesday was different. "Ewan MacDonald get out of Houston and GO BACK TO DALL ... More >>

Hospitality Reigned Over Hate at Hubcap Grill's Yuck Felp Party

Hubcap Grill's Anti-Yelp party, held this past Sunday, had everything a stellar party should have: delicious food, a fantastic beer selection, beautiful people, excellent music, gorgeous weather, and a couple of visits by the police. Hipsters, foodies, and fun-loving adults traveled from far and nea ... More >>

Turn Your Browser and Cough: The Top 15 Health Care Web Sites

Lt. Reginald Barclay was a character on Star Trek: The Next Generation. By trade, he was an engineer, but he was well known on the show for being a massive hypochondriac. On one episode, Dr. Beverly Crusher advised Reg not to look through the Star Fleet medical database anymore because it was causin ... More >>

Sampler Plate: This Week in Food Blogs

Free Press Houston: Hate Yelp? Then you'll love Jay's screed against the restaurant review website over at Free Press Houston. In his essay, Jay -- who's better known as the blogger behind Guns & Tacos -- says that biggest problem with Yelp that its "platform is dependent on malicious activity, whic ... More >>

Bingo and Booze at Double Trouble

Chuck Cook PhotographyLooking out onto the patio, where the bingo happens.​"G 48, G 48. Gee, I can't believe Whitney Houston was only 48." The basic requirements of bingo-calling are so undemanding that an illiterate person could fulfill them. Doing it well, though, takes wit, and often the w ... More >>

Chef Chat, Part 1: Kevin Naderi of Roost

Photos by Mai PhamChef/Owner Kevin Naderi of Roost​It's not often that a small restaurant becomes an instant hit, but from what I could see on a busy Tuesday night with a small line forming at the door, neighborhood eatery Roost possesses everything it needs to make it -- a small, cozy space; ... More >>

Top 5 Ways to Clean Out Your Colon: Detoxing Debunked

By now you have either disregarded your New Year's resolutions with a long list of very convincing reasons (I actually enjoy being unemployed) or you haven't even started them yet. If cutting back on the excess was on your list of things to do in 2012, it's certainly not too late to start. When we s ... More >>

Village Voice Media Responds to Clergy

A response from Village Voice Media​Today 36 clergy affixed their names to a paid ad and open letter to Village Voice and the classified ad site Backpage.com. The full page ad was published in The New York Times. The religious coalition demanded that we close down our legal, adult classifieds ... More >>

9/11 Idiocy, To Go

Yummy Stinky

The fermented tofu at this Taiwanese spot is not for the faint of heart.

F*** You, Yelper: Yelp Reviews as Beat-Style Poetry

​Perhaps it wasn't the intention of the person who started Fuck You, Yelper to frame random snippets of sadly hysterical Yelp reviews for comparison to anti-intellectual Beatnik poetry. But I can't help seeing each post -- a few lines plucked, sometimes but not always, from a longer review -- ... More >>

Top 5: Foods Best Eaten Alive

Photo by GroovehouseOysters on the half shell at Gilhooley's.​While I'm not a full-on advocate of the raw food or paleo eating movements, I have to admit that both have their strong points. Many foods are, in fact, better left uncooked. And some are flat-out best eaten at their most uncooked: ... More >>

Discount Dining

Butternut Squash Soup​Like Christina Uticone, who rounds up food deals around town for Eating Our Words, I've signed up for every site I've come across, even Gaggle of Chicks, "where moms flock for great deals", and no, I am not a mom. I get about 15 emails daily with new deals and discounts a ... More >>

Burger and an Oil Change at Facundo Cafe

Photos by Katharine ShilcuttI want this burger all over again.​Listen up, because I'm making your lunch plans for you right now: Drive over to Ella, just outside the Loop, and pull in to the Dr. Gleem car wash. Yes, the one with the palapas out front. Get your car's oil changed, or get it det ... More >>

Openings & Closings

​The closure of Dolce Vita in the Woodlands after only a matter of months prompted some serious discussion on the food blog earlier this week. Does Marco Wiles hate the suburbs? That's unlikely, and taking it a bit far. But the idea that not every concept is a fit for every market is a well-es ... More >>

Washington Avenue, One Year Later: Not As "Wild"

Marc BrubakerPrivilege: Late to the Party?​Today the Rocks Off team unveils our newest cover feature, "Getting Past The Bouncer" (or, in print, "Bar Codes"), in which we investigate more in-depth December's "Hydeout at Hudson" controversy, and examined the door policies at some of the other ni ... More >>

Racism And Houston Clubs: The Nightfly's Story

​Is there racism within Houston's nightlife community? Of course there is. It's certainly not early 20th-century racism, but it's still very much there. In three-plus years of writing the Nightfly column for the Houston Press, I've only ever had one club owner or manager go on record as say ... More >>

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 >>

Escolar and Uni at Aka Sushi

Photos by Katharine ShilcuttSea snail up front, uni in the back.​Every time I mention enjoying a particular sushi restaurant, a commenter or two will chime in to tell me that I'm a blithering idiot for not enjoying Aka Sushi more. (Sometimes that's an exaggeration, but not usually.) This also ... More >>

The Top 10 Google Searches for 2010: Food & Drink Edition

Google, you clever bastards. Making me hungry for Thanksgiving dinner all over again in December.​On a particularly creepy episode of Conspiracy Theory -- yes, the one with Governor Jesse Ventura and the Blond Ponytail of Better Days -- a cornered spokesperson for a government Fusion Center to ... More >>

Open Tab: Time To Hit The Patio! And Not Each Other!

Photos by Craig Hlavaty​Thanks, God! The weather this week has been more hospitable than the past five months of hell you put us through, making it easier to drink and smoke outside without our sweat putting out our cigarettes. It's always nice to know you got our backs, except for the whole d ... More >>

Has the "Foodie" Backlash Begun?

Courtesy of Toothpaste For Dinner​Late last year, all of the sister papers in the Village Voice Media chain were informed that we were no longer to use the word "foodie" in blogs or in print. The reason? "Foodie" has not only become overused but has developed a strongly negative connotation: A ... More >>

Allen Henson: A Heartfelt Discussion On A Lap-Dance Rip-Off

A lap-dance cri de coeur​Allen Henson is a UH student who's served two stints in Iraq, according to online info. He's also e-published a book about raucous male behavior in the Tucker Max style, and has a website and a Twitter feed.He's also the victim of lap-dance fraud, he writes to us."I' ... More >>

Cry for Yelp

The popular Web site has buckled to pressure, but it isn't enough.

Yelp Announces Changes ― Are They Enough to Satisfy Class-Action Plaintiffs?

​Are lawyers in the class-action suit against Yelp smelling victory? Yesterday, Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman announced the user review giant would drop the "Favorite Review" feature and let readers see the reviews that would otherwise have been filtered out by its automated review filter. "No ... More >>

Wishes for Wilshire Village

Plus: Reviewing the reviewers on Yelp

The Yelp Effect

​Although there was no shortage of food-related panels at the Interactive portion of South by Southwest (SXSWi) this year, none were as insightful or as incendiary as The Yelp Effect, a frank discussion on the effect that online reviews and criticisms have on the restaurant industry. Led by A ... More >>

Scintillating Sichuan

You can tell it's really Sichuan at Sarah Place by the hot pot bullfrog and the flaming hot pepper chicken.

KOMODO'S PUB'S NUCLEAR RAINBOW

Stirred and Shaken: Komodo Pub's Nuclear Rainbow

Photo by Troy Fields​It didn't take long to realize Komodo's Pub (2004 Baldwin, 713-655-1501) is no dive. The Internet (specifically, Yelp.com) might have you believe that, but careful on-site analysis of the bar reveals that the Internet is full of bullshit. A real dive doesn't have "nice flo ... More >>

Dive Bars

A handcrafted tour of the best, most obscure places to lean on a stool in Houston.

Dive Bar-ology 101: What A Dive Bar Is Not

​These days, there are a lot of misconceptions about what constitutes a dive bar. Going by lists on sites like Yelp and Citysearch, and especially this laughable list from the Houston Chronicle, apparently any drinking establishment that does not sport bottle service, valet parking and a velvet r ... More >>

Yelp Eats

Web exclusive!

Upcoming Events

Photo by Katharine Shilcutt Pimm's Cup, on the menu at the Reef-Anvil cocktail pairing dinnerRecession diners, get those forks at the ready. Yelp Eats! is here. The online review site -- perhaps best known for local restaurant reviews -- has started its very own Restaurant Week called Yelp E ... More >>

Being A Fan In Houston Basically Sucks, ESPN Reports

Photo by Bukowsky18ESPN has put together another one of its Best Fan Experience lists, where they rank ballparks, arenas and stadiums for atmosphere, convenience, team success, and other highly arbitrary and pseudo-scientific categories.Houston doesn't come out too well.The top three are the L ... More >>