Stirred and Shaken
The glowing blue wall casts a cool hue over the dark-haired woman sitting alone in the back of Saba Bluewater Cafe [416 Main, (713)228-7222]. The austere lines of the sleek modern restaurant are pleasantly interrupted by splashes of bright color. Huge paintings depict naked men and women cavorting in the…
Staying Alive
The decorations have come down, the confetti has been swept away. Look around, because that music club where you rang in the new year may no longer be in business. At least not the way you remember it. That’s the case at Billy Blues Bar and Grill, a landmark blues…
Tangled Up in Blues
At C. Davis Bar-B-Q, his Reed Road haunt for a quarter-century, I.J. Gosey often perches, legs crossed at the ankles, on a chair or sometimes on an amp. But sooner or later, the blues brew he cooks up overcomes him. That’s when he ever so slowly rises to his feet,…
Making the Scene
The Houston nightlife scene, what a cruel, complex bitch you are. For the past six months — it seems longer, sweet Lord in heaven, it seems longer! — this column has strived to put a neat, coherent spin on the cute, nocturnal netherworld with which Houstonians have been blessed (or…
Playbill
Surf rock has always been one of the most unique genres, despite the tendency of acts to repeat the same old Stratocaster solos ad nauseam. Funny as it may sound, surf is a tough genre to master, one that can’t fall back on a charismatic vocalist to cover up any…
RV Xmas
Friday, December 22 — From inside, framed in the horizontal sliver of my front window, I can see America. Left to right, the horizon reads: Taco Bell, Wendy’s, McDonald’s, Super 8 Motel, Pawn, Cracker Barrel, Billiards, Academy, Texaco, Burger King, Blockbuster, KFC, Kroger, Advantage BMW, U-Haul. It’s a 180-degree arc…
Playbill
One of the major advantages of having a sister branch of Austin’s Continental Club is the terrific booking opportunities. We’re more apt to get Capitol City acts that might not play here otherwise, and reluctant national performers can make a Texas swing worthwhile with a double booking. Then there’s this…
Plugged In
Dale Brooks had the hardest time getting inspection stickers for his car this year. He visited seven places until someone knew what to do with his sporty white two-seater. Everywhere he went, people asked him to pop the hood and marveled at the strange sight under it, the conspicuous lack…
War Games
The war on drugs has become this generation’s Vietnam, the unwinnable conflict that will, in the end, destroy the innocent and reward the guilty. That, in a coke vial, is the premise of Steven Soderbergh’s Traffic, a film that gives flesh and face to bloodless government statistics and statements seldom…
Charity Case
With Bill Cosby at center stage, Houston’s glitterati went on display under glass in the ballroom of downtown’s Hyatt Regency Hotel on October 28. It was the annual gala of the Houston Children’s Charity. And another crown jewel in the career of high-flying fund-raiser Laura Rowe. A glossy printed program…
Product Placement
Every day you feed yourself, groom yourself and maintain your possessions with the contents of plastic containers — your shampoo bottle, stick of deodorant, tub of margarine, jug of detergent. Their forms are the result of countless product-design man-hours and are structured for specific functions and maximum consumer appeal. Their…
Chinese Puzzle
In a setback for a Chinese mother who fled her homeland fearing for her unborn child’s life, the Immigration and Naturalization Service has denied her request for asylum in the United States. The case now goes before an immigration judge for consideration. Lijun, who asked that her real name not…
On the Waterfront
The only heater in The Point Bar and Restaurant is a welded steel contraption that looks more like a barbecue smoker than a device designed to warm up a room. The makeshift fireplace is in the middle of the joint, and that’s where Rory Miggins and I are sitting on…
Breaking Up Is Hard to Do
Ben stops nursing. “Soda,” he says, patting my breast. He grins, devilish and pleased with himself. “Noooo,” I say. “Milk. Mommy’s breast has milk.” “Soda!” says Ben. “Soda! SO DA!” I tickle him, and in a Big Bad Wolf voice, I threaten to wean his silly butt. He thrashes and…
Mussel-bound
Deciding on an appetizer can be a heavyweight decision at Farrago [318 West Gray, (713)523-6404]. Specializing in fusion cuisine, the Midtown restaurant offers such title contenders as chili-cured tenderloin, Asian barbecue duck and jerk chicken wings. But chef Todd Stevens has really tipped the scales with his curried mussels ($10)…
Guardian Angel – Or Grinch?
As holiday greetings go, it wasn’t your typical “‘Tis the season to be jolly” card. Memorial Hills Apartments management notified its renters a week before Christmas that living at the complex could enhance the occupants’ long-term chances of contracting cancer. Just to make sure they got the message, the residents…
The Tired Gun
“You’re right! I quit!” Until this moment–this shrill outburst that comes out of nowhere and startles both interviewer and subject–Marisa Tomei had been speaking in hushed tones, like someone making funeral arrangements. Every so often, she would punctuate her sentences with giggles–some nervous, some delirious–but suddenly, she is laughing uncontrollably…
Money Talks
Money, as we all know, can’t buy you love. But in Houston media circles, it can buy you respect. If any proof of that was needed, it’s been provided in the past few weeks by the fawning hype devoted to the ridiculous galleryfurniture.com Bowl. The man behind the bowl was,…
Letters
Last Chance Rehab rather than jail: I wish to commend you on a true and realistic account of the way things happen with regard to drug addicts [“Tough on Drugs,” by Margaret Downing, December 14]. I’m one of the people that has spent, off and on, the last ten years…
Going… Going… Gone
There’s no really polite way to put this: When it comes to the film industry, Houston ain’t L.A. Heck, it ain’t even Austin. Aside from some local commercials and industry films, about the most we can hope for is an occasional big-budget production like Pearl Harbor to roll into town…
New Urban Beat
Launched in July, urban247.com is a Web site for folks who like their news and culture reports with a, shall we say, darker point of view. “This is a concept we had, actually, for about a year, and we didn’t know what shape it was gonna take,” says Vonn Butler,…