Anna Benson: The New Gold Standard for Bat-Shit Crazy Exes
History will look back at pitcher Kris Benson as just another overpaid, oft-injured blip on the starting-pitcher radar screen. With his career record of 70-75 and a career ERA of 4.42, along with career earnings in excess of $39 million, on the field and in the wallet there’s virtually no…
The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same at Cavatore
“We needed to change with the times to reach the same audience while bringing in new clientelle,” said Federico Cavatore, explaining some of the recent changes to his family’s 30 year old Italian restaurant housed in a 100 year old barn on Ella, and the subject of this week’s cafe…
Reality Bites: Below Deck
Human beings occasionally do things that are bad for them. Maybe you’re a diabetic and you find yourself eating a doughnut, or you’re recovering from lung cancer and end up buying a pack of Marlboros. Recovered alcoholics sometimes relapse, and women still date guys with “tribal” tattoos. Some of us…
Dwight Howard Is Here, But Rockets Still Have Work to Do: Three Questions to Answer
It’s been Dwight Central around here for the past week since the free agent center decided to lace up his sneakers for the Rockets this season. Howard is in town — buying people lunch, apparently — to sign his contract with the team and will no doubt begin offseason workouts…
Is Detroit America’s Most Rock and Roll City?
Detroit Rock City: The Uncensored History of Rock ‘N’ Roll in America’s Loudest City By Steve Miller Da Capo Books, 312 pp., $16.99 “It’s this beautiful place where you sacrifice your safety for a shitload of freedom,” Rachel Nagy of the Detroit Cobras says of her band’s namesake city. And…
Breeding Deer in Texas: A Business Opportunity or Betrayal of a Public Trust?
Sharon and James Anderton are Texas deer breeders. Their activities and those like them are overseen by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department as they breed deer for bigger antler spreads and give people a chance to shoot “trophies” at a much lower price than, if say, they paid to…
Five Musicians Who Sued Companies for Using Their Image
I’m going to guess the average Hot Topic shopper doesn’t know who Joan Jett is. In fact, they may think she was a fictional character created for that Runaways movie with Kristen Stewart. They may, however, know all about her Blackheart brand, because Jett alleges in a new lawsuit that…
Smashburger Unveils Secret Menu PB&J Shake for National Ice Cream Month
We seem to celebrate a lot of silly national food holidays, whether for the day or the entire month, but National Ice Cream Month isn’t one you should push to the side. Cool yourself down with a bowl of your favorite ice cream, or head on over to Smashburger for…
UPDATED: New Caney Amusement Park: Could “Fantasy Land” Become Reality?
Update:When this story was posted, we made the mistake of believing the amusement park being developed in New Caney was being headed by the developers of EarthQuest, the subject of our April 2012 cover story. This was inaccurate. We were as surprised as anyone to learn not one, but two…
Fun Fun Fun, Something Wicked Crowd Texas’ Fall Music-Fest Calendar
Austin’s Fun Fun Fun Fun Fest, the most porous and some say the most, well, fun alternative-music festival, capped off a series of headliner leaks by announcing its full 2013 lineup Tuesday morning. Sort of. Through a series of videos and Instagram posts, Fun Fun Fun had previously leaked so…
This Week in Food Blogs: Witchy Sandwiches, Chilled Tomato-Peanut Soup & More
Jack Around: Sandy Witch Sandwich Company opened last week, so Jack checked out the new food truck from Pi Pizza Truck owner Anthony Calleo. Sandy Witch Sandwich Company serves up a variety of sandwiches with daring ingredients, like the Madame Blavatsky, which features brined chicken, and the sandwich with Dr…
Tropical Storm Chantal Fizzling, But Could Be an Indicator of a Very Busy Season
The Atlantic’s third named storm of the year is barely holding itself together this morning. Tropical Storm Chantal is briskly moving through the waters of the Caribbean towards the west at about 28 mph, but it is showing signs of disintegration. In fact, the National Hurricane Center is calling for…
The 2013 Kolache Olympics: Strawberry Flavors Prevailed
Dwight Howard has a few more reasons to frequent the Kolache Factory — well, two, to be exact. For the 13th time, the Kolache Factory held its Kolache Olympics to decide which new flavors would be added to the menu, one sweet and one savory. I was a little worried…
Our 25 Favorite Summer Jams of 2013
Houston’s not getting any colder, so Rocks Off asked our writers to tell us which recently released songs are helping them beat the heat this summer. Alt-J, Dissolve Me” A strong, danceable beat coupled with such serenity. It’s the sound of floating in the ocean with friends while just a…
Twilight Zone: The Morpheus Lander Crashed and Burned, and Critics Say NASA Never Fully Investigated What Went Wrong
On August 9, 2012, on a sunny day in eastern Florida, NASA’s Morpheus lander hovered 15 feet over the ground. One second passed, then two. Then the craft tilted to its right, kept tilting, collapsed into the ground, and thudded for a moment before fuel met light and a fireball…
Inside Houston’s Open-Mike Nights: “We’re Happy to Have Anybody”
It’s 9 p.m. on a Tuesday and Andrew Hoskins is tuning his resonator guitar in AvantGarden’s courtyard. His buddy, Sean Fink, is running through songs with him on the guitar resting in his own lap. They’re talking music, work, kids and beer, and they’re waiting. “So, I’ve played so many…
A Hands-On Look at the Omni Virtual Reality Set-Up
Jan Goetgeluk and his company Virtuix are just a few thousand bucks short of having raise $1 million on Kickstarter for their cutting edge virtual reality gaming set-up, the Omni. That’s more than eight times their initial goal, and it makes them one of the most successful Houston Kickstarter campaigns…
Top 5 Potato Salads to Try in Houston
One of the first words I learned in German (and one I will probably never forget) was Kartoffelsalat (potato salad). The German people, especially the Bavarians, excel at making Kartoffelsalat and that style of preparation was what I became accustomed to, especially growing up so near Pennsylvania Dutch (Deutsch) country…
Houston Third Most Stressed Out City? It’s Probably Because of All the Awesomeness
We’ve known around here that Houston is a pretty great city, but we had no idea that greatness comes with a price. Namely, stress. Yes, Houston has been named third most stressed city in America, according to a survey conducted by the folks over at neuro drink (which is some…
100 Creatives 2013: Crystal Belcher, Pole Dancer
What She Does: When Crystal Belcher was living in Washington DC in 2009 she heard about a pole dancing fitness course but never had the time to try it out. Yet the idea just wouldn’t leave her mind, and when she returned home to Houston the opportunity to finally look…
Fishsticks and Flapjacks: A Modest Proposal
To cap off our Independence Day celebrations, a few friends and I stumbled to the breakfast klub the morning after the holiday for fried food that would assuage our varying degrees of hungover-ness. During our half-hour wait in line, there was much discussion about what to order, with the top…
How Lynyrd Skynyrd Hooked Up Bad Company’s Paul Rodgers
“Playing with Skynyrd was always in the cards. We go back a long way, and I toured with them as a solo artist,” Bad Company vocalist Paul Rodgers says of the summer co-headlining tour with the Southernrock veterans (Black Stone Cherry is also on the bill for Thursday’s show at…
Dwight Howard Buys Lunch for the Entire Breakfast Klub
The way the NBA’s calendar works, the period during which teams can begin negotiating with free agents starts at midnight Eastern time on July 1. From there, deals can be verbally agreed to between teams and players over the next several days, but for some odd reason, a moratorium exists…
New Designs for Menil Collection Create a Better Art Neighborhood for Houston
Photo courtesy of Gretchen Sammons and the Menil Collection With the recent appointment of architecture firms Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates and Johnston Marklee, the Menil Collection slowly moves forward with its plan to enhance and expand the museum’s landscape in the heart of Houston. The 30-acre Menil Collection is known…
Family Research Council Spin-Off Hosts “Ex-Gay Pride” Music Video Contest
Ramon Medina of the Linus Pauling Quartet sent me this flyer, which you can click on to embiggen, and it is both the funniest and the saddest thing I have ever seen. Musicians both professional and amateur have until July 30 to enter (For a $30) their music video in…
The Dragons Are Coming With the Circus! 10 Books to Introduce Kids To Them
The Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus is back in town, and this time they’ve brought dragons! Not real dragons because, you know, Obama, but their new show is dragon-themed and features a gigantic replica that is brought to life through the combined actions of the performers representing different…
This Salad Tastes Like Chicken!?! Questioning “Beyond Meat”
For a brief period in high school, I embraced vegetarianism. Well, pescatarianism, actually, because I allowed myself tuna melts (my mom made really good ones). I was clearly not cut out for this lifestyle, however, given that I ended up simply replacing the animal flesh foods I once enjoyed (chicken…
UPDATE: Suspect Arrested After UH Bomb Threat, Official Says
Update: A man has been arrested and charged with trespassing in the wake of a bomb scare at University of Houston on Tuesday afternoon. John Simeon, 30, was arrested by UH police after an altercation between the former student and a faculty member, Richard Bonnin, interim associate vice president of…
Man Arrested for Freaking Moviegoers Out During Zombie Flick
There are certain things not protected by free speech. The one commonly used as an example is screaming “FIRE!” in a theater when there is no fire. The safety of people takes precedence over your right to act like an asshole. So when Darrell Reynolds walked into a showing of…
Will Dwight Howard as a Rocket Change the CSN Houston Negotiations?
One question that has been lingering in the background of the euphoria over Dwight Howard joining the Rockets is how many Houstonians will actually get to watch him on television come this fall. In virtually any other city, it would be a ridiculous question — including the city he just…
Nearly 40 Nominees Confirmed For HPMA Showcase August 4
Hope you’re not doing anything Sunday, August 4. Or, whatever else you are doing, you can also join us that afternoon and evening at the Houston Press Music Awards Showcase, featuring almost 50 nominees in this years HPMAs. It’s our 25th anniversary, by the way. Hi-yo silver. For venues, we’ll…
En Fuego: Man Arrested for Throwing Molotov Cocktail at Neighbor’s Home
Some crazy crap goes down in Houston sometimes. Last week, it was July the Fourth and fireworks were going off all over the place. I live on the near north side and despite the fact that fireworks are illegal inside the city limits, you would think our entire hood had…
Dining Deals at Skol Casbar & Grill, Zydeco Louisiana Café, Araya Artisan Chocolates, and More
Let’s kick the week off right with another fabulous Houston Press Voice Daily Deal. Sure, today is Tuesday, but the Monday after a four-day weekend hardly counts, right? Today’s deal is good for 51 percent off ($17 for $35) at Skol Casbar & Grill in Midtown. Enjoy gourmet American cuisine…
Judy Kuhn’s All This Happiness is Stirring and Evocative
Judy Kuhn has been enchanting audiences since her Broadway debut in 1985, when she was a member of the Original Broadway Cast of The Mystery of Edwin Drood. In 1987 she was cast as Cosette in the Broadway premiere of the worldwide sensation Les Misérables, a role she reprised for…
From the Back of the Band: Six Musical Instruments on the Cusp of Rock Stardom
Some musical eras are defined by the instruments that moved from the backing band to center stage as they unfolded. Electric-guitar sales boomed in the 1960s, thanks to Clapton and Hendrix. In the 1980s, synthesizers were popular enough to make one-hit wonders out of groups like A-ha and A Flock…
Weather Week: Humidity Returns and the Tropics Begin Stirring
In 2011, during the midst of the state’s worst drought in decades, Houston was without something we who live here have come to expect: rain. People I have spoken with who have never visited here have this vision of Houston as Dry Gulch, a cowboy town complete with 10-gallon hats…
Five More Musicians Who Broke Guinness World Records
A little while ago, everyone’s favorite party guru Andrew WK finally completed his lifelong dream of breaking the world record for Longest Drum Session in a Retail Store. It’s an ultra-specific kind of world record, and currently unconfirmed by officiators Guinness, but I know in my heart of hearts that…
Gunning for Theocratic Vote, Dan Patrick Bent on Forcing Christ Back into Texas Politics
There’s a saying, often attributed to novelist Sinclair Lewis, that can sum certain strains on the American right: “When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and waving a cross.” And while the phrase always comes across as a bit screechy — we’ve spent 237 years…
Upcoming: Mary Chapin Carpenter, Keith Sweat, Shaggy, Fantasia, etc
Abiotic: With Allegaeon, Rivers of Nihil., Wed., August 21, 7 p.m., $10 to $13. Scout Bar, 18307 Egret Bay Blvd., Houston, 281-335-0002. Asleep at the Wheel: Sat., October 5, 8:30 p.m., $88 to $128. Dosey Doe, 25911 I-45 N., Spring, 281-367-3774. Band of Heathens: Sat., July 27, 8 p.m., $15…
Cake Decorating 101: Covering the Cake with Fondant
Last week we learned the basics with fondant and how to create shapes and designs. This week we are taking our fondant skills to the next level by covering a cake with it. Don’t just stop decorating your cake after covering it with frosting or icing, give it a smooth…
Houston Bucket List – 100 Things To Do in Houston Before You Die: Christmas in July
The Houston Press is presenting a series of posts leading up to a feature story in the print edition of the 100 Things to Do in Houston Before You Die. Each blog post contains one of our top 10 bucket list items along with nine others in the top 100…
The Rocks Off 100: Ash Kay, the Freakouts’ Punk Vocal Head-Butt
Welcome to the Rocks Off 100, our portrait gallery of the most compelling profiles and personalities in the far-flung Houston music community — a lot more than just musicians, but of course they’re in there too. See the entire Rocks Off 100 at this link. Who? Ash Kay is the…
Top 5 S’Mores Variations
The Houston heat makes it difficult to motivate yourself to clamor around the campfire for a sing-along. Here’s your one-word incentive (hint, it’s not kumbaya): s’mores. They’re worth the risk of some burns, sweat and (smoky) tears, especially when gussied up with some different and/or unusual fixin’s. Looking for some…
Today’s DVDs & Blu-rays: Stop, Tyler Perry, Please, Just Stop!, the Best of the Decade Series and Spaghetti Westerns
Tyler Perry has two projects making their way to video today. We were going to let the incident pass without comment but then we noticed that Kim Kardashian (above) was being listed above Vanessa Williams in the cast credits in some of the articles referring to the releases. That pushed…
Marfa Playboy Bunny Sign Must Be Taken Down, TXDOT Says
If you’ve ever been out to Marfa, you know it’s a different kind of place. Different from any other small town in West Texas and a far cry from any other town on the planet, most likely. Lately, another bit of different has popped up in Marfa in the form…
Top 5 Restaurant Pecan Pies to Try in Houston
Pie is good. Pecans are good. When these forces combine, you have a pie that’s all American. (Forgot apple — the British invented that — and pecans, didn’t ya know, are the only nut native to the United States?). So on July 12, wave your flag and eat some pecan…
Bad Company’s Paul Rodgers Is All Right Now
It is an interesting bit of cultural exchange that many English teenagers of the early ’60s were simply mad for American R&B and blues music — even moreso than their similarly-aged former colonists. And in a pre-iTunes time, finding said vinyl imports from Across the Pond was not easy. The…
Ice Cube Bids Farewell to Dwight Howard in an F-Bomb Laced Tirade (w/ VIDEO)
Now that Dwight Howard has made his decision on where he intends to play basketball for the next few years of his life, I suppose this is how it will go for the foreseeable future. Shaquille O’Neal said that Howard ran from the bright lights so he could hide in…
5 Messed Up Things You Didn’t Know About Wolverine
Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, and I mean this with the utmost sincerity, is almost complete unique in the realm of cinema. No matter how bad a film he is in, be it the third X-Men flick or his first spin-off film, you never for a second doubt Jackman’s portrayal as Wolverine…
Jack in the Box Breakfast: The High/Low Experiment
I’m not sure how I could live less than a mile from a Jack in the Box for almost four years and not know they serve breakfast 24 hours a day. HELLO! Not only do I love breakfast, I love breakfast for dinner or as a late-night snack. When I…
The Most Absurd Beyonce Headlines We’ve Seen Recently
Being Beyonce is apparently a tough gig to pull off. Not only is she a pop icon, she’s also a faux-baby-bump-sporting member of the Illuminati who is buying Neverland Ranch. And that’s just the Bey of the past year or so. Look back a bit further and you’ll figure out…
The Olallieberry: A Hybrid I Can Get Behind
God, I really need to spend more time on Facebook. Three hours a day just isn’t enough time to absorb all those self-promotional posts from “friends,” pressing Candy Crush Saga updates and pseudo-artistic Instagram photos. Actually, I can say with all sincerity that I learned something new and interesting yesterday…
Hurricane Season 2013: Tropical Storm Chantal Forms in the Atlantic
Our third named storm of the season is Tropical Storm Chantal in the southern Atlantic near 10 degrees north. The National Hurricane Center designated Chantal last night as it began to form a surface circulation southeast of the Lesser Antilles. Chantal is moving quickly to the west-northwest and should move…
Battle Ketchup: Heinz Vs. Whataburger
Some readers were understandably miffed that I ragged on HEB’s Whataburger “Fries” without actually conducting a taste test. (The product description provided more than enough material for extended sarcasm.) And while I’m very willing to ridicule H-E-B for selling Whataburger mustard and ketchup, curiosity about the supposedly unique taste of…
BEAT LA: Media’s Collective Shock Over Howard Choosing Houston Not Surprising
In 1999, the NFL had a decision to make. Would they award the NFL’s 32nd franchise to Los Angeles or Houston? The contingent from Houston had the better bid worth $1.1 billion, an organized plan of attack and a city ready to build a brand new stadium. LA had the…
Falling Skies: “Crazy Is Where I Live.”
Neighbors of murderers and other violent felons always talk about what a quiet, unassuming man the criminal was, or how he always “kept to himself” and seemed like a nice person. In this case of Hal Mason, nobody has that excuse. Especially Maggie, who’s been watching the guy go bye-bye…
Eli Young Band, Easton Corbin, etc. at Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, 7/6/2013
93Q’s “A Day In the Country” Feat. Eli Young Band, Easton Corbin, Joe Nichols and Aaron Lewis Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion July 6, 2013 Thirteen thousand pairs of cowboy boots, quite a few itty-bitty shorts, and a bunch of dudes in surfer-cowboy duds lined the rows at the Woodlands Pavilion…
Apex Iced Brownie Delight: The Hershey “Bar” for Athletes
First off, I want to thank America’s Milk Processors. I really appreciate your “chocolate milk is the perfect recovery drink” campaign for the way in which it’s helping to undermine that pesky assumption that chocolate is exclusively for dessert. What nonsense. Next, I would like to tip my hat to…
Dick Continues to Rail Against Parker (for Election Sign Citations)
Back in November 2011, the run-up to the election was going strong and, as is the long-standing tradition in Houston, there were election signs everywhere. Seriously. If your granny stood still long enough, someone was bound to attach an election sign to the front of her walker. The thing is,…
Five Songs for the Dog Days of Summer
If you couldn’t tell from the thermometer, last week marked the official start to what are known as the Dog Days of Summer. The common belief is that the season gets its name from the theory that rabid dogs were more common in these hot months than in other times…
CAMx (Houston): A Small Exhibit That Packs a Big Punch
There are only four pieces on display in “CAMx (Houston): Jimmy James Canales and Lee Michael Peterson,” the new exhibition at Redbud Gallery. This includes Canales’ live installation, HAW-27 Satellite, which, if you count all of its individual pieces, makes a total of six. However, the installation is meant to…
Top 5 Spiked Lemonade Recipes to Try
Lemonade may be the official drink of childhood summers and roadside stands run by under-twelve entrepreneurs, but that doesn’t mean it can’t double as a hard beverage. Add a little bit of this, a little bit of that, some complementary firewater and suddenly that lemonade isn’t so innocent. (Just be…
Sorry Lakers, Dwight Howard Just Wasn’t That Into You
Just before the lockout-shortened 2011-2012 NBA season, the Houston Rockets completed a three team trade that would have sent then-New Orleans point guard Chris Paul to the Lakers, Lakers forward Pau Gasol to the Rockets, and an appetizer sampler of Luis Scola, Kevin Martin, and other odds and ends to…
10 Bands That Were Almost Named Something Really Stupid
Take it from me, it’s tough naming a band. During the one time I had my own band, it was called “Post-Hardcore Boy Band.” Really great name, right? I think we can all agree that a lot of bands who have become famous have really horrible names too. Like Hoobastank,…
Politics, History and Whimsy Drive Into the Art Car Museum
Personal issues become political ones in Pat Johnson’s exhibition, “Artist Tries to Save the World,” now on view at the Art Car Museum. With a ceramic sculpture and satire duo, Johnson brings to the viewer’s attention some of the most polarizing sociopolitical issues of our time: racism, greed, international poverty…
What’s Cooking This Week? Summer Garden Pasta & More
I love cooking for my fiancé and me, but most of the time, cooking for two proves to be difficult. If I don’t make a plan, I end up running around in circles at the grocery store and wasting half the ingredient’s I’ve bought (and I hate wasting food). Enter…
Texans Are For Civil Unions, Paula Deen, Not Messing With Texas, Against Rick Perry
John Steinbeck once wrote that Texas was a state of mind, approximating religion. A complex state of mind though, he owned, since people either passionately love the Lone Star State or passionately hate it. Complex also because this is a big state with lots of people and lots of opinions…
10 Things the Houston Museum of Natural Science Could Do Better
The Houston Museum of Natural Science has become a wonder, a gem for us all to be very, very proud of. First they unveil a paleontology hall that is unbelievable in its breadth and scope, and now they’ve done it again with an Egyptian exhibit that is a marvel. This…
An Evening of Highs and Lows at Cuchara
It’s taken me a little while to visit Cuchara — although I had heard good things since it opened, it never sprang to mind to try. I looked online prior to my visit and the menu had some interesting offerings, the Mula de nopal, grilled cactus filet stuffed with panela…
True Blood: At Last We’re Getting Somewhere
Alan Ball was known for his masterful use of music in Six Feet Under. He’s lost none of his touch when it comes to his current HBO series, True Blood — which happens to be set in the Louisiana swamps, not terribly far from Houston. Much thanks to True-Blood.net, who…
Houston-based Phillips 66 Pipeline Spills 25,000 Gallons of Gasoline On Crow Reservation
Spills happen. Pipes rupture and the stuff being transported inside the pipes comes out, generally making a mess. Whether it’s your water pipes ( or, heaven forbid, the ones that move your sewage) at home, or the pipes toting oil and gas in the pipelines that crisscross the country, pipes…
Sweeney Todd at Generations: Memorable and Macabre
The set-up: Stephen Sondheim’s acclaimed masterpiece, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, burst upon Broadway in 1979, sweeping into its embrace almost all the musical theater Tony awards: Best Musical, Best Book, Best Score, Best Director, Best Leading Actor, Best Leading Actress, Best Scenic Design, Best Costume Design,…
Houston’s Top 10 Hipster Bars, Clubs & Ice Houses
As our sister blog Eating…Our Words does, from time to time Rocks Off will be giving your our picks for the top taverns in various Houston-area neighborhoods. Of course, the lines can be porous, but here anything with a TABC license that cannot reasonably be considered either a restaurant, coffeehouse…
Relax by the Pool with Bobby Flay’s Tequila Sangria
Sitting by the pool while sipping on a fruity cocktail is the best way to spend a lazy summer Saturday afternoon. One of my favorite cooking shows on Food Network is Bobby Flay’s Barbecue Addiction. He always grills mouthwatering meals, pairs them with scrumptious side dishes and rounds the whole…
Michael Young Tells UH to “Phi Slama Jama This”
It reads like something from the pages of one of Elmore Leonard’s lesser novels. A father running in a park one May morning. He’s approached by a stranger who gives him dire warnings about the safety of his son. The father’s basically a good man, but he’s made some mistakes…
Houston’s Best Concerts This Week: Emeli Sande, Jimbo Mathus, Fitz & the Tantrums, etc.
Emeli Sande House of Blues, July 8 A few years ago, it was Corinne Bailey-Rae, now here comes Emeli Sande to claim the title of the the British Isles’ reigning soul starlet. The piano-trained Scottish native, now 26, notched the UK’s top-selling debut of last year with Our Version of…
Sweeney Todd at Stage Door Inc. Scores a Success With a Serial Killer as the Lead
The set-up: The Broadway production of Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street opened in 1979 in the Uris Theatre, the largest theater on Broadway, seating almost 2,000. It won eight Tony awards, and ran for 557 performances and 19 previews. Its originality, combined with its macabre…
Flat-Belly Breakfast: Avocado Egg Boat
While flipping through the most recent Women’s Health magazine, I came across recipes for a flat belly. Usually, I disregard these recipes because half the time they don’t taste as good as they look and they usually aren’t as easy to prepare as the magazine makes them out to be…
Dwight Howard to Join Rockets, Make #Dwight2Houston Hashtag a Reality
Dwight Howard is bringing his talents to Houston and will be joining the Houston Rockets. It ended up being D-Day after all for Howard, according to USA Today. It appears that the hashtags, kolaches and celebrity endorsements were enough to get Howard to leave Hollywood and head to Space City…
Celebrating Pride, the Fourth of July, and More: The Top 10 Photos of the Week
We here at the Houston Press have long believed that some of the best photographers in the world live right here in Houston. Between the slideshows and blogs we publish and the images you share with us in our Flickr Pool, we see tons of amazing photos every week, and…
At the Alamo: A Band Called Death, A Band of Brothers
In the end, A Band Called Death is less about its namesake or even about the music at all; it is the journey of three brothers bound by love and driven by faith. The sounds that they made together upstairs in a small house in Detroit in 1974, while revolutionary,…
Geto Boys at House of Blues, 7/4/2013
Geto Boys House of Blues July 4, 2013 Just a month ago, the Geto Boys were scheduled to perform at the fifth annual Free Press Summer Festival. Black-and-white billboards had been plastered all over town for months, depicting the Houston-based trio of misfits turned hip-hop icons. Underneath the three figures,…
Top Five Things to Do in Houston This Weekend: Video Games Live, Steel Lounge Underground and More
It’s a very, very musical weekend, as our Top Five Things to Do in Houston list shows with four of our picks being music-related. First up for Friday is Houston Symphony: Video Games Live. According to Tommy Tallarico, game music celebrity and host for the concert, video game soundtrack sales…
Chef Chat, Part 3: Kris Jakob of Kris Bistro, Fine Dining without the Price Tag
This is the third part of a three-part Chef Chat series. If you missed our previous posts, you can read Part 1 here and Part 2 here. This week, we’ve spent some considerable time chatting with Kris Jakob of Kris Bistro. Growing up in a German household, he started curing…
Chevron to Construct New Downtown 50-Story Building
If you haven’t looked at the real estate market in Houston, you’re missing a show. Not only are home sales through the roof — prices and number of sales — but rent is going up at a dramatic rate and office lease space is disappearing. Chevron, which employs 9,000 people…
PIPPIN (New Broadway Cast Recording) is Dynamically Spirited and Beguilingly Jovial
So much happened before Stephen Schwartz gifted audiences with WICKED, the untold story of the witches of Oz. In 1972, Broadway audiences clamored for PIPPIN, and it won five of the 11 Tony Awards it was nominated for. In late 2012, Diane Paulus directed the musical for a production at…
Father and Son Turn Metal Record Collection Into Thriving Traders Village Business
You could say that Michael Ventura was born to be a collector. His father, Anthony, has been collecting rare beer cans and bottles since the mid-’70s, and the two of them had discussed opening their own shop for years. Collecting, buying and selling all sorts of vintage trinkets was in…
Salé Sucré: A Francophile’s Haven in ihe Heights
I wish I spoke better French. Five years of study in high school plus a few trips to francophonic locales meant at one time I was fairly proficient. Now, my accent sounds like Chevy Chase in European Vacation and my vocab is spotty. My declining French doesn’t particularly bother me…
Reviews For The Easily Distracted: The Lone Ranger
Title: The Lone Ranger More Like “Tonto, The Movie,” Right? All I’m saying is it’s a bit odd when the titular character of your movie is partially cropped out of the film’s poster. —-> Rating Using Random Objects Relevant To The Film: One scenic “Texas” landscape photos out of five…
BAZINGA! Rockets Fan, Actor Jim Parsons Sends Video Message to Dwight Howard
Maybe Dwight Howard wasn’t interested in Slim Thug’s pitch of strippers and cheap cribs. If not, maybe he’ll listen to an Emmy winner and a serious basketball fan. Jim Parsons, who grew up in Houston and performed in local theater groups before moving to LA and making it big on…
No, the Astros Haven’t Killed Baseball in Houston
The Astros played an ugly game Monday night, losing 12-0 to the Tampa Bay Rays. The Astros have played a lot of ugly games this season. But this game was the final straw for Jesus Ortiz at the Houston Chronicle, and it caused him to wonder if the Astros are…
Sheryl Crow and Martina McBride at Freedom Over Texas, 7/4/2013
Sheryl Crow, Martina McBride Freedom Over Texas, Eleanor Tinsley Park July 4, 2013 Watching Sheryl Crow and her six-piece band perform “Soak Up the Sun,” her second-to-last song at Thursday’s Freedom Over Texas festival, I felt a sudden and unexpected upwelling of patriotism. Of course there was no shortage of…
Summer TV Club: Family Ties, “Say Uncle”
Of the television shows that Jef, Pete and I have watched this summer, none of them had quite the nostalgic cache, for me anyway, as this week’s focus on Family Ties. As a kid I lived and breathed for this show, and the episode we watched this week, “Say Uncle,”…
Meet Sonny Jimenez, the Real Estate and Plagiarism King of Houston
Let’s say you want to be a real estate broker in Houston, but you’re a bit of a fuckin’ idiot. Relying on underhanded tactics online in the hope that it’ll drive traffic your way, you create a Web site called, oh, Texasrealtypros.com, and then, in a section of alleged client…
Five Amazing New Ways Justin Bieber Plans to “Address the Bullshit”
According to a recent MTV News report, featuring an interview with Justin Bieber’s manager/handler Scooter Braun, Bieber’s new record Heartbreaker will be a response to all the “bullshit stories” and hate he receives from the media to “end the witch hunt” against him. A noble effort, and certainly we in…
A Chorus Line About to Show off What Dancers Do For Love
It’s a modern classic – the Tony- and Pulitizer Prize award-winning story of 17 dancers auditioning for an available eight spots in a chorus line, woven together with music by Marvin Hamlisch. As a way of winnowing them down, their demanding director Zach asks them not only to dance for…
The 5 Best Things to Eat or Drink This Weekend: Fried Chicken Deal, Watermelon Eating Contest & More
This Is How We Roll – Sushi! @ Well Done Cooking Classes Friday, 12 p.m. 1208 East 29th Street Start the weekend off right by learning how to make some of your favorite sushi rolls during this sushi rolling class at Well Done Cooking Classes. Throughout the afternoon you will…
Dwight Watch 2013: Is Today D-Day for Dwight Howard?
The Rockets have set their roster for this year’s summer league games — minus one Royce White, #BeWell — and now they wait on the biggest move of their offseason. According to reports, Dwight Howard is taking it easy in Aspen, Colorado, and may be targeting today to make his…
Happy Bikini Day! Five Songs For Your Two-Piece
It was on this day in 1946 that the bikini first went on sale after a debut at an outdoor fashion show in Paris. Going to the beach has never been the same since. The bikini has a very interesting history. Its inventor was a French automobile engineer named Louis…
This Saturday, Get Your Fowl at Liberty Kitchen and BRC for National Fried Chicken Day
So, I guess I’m supposed to start this post by offering some sort of apology for buying into yet another national food holiday. Well, too bad — I’m not sorry! I love holidays, I love fried chicken, and I don’t care a whit if this fete was created in the…
100 Creatives 2013: Daniel Kramer, Photographer of All Trades
Daniel Kramer is a professional photographer and photo instructor at Rice University. He’s shot everything from pro sports to breaking news to music and weddings. He also used to be a staff photographer for the Houston Press, during which time he took this iconic photo of a businessman walking over…
Openings & Closings: D’Amico’s Heights Location Shutters But Will Reopen in Katy
Unfortunately a few popular restaurants closed their doors this week, but fortunately they have announced plans to reopen in different locations throughout Houston. Let’s start with the beloved Italian eatery, D’Amico’s. Eater Houston reports that the Heights location of D’Amico’s Italian Market Cafe closed after being in business for the…
Houston’s Best Weekend Concerts: Ray Wylie Hubbard, A Day In the Country, etc.
Ray Wylie Hubbard McGonigel’s Mucky Duck, July 5 Musicians do, but far too many people just don’t know what an incredible songwriting talent Ray Wylie Hubbard is. One part sage, one part curmudgeon, one part Zen bluesman, Hubbard puts a grizzled Texas-roadhouse spin on some pretty highfalutin philosophical concepts, most…
Doctor Who: Your New to Who FAQ Kid’s Edition
Awhile back I penned a guide to people who wanted to get into Doctor Who in order to save myself the same questions being asked of me over and over again. It worked out well, and now whenever Facebook friends and fans email me I just point them on to…
LL Cool J, Ice Cube, Public Enemy & De La Soul at Bayou Music Center, 7/3/2013
LL Cool J, Ice Cube, Public Enemy, De La Soul Bayou Music Center July 3, 2013 Classic-rock acts who were never more than B-list tour every summer and pack amphitheaters by the thousands. It takes four of the most important acts in rap history to fill up Bayou Music Center…
Chef Chat, Part 2: Kris Jakob of Kris Bistro, On His Early Days as a Frat House Cook, Developing a Culinary School Curriculum, and The Idea Behind Kris Bistro
This is the second part of a three-part chef chat series. You can read Part 1 here and Part 3 in this same space Friday. Yesterday, we started getting to know Kris Bistro’s chef and namesake, Kris Jakob, learning about his German roots in Texas, and his experience working with…
Bushwick Bill’s Five Most Unhinged Geto Boys Verses
The Geto Boys’ performance at this year’s Free Press Summer Festival was fun and all, but there’s no question something was missing. Namely, a sawed-off, fun-loving sociopath by the name of Bushwick Bill, the diminutive, one-eyed rapper and dancer who’s been an indelible element of the group’s off-kilter energy since…
Smoker Not Working? How to Cook a Brisket in the Oven. And Save the Day
Okay, we know that for many of you today, July 4, is your one-shot patriotic party day and that a lot of you think you have to like to cook brisket. But maybe this is the first time you’ve hauled out that smoker in say weeks, months, years. And gasp…
Top 5 Dry Cereal Combinations
Are you still segregating your cereals in this day and age? Tsk, tsk. The homogeneous cereal consumption experience is not nearly as fun as mixing your Post with your Kellog’s with your General Mills. Diversify your breakfast with these five dry cereal combinations: 5. Dulce de Leche Cheerios + Apple…
R&B Singer TJ Boyce Balances Pop and Patriotism With Dexterity
Watching the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombings in April made Houston R&B singer TJ Boyce think of his son, Thomas. “I was watching the news one particular night,” Boyce says, “[and] there was one boy…” The boy was Martin Richard, an eight-year-old who was cheering on the marathon runners…
Are We Free?: Top 10 Movies Where The Government is After You
Independence Day is the one day out of the year that Americans can stand up proudly, eat hot dogs, drink Budweisers and blow stuff up in the name of being free to not call our apartments “flats” and when we say bloody its because we fell down drunk and scraped…
Celebrating July 4th and the 20th Anniversary of Lex Luger BodySlamming Yokozuna
On this, the 237th birthday of the good ol’ U S of A, we turn our attention to Mount Rushmore, not so much in a literal sense, but in a metaphorical sense. These days, the term “Mount Rushmore” isn’t used so much to refer to the actual South Dakota monument…
The Rocks Off 100: Pat Kelly, The Godfather of the Suffers
Welcome to the Rocks Off 100, our portrait gallery of the most compelling profiles and personalities in the far-flung Houston music community — a lot more than just musicians, but of course they’re in there too. See the entire Rocks Off 100 at this link. Pat Kelly is a lifelong…
Dressing for the Occasion: Independence Day Inspiration
When July Fourth falls on a Thursday, some of us get four day weekends. That’s pretty awesome. That’s four days of picnics and pool parties, fireworks displays and cocktails with friends. That’s (a minimum of) four outfits in which you can display your American Pride. Before we start with our…
Upcoming Events: Burger Month, Tapioca Pudding Dessert Specials & More
On Sunday, July 14, chef Hugo Ortega of Hugo’s will join Kata Robata chef Manabu Horiuchi during the Umami Dinner event at Kata Robata. Both chefs have teamed up to create a nine-course menu paired with wine and beverages from Kata Robata’s beverage director, Steven Salazar, and Backstreet Cafe’s sommelier…
Dwight Watch 2013: What Is Dwight Doing on the Fourth of July?
It’s Dwight Howard watch day four and, appropriately, it’s also the Fourth. In this case, it’s our nation’s independence day, a time when we celebrate the birth of a nation with heavy drinking, incendiary devices and bad country music. But what in the world is Howard doing this Fourth of…
Five Easy Homemade Wedding Favors & Rehearsal Dinner Treats
One of the best ways to save money when planning a wedding is to do things yourself. Wedding magazines, Pinterest boards and crafting/cooking Web sites all offer various DIY projects to help you stay within your budget and have the things you really want for your wedding. Here are five…
My Fiancé Might Have a Shady Past. Help!
Welcome to Ask Willie D, Rocks Off’s advice column where the Geto Boys MC answers reader questions about matters, in his own words, “funny, serious or unpredictable.” Something on your mind? Ask Willie D! SUSPICIOUS OF FIANCE’S PAST Dear Willie D: I met my fiancé two months ago, and now…
Pop Rocks: Would You Give Your Baby Someone Else’s Breast Milk?
So maybe you are a mother who wants to breastfeed your child but you have physical limitations; it happens often. Or perhaps you ran out of pumped milk and dad’s alone with the baby and is at a loss for what to feed the kid. Would you consider asking a…
Want to Lose Your Gun? Come to Texas, Study Says
It’s pretty darn well known around here that most Texans love their guns. If you’re from Texas, it’s a fair bet that you can boast at least one relative who basically owns an arsenal that would be enough firepower to defend a small country, if the need arose. Earlier this…
The Tyranny of Choice: Which Tortilla Makes the Best Freebirds Burrito
I love the selection of burrito fillings at Freebirds World Burrito. I love that there’s white as well as red onions, three types of beans (black, refried, pinto) and a plethora of salsas. I enjoy mixing and matching and trying out new flavor combinations. Makes me feel like I’m cooking…
For J. Lo: Five More World Leaders Who Don’t Deserve a Happy Birthday
J. Lo’s Marilyn Monroe moment may not have gone as well as she planned. You see, when Monroe sang the words “Happy Birthday, Mr. President” to John F. Kennedy, the controversy arose by murmurs of an affair. When J. Lo sang those words, scandal came by means of scathing headlines…
July Fourth Shopping: Declare Independence from Your Money
Like all Good Americans™ we know that our duty on any national holiday–particularly one with patriotic importance–is to go shopping. The retail gods answer our need for good deals with a myriad of special holiday offers. If you are of the opinion that no holiday weekend is complete without a…
CEO for Nap Centers in Airport Terminals Wants to Open in Houston…But Not Yet
Photo courtesy of Michael Spears and D/FW International AirportLast month Daniel Solomon, the co-founder and CEO of Minute Suites, told KTRH that opening a Minute Suites napping center in Houston is in his sights. He reportedly said that was part of his goal to get his business in the Top…
10 Essential Jay-Z Songs Before Magna Carta Holy Grail
Ah, Independence Day. A day for celebration of pride and patriotism, and to go out back and fire up the grill with a couple of cold ones. Unfortunately, I’ll have to get a raincheck on that one, because I have bigger plans this July 4th. This year I’ll be settling…
The Rest of the Best: The 10 Most Recognizable People in Houston Part 2
Back in May we brought you a list of ten people, some famous and others just of noteworthy countenance that you instantly know who they when you see them out and about in Houston. Seems we left off ten other people deserving of the title of Most Recognizable, and today…
Top 5 High-Volume Cocktails
The renewed interest in classic cocktails has necessitated changes in drinking practices, specifically with regards to consumption rate. A potent mixed drink comprising half a cup or less of liquid is a beverage to be consumed in small, infrequent sips. Unless, of course, you’re comfortable getting super tipsy in T-minus…
Virtual Reality
Highlights from Hair Balls Social Distortion At one point during Senator Wendy Davis’s marathon filibuster last week, the hashtag #StandWithWendy started to go viral. By the end of the night, it was trending worldwide along with a number of other related words, phrases and hashtags. Just before midnight, more than…
Tucanos Brazilian Grill Opens
Restaurant News Houston is home to many Brazilian churrascarias. Fogo de Chão and Chama Gaucha come to mind as the more well-known of the bunch, with places like Nelore, Tradiçao, Churrascaria Angus Grill and Pradaria spread out around town. With the opening of Colorado-based Tucanos Brazilian Grill (16535 Southwest Freeway;…
By Dawn’s Early Light
Inquiring Minds Like the heroine in her 1994 hit song “Independence Day,” Martina McBride also has been known to light up the sky. The country-pop star also known for “Wild Angels,” “A Broken Wing” and last year’s “I’m Gonna Love You Through It” admits she has a thing for fireworks…
Aztec Savagery Responses
Dear Readers: My columna a couple of weeks ago about whether Aztec savagery influences violence in Mexico today drew muchos responses, both bueno and malo. Here are two: Dear Mexican: I enjoy reading all your replies and was thinking about the last reply you wrote about the violence/Aztec blood question…
Capsule Art Reviews: “Call It Street Art, Call It Fine Art, Call It What You Know,” “CTRL + P,” “Late Surrealism,” “Playback,” “PRINTTX,” “Unwoven Light,” “Water’s Edge (Mizugiwa)”
“Call It Street Art, Call It Fine Art, Call It What You Know” In our time, there may be no art form more divisive than street art. For decades, the public has debated the merits of the genre — from the criminality of the act to the skill and creativity…
Capsule Stage Reviews: From My Hometown, Nunsense
From My Hometown Three male performers, known by their hometowns, meet on the way to callback auditions at Harlem’s famed Apollo Theater. Act One introduces them, and Act Two does more of the same, before skyrocketing them to success as a trio. Their story is told in dialogue and music,…
Not So Minor League: The Wild World of Minor League Baseball in Texas
Like roughly 20 million others in the free world, Andrew Seymour was watching Game 6 of the NBA Finals. He watched the Spurs take a five-point lead with 28 seconds to go, he watched the Heat pushed to the brink of a catastrophic Finals loss, and, most poignantly, he watched…
Corner Table Restaurant Is the Place to Be in River Oaks
It’s Saturday evening at 15 past seven, and Corner Table by Chef Bruce Molzan is packed. In the private dining room to the right of the entrance, a group of women, dressed fashionably like Sex and the City fashionistas, are having a small party. The main dining room is awash…
Pirates of the Old West: The Lone Ranger Is More Disney Overkill
The great movie westerns are about honor, dignity, the majesty of the landscape. But they’re also about beautiful men, charismatic, sometimes dangerous-looking demigods like Robert Ryan, James Stewart, Franco Nero, Randolph Scott, and, of course, John Wayne. The Lone Ranger has Armie Hammer and Johnny Depp, the former a long-legged…
Despicable Me 2 Shows Why You Shouldn’t Give Up on Kids’ Animation.
Admit it: Redemption is boring. We think we want characters to “grow” and “change,” but really, it’s the people around us in real life — people who, say, loudly pick their teeth in restaurants or walk too slowly in public thoroughfares — who need revamping. (We ourselves, of course, need…
