The 2016 Houston Press Arts Guide: Where to Dine
The Houston food scene isn’t just the talk of the town: It’s the talk of the nation. To help you out, here’s out list of restaurant choices: 13 Celsius Wine Bar 3000 Caroline 713-529-8466 | 13celsius.com Américas 21 Waterway Avenue Spring 281-367-1492 | cordua.com/americas Américas 2040 West Gray 832-200-1492 |…
The 2016 Houston Press Arts Guide: Theater Events
There’s a lot of offerings this year in Houston theater. Here’s some of the best. Ongoing through September 18 Shear Madness Stages Repertory Theatre 713-527-0123 | stagestheatre.com Ongoing through September 18 The Marvelous Wonderettes: Dream On Stages Repertory Theatre 713-527-0123 | stagestheatre.com Ongoing through September 10 Dead Rockstar Sing-A-Long Club…
Houston’s 10 Best Bars for Non-Texans Fans
Houston is, above all, a Texans town. Of course, our city is also among the most transient in the country; simply put, many people now calling themselves Houstonians aren’t from Houston. This creates a melting pot of sports allegiances in the Bayou City. In addition to the legion of loyal Texans…
The 5 Best Dessert Shops in The Woodlands
When the sweet tooth comes calling, there are numerous places in The Woodlands ready to satisfy that siren song. There are bake shops, chocolatiers, ice cream and other enticing options. Throw your diet out the door for a day, shove that pesky guilt aside and check out these five sweet…
DEFCON Dining: Powdered Sugar and Electronic Parenting at State of Grace
Dining out with children is an exercise in situational awareness. Each experience is unique, with different variables leading to different possible outcomes, DEFCON-like in their escalating threat levels. Keen observation, forward planning and prior experience are critical in determining the proper strategy. Here at DEFCON Dining, we do the grunt…
The Four Things to Watch For in Cardinals vs. Texans in Preseason Week 3
During the regular season in the NFL, as a team and as a head coach, you do whatever you can to win games, health of players be damned. Tape it up, rub some dirt on it and go. Conversely, in the preseason, you don’t really care about wins, the primary goal…
Openings & Closings: Relish Is Going To Be a Full Restaurant & Bar
Relish Fine Foods, 3951 San Felipe, closed its doors on August 20. According to a press release, the new Relish Restaurant & Bar will open sometime in September and will be twice the size of the original, include a large patio area and serve alcohol. The new location at 2810 Westheimer is the…
Netflix and Norway Invite You to Binge on Knitting and Woodcutting
The sarcastic wag who first drawled the phrase “as exciting as watching grass grow” never intended it as a compliment. But have you ever actually watched grass grow? I mean, I haven’t either, but there must be a pretty cool hidden world of fresh-smelling earth and tickly dew and bugs…
Clea DuVall’s The Intervention Finds Lovers Finding Themselves
Don’t let the uptick in big-cast movies fool you: Ensemble films are difficult to make. When a script gets a projected budget in creative development, “ensemble” adds dollar signs and story challenges. Each actor needs to get a moment in the star circle, and each is competing for top billing…
Little Men‘s Ira Sachs on the Creation of His New York Stories
Ira Sachs has become one of our great American filmmakers. His newest, Little Men, about two teenage boys (Theo Taplitz and Michael Barbieri) who become best friends even as their parents face off over the fate of a small dress shop in the ground floor of a Brooklyn home, is…
The Crave-Worthy, Customizable Ice Cream Sandwiches at Smoosh Food Truck
Smoosh food truck is doing a good job serving the public for two reasons. First, it is providing a most-welcome return to the original meaning of the word “smoosh”, following the development of a most-unfortunate second definition thanks to that cultural blight that was MTV’s The Jersey Shore. Second, it…
Catastrophic Theatre Presents Sam Shepard’s Dark Comedy of Buried Child
Actor Jeff Miller has known about Sam Shepard’s Buried Child for a long time, he says. While in school in a small town, he and fellow students interested in theater knew about it, but couldn’t read it. “Our theater teacher wouldn’t give us a copy of it because it had…
Record Your Memories of 9/11 at National Museum of Funeral History
The assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster and the Orlando nightclub shooting were all moments in time when we, collectively as a nation, set aside our petty bickering to come together in mourning. We have had no shortage of disasters of late, but one of…
John Krasinski’s The Hollars Can’t Break the Dysfunctional Sundance Mold
The Hollars tells the familiar tale of a dysfunctional family pulled together by unfortunate circumstances. John Hollar (John Krasinski, who also directed) is a frustrated graphic novelist with a pregnant girlfriend, Rebecca (Anna Kendrick). When he gets the news that his mother, Sally (Margo Martindale), has a brain tumor, he…
Don’t Breathe Showcases Everything That Horror Films Have Learned From Video Games
Critics often dismiss blockbuster entertainments with the vague, half-assed complaint that they resemble “video games.” Movies like Fede Alvarez’s Don’t Breathe reveal games’ actual influence — for the better. The breakthrough with studio horror films in recent years, since the found-footage boom, is a welcome environmental immersiveness. It’s a testament…
Split Decision: No Champ Emerges From Boxing Biopic Hands of Stone
Robert De Niro — the Raging Bull himself, now aged from boxer to trainer — is introduced in Hands of Stone bathed in Madison Square Garden’s overhead spotlights, more the image of a reigning champ than the promising fighter whose American debut his character Ray Arcel has come to see…
The BrewMasters Craft Beer Festival Is Coming to Galveston In September
The seventh annual BrewMasters Craft Beer Festival is happening September 2 through 4 on Galveston Island at The Moody Gardens Hotel, Spa and Convention Center. Over 400 craft beers will available for attendees to try. The festival kicks off on Friday night with a new event, the Nach-Yo Ordinary Tequila…
The Revolutionists Presents a New Take on the French Revolution
Feeling that the circumstances around the French Revolution started to feel more like modern America in terms of the extremism, playwright Lauren Gunderson decided to address that them “and also have a good time and have some fun with feminism and sisterhood.” The result is a re-imaging of a time…
The 10 Best Rookie Seasons in Houston Texans History
Over the course of their fifteen-draft history, the Texans have assembled rookie classes of all shapes, sizes and qualities. There have been small classes (six drafted players in 2005 and this current rookie class), big classes (twelve drafted players in their inaugural season, ten in 2014), good classes (2006 and…
Hard Road: When Artists’ Beefs Boil Over on Tour
Drake and Future have an interesting history. Two of the hottest rappers in the game over the past few years (hell, Drake is arguably the biggest pop star on the planet right now), the two will roll into Toyota Center on September 3-4 as part of the Summer Sixteen Tour…
Inside Altamont: New Book Looks Back at Rock’s “Darkest Day”
Altamont: The Rolling Stones, the Hells Angels, and the Inside Story of Rock’s Darkest Day By Joel Selvin Dey St. Books, 368 pp., $27.99 Headlined by the Rolling Stones, the free concert at Alatmont Speedway on December 6, 1969 was – according to Rock History Lore – the yang to the yin…
The Audacity of Love: Southside With You Imagines Barack and Michelle’s First Date
Just like there’s a bizarro internet where Donald Trump is celebrated as a warm, loving, generous, successful businessman who really wants to earn a Purple Heart, I wonder if there’s also a bizarro, ravenous audience awaiting a feature-film reenactment of Donald and Melania’s epic first date. (He literally tricked his…
A Filmmaker Confronts the Very Meaning of Work in Moretti’s Mia Madre
The attempt to reconcile the personal with the political has been the great theme of Nanni Moretti’s cinema, as it was for many of the legendary Italian directors before him. In Mia Madre, it finds one of its more vivid examinations. The film’s concept is blunt — a director struggles…
Stellan Skarsgård Goes Full Liam Neeson in Norwegian Crime Drama In Order of Disappearance
We should be tired of wondering why Scandinavians are so fascinated with runaway crime — it’s obviously because they have so little of it. Set in Chicago or Bangkok or Juarez, vicious bloodletting might play like wallpaper, but it comes off as almost surreal, and a little gimmicky, when framed…
Def Leppard & REO Speedwagon Score Some Points For Longevity
Def Leppard, REO Speedwagon, Tesla Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion August 22, 2016 Monday was the first day of school for a lot of kids in the Houston area, but nonetheless all the adults came out to the Woodlands Pavilion to check out the triple threat of Tesla, REO Speedwagon and…
Harris County Attorney’s Office Blocks Seven “Spas” From Selling Sex
For more than a year, Houston Police Department officers went undercover at various “spas” and “massage parlors” in the area, and found what they were looking for: evidence of prostitution. Police had made various prostitution-related arrests earlier this spring following their sting operation. But now, the Harris County Attorney’s Office has…
Do The New Lay’s Flavors Taste Anything Like The Dishes They’re Named For?
In the past, Lay’s “Do-Us-A-Flavor” contest has invited participants across the country to submit ideas for new flavors, four of which appear in supermarket shelves. Consumers were then invited to vote for their favorite flavor, and its creator awarded $1 million. This time around, Lay’s has skipped the consumer submission…
The “Way Too Early” Texans 53-Man Roster Prediction, Version 3.0
My radio cohost Ted Johnson (former New England Patriots linebacker, three-time Super Bowl champion, man about town and all around swell guy) were discussing roster cut-downs on the Texans post game show on Saturday night. (NOTE: You can hear Ted and I following ALL Texans games on your home for…
Why Does the Texas Railroad Commission Even Exist?
On Monday the Texas State Legislature’s Sunset Commission gathered together to review the Texas Railroad Commission. State commissions are required to undergo a sunset review every 12 years, but the Railroad Commission, the entity charged with regulating oil and gas activities in the state, has been under the microscope frequently…
Where to Dine in Houston This Labor Day
Though the last day of summer is a few weeks away, the season unofficially ends on Labor Day. Since every summer deserves a good closing ceremony, we put together a list of the Houston restaurants that will be open on Labor Day. From lazy Monday brunches to all-American burger specials,…
Civil Debate Lives! Stageworks Theatre Presents Freud’s Last Session
Sigmund Freud and C. S. Lewis never met, but that doesn’t really matter. In Mark St. Germain’s powerful two-hander, the playwright imagines the engrossing conversations on God, death, war and psychoanalysis in impassioned and surprisingly comedic fashion. As Stageworks Theatre’s Artistic Director Michael Montgomery describes it, Freud’s Last Session is “almost a frenemy play…
While Critters Scurried Above, Houston Artist Charted Their Course With Frottage
When the critters in the ceiling above his studio wouldn’t stop their scratch, scratch, scratching, Josh Bernstein embraced the intrusion through art. Marking the site of the noise, Bernstein taped paper or vellum to the spot, creating both a starting point for a colored pencil drawing to be finished later,…
Les Ba’Get Vietnamese Café Stands Out for its Attention to Detail
The banh mi: a sandwich whose very ubiquity in Houston might suggest that one is much like another, with only minor differences setting the good apart from the great. This is both true and not true, and the version at Les Ba’Get Vietnamese Café leans toward the latter. A lot…
The Two Video Games You Need To Play If You Loved Stranger Things
So, I finished Stranger Things, and I can honestly say few shows have ever affected me in the same way. Lots of critics have already talked about the homage to ‘80s films or its ability to subvert a lot of gender roles from those flicks, but I want to talk…
A Dream Realized: Former Pro Football Player Brennan Williams Gets a WWE Deal
Every job has a first step, a very basic task to begin the employee’s evolution into whatever he or she aspires to be someday. In professional wrestling, that first task is called a flip bump or, in plain English, a simple front somersault in which the wrestler launches himself from…
Houston’s Black Lives Matter Remains Unconvinced of NAACP’s Support
Other than by making a silly argument, the white supremacists made a mistake when they showed up on the doorstep of the NAACP on Sunday to protest the organization’s failure to denounce Black Lives Matter and hold “their people” accountable: The NAACP has pretty much no relationship with the Black…
Upcoming: Dwight Yoakam, Futurebirds, Gucci Mane, Lil Uzi Vert, STRFKR, Z-Ro, etc.
Note: Events in bold reflect highly recommended shows. AJJ: With Diners, Chris Farren., Sat., October 22, 7 p.m., $15 to $17. White Oak Music Hall, 2915 N. Main, Houston. Andrew James: With James Caronna., Wed., August 31, 7 p.m., Free. The Nightingale Room, 308 Main, Houston, 713-555-1111. Aurora: Modern Illusions:…
The 10 HRW Restaurants To Visit Before It’s Too Late
There are less than two weeks remaining of Houston Restaurant Weeks, which started on August 1 and ends on September 5. By this point, many enthusiasts have dined at the top spots on their wish lists. There are, however, several places that might not have received as much attention for…
Presenting The 2016 Houston Theater Awards
If there was one phrase that best described the state of Houston’s theater scene last season, it would be “in flux.” Companies came and went or merged; some renovated their existing sites or changed names and popped up renewed and reinvigorated. There haven’t been this many new theater companies in…
The Alley’s A Night With Janis Joplin Will Take Another Little Piece of Your Heart
Janis Joplin has been dead for almost half a century, but her music has never left us. The Port Arthur-born vocal powerhouse put such seismic hurt and raw sexuality into her songs the tremors still resonate. Her signature hits and the take-no-prisoners delivery behind them — “Piece of My Heart,”…
Pistol-carrying Man Brought Little Girl to Burglary Attempt
Houston police are searching for a man they say attempted to burglarize a southwest Houston business on July 25 —and brought a little girl with him. In a just-released surveillance video shared by the police department, a man exits a Nissan Maxima sedan with a pistol in the parking lot…
Porn Stars Revealed All at TeXXXas: The Expo in Houston
Fantasies really do come true, and especially this weekend in Houston when luminaries from the adult entertainment world converged at TeXXXas: The Expo. Hear what X, X and X had to say about dating other porn stars, their favorite position and the oddest fan requests. The three-day event, held at…
Dish of the Week: Saag Paneer, or Indian Spinach with Cheese
From classic comfort foods to regional standouts and desserts, we’ll be sharing a new recipe with you each week. Find other dishes of the week here. This week, we’re sharing an easy recipe that you need to add to your weeknight repertoire: saag paneer. Saag paneer is a popular Indian…
Snoop and Wiz Throw a Huge Bake Sale at The Woodlands
The High Road Tour Feat. Snoop Dogg, Wiz Khalifa, & Kevin Gates Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion August 20, 2016 The artist formally known as Snoop Doggy Dogg is 44 years old. He was still a teenager when fate threw him into Dr. Dre’s path, and the two created magic with…
Judge in Texas Blocks White House Transgender-Friendly Bathroom Policy
Ruling in favor of Texas, a Dallas federal judge has blocked Obama Administration guidelines allowing transgender students to use the bathrooms corresponding with their gender identities from going into effect. Late Sunday, U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor put a nationwide preliminary injunction on the feds’ guidelines just as the new…
HISD Adds International Dishes, Fresh Produce And “Flavor Stations” To School Meals
The Houston Independent School District is is shaking things up in the kitchen with changes to their breakfast and lunch program. Sodium-free seasoning and more ethnically diverse choices, as well as fresh fruit and vegetable options, are part of the new perspective on the menu. It’s a big improvement over…
It’s Not Jadeveon Clowney’s Fault He Was Drafted Number One
Fred Lynn was one of baseball’s great players. He hit for power and average, possessed range and a good arm, and had good speed on the bases. But Lynn was also reckless, hurling his body all over the field to make catches, often running into the wall in the deepest…
Explosions In the Sky’s Instrumental Magic Crowns a Near-Perfect Evening
Explosions In the Sky The Lawn at White Oak Music Hall August 21, 2016 Concerts can make or break a band. Some artists can’t recreate the magic they conjured in the studio when they’re onstage; others blow their records out of the water and are capable of producing something intangible,…
This Week in Houston Food Events: Win Free Burgers For Life
From an ’80s-inspired happy hour to foodie contests and elaborate booze-paired feasts, here’s a look at this week’s hottest culinary happenings: All month through September 11 Bernie’s Burger Bus T-Shirt Design Contest A double-decker Detention Burger with could be yours every day for the rest of your life if you…
Donald Trump’s Alienation of Hispanic Voters Puts Texas in Play
Latino voters are one of the fastest growing constituencies in Texas, and that is a problem for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. Ever since former President George W. Bush was elected governor in 1994, Texas has reliably swung to the right, a state that could be relied on to go…
True West Gives Us Sam Shepard’s Classic Battling Brothers
Lee is a wandering loner. “He’s the little boy who’s still trying to find his place in the world. And so consequently he’s quicker to temper, he’s quicker to pick a fight. He doesn’t trust other people very easily. Doesn’t like to be cornered. Doesn’t like to be pinned down…
Anime Store Opens With a Game Show, Itasha and a Midnight Rave
For one glorious day, the Bayou City was transformed into Kawaii City, when oodles of anime fans on Saturday thronged to the grand opening of Ooples Anime in Houston, the third location in Texas for this proprietor of gaming, Pikachus and Japanese treats. There was so much buzz about this one that…
Rumer has it….A Star is Coming (Back) to Houston
The rumors are true. Dancing, singing, and acting idol Rumer Willis and her best guy pal Tye Blue will be making their way across the country for Willis’ Over The Love tour. They will make a one-night-only appearance at Houston’s House of Blues on Wednesday, Nov. 2 at 8 p.m. General…
First Look at Agave Rio in Katy
Katy is dominated by restaurant chains and Agave Rio attempts to stand out by being a chef-driven concept. Eric Aldis oversees the menu and his other current projects include Corner Table in River Oaks and Midtown Barbeque. Aldis graduated from Katy Taylor High School and his family currently resides in…
NFL Preseason Week 2: Texans-Saints — 4 Winners, 4 Losers
Saturday night at NRG Stadium was one of those nights where you had to remind yourself that the NFL’s preseason comes with a massive warning label — objects in front of you (like a playoff berth, a division title, and especially a deep playoff run) may be closer than they…
10 Things to Warn People About Before They Move to Houston
Houston has something of an identity crisis, I find. Most people seem to know what to expect when they move to a place like New York City or Los Angeles, but talking with people in other states and countries it’s clear that we remain a mystery to most. Now, I…
HPD Wants Its Crime Scene Unit Back. Crime Lab’s Civilian Leadership Says No.
The Houston Forensic Science Center admits that hiring a call center to dispatch the Houston Police Department’s Crime Scene Unit to homicides and officer-involved shootings was not the best idea. The crime lab management — which, even though it’s made up of civilians, still supervises HPD’s Crime Scene Unit —…
The 10 Hottest Restaurants In Houston For August 2016
This month, our list of Houston’s hottest new restaurants has some interesting dynamics. Many of the entries sit on one extreme side of the dining spectrum or the other: very casual or very fancy. Also, recent accolades from a national food publication have propelled a restaurant that dropped off the…
Heart, Joan Jett & Cheap Trick Deliver Triple the Tunes at The Woodlands
Heart, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, Cheap Trick Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion August 19, 2016 Friday night’s concert featuring Cheap Trick, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts and headliners Heart was easily one of the best touring shows in Houston this summer. Not that these three Rock and Roll Hall of…
Shows of the Week: One of Houston’s Favorite Sons, Now a Free Agent
LYLE LOVETT & HIS LARGE BAND Hobby Center, August 24 Free agency suits Lyle Lovett. It’s been more than four years since he released a new album and the title of that one, Release Me, was a not-so-veiled reference that his deal with UMG/Curb was finis. Since then the 58-year-old…
Dear Stoner: How Do You Make Herb Tinctures?
Dear Stoner: I just got some pot brownies, and I’m not planning to ingest them for two weeks. Do you think the potency will still be the same, and if they’ll be okay to eat? Can I heat them up if they go hard?Tasnim Dear Tasnim: We’ve talked to multiple…
Dear Stoner: How Can I Bring Dry Pot Back to Life?
Dear Stoner: I hate dry pot. My roommate says he puts his on the bathroom counter, turns the shower on hot and lets the steam bring it back to life. Thoughts? Monte Dear Monte: Few things are worse than pinching a bud and seeing it crumble to dust — as…
Inside Kanye West’s Pop-Up #PabloStore at The Galleria
The demand among Houston fans for anything Kanye West-related can be easily explained: he raised some of this generation. Whereas kids born in the mid-’80s grew up explicitly upon the rap heroes of the ‘90s and early aughts, kids born in the ‘90s sit at the altar of Yeezus. That…
After Surgery, Houston Chronicle Carrier Says He’s Charged for Missing Work
A Houston Chronicle newspaper deliveryman is currently recovering from surgery, but Omar Maldonado and his wife say they are also being charged for any mistakes made on the route while they have to be off, and have been told they will lose the newspaper route entirely if they don’t come…
Houston Police Seek Suspect After Man Decapitated at Garage [UPDATED]
Passersby directed Houston police officers on patrol to a grisly discovery just before 9 p.m. Thursday — a decapitated man inside a southeast Houston auto parts store. The suspected killer, police said in a statement, remains at large. Police say they believe Raymond Jackson, 62, killed Enayatolah Khorsand, 58, at 9100…
Prosecutors Dismiss Charges in “Junk Science” Murder Case
Montgomery County prosecutors dismissed all charges Thursday against Neal Robbins, whose murder conviction was vacated in 2014, after he served 15 years for the murder of his girlfriend’s 17-month-old daughter. Montgomery County District Attorney Brett Ligon said there was not enough evidence to pursue new charges against Robbins, whose odyssey…
Where Would the Astros Be if Cole Hamels Didn’t Reject a Trade to Houston?
Maybe this Astros season is all the fault of Cole Hamels. Maybe if Hamels didn’t reject a trade to the Astros last year — invoking the dreaded no-trade clause — then the Astros wouldn’t have scrambled and traded for Carlos Gomez and Mike Fiers. Instead the Astros would have acquired…
Commissioned by John and Dominique in ’64, Warhol’s Sunset Rises at The Menil
Nico was one of those luminaries whose star burned a little too brightly, leaving in her wake a body of work that included collaborations with Federico Fellini, The Velvet Underground and Bob Dylan, while also inspiring many musicians, including Björk and Patti Smith. But it was her involvement with Andy…
HISD Superintendent Richard A. Carranza Hired Just in Time for Start of School
Richard Carranza, introduced to the community as the new superintendent of the Houston ISD Thursday night made several indelible impressions: he’s not very tall, he speaks equally well in both Spanish and English and the man can really sing. We know the last part because he did just that in…
The Five Best Things to Do in Houston This Weekend: Tributes to Bowie, Prince, Joplin
Looking at the weather reports makes us a bit unsure about this Saturday’s AIA Sandcastle Competition, but we checked the American Institute of Architects’ website and Facebook page, and they have every intent of pulling off the 30th annual rendition of this popular event. So look to the skies, check for…
A Lawyer’s Murder Makes a Weird Houston Divorce Case a Lot Weirder
The lawyers representing a Pakistani native in a high profile Houston divorce case say the man’s estranged wife’s family may be behind the murder of a witness scheduled to testify in Houston next week. In one of the most bizarre motions we’ve ever seen, lawyers for Mohammad Ali Choudhri claimed…
Future Uncertain for Texas Private Prisons as Feds Move to End Their Contracts
The Department of Justice conceded Thursday that prisons run by private corporations are less safe than those run by the federal government, and decided to phase out its contracts with the private contractors. Out of the 13 private prisons managed by the Federal Bureau of Prisons – the agency responsible for all…
President Obama’s Summer Playlist Is Meant for Lovers (and Sex)
Last Friday, President Obama decided to reveal what he’s been playing in the White House all summer. Technically, this means the last summer of the Obama White House has meant that White House staffers and Joe Biden have passed him the aux cord since May. Well, probably since January 2009,…
Helstar Throws a Surprise Hometown Show For One Special Fan
Houston metal heroes Helstar’s history dates back to the early ’80s, but don’t think for a second they’re ready to write the concluding chapter. Far from it. With their latest release, Vampiro, Helstar not only promise a sequel to some of their best music but a secret surprise show this weekend…
Friday Free For All: Anderson .Paak, P!nk, Alex Cameron, Banks & Steelz, Florida
The Friday Free For All relays albums, artists, videos and vibes the Houston Press Music staff has been grooving to over the past week. ANDERSON .PAAK & THE FREE NATIONALS NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert series is my musical lifeblood. In the past few years I’ve been introduced to more great…
Bread and Circus: Ben-Hur Is Nothing New, but It Puts on a Decent Show
In a summer of disappointing reboots, underperforming sequels and rejected franchise bait, Ben-Hur is something rare: a remake no one asked for but weary moviegoers might accept as a small gift for lack of any better option. Timur Bekmambetov’s reimagining of William Wyler’s 1959 epic, itself preceded by two silent…
Some HISD Employees Get Creative With School District’s Credit Cards
Limited to a max of $1,000 per single transaction on their school district procurement cards, some enterprising Houston ISD employees have gotten around that by breaking up their purchases into smaller parts, an internal audit has revealed. Apparently taking a page from the HISD Construction and Facilities Services Departments book…
Fried Chicken and Champagne: Meet Jerry Lasco of Max’s Wine Dive
Houston diners may not be familiar with his name, but many have been to at least one of his restaurant concepts. Jerry Lasco is the owner of The Tasting Room and Max’s Wine Dive—the latter which became notable in part for its slogan, “Fried Chicken and Champagne? Why the Hell Not?!”…
Houston’s Only Anime Store Throwing Its Grand Opening This Weekend
If you love giant eyes, watch mecha warrior battles and know what the words “doki doki” mean, congratulations: You finally have a place to shop that’s not Hot Topic. Ooples Anime, which bills itself as Houston’s only store to focus solely on anime – Japanese cartoons – will have its…
Astros Great and Trailblazing GM Bob Watson Battling a Terminal Illness
Bob Watson is one of those forgotten Astros. He was the team’s power-hitting first baseman back in the days when it was impossible to hit homers in the Astrodome. A two-time All Star, he just missed out on the team’s glory years, since he was later traded to the Red…
Participation Awards Don’t Suck. You Suck.
So, my daughter has gotten into these live-action Nickolodeon sitcoms over the summer, mostly The Thundermans, Ricky, Nicky, Dicky & Dawn and Henry Danger. Not terribly compelling television, but also not so annoying I grind my teeth as I make dinner. It’s heaps better than Adventures with Tip & Oh…
Why Do Country Fans Get So Mad When Artists Go Pop?
In country music, there’s a story as old as time itself that repeats every few years. An artist will rise to a certain level of popularity in the genre, then after a few years, swiftly ditch the country airwaves for poppier, more profitable pastures. Often, that shift from country to…
How to Turn Around a Failing Restaurant — or Avoiding That in the First Place
Restaurants are like living things. They are born and, sooner or later, they die. Much like people who mind their health, the variable that owners seek to control is the amount of time between those two events. For some restaurants, that period is tragically abbreviated, usually because it’s the wrong…
Baby Monkey Breeder Ripped Off in Houston by Counterfeit Cash
Tracie Perry travels around the United States selling people monkeys. She’s a U.S. Department of Agriculture-licensed monkey breeder, broker and transporter, and sometimes might travel from the tip of California, through Texas and to South Florida in one giant monkey drop-off trip. So it was convenient for her when, while…
White Oak Music Hall Opens With World-Class Ambitions and a Hometown Feel
Houston has not had a major music venue open since House of Blues in October 2008. For a free-standing structure expressly devoted to hosting concerts and other live events, you’d have to reach back to Warehouse Live in early 2006. The intervening decade has seen almost unprecedented growth, both in…
My Ex Is Forcing Me to Have Sex With Him. Help!
Dear Willie D: I need your advice. An ex has tracked me down after I left him and moved. He’s cliqued up and he keeps communicating with me through so many people. Like, it’s fucking crazy. He’s an independent “business” man and cliqued up so I know better than to…
BRC Gastropub Is Closing to Become a Private Event and Catering Facility
A reader tip led us to call BRC Gastropub at 519 Shepherd where an employee told us that tonight is its last service. “We’re closing to focus on the Liberty Kitchen concepts,” she said. “Also, our new Treehouse location will be opening soon.” That’s not the only reason it is…
