Inquiring Minds: AC Pianist Jim Brickman, More Than Just “Jingle Bells”
Rocks Off spoke with songwriter/pianist Jim Brickman recently. True, the AC piano king isn’t the type of musician we usually focus on, but talent is talent and oh, yeah, a Grammy Award nomination for Best New Age Album for his CD Faith doesn’t hurt. Rocks Off: First, congratulations on…
Recipe: Latkes
Latkes are probably the most famous Jewish food, commonly called potato pancakes. This is probably one of the simplest traditional dishes out there to make, but they are still incredibly tasty. Some restaurant or from-mix latkes tend to be a little more spongy, but our family’s version is more like…
Some of Us at Rocks Off Research Handel’s Messiah for Hours, While Others…
This link should explain things well enough. We’re too busy weeping…
Time’s Running Out To Win A Hangover Or Inglourious Basterds DVD
You’ve put it off long enough — if you still want to cross someone (even yourself) off your Christmas list for free, you’ve got to enter our contests to win free DVDs of Inglourious Basterds or The Hangover.Last day is tomorrow. For The Hangover, give us your best story about…
We Totally Agree With The Way The Chronicle Writes About Its Reporters
As we noted earlier this week, nothing whatsoever was as important to the Houston Chronicle as the announcement of their new society reporters Sunday. Mayoral race? Texans victory? Meh.The Chron placed a huge photo on its front page, and even-huger photo on its feature-section front, and an equally huge photo…
A Lone Pint or Two Tonight
Beer lovers can get a sampling of what may be Houston’s next microbrewery tonight during a free tasting at Chelsea Wine Bar in Seabrook. The crew behind Lone Pint Brewery will have seven kegs of beer, four different recipes, for sipping. The Lone Pint crew — Trevor Brown and his…
Listology: Toxic Noise DJ Bakka’s Top Bone-Crushing Jams
Every third Wednesday at Boondocks, the space upstairs turns into the most fabulous place in Houston for rockers, punks and metalheads when DJ Bakka revs the turntables for his popular “Toxic Noise” DJ sets. It’s like going to visit a high-school bully’s bedroom in 1987. If you still miss Shanley…
Top 11 Houston Restaurant Openings of the Decade
Since I started my job as restaurant critic of the Houston Press in May of 2000, I’ve had a chance to observe the Houston restaurant scene for just about the entire decade. Our fine dining scene has evolved in the last ten years, and so have our ethnic cuisines. Houston…
Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree with Dr. Sketchy
All we wanted for Christmas was on display this past Sunday afternoon at Dr. Sketchy, the popular life drawing art class / burlesque show that takes place at Avant Garden on the second Sunday of each month.To celebrate a successful year of Dr. Sketchy’s Houston outpost, organizer Katie Laird invited a…
Market to Plate: Local Citrus Salad at the Grove
Ryan Pera treasures his Saturdays, though he never sits down and the days tend to top 12 hours. Saturdays are farmers’ market days, when The Grove Restaurant’s executive chef picks the produce he’ll use in that evening’s specials and, more important, finds a few hours not to answer phone calls…
Aftermath: Catastrophic Theater’s Life Is Happy and Sad at Diverseworks
As well-conceived and executed as Catastrophic Theater’s latest Daniel Johnston-inspired production is, it’s also more than a little discomfiting. Based on an oral letter the famously troubled singer-songwriter recorded and sent to a friend while living in Austin during the early ’80s – the entire first act and much of…
Game Time: Review Of ESPN’s 30 For 30: The U
Whenever people ask me what the best sporting event is that I’ve ever been to, the answer is always an easy one: October 15, 1988…Notre Dame 31, Miami 30. It had all the critical elements of a personal “best sporting event ever” — Heated rivalry? Check. Brawl before the game…
My Tour Guide to Hanoi Cuisine
In this week’s Café review, Carl Han reveals his own formula for banh cuon dipping sauce — a recipe that involves water beetle essence along with chile peppers and fish sauce. After demonstrating my dismal understanding of Vietnamese cuisine in my review and blog post about Banh Cuon Hoa 2,…
Two Days of Giftmas: Book Lovers
Sick of corporate Christmas? Try shopping local. Hair Balls presents a 12-part series highlighting ideas for holiday gifts made and sold in Texas. We may not be Chicago or New York, but Houston is still home to a burgeoning literary community, with one of the best Creative Writing MFA programs…
Come Party With Rocks Off and Lego Rock Band at Khon’s
Next Tuesday over at Khon’s (2808 Milam), Rocks Off is throwing a free Christmas party for Houston, with our new copy of Lego Rock Band. You do remember the drunken scene at our Beatles: Rock Band shindig in September at Coffee Groundz, right? We wish we did, but we’re pretty…
The State’s Environmental Watchdog Sucks
Four years ago, Houston Mayor Bill White and his environmental policy director Elena Marks didn’t think that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality was doing a very good job enforcing pollution violations and keeping the area’s oil refineries and chemical plants in check. The city had the statutory right to…
Bartender Chat – Katherine Apple of Hearsay
When we walked in to Hearsay (218 Travis) last Friday night, bar manager Brinton Douglas was preparing to shoot a live segment for WB 39 on the bar’s holiday cocktails. Before shooting, though, he was nice enough to take a few minutes to seat our large party. It’s not every…
More Trouble For Bellaire’s Randy Quaid
Who ever though that Dennis Quaid — the guy who got in a custody battle with Meg Ryan over their guru — would turn out to seem the sane one in the Quaid family? Dennis’ older brother Randy has stepped in it again, missing a court appearance in California and thus…
Santa Claus Wants Some Lovin’: The 10 Horniest Christmas Songs Ever
The approach of Christmas presents a number of dilemmas. Should you put the moves on that hot co-worker at the holiday party? Is now really the best time to come out to your heavily Pentecostal family? And what brand of top-shelf vodka best drowns out the drone of your in-laws…
Why Annise Parker Won And Gene Locke Lost
The path to victory for Annise Parker looked easy and if you run a well-oiled machine, that is exactly how it should be. Bottom line, Gene Locke did not win because he lacked the campaign experience that Parker had learned over the last ten years.Locke had the support of the…
Health Department Roundup: Donut Patrol Edition
Robb Walsh has been visiting donut shops all over town but for now, at least until things clear up, he might want to avoid these few bad apple fritters: We know he loves Shipley Donuts. But the one at 6619 Tidwell was a repeat offender for substandard trash receptacles and…
For Hip-Hop, Brown Could Be the New Black… or the New Wetback
For anyone following the Houston Latino rap theme as of late and are wondering why Rocks Off might be telling more of a cultural story than a hip-hop one with our artist profiles, it’s because amongst the traditional hip-hop following in America, Houston’s Latino rappers may very well be looked…
The Search for Christmas Tamales
Fresh-cooked pork tamales are going for $7 a dozen at Gerardo’s, and they’re very good. After eating a sample dozen, I decided to get my Christmas tamales there this year. There is a sign on the front door warning customers to order their holiday tamales in advance. Gerardo’s is expecting…
Make Your Love Connection At Bush (Airport)
If there’s one thing we’ve learned from television advertisements, it is to believe anything that AXE body spray, or hose wash, or whatever the hell it is, is putting down. Those guys seem to know everything about sex.So we will certainly take their word when they tell us that Bush…
Artist of the Week: Hormone-Free Vocabularian Herds-Men the Jonx
Each Wednesday, Rocks Off arbitrarily appoints one lucky local performer or group “Artist of the Week,” bestowing upon them all the fame and grandeur such a lofty title implies. Know a band or artist that isn’t awful? Email their particulars to introducingliston@gmail.com. We first noticed The Jonx back in July…
Drayton Sells Astros, Almost
Hey kids, guess what? Drayton McLane is a liar.I’m not shocked by that. I used to work for the guy. But apparently people at the Houston Chronicle are surprised that Drayton lied to them about trying to sell the team after the 2008 season. A local businessman, Jim Crane, even…
Day Trip: Café Medici in Austin
Feeling like hopping out of town? A quick trip to Austin may be in order. Café Medici is a great destination for coffee there. With two unique locations offering quality espresso made by professional baristas – in the Clarksville neighborhood (1101 West Lynn) and on the notoriously busy University of…
Aftermath: “Homo for the Holidays” with the Gay Men’s Chorus of Houston
If you couldn’t figure out by the first song – a corny calypso rendition of “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing!” – that the Gay Men’s Chorus of Houston’s A Twisted Holiday was going to be delightfully tongue-in-cheek, you probably had no business being there. One of the oldest Gay Men’s…
Houston’s Little Shop Of Sports Horrors
Still stuck for that Christmas gift for the sports fan on your list? Lord knows you can’t give him a championship — this is Houston, after all — but that doesn’t mean you’ve got no options.We cyber-strolled through the gift shops of Our Town’s teams, and came up with these…
Kevin Sumlin Didn’t Leave (This Time), But Unlike His Players, He Could
There was much panic among the Houston Cougar faithful when head coach Kevin Sumlin’s name was mentioned in regards to the open University of Cincinnati coaching job. And that same panic was seen as well at Stanford when coach Jim Harbaugh’s name was mentioned in connection with the Kansas job…
Bodega’s Taco Shop’s Hibiscus Margarita on the Rocks
A contractor I knew as Cowboy once told me the margarita was named after singer Peggy Lee in the late ’40s at Galveston’s storied Balinese Room. (He also told me that Frank Sinatra, a fixture at the former waterfront hotspot, refused to touch his own penis; he had hired hands…
Listology: Blues In Hi-Fi DJ Clint Broussard’s Favorite R&B 45s
Clint Broussard is a local boy who was born with the music of the Gulf Coast in his chromosomes. Broussard works as a bartender at Ginger Man, a clerk at Cactus Records and volunteer disc jockey with a great old-time R&B radio show on Rice University station KTRU. Rocks Off…
I Wanna Be Your Dog (Or Cat): Last-Chance Specials
An open letter from some long-time Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care dogs to Mr. S. Claus, Esq. The dogs, lovingly photographed by Robyn Arouty, would like to remind everyone that the first six Hair Balls animals to be adopted come with a PetSmart giftcard. Dear Santa, We’re writing a…
Win Tickets to Our Holiday Wine Tasting at Sonoma
You only have a few days left to buy tickets for our first-ever event at Sonoma — a holiday wine tasting featuring 40 different kinds of beer, wine and champagne — but one lucky reader could win a pair of tickets for free! The first person to answer the three…
Three Days of Giftmas: Where To Shop For Stocking Stuffers
Sick of corporate Christmas? Try shopping local. Hair Balls presents a 12-part series highlighting ideas for holiday gifts made and sold in Texas. If you Google “fair trade Houston” one of the first results you get is the Rice Village mainstay Ten Thousand Villages. The store has nice gifts, from…
Gas Station Sushi
Only a few short days after Eating Our Words’ body revolted violently against some inadvisedly consumed cheese enchiladas that had been on a steam table for far too long, as it turns out, we decided to show our stomach who’s boss. Take back the night! And what better way to…
OMG 4 Rlz, No Texting While Driving In Bellaire Or West U
Feel free to re-tweet while you’re running over slow grandmas crossing the Bellaire Triangle, because next month you won’t be able to do so — the cities of Bellaire and West U have banned texting and web browsing while driving.In a double-header of government activity unmatched since Germany and Japan…
2009 Concert Rewind, February: Killers Kill, Annuals Amuse, Hammered at Hank III, Spewing Slipknot and More
The Killers, Verizon Wireless Theater, February 2: “The general knock on the Killers is that they’ve achieved their relatively lofty position by standing on the shoulders of giants, which may well be true. But Monday night they showed that in reaching for the stars, they have yet to exceed their…
Urban Gardening: My Organic Dirt Patch
Inspired by the incredible urban gardens Jim Sherman tends in the Fifth Ward, I decided to take a shot at the urban gardening thing myself. So I went to Wabash Feed Store and bought some dirt and some locally made organic fertilizer. San Jacinto Environmental Supplies on 34th St. makes…
There’s Hope Yet For The Former Teas Nursery In Bellaire
When the historic Teas Nursery in Bellaire put its property up for sale earlier this year, the plan was to build single-family homes on the five acres.For “single-family homes,” read “McMansions,” of which Bellaire has an absolute glut.But now comes word via Swamplot that all may not be lost.The site…
A Transplant Tries Van Loc
Being new to Houston, we’d only passed Van Loc Restaurant’s green neon sign at 3010 Milam in Midtown a few times. Each time the name evoked medieval images — armor, unruly beards, pelts hanging from rafters. What would the food be in such a place? Stews, we’d guess, made with…
Game Time: Five Jobs The Rockets Can Give Tracy McGrady
I’m all about people earning their money. From an accountant punching up debits and credits to a custodian cleaning the bathroom stalls to a CEO of a Fortune 500 corporation, every position in any company has an intrinsic financial value to it and as soon as the return on the…
Donut Patrol: Long Bread and Sweet Soy Milk
“Long bread” is the name given to the Chinese doughnuts on the menu at Classic Kitchen, Houston’s most popular Chinese breakfast restaurant. The hot, crispy bread sticks are not sweet, but they are usually ordered with a bowl of hot sweetened soy milk. You dunk each bite of doughnut in…
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inducts Stooges; Rocks Off Team Member Faints In Disbelief
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced its Class of 2010 inductees Tuesday. Somehow, Jann Wenner and his cronies even managed to induct an actual rock band this year: streetwalkin’ Detroit cheetahs Iggy & the Stooges – who, according to RRHOF rules (25 years after an artist’s first recording…
Cloud 9ers
Famous for out-beefing the local competition with their 9-ounce burgers, 9ers is one of those diners that boast a menu of everything under the sun, so long as it’s fried. It’s not fancy and it’s never cool, but if you’re going to do something wrong, this is where you go…
There Will Be A Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On At Sherlock Holmes In Tomball
In case you are not completely psyched for Sherlock Holmes — and who would not be psyched for what looks like yet another CGI-laden Victorian-era adventure story? Does The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen not ring a bell? And all the sequels they made to it because it was so entertaining?…
The AP’s Year-End Album List Proves What We Already Knew: Rock Critics Are Assholes
Rocks Off has previously lamented the dearth of critically popular acts that truly rock many times. We just can’t get over the fact that adding distortion to your guitar is a virtual guarantee you won’t get scads of rock critics jizzing all over you with steamy loads of orgasmic praise…
Odd Pair: Doritos Nacho Cheese Chips
We appreciate our readers’ suggestions. Hey, we can’t think of all this stuff on our own. So, last week, when reader Shayne suggested Doritos Nacho Cheese Chips with Bolla Bardolino, we decided to try it. The fact that the reader said it sounded gross but was a good pairing didn’t…
More ParkerMania Continues: An Obama Phone Call, Roller-Skating Drag Queens
The media fallout from Annise Parker’s mayoral victory continues to roll in.President Barack Obama called to congratulate her (he didn’t mention the gay angle), but he called while she was giving an interview to Fox 26. And really, what’s more important, Obama or Fox 26? So he left a voice…
Tonight: Shellee Coley CD Release at Dosey Doe Coffee Shop
Not too long ago, an old sound guy told Rocks Off that if people would turn it down just a little it would be louder than anything else, a suddenly startling quiet. Every time we get ahold of a new release from Woodlands studio/label Red Tree, we get a sample…
Praise for Paulie’s
Lower Westheimer has been a breeding ground for Italian food in Houston, with Fabio’s, Michelangelo’s, Bambino’s and, last but not least, This Italian quick-service joint offers fresh pastas, soups and salads. The Petronella family has been running Paulie’s (1834 Westheimer) for more than ten years, and since the one and…
New Notre Dame Coach Wants A Piece Of The Longhorns
Brian Kelly is the new football coach at Notre Dame, having left his undefeated University of Cincinnati for greener pastures.We’re not sold entirely on him yet, but we haven’t been entirely sold on an ND coach since Ara. Kelley does have an interesting resume — he was involved in Massachusetts…
Songs To Help Kinky Friedman Learn What the Texas Agriculture Commissioner Does
Musician, author, animal-rights activist (and probably a couple of other titles we’re leaving out) Kinky Friedman announced Monday he was withdrawing as a candidate for governor in next March’s Democratic primary and instead seeking the office of Agriculture Commissioner, a post previously held by homespun liberal gadfly Jim Hightower and…
UH Struggles Against Troy, Exam Schedule
Photo courtesy UHOne of the myriad NCAA justifications for the lack of a Division One football playoff is the distraction that such a playoff would provide to players attempting to write papers, take finals and just get through the end of the semester. ut maybe the NCAA should check with…
Ask a Rapper: Nosaprise on Building a Hip-Hop Brand
The hip-hop world is a less than sensible place -lots of times, you’re even required to clarify when bad means bad and when bad means good- so once a week we’re going to get with a rapper and ask them to explain things. Have something you always wanted to ask…
Taco Truck Gourmet: Pan de Elote LaLa
I stopped by the “LALA” Pan de Elote trailer on Telephone Road between Hobby Airport and Beltway 8 on Sunday morning and bought some hot cornbread from Gilberto. He said that this kind of cornbread was very popular in Monterrey where he came from. The round loaf was hot off…
Lonesome Onry and Mean: A Christmas Album That Doesn’t Suck
It’s no secret that Lonesome Onry and Mean usually thinks of Christmas music at about the same moment the concept of suicide pops into our head. But a few days ago we were pleasantly surprised to receive a Christmas album that actually doesn’t suck. Along with 2002’s excellent ‘Tis The…
Five Memorable Movie Nazis, And A Chance To Win An Inglourious Basterds DVD
One of the few immutable constants in our topsy-turvy lives is that Nazis are bad. In the movies, you can have sympathetic aliens, well-intentioned lawyers, or likable Commies, but Nazis are pretty much always the embodiment of unrepentant evil.There can be some nuance to their characters, however. And the interesting…
Jersey Shore: Exile In Guidoville
MTV has a great deal to answer for — reducing our attention span to half-second jump cuts and paving the way for American Idol for starters — but the network still erroneously referred to as Music Television might have finally trumped itself in sheer loathsomeness with their latest foray into…
Where Are We Drinking?
Who among us hasn’t ended up flat on their back after too many drinks? This perspective may look familiar, but does the bar? Leave your best guess in the comments section below…
Distant Early Warning: Carrie Underwood, Eric Benet, Kinky Friedman, Muse, Rogue Wave, Supersuckers, etc.
The Audition, Sparks The Rescue, The Right Coast: Thu., Jan. 28. Meridian. The Bellamy Brothers: Thu., Feb. 4. The Firehouse Saloon. The Black Dahlia Murder, Obscura, Augury: Mon., March 1. Meridian. Carrie Underwood: Mon., May 10. Ford Pavilion (Beaumont). Citizen Cope: Sat., March 13. House of Blues. Cymbals Eat Guitars,…
The Shameless Chef: Shit On a Shingle
I don’t know if the soldiers still eat “chipped beef on toast” in the U.S. military; we’d have to ask Craig Hlavaty, Rocks Off’s resident ex-military running dog. However, they used to, with the dish earning the nickname “shit on a shingle” or simply “S.O.S.” sometime around the second World…
Lufkin Love Quadrangle Ends In Tragedy: Three Dead, One In Custody After Trailer Park Bloodbath
Mixing jealousy and alcohol is a bad idea. So is confessing a recent threesome with your roommates to your gun-toting, volatile ex. Those are but two of the lessons you could draw from a weekend triple homicide in a trailer park on the pinewood fringes of rough and tumble Lufkin.Raymond…
What a Difference a Decade Makes: Zagat’s Top 5 Restaurants in 1999 and 2009
Ten years ago, Houston was a different city. Enron hadn’t yet experienced its downfall. Downtown was just beginning its slow renaissance. There were no silly “town square” concepts littered around town. People were just learning the word “McMansion.” Montrose wasn’t gentrified. Neither were any of the Wards. The Astros had…
Are You With Me, Father Tu? — Women Sue Catholic Diocese Over Alleged Molestings
Seven women have sued a suspended Houston priest for allegedly molesting them when he worked for the Fort Worth Diocese from the mid-1970s until the early 1990s. Father Joseph Tu was transferred to Holy Rosary Church in midtown Houston in 1993, and he was suspended from the priesthood in 2006,…
2009 Concert Rewind, January: Scott Weiland Is Still a Jackass, and More
[Ed. Note: For the next two weeks, Rocks Off will be looking back at the many, many, many shows we reviewed this year. Trust us, we’ve long since lost count. We’ll start with this past January, as ever a slow month on the live-music front, but things picked up soon…
Houston’s Molly Ivins To Be Portrayed On Stage By Kathleen Turner
Kathleen Turner is going to play Molly Ivins in a production debuting in Philadelphia next year, Playbill reports.The drama is called Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins, so we’re guessing Turner will be ramping up the sassy Texas accent and playing down the St. John’s/River Oaks background.Here’s…
Logan Farm’s Akaushi Burger
A Kobe beef burger for less than seven bucks? I rushed out to Logan Farms, a spiral-cut ham and sandwich boutique on Westheimer just past Beltway 8, as soon as I learned about this “hidden gem” from “staceface,” who left a comment on my blog about Hodad’s. The flavor of…
10 Topics You Should Never, Ever Tweet About
One of the most universally frustrating and equally liberating characteristics about Twitter is that it’s wholly unstructured and undefined. No rules, no guidelines, no instructions. When you sign up, you get suggestions at best, and vast white space at worst. You know, it’s kinda like college – it is what…
Lonesome Onry and Mean: Three Never-Before-Heard (Almost) Webb Wilder Demos
Recalling the sessions for Webb Wilder’s albums Hybrid Vigor and Doo Dad, former Wilder guitarist Donny Roberts (above left, with the REO Speedwagon hair) forwarded some demos of songs that that never made it to the studio due to time and money limitations. “These are some demos I did in…
You Can’t Knock the Wurst!
A sandwich and a beer is pretty much one of our favorite things in the whole world. We had an incredible heap of sandwich bliss last week at Kahn’s Deli. It’s called the “Olajuwon.” Fans of the old Kahn’s Deli on Rice Blvd. in the Rice Village know it has…
You Don’t Like Our Homeless? We’ll Up The Ante!!
Christ Church Cathedral launched another round of heavy artillery in its ongoing battle with disgruntled neighbor Harry C. Arthur on Saturday afternoon, in the form of carrying out as usual its annual holiday luncheon for the homeless and otherwise needy.Arthur recently sued the church in an effort to close down…
The Last Place You Look, Metavenge, Peekaboo Theory, American Fangs Lead Local Texas Buzz Nominees
It’s no secret that sometimes Rocks Off likes to rag on Houston’s, ahem, “New Rock Alternative,” 94.5 FM The Buzz – let’s see, according to www.yes.com, last hour the station played Green Day’s “Longview,” Foo Fighters’ “My Hero,” Pearl Jam’s “Even Flow” and U2’s “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m…
The Chicken or the Egg?
Wabash Feed Store (5701 Washington Avenue) is a trip to the country in the middle of the city. There are fresh free-range eggs for three dollars a dozen behind the front counter. Of course, if you want really fresh eggs, the store also sells chickens. Hens start at $12, roosters…
The Single Most Important News Event Of The Weekend — The Chronicle’s New Society Writers
You might be forgiven for thinking it was a big deal that Annise Parker won the mayor’s race this weekend.That little episode was as nothing, in terms of loving column inches devoted to it, as the Houston Chronicle’s announcement of its new team that will be covering Houston society (“such…
God Help Ye Merry Gentlemen: 10th Grade Cutie’s Christmas Album
Christmas came early for Rocks Off this weekend in the form of Dr. Feelgood, a vaguely holiday-themed album from our favorite little brothers in the increasingly prolific 10th Grade Cutie. You guys can now cancel the order for the black Yamaha V-Star 1100 and the lock of Lemmy’s hair, because…
Captivating Crepes
Street vendors in Houston are like championship sports teams: They’re rare, they’re captivating, and we’d sure like more of ’em around town. That’s why we were so ecstatic to find Melange Creperie workin’ the corner of Studewood and 10½ Street last Saturday in honor of Lights in the Heights. Shielded…
Four Days of Giftmas: For the Artist
Sick of corporate Christmas? Try shopping local. Hair Balls presents a 12-part series highlighting ideas for holiday gifts made and sold in Texas. Museum subscriptions are one thing, but what if you know someone who’d rather make art than just look at it? Get yourself a handmade basket and head…
Game Time: Defend Gary Kubiak? I’ll Take A Stab At It
Much has been made about Gary Kubiak’s alleged hell, fire and brimstone speech he gave to the Texans in Saturday’s team meeting before Sunday’s workmanlike 34-7 win against the Seattle Seahawks. Actually, I didn’t see the speech, so to portray it as “win one for the Gipper 2009” may not…
Sunrise Taquito
Sunrise Taquito (5601 Memorial) is a divine little gas station food shop that exudes warmth and familiarity. Eating there is like sitting at the breakfast table while your parents cook, only with less probing questions about the night before. There’s something therapeutic about sleepily watching your breakfast being made, and…
GT Garza: Doing Right by Tha Carter – But Not That Carter
In death comes life, so the saying goes. For 24-year-old Southwest Houston rapper GT Garza, the cliché emulates the birth of his career. Ask GT about who inspired him to first take the microphone and he won’t spit out the usual suspects in Southern hip-hop. No, he’ll talk about a…
Annise Parker’s Victory, Gene Locke’s Loss — The Slideshow
Saturday night brought headlines from across the world for Houston, as we matter-of-factly elected Annise Parker as mayor, making us the largest U.S. city to be ruled by someone who can’t get married to someone she’s been living with for almost two decades.Click here for a slideshow of the scene…
(Don’t) Book ‘Em, Dano: 42 Artists Who Have Absolutely No Business Touring Together
When Rocks Off received word last week that indie duo The Big Pink was embarking on a 2010 tour with NYC’s A Place to Bury Strangers, our initial thought was, “Cool,” followed closely by, “Ew.” For once, there’s a promo poster we really have no desire to see. But then…
Donut Patrol: Chez Beignet
The French doughnuts at Houston’s Chez Beignet are up there with the beignets at Café Du Monde in the French Quarter, Morning Call in Metairie or any other Louisiana donut stand. And they come with a mug of chicory coffee au lait, if you like them that way. An elderly…
Texas Traveler: Pignataro Castle
Most people haven’t even heard of Santa Fe, TX, so you wouldn’t expect them to know that there was a real life castle in the small community. It’s one of about 30 castles in Texas, the closest one to Houston, and its origins are a bit of a mystery. The…
Win A Free HangoverDVD By Telling Your Best Hangover Story
The Hangover was the biggest comedy of the year, and it’s coming out on DVD. We can only imagine what the Mike Tyson bloopers reel looks like.Assuming there is one, you won’t have to imagine what it will look like — we’re hoping for a Christian Bale freak-out, with the…
Top 5 Holiday Hangover Cures
The holidays are great — parties, presents, and vacation. Well, that is until you wake up Saturday morning with a vicious headache. Maybe vampires have the right idea by only coming out at night. But, for now, we still have to get up in the morning and join the living…
Turning the Screw: Slim Thug & Friends, Bun B & Friends, 50 Cent & Susan Boyle(!), Kid Cudi, Chris Brown, OutKast, Kidz In the Hall, Lil Wayne, Eminem, Sade, etc.
Welcome back to Turning the Screw, Rocks Off’s weekly rap post. It probably won’t rhyme, at least most of the time. E-mail tips to introducingliston@gmail.com. Thanks, homies. Single of the Week: Juicy J & Project Pat feat. Slim Thug & New Genesis, “Ike Turner Pimpin'” “I’m a motherfuckin’ mac and…
Aftermath: The Hates Go Back to the Future at Cactus Music
They left the costumes at home, but The Hates were still able to exude the infectious charm of a past era in their tribute to an early rock ‘n’ roll icon, Buddy Holly, Friday night. The Hates performed under the moniker The Blue Suedes at Cactus Music as part of…
With Playoff Possibilities Mostly Gone, The Good Texans Return. Sound Familiar?
It’s remarkable to watch a Texans season supposed to be so different follow a nearly identical script. Sunday’s 34-7 win over the Seattle Seahawks snapped a four-game losing streak and, at least in theory, keeps the Texans (6-7) alive in playoff discussion. But with most reasonable postseason avenues now closed,…
Where Are We Eating?
Could this be the best eggroll in town? At least one of our loyal readers thinks so. And if you can figure out where we’re eating this week, that eggroll could be yours. Leave your best guess in the comments section below…
Aftermath: Nitzer Ebb at Meridian, Joel Osteen With a Trouserful of Funky Cold Medina
Aftermath was running late on Saturday night after trying to get a teething baby to sleep. We drove our little Toyota as fast as we dared through a fog that on television would have contained dead pirates, eldritch horrors or Michael Jackson, making it to Meridian just after 10:30 p.m…
This Week in TV: Last Flight of the Conchords
I’m tired of shopping, ready for sunshine, and I need you to bring me some pens. This was the week in TV Land: • Blah blah blah obligatory paragraph about how awesome Community is. Maybe you’re tired of reading it, but I’m not tired of writing it. It’s consistently good,…
Aeros Keep Struggling At Home
The Houston Aeros defeated the Rockford IceHogs 4-1 yesterday by using something they’ve rarely used this season. A scoring touch. And the scoring touch allowed goalie Wade Dubielewicz to relax a bit, which is something that the Houston goalies haven’t been able to do often.After Friday’s 2-1 loss to the…
Our Man On The Parker Scene
“We’ve got Parker fever tonight in this room!” Gilbert Garcia, the man on stage for Parker HQ, just announced.The only prescription, it seems, is more … not cowbell, but long-winded thank you’s to all the wonderful people who helped make this wonderful event happen, all the way down to Mr…
We Have Our New Mayor!
Annise Parker gave a pretty great speech tonight in accepting the win…beginning with the joke about being “the first…..(pause)….Rice graduate” to win a mayor’s race in Houston.”Didn’t duck the family thing at all…But no kiss!!!!We’ll have our update from our man on the scene in a bit, but til then…
Locke Concedes; How The Hell Can God Let Us Be Ruled By A Homosexual?
Gene Locke has given it up; he’s just asked members of several communities, including the “journalism communtiy,” to get behind Annise Parker.But she’s gay.We can only hope Houston can survive this, the fifth or sixth sign of the apocalypse. Maybe the movie 2012 was right after all.Next up: Parker with…
It Looks Like Parker
It looks like an Annise Parker win right now. Here’s a report from Parker HQ:Well, it seems like Annise Parker is about to win. And the people here at Parker-town, which has become quite crowded and now seems like a real-life campaign event, seem to be waiting for celebration time.Which…
First Impressions Of Parker HQ
Loyal readers and/or Annise Parker fanatics may remember local massage therapist and dedicated Parker volunteer Greg Turetzky, who provided the Press with some insider insight during the last Annise Parker Election-Watching Party Numero Uno.Back then, Turetzky predicted a Parker-Locke run-off. With his political acumen thusly verified, Hair Balls decided to…
Election Day: Live!
Stay tuned to Hair Balls as we cover the mayoral run-off all day until 7 p.m. Questions? Comments? You can interact directly with us below. Houston Mayoral Election…
Don’t Forget To Vote — And Here’s A Guide
Saturday is the runoff for the Houston mayoral race. Check with Hair Balls that night for coverage of the celebrating, not to mention the weeping and gnashing of teeth, at the respective parties. Until then, David Ortez asked each candidate to give a position, in 50 words or less, on…
The Houston Comedy Film Festival Is Here — Yuk it Up
Houston has its share of film festivals, including last month’s mega-successful Cinema Arts Festival Houston. But this week’s 1st Annual Houston Comedy Film Festival is adding another flavor to the scene with a collection of funny flicks from around the world. (Of the more than 400 submissions that came in,…
This Week in Deliciousness
Welcome back to the weekly roundup here at Eating Our Words, where our special brand of Christmas party punch can double as deck sealant and paint stripper. Greenway Barista started off the week with some deep-dish Chicago pizza that looks like a crust-bowl filled with cheese and marinara, which is…
Born to Runoff: Playlists for Saturday’s Mayoral Election-Night Parties
Thursday evening Houston mayoral candidate Annise Parker, clearly anticipating a weekend of celebration, posted the following message to Twitter asking for playlist suggestions for her election night party. So far the official suggestions are pretty lame, so Rocks Off is coming to the rescue with some choice tracks of our…
Last Call For Art: The Laramie Project
Okay, this is your last chance to see one of the few theater productions this month that doesn’t feature Santa, Scrooge, Frosty, or a talking Christmas tree: The Laramie Project at FrenetiCore Theatre. (Thank you E Catter Productions and the Cast of Eight for saving us from wonderland overload!)There’s nothing…
Deep-Fried Sweetbreads
I learned to love sweetbreads through French cooking. The French call them ris de veau and in many recipes, the offal is blanched and cleaned and then pressed with weights until it develops a wonderful meaty texture. The pressed ris de veau is then sautéed with such luxurious ingredients as…
If Katy Actually Faced Cinco Ranch In The Playoffs, Who Would Win?
Here at Hair Balls, we seem to talk a lot about Katy High School football, even though we try not to. When the high school playoffs started this year, we really wanted to cheer for Galveston Ball, and we thought The Woodlands and Hightower High School would surely go deep…
Four Courses at Sophia
There’s something to be said for having a BYOB restaurant nearby, walking home on a cold night with a Chardonnay as a jacket. But the charms of Sophia, at 1601 W. Main St., tucked behind Richmond in a nondescript building off Mandell, go beyond its geography. Now in his second…
The Music of True Blood, Episode 1.10: Dr. John Don’t Wanna Know About Evil, But We Sure Do
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. With Season 2 just completed,…
Holiday Wine Tasting at Sonoma
We hope you’ve marked your calendar for the December 19th event at Sonoma Wine Bar, because we can’t wait to see you there. Eating Our Words is excited to be hosting its first ever event for our readers: a Holiday Tasting that will feature not only 40 different kinds of…
Game Time: Sure Thing…Betting The Opposite Of The Village Idiot
If you’re keeping track, you know that I’ve been sucking on my football picks since I started posting here at Hair Balls. My sincere hope is that all of you are doing the smart thing and running to the pay window with picks the exact opposite of mine, and laughing…
Traceability
We keep hearing this term when it comes to coffee – people want to know the route our brew took from the farm to our morning cup. It represents the emerging of a more conscientious consumer, one who demands to know who produced her food products, whether it is coffee,…
Five Spot: Killa Kyleon’s Purple Punch 3
Welcome back to Five Spot. Every Friday, we’ll examine a recent bit of music news and, albeit sometimes awkwardly, tie it to a bit of Houston rap. It’s five videos and occasional cussing. Send tips to introducingliston@gmail.com. One of the guys that we always (usually) enjoy listening to is the…
How to Digitally Dump Your Beau or Babe
She’s no good, he’s no good, you’re no good, baby, you and your fizzled-out flame ain’t no good. Face the music, friend. He tells you he wants you, yet he actually repositioned his nether regions away from your eager mouth when you tried to go bobbing for apples last evening…
Donut Patrol: Shipley’s on Ella
When I started the Donut Patrol, I asked readers if there was any particular Shipley’s location that was better than all the others. The consensus seems to be that the little old bakery just north of 610 on Ella is the place to get your doughnuts. On Wednesday, a commenter…
Top 5 Grocery Store Openings of the Decade
Yesterday, we recounted the top five grocery store closings that had a significant impact on the Houston supermarket scene during the past 10 years. But for as much as we may (or may not) miss AppleTree or Albertson’s, we’ve had some much better grocery stores head our way since then…
Rave On: Houston Punks the Hates Do Buddy Holly at Cactus Music
The premise alone is enough to pique Rocks Off’s interest. The Hates, Houston’s long-running Mohawk-fronted punk trio, will transform themselves tonight into The Blue Suedes, a Buddy Holly tribute band. The occasion? Cactus Music’s third-annual toy drive, benefitting the Houston Area Women’s Shelter. We can see it now – neon-haired…
The Five Biggest Sex Scandals Of The Decade In Houston, All Unfortunately Not Very Sexy
The Oughts have been a busy decade of people getting busy here in Houston, as perhaps every other decade has been. There’s a reason the population has been booming, after all, and it’s not all due to people leaving Detroit.But some Houstonians have been shtupping where they shouldn’t shtup, and…
Happy Hour Scene: Leons Lounge
The road in front of Leon’s Lounge is torn up — really bad torn up — and there were only a couple cars parked behind orange safety cones when we walked up, so we thought, ‘This is going to be one lame happy hour.’ We walked in and, besides the…
Don’t Call it a Comeback. Call It a Cultural Moon Rising.
During the Washington, D.C. sniper hunt of 2002, you didn’t want to be the person who owned a white van in that metropolitan area. That’s because the alleged sniper, who randomly killed ten people and critically injured three, was supposedly driving one. Everyone was looking for that vehicle description, and…
BARC Gets A New General Manager — Update
David Atencio, a former regional sales manager for 24 Hour Fitness, has been hired as the general manager for the embattled Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care. A press conference will be held at 1:30 at City Hall, according to an e-mail from Mayor Bill White’s Office. Atencio’s name has been…
Rudz Offends Someone, Somehow, By Having Santa Blast Through A Nazi Flag
Thanks to Ramon “LP4” Medina for passing along this bit of Big Brother action. This morning, Rudyard’s got an email from the MySpace administration informing the Montrose venue the above poster had been removed from Rudz’s page for violating the terms of use — though the social-networking site didn’t say…
Art Rock: This Rudz Poster Was Too Offensive for MySpace
Thanks to Ramon “LP4” Medina for passing along this bit of Big Brother action. This morning, Rudyard’s got an email from the MySpace administration informing the Montrose venue the above poster had been removed from Rudz’s page for violating the terms of use – though the social-networking site didn’t say…
Openings and Closings: November 2009
Although a very high profile restaurant shut its doors this month — the longtime Montrose institution La Strada — we’ve seen far more openings lately than closings. Below is your roundup of new and defunct restaurants from November 2009. Closings La Strada, 322 Westheimer Bangkok Room, 914 Main 713 Restaurant…
Our Five Favorite Punk Rock Christmas Songs
Aside from the heavy metal Christmas songs we threw your way earlier this week, Rocks Off also loves us some punk rock Yuletide jams. Over the years plenty of punks have tried their scabby and tattooed hands at holiday songs, especially the pop-punks, who are very fond of those ironic…
HISD Gets Six High Schools On A National Magazine’s “Best” List
US News & World Report has put out its list of best high schools in the nation, and HISD is (deservedly) crowing that six of its schools have been named.(Should we mention that it took three tries for the HISD news office to get it right? No, that would be…
Texas Traveler: Bakery Café in Aransas Pass
The Bakery Café in Aransas Pass was founded in 1929. Its claim to fame is chicken-fried steak, but I was a lot more impressed with the hamburgers. Ask for a “homemade burger,” and you get a third-pound hand-formed patty cooked to your liking. I sampled one that was topped with…
Friday Night Noise: The Best Noise Recordings of 2009
Not counting today, there are roughly 13 or 14 shopping days left until Christmas. In that spirit, this week’s Friday Night Noise offers a rundown of the best ten noise recordings issued (or re-issued) in 2009 so that you, dear reader, can hook friends, family and despised co-workers up with…
World Class Banana Pudding
If you love old-fashioned banana pudding with Nabisco Nilla wafers made from scratch, check out the dessert selections at Discount Food Store on Homestead at Laura Koppe. The cafeteria inside the store serves arguably the finest soul food in the city of Houston. Plate lunches with entrees and two sides…
Five Days of Giftmas: Music Lovers
Sick of corporate Christmas? Try shopping local. Hair Balls presents a 12-part series highlighting ideas for holiday gifts made and sold in Texas. Hair Balls is headed to Cactus Music tonight for another in-store, and it got us thinking — Cactus is pretty much the most awesome place in Houston…
Lonesome Onry and Mean: This Guitarist Really Does Rip the Strings Off
You hear people say guitarists “ripped the strings off it” all the time. Well, travel out to the 2:30 mark on this great Webb Wilder video and, if you look close, you’ll see the inimitable Donny Roberts take both hands and just rip all the strings off. By the way,…
The Office: Phyllis Claus
“Secret Santa” was another solid Christmas episode from The Office, and held pretty much to the pattern they’ve established with past installments like “Christmas Party” (and, well, the whole show): There’s an office party, Michael does something embarrassing and rude, everyone feels weird, they get over it, Michael apologizes, everybody…
Tis The Season……For Murderrrrrrr
‘Twas three weeks before Christmas when late in the night, three friends arrived at a hotel after drinking and partying to their hearts’ delight.In what must have seemed like a pretty good thought, they entered an “employees only” door though they knew they ought not.All rosy from drink and with…
German Chocolate… Pie?
You’ve probably had German chocolate cake, the multilayered chocolate dreamboat filled and topped with a luscious coconut-pecan frosting. While this lover is a year-round nationwide favorite, most people have never heard of its cousin, the German chocolate pie. The pie version features the same enticing tastes in a less overwhelming…
He Said She Said: Our Christmas Musical Wishlists, Part 2 – LPs Nobody Can Buy
When He Said was four years old, all he wanted for Christmas was big brown tape recorder that Play Skool put out so he could record his own imaginary radio shows and crazed ramblings about He-Man. Santa Claus brought it that year, and He Said wore that thing out over…
Astros: Second Prize Is A Set Of Steak Knives
I swear, the sense of desperation with the Astros and their desire for a Mariano Rivera-type reliever has me believing that Drayton thinks that Alec Baldwin speech in Glengarry Glen Ross is “always buy closers,” not “always be closing.”It’s like he and his staff are afraid that Mitch and Murray…
Eating Local: Froberg Vegetable & Fruit Farm
The organic produce at those Saturday farmers’ markets is swell. All those ugly carrots and bug-bitten greens fill us with the smug satisfaction of knowing we are eating locally, even if nobody else on our block gives a fig. But wouldn’t it be nice if we could feel superior without…
The Deathmatch Between Metro And John Culberson Continues
Congressman John Culberson didn’t say much today when he released his response to Metro’s response to a letter Culberson sent the Federal Transit Administration earlier this week, questioning Metro’s ability to pay for a planned $1.5 billion University rail line. About the only thing Culberson accused Metro of today was…
Black-Metal Documentary Sees the Light at Alamo Drafthouse This Weekend
Starting tonight and through weekend the Alamo Drafthouse (1000 W. Oaks Mall) will be screening the documentary Until The Light Takes Us, an unflinching look at the Norwegian black-metal scene from directors Aaron Aites and Audrey Ewell. The film is recommended viewing for any and all music and true crime…
Hole-A-Balloo, Kaneck Kaneck: Aggie Journalist Wonders Why A&M Is Riddled With Glory Holes
When we struggled our way through J-school before finally dropping out in a PICA-pole induced snit, we never thought that the day would come when we would find ourselves on the Texas-Louisiana glory-hole beat for a blog called Hair Balls, but here we are…Shortly after we posted this story about…
Trying the Bellaire Broiler Burger
After reading a few dozen passionate online reviews about the Bellaire Broiler Burger, a local legend, we decided to swing by Bellaire and Bissonnet, where BBB is tucked away in a time capsule out of the ’70s. Smoking was allowed there until not too long ago, but now, only the…
Top 5 Grocery Store Closings of the Decade
Houston — like most other cities — was once home to a broad array of supermarkets and grocery stores like Weingarten’s (whose last grocery store closed in 1984 — the company is now exclusively in the real estate market), Continental Finer Foods, and Lewis & Coker before it gave way…
The Music of True Blood, Episode 1.9: The Joys of Love and the Series’ Twilight Moment
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. With Season 2 just completed,…
Game Time: Previewing College Football Awards Night
Last night, the Rotary Lombardi Award for the top lineman in college football was given to Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh. To anyone who watched him play this year, or even just watched him rag-doll and chokeslam the Texas offensive line in the Big XII championship game, Suh’s winning the…
A Mass-Produced Meal
We just wrote about our weird and depressing meal at The Egg and I, and we felt the need to elaborate more on what is fundamentally wrong with this menu. We singled out the Egg and I, but we are really talking about any mass-produced concept period. This place “proudly…
He Said She Said: Our Christmas Musical Wishlists
She Said’s music listening habits have become so lazy thanks to the Internet. She can barely bring herself to pay for a full CD any more when there’s so much awesome music for free online. She can’t even remember the last time she bought a full CD in the concrete,…
Food Fight: Battle Bo Luc Lac
Bo luc lac — also known as Vietnamese shaking beef — is a traditional favorite and a meat lover’s kind of dish. Considering the fact that the ingredients are so simple and so very Western, in fact, we’re surprised that the garlic-tinged sauteed beef hasn’t caught on more wildly here…
Only Hours Remain To Win Your Public Enemies DVD
It’s getting near the end if you hope to stuff someone’s stocking with Johnny Depp this year for free — our giveaway of three Public Enemies DVDs finishes tonight.We’re asking you to describe just why Depp is so sexy, since he keeps getting chosen Sexiest Man Alive and all that…
Inquiring Minds: Houston Symphony Guest Pianist and Classic Rock Fan William Joseph
William Joseph might not be a familiar name yet, but he also might be the next classical/pop breakout star. The 31-year-old pianist, a native of the Phoenix area, has been playing since age four and has toured with Josh Groban and Il Divo, as well as appearing onstage with everyone…
(Allegedly) Kinky ATF Agent Gets In Big Trouble In Big Easy
What began as a routine investigation of a malfunctioning fire-alarm system at a suburban New Orleans Residence Inn ended with police discovering a scene worthy of Quentin Tarantino and Dennis Hopper at their most depraved and the arrest of 44-year-old Russell Vanderwerf, a Houston-based agent of the Bureau of Alcohol,…
Wine of the Week – Marcy Jimenez of Houston Wine Merchant
Marcy Jimenez has been in the wine industry for 10 years. She started as a restaurant sommelier, but has been the wine buyer for the Houston Wine Merchant for a little more than two years. “Being a buyer is less stressful and frenetic,” she said. “I also have much better…
Dear Better Business Bureau: I Got Ripped Off For $1.07 On My Blunt Wrap
Oh, weed: Will your users never fail to entertain?The Greater Houston & South Texas Better Business Bureau has received the following complaint, about Pokey’s Planet in Weslaco.It begins: I walked into Pokeys planet dec. 9th to purchase a blunt wrap. i bought a blunt wrap for 1.07 there was 2…
Traditional American Breakfast with a Side of Breakfast
We had one of the best — or at least biggest — biscuits ever at Annie’s Hamburgers on Sunday. What they should call this place is Annie’s Hamburgers and Really Good Breakfast. This little neighborhood eatery on South Post Oak is tucked away inside a strip-mall that time has forgotten…
6 Days of Giftmas: Culture Vultures
Sick of corporate Christmas? Try shopping local. Hair Balls presents a 12-part series highlighting ideas for holiday gifts made and sold in Texas. Don’t listen to those Yankees who say Texas has no culture. Houston is home to one of the best collections of Surrealist art in the country, one…
Cutout Bin: The 7 Deadly Sins on a ’50s Circus-Movie Soundtrack
One popular gripe regarding the demise of LP records is the loss of detail on the album covers. There can be no better example than this, the soundtrack for the all-but-forgotten 1956Burt Lancaster circus flick, Trapeze. There’s so much going on in this cover it’s amazing. Tiny trapezes, bicycling bears,…
In Praise Of The Cougars And Kevin Sumlin
There have been a lot of rumors circulating about Houston Cougars head coach Kevin Sumlin. Mostly rumors about him leaving the Cougars to take over as head coach of another, more high-profile college football team. But according to Steve Campbell at the Houston Chronicle, Sumlin is close to signing an…
Multi-Cultural Houston Breakfast
A pool of refried black beans flowed into a pool of crema on the plate. A sweet fried plantain and a pile of scrambled eggs rounded out my Central American breakfast at Xelapan Bakery #1 on Longpoint. Three thick homemade corn tortillas wrapped in paper came on the side. The…
Fool Hearted Memory: Music That Chooses You, Not the Other Way Around
Someone once observed wryly that the only member of your family you’ll ever actually choose is your spouse, and perhaps a whole lot of that observation is equally applicable to the music of our lives. A couple of years back we were sitting at Prince’s Hamburgers off the Southwest Freeway…
All Is Not Sweetness And Light At Reagan High School — UPDATED AGAIN, Supt. Wants Investigation
Further discussions of what organizers are calling “systemic illegal referrals of students to CEP/alternative disciplinary education on the basis of forged government documents” at Reagan High School will be just one of hot-button agenda items tonight at a suddenly called meeting of “over 100 Reagan High School students and their…
Bayou Body Count: Death At A Church
It was a sad start to the Christmas season last weekend at the Market Street Baptist Church. On Saturday morning, the only trinity on anyone’s mind was gunfire, blood and death.A little bit before 10 a.m., police got a call that a family was fighting at the church and that…
Armenian Kebabs at Café Rita
Café Rita on Dairy Ashford just north of Memorial is one of the city’s best Middle Eastern restaurants. It’s a buffet line, but don’t bother making your own selections. Just tell George Sarikhanian, the gregarious cashier/owner, that you like your Middle Eastern food spicy. But be careful what you wish…
Last Year’s Broken Toys: The Most Depressing Christmas Songs of All Time
The Christmas season is supposed to be one of joy and fun, of eating way too much and making drunken mistakes at your office Christmas party. Yet every year we’re confronted by songs that frankly aren’t in keeping with the holiday spirit. Although it’s an urban myth that suicides increase…
Glee: One for the Road
Last night’s Glee was a great way to cap the fall season. Fighting! Kissing! The Rolling Stones! Seriously, if they could all be like this, the show would be unstoppable. The only bad part is having to wait until April to get more. The episode opens with Rachel figuring out…
The 10 Biggest Houston Bummers Of The Decade
As we noted earlier this week, the fast-approaching end of the first decade of the 21st century brings with it a lot of lists.Some will be national; this will be strictly local. A lot of great things happened in Houston in the ten years of The Oughts, but a lot…
$7 at El Cuscatleco
Where: El Cuscatleco, 6041 Bissonnet, 713-666-2690What $7 gets you: A tall stack of pupusas. Driving through southwest Houston earlier today, we started wondering something about all the random little restaurants that seem to appear at every intersection. How do you choose a place where a) you know the food will…
The H-Town Countdown, No. 7: Fat Pat’s Ghetto Dreams
Roughly 84,000 rap albums have been released in Houston since 1989. We’re counting down the 25 best of all time every Thursday. Got a problem with the list? Shove it. Just kidding. Friendship. Email sheaserrano@gmail.com. Fat Pat Ghetto Dreams (Wreckshop Records, 1998) During the course of researching The Countdown, Fat…
Carnegie Vanguard May Finally (And Happily) Move To A New Home
Houston ISD Superintendent Terry Grier says he loves working with “prickly parents” because they care about their children and want what’s best for them.Perhaps that’s why he and the HISD administrative team are finally on the brink of landing a new home for Carnagie Vanguard High School — the school…
Smaller Than Life: The Lure and Lore of Amazonian Shrunken Heads
Shrunken heads of the Amazon might sound like the title of a ’50s B-movie set in the jungle, but the bizarre artifacts do indeed have a basis in reality. Anthropologist Dr. John Verano, who has examined actual heads (with gloves, no doubt), will talk about the tiny noggins in his…
Dr. Sketchy Life Drawing + Sexy Christmas Party
What could be better than a Dr. Sketchy Life Drawing session? With nearly nude models lounging around for your drawing pleasure and libations liberally flowing, it’s already a pretty good time. At the Dr. Sketchy Life Drawing + Sexy Christmas Party, the fun factor goes up a few notches with…
Rebecca Rather: Pastry Queen Parties: Entertaining Friends and Family, Texas Style
Tired of turkey? Yawning over yams? The Blue Willow Bookshop has the cookbook for you with Rebecca Rather’s Pastry Queen Parties: Entertaining Friends and Family, Texas Style. Rather, who will present and sign her book today, has created a party guide full of food with a Texas taste. Blue Willow…
The Formers
Suchu Dance is touting its show The Formers as “an original, highly creative theatrical production.” Given the cast, it seems Suchu is being modest. The 13 artists, five of whom are making their company debut, include Daniel Adame, Leo Mu–oz and Prudence Sun performing an evening of choreography by Suchu…
A Christmas Carol: Unscripted
The improv athletes of ComedySportz will put a slightly different spin on Dickens’s most famous tale with A Christmas Carol: Unscripted this season as they meld the basic plot and characters of Ebenezer Scrooge’s familiar story with ideas taken from the audience before show time. With no script, and nothing…
East End X-Mas
East End X-Mas is the Orange Show’s pre-hibernation celebration. “We close for three months every year, and so this is sort of our last hurrah,” says spokesman Stephen Bridges. “It’s the season-closing party.” But before setting the alarm clock for March, the local performance/art venue throws an enticing holiday celebration…
The Best of the New York International Children’s Film Festival
It’ll be years before you and the kids really share tastes in film, so an opportunity for mutual enjoyment like The Best of the New York International Children’s Film Festival is a rare pleasure. The animated shorts featured are the kind of children’s entertainment that adults can appreciate. The dozen…
Administaff Holiday Balloon
See Houston from 35 stories up in the air when you take a turn on the Administaff Holiday Balloon at Discovery Green. The 60-foot helium-filled balloon will take up to 17 passengers 350 feet in the air for a ten-minute ride. (Organizers promise no ozone will be harmed in the…
The Annual Christmas Boat Lane Parade on Clear Lake
Clear Lake has spent much of the year recovering from the flooding, pollution and structural devastation brought by Hurricane Ike. But there’s one event that Mother Nature couldn’t mess with: The Annual Christmas Boat Lane Parade on Clear Lake, which kicked off 48 years ago with just five boats. “After…
“Dead Landscape”
Los Angeles-based artist Jennifer Pastor will be on hand to discuss her latest exhibit, “Dead Landscape,” during today’s opening reception. Pastor juxtaposes materials from U.S. wars with drawings and photographs of civilian combat such as cage fights and boxing championship matches. “Dead Landscape” grew out of Pastor’s research with soldiers…
Messiah
Most of us consider ourselves enormously successful if, during the 24 days before Christmas, we manage to buy a couple gifts and not gain 20 pounds. Over a 24-day period in 1741, George Handel wrote his legendary Messiah, which documents, in song, the life of Christ. Today, the seasoned chamber…
Very Merry Pops
At first glance, it might seem like just another holiday concert: With Very Merry Pops, conductor Michael Krajewski and the singers of the Houston Symphony Chorus will join the brass, drums, strings and piano for rousing renditions of standards like “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” “Silent Night,” “Carol of the…
Libbie Masterson: “STILL”
Get a glimpse at West Texas in Libbie Masterson’s photo exhibit “STILL.” Masterson strays from her usual focus on ice scenes to capture black-and-white images of isolated Texas landscapes against the night sky. Masterson’s work in “STILL” is also different from her previous massive images in that these photographs vary…
Destination Unknown
There is something oddly familiar about Jason Reitman’s Up in the Air, in which George Clooney plays a commitment-phobic business traveler with no use for meaningful human interaction. Could have sworn we’ve been here before. When was it? And where? Oh, yes, of course: Joel and Ethan Coen’s Intolerable Cruelty,…
Classical Theatre Company’s Second Shepherd’s Play
Classical Theatre Company’s remounted reading of The Second Shepherd’s Play tells two stories. First, it chronicles the comedic adventures of Mak, a thief who steals a sheep from three shepherds. Then it follows the more serious tale of one of those shepherds, the second one in case you can’t guess,…
Henry Cho
You may know comedian Henry Cho from his frequent guest spots on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson or his comedy DVD What’s That Clickin’ Noise?. The Korean-American’s deep-fried Tennessee accent is guaranteed to elicit giggles as soon as he opens his mouth. “We were the only Asian people…
Volver
If you’ve forgotten your Spanish verbs since high school, the word “volver” means “to return.” In the 2006 Spanish film Volver, director Pedro Almodovar tells the story of a woman named Raimunda (a gorgeous Penélope Cruz) and her sisters. Though their parents were killed in a fire years before, Mama’s…
Rashômon
If you’ve ever heard a crime journalist refer to “The Rashômon Effect” but thought it had something to do with the aftereffects of bad sushi, today’s your lucky day. Named for the 1950 Japanese film in which the rape of a woman is recalled by several different witnesses – who…
December Artful Thursday: Starry Night – The Annual Ornament-Making Extravaganza
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston’s DIY-yuletide event December Artful Thursday: Starry Night – The Annual Ornament-Making Extravaganza puts a tasteful twist on tree trimming and gift giving. Sure, you could spring for a store-bought ornament that says, “I’m thinking of you during the holidays.” But how about one that…
A Twisted Holiday
When you get Gay Men’s Chorus of Houston Artistic Director Linus Lerner talking about the holiday show A Twisted Holiday, he can’t stop himself from laughing. “The show is based on the idea that we have to listen to holiday songs every year, so let’s…play around with them.” For example,…
Riff Trax Christmas
It’s every leftover Beavis and Butt-head fan’s dream: the former stars of Mystery Science Theater 3000, now with RiffTrax.com and Weird Al Yankovic, all together for a screening of holiday shorts. RiffTrax: Christmas Shorts-Stravaganza! is a live broadcast of the snarky foursome’s comical commentary on seasonal flicks, including a musical…
Living in Emergency: Stories of Doctors Without Borders LIVE
Newscaster Elizabeth Vargas hosts a one-night screening of Living in Emergency: Stories of Doctors Without Borders LIVE, a documentary that follows four physicians working in Congo and Liberia. Weighing the overwhelming medical needs of the people they serve against their own ability to function under violent, incendiary circumstances, the doctors…
Jay Rusovich: InsideOut
New Orleans-born photographer Jay Rusovich releases his new book InsideOut on December 15 at an opening reception of the art exhibit of the same name at Deborah Colton Gallery. The book is a collection of images, many of which are included in the exhibit. In Exorcism, we see a seminude…
Maniac Cop
The joke’s on someone in Werner Herzog’s awkwardly titled Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans. Possibly Abel Ferrara who, exploding in fury when he learned that the German conquistador was planning to remake his 1992 career movie, opined that Herzog and his accomplices (among them, an original Bad Lieutenant…
Talking Turkeys
Reviewing Language Appalled: I am only an occasional reader of the Houston Press, but every time I pick up a copy I rush to read the restaurant review first, usually written by Robb Walsh. Today I noticed the article “Mussel Mania” was written by Jason Kerr [November 28], a food…
SPECIAL VIRGIN OF GUADALUPE EDITION
Dear Mexican, As a Chicano/Mexican, I have lost my faith in God. While they take pride in their country like everyone else, and like to make frequent jokes, Mexicans are generally very humble (poor) people. Isn’t God supposed to be on the side of the poor and humble? Why is…
Wolf Like Me
Let’s go back to 1992. The location: Santa Clara University’s radio station KSCU. A 22-year-old man named Chris Manak, who, for some reason, calls himself Peanut Butter Wolf (he’s very coy when asked to explain the name’s origins) is explaining to the host how he began DJing: by getting a…
Abstract Impressionism
An abstract painting of a woman hangs in the downstairs section of the Red Room Lounge (2736 Virginia), currently River Oaks’s trendiest nightspot. This seems wildly appropriate. Abstractionism sounds like it should be really contemptuous and awful. Basically, somebody cobbles some shapes and colors together and names it something like…
R.I.P. La Strada
Political Animals Feces-Filled Mail BARC’s problems detailed in e-mail By Craig Malisow Internal e-mails among Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care’s new administrators and volunteers from September 20 to October 9 show a newly independent city agency plagued with miscommunication and continued animal negligence — the same problems BARC suffered…
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot
“I tell myself somethin’s comin’, but it never does”— Bob Dylan, “Lonesome Day Blues” It’s snowing outside as Noise writes this column. Why wouldn’t it be? Just another WTF moment in a year full of them. In an attempt to make some kind of sense out of the previous 12…
Greg Ashley
Standing in the shadow of Texas Psych legends like Roky Erickson and Mayo Thompson can be daunting. Standing shoulder to shoulder with them is damned impressive. That’s exactly what Lone Star expat Greg Ashley has managed to do over the course of a handful of releases and as many years…
Wild Moccasins
Wild Moccasins aren’t the sort of band to wait around for a CD release or tour kickoff. “Why can’t we just throw a really fun party?” says front man Cody Swann. The local popsters booked a show with scene-mates Giant Princess and Buxton (who have recently been in the studio…
CECIL’S STRAWBERRY KAMIKAZE
“You happy with those?” a twentysomething stranger says, aiming an inebriated finger at the two shots sitting on the bar in front of me at Cecil’s Tavern (600 W. Gray, 713-524-3691). The Strawberry Kamikazes, which were a lovely shade of rose, had come recommended by the bartender. “Sure,” I replied…
Nitzer Ebb
If there is any genre that truly melds the perfection of shoulder-to-shoulder dance-beat gyrations to the rapt worship of metal and rock, then it’s EBM, short for electronic body music. Saturday brings one of the most accomplished practitioners of that craft to town in Nitzer Ebb, who has been screaming…
George Jones
Even taken out of context, the lyrics to a half-dozen or so of George Jones’s best-known and best-loved songs form a context all their own, and continue to eclipse latter-day sad bastards such as Morrissey and Belle & Sebastian for sheer pathos: “She came to see him one last time…..
Space Invasion
There’s something selfishly exciting about checking out an installation at Lawndale and being the only patron in the building. That’s probably not what the organization wants to hear — I mean, the place should be buzzing. But with the current batch of artists showing there, it was a thrill to…
O’Brien’s Song
Even seated outside the Taft Street Coffeehouse on a peaceful, breezy North Montrose Tuesday, Tim O’Brien overflows with nervous energy, occasionally cut with a shot of pure cold fury. He waves his hands and jabs the air with accusatory fingers as he calls forth a tangled litany of complaints, some…
Capsule Art Reviews: “Cy Twombly: Treatise on the Veil”, “Hypnopomp: Britt Ragsdale”, “Lisa Orr: Epergnier”
“Cy Twombly: Treatise on the Veil” This rarely exhibited painting by Cy Twombly is accompanied by several works from the artist’s private collection that “document,” in a sense, the piece’s creation. Treatise on the Veil comes from Twombly’s “gray-ground” period (1966-1971) and very much resembles a huge chalkboard with a…
Creekside Burgers and Beer
“We have Divine Reserve number 9,” the bartender at Cedar Creek Cafe said when I asked which Saint Arnold’s beers he had on tap. I was shocked. It was December 1, the day that the latest Divine Reserve, as Saint Arnold’s limited edition beers are known, was released. At Spec’s…
Tender Mercies
Itasca native Sam Baker’s third album, Cotton, confirms his status as one of Texas’s finest song-poets. His songs contain dust, drought and hard work, and are deeply Texan yet entirely universal. Baker was severely injured in a Shining Path bomb blast onboard a Peruvian train in 1986. Houston Press: Many…
Yao Restaurant and Bar
Michael Bai is the general manager of the new Yao Restaurant and Bar (1201 Fannin, 713-739-9267), which recently opened in The Houston Pavilions. He is originally from Taiwan and has known the Ming family since working for them at the other Yao’s on the west side of town. “This is…
Capsule Stage Reviews: A Christmas Carol, The Nutcracker, Margo Veil: An Entertainment, Life Is Happy and Sad
A Christmas Carol Since 1988, the Alley Theatre has gently reminded Houstonians of the true meaning of Christmas with a lovely rendition of Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol. This year’s dark and moving production, adapted and originally put together years ago by Michael Wilson, stars Jeffrey Bean as the meanest…
Vanishing Act
The fried avocado ($5.75) at Haute Texan Tacos (2306 Brazos, 832-866-8052) is a fascinating dish, especially since you get to watch as the chef prepares it in front of you. He starts out with a fresh avocado, scooping out half and topping it with a magic filling of ground beef,…
All’s Well That Ends Well
Aside from Morgan Freeman, who makes a fabulous Nelson Mandela, there’s this to savor about Invictus, a rosy tale of racial reconciliation neatly wrapped in a triumphalist sports movie: The film is blessedly free of Obama parallels. Also, we could use a happy global moment, and Eastwood picks one out…
Standing O
The most significant American artist before Andy Warhol to take “the media” as his medium, Orson Welles lives on not only in posthumously restored director’s cuts of his re-released movies but as a character in other people’s novels, plays, and movies — notably Richard Linklater’s deft, affectionate and unexpectedly enjoyable…
