Taxi Owner Goes Undercover, Files Papers Against Lyft and Uber
Citations seem to be part of doing business, and breaking into a new market, for the app-based ride-sharing companies Uber and Lyft. They’re finding out that elbowing their way into Houston’s livery space for the past month doesn’t come cheap. (Remember, Lyft is the one with the pink mustache on…
Fantasy Crime League: Greg Reid Commits First NFL Crime Before Playing First NFL Game
For about five weeks, the crime faucet in the NFL was practically dry, a slow drip at best. Then all of a sudden, about two weeks ago, Jim Irsay got popped for felony possession of pain killers. And since then, to quote WWE Hall of Fame television announcer Jim Ross,…
Podcast: Scarlett Johansson Impresses in Under the Skin and Captain America: The Winter Soldier
On this week’s Voice Film Club podcast, it’s all about Scarlett Johansson, who has two movies coming out this week at opposite ends of the commercial spectrum: Jonathan Glazer’s Under the Skin and Anthony and Joe Russo’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier…
Reality Bites: RuPaul’s Drag Race
There are a million reality shows on the naked television. We’re going to watch them all, one at a time. My experience with drag queens is pretty much limited to The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and the odd fundraiser at Rich’s (RIP), so maybe I’m missing some…
Astros and Yankees Opening Day (Photos)
Yesterday was the beginning of another baseball season. For lovers of the game, there are two words that jumpstart the heart and clean the slate for another long, hopefully successful year: Opening Day…
We’ve Got Your Final Menu of Menus® Lineup Right Here
Wow, what a week it’s been for Menu of Menus®. Fifteen new restaurants signed up to join us on April 8 (that’s next Tuesday) from 7 to 10 p.m. at Silver Street Station for food, drinks and the epic Iron Fork competition. BB’s Cafe will be on hand, no doubt…
Wrestlemania 30: Rookie Footage of the Major Participants (Video)
With a sublime combination of cuisine, bars, and a complete lack of curfew, decorum, or rules (not to mention a massive domed stadium within walking distance of all the debauchery), New Orleans is the best city in the country at doing big events. It was a little over a year…
Merle Haggard at Stafford Centre, 4/1/2014
Merle Haggard Stafford Centre April 1, 2014 Bet you 20 bucks that Keith Richards really digs Merle Haggard. He is one cool cat. The Hag doesn’t say much onstage at first, and barely moves apart from gesturing to one band member or another when it’s time for a solo. His…
This Week in Food Blogs: Do You Want to Dine Next to a Stranger?
Texas Monthly: This month, Texas Monthly shines the light on Coltivare, the new restaurant from Ryan Pera and Morgan Weber of Revival Market. Patricia Sharpe writes about the delightful focaccia bread, describing it as “a miracle of springy texture and crunchy crust, luxuriantly brushed with Spanish olive oil and flecked…
Jason Mott’s Debut Novel The Returned Has Some “No-answer Questions”
What would you do if your dead loved ones came back to life? Just walked up to the front door and said, “Hey, I’m back.” Author Jason Mott explores that idea in his debut novel The Returned. Along with earning Mott legions of readers, the book has inspired the ABC…
Rockets Battle Injuries, Portland for Home Court Advantage in Playoffs
Fortunes change quickly in the NBA. A 20-point lead, something rarely overcome in the low-scoring ’90s, is now about four minutes of good shooting and defense away from a deficit. The same can be said of the standings. Even the shortest of losing streaks can take a team from home…
Das Rheingold Offers Wagner’s Genius Without Intermission
He’s a god, in fact the ruler of the gods, but he’s only got one eye (he gave the other one up to gain wisdom in a trade that occurred before this opera starts). In Das Rheingold, he’s a rash young man, still far from what Scottish bass-baritone Iain Paterson…
Special Discount on General Admission Tickets to Menu of Menus® Extravaganza
The Houston Press Menu of Menus Extravaganza is going to be here before you know it. Seriously, it’s less than a week away! In case you forgot, Menu of Menus is on Tuesday, April 8, from 7 p.m. until 10 p.m. at Silver Street Station. If you haven’t purchased your…
Breastfeeding Mom Has Beer, Gets Arrested. Seriously?
As a new mother, I can attest that spending nine months pregnant had its challenges. Some women absolutely love it and some don’t. I fell more on the “don’t” side of the spectrum. I missed turkey sandwiches and jogging and clothing that fit and wine. I mostly missed wine. I…
Putting Lives Back Together at Beacon Day Shelter
There is a shelter smack dab in the middle of downtown Houston where those who are homeless are welcome to go. There are no beds, and no overnight hours. This place, decorated with a scattered array of cafeteria tables and not much more, is known as The Beacon. This is…
Up Your Bloody Mary Game With Mixes From Austin’s Bloody Revolution
A few weeks ago, we were hand-delivered a curious package here at the Houston Press office. It was a big wooden crate with sturdy rope handles, and it was packed full of five large glass bottles of bloody mary mix. Our administrative assistant immediately went wild over the wooden crate,…
100 Creatives 2014: Andy Gonzales, an Abstract Cubist on a Mission From God
What He Does: There are many ways to spread the word of God, but Andy Gonzales has chosen art. Specifically, he has started a series called AGGA, which stands for Andy Gonzalez God’s Artist. The art project is 242 abstract oil paintings divided into 21 parts all with biblical inspiration,…
Yankees Fans in Houston for Opening Day (Photos)
Yesterday was Opening Day, and Minute Maid Park seemed like it was filled with a 50-50 split of Yankees fans and Astros fans. And with this opener being Derek Jeter’s goodbye kiss to baseball, some fans came from as far as New York, according to reports. Our photographer Marco Torres…
Six Cool Things With Cross-Cultural Appeal That You Can Find at Fiesta Mart
Fiesta Mart is an amalgam of Houston culture, offering foods for most of the ethnic people you find in the city. It’s also the grocery store for those living in and around rapidly gentrifying neighborhoods, and a place designed to meet the needs of modern Houstonians, or so we’d like…
UPDATE: Where to Eat on Easter Day (2014)
Some of you may be wondering, “When is Easter?” And I bet those of you who gave something up for Lent know exactly when Easter is (you’ve been counting down the days). Well, this special holiday is Sunday, April 20, and the best way to celebrate any weekend holiday is…
A Guide to Arguing With a Snopes-Denier
It happens all the time online. You see a piece of misinformation in your Facebook newsfeeds, and helpfully point out that no, Snopes has already debunked it as a myth, hoax, lie or misinterpretation of actual facts. Everyone walks away better informed, right? “Snopes lol. Don’t you have a real…
Justin Melkmann’s Punk-Rock Comics: Life Irritates Art
This is a story about the sometimes roundabout ways we encounter new music. It’s also about expectations: why we make them and how we adapt, often for the better, when they aren’t fully realized. I’ll start there. TMI alert: I like to read in the restroom. I planned to spend…
Be Kind, Rewind: The Bedroom Brilliance of Radiator Hospital
At 22 years old, Radiator Hospital auteur Sam Cook-Parrott was just a baby during the early ’90s, when the DIY ethic worked its way into rock music for good. He definitely carries on that modus operandi in Radiator Hospital, more often than not his one-man band. While other bands often…
The Five Most Difficult Song Lyrics to Understand
Most bands want their vocals to sound crisp and clear for maximum singalong purposes. How the hell are you going to lead a stadium of people to sing your lyrics at you if they don’t know what you’re saying? But there are exceptions, and it probably shouldn’t come as a…
The 25 Best Songs We Heard Last Month
Augustines, “Kid You’re On Your Own” The Brooklyn trio’s whole album Augustines is fantastic, like War-era U2 with bonus folk inflections. I can tell it’s going to be one where I have a different favorite track every couple of weeks; right now it’s “Kid You’re On Your Own.” JOHN SEABORN…
Texodus 2014 Continues as Texans Release Safety Danieal Manning
Three years ago, on the heels of a 2010 season where their defense was historically awful, especially against the pass, the Texans set out to give that side of the ball a complete facelift in the draft and free agency. The signature of the 2011 draft was a haul that…
Caracol: Go for the Oysters, Stay for Delicious Drinks and Desserts
For last week’s cafe review I visited Caracol, the new Mexican seafood restaurant from Hugo Ortega and Tracy Vaught, and noted that while there are some truly stellar plates on the menu, the sheer number of items being prepared in the kitchen is perhaps resulting in some dishes being less…
The Walking Dead Season Four Finale: We Have Met the Zombies and They Are Us
So apparently a lot of people watched the season finale of The Walking Dead last Sunday: AMC’s wildly popular zombie thriller’s episode Sunday night was the most-watched finale in the show’s history, bringing in 15.7 million viewers and 10.2 million adults ages 18-49, the network announced today. […] “The Walking…
Dinner Delicacies at the New Local Foods
When Local Foods opened its first location, I worried about its proximity to my gym. It continues to be difficult not to give in to the temptation to reward myself with a truffle egg salad sandwich and seven-layer bar every time I have a good workout. With the launch of…
Fantasy Crime League: Bengals Get On The Board! (It Was Just a Matter of Time)
Every team is susceptible to a lull in their season, and sometimes that lull comes at the beginning. Slow starts happen. For some teams, they are a harbinger of things to come. The slow start isn’t so much a lull as it is just a fraction of a bigger pile…
In the Blood: Amaury Nolasco Gets His Ass Kicked by a Girl (MMA Champ Gina Carano)
There are few things more embarrassing for an evil, tough-guy villain than getting his ass kicked by a girl. In John Stockwell’s latest release, In the Blood, Amaury Nolasco’s character Silvio – a slimy, slightly psychopathic crime boss – gets his ass kicked by a girl a lot. MMA star…
Longtime Booker Mike Sims Leaving Rudyard’s
Rudyard’s British Pub is one of those local watering holes that just never seems to change. But change is in store for the venerable “living room of Montrose,” with longtime talent booker and manager Mike Sims moving on to Seattle. Sims’ last day will be April 15. This Sunday, he…
When Dead Big Foot Came to Houston and Five Other Hoaxes
So, if you paid cash to see An Evening With Big Foot when the tour stopped in Katy last month you maybe left a firm believer that the body supposed to be Bigs was real (after pounding several beers) or you took it all in fun. Self-proclaimed Big Foot master…
UPDATED: We’re Giving Away Two More VIP Tickets to Menu of Menus® and Iron Fork
Menu of Menus is a mere week away, and if you haven’t gotten your tickets yet, you either need to get on it ASAP before they sell out, or answer these trivia questions correctly and win two VIP tickets! VIP tickets now cost $90, and general admission tickets are $50…
The United States of Desserts: Shoofly Pie
In this series, we examine the history and origins of famous sweets, confections and desserts associated with American states. I can’t write about the pie without hearing the song in my head. Shoo, fly, don’t bother me, Shoo, fly, don’t bother me, Shoo, fly, don’t bother me, For I belong…
When Brilliant Met Divine: A Healthy Conversation with Bette Midler
She sings. She dances. She acts. She jokes. She cleans up decrepit, crumbling urban properties. She wins awards for all those things. And she also, simply, talks. In a bit of a departure from her standard high-production fare, on April 29, Bette Midler, the aptly monikered Divine Miss M, addresses…
Ted Cruz Goes Obamacare Trolling and Fails
As we rolled up to the fourth anniversary of the Affordable Care Act being signed into law, Sen. Ted Cruz couldn’t help but take a shot at the program — which has had plenty of administrative problems since it was kicked off last fall. (function(d, s, id) { var js,…
The Rocks Off 200: Mister Insane, Host of The Insane Show
Welcome to The Rocks Off 200, our portrait gallery of the most compelling profiles and personalities in the far-flung Houston music community — a lot more than just musicians, but of course they’re in there too. See previous entries in the Rocks Off 100 at this link. Would you watch…
Chamak Chocolates Takes Edible Art to a New Level
It’s rare that I describe something as “too pretty to eat,” and I have to admit, when I do, I’m usually exaggerating, especially if I’m talking about anything sweet. My hunger for chocolate, candy, and baked goods is so rapacious, I really can’t be satisfied with merely admiring a dessert…
Pop Rocks: 5 Reasons It Isn’t Weird to Watch a Movie Many Times
Sometimes I’m convinced my wife thinks I’m nuts. She cannot figure out why I watch movies repeatedly. She has a few chestnuts she enjoys and will watch on occasion, but I’m not sure she’ll ever understand why when certain movies happen to be on TV, I feel almost compelled to…
Reality Check: Calling the Side of the Freeway Home
Way out in the west Houston suburbs, there is a tent sitting on the banks of the freeway. It is obviously someone’s home, and has been for a while. It is surrounded by milk crates and bags of clothing, and I always find myself surprised at how neatly everything is…
Bayou City Concert Musicals Delivers A Little Sondheim Music in Fine Form for Sylvia Froman
What other venue but Bayou City Concert Musicals could turn an award presentation into a sparkling revue? Last Saturday night, March 29, BCCM transformed Cullen Hall at the University of St. Thomas into the swankiest of venues for an evening’s entertainment of Sondheim songs, all in honor of the company…
The Strange Case of Space History Theft Ends with an Austin Auction
If you’ve always dreamed of owning a swathe of the Apollo 13 couch, a piece of an Apollo spacecraft heatshield, an Apollo patch autographed by the crew or some other little bit of material that has been to outer space and back again through the space program, you might still…
Your Guide to Spring Produce in Houston
Although the weather has been hot and cold during the past several weeks (I think it listens to Katy Perry wayyy too much), the spring season has arrived. And with it comes an array of new fruits, vegetables and herbs for you to cook with and eat. Say goodbye to…
We Know Texas Has the Best State Flag, But this List Says Otherwise
Our state’s flag is bigger and bolder than most. If you ask any Texan they’ll agree the Lone Star state’s colors represent thoroughly for who we are in America. There aren’t many states that can claim that, and you know it doesn’t even matter that some South Americans mistake our…
5 Ways Veil Kicks Rape Culture Right in the Crotch
I picked up Greg Rucka’s debut book for his new comic series Veil for my monthly comic round-up, and having read through it about six times now I am convinced that it is the greatest antidote to rape culture I’ve ever seen in a comic in addition to just being…
Hunt-Your-Own-Dinner Restaurant Coming to Houston
The big news of the day comes from Hunter-Gatherer, a new restaurant imported directly from restaurateur Nigel Mycroft and his partner, Samuel Mburu, of Kenya. The duo have been running a restaurant called, simply, Safari just outside of Nairobi since 2008, and they’ve recently decided to expand to the United…
Why the New Wu-Tang Clan Album Should Not Happen
As of late, Wu-Tang Clan leader RZA has been acting with a single-minded purpose: making a new Wu-Tang album happen, against all odds. He’s already titled it A Better Tomorrow and dropped a couple of singles to promote the album; even as projected release dates have come and gone, he’s…
Buck Owens: The Country Cad Who Couldn’t Quite Escape Hee Haw
Buck ‘Em! The Autobiography of Buck Owens By Buck Owens with Randy Poe Backbeat Books, 360 pp., $29.99 Music legend says that bluesman Robert Johnson made his deal with the Devil at the Crossroads. If that’s the case, then country legend Buck Owens must have booked his date with Ol’…
Upcoming: Fleetwood Mac, Lucinda Williams, Too $hort, Peter Murphy, Skid Row, Swans, etc.
Acid Mothers Temple: With Perhaps, Pink Mountaintops. Thu., May 1, 8 p.m., $10 to $14. Fitzgerald’s, 2706 White Oak, Houston, 713-862-3838. Al Staehely: Tue., April 8, 7 p.m., $20 to $22. McGonigel’s Mucky Duck, 2425 Norfolk, Houston, 713-528-5999. Android Genius: With X!Lo, Broken Satellite, Bizzy Vicious. Thu., April 17, 8…
10 Songs We’d Like to Hear at Astros Games This Season
Last year’s Houston Astros were beyond bad, the second-worst season ever by a franchise n Major League Baseball’s recorded history. That should give you this blog’s frame of reference, which will be long on hope and short on snark. If you want to read a bunch of shitty comments about…
Pregnant Murder Victim’s Family Makes a Plea for Help
The family of a murdered pregnant mom carried a huge portrait of her through the Houston Police Department earlier today. The blown-up photo, encased in a tall frame, was part of their tearful plea for help in finding the woman’s alleged killer who police say is still at large. Maria…
Vehicle Fire Effing Up 59 South
An accident that caused a vehicle is jamming up 59 South at Chimney Rock, according to Houston TranStar. The vehicle on fire is an 18-wheeler, KTRK reports, adding that “all lanes are closed at Chimney Rock, as firefighters are on the scene of the truck fire.”…
Seven Crazy Ways Houstonians May Be Trying to Lose Weight
I know I am not the only woman who has her favorite jeans from years ago hiding in the back of the closet. No, I’m not a hoarder but that’s my motivation. One day I am determined to fit into those jeans again. “There are no shortcuts,” said trainer and…
Ramen Documentary to Premiere in Houston
If you’re tired of hearing about ramen, stop reading right now. The craze isn’t dying down anytime soon. In fact, many think that, at least here in Houston, it’s just getting started, and we’re about to go even more gaga over the Japanese soup, thanks to Carl Rosa, founder and…
Tucson Riot Police Spray Bro With Pellets, Use Excessive Violence on Coed
Man, what a weekend of college basketball, huh?! It had a little bit of everything. The good — anything having to do with the Kentucky-Michigan game, the emergence of Julius Randle as a viable number one pick in the NBA Draft, the emergence of Shabazz Napier as a sneaky back…
Cupcake Campaign: California’s Sweet Arleen’s Takes Aim at Houston
Fans of the Food Network show Cupcake Wars have probably heard the name Arleen Scavone or been told about her namesake bakery, Sweet Arleen’s, a few times. This three-peat Cupcake Wars winner (she won twice and her baking assistant won once) began her baking business in the sunny state of…
FrenetiCore’s WIRED Is a Happy Mix of Performance, Humor, Strength and Technology
We’ve got a couple of disclosures about FrenetiCore and WIRED. First, since Houston Press contributor Adam Castanada, who writes about dance for us, is a member of the FrenetiCore dance company, a usually non-reviewing member of the HP editorial staff (that would be me) steps into the role of reviewer…
J-Dawg and Propain at Warehouse Live, 3/30/2014
J-Dawg, Propain Warehouse Live March 30, 2014 Dallas can be a nice place to visit sometimes, especially in the springtime. The air is a little fresher up north, and the allergens a little less intense. After a few days spent relaxing and grilling outdoors with a few friends and family…
Ultra 2014’s Top 10 Fashion Trends: Unicorns, Muscles and More!
Our girl’s the one on the left.If you think rave culture is about the music or drugs, you’re so very wrong. Above all, it’s about the look. And at a rave: the freakier, the finer. Year after year, fans of EDM and friends of Molly help the culture evolve with…
Deplorable Oklahoma City Thunder Fans Tweet About Patrick Beverley and “Karma”
Photo by Artem KorzhimanovBeverly had better days playing in Russia.There aren’t a whole lot of things that are off limits for sports fans. Buying a ticket allows you to engage in every form of jackassery that doesn’t harm somebody else. Social media allows you to directly interact with not only…
Kraftwerk at Riviera Theatre, Chicago, 3/27/2014
Kraftwerk Riviera Theatre, Chicago, IL March 27, 2014 Ja, ja, ja, mach schnell mit der art things, huh? I must get back to Dancecentrum in Stuttgart in time to see Kraftwerk. Baron von Wortzenberger (that quote’s from a Simpsons episode, in case you didn’t know) had it easy. For us…
Dish of the Week: The Cuban Sandwich
From classic comfort foods to regional standouts and desserts, we’ll be sharing a new recipe with you each week. See the complete list of recipes at the end of this post. When it come to classic sandwiches, the pressed Cuban sandwich is easily one of the best. Made with roast…
How To: Pavlova for Easter
Each Easter, I search for a beautiful spring dessert that’s light, fruity and, most important, beautiful just like the season and the holiday. While clicking through various dessert slideshows on Food Network, Bon Appétit and Southern Living’s websites, I saw that there was one thing they all had in common…
Welcome to the New Normal: Where Houston Sports Fans Can’t Actually See Teams Play
The Houston Astros host the New York Yankees tomorrow night. It’s Opening Day, the team’s second as a member of the American League. The game will be aired on CSN Houston for anybody unwilling to pay the exorbitant prices brought on by the Astros’ dynamic pricing model. That means that…
Lucia di Lammermoor: Complete With a Glorious Mad Scene & Stunning Coloratura
The set-up: The heavens opened up Friday night during Opera in the Heights’ galloping performance of Gaetano Donizetti’s operatic masterpiece Lucia di Lammermoor (1835), appropriate for this Gothic romance full of ghosts, family dysfunction, vengeance, and omens foretelling disaster. But there was already lightning on stage. Full of dazzling radiance,…
Fantasy Crime League Update: Chris Culliver Gets the 49ers on the Board in a Big Way!
If you’re outside the city of San Francisco, and you know the name of San Francisco 49er defensive back Chris Culliver, it’s probably for one thing. Back during Media Day, prior to Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans, Culliver did an impromptu interview with comedian Artie Lange where they discussed…
Doctor Who: 5 Reasons We Really Don’t Want a Prequel on Gallifrey
Recently, 3 Stags, the same group that made the news by sending a replica of the Tardis into low orbit, attempted to put together a series that would deal with the lives of The Doctor and The Master before either left Gallifrey. With no backing from the BBC, but apparently…
Satellite D’Homme and Roky Moon & BOLT! at Fitzgerald’s, 3/29/2014
Satellite D’Homme, Roky Moon & BOLT! Fitzgerald’s March 29, 2014 I’ve been in a few bands in my life. Not many — actually, at this point in my life I’ve probably spent more minutes looking at the Internet than I have playing music. Which is sad. But not really, because…
Soter Winery and Akaushi: A Tasty Pairing
Eclipsed by the street construction taking place on the stretch of Westheimer Road directly in front of it, 60 Degrees Mastercrafted, the restaurant by master chef Fritz Gitschner, opened this past November to little fanfare. Since then, however, the roads have cleared, and a new patio has been finished just…
Cold Sassy Tree Brings Carlisle Floyd Back to UH
Fourteen years ago, famed composer and librettist Carlisle Floyd premiered his then-latest opera Cold Sassy Tree at the Houston Grand Opera. This week, it is returning to Houston, this time at the University of Houston’s Moores Opera Center. All that Director Buck Ross needed, as it turns out, “was a…
Chips and Salsa That Are Worth Their Salt
Storebought tortilla chips and salsa aren’t as good as Tex-Mex restaurants’, but these come close.
AG’s Action on Diploma Mill May Just Be the Beginning
Last week, Attorney General Greg Abbott announced that the assets of Houston-based Lincoln Academy and its affiliate, Brownstone Academy, would be frozen and a restraining order was issued to prevent them from doing business. Both claimed to be accredited by the National Home School Accreditation of America. The only problem…
Why Elsa Not Having a Prince in Frozen Is Actually a Problem
Like every other parent in the country, I’ve spent the last week watching Frozen on endless repeat thanks to the DVD release. It’s OK, really, I like the film a lot, and there are worse things my daughter has forced into my head over and over again. However, something has…
Bloody Good: Where to Partake of Palatable Plasma
When I order steak at restaurants, I tend to make tired jokes about how rare I like it. “I want my meat black and blue,” I’ll say. “Bring it to me still bleeding.” Though I don’t literally want my steak bleeding onto my plate, there are some instances where a…
Five Things We’re Hoping Will Be in Mattress Mac’s Biggest Store Ever
Photo by WhisperToMeMattress Mac, the king of the furniture hustle.It’s been a long time since Mattress Mac first started Gallery Furniture, starting off with $5,000 and making deliveries with his own truck. The slogan hasn’t changed, but a lot of other things have. The main Gallery Furniture store is a…
Deltron 3030 at House of Blues, 3/28/2014
Deltron 3030, Kid Koala House of Blues March 28, 2014 “We’re Deltron 3030 and we’re back after a 13-year hiatus” quipped Dan the Automator at the start of Friday evening’s performance. With the help of his fellow Deltrons — rapper Del the Funky Homosapien and turntablist Kid Koala — even…
Ultra Music Fest’s 25 Best Bass Faces
Note: God bless them, our friends at Miami New Times music blog Crossfade braved the EDM-infested waters of the Ultra Music Festival this past weekend. Follow their entire exploits over here, but we thought we’d give you a little taste. This article was written by Kat Bein. All photos by…
Mixtape Monday: Kirko Bangz’s Progression IV, etc.
Kirko Bangz, Progression IV A Kirko Bangz mixtape released in the tail end of March exists only to serve two real purposes. One is to keep your little sister at bay while Bangz’s Bigger Than Me project continues to be tightened up until its scheduled June release; second, to toss…
The Five Best Concerts In Houston This Week: Debonair Lounge, Merle Haggard, etc.
Debonair Lounge Cafe 4212, March 31 Since approximately Labor Day 2013, the only way to get each week off on a good foot has been at this Museum District oasis of cool. Debonair Lounge has already welcomed a who’s who of Houston’s hottest young hip-hop and R&B performers — this…
The Color Purple Showcases Jennifer Holliday
The setup: The 1985 film version of Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Color Purple was a huge hit, was nominated for 11 Academy awards, and was the best-grossing PC-13 film of that year. A musical version opened on Broadway in 2005, garnering 11 Tony Award nominations, winning the award…
Galveston Oil Spill Has Put Texas Oysters and Seafood Off the Menu
The Galveston oil spill was bad enough when it was leaving oiled birds and all kinds of environmental and economic damage in its wake. Now it’s even hitting the Texas seafood. The Texas Department of State Health Services issued an advisory on eating shellfish and other seafood from Galveston Bay…
Men Who Allegedly Held More Than 100 Locked in Houston Home Went Before Judge This Week
When Houston police pulled over a red Mustang last week they found a couple of guns and a number of papers that HPD spokesperson John Cannon said showed some illegal activity. Soon after police, who were investigating a possible hostage-taking, made the decision to enter a residence on Alameda Schoo…
HPD Shares Tale of Scams and Wal-Mart Debit Cards
If you ever needed another reason to hate Wal-Mart, Alice Lee’s got one for you. She was almost a victim Tuesday night of the Green Dot Moneypack scam. But we’ll get to that in a minute. Lee was a special guest during the Houston Police Department’s news conference today on…
Affordable College Textbook Act Would Help Students, But Publishers Aren’t Hearing It
Carla Medrano, University of Houston broadcast journalism major, just paid $220 for a new TV Production textbook, no small amount just for one class. Every year students have to worry about how they will pay for their college textbooks. Some students receive scholarships and other financial assistance, while others are…
Texas Wineries Bring Home Gold in Dallas Competition
The organizers of the Dallas Morning News-TexSom Wine Competition announced this week the winners of the highly regarded annual event, now in its 30th year…
Check out Citizens for Animal Protection and North Shore Animal League’s Adoption Drive
The North Shore Animal League’s cross-country tour promoting shelter adoptions hits Houston March 29 for an event showcasing furry friends available at Citizens for Animal Protection. Adoption fees will be waived, plus there’s also a bake sale, a silent auction, and a half-off clothes sale at CAP’s store. (We’re pretty…
NFL Fantasy Crime League Update: Baltimore RB Ray Rice Indicted
Atlantic City casino. Video footage of an NFL running back dragging an unconscious girlfriend from an elevator. Rumors of a violent scene between the two. Indeed, in this 2014 offseason’s NFL Fantasy Crime League, the first crime of the season, Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice’s assault on his fiancee,…
Time Stands Still Shows Us a Postwar Mid-life Crisis
The setup: Playwright Donald Margulies was awarded the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play Dinner with Friends, which garnered a host of other awards and nominations as well. His latest offering, Time Stands Still, which opened in Manhattan in 2010, received highly favorable reviews and a Tony nomination…
100 Favorite Dishes 2013-2014: No. 3, Hamachi Nabe at Uchi
This year, leading up to our annual Menu of Menus® issue, Kaitlin Steinberg counts down her 100 favorite dishes as she eats her way through Houston. She’ll compile a collection of the dishes she thinks are the most awesome, most creative and, of course, most delicious in town. It’s a…
Some Things to Consider as Zipcar Expands in Houston
Hey, need a ride-share? The City of Houston has used Zipcar’s technology of electronically loaning and reserving cars for a little more than year. A total of 13 city departments use this technology which promotes clean air and has city employees whipping around in electric and hybrid vehicles. How sporty…
Do We Really Need a Darker, Grittier Ninja Turtles Movie?
Growing up, it was easy to love the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. They loved pizza. I loved pizza. They knew the martial arts. I half-assed my way through karate classes. They fought some dude named Shredder. I was scared of sharp things. It was like someone made a cartoon just…
How Green Was My Cookie! Healthy Baked Goods From Green Plate Foods
While I certainly consumed a lot of emerald-colored food and drink in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day, most of what I ate and drank wasn’t “green” in the sense of healthful. Nothing like, that is to say, the offerings at Green Plate Foods, which reached out to me a few…
Reviews For The Easily Distracted: Cheap Thrills
Title: Cheap Thrills Doesn’t Noah Open Today? Not screened for media. Make of that what you will. Rating Using Random Objects Relevant To The Film: Three Agent Orange albums out of five. Brief Plot Synopsis: Down on his luck dad abases himself and others for fun and profit. Mostly profit…
Filling the Gaps: Taqueria La Macro
I’ve lived in Houston for 22 years. It took me 16 of those to visit the Rothko Chapel for the first time. I didn’t eat at Ninfa’s on Navigation until I’d counted myself a Houstonian for nearly a decade. I still haven’t eaten at Frenchy’s. The list of glaring omissions…
What’s in Fashion: Joan Rivers Goes Too Far, DVF Gets A TV Show, Kim and Kanye Cover Kills ‘Vogue’?
Lots of breaking fashion news hits the interwebs and I don’t want you to miss one bit of it. So, I present some of the biggest headlines each week for your reading pleasure. Click and enjoy!…
How I Met Your Mother Comes Full Circle After Nine Seasons
Imagine what Penny and Luke have endured as their rambling father, How I Met Your Mother’s protagonist Ted Mosby, held them captive for nine seasons of the titular story. If their experience was anything like mine, it was tedious and delightful and aggravating and heartwarming and all those other things…
The 5 Best Things to Eat/Drink This Weekend: Cheese, Australian Wine & Saint Arnold Beer
Le Sagre Series: “I Formaggi Freschi” @ Italian Cultural Community Center Friday, 7-10 p.m. 1101 Milford Learn about Italian food and cheese tonight at the first Italian Sagra, a cheese festival, hosted by the Italian Cultural Community Center. Enjoy a small-bites buffet and wine pairings with a multitude of cheeses…
Five Things That Are Weird and Surreal About Rodeo Houston
In the decades since it started, our annual rodeo has rolled along and become, quite frankly, a rather weird amalgamation of our country past, our cosmopolitan present, all things Texas with some solid love for giant American flags and shout-outs to the armed forces. The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo…
Johnny Manziel Redefines The NFL Pro Day
Aside from a wrinkle here and a wrinkle there, NFL Pro Days for quarterbacks are by and large the same thing — a bunch of scripted plays thrown to familiar receivers against cones and air, with the quarterback wearing gym shorts and t-shirts. Ultimately, even on a subpar Pro Day,…
Upcoming Events: Menu of Menus Extravaganza & A Spring Onion Festival
In case you didn’t know, Menu of Menus Extravaganza is on Tuesday, April 8, at Silver Street Station (fully air conditioned this year!) from 7 p.m. until 10 p.m. Hopefully you have already purchased your tickets to the biggest culinary event hosted by the Houston Press, but if you haven’t,…
100 Creatives 2014: Chris Foreman, Comic Book Sketcher
What He Does: If you’ve spent anytime around the Houston comic scene then you’ve seen the work of Chris Foreman. He’s literally everywhere. For nearly five years he’s been drawing sketch cards for the likes of Marvel Comics, DC Comics, The Walking Dead, Lucasfilm, and dozens more. He can bring…
Lesser Prairie Chicken Listed as ‘Threatened’, Cornyn’s Not Thrilled
Why did the lesser prairie chicken cross the road? To get the hell out of Texas where a whole lot of people are not thrilled with the fact that the chicken, a Texas native, has been taken under the protective wing of the federal government and placed on the threatened…
The Top 5 Things to Do in Houston This Weekend: WIRED, Lucia de Lammermoor, Films by Peter Lucas and Much More
Our pick for Friday is FrenetiCore Dance Company’s WIRED. Choreographer Rebecca French creates lots of things for the dance company. She creates movements, sounds, video, costumes and sets. And for WIRED, she also created terminology. Promotional materials tout the program as an evening of “Streaming bodies. Athletic intelligence. A visual…
Elvis’s Stuff Rolls Through Houston
John Lennon famously said, “Before Elvis, there was nothing.” But after Elvis, innumerable objects owned by or otherwise connected to the late King of Rock and Roll — who recorded his debut single, “That’s All Right,” 60 years ago this July — have come to rest at his Memphis mansion…
Openings & Closings: Midtown Gets A Food Truck Park
In not-so-shocking news, another Washington Avenue bar bites the dust. The Houston Chronicle reports that Blue Moose Lodge at 5306 Washington shut its doors on Thursday, March 20. The sports bar posted the closing announcement on Facebook; Blue Moose Lodge had been in business for three-and-a-half years. But in good…
Metallica’s 10 Best Cover Songs
Recently Metallica announced they would be contributing to the new Ronnie James Dio tribute album, This is Your Life, and the results, “Ronnie Rising,” are now streaming online. Given most people’s personal dissatisfaction with Metallica’s sound over the years, it comes as a little bit of a surprise that this…
Texas Hookah Lounge: Not Just Blowin’ Smoke
“Whoooooo…are…youuuuuu?” Smoke billows from our mouths as we draw out the syllables of each word, then dances above our heads in a mesmerizing manner. We have just taken a drag from the hookah pipe sitting in front of us and are attempting to create clouds of smoke-letters in the air…
10 Walking Raver Cliches at Miami’s Ultra Music Festival
Note: God bless them, our friends at Miami New Times music blog Crossfade will be braving the EDM-infested waters of the Ultra Music Festival this weekend. Stay tuned here for updates, and follow Crossfade on Twitter at @Crossfade_SFL. Photo by George MartinezRavers are like snowflakes, right? Wrong. It’s actually not…
Houston’s Best Weekend Shows: SCOTS, Deltron 3030, Roky Moon, Queensryche, etc.
Southern Culture on the Skids Continental Club, March 28 & 29 Taking a 30th-anniversary victory lap this year, Southern Culture on the Skids has parlayed their image as overalled, chicken-flingin’ hillbillies into a virtual empire of lowbrow kitsch and randy “toe-suckin’ geek rock.” On the Chapel Hill, N.C. trio’s Web…
Bloody Floody:
To hear Darren Aronofsky tell it, in the interviews he’s given recently to The New York Times Magazine and The New Yorker, there was no way in hell he’d let his special-effects extravaganza Noah, years in the planning, be your run-of-the-mill, candy-ass Biblical epic. The ark built by Russell Crowe’s…
Comedy of Errors
William Shakespeare wrote about the struggle for power in the castles of monarchs, but also reveled in the struggle to bed a wench or steal a purse, and has seldom done this more amusingly than in the farce . Speaking of theft, Will stole the entire plot, about twins separated…
WIRED
Choreographer Rebecca French creates lots of things for the FrenetiCore Dance Company. She creates movements, sounds, video, costumes and sets. And for , she also created terminology. Promotional materials tout the program as an evening of “Streaming bodies. Athletic intelligence. A visual feast of choreographic surprises.” The visual feast and…
A Widow of No Importance
The Houston-based Shunya Theatre promotes the arts of South Asia, chiefly by producing in English plays that arerelevant to that culture. Its latest offering is the Texas premiere of the romantic comedy A Widow of No Importance by Shane Sakhrani, featuring an Indian widow, Deepa, who is far from the…
Lucia de Lammermoor
Sopranos Jessica Jones and Amanda Kingston share the title role in Donizetti’s tragedy Lucia de Lammermoor, being presented by Opera in the Heights. The two women, longtime friends, have shared roles before. “Our voices are very similar and different at the same time,” Jones tells us. “We’re each bringing something…
Patricia Smith
Patricia Smith is definitely climbing to the top of the heap as far as poets go, and it’s accurate to call her one of the most promising talents in America. Her award-winning 2012 book, , drew near universal praise for a unique voice that took readers up from the south…
“How I See It: Houston Architecture”
Get some insight into what local teens see when they look at the city’s architecture in “How I See It: Houston Architecture”. A juried exhibition of photography by area high school students for FotoFest 2014, “How I See It” focuses on the impact social media and widely available digital cameras…
Fat Tony: 20Hertz: Smart Ass
Anthony Obi, better known to Houston rap fans as Fat Tony, is definitely one of our city’s cultural treasures. He’s got legions of fans, and has won the Music Award for Best Underground Hip Hop several times. And he’s making a name for himself nationally, garnering attention from both the…
Time Stands Still
A photojournalist (Sarah Gaston) and a journalist (Seán Patrick Judge) who have worked together for several years covering the news — mostly in war zones — have returned home from their latest assignment. “She’s coming back from being nearly killed in a roadside bomb explosion that killed the person sitting…
Unearthling: Films by Peter Lucas
Photographer/essayist/filmmaker/curator Peter Lucas premieres his latest short film in Unearthling: Films by Peter Lucas. follows a mysterious figure from beyond our planet as he ventures onto Earth. The gritty black-and-white photography calls to mind the brilliance of Cory McAbee’s , but features a harsh electronica soundtrack rather than lively show…
“Joan Son: Time Travelers”
Nationally recognized origami artist Joan Son takes her art back to the beginning (in a way) with her “Joan Son: Time Travelers” exhibit currently at the Jung Center of Houston. As a young girl, Son designed dresses for her paper dolls. Her mother saved those early works of art and…
43rd Annual Bayou City Art Festival
The 43rd Annual Bayou City Art Festival will be both different and the same as previous festivals. Different in that there will be closer to 450 artists instead of last year’s 300. The same in that those artists will offer fine and folk artwork in some 20 mediums. Organizers hope…
“Ellen Kaplowitz Kingdom of Gold: Photographs of Ghana”
The “Ellen Kaplowitz Kingdom of Gold: Photographs of Ghana” exhibit captures images of a rare and elaborate event, the enstoolment of a new king. In this case, it’s the installation of Asantehene Otomfuo Osei Tutu II as King of the Ashanti Kingdom. “I think most Westerners think of African…
The Color Purple
It started off as a Pulitzer Prizewinning book. Then it became an Oscar-nominated movie. Then it became a Broadway musical. Now The Color Purple is coming to Houston, with Grammy Award winning singer — and Texas native — Jennifer Holliday in the cast. The musical follows the book’s basic plot:…
Bloody Floody: Noah Wants to Be a Mad Epic
To hear Darren Aronofsky tell it, in the interviews he’s given recently to the New York Times Magazine and the New Yorker, there was no way in hell he’d let his special-effects extravaganza Noah, years in the planning, be your run-of-the-mill, candy-ass Biblical epic. The ark built by Russell Crowe’s…
Rule of Law
Going bald is the best thing that ever happened to Jude Law. Britain’s prettiest export did the best he could with his burden of good looks. He played a genetic ideal in Gattaca, a robotic ideal in A.I. Artificial Intelligence, and in The Talented Mr. Ripley, his golden god perfection…
Cringe Out Loud
Any Yanks concerned that the Brits outclass us may find relief in Alan Partridge, an import comedy that at first seems to stand as evidence of some over-there comic superiority. Compared to our broad Ron Burgundys, Steve Coogan’s local broadcast ass Alan Partridge stands as sharp, incisive parody, a desperate,…
The Fog of Rummy
As its subtitle suggests, one reason Errol Morris’s 2003 documentary The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara proved so resonant is that its subject was partly a proxy for his most notorious professional successor, the decidedly less available Donald Rumsfeld. “I don’t do quagmires,”…
What We Get Out of It
Our story resumes: Having found a love-like feeling for Jerôme (Shia LaBeouf), “restful domestic comfort” has, at the outset of Lars von Trier’s Nymphomaniac: Volume II, robbed the young Joe (Stacy Martin) of her orgasm. Naomi Wolf documented a similar problem in her 2012 book Vagina; the similarities between Joe…
The Monument Man
Tucked into a pocket of his workout sweats, Steve Rogers — a.k.a. Captain America, the serum-enhanced Yankee Doodle Dynamo who’s spent the last six decades in deep freeze — keeps a notebook of cultural beats he’s missed: Star Wars, Marvin Gaye, Thai food. (“We used to boil everything,” he mock-groans.) If…
Pomp and Circumstance
Only In Houston Many moons ago, or one or two, anyway, our friends at L.A. Weekly’s West Coast Sound decided to evaluate Southern California’s two main universities, USC and UCLA, using a set of music-oriented criteria. We’re not talking matriculation, either, though that’s certainly part of it — they also…
A Citrus Delima and Mexican Staying Power
Dear Mexican, Can you help me unravel the citrus dilemma? When I am in Mexico or a Mexican restaurant or market I am unable to find lemons (yellow, egg-sized, tart-tasting fruits). Whenever I ask, I get green-colored fruit, which looks and tastes to me like limes (green, smaller than egg-sized,…
Capsule Art Reviews: “The Age of Impressionism: Great French Paintings from the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute,” “Georges Braque: A Retrospective,” “Funnel Tunnel,” Magritte: The Mystery of the Ordinary, 1926-1938
“The Age of Impressionism: Great French Paintings from the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute” These days, Impressionist exhibitions are the art museum version of the ballet The Nutcracker: frothy and beautiful, if a little overexposed, and sure to pack ’em in at almost any price. Even though we’ve already…
Capsule Stage Reviews: By the Way, Meet Vera Stark, Gidion’s Knot
By the Way, Meet Vera Stark The award-winning playwright Lynn Nottage is as gifted at humor as she is at drama, delivering a sophisticated comedic tour de force that makes fun of Hollywood’s stereotypes of blacks. The lead characters — it’s Hollywood in 1933 — are Gloria Mitchell and her…
Mass(acre) Appeal
A grave has been freshly dug in the opening shot of director Gareth Evans’s ultra-violent Indonesian flick The Raid 2. It’s a start, but Evans is going to need 400 more. In the first few minutes, Evans dispenses with three-quarters of the survivors of 2012’s The Raid: Redemption, the writer-director’s…
Dr. Steven Hotze’s Weird War Against the Texas Medical Board
It’s October 23, 2007, and one of the most powerful men in Houston Republican circles is telling the president of the Texas Medical Board she needs a spanking. Dr. Steven Hotze is testifying before the State House Committee on Appropriations, accusing Dr. Roberta Kalafut of running the medical board like…
Caracol, Hugo Ortega’s Latest Outpost, is Reeling Them In
There’s a divide as soon as you enter through the heavy glass doors and head toward the imposing limestone hostess stand. To the right, the dining area is filled with four-tops and families silently slicing into ruddy, mole-covered strip steaks and colorful salads featuring eggplant-hued octopus tentacles coiled around indigo…
Texas Hookah Lounge Opens the Door to a New Kind of After-Hours Scene
‘Whoooooo…are…youuuuuu?” Smoke billows from our mouths as we draw out the syllables of each word, then dances above our heads in a mesmerizing manner. We have just taken a drag from the hookah pipe sitting in front of us and are attempting to create clouds of smoke-letters in the air…
César Chávez is a Live-Action Inspirational Poster
The Chicano labor leader César Chávez can now join Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela in the pantheon of heroes whose world-altering achievements are dutifully recounted in timid, lifeless films any substitute can pop into the school DVD player when the regular history teacher is out with the flu. With César…
Let’s Cook Asparagus
How To The first culinary sign of spring in much of the U.S. and Europe is asparagus shooting up from the soil. Americans generally cut them off to eat when they reach seven to nine inches in length, to prevent them from getting woody, but Europeans — especially Germans —…
COWBOYS AND INDIANS
ENVIRONMENT Cowboys and Indians are usually on opposing sides in stories of the Old West, but the modern variations have found something to unite them: opposing the Keystone XL Pipeline. The Keystone XL Pipeline is a 1,700-mile pipeline that will tote sticky black bitumen from the Canadian Tar Sands to…
