Van Loc Closes Earlier Than Expected — As in Today
Van Loc restaurant, whose surprise announcement last week that it was closing sometime before Thanksgiving, closed today around the noon hour. The sign posted on the door thanked customers for their support through the years. On Tuesday night, the restaurant was packed with people who were obviously trying to get…
Dallas Nurses Say They Were Totally Unprepared for Ebola Victim
Remember when the official word was that Ebola in the United States was completely under control? Two weeks ago, the public was told that Thomas Eric Duncan, the country’s first Ebola patient, was immediately quarantined after he went to Texas Health Presbyterian the second time with Ebola symptoms. Still, back…
Dominic Kinnear Leaves the Dynamo for San Jose
Dynamo coach Dominic Kinnear, who’s led the franchise since its move to Houston in 2006, is heading home to San Jose. The Chron reports today that Kinnear told his coaching staff this past Sunday that he’ll resign at the end of the season and take over as head coach for…
Adrien Brody Shines in Houdini, the History Channel’s Television Mini-series Now on DVD
Harry Houdini, the 19th century illusionist and escape artist, has been the subject of various biographies. Tony Curtis starred in a popular bio-flick in the early 1950s and for many contemporary viewers, that film remains the benchmark performance. Academy Award winner Adrien Brody stared in a two-part television mini-series, Houdini…
Steampunk, the Supernatural and Decadence in The Tales of Hoffmann at UH
There’s a mechanical doll. Also a singer, a seductress and a woman protected by her father. And Hoffman loves them all. Billed as a mixture of “steampunk, the supernatural and romantic decadence,” Jacques Offenbach’s opera fantasy The Tales of Hoffmann is coming back to the University of Houston Moores Opera…
Anything Goes Dances and Sings Up a Storm
The set-up: Move over, Sondheim, there’s a new kid on the block. Name’s Porter, Cole Porter. He writes lyrics that’ll make your head spin. And fresh tunes with catchy rhythmic hooks to them. Nothing standard about these songs. Except, of course, that five of his songs from Anything Goes (1934),…
This Week in Food Blogs: ’tis the Season for Pumpkin Doughnuts
Hank On Food: This past Saturday, Hank traveled to the Third Ward and visited with Myrtle Jackson of Not Jus’ Donuts. Besides finding a mighty fine sweet potato pie, he gets a lesson in the trials of replicating the recipes of great Southern cooks, many of whom did not actually…
Fan Fighting League! Red River Shootout Edition
In the pantheon of college football rivalries, few have the combination of tradition and bitter hatred of the Red River Shootout between Oklahoma and Texas. (NOTE: I refuse to call it by the more politically correct Red River Rivalry, as if somehow including the word Shootout means that the irresponsible…
Bayou City Haunts: The 2014 Houston Halloween Guide
There’s nothing quite like All Hallows’ Eve falling on a weekend night, and this year, the costumed chaos will be especially rowdy, since that lucky Friday date will give party-goers plenty of time to recover from the revelry. And with Halloween falling on prime calendar pickings, there’s quite a bit…
Review: Nara Sushi & Korean Kitchen Only Has a Few Good Surprises
Several restaurants, namely Ava, Trenza and Katsuya by Starck, all tried to make a go of it at West Ave. Even having big chef names attached, like Robert del Grande and Katsuya Uechi, did not help these restaurants succeed. West Ave may be great for residents, but it’s an awful…
UPDATED:Marie Antoinette Is the Original Material Girl at Stages Repertory Theatre
Update: Because of popular demand, the Stages production of Marie Antoinette has been extended to November 9. The ill-fated queen of France (Emily Neves) sashays down the halls of Versailles to a heavy techno beat. Gigantic neon fleurs-de-lis flash blindingly. Looking as tasty and pastel as any of those luscious…
The Girl on the Torture Board: Rhonda Williams Opens Up About Being Attacked by Dean Corll
She wakes up to a sharp pain in her side — someone kicking her, telling her to wake up, bitch. For a moment, she thinks it’s her dad. Then she opens her eyes and sees it’s Dean Corll, the electrician who’s renting this house in Pasadena. She looks over and…
The Eagles at Toyota Center, 10/14/2014
The Eagles Toyota Center October 14, 2014 At this point in their career — which, as singer/guitarist Glenn Frey noted, has lasted 43 years — any Eagles concert is essentially bulletproof. The have the catalogue, they have the still-firing lineup, and they have an insane level of audience goodwill. And,…
UPDATED Video Shows Montgomery County Constable’s Deputies Lied in Affidavit and in Court to Justify Warrantless Drug Raid
See an update at the bottom of this post on who may have filmed the video that’s now the basis of this lawsuit. A few years back, Montgomery County Precinct 4 Constable Kenneth Hayden — or “Rowdy,” as he likes to be called — opened his doors for a Montgomery…
100 Creatives 2014: Michelle Ellen Jones, Killing Them Loudly
What She Does: Michelle Ellen Jones has been attracted to the spotlight since she was young, and broke for Los Angeles to try her hand at acting at the first opportunity. When stardom didn’t emerge, she returned to Houston to re-evaluate her future. There she discovered ballroom dancing and it…
Try These Five Chili-Smothered Dishes in Houston
Fall is here and we’ve got one thing on the mind: eating a crap ton of chili. It’s the ultimate comfort food…especially when it gets smothered on top of other comfort foods. Check out these five chili-packed foods that go way beyond the bowl. See also: Five Absolutely Loaded Fries…
Vote Now for Houston’s Best Music Photographer
February 24, 2014. A Monday. Go Texan Day, Houston’s unofficial start of rodeo season, was still four days away. Stories in that week’s Time magazine included “Mexico’s New Mission,” “Biden Unplugged” and a look at brand-new Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon. Songs popular at the time were Katy Perry’s “Dark…
8 Vegetarian Foods That Are Delicious
People who decide to become vegetarians, or who at least want to limit the amount of meat in their diets, often find it difficult to give up certain foods they’ve been long accustomed to. The idea of maybe never eating another hamburger is a daunting one for anyone who has…
The Sports Hate Between the Rockets and Mavericks May Be Approaching Football Levels
As the horn sounded ending the first game of the NBA preseason between the Houston Rockets and the Dallas Mavericks, former Rocket fan favorite (ample stress on the word “former”) Chandler Parsons, now a centerpiece for the Mavs, made his way over to the Rockets’ bench area to exchange salutations…
Doctor Who: Mummy Issues
(Author’s note: I’m REALLY sorry about that pun.) I think it’s safe to say that “Mummy on the Orient Express” was my favorite episode of Series 8. This is Jamie Mathieson’s first foray into writing for Doctor Who and he nailed so much about the character that it almost feels…
God Hasn’t Forgetten About Hollywood FLOSS
MIXTAPE OF THE WEEK: Hollywood FLOSS, God’s Forgotten Angel I doubt God has forgotten about Hollywood FLOSS. Well, he may have forgotten about his beloved Lakers last season, but that’s beside the point. FLOSS represents one of those rap acts who could release a flurry of mixtapes, projects, untitled EPs…
Dream Weaver Gary Wright Was Best Friends With a Beatle
There aren’t many more concrete instances of one singer being so clearly connected to one song in the classic rock canon than Gary Wright with “Dream Weaver.” The 1976 single, recorded with all synthesizers, reached No. 2 on the Billboard chart, has been a constant presence on radio and in…
The 10 Scariest Music Videos Ever
Listen, are you throwing a Halloween party? Are you going to have music on in the background? Splendid. Just so you know it was recently made legal in Texas to beat people that play “Monster Mash” at Halloween parties to death with frying pans [citation needed]. Few areas in the…
Surprise! Supremes Step in and Block Parts of Texas Abortion Law
The U.S. Supreme Court has stepped in and blocked theFifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that had shuttered all but eight of Texas’ abortion clinics. On October 2, the federal Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling allowing state officials to immediately begin enforcing the second part of House…
Eater Houston Names New Editor
Close to three months after former editor Darla Guillen left Eater Houston, a new editor has been named to oversee Eater coverage in Houston: Jakeisha Wilmore. Wilmore was chosen among several candidates who auditioned for the role as guest editors for the website. “Jakeisha is incredibly obsessed with Houston’s culinary…
Stafford Man Shot in Face by Police Sues Over Excessive Force
A man who was shot in the face by a Stafford police officer after a 2012 skirmish is suing the officer — a decorated ex-Marine once honored by President Barak Obama — and the Stafford Police Department over what he claims was an unjustified shooting. In dash-cam footage of the…
Matteo Lunelli, “King of Italian Bubbly,” Visits Houston
Every week, it seems that another fine wine luminary sets her or his sights on the Houston market. Yesterday, ex-Goldman Sachs banker and one of the most powerful players in the Italian wine trade today, Matteo Lunelli (above), descended on Houston for a luncheon and tasting with Houston wine buyers…
Gillian Anderson Wows as Blanche DuBois in NT Live’s A Streetcar Named Desire
The first reaction to the news that Gillian Anderson appears as Blanche DuBois in the broadcast production of of National Theatre Live’sA Streetcar Named Desire is doubt – doubt that she’s old enough to play the aging southern belle Blanche DuBois in Tennessee Williams’ tragic story. A young Blanche just…
Does Breitbart Texas Want Ebola Nurse’s Dog to Die?
Breitbart Texas wants Dallas Ebola patient Nina Pham’s dog to die. Or at least that’s our take-away from two alarmist articles suggesting that the Cavalier King Charles spaniel, like one of those fast-moving zombies in 28 Days Later, only with more hair, might infect every last one of us. Pham’s…
One of a Kind: Artwork From the Collection of Stephanie Smither
Stephanie Smither is an avid and perspicacious collector of folk art; this is made crystal clear in a varied and engrossing exhibition of some of the works from her collection at Art League Houston. There are art pieces from more than 30 artists, many self-taught, some internationally recognized, some emerging,…
The Best Things We Overheard at ACL Fest, Weekend 2
By Ivan Guzman and Marco Torres “What’s that smell?” “It’s YOU, bro!” “I am not waiting an hour to take a photo! That’s just dumb!” — regarding the wooden ACL picture-frame art piece…
District Attorney Candidate Kim Ogg on the “Human Toll” of Prosecuting Misdemeanor Pot Offenders
Last Friday, Kim Ogg, the Democratic candidate for Harris County District Attorney, was the guest of honor at a gathering of the Houston chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, a pro-pot legalization group. Just let that sink in for a moment. A major party candidate…
In Love, Loss, and What I Wore, Women Reflect on Pivotal Moments and What They Were Wearing
The Setup: Do the clothes make the woman? If you asked Nora and Delia Ephron, they’d probably say no, but they’d also say that a woman’s wardrobe can tell her life story. That’s the premise of their 2008 play Love, Loss, and What I Wore, which is now playing at…
Insane Clown Posse at Warehouse Live, 10/13/2014
Insane Clown Posse, Mushroomhead, Da Mafia 6ix, Hoodoo, Madchild, Jelly Roll Warehouse Live October 13, 2014 Let us be honest with each other for a moment, dear reader. The reality is that when it comes to high culture thinking there is nothing left to say on the subject of Insane…
Season’s Sweet Eats at Dunkin’ Donuts
This October, bring donuts to that office/neighborhood/coven Halloween party. And, yes, you could go local and bring a Shipley’s dozen, but for festive purposes, think Dunkin’ Donuts. The international chain may not serve up the best donuts in the world, or, for that matter, in Houston, but they do a…
Riverside General Hospital Heads Await Fraud Verdict
Arguments in the trial of Riverside General Hospital administrators accused of pilfering millions in a federal healthcare scam concluded Monday as the jury left to decide whether Earnest Gibson III, his son and two other defendants bought and sold patients by the head to cash in on Medicare and Medicaid…
A Few Answers to Common Questions About Meat
I’ve spent the past few years working in meat markets and the meat departments of specialty grocery stores, and have encountered a lot of confused people in that time. In a lot of cases, that confusion is understandable. There is a lot of bad information floating around about meat. Just…
Houston’s Best Music Photographers: Marco Torres
Back in June Rocks Off brought you Houston’s ten best music photographers, as selected by a small panel of insiders and professionals. Now we’d like you readers to choose the best. Before voting opens, though, here’s a little more about our finalists, in alphabetical order — and a lot more…
Pop Rocks: My Five Favorite TV/Movie Clowns
I think we all know that clowns are creepy. Even when they weren’t supposed to be, in the days where they had their own TV shows and piled out of tiny cars at the circus, we all knew the truth. It took only a few decades of exposure to clowns…
If You Want More Teams in the College Football Playoff, Here’s What to Root For
Some old habits are hard to break, and as flawed as the old Bowl Championship Series (affectionately referred to and twisted into juvenile alternate acronyms as the “BCS”) was, it still began to consume me right about this time every college football season. The BCS got a lot of stuff…
First Look at Springbok, a South African Gastropub in Downtown Houston
Located on Main Street, just around the corner from The Flying Saucer in the heart of downtown, is the cool new South African bar and gastropub, Springbok. Named after a type of African antelope and the South African rugby team of the same name, it’s fitting that the decor includes…
5 Nintendo Games You Can Beat in Minutes Because of Glitches
Video games are big things with lots of code. Through testing the makers are supposed to weed out the places where things get a little sticky, but once they release them out to the general public lots of times players discover things that are missed even in the most rigorous…
The 5 Dumbest Things That PETA Has Done in Texas
The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is an organization that spends most of its time making animal rights activists look like out of touch nutter butters and waging wacky wars for dubious reasons. So, how ridiculous does PETA get around these parts?…
Eat This: Saag Paneer Omelette at Pondicheri
Pondicheri offers a number of exemplary South Asian-inspired breakfast items, including the much-lauded “morning thali,” an a beautifully compartmentalized platter of beef keema, curry, uppma, saffron yogurt, fruit, paratha and fried egg. If you’re visiting Pondicheri for breakfast for the very first time, get the morning thali. On your second…
UPDATED Ebola Fact vs. Fiction
Update, Oct. 15, 2014, 9:15 a.m.: Texas Health Presbyterian officials confirmed Wednesday morning that a second healthcare worker who treated Thomas Eric Duncan, the first confirmed U.S. Ebola case, has contracted the disease. Speaking in at a press conference Wednesday morning with Dallas officials, Dr. Daniel Varga, Presbyterian’s chief clinical…
Joe Perry Walks His Way in New Memoir
While they may not be blood brothers, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, singer and guitarist for Aerosmith, respectively, might as well be for the relationship they’ve had for more than 45 years. It’s a love/hate story that Perry details extensively, along with his own life, in his new autobiography written…
Upcoming: .38 Special, Jeezy, Jello Biafra, Modest Mouse, Neil Diamond, Ryan Adams, etc.
38 Special: Thu., October 23, 8 p.m., $39.50 to $49.50. Arena Theatre, 7326 Southwest Fwy., Houston, 713-988-1020. Ab-Soul: Tue., November 4, 9 p.m., $23. Warehouse Live, 813 St. Emanuel, Houston, 713-225-5483. Advance Cassette: With the Freebie, Banshee Bones, Lures. Fri., November 21, 8 p.m., $3 to $7. Super Happy Fun…
The Best Things We Overheard at Untapped Houston
By Jack Gorman and Angelica Leicht “Wait. This isn’t cider. I thought this was cider. This is beer. Like, beer beer. Oh, God…GROSS!” Cute woman with a dog approaches a couple hanging out in VIP: ** “Hey, there. So which beers have you guys liked the best so far? Oh,…
Old-School Rap Lowers “The Boom” on Radio Beyoncé
As predicted, Houston’s all-Beyoncé FM radio station that debuted last week proved short-lived. As of a few minutes ago, KROI-FM or “B92,” which debuted last Wednesday in the wake of surprise layoffs at the now-former News 92.1 FM, has changed its format to classic hip-hop and rebranded itself “The Boom.”…
The Best and Worst of ACL Fest, Weekend 2
Note: this article was updated at 8 a.m. Tuesday, October 14, to add Ivan Guzman’s contributions. Best 17-Year-Old Who Rocked Oh Lorde! This lovely New Zealand native is the real deal, and stole Weekend 2 with her windpipes, big hair and humility. The crowd at the Retail Me Not Stage…
9 Reasons Fall in Houston Is Awesome
Fall in Houston is not exactly like other parts of the country. We don’t get the same kind of foliage color changes. We don’t really need layered clothing — though you’ll still find people doing it anyway — but you’d be hard pressed to find a nicer place to be…
4 Werewolf Films Worth Seeing Before Halloween
Werewolf movies have been a part of the horror film pantheon since 1935, When Universal released “The Werewolf of London.” Since then, lycanthropy has appeared on the silver screen countless times, and been presented in many different ways. Werewolves in movies usually deal with themes of the bestial nature of…
Mötley Crüe at The Woodlands, 10/11/2014
Mötley Crüe, Alice Cooper Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion October 11, 2014 Could this really be it? Was Saturday night really, honestly the last time Mötley Crüe will ever darken the door of a Texas venue? Can their claims of calling it quits really be taken seriously? Pretty hard to predict,…
Dish of the Week: Soufflé au Fromage
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. This week, we’re mastering the all-mighty soufflé. A soufflé is a classic French dish consisting of beaten egg whites…
Warmer Gulf Waters Are Messing Things up for Texas Sea Turtles
You’d think the warmer waters in the Gulf of Mexico would be a good thing for sea turtles — the turtle equivalent of excellent weather — but the warmed-up waters may be causing problems for the creatures, according to researchers at the University of Texas Marine Science Institute. Every year…
The Wild World of High-End Comics Collecting
When a person attends a comic book convention, there’s an expectation of seeing people in Spider-Man T-shirts and brightly-colored Spandex costumes. However, at the Metropolis Collectibles booth in New York City, the dress code is more Wall Street than Wolverine. Sharply dressed men in suits and ties engage in intense…
Erasure at Bayou Music Center, 10/10/2014
Erasure Bayou Music Center October 10, 2014 The first song that came up on PA system Friday after Dangerous Muse finished their brief opening set was Simple Minds’ “Don’t You (Forget About Me).” As if the ’80s memories already flooding into Bayou Music Center weren’t heavy enough. Erasure, though, slippery…
Doctor Who, Buffy and the Art of the Big Bad
I’ve made no secret of the fact that I don’t think very highly of the current season of Doctor Who right now. The writing is very weak and full of plot holes. More than that, it’s trying very hard to bring the Big Bad concept to Doctor Who and not…
Texas Is Terrible at Energy Efficiency, According to Study
Houston is the energy capital of the world. We practically bathe in oil around here. So, it should come as no surprise to anyone that a recent study from Wallethub found Texas to be near the bottom of the list of states in energy efficiency. According to the study, Texas…
Whole Foods Market: Your One-Stop Shop for Pumpkins This Fall
Take one trip to any grocery store around town and you’ll quickly realize that pumpkin season has arrived. But, there’s more types of pumpkins than just the bright orange round ones you carve into Jack-O-Lanterns and set outside on Halloween night. Pumpkins come in a variety of shapes, sizes and…
Crowbar at Fitzgerald’s, 10/10/2014
Crowbar, Revocation, Havok, Fit For an Autopsy, Armed for Apocalypse Fitzgerald’s October 10, 2014 The last night of a long tour can be a tough gig. Oftentimes, the musicians arrive in town broken down and tired, their eyes already glazing over with visions of home. Maybe the men of Crowbar…
Red Death Registers as Inscrutable But Fascinating
The set-up: I fully admit it: Lisa D’Amour’s Red Death (2001), currently playing at Studio 101 via Mildred’s Umbrella, left me baffled. What the hell’s going on? That’s not to say there aren’t plenty of reasons to see this, foremost among them being that any work by D’Amour (Anna Bella…
We’ve Narrowed Down the Most Underrated Kolaches…Vote Now!
OK, Houston. Let’s get one thing straight. Christy’s Donuts, The Original Kolache Shoppe and Shipley Do-Nuts (specifically the one on North Main) are NOT underrated places for kolaches. But, most of the other places y’all mentioned certainly are! We assumed most of the places would be doughnut shops, after all,…
Cougars Declaw the Tigers, Get a Much-Needed Win
The Houston Cougars have seemingly operated without a plan when on offense this season. There’s been the running play. There’s been a passing play and/or the QB running for his life depending on whether if the offensive line was able to make any blocks. Then there’s generally been the punt…
The Changing Face of Houston – Riverside Terrace
Just southeast of downtown, near the University of Houston, and bordered by Highway 288 on the west and the Third Ward to the south, lies Riverside Terrace, an often forgotten older Houston neighborhood with an interesting past. Decades ago, the city was not the diverse melting pot that it is…
The Best Acts at Untapped Houston 2014
BRIGHT LIGHT SOCIAL HOUR The technical issues that plagued the Omission Stage for Featherface’s set were seemingly resolved by the time Channel 39’s Maggie Flecknoe introduced her favorite band from Austin, Bright Light Social Hour. It quickly became apparent that many at the festival came to see the vibrant rock…
Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band at The Woodlands, 10/10/2014
Ringo Starr & His All Starr Band Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion October 10, 2014 Ever wonder what Todd Rundgren would sound like playing guitar for Santana? Or Gregg Rolie offering Hammond B-3 organ flourishes for Toto? Or Ringo Starr pounding drums for…Mr. Mister? Probably not. But in the musical sampler…
The Five Best Concerts in Houston This Week: ICP, Eagles, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Charli XCX, etc.
Insane Clown Posse Warehouse Live, October 13 2014 has been a quiet year in Juggalo Nation, or at least the Uncle Sam hasn’t issued any new reports labeling their fans one step above common criminals; that we know of, anyway. Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope did lose a lawsuit…
First Locally Transmitted Ebola Case in Dallas
In a disturbing turn of events, a woman in Dallas has become the first person in the United States to locally contract Ebola. The woman is a healthcare worker at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital. The employee provided care for Thomas Eric Duncan after he came back to the hospital in…
Katy Perry at Toyota Center, 10/10/2014
Katy Perry, Becky G, Ferras Toyota Center October 10, 2014 There are moments in Katy Perry’s Prismatic World tour that may make you utter “wow” out loud. They’re few and far between, but every few songs something genuinely impressive happens. That the rest of the show doesn’t live up to…
Young Mammals Back in Gear on Alto Seco
As the members’ ages stretch past their mid-twenties, Young Mammals still don’t really seem like the kind of band that can be classified as veterans. That’s what it amounts to, though. It’s been more than a decade since brothers Carlos and Jose Sanchez and their classmate Cley Miller started the…
Simon Malls and Refinery 29 Shopping Block Party at Houston Premium Outlets
You know who’s kind of killing it in on the event front now a days, Simon Malls. I will wait for your shock and awe to wear off…….ok. Yes, the purveyor of mega malls like the Galleria and Houston Premium Outlets is changing it up in an effort to become…
Why Moving Pride out of Montrose Is a Big Deal
Social media went haywire last week when Pride Houston announced that next year’s Houston LGBT Pride Celebration will take place downtown, leaving its Montrose home of more than three decades. Many were shocked because they weren’t told this was happening ahead of time. And while there have been grumblings for…
Free Game Day: Barons Gate 2
It’s Friday, and we know you’re just going to play on the Internet until it’s time to leave work. Each week we’ll be bringing you a free flash game to help the time pass! Game: Barons Gate 2 Genre: Action RPG Made By: Dragosha Games Play at: Armor Games/Kongregate Rating:…
Taking a Chance: Rebecca French and FrenetiCore Carve Out a Space in the East End
Houston is a rambling, gambling town and this year Best of Houston celebrates those in the community who are taking a chance. Rebecca French, choreographer, dancer and co-founder of FrenetiCore, has faced more than just naysayers in the 14-plus years it has taken her to establish her performing arts organization…
The 10 Best Texans-Colts Rapper Tweets
JJ Watt got a nigga running with him like pic.twitter.com/vKMhJOMmTI— #FreeRyanMallett (@DJAudiTory) October 10, 2014 The 2014 Houston Texans have a new coach, new players, new hope and the same dedicated fan base of Houston-based rappers. As in years past, they took to Twitter on game day to comment on…
Beck at Bayou Music Center, 10/9/2014
Beck Bayou Music Center October 9, 2014 Following a lengthy, convoluted introduction of his band mates, during which every member had a solo of some kind, Beck had a question for his fans. “Have we alienated everyone yet?” It was an earnest question, at least in theory. (With Beck, one…
Colts 33, Texans 28: 4 Winners, 4 Losers
Well, that was a pretty freaking painful four days, huh? If you’re trying to construct the most painful way to chase an overtime loss to your hated in-state rival, the Texans did a pretty good job of it on Thursday night, falling behind the Indianapolis Colts 24-0 in the first…
The Alley’s Dracula: No One Rises Above the Material
The set-up: Anemic. 1. Of, pertaining to, or afflicted with anemia; bloodless, lifeless, pale. 2. The Alley’s Dracula. The execution: In 1977, the hottest ticket on Broadway was the revival of John Balderston and Hamilton Deane’s 1927 adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Victorian horror classic Dracula (1897). With its black and…
10 Most Shameful Things to Admit in Houston
Every city has its own identity, some opinions and values that a lot of its residents collectively seem to agree with, and that extends to Houston. Yes, this city is one of the most diverse places in the United States so opinions are all over the place on most subjects,…
The 5 Best Things to Eat or Drink This Weekend: Kolaches & Klobasneks at Revival Market
Kolaches & Klobasneks @ Revival Market Saturday, 8 a.m. 550 Heights Kolache Saturday is back at Revival Market. Starting at 8 a.m., the specialty grocery store/cafe will serve a variety of kolaches and klobasneks. Arrive early to make sure you get the flavors you want. Revival Market will serve pumpkin…
Living Colour Brings a New Shade to Houston
Though one of the best hard-rock bands of the ’80s has also held that distinction in the ensuing decades, for a wide swath of people they are unfairly thought of as a one-hit wonder. Dating from 1988, that hit debut single name-checked the decidedly non-rocker personalities of Josef Stalin, Mahatma…
Lessons Learned From Open Carry, the Children’s Book
There are a lot of things to love about the whole open carry movement. For one thing, the fervent belief that firearms should be carried by all people at all times has translated to some, shall we say, interesting moments in daily life. Open carry proponents have showed up at…
100 Creatives 2014: Morris Malakoff, Photographer and Filmmaker
Rosita’s, a popular restaurant in Laredo, once had a very artistic cook. Morris Malakoff, now a filmmaker and photojournalist, spent some time in Rosita’s kitchen dishing up Tex-Mex food for hungry customers. It wasn’t a bad job, it just wasn’t the right job for Malakoff. “I knew I wanted to…
Upcoming Events: Celebrate International Curry Week at The Springbok
The Springbok will celebrate International Curry Week from October 13 until October 17; this event is typically celebrated around the world with special events from participating restaurants. Pete Walker, owner of The Springbok, wants to make International Curry Week an annual event in Houston next year by partnering with Houston…
Houston ISD Trustees Once Again Approve Class Size Waivers, But Promise to Think About It a Whole Lot More in the Next Year. Really.
Trustee Rhonda Skillern-Jones threw down a gauntlet Thursday night saying that Houston ISD continues to increase its class-waiver requests — exceeding the state set maximum of the number of kids who should be in an elementary class and she wants it to stop. Superintendent Terry Grier, bringing the idea of…
Five of the Many, Many Times Mötley Crüe Should Have Retired Already
To hear Motley Crue tell it, Saturday night will be the last time they perform for a Houston crowd together. The glam-metal archetypes, storied rock and roll survivors all, say that this is it for them. The Final Tour. They even made a big show of signing a contract pledging…
The 5 Best Things to Do in Houston This Weekend: Red Death, Ren Fest and More
Our first pick for Friday is Lisa D’Amour’s black comedy Red Death, making its Houston premiere at Mildred’s Umbrella. Inspired by Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Masque of the Red Death,” it’s the story of Jane, a woman who’s been tasked with finding the “origin of evil, the root of denial,…
Cactus Crew Celebrates 39th Trip Around the Sun
If the leaves on the trees are not turning brown and temperatures are still regularly topping out above 90, then it must be getting pretty close to Halloween. We think. But one way you can be sure we’re getting close to both All Hallows Eve and its Latino companion, Dia…
Like Monty Python’s Black Knight, CSN Houston’s Not Dead Yet
Walking out from a concert at the House of Blues on Monday night, I couldn’t help but notice that the lights were still burning brightly inside the offices and studios of CSN Houston. Earlier that day, a bankruptcy judge had heard evidence regarding the financial worth of the troubled network…
UPDATED: Openings & Closings: Sad Good-byes & More Sad Good-byes
The theme for this week must have been temporary closures and permanent closures. It was like a domino effect — one restaurant announced it was closing, then another one, followed by several more. It’s always a shame to see such a popular restaurant close when the reason isn’t lack of…
A Dozen Houston Highlights From Austin City Limits
Austin City Limits wasn’t always a cultural institution, nor a repository of some of the finest musical performances ever committed to videotape. In the show’s earliest days it was an unusual experiment even for public television, and creator Bill Arhos and his staff did not have the benefit of the…
James McMurtry Knows What Works by Now
From the my-how-time-flies category: James McMurtry, who plays a solo show at McGonigel’s Mucky Duck Saturday, marks a quarter-century as a professional musician this year. He began his career in the late ’80s by gaining recognition at songwriting events associated with the Kerrville Folk Festival, and managed to get a…
The 10 Best Concerts in Houston This Weekend: Katy Perry, Mötley Crüe, Erasure, Untapped…
Katy Perry Toyota Center, October 10 & 11 People can hate on pop concerts all they want, but they’re probably viewing them all wrong. If they attend expecting a musical experience that rattles their very core, they will likely be disappointed. But approach it as a spectacle, and the experience…
Duvall and Downey Jr. Can’t Save Wheezing Courtroom Drama The Judge
God save us from old coots and the actors who play them. Is that a terrible thing to say? Actors, like the rest of us, grow old, and there aren’t a whole lot of good roles available to them. But do we really need to see Robert Duvall playing a…
Red Death
Lisa D’Amour’s black comedy Red Death, making its Houston premiere at Mildred’s Umbrella, was inspired by Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Masque of the Red Death.” It’s the story of Jane, a woman who’s been tasked with finding the “origin of evil, the root of denial, and the basic human weakness”…
Shouldn’t a Movie Called Drive Hard Be More Mad?
First there was The Driver, then there was Drive Angry and then there was Drive. Now there’s Drive Hard — because why not? Thomas Jane plays former race-car driver Peter Roberts, now a married dad who runs a not-so-successful driving-instruction school in Gold Coast, Queensland. His crisp, business-y, chief-breadwinner wife…
“Art on the Make: Art & Mingling Threads Annual Juried Exhibit”
Wearable art is the focus of “Art on the Make: Art & Mingling Threads Annual Juried Exhibit.” Cynthia Millis, a professor with Houston Community College who heads the art department at the Southwest campus, was this year’s juror. She selected 70 works by 25 members of the Houston Area Fiber Artists organization…
Jason Reitman’s Men, Women & Children Despairs at Our Wi-Fi World
The tragedy of Jason Reitman’s Men, Women & Children is that it was released the year it was made. A snapshot of today’s cultural disconnection, in which Facebook, texting, World of Warcraft, and streaming smut lure people away from dinner with their families, the film’s so current that its observations…
Marie Antoinette
We all know the story of Marie Antoinette: spoiled rich queen who got rather severely punished when the people of France got tired of all the partying. Several authors and directors (Sofia Coppola for one) have taken turns retelling her story and playwright David Adjmi is among them. Stages Repertory…
The Tragedy of Gary Webb Stings Even When Kill the Messenger Flags
It was a mystery that reporter Gary Webb would have jumped on: a man who’d made powerful enemies allegedly committing suicide with two gunshots to the head. The tragedy is that Webb was the deceased. Michael Cuesta’s earnest, ire-inducing Kill the Messenger is a David-and-Goliath story where truth is the…
40th Annual Texas Renaissance Festival
Dust off your corset and start practicing your Elizabethan accent, because it’s time for the 40th Annual Texas Renaissance Festival. Texas Ren Fest, not only the nation’s largest Renaissance-themed fair but also the most awesome, is open every weekend (including some Fridays). The big news this year is the addition…
Ebullient Pride Pairs Miners and Gay Activists in ’80s Wales
It says something about current global affairs that a movie set during the U.K. miners’ strike of the mid-1980s — an event that tore lives to shreds, representing a dismal and damaging period in late-20th-century British history — is likely to make you feel better rather than worse about the…
Stay Awhile
Adam Wingard’s The Guest opens with a wet-eyed woman (Sheila Kelley) sitting so still in a chair in her desert ranch house that all we hear is the clock loudly counting seconds. We sense that she’s been sitting like this for months, and the film is charged with anticipation. Horror,…
Special Best Of Edition
Dear Mexican, Why don’t Mexicans tip decently? I labor as a waitress in a local upscale steakhouse where, unfortunately, many Mexicans eat, and the lousy tips are starting to piss me off! Even blacks tip better! (Although, I gotta say, Mexicans are much easier to wait on. No constant requests…
Capsule Stage Reviews: October 9, 2014
Detroit By the end of Lisa D’Amour’s provocative, spiky, prize-winning Detroit, suburban middle-class couple Mary and Ben (Mischa Hutchings and Jeff Miller) face their own apocalypse. All they have left among the burned-out ruins of their American Dream is each other. It’s not a rosy picture. How they got here…
An Evening with Actor Rob Lowe: Stories I Only Tell My Friends
In the public eye since he was eight years old, actor Rob Lowe has had a storied life. In An Evening with Actor Rob Lowe: Stories I Only Tell My Friends, he talks about growing up beautiful, famous and, surprisingly, isolated. Lowe worked side by side with then soon-to-be stars…
Bill Murray Play for Laughs Until St. Vincent Gets Maudlin
The big news: In its first half, before it bottoms out with the rankest feel-goodery, Theodore Melfi’s too-familiar ain’t-he-irascible comedy-drama St. Vincent features scene after scene of Bill Murray actually trying to make you laugh. How long has it been? He plays Vincent, a drunk-driving Brooklynite whose look suggests science…
The Cunning, Cutting Blue Room Leaves You Guessing
Mathieu Amalric’s brisk, agreeably nasty thriller The Blue Room turns on a couple of murders — or does it? — but rather than corpses, it’s time and space and human connection that get most memorably diced, here. Working from Georges Simenon’s ’64 novel of a wrong man accused — or…
WWII Drama Fury Shows the Ugly Part of an Ugly War
A gloom hangs over writer-director David Ayer’s brutal war drama Fury that only the audience can see. It’s April 1945, and we know that in weeks the Nazis will surrender. The war is already over — Hitler just hasn’t admitted it. American sergeant Don “Wardaddy” Collier (Brad Pitt) suspects as…
Momix: Alchemia
Moses Pendleton, founder and artistic director of the dancer-illusionist troupe MOMIX, delivers Alchemia. The show has a dash of the whimsical, fantastical world of wizardry. Incorporating an extremely unusual soundtrack, the two-part multimedia presentation features a handful of dancers who dazzle as they explore the four elements: earth, wind, fire and water…
National Acrobats of China
Get a show and a chance to break the Guinness world record for the number of people spinning plates simultaneously at the National Acrobats of China show. Presented by the Society for the Performing Arts, the acrobatic troupe features 35 performers, each of them a master in illusion, martial arts…
Capsule Art Reviews: October 9, 2014
“Fools Gold: Katy Heinlein & Alika Herreshoff” Strong colors deliver the messages of two artists, one using fabric sculptures and the other employing acrylic on canvas. Katy Heinlein’s sculpture Workaround is deceptively simple. Its shape is interesting, defying familiar categorization. It’s covered in green fabric, with a gold fabric strip…
Bayou City Art Festival Downtown 2014
Bayou City Art Festival Downtown 2014, a two-day celebration with some 300 national and international juried fine and pop visual artists, debuts Bayou City after Dark on Saturday, a nighttime continuation of the fun with concerts and cocktails. The artists, who work in a variety of mediums including photography, sculpture,…
Cinema’s Greatest Villain Is Dull and Sad in Dracula Untold
This Dracula Begins-style sword-and-fangs curio plays like someone said, “What if we took a vampire flick but did a find-and-replace swapping out all that bare-neck sensuality for some video-game ass-kicking?” Or: “Remember what the Star Wars prequels did for Darth Vader? Let’s foist the same kind of tragic love story…
Inprint Margarett Root Brown Reading Series: Deborah Eisenberg and Antonya Nelson
Antonya Nelson, named by The New Yorker as one of the “twenty young fiction writers for the new millennium,” is a familiar face on the Houston literary scene. Along with being well-known for her novels and short-story collections, she holds the Cullen Chair in Creative Writing at the University of…
What’s Going on With This All-Beyoncé Station?
The talk of the radio world today is the stark layoffs and new format at the now-former News 92 FM, which earlier Wednesday announced that it was ending its news operation and letting go of all its 47 employees. Then it started playing Beyonce, nothing but Beyonce, and — calling…
Film Podcast: Twin Peaks Returns, The Judge Disappoints and Whiplash Drips with Jazz
Alan Scherstuhl and Stephanie Zacharek of the Village Voice, along with LA Weekly’s Amy Nicholson, open this week’s podcast with a brief discussion of Twin Peaks, which comes back to TV via a series on Showtime in 2016, and move onto The Judge, starring Robert Downey Jr. and Robert Duvall,…
Congratulations, Best of Houston® 2014 Music & Nightlife Winners
Houston is fun. Even if the ink is still wet on the lease you just signed after relocating here to work in the Bayou City’s booming energy or health-care sectors, it shouldn’t take you any more than 48 hours before something here makes you wonder how you ever got along…
Caracol: Doubling Down on Family and Ceviche
Houston is a rambling, gambling town and this year Best of Houston celebrates those in the community who are taking a chance. Hugo Ortega’s story is truly one of rags to riches. “In Mexico, we have a saying,” he says. “‘If you’re born poor, you’ll die poor.’ I knew I…
Reality Bites: 4th And Loud
There are a million reality shows on the naked television. We’re going to watch them all, one at a time. I’ve been asked by unrelated people on at least three unconnected occasions when I was planning on covering 4th and Loud for the continuing exercise in converting what remains of…
Betting on Their Own Team: Sugar Land’s Minor-League Gamble Pays Off
Houston is a rambling, gambling town and this year Best of Houston celebrates those in the community who are taking a chance. At baseball’s major league level, the stadium boom of the 1990s was built on promises of economic stimulation and community pride, with cities investing hundreds of millions in…
Chef Chat, Part 1: Randy Evans
After last week’s Chef Chat with Chris Shepherd, the next person that we wanted to talk to was Chef Randy Evans. As best friends who met on the first day of culinary school and went on to work for years together at Brennan’s of Houston, the two are part of…
Guardians of Houston: Jorge Marín’s “Wings of the City” Are Breathtaking in Their Humanity
A winged angel holds a dying woman. Though her eyes are closed, she is still alive, as in desperation one arm clings tightly to the angel. His expression is a complex mixture of sadness at her anguish and perhaps of resignation as to the inevitability of death, while showing his…
Who’s Afraid of Big, Bad Amazon? Not the Women of Fashion Truck Collection
Houston is a rambling, gambling town and this year Best of Houston celebrates those in the community who are taking a chance. Coryne Rich, the woman behind the Shoe Bar fashion truck, says she’s got something Amazon and Etsy don’t — a curated collection specifically meant to reflect the tastes…
This Week in Food Blogs: Take a Whack at the Cronut Recipe
Gastronaut: Meatless Mondays don’t have to be bland; vegetarian and vegan dishes can easily be filled with flavor and enticing ingredients, like a veggie panini with a side of cauliflower nuggets at Green Seed Vegan. Katharine Shilcutt writes that the cauliflower nuggets “were as good as ever.” The veggies were…
Jordy Tollett, Former “Mister Downtown,” Is Again in Jail Because of Booze
Once a political wheeler-dealer and head of the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau, Gerard Jay “Jordy” Tollett is again in jail because of alcohol. Records show Tollett, now Pasadena Convention Center general manager, was arrested for drunk driving in Nassau Bay on March 4, 2012. Tollett immediately appealed when…
Review: Chama Gaúcha Brazilian Steakhouse Thrives in a Crowded Field
“Would you like to try our picanha? It’s our most prized cut of meat,” says the server dressed in a tan-colored shirt with a red scarf around his neck. He holds the three-foot metal skewer just to the side of your plate, close enough so that you can see the…
Magical and Fantastic: Patrick Renner Transforms Dream Images into Reality
Walk through Eastwood Park on Harrisburg Boulevard and be prepared for a bit of visual hijinks. Depending on your vantage point, you might see an aluminum rocket ship jutting upward or a bicycle Ferris wheel spinning in the wind. An orange automobile plods through the air and a Chinese dragon…
Houston’s Best Music Photographers: Jason Smith
Back in June Rocks Off brought you Houston’s ten best music photographers, as selected by a small panel of insiders and professionals. Now we’d like you readers to choose the best. Before voting opens, though, here’s a little more about our finalists, in alphabetical order — and a lot more…
Harris County Was One of the Deadliest Places for Women in 2013
In case you need another bit of horrible news, the folks over at Texas Council on Family Violence kicked off the start of Domestic Violence Awareness Month by releasing a report on women murdered by domestic violence. The annual report, based on data gathered and confirmed through law enforcement, district…
100 Creatives 2014: Terrill Mitchell, Dancer
Terrill Mitchell, company member of MET Dance, finds a lot of motivation in failure. The 28-year-old Mitchell grew up in Morgantown, West Virginia, a small town, training as a competitive dancer (yep, like the kids you see in Dance Moms). He was the only male dancer at the studio where…
The Houston Texans “Behind the Chains”: Lose Yards, Kill Drive
If you read my entries in this blog, you know there are certain things that I find intriguing — fan fights in stadium bathrooms, crime stories from the state of Florida, crime stories involving NFL players, the occasional recreational wager. These things all intrigue me. But if you examine closely,…
Top 5 Twin Peaks Video Game References
So, you might have heard that David Lynch and Mark Frost are bringing their acclaimed series Twin Peaks back to television a quarter of a century after it went off the air. Consistently rated one of the best television shows of all time, the small town full of darkness was…
Forget Mudbugs; Crawfish & Noodles’ Crab Shines Through the Off-Season
It may not be crawfish season, but that doesn’t mean you should discount Crawfish & Noodles. The Asiatown eatery’s crab dishes are just as good as the tiny critters…if not better. We can’t decide what we love more; the King legs or whole-fried Dungeness and Blue. Maybe you should come…
Randy Bachman Is Forever Takin’ Care of Business
In his career as a co-vocalist/guitarist/songwriter for not one but two pretty successful classic-rock bands, the Guess Who and Bachman-Turner Overdrive, Randy Bachman has sold tens of millions of records, sold out concerts and hit the top of the charts. But, according to his son, singer/songwriter Tal Bachman (who had…
Best Wine Bar
Great wine bars are as much about atmosphere as good wine. Luckily, La Carafe has lots of both. Despite the popular misconception, La Carafe is not actually the oldest bar in Houston (that distinction belongs to Leon’s), but it is housed in the oldest commercial building in town — supposedly…
Best Sculpture Garden
Nassau Bay’s Space Walk Plaza is barely more than a median in one of the access roads to the Clear Lake-area bedroom community. But it’s across from Johnson Space Center, and thanks to sculptor Eric Ober, it’s one of Houston’s most unique points of interest. Five years in the making…
Best Food-Truck Park
My Food Park HTX opened in late 2013 and brought a cornucopia of food-truck cuisine to the west Houston Energy Corridor. With three and a half acres of land, there’s always a place to sit and dig into your food — not many food-truck parks have such relaxing seating. The…
Best Nigerian Restaurant
If you’re in any way familiar with the Houston food scene, you know by now that a nondescript strip-mall location and shabby sign are in no way indicators of a restaurant’s quality. Proving this rule once again is Safari, which has a small but loyal following of diners who come…
Best Pho
Pho Binh first established a reputation for serving the best pho in town out of a trailer on Beamer Road. Following the success of the trailer, the owners opened a bigger, brighter spot that shines like a beacon in the darkness on Bellaire after hours: Pho Binh by Night. What…
Best Indian Restaurant
At Himalaya Restaurant & Catering, chef Kaiser Lashkari cooks up the best (and spiciest) Indian and Pakistani food around in a no-frills environment. Until recently, there was a desk in the middle of the dining room from which Lashkari took phone calls and conducted business. The desk is now gone,…
Best Neighborhood Spot in Montrose
The moment you walk through the doors at the Barnaby’s Cafe in Montrose, you feel right at home, even if you’re a first-time visitor. The waitstaff welcomes you with giant smiles and open arms. It’s a “mi casa, su casa” kind of place, and there’s something on the menu for…
Best Gay Bar
Ah, George — don’t ever change your ways. Don’t ever change your laid-back, neighborhood pub atmosphere, with your friendly bartenders, pool, darts and cozy patio. For eight years, you’ve been a smile at the end of a hard day. Your prices are just right, even when it’s not happy hour…
Best Steak
Cordon Bleu-trained Pearland native Ronnie Killen knows how to make a mean steak. His icehouse-turned-steakhouse is certainly the best in Pearland, and his steaks, sourced from high-quality meat purveyors such as Allen Brothers and Strube Ranch, are among the best in the greater Houston area. In fact, order his 32-ounce…
Best Macaron
Sukaina Rajani, co-owner of Macaron by Patisse, sells more than 20 flavors in her glamorous River Oaks store. Her beautiful display case features classic and simple flavors such as pistachio, vanilla, chocolate and rose as well as more exotic ones such as lavender with white chocolate, chai spice, and fig…
Best Computer Store
It’s easier than ever to go online and purchase what you need, especially when it comes to electronics. Everyone knows that. Now consider the nightmare scenario: Your computer dies. Suddenly you can’t just jump online and order the right part for the problem. If that dreaded day ever comes (or…
Best Comic Book Store
Ever since Jeremy and Annie Bulloch opened their shop off West and Highway 6 in 2011, it’s been an exceptional hub of geek culture that gets bigger and better. Poised to have double the floor space in the very near future, 8th Dimension is not only chock-full of the best…
Best Fans
After a 2005-2006 season in which the Houston Rockets went 15-26 at home, then-Rockets head coach Jeff Van Gundy held auditions for what he would deem the most rabid Rockets fans, and would literally give them their own section in Toyota Center. Thus the Red Rowdies were born, and the…
Best Dog Park
It’s so well planned and so enjoyable for human and canine visitors that we forgive the Discovery Green Kinder Large Dog Run and Harriet and Joe Foster Small Dog Run its extremely cumbersome name(s). Discovery Green has separate fenced areas for large and small dogs, with both crushed gravel and…
Best Place for a Pickup Game
There was a saying back in the 1990s that the only reason Michael Jordan wouldn’t win the MVP award some seasons is that writers were tired of voting for him. The same could probably be said of Fonde Rec Center and the “Best Place for a Pickup Game” Award in…
Best Sports Bar
Sports are the ultimate communal experience, and these days every establishment with a TV has the game on. Like many spots, Nick’s offers a multitude of televisions and some serious eats. Unlike a lot of places, however, Nick’s has character, and not that manufactured type that comes in the form…
Best Jazz Club
At this point, Cezanne is so synonymous with jazz in Houston that it’s difficult even to think of a No. 2, even though the intimate upstairs venue has live music only on Fridays and Saturdays. The room is cozy, the acoustics are great and the bookings are stellar, whether they’re…
Best Neighborhood Spot in the Village
If you want killer frites with house-made roasted garlic aioli, a fantastic warm goat cheese and hazelnut salad, or classic boeuf bourguignon, get your butt to this French restaurant in Rice Village. Café Rabelais isn’t open at all hours of the day, but when it is, these folks are dishing…
Best Burger Joint
At Hubcap Grill, the fries are delicious — thick, crispy and, if you like, dusted with garlic or feta cheese. You’ll forget all about them, however, if you also order (and why wouldn’t you?) one of the restaurant’s specialty burgers. There are terrific though comparatively pedestrian options such as a…
Best Wine List
You might not expect to find an awesome wine list at a small Chinese restaurant on Bellaire, but there’s a lot about Mala Sichuan that’s surprising. Sommelier Justin Vann, who runs his own wine and beer consulting company, called PSA Wines, created the wine list for the small bistro after…
Best Desserts
This bakery from pastry chef Roy Shvartzapel — whose résumé includes Bouchon, elBulli and Cyrus, to name a few — may have opened only this year, but it has already gained a cult following. One bite of the salted caramel macarons, rich and chewy chocolate chip cookies, decadent chocolate éclairs…
Best Mexican Restaurant
The huge, vibrant wall murals are certainly a draw, but this hip Montrose eatery’s traditional Mexican fare is what keeps people coming back. That and the fact that the owners — Ana Beaven and Charlie McDaniel — are constantly cooking up new ways to engage the community. During the week,…
Best Band to Get Together in the Past Year
New bands show up on the scene just about every week, but not too many make the kind of splash that BLSHS has. In less than 12 months, Chris Gore, Rick Carruth and Michelle Miers have become one of Houston’s most popular local acts, winning new fans by the score…
Best Beer List
This Montrose brew bar helmed by guru Kevin Floyd remains just as popular today as it was when it burst onto the scene in 2012, thanks in part to its stellar cask selection (five per day, to be exact) and eccentric list of local favorite and hard-to-find beers. It’s the…
Best Kolaches
The Kolache Factory is a Texas (and Houston) staple. With multiple locations around the city, you can fill up a box with sweet, fruit-filled kolaches, spicy jalapeño poppers, and, of course, the classic sausage, egg and cheese. The exotic and out-of-the-box fillings wouldn’t be anything without the soft and hearty…
Best Place to Buy a Gun
Whether you’re looking for a fancy new SIG Sauer or a pair of antique flintlock duelers, Collectors Firearms is your target. What began in 1975 as a 600-square-foot shop has grown into a major showcase boasting an inventory of more than 7,000 guns as well as a ton of ammo,…
Best Adult Gift Store
One of the crown jewels of the Galleria area, this boutique has been serving Houstonians’ naughtier sides for many years. It’s truly one-stop shopping — you can get your traditional one and three-fourths-inch red ball gag, kiwi-strawberry lube, French maid’s outfit and an Adam & Eve Easy Anal Buddy on…
Best Sports Franchise
This year naming Houston’s best pro sports franchise feels like judging a state-fair ugly contest — even first prize needs a little makeup to leave the house. But given the competition this year (even the Dynamo were basement dwellers as of this writing), the Rockets still win this category going…
Best Cheap Seats
The Astros are admittedly terrible, but there’s a plus side in the form of those amazingly cheap seats. Right now a trip to Minute Maid Park to take in America’s national pastime will set you back as little as $10. The view is decent even from the nosebleed sections, and…
Best Place to Ride a Horse
Cypress Trails is located near George Bush Intercontinental Airport, but it’s hard to remember this place is anywhere near the city when you’re out on a horse taking in the natural beauty. The instructors are patient and helpful with beginners, and they also approve experienced horsewomen and horsemen to take…
Best Bar Games
Death to Giant Jenga. When you’re out drinking with your friends, forget the world of physical games and embrace the joy that is the arcade. By day, Joystix might just be a cool store that sells classic arcade games and pinball machines, but once Pacman Fever Fridays roll around, it’s…
Best Artist
David Hardaker’s name seems to be on everyone’s lips lately, and there’s no surprise as to why the figurative painter has earned the respect of his peers. He has an excellent eye for line and color and a sense of humor about his work. (His Lost Monsters series, a collection…
Best Pastry Chef
Rebecca Masson, a.k.a. The Sugar Fairy, made a name for herself nationally as a competitor on Top Chef: Just Desserts in 2011, but she also has grabbed Houston’s attention with exquisite treats from her custom bake shop, Fluff Bake Bar. Various coffee shops and markets in the city sell her…
Best Enchiladas
For more than 20 years, Sylvia Casares has consistently proven that quantity and quality are not mutually exclusive, at least when it comes to enchiladas. Her ever-expanding menu of enchilada varieties (19 and counting) is overwhelming not simply because of the number of options, but because each and every one…
Best Breakfast Tacos
These are the cheapest breakfast tacos in town, and also the best. For only $1 (no tax), you get a thick, fluffy flour tortilla packed with the only option Tacos Tierra Caliente usually offers: eggs, potato, ham and chorizo. What the cooks make is what you get, and what they…
Best Korean Restaurant
Often overshadowed by more popular spots like Korea House or Bon Ga, Il Me Jung is a small, unassuming restaurant nestled in a cozy space on Long Point Road. It’s popular for its Korean seafood dishes, prepared with fish so fresh you can pick them out of tanks up front…
Best Oysters
You can get Gulf oysters all around Houston, but for the best variety of exotics, Eleven XI is where it’s at. Executive chef Kevin Bryant is so serious about his oysters that he devotes half his walk-in cooler just to storing them. During the week, he offers a minimum of…
Best Concert Venue
The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, which recently welcomed brand-new presenting sponsor Huntsman, is celebrating its 25th anniversary in style this year. It’s been one of the nation’s top-grossing concert venues for many years, but in June the Pavilion was featured in Billboard magazine, which saluted the 16,000-capacity amphitheater as a…
Best Charcuterie
It happens every single time there are new people who haven’t yet been to Kris Bistro: When the charcuterie comes out, presented on a hanging display with the different cuts of meat dangling from clothespins, heads turn, cameras whip out and collective gasps erupt all around. And that’s just for…
Best Nachos
One of the most disappointing aspects of eating nachos is getting to the bottom and realizing all you’re left with is chips and a little bit of queso. You might get lucky and have a jalapeño slide through the cracks, but the rest of the good stuff is all gone…
Best Tree-Removal Service
Houston’s weather extremes — heat, drought, flooding, hurricanes — can be stressful for even the hardiest of trees, weakening them and leaving them prone to breaking. It seems every big thunderstorm downs trees and leaves streets filled with fallen branches. Tree Climbers tree removal service, staffed with fast-working, smart and…
Best Antiques Store
One of the reasons we love this place so much is that everyone here is interested in antiques as fun, stylish pieces, as opposed to dusty, staid museum relics. As discussed on the store’s website, some people immediately equate “antique” with hand-crocheted doilies and a “floral teacup and saucer.” But…
Best Beach
Located on the eastern tip of Galveston Island, East Beach is “The People’s Beach,” where generations of Houstonians have come to party amid the sand and surf. Outfitted with a boardwalk, pavilion and entertainment stage, the park has been hosting concerts for years, but this past summer Houston electronic-music promoters…
Best Place to Ride Go-Karts
Yes, there are places that have faster go-karts. Yes, there are places where you can ride indoors. The reality is that while many places in Houston offer many different kinds of go-karting experiences, none delivers a better ratio of fun-to-money than Speedy’s. The track lives up to its name, especially…
Readers’ Choice Contest
From across the Houston area, thousands of you weighed in on what you are certain are the city’s best people, restaurants, services, sights and sites. Read on to see what most of you love best, and check out our picks to see how we compared. Readers’ Poll Winners: ARTS &…
Best Museum
No museum can be all things to all people, but the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston certainly gives it a good try. The museum’s holdings include a heady mix of European masterpieces, contemporary Latin American works, landmark photographs, historic Asian and Islamic art and relics from pre-Columbian and African civilizations…
Best Place to Relax
Relaxation comes in many forms: a hot bath, a cold beer, even a long run. The greatest peace any of us can have, and thus the most relaxed we can be, comes from peace of mind. While we might not all agree on that beer or that run, everyone can…
Best Salad
The Chicken Harvest Salad at Adair Kitchen is a simple dish, but features a multitude of ingredients that perfectly harmonize. The crisp, fresh butter lettuce sits underneath a combination of thinly sliced juicy strawberries; ripe avocado chunks; strong purple onions; chewy walnuts; soft, pungent goat cheese; and tender grilled chicken…
Best Sundae
In a city dense with cookie-cutter chain ice cream outlets, the arrival of Cloud 10 Creamery and its finely crafted flavor selection (which has included red currant mascarpone, gingersnap and buttermilk chai) was a breath of fresh air. Among creator Chris Leung’s many unique spins on traditional treats is Cloud…
Best Neighborhood Spot in Upper Kirby
This cozy house tucked away off Richmond sure serves up some fantastically non-hobbit-size fare. Grab a few pints from the rotating selection of local and craft beer out on the deck shaded by oak trees, then dig into some seriously good burgers and sandwiches topped and stuffed with all manner…
Best Ceviche
There are many places in town that serve ceviche, but none do it with as much swagger as chef Roberto Castre of Latin Bites. Castre always has at least three kinds on the menu, each one created with confidence and consistency. His Market ceviche comes alive with textures and flavors…
Best Pizza
When this West U eatery — the younger, more casual sister of Italian resto’ Coppa — opened, it set out to make the kind of pizza people want to eat. We’d say it has succeeded. Diners can look in on the “dough room,” where fresh pizza (and pasta) dough are…
Best Place to Gamble Legally
Even if all you know of horse racing is what you saw in Seabiscuit, you can still have a grand time betting on the ponies at Sam Houston Race Park. Admission is cheap, parking is easy, and the food and drink are affordable. They offer live Thoroughbred racing from January…
Best Thai Restaurant
You have to go out of your way to find Thai Gourmet, a place almost hidden away in a strip mall on Richmond between Hillcroft and Fountainview. And yet it still gets packed. The reason? The food. You can get something as simple as a pad Thai noodle dish or…
Best South American Restaurant
Set in the heart of River Oaks, the flagship for the Cordúa family of restaurants is its brightest-shining star. Though the menu is still dominated by the signature, much-imitated churrasco steak, executive chef David Cordúa also has introduced fun and approachable items, such as deep-fried empanadas, ceviches in a rainbow…
Best Cigar Seller
It’s hard to find a cigar shop that truly feels like the real deal these days. That’s where McCoy’s Fine Cigars comes in. We can’t help loving a shop that’s family-owned and located in downtown Houston, with the bonus of actually being all about good cigars. They have an excellent…
Best Costume Shop
We love this place so much, we can hardly wait for Halloween. A random Tuesday will do. With costumes ranging from superheroes to Jazz Age flappers, from theatrical garb to mascots, Party Boy has something for just about every occasion. The prices are right, and the staffers are courteous, knowledgeable…
Best Stadium Announcer
While the times are getting better, over the past four years, there hasn’t been much at Minute Maid Park that’s made Astros fans feel like they’re rooting for a Major League product on the field. Thankfully, though, every time the lineup is announced or a batter is introduced, the booming…
Best City Park
Hermann Park turns 100 next year, and it’s in great shape for its centennial. Landscape architect George Kessler designed the park in 1915 and included plenty of attractions but left lots of open space for future development. But wars, a waning economy and fickle public support delayed many of the…
2014 Best of Houston: Winner Take All
Houston is a rambling, gambling town. From John Kirby Allen and August Chapman Allen, the two land-speculating brothers who founded this city by betting they could convince people to move next to a muddy river, to the thousands who migrate here every year in search of warm winters and hot…
Best Honky Tonk
Inflaming listeners’ political passions is how Michael Berry makes his living, but his own passion is music. More specifically, the highly rated KTRH-AM talk-radio host digs roots stuff, often talking up Texas country, Southern rock and gonzo Americana artists on the air or welcoming them as guests. Since last fall,…
Best Choreographer
This is a bittersweet award this year. Dominic Walsh, a longtime leading dancemaker in Houston and this year’s Best Choreographer award winner, is leaving town — at least for a little while. Walsh came to Houston as a teenager in 1987 and spent several years as a dancer with the…
Best Margaritas
Think of this hip downtown watering hole as the late El Gran Malo’s younger, more badass brother. With 50 handcrafted tequila infusions in flavors such as red roasted beet, peanut butter and vanilla habanero, this tequila house concocts one helluva margarita. Go classic with the agave, lemon and lime El…
Best Risotto
At Poscol it’s easy to get distracted by the many, many masterful dishes, but resist filling up on bruschette and salumi, and save room for the succulent risotto with chicken livers and squash. Autumnal vegetables and rich bits of poultry offal mingle in each bite of supple, plump rice saturated…
Best Crawfish
The original location of LA Crawfish, the Viet-Cajun joint that expanded recently to meet increased demand for spicy mudbugs, is tucked into the food court of a Chinese grocery store. The spot doesn’t look like the purveyor of the best crawfish in town, but one bite of the crawfish pho…
Best Late-Night Restaurant
Open until midnight on weekdays and 3 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays, Pho Binh By Night serves the same amazing pho that started the Pho Binh sensation in a trailer on Beamer Road south of Hobby Airport. The pho empire has since expanded, and the late-night outpost on Bellaire gleams like…
Best Tex-Mex Restaurant
Sitting prominently on the corner of Richmond and Kirby, Little Pappasito’s is one of those places that always manage to deliver on their promise of tasty, satisfying Tex-Mex. Maybe that’s because it’s so old and familiar. Or maybe it’s because the place is always super-crazy-busy. Whatever the case, the margaritas…
Best Reading Series
There are lots of reading series in town, but the Poison Pen Reading Series is the only one that’s set in a low-key neighborhood bar. And the only one that offers such an eclectic lineup of literary types. Locals such as Robert Boswell, Katherine Center, Antonya Nelson and former Houston…
Best Steak Night
In addition to having one of the most affordable steak nights around, MKT Bar at Phoenicia Specialty Foods downtown has the distinction of making the deal available twice a week — every Tuesday and Thursday. For the staggeringly affordable price of $12.99, you get to feast on a fresh and…
Best Barbecue
Get ready to stand in line if you plan on stuffing your face with brisket, ribs and sausage at Killen’s Barbecue. Ronnie Killen’s Pearland BBQ restaurant draws crowds each and every day, and with one bite of the tender, moist, black-crusted brisket, you’ll know why. Some describe it as food…
Best Amusement Center
For those looking for a fun way to kill an afternoon without falling into bankruptcy, Speedy’s gives one helluva return on investment. Speedy’s has the best go-karts in Houston, but the off-track there is solid entertainment, too. The mini-golf course isn’t bad, given the sorry state of Houston putt-putt. The…
Best Place to Buy Gaming Supplies
There may be no better place than Asgard to let out your inner geek. Or even your outer one, for that matter. That’s because Asgard hosts weekly tournaments for games like Magic: The Gathering, with plenty of tables for you and your fellow knights, elves and wizards to enjoy an…
Best Health and Fitness Enterprise
What do you get when you offer 5K races to anyone who wants to sign up and you don’t charge one cent? You get teenage couples running together on a Sunday morning with the sun barely peeking over the horizon. You get whole families not only urging each other on…
Best Rocket
Dwight Howard brought the initial headlines, but James Harden got the final recognition. After finishing fifth in the NBA in scoring last season at 25.4 points per game while also dishing out more than six assists per game, The Beard became just the third Rocket to be named First Team…
Best Blues Club
It’s been a more eventful year than usual for Dan Electro’s, probably the lowest-profile place among Houston’s major live-music venues. It started off sadly with February’s death of Rozz Zamorano, the bass master who was one of the Sunset Heights club’s stalwart musicians, and then went through another big change…
Best Dancer
Connor Walsh, principal dancer for the Houston Ballet, was an impressive presence onstage during the company’s recent production of Swan Lake. The classic ballet about lost love is, of course, a vehicle for the female lead — here it was Sara Webb who partnered with Walsh — but his performance…
Best Designer
There are Houston designers with larger clienteles and larger staffs than Kate dePara: Her store, Evens, has only five outlets, and her workforce consists of herself and one seamstress/patternmaker. But there aren’t any Houston designers with more commitment to craft or customers. The name “Evens” is a nod to dePara’s…
Best Ribs
You won’t find ribs just in pig form at this barbecue mecca. Chef Ronnie Killen is serving up bones of the mighty cow, too. Large enough to make even Fred Flintstone swoon, the beef ribs are rich, smoky and full-on beefy with a lustrous cap of charred and rendered fat…
Best Breakfast
You can’t help feeling right at home when you walk inside Harry’s. The entire cafe smells like maple syrup, bacon, pancakes and French toast, just as a diner should. And speak of the delicious devil, the baklava French toast is a must-order meal. Rather than simply being topped with butter…
Best Bread Basket
Gone are the days of the standard slices of French baguette with pats of butter. Nowadays, many restaurants offer a bread basket filled with an intriguing array of crackers, flatbreads and other doughy items, sometimes for an additional fee. At benjy’s on Washington (and also in Rice Village), you never…
Best Chicken-Fried Steak
BRC Gastropub’s chicken-fried steak is a heart-stopping breakfast for dinner and is anything but traditional. The tender steak is coated in a jalapeño and potato chip batter, creating a greasy, crispy, spicy and salty crust. It’s then topped with a paprika-seasoned cream gravy and two eggs (medium over easy is…
Best Soup Dumplings
It’s an unlikely spot for an authentic Cantonese restaurant, but on the second floor of the Galleria Mall II, not far from the entrance to Nordstrom, E-Tao is cooking up Shanghai-worthy food. In the case of the soup dumpling, or xiaolongbao, E-Tao actually manages to do the unthinkable and beat…
Best Movie Theater
In recent years, Landmark River Oaks has won six Best of Houston® awards: five for Best Movie Theater and one for Best Film Series. The multiple wins can be credited to its physical structure and programming. The theater was built in 1939, and its art deco interior has understandably been…
Best Peking Duck
Its name may be Regal Seafood, but the place might as well be Regal Peking Duck. This new Cantonese restaurant, owned by the same folks as E-Tao in the Galleria, specializes in Peking duck carved tableside, and it’s a sight to behold. The golden, crispy-skinned duck is wheeled out on…
Best Tasting Menu
You could visit Kata Robata every single night and get a different tasting menu. That’s the beauty of a Japanese omakase, which, translated, means “trust chef.” Available by reservation at the sushi bar and varying between eight to 12 courses on a given night, the omakase experience with executive chef…
Best Dog Trainer
Dogs are the best and we really love them, but sometimes we need a little help because, say, our furry friends have taken to getting into the trash or shredding books to ribbons or trying to attack other dogs on sight. That’s where Donald Chambers comes in. Chambers is a…
Best Web Comic
Jason Poland got started cartooning playing Mario Paint on Super Nintendo, and from there graduated to doing Robbie and Bobby for The Daily Cougar. Now it’s easily the most amusing web comic in the city. Call it a darker version of Calvin and Hobbes for the Cartoon Network generation. That’s…
Best Sports Role Model
Heading into his tenth season in the NFL, Houston Texans center Chris Myers has been one of the team’s true leaders in the transition from the Gary Kubiak era to the Bill O’Brien era. A two time Pro Bowler, Myers is anxious to help the team bounce back to playoff…
Best Weekend Getaway
Galveston Island has lots of year-round attractions, including Moody Gardens, the Pleasure Pier and the Strand Historic District. There’s also the Pier 21 Theater (with exhibits and screenings about the great 1900 storm that completely submerged the island), the Texas Seaport Museum (with the 1877 tall ship Elissa), and several…
Best Downtown Bar
When you’re looking for a great downtown watering hole, you can’t go wrong with Captain Foxheart’s Bad News Bar & Spirit Lodge. Located on Main, it’s nestled in a long space with cavernous ceilings and a balcony that offers a fantastic ringside seat to downtown Houston. But this isn’t just…
Best Film Festival
It would be a gross understatement to call the Indian Film Festival of Houston, now in its sixth year, a celebration of Bollywood. Yes, there are the lavish musicals that are popular in India, filled with dashing men and beautiful women, huge dance numbers and infectious music. But that’s only…
Best Tourist Attraction
There’s a lovely, geeky, cool, nerdy reciprocal relationship between NASA scientists and Hollywood filmmakers that has made for some interesting science-fact-meets-science-fiction moments at the Space Center Houston, our winner for Best Tourist Attraction. Astronauts have often credited sci-fi films with sparking their interest in science and outer space. Filmmakers, on…
Best Deli
Not only do the fine folks at this Heights spot offer locally made cheese and heritage-breed pork, lamb and chicken raised from their own farms, they also make their own charcuterie, available at the deli counter by the pound. Head here for fiery salumis, pecan-studded mortadella, lamb pastrami and special…
Best Soul Food
This is not your high school cafeteria. At Mikki’s Soul Food Cafe, staples such as fried chicken, smothered pork chops, macaroni and cheese, and the infamous sits-like-a-brick-in-your-belly beefsteak with “40-pound gravy” are done in superior fashion. Look no further than the consistently long lines and blissful faces of exiting customers…
Best Sushi
When MF Sushi closed because of a fire in late September 2013, Houstonians mourned the loss of the restaurant helmed by chef Chris Kinjo. Thankfully it reopened in May, and Kinjo got back to doing what he does best: incredible sushi. The most authentic experience is had at the sushi…
Best Pakistani Restaurant
Just a few doors down from Bismillah Cafe is Bismillah Restaurant, the slightly more upscale and traditional sister to the Pakistani-American fusion cafe. The restaurant is known for majorly spicy food, from beef nihari thickened with bone marrow to tawa keema, a ground-beef cake sure to set your taste buds…
Best Brunch
Imagine the magic of Hugo’s legendary brunch buffet. Now imagine it with a focus on bright and vibrant seafood. That’s what you have with this latest coastal Mexican venture from Hugo Ortega and Tracy Vaught. Start with a fewcóctelescreated by beverage director Sean Beck, then move on to the outrageous…
Best Place to Ride a Train
The sad reality is that Houston is not exactly the best city in the world if you’re a train enthusiast. The good news is that in the world of park trains, Hermann Park has one of the best anywhere, and it’s something that every single person reading this should experience…
Best Peruvian Restaurant
A slew of new Peruvian restaurants have been popping up all over Houston, but Latin Bites is still the place for an authentic take. Though the menu has been changed to incorporate dishes from other South American countries, chef Roberto Castre’s Peruvian roots shine through in his creative ceviches and…
Best Brewery
You can stop by for a tour and weekday lunch with fresh-tapped brews, or spend your Saturday afternoon lounging in the beer hall playing board games, eating lunch and, of course, drinking beers. Or you can have one crazy week and do both. Tours are held at 3:30 p.m. on…
Best Doggie Day Care
Leaving your dogs with someone else isn’t always easy, which is why it’s important that you already feel comfortable with the people you’re leaving them with before you drop them off. From the first phone call, the folks at Lakeside will make you feel as if you don’t have a…
Best Car Wash
In a city where the car is king, there’d better be some good car washes. Fortunately, Houstonians have a healthy array of lathering options, even if it’s just a quick-and-cheap gas station drive-through. But if you want a cut above without breaking the bank, we recommend Splash. For $16 to…
Best Picnic Spot
Menil Park offers a refreshing change of pace in the bustle of the Inner Loop. Even though the park is not huge, there’s ample room to spread out a blanket in the shade. It’s a quiet space that’s anything but boring. The creative types who frequent this green spot make…
Best Golf Course
Despite golf’s best efforts to become more inclusive, the fact is if you want to just jump out and play 18 holes, at many courses, even public courses, a major cash outlay is involved. Thankfully, back in the late ’90s, the city of Houston decided to invest in restoring the…
Best Public Art
It’s not as beautiful as it once was. The paint is faded and worn away. But even in its neglected state, Leo Tanguma’s The Rebirth of Our Nationality is an example of public art at its best. It stirs emotions. It’s something to be proud of. It gives the public…
Best Radio Personality
Since his days at Rock 101, Outlaw Dave’s show has been Houston radio’s pre-eminent man cave, the only place for listeners to stay abreast of the latest developments in booze, babes, bikes and everything else they need to know to keep from having their dude credentials getting revoked. Six nights…
Best Place for Cocktails
Lei Low Rum Lounge doesn’t look like the obvious choice when you’re after a good cocktail. It’s stuck next to a convenience store in a badly paved little strip center in the Heights. But those not deterred by the coconut-and-palm-tree decor are in for a treat. Lei Low is a…
Best Expense-Account Restaurant
When it comes to business dining, we say, “Go big or go home.” And there’s no better place to do that than the classy, always impeccable Tony’s on Richmond. Even though this fine dining establishment has been around for nearly 50 years, it continues to wow Houston crowds. Where else…
Best Banh Mi
To make a great banh mi, a restaurant must have great bread, and Les Givral’s, once a bakery in Paris and Saigon, certainly does. It has a thin, crispy crust and a soft inside that soaks up the juice from the meat, veggies and sauces. Les Givral’s keeps it simple…
Best Chinese Restaurant
Evidence that Mala Sichuan is the best Chinese restaurant in Houston: It’s always packed with local chefs hanging out in the small, unassuming space, ordering everything on the menu and hoping to pick up some tips or ideas for how to improve their own food. Sichuan is, of course, a…
Best Neighborhood Spot in the Galleria
This neighborhood bar and grill has everything you could want in a chill hangout spot. Come here to share a bucket of beer with buds, then chow down on beefy burgers, fried pickles and Gulf Coast specialties such as oysters on the half shell and crawfish étouffée. With weekly steak…
Best Chips and Salsa
Since 1941, the Molina family has been turning out tasty, family-friendly Tex-Mex, and at the heart of any great Tex-Mex restaurant are the chips and salsa. Molina’s chips are made fresh daily. Extremely thin and crisp without the slightest hint of oil, they break if you dip them too vigorously…
Best Performance Space
We call it “Best Performance Space,” but what that really means is that Discovery Green is Houston’s best place to be an audience member. Now six years old, the 12-acre park has a calendar overflowing with events, from participatory activities like yoga, soccer and salsa lessons to frequent movie screenings…
Best Seafood Restaurant
Located way outside the Loop in a remote strip mall on Bellaire near Kirkwood, Hai Cang Harbor Seafood is one of those places where it’s all about the food. Entering the restaurant, you’ll notice the tanks of live seafood just off the left of the hostess stand. Peer inside, and…
Best Rail Station
In life, sometimes the ride is more important than the destination, and sometimes it’s both the journey and the place. The most exciting rides on the METRORail end at Reliant Park South. Whether it’s rowdy Texans fans decked out in blue and red, little cowboys and cowgirls headed to their…
Best Place to Get Plants
There are plenty of plants that will grow in Texas, but not all of them belong here. That’s where Buchanan’s Native Plants comes in. As the name implies, this Heights nursery specializes in plants indigenous to the Lone Star State. We’re talking about Texas Firecracker, Texas Kidneywood, Texas Olive, Texas…
Best Head Shop
For 12 years, the dudes at this family-owned shop have been making your hazy dreamz come true. They carry some of the finest glass accessories, hookahs, shisha, vaporizers, e-cigs, kratom, tattoo supplies, premium lighters and even body jewelry. Some of the glass pieces, including stellar creations by Pure, HELIX, Sheldon…
Best Cheerleading Squad
We hear that every few weeks in the fall, thousands of people pack NRG Stadium for some sort of sporting event. We’re not really sure what that’s all about, because we’re there to see 34 supremely talented young women dance about and shake their pom-poms. They’re also wicked cool —…
Best Driving Range
There’s maybe a two-second window during the summer when it’s not too hot and humid to get in 18 holes, or even nine. But getting your fix at the driving range is a lot less dependent on the weather, and you can sharpen your swing or just work out your…
Best Place to Bring Out-of-Towners
Try as we can to sing Houston’s praises, the battle to change the outside world’s perception of our city will probably have to be fought one person at a time. There are those out there who still assume we all ride horses to work, repress women and hate gay people…
Best Ballet
A former member of the Houston Ballet now with the Norwegian National Ballet, Garrett Smith came back to the city last year not as a dancer but as a choreographer. His new work, part of the Houston Ballet’s Four Premieres program last September, was appropriately titled Return. “Did everybody get…
Best Place to Take a Selfie
Selfies are like engagement rings — if you like something, you should take a photo of yourself with it. If you love Houston, as you should, the top place for your selfie is in front of David Adickes’s “We Houston” sign. The act may be silly, but the sentiment is…
Best Family Restaurant
When it comes to dining with kids, there are few things greater than a restaurant with a playground. And at this casual lakeside eatery, that playground is the always-popping Discovery Green. The menu is simple, with something for everyone. Enjoy plump and juicy smokehouse burgers and dogs alongside grilled salmon…
Best Greasy Spoon
After it closed because of fire damage late last year, we missed this standby diner so much, we couldn’t not name it our 2014 Greasy Spoon winner. Thankfully, it opened back up last spring. Now you can get your big country breakfasts, old-fashioned tuna melts and classic BLTs 24/7 again,…
Best Drive-Through
If there were an award for longevity, Mytiburger, the no-frills drive-through serving Oak Forest since 1967, would win. Of course, you can’t stay in business that long without making a “myti” fine burger, and Mytiburger does just that. At $3.50 for a basic burger, the vintage joint still has some…
Best Bloody Mary
The Big Spoon Bloody Mary at this Louisiana import is a feisty two-hander made your way. Fill out a custom sheet and choose from 12-plus vodkas — from standard Tito’s to bacon and pickle-infused; then load it up with veggies like pickled okra, sweet peppers and blue-cheese-stuffed olives (they’ll let…
Best Vietnamese Restaurant
It’s back! Not that Midtown has any shortage of Vietnamese restaurants to choose from, but we sure are happy that Thien An has finally reopened after closing down in 2012 and assuring fans it would re-emerge a mere six months later. The popular sandwich joint has a new, larger location…
Best Patio
“Welcome to the Hill Country” proclaims the sign above as you shuffle along a wood walkway that crosses the expansive restaurant’s titular creek. And it really does feel like the Hill Country, and not in a cheesy, prefab way. This is a celebration of being outside while enjoying hot wings…
Best Brazilian Steakhouse
The fact that Fogo de Chão, one of Brazil’s most famous chains, is right down the street hasn’t stopped Chama Gaúcha from making a name for itself. This Brazilian steakhouse, which serves its meat in the traditional rodízio style, has been winning hearts since it first opened in September 2011…
Best Dry Cleaner
No dry cleaner can be perfect all the time, but it seems like Gorman’s comes pretty close. Whether you need coffee stains zapped from your favorite dress or have a hankering to get your shirts laundered and starched with just the right amount of snap, Gorman’s has you covered. The…
Best Mall
Calling the Galleria a mall is like calling the Hope Diamond a piece of jewelry — it’s technically accurate and a grotesque understatement at the same time. The Galleria is the mall of malls, filled with the best stores and the widest variety of people (including the famous types), and…
Best Mechanic
We recently towed an inoperable but sentimentally valuable 21-year-old Dodge truck that had been literally put out to pasture on a family farm north of Waco to a nearby dealership. The place demanded $5,000 just to replace the fuel pump. Two months later, after said fuel pump conked out, we…
Best Sports Photo That Went Viral
It used to be that when you wanted to put your life in danger and have it captured for time immemorial, you brought along a friend with a camera. In the age of the selfie, thanks to technology, we can make already dangerous situations even more so by taking the…
Best Place to Walk Your Dog
We can’t get to the dog park every day, and sometimes we want a change in the ol’ around-the-block routine, so our go-to is the Houston Arboretum. Instead of sniffing the same fire hydrants and garbage cans, your pooch can enjoy the olfactory bliss of the Palmetto Multi-sensory Trail, the…
Best Art Exhibit
The numbers give you an idea of the scope of FotoFest 2014. The citywide exhibit, with its focus on contemporary Arab video, photography and multimedia art, lasted more than six weeks, featured work by about 1,200 artists who came from 37 different U.S. states and 40 countries, and exhibited in…
Best After-Hours Hangout
Some nights, even though the lights have come up and the last call has gone out, you’re still not ready to go home. On such occasions, House of Pies on Kirby is the obvious after-hours destination. Whether you want good greasy diner food to soak up the booze, or a…
Best Arts Festival
We can’t all travel the world in search of the best in classical and contemporary dance. We can’t all spend months catching cutting-edge performances by the best emerging and established dance companies. Thankfully Dance Salad Festival Artistic Director Nancy Henderek can. And does. Under her steady direction, the festival brings…
Best Neighborhood Spot in Downtown
Downtown’s historic district is once again becoming the place to be, and you could say it was this popular charity bar that spawned the ‘hood’s party-scene revival. Stop by the striking, always-bustling saloon for a selection of classic cocktails, local beer and wine, as well as top-notch bar bites. We…
Best Burger
The juicy patties and doughy buns at Bernie’s Burger Bus are so popular that Justin Turner, chef and owner behind the army of three food trucks, recently opened a brick-and-mortar location in Bellaire where diners can get more than just burgers. It’s the burgers that Bernie’s does best, though, thanks…
Best Comfort Food
Is there anything more comforting than hot dogs, fries and shakes? How about overloaded hot dogs, fresh-cut fries, and decadent, flavor-packed milkshakes that are so wacky and delicious they could only have been born in Houston? Last year when this former food truck morphed into a brick-and-mortar spot in the…
Best Restaurant Comeback
Back in September of 2013, a kitchen fire shuttered MF Sushi for an indefinite amount of time while chef Chris Kinjo and his partner, brother Alex Kinjo, worked with contractors and the city to restore the popular restaurant to its former glory. In May, eight months after it closed, MF…
Best Curator
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston Film Curator Marian Luntz has a gig that’s the envy of movie fans everywhere. She travels to film festivals around the world, watches hundreds of movies — classics, blockbusters, new releases, unknown gems — and then determines the museum’s schedule of year-round programming. From the…
Best Contemporary Dance Company
Houston’s dance community has seen lots of changes lately, with choreographers leaving town or closing studios. There have been plenty of changes at MET Dance, too. Artistic Director Marlana Doyle had her first baby in 2013, which understandably diverted some of her time and attention away from the company, but…
Best Hot Dog
When you’re looking for one of those gourmet hot dogs that’ll knock your socks off, leave it to food truck Koagie Hots to do the job. The brainchild of chef-turned-food-truck-proprietor Matt Pak, Koagie Hots parks every night outside of Boondocks in the lower Westheimer area, offering a formidable menu of…
Best Art Supply Store
We keep waiting for someone to present a serious challenge to this perennial winner. But we can’t even envision such a creature, since this Houston institution has it all. Whether you’re already a Rembrandt, or a novice who can’t tell a paintbrush from a hairbrush, this is your destination. Paints,…
Best Hobby Store
Finding the right hobby store means finding one that has reached the perfect ratio of games to game space. Some places have tremendous selection, while others have more tables than you can count, but rarely does a store have both. The folks of 8th Dimension understand the delicate balance, which…
Best Jewelry Store
For seven generations and 35 years, the Zadok family has brought Houstonians the finest shininess. Boasting several Gemological Institute of America graduates on staff, the Zadok crew knows just about all there is to know about jewelry. Whether you’re looking for loose diamonds or watches, or you need your precious…
Best Astro
The Houston Astros haven’t really had the best anything compared to their competitors the past few years. George Springer is changing that. The 24-year-old outfielder isn’t only the best Astro, he’s one of the best rookies in Major League Baseball. He’s second among first-year players in home runs and RBIs…
Best Dynamo
With one of the best left feet in Major League Soccer, Brad Davis is the Dynamo’s all-time game starter and assist leader. He’s a superstar, a fact he proved not only during the Dynamo’s regular season but also in his time as a member of the 2014 United States World…
Best Neighborhood Bar in the Heights
Sometimes you just want to go where nobody has anything to prove, and that’s when it’s time to head to The Boom Boom Room. Most nights the Heights bar is quiet and calm, with a scattering of locals enjoying glasses of good wine. Formerly a cantina, the place was transformed…
Best Bar Atmosphere
Walk by Poison Girl fast enough and you might not even notice it’s a bar. That’s because the giant outdoor sign that says “Cocktails” is actually inside this Westheimer watering hole, which is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year. (Salud!) That sign is just one of the many quirks that…
Best Dive Bar
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a good dive bar will have cheap drinks, gruff bartenders and an atmosphere so distinct it simply couldn’t be replicated anywhere else. That’s Cozy Corner, a bar located in Westbury — and arguably the best thing that neighborhood has ever produced. The Corner…
Best Fried Chicken
It takes only one step into this spunky Rice Village eatery to feel that Southern charm, so you sort of already know the fried chicken’s going to be good. But you’d still be surprised by just how good it actually is. Piled high on an old-fashioned tray with paper to…
Best Foie Gras Dish
Meat butter. That’s the way foie gras is most often described, and the torchon at Étoile is the perfect example. It’s almost gamey but delicate at the same time, and when rolled into a torchon — so named for the dish towel in which it’s wrapped — and cooked in…
Best Ethnic Grocery
If you’re looking for an obscure Asian vegetable or candy you haven’t seen since your last trip to Tokyo, chances are H-Mart has it. The Korean supermarket carries all manner of Asian produce, prepared dishes, seafood, candy and drinks in addition to other things neighborhood folks might need, such as…
Best Sommelier
When wine bar Camerata opened next to Paulie’s a little more than a year ago, it was an immediate hit, thanks in large part to partner David Keck, who brings a winning combination of knowledge, customer service and humor to the swanky establishment. A former opera singer, Keck knows how…
Best Intimate Concert Venue
McGonigel’s Mucky Duck is the kind of venue you dream about seeing your favorite band or singer in. Every seat is a good one, everything sounds wonderful and if you need something to eat or drink, you don’t have to get out of your seat. It attracts good crowds who…
Best Hotel Bar
The bar at Hotel ZaZa’s Monarch restaurant has a short but sweet wine list and a unique cocktail menu on which every drink is $12. There’s also an extensive scotch selection, and should you want to skip the pomp and circumstance at the Monarch itself, the bar bites will prove…
Best Cake
Pastry chef Francis Reznik creates beautiful cakes every day at Rustika Cafe & Bakery for weddings, birthdays, holidays and every other type of celebration. But it’s what’s on the inside that counts, and Rustika’s cakes are not only gorgeous, but delicious. Rustika offers dozens of flavor combinations, which makes choices…
Best Bike Shop
It’s easy to pass by the junkyard-like visage of the Compound, as it’s known in cyclist circles, and think nothing of it, but this is a haven for cyclists in Midtown and Third Ward. There’s not much that bike fixer extraordinaire Dan Kan can’t do. We bet he’s busily working…
Best Manicure
Manicures are meant to look good, last long and — above all — be cheap. By our standards, CC Nails is the holy grail of nail places. Stationed in a boring strip center, the space is beautifully lit and impeccably clean, and there never seems to be a wait. We…
Best Junkyard
We’ve done the math, and we’ve spent a total of 10,475 hours perusing Big LeRoy’s online parts finder. It’s downright addictive. This junkyard has a huge inventory, and if for some reason the part isn’t listed (we struck out on a rocker panel for a 1976 Peugeot 504), there’s a…
Best State Park
Beach camping. That’s right, beach camping. Even if Galveston Island State Park offered nothing else, beach camping would put it on our “must-visit” list. Of course, the park does offer lots more, including fishing, birding, kayaking, biking, swimming and hiking. There’s an observation platform, boardwalks, trails, overnight sites and even…
Best Gym
One of the finest additions to downtown Houston in the past ten years, this mammoth YMCA boasts state-of-the-art equipment, a cornucopia of fitness classes and some of the friendliest staff in the city. We love everything about this joint, from the delicious cafe on the first floor to the weight…
Best Art Installation
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston usually has a strict no-touch policy. But for “Soto: The Houston Penetrable,” a kinetic installation by the late Venezuelan artist Jesús Rafael Soto, touching was not only encouraged, it was required. Made up of 24,000 plastic tubes that had been hand-painted and hung from…
Best Author
Several literary powerhouses call Houston home, Robert Boswell (Tumbledown) and Antonya Nelson (Funny Once) among them. The current graphic-novel/Internet king, Mat Johnson (Right State), is also here. The country’s leading urban-fiction novelist, ReShonda Tate Billingsley (Rumor Central), and a slew of bestselling romance novelists, such as Kerrelyn Sparks (How to…
Best CD by a Local Artist
Doughbeezy only plants his Footprints on the Moon after shooting for it. The third volume of hustle diaries by Houston’s self-proclaimed “Southeast Beast” is full of swag and poised to make him an even bigger name in the rap scene than he already is. Doughbeezy raps in a nasal tone…
Best Neighborhood Spot in Midtown
With a big back patio and stage for live music on the weekends, there’s never a shortage of good times at this down-home neighborhood hangout. It’s the kind of place where you can grab a punch, sit back and waste the day away. Come for Southern cooking just like your…
Best French Fries
The Kim Cheese Fries at fusion food truck Coreanos are neither Mexican nor Korean per se, but they contain elements of both cuisines. The scorching hot french fries are thicker than most fast-food fries, but still thin enough that they’re crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. They’re…
Best Sandwich
All the sandwiches at Kraftsmen Cafe are simple yet bursting with flavor. The lunch menu features a few classics, like the croque-madame, with delicate slices of ham, melted Swiss cheese, a creamy béchamel and, of course, a perfectly fried egg on top, and then there’s the Krafstmen BALT, a traditional…
Best Vegan Restaurant
Originally a popular (and Houston’s first!) vegan food truck, Green Seed Vegan launched a successful Kickstarter campaign back in 2012 to open a brick-and-mortar restaurant serving the same great food, only with much more seating. Though the restaurant is devoutly vegan, the food appeals to a wide range of Houstonians…
Best Pool Hall
We’ve spent many nights knocking stripes and solids at this longtime Montrose pool hall, partly out of our love for billiards, but also because of the friendly staff and excellent specials. That’s the kind of atmosphere Slick Willie’s offers — before you know it, two hours have gone by, and…
Best Concert Poster Artist
One of the most gifted visual artists of his generation, Jermaine Rogers marks his 20th anniversary of creating some of the most striking, distinctive rock-and-roll-related graphics around this year. The 42-year-old Houston native loves David Bowie and has a curious fondness for adorable woodland creatures, especially rabbits; the long-eared mammals…
Best Chocolate Chip Cookies
You’ll never ask for more chocolate in Common Bond’s chocolate chip cookies. As you break open one of the large, firm yet soft treats, you’ll discover a hidden treasure of giant, slightly melted chocolate chunks; even after several hours, each chocolate chipper tastes as if it just came out of…
Best Clothes for Your Dog
So the other night, we and our adorable pooch, Hound Solo, were getting ready to attend a swanky affair when Hound threw up his paws in frustration: He couldn’t find any suitable duds in his wardrobe. “Don’t fear,” we told him, as we scooped him up and dashed to Funny…
Best Tailor
When you’ve just torn your favorite vintage rayon dress, there’s only one place to go: Carol’s Alterations & Cleaners. The shop doesn’t look like much from the outside, but when you walk in, it’s clear these people know what they’re doing. They can work miracles with clothes you thought were…
Best Bookstore
One-click online shopping for books might be great for those3 a.m.impulse buys, but there’s something missing from those transactions — an experienced, knowledgeable bookseller. That’s where brick-and-mortar shops like Murder by the Book come in. Dedicated to mysteries and thrillers, it has a staff of dedicated, book-loving readers. Wondering if…
Best Basketball Court
When it comes to outdoor basketball courts, the two key criteria are atmosphere and court quality. Nestled snugly across the street from Toyota Center amid several downtown high-rises and in absolute mint condition, Root Memorial Square’s basketball court grades off the charts in both of those categories. It’s the ideal…
Best Bowling Alley
Forget the days of dark, dank bowling alleys filled with stale cigarette smoke and competitive bowlers. Lucky Strike is way too fancy-pants for that business. Those plastic seats and sticky tables of bowling alley old have been replaced with posh curtains and plush furnishings, creating a lounge-like atmosphere that only…
Best Place to People-Watch
When you want to people-watch, you must go to where the people are, and everyone goes to RodeoHouston. You’ll see folks from every background, of every age, of every type roaming the grounds. From real cowboys to fake cowboys, from music fans to people who just love deep-fried foods, from…
Best Radio Station
For those of us who grew up long after the ’60s and ’70s, KACC is the kind of station we always heard rock radio was supposed to sound like: enthusiastic, music-savvy and custom-tailored to its listeners’ tastes and interests. In addition to its primary function as the voice of Alvin…
Best Art Gallery
There’s only one art gallery in Houston that sells only contemporary African art — The Gite Gallery. Owner Lloyd Gite was well known to Houston audiences as a popular and respected television news reporter, but when the station where he worked changed management, Gite knew it might be time for…
Best Pizzeria
Scorched Neapolitan-style pies are the name of the game at this Upper Kirby ‘za joint. The slightly charred crust — cooked in a 900-degree wood-fired oven in a matter of minutes — reaches that ideal balance between thin and crisp and soft and chewy, with just enough bite to hold…
Best Ice Cream
Chris Leung started his dessert business by selling to restaurants and chefs, but eventually demand for his stunning sweets became so great that he decided to open his own place. Cloud 10 Creamery launched last October, and there’s been a steady crowd lining up for Leung’s unique flavors and whimsical…
Best Classic Food Truck
Though Houston is becoming increasingly known for its gourmet food trucks, it’s the classic trucks that boast the best values and some of the best food. Taco Keto has been serving the same corner of Cullen Boulevard in the Sixth Ward for years, and it doesn’t need to innovate with…
Best French Restaurant
French chef Philippe Verpiand knows what it’s like to work in a Michelin-starred restaurant — he’s worked in several. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Étoile, which he opened with his wife, Monica, quickly gained a reputation as one of our city’s finest French restaurants. The great thing…
Best Reason to Stay Out Late
The magic of cinema is really discovered only on the big screen. While Landmark River Oaks is not the only place in town showing older films, the theater’s midnight series is one of the best weekly events in the city, a celebration of cult classics that everyone should experience in…
Best Fajitas
Ninfa Laurenzo is the mother of a small empire of Tex-Mex restaurants, and years later the Ninfa’s on Navigation is the crown jewel of all the places that carry her name. It all has to do with the quality of the beef fajitas, and there is no substitute for the…
Best Cajun Restaurant
With ten different kinds of overstuffed po-boys and one of the best and boldest crawfish boils in town, this Cajun hot spot never fails to pack a punch of Louisiana flavor. There is, of course, a Texas twist, making this breed of Cajun cuisine uniquely Houston. Get spiced and crispy…
Best Watch Repair
Time waits for no one. When your watch breaks, you want that timepiece back in working order as quickly as possible. That’s where Watches by Paulin comes in. It’s not a terribly impressive place, just a shop tucked in a bland Garden Oaks strip center, but the clerks know the…
Best Wine Store
When you’re looking for a good bottle of wine, it’s best to head over to Spec’s. Nowhere else in town can compete with the sheer breadth of selection offered at the Midtown location, the crown jewel of the Houston liquor-store empire. The store is huge, with the wine aisles making…
Best Vitamin Shop
Whether you’re on the hunt for a particular type of protein shake or an obscure supplement to help you amp up those beefcake arms, the Nutrition Depot has the answer to all your nutritional queries. The universe threw in an extra dose of Muscle Milk when it brought Nutrition Depot…
Best Play-by-Play Announcer
It’s not easy to fill the shoes of one legend, let alone two, but that’s exactly the task that Craig Ackerman was assigned back in 2008 when longtime Rockets announcer duo Gene Peterson and Jim Foley both stepped aside and retired and the Rockets chose to go to a one-man…
Best Commentator
Back in 2004, Matt Bullard was the runner-up on an ESPN reality show called Dream Job, on which numerous NBA players competed for a chance to land an analyst’s job at the network. Ironically, today, the winner of that show (Dee Brown) is bouncing around from job to job in…
Wild Moccasins Abuzz After Sudden ACL Fill-In
The Wild Moccasins started this week off on a high note after what amounted to a pop-up performance at the Austin City Limits Music Festival over the weekend. But even for a last-minute job, everything pretty much went off “without a hitch,” reports front man and guitarist Cody Swann. “The…
Best Bingo Night
Every Thursday afternoon before 5, a line forms outside the doors of this Heights hall of the Slavonic Benevolent Order of the State of Texas. And the line grows. And grows. For bingo. If you don’t get there before 7 p.m., chances are the place will have reached its 700-person…
Best Small Museum
We have no doubt that if the Station Museum of Contemporary Art were just a few blocks west of its current location, it would be twice as popular as it is. Thankfully — for fans, at least — its current location east of Main Street in the Third Ward helps…
Best Food Truck Gourmet
When co-owner Joshua Martinez closed The Modular trailer to focus on opening downtown’s Goro & Gun, it was bittersweet. Now that G&G is thriving, the much-loved mobile eatery is back…and it’s better than ever. With a bit of a makeover (bye-bye, tin can trailer; hello, bright, graffiti-adorned truck), the Modular…
Best Mediterranean Restaurant
With offerings both Mediterranean and Middle Eastern, Fadi’s has the veggie-centric dishes and mounds of meat to please people of any dietary persuasion. Though the restaurant is set up like a cafeteria with buffet lines and plastic trays, the food goes far beyond typical cafeteria fare. From the hummus to…
Best Chef
It was a big year for Hugo Ortega. In 2013, he and his wife, Tracy Vaught, published Backstreet Kitchen: Seasonal Recipes from Our Neighborhood Cafe, the Backstreet Cafe cookbook celebrating the restaurant’s 30th anniversary. Ortega and Vaught opened Caracol, a Mexican seafood restaurant in an expansive (and expensive) space in…
Best Bakery
Visiting Common Bond is an experience. The bright white cases are filled with a beautiful array of croissants, baguettes, scones, macarons, mudslide cookies and three brioche pastries: kugelhopf, sticky buns and cinnamon rolls. One glance at the gorgeous kugelhopf, shaped like a miniature bundt cake, and you won’t be able…
Best Appetizer
Even in a city known for its massively delicious Gulf Coast oysters, this Montrose hot spot’s sexy oyster appetizer shines. Grilled in the shell, the half dozen bivalves are terribly messy and completely decadent, with chunks of bacon, Texas pecan pesto, pico de gallo and lightly browned Parmesan smothered on…
Best Photographer
This is the second time David A. Brown has won the nod for Best Photographer; the first was in 2010. His most recent show, “New Works by David A. Brown: trying to find my way…,” at the Jung Center of Houston, featured large-scale photographs of reflected images — that is,…
Best Atmosphere
We can all admit that Houston isn’t the most picturesque city around, which makes an elegant meal at this stunning steakhouse on the bayou that much more special. With the serene backdrop of the trickling water (who knew the bayou could be so pretty?), the restaurant has a cabin-in-the-woods kind…
Best Coffee
Owner Matt Toomey sources and roasts his own beans at Boomtown Coffee, and it definitely makes the difference. The house espresso blend, The Spindletop, is a slightly bitter and sweet brew excellent as simple drip coffee or blended with warm milk and sugar. Standard cappuccinos, cortados, flat whites and lattes…
Best Department Store
Remember in the great movie Mean Girls, when Rachel McAdams’s character (who has unwittingly been fed a bunch of carb-packed fitness bars for weeks) is at one of those petite-clothes mall boutiques looking for a prom outfit? The shop girl tells her, “Sorry, we only carry sizes 1, 3 and…
Best New Law
In late May, Houston got a HERO. No, not the Enrique Iglesias kind — the nondiscrimination kind. City Council passed the Equal Rights Ordinance 11-6, creating nondiscrimination protections not just for sexual orientation and gender identity but also for race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, familial status, military status, disability,…
Best Barbershop
Unless you’re the type who wakes up early to get in line before the doors open, chances are good you’re going to wait a bit to get your hair cut at Big Kat’s. Service this good comes with a price, but when a place has this much character, you won’t…
Best Skate Park
You won’t find any trees, ponds or hiking trails at Houston’s newest park — that’s because it’s made for skateboarders. Instead of green grass or playground equipment, the newly opened Spring Skatepark offers 72,000 square feet of concrete, which is more footage than any other skatepark in the country. Challenges…
Best Place to Hike
Unlike almost any other Houston neighborhood, the Museum District is worth exploring on foot for both the scenery and the amount of activities it offers. Roughly bordered by the Southwest Freeway (north), Hermann Park (south), Almeda Road (east) and Rice University (west), the district includes some of Houston’s marquee attractions…
Best Jukebox
Finding a jukebox that’s not one of those Internet abominations is hard enough these days, but finding one as carefully curated and downright hip as Under the Volcano’s is simply impossible. Owner Pete Mitchell, a major music fan, keeps his West U joint’s box stocked with classic barroom fare like…
Best Strip Club
This Houston mainstay with the classic, old-school-Vegas-style sign is celebrating its 25th birthday this year, and you should help with the festivities. Turns out the sign is actually the only over-the-top, glitzy part of the Colorado — unlike most other Houston gentlemen’s clubs, this one strives for the warm, comfortable…
Best Mac and Cheese
Head to this Heights kitchenette for not one, not two, but four drool-worthy skillets of macaroni and cheese. Each dish comes hot and bubbling with a crisp, buttery crust and molten, gooey core. Go au naturel with the classic American and aged cheddar skillet; dive head-first into one loaded with…
Best Theater District Restaurant
Just a short walk from Houston’s best performance halls, this stunning, dark and sultry speakeasy nestled in the historic Foley building is the perfect pregame for a night of theater. Sit under downtown’s prettiest chandelier as you munch on starters like Peruvian ceviche and a bright ginger beet salad before…
Best Milkshake
Petite Sweets makes its famous custard in-house, and Liberty Kitchen & Oyster Bar uses that, as well as pies and cakes (also from Petite Sweets), to make some of the most outrageous milkshakes around. You want a pecan pie shake? Done. How ’bout carrot cake with vanilla custard? YES. The…
Best Lunch
Now with two locations (in Rice Village and Upper Kirby), this homegrown eatery serves up some of our favorite sandwiches in town. Try the truffled egg salad, piled high on a pretzel bun, or the corned beef on rye, topped with beer mustard and ‘kraut. But it’s not just between…
Best Ramen
There’s a reason Tiger Den was so heavily mobbed when it first opened. The tiny shop in Chinatown’s Dun Huang shopping plaza was one of the first places to actually deliver on the promise of scratch-made tonkotsu pork broth and house-made noodles. Though it has quieted down a bit, owner…
Best Place to Relive the ’80s
If the geeks from The Big Bang Theory ever open their own bar (coming in Season 12!), Neil’s Bahr would have already beaten them to it. This nerdgasm of an EaDo lounge, cattycornered to Warehouse Live and Little Woodrow’s, offers vintage gaming platforms hooked up to heavy-ass console TVs, at…
Best New Restaurant
When Caracol opened in late December 2013, the crowds came, not just in support of the beloved duo of chef Hugo Ortega and restaurateur Tracy Vaught but because the space was amazing and offered food to match. From the get-go, Caracol operated like a well-oiled machine. Signature dishes, like the…
Best Crepes
Walk up to this crepe stand at the corner of Westheimer and Taft (Friday to Sunday) for a sweet or savory crepe made by the ever-entertaining Buffalo Sean. Choose a breakfast crepe filled with ham, egg and cheddar cheese for a Saturday morning breakfast, or opt for a sweet combination…
Best Record Store
Houston has bigger record stores, and others that delve deeper into more obscure musical realms, but none that have quite as much off-the-wall local character as Sig’s Lagoon. A couple of years ago, the cozy little shop on Midtown’s “The Island” inherited the inventory of San Marcos’s shuttered Sundance Records…
Best Sporting Goods Store
There are running stores and then there’s Luke’s Locker. We love this place because the staff is a crew of super-fit and extremely helpful running experts. They have all the gear you could possibly imagine and a few things you never thought actually existed. Plus, the salespeople know their stuff…
Best New Way to Get Around the City
We’ve got nothing against cab drivers, and frankly, people who do often wind up sounding a little racist once they elaborate. But sometimes you want to feel like a high-roller and order your own private driver, even though you don’t have Mr. Big money to drop on the endeavor. That’s…
Best New Jogging and Biking Trail
Runners and bikers don’t always get along well in the wild, but Buffalo Bayou Park offers a setting where they can respectively jog and pedal in harmony. The park, which touches both sides of the bayou, now boasts ten-foot-wide concrete trails with passing space for joggers and cyclists. A five-year…
Best Texan
The Texans were the worst team in the NFL last year, and their star wide receiver and longest-tenured player? Andre Johnson was seventh in the league in receiving yards and third in receptions despite catching passes from three different quarterbacks. Johnson has received some criticism for not showing up at…
Best Alternative Club
Trends come and go, but every city has at least one music venue that makes its living by taking chances. Walters has filled that niche in Houston since the days it was known as Walter’s On Washington, the post-Mary Jane’s extension of owner Pam Robinson’s “Pamland” domain. The assumption that…
Best Arts Education for Kids
The Asia Society Texas Center has been a wonderful addition to the Houston arts landscape, with exhibitions, performances and festivals for adults and children. This year the center added another excellent program, ExploreAsia: Culture Camp for Kids. Local artists and cultural experts served as tour guides for explorers aged five…
Best Farmers’ Market
The Urban Harvest Farmers Market at Eastside Street is the place to be on Saturday mornings. From 8 a.m. to noon, numerous vendors set up stations to serve their specialty goods, be they fruits, vegetables, macarons, breads, cheese, coffee or olive oil. You can purchase groceries from local producers, such…
Best Vegetarian-Friendly Restaurant
This Third Ward cafe is a triple threat: one part art space, one part coffeehouse and one part fantastic vegetarian eatery. The menu is small, but so is the amount of pain you inflict on your wallet. Stop by for breakfast and lunch to indulge in a curried potato and…
Best Pasta
Ciao Bello does Italian the way owner Tony Vallone remembers it and the way chef Bobby Matos envisions it should be. It’s the combination of old-school Italian and new-school flavor profiles that has elevated this restaurant from the lesser cousin of Tony’s to real competition, and its pasta is the…
Best Service
Uchi’s tasting menu changes nightly, yet somehow the servers are always ready to tell you exactly what you’re eating, where it came from and why the flavors work in such perfect harmony. The training they go through is intense and rigorous and requires a lot of memorization about seafood varieties,…
Best Italian Restaurant
Is there a better place in town for pasta right now? From his house-made spinach lasagna stuffed with chicken meatballs to his butternut squash pansoti and classic pappardelle bolognese, chef Bobby Matos is rockin’ the kitchen with delicious Italian food. And it’s not just the things he makes, but the…
Best Mural
Suzanne E. Sellers’s trompe l’oeil at 1621 Milam has a sentimental place in our hearts. The building it covers was home to the Houston Press offices for some 15 years. The trompe l’oeil adorns two of the building’s four walls, showing faux storefronts, windows and doors. Sellers completed the mural,…
Best Neighborhood Spot in the Heights
The best spot to feel right at home in the Heights is Revival Market. Stop by to purchase a few local products, such as cupcakes from Fluff Bake Bar, cheese from Houston Dairymaids or hot sauce from Bravado Spice, and stock your fridge with fresh fruits, vegetables and butchered meats…
Best Doughnuts
After being in operation for so many years, Christy’s Donuts is a Montrose neighborhood classic that has become a household name. There’s always bound to be a line out the door, a sure-tell sign that you’re at the right place. If you’re a bit late to work, invest in a…
Best Shoe Store
If you’re in the market for fashionable, sometimes limited sneakers to pair with a new snapback hat and Houston-centric shirt, you might like Premium Goods. Drake does. The Rice Village sneaker boutique was the site of Drizzy’s Houston Appreciation Weekend pop-up shop. Why? Because the store is cool as hell…
Best Vintage Clothing Store
Walking into Retropolis the first time can be overwhelming. The store is packed to the gills with clothes, jewelry, hats and shoes that have somehow survived long enough from the ’30s, ’40s, ’50s and on to end up in this gem of a place in the Heights. It’s basically a…
Best Cemetery
Thousands of people drive past the Wunsche Family Cemetery every day without ever noticing the handful of headstones that make up the tiny graveyard, and they’re completely unaware of the mystery surrounding the murder of one of its residents. Located between the freeway and the feeder road, the cemetery holds…
Best Coach
Houston sports fans have grown so used to frustration, we’ll take any bit of good news that comes along, even if it’s from a relatively unusual source. College baseball may be second-string in a city with four professional franchises, but in his fourth season at the helm this year, UH…
Best Place to Canoe
If you’re looking for a good place to do some canoeing, you can’t go wrong with Buffalo Bayou, where you can commune with nature right in the middle of the city. There are stretches — particularly the areas running through River Oaks (go figure) — that are still wild and…
Alice Cooper Once Made a High Schooler’s Dream Come True
Illustration by Emily CostelloNote: This story was written by Kathy Cano-Murillo and comes to us from our sister blog in Phoenix, Up on the Sun. Once upon a time in Phoenix, in the fall of 1980, my high-school journalism teacher, Mrs. Finerman, was standing before the class, her voice thick…
