“Perspectives 172: Kirsten Pieroth”
In her witty explorations of context, the Berlin-based Kirsten Pieroth removes everyday objects such as boxes, bottles and furniture from their usual settings, tweaking “normal” to test our perceptions of purpose and meaning. What might seem regular from afar will have, upon closer inspection, something slightly wrong with it: In…
“Siege of the Skeletons”
The Health Museum presents the second annual “Siege of the Skeletons,” a Day of the Dead art exhibit. Local students and members of the community have designed their own fiber-based skeletons, which will be on display all month, with visitors voting on their favorites. Previous entries have sported an Abercrombie…
Five Memorable Athlete-Musician Hookups
In a few hours, Carrie Underwood will be onstage at Toyota Center. Besides being an all-around American girl who will mess you up if you cheat on her, Underwood once dated Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo and married Mike Fisher of the Ottawa Senators back in July. That’s right, a…
Your Meme Of The Week: Smiling Cigar Man
This fall you have seen Sad Keanu, Prancing Michael Cera, and Strutting Leo meme-ing it up all over your Facebook wall, your Tumblr site, and on most every website you can imagine. You have learned how to dougie, how to strut that ass, and listened to the failed stump speech…
Carrie Kelly: Rare Child-Porn Indictment For A Woman
Photo courtesy Brazoria County SOCarrie Kelly, indicted for child pornBack in April we reported on the arrest of Carrie Kelly, who was alleged to have sent more than 100 pictures of underage kids having sex to a Florida man.It’s rare for a woman to be arrested for child porn, a…
Randy Moss Gets Traded For Magic Beans
“I’m still in awe that I’m a part of this organization. I think that he’s the kind of coach that can motivate me. He has a proven track record.” — Randy Moss on Bill Belichick the day he was acquired by the Patriots in 2007 Randy Moss and the Patriots…
Five Ways to Improve Your Food Photos
Last week, we gave you the five reasons your food photos suck. Today, we’re going to try and help you clean up your act and take photos that will make your mother proud, and we all know how tough that can be. All of the photos of the food taken…
A God Among Atheists: Richard Dawkins at Wortham Center
Last night at the Wortham Center, Progressive Forum Houston presented Richard Dawkins, the British rock-star atheist author. Dawkins is on a book tour promoting his latest work The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution. His previous books The God Delusion, The Selfish Gene, and The Blind Watchmaker have…
Bill Satterwhite: Three (Alleged) Strikes And You’re Out Of The Fake Lawyerin’ Game
Photo HCSO via Fox 26Bill Satterwhite just has a hankering to lawyerFor the third time, former attorney William Everett Satterwhite has been caught practicing law without a license. This time the penalty for the 66-year-old disbarred lawyer could be life in prison. According to court records, an investigator with the…
Rocks Off Explains Austin City Limits’ “Survival Guide”
This year marks the fourth year that Craig’s Hlist will be covering the Austin City Limits Music Festival for the Houston Press and Rocks Off. Each year we get more acclimated to the walking and the heat, which should not be a big issue this year with the hoodie weather…
Stirred & Shaken: Grand Prize’s Vieux Carre
Compared to other big cities, Houston does not have a hipster problem – if you feel otherwise, either your definition is too broad or you just got off a Greyhound from somewhere like Odessa. Still, when neighborhood sports bar Ernie’s closed and news broke that slightly more polished Grand Prize…
Sheriff Adrian Garcia Helps Feds Trumpet Stats On Illegal-Alien Removals
Photo by Austin MillerSheriff Adrian Garcia, hyping the Obama administrationThe Immigration & Customs Enforcement department brought in some help for today’s announcement in Washington about how great they’re doing removing illegal aliens: Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia.Garcia appeared with Janet Napolitano, head of the Department of Homeland Security, and ICE…
Umami at Umai
Umai Japanese Restaurant (8400 Bellaire) may be located along Bellaire Boulevard, but the restaurant is mostly removed from the hurly-burly tumble and flow of Chinatown, being closer to Sharpstown instead of the epicenter of all things Asian at Beltway 8. And that’s not the only thing that Umai is removed…
Springwoods Village: Creepiest, Eeriest Development Ever?
The local real estate world was buzzing yesterday with the announcement of Springwoods, a multi-use green community with yadda, yadda, yadda. To us it was just another development up by The Woodlands.Today, though, we actually saw some of the artist’s renderings and we have to say: We’re creeped out. Illustrations…
Springsteen 2.0: Can Baby Bosses Cruise The Backstreets?
This fall, Houstonians salivating for another touring run by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band don’t have to search to hard to find bands heavily influenced by the man’s sound and work ethic. Even though Springsteen and his merry band of musicians may be cooling their road heels for…
Top 5 Great Moments in Divine Food Intervention: All Hail the Grilled Cheesus!
The controversial installment of Glee that aired last night, the third of season two, centered on spirituality and a very spiritual sandwich. The episode opened with Finn Hudson’s (Cory Montieth) existential crisis, brought on by the manifestation of Jesus Christ — on a sandwich. Finn comes to believe that the…
Top 10: Sexy Celebrity Mugshots
What is it about jailbirds that’s sort of hot? The handcuffs, the criminal record, the orange jumpsuit that contrasts with their teary eyes? The possibility of conjugal visits? Being able to vote while your felonious partner has to stand outside with the pollsters? Not everyone looks their best when they’re…
April Evans Wanted To Talk Primate Testing Alternatives; She Had To Leave NASA To Do So
NASA and monkeys: Not a love storyUpon seeing this week’s cover of the Houston Press, there aren’t too many people who would take up the “fry ’em with radiation, stick ’em in a cage and study ’em” mantle. Squirrel monkeys are cute and mostly defenseless. April Evans thinks they’re cute,…
Jason Gould Continues His Food Fixation at Cyclone Anaya’s
Cyclone Anaya’s has decided to expand to another location, this time in the ever-burgeoning CityCentre on the west side, and threw a party Saturday night to celebrate in advance of the official opening today (Wednesday). The only people disappointed were those unable to get into the invitation-only event. Margaritas, special…
Christine O’Donnell Is Not a Witch. She’s a Unicorn.
Thank you, Christine O’Donnell. It was a long, hot summer, lost in the midst of a political dry spell. Even the Palins felt predictable and mundane. Then you came into my life, and you showed me just how much damning video footage one young Senate-hopeful can have. It’s mind-blowing, really…
Eight Delicious Goth Covers Of Mainstream Hit Songs
The Halloween season is upon us, which means that the powers that be have let Gothtopia run amuck just a bit in bringing you music of a darker persuasion. Usually, Gothtopia and the Wife With One F would be at Numbers on Halloween vaccinating ourselves for snakebites with vodka and…
Richard Dawkins In Houston: Taking On the 40 Percent
It’s hard to argue with Richard Dawkins. A zoologist, atheist and Charles Darwin’s biggest supporter, he presents and proves controversial concepts with ease, and in such convincing fashion, that it really makes you second-guess the intelligence of his naysayers.Maybe it’s because of that pleasant, “What I say is incontrovertible”-sounding British…
Sampler Plate: This Week in Food Blogs
Each week, we put together a sampler plate of the most interesting links from both local and national food blogs. Know a blog we should be paying particular attention to? Leave the address in the comments section below. Devour Houston: If you haven’t yet had your fill of discussing this…
Top Five: Underrated Vintage Arcade Games
The Houston Area Arcade Group will be holding their 9th Annual Arcade Expo on October 8th & 9th at the Houston Northwest Crowne Plaza at Pinemont and Hwy 290. They’ll be hosting classic console systems like Atari and ColecoVision, as well as all kinds of cabinet games (better known as…
Chef Chat, Part 1: John Sheely of Mockingbird Bistro
This week we visited with Chef John Sheely, discussing mistakes new chefs make as well as his own mistakes. EOW: I’ve met with chefs who are still early in their careers that are very eager to make a name for themselves and their restaurant. You’ve been described as a “veteran…
Plush Lounge Riot!! Or Disturbance, At Any Rate
The Plush Lounge south of downtown was lively last night — as in an HPD helicopter hovering above, gunshots fired, and perhaps 300 people spilling into the streets.KHOU reports eight arrests were made as fights broke out between Plush patrons and others outside at Drew and Milam about 2 a.m.And…
Twisted Pine Brewing Co.’s Hoppy Knight
A few weeks ago we gave lukewarm approval to an offering from Twisted Pine Brewing Co. of Boulder, Colorado. In their infinite wisdom and generosity, the folks at the brewery tripped over our review and thought it best to send along a few more of their products to see if…
Houston Club Crowds Continue Asinine Behavior
Well, this is getting old. Actually, it is old. But you know what they say: It’s not a party until the cops come. Or someone whips out a gun. So it must have been quite a party Tuesday night at Plush Lounge on Milam. According to KHOU.com, police were called…
Honky-Tonk Heaven Returns To Houston
It may be Wetback Wednesday at some bar in Huntsville, but in H-Town the first Wednesday of every month has become Honky Tonk Wednesday, when the lineup for those interested in gettin’ their tonk on is stout as a garlic milkshake. Boot heels will be dragged, belt buckles will be…
Bye-Bye, Flagship Hotel: Did Anyone Ever Stay In It?
Flagship Hotel: On its last legsFor 45 years, the Flagship Hotel has been a part of Galveston’s seascape, out there on a pier bravely facing whatever weather the Gulf decided to throw at it.But not for long. The hotel, which had long fallen on hard times, was heavily damaged by…
Celebrating National Taco Day at Laredo Taqueria
Monday, I celebrated National Taco Day (yeah, I didn’t really know that was a “thing” until late in the day) by tucking in at Laredo Taqueria (915 Snover, off Washington Avenue) with three fat tacos and a glass of sweet jamaica. Laredo Taqueria is one of those last holdouts along…
It’s Not Just A Committee To Study City Building Standards, It’s A Blue-Ribbon Committee
Offical drink of the Task Force on Building & StandardsMayor Annise Parker announced today an effort to reorganize the often chaotic mess that is the city of Houston’s enforcement of building codes.Have no doubt the problem will be solved: The announcement proclaims that the committee appointed to tackle the problem…
Vid Picks of the Week: The Empire of Chingo Bling
Pedro Herrera III, aka Chingo Bling, is a rapper/entrepreneur who is no stranger to the Press. In 2007, he released his national debut, They Can’t Deport Us All and became the voice of a people. For the purposes of this column, he is the “Hefner” of a viral empire that…
Born Again Virgins, A Dance Party Without The Candy
Each Wednesday, Rocks Off arbitrarily appoints one lucky local performer or group “Artist of the Week,” bestowing upon them all the fame and grandeur such a lofty title implies. Know a band or artist that isn’t awful? Email their particulars to sheaserrano@gmail.com. Things have not been well. They just haven’t…
The Aeros Prepare For Liftoff
The Houston Aeros are opening up season number 17 on Saturday when they visit the expansion Oklahoma City Barons.The Aeros are coming off of a disappointing season where they missed the playoffs the year after making the Western Conference Finals, and this season they’re hoping a mix of old and…
Neighbors Help Neighbors With Habitat Building Projects
The normally quiet suburban street in Rosenberg is filled with sweat, nails, loud drills, and excited anticipation in the air. Volunteers of all racial, religious, and economic backgrounds are lending a helping hand to those in need. The volunteers are not pacifying those down on their luck, but helping them…
Glee: Personal Cheesus
Christianity may not be the only one of the world’s major religions with an inordinate number of followers who see images of their spiritual leaders in inanimate objects, but … okay, that’s not true. It overwhelmingly is (that miracle baby in the West Bank from several years ago doesn’t really…
Top 5 Worst Halloween Candies
Come Halloween-time when you’re a kid, you’re not going to be taking your candy-retrieval excursion lightly. It’s the one night a year when you get to have literally all of the candy you can eat. It inspired the same joy as it would have if your parents had come in…
Two Door Cinema Club: More Than Just A Sandwich
It’s a well-known fact that most band names are essentially gobbledygook, but here at Rocks Off, we’re trying hard to decode Houston’s oddest monikers in order to find a little meaning. Two Door Cinema Club is one of those bands that when you spend 15 seconds browsing their Web site,…
Bruce McCain: One Of Texas’ Top 10 Sex Offenders Wanted In Houston
Photo courtesy DPSBruce McCain, wanted manThe Department of Public Safety really wants to get its hands on Bruce McCain, 51. He escaped from a Houston halfway house last week, and he’s a violent sex offender.DPS has named him one of the Top 10 sex offenders and Crime Stoppers is offering…
The Five Worst October Traditions
Must be early October!!October is when fall kicks in, for better or worse. In Houston, it’s mostly for the better — no hurricanes or stifling heat.But October also brings with it certain traditions that, truth be told, we could just as well do without. Here are five:5. The annual Hangin’…
The Explosive Process of Cai Guo-Qiang
Wednesday night, internationally-known Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang will ignite the 162 foot-long gunpowder drawing that he and a team of volunteers have been preparing for several days. The resulting artwork, composed of 42 10-foot panels will become the permanent wall covering for the new Arts of China Gallery at the…
Cry The Beloved Pumpkin: Carnage At Whole Foods
The fire at Whole Foods on Kirby, which ruined an afternoons worth of pricey grocery shopping for the kind of River Oaks people who go pricey grocery shopping in the afternoon, is a thing of the past.But the images linger on…
Exclusive Photos from the Great Pumpkin Fire at Whole Foods
All is well at the Whole Foods at 2955 Kirby, and the store plans to reopen to the public at 5 p.m., but many pumpkins perished in the blaze that erupted around 2 p.m. today when a seasonal display at the store’s entrance caught fire. The Houston Fire Department responded…
Tiffany Young-Hartley: Plot In Mexican Lake Pirate Murder Thickens As Body Proves Hard To Find
October certainly came in like a lion for residents of the Rio Grande Valley. On October 1, news broke of the alleged murder of an American jet-skier on border-straddling, allegedly freshwater-pirate-infested Falcon Lake. A recap for those who don’t want to click the link: According to Zapata County Sheriff Sigifredo…
Five Songs Classic Rock Radio Should Kill NOW
Rocks Off is a prisoner of the airwaves. At home we can listen to just about anything we want thanks to the comforts of 24-7 satellite radio. Actually, we rarely tune in anything besides Outlaw Country, but that’s another story. We can’t bring the satellite receiver to work, where we…
Top 10 Restaurants in Gulfton
Two weekends ago, I called my father up to see if he wanted lunch. I was craving pupusas and was pretty certain he’d never had any. And what Mexican man wouldn’t enjoy an all-you-can-eat buffet of tortillas, beans, cheese, many combinations thereof and as many bowls of chicken soup as…
Three Hour Tour Turns Into Extended Stay At Allen’s Landing for Houston Yacht Club
The not-so-everyday presence of yachts on Buffalo Bayou has been bringing sight-seers to Allen’s Landing this week. But the docking is no holiday for the boaters, who’ve been stranded at the downtown birthplace of the city of Houston since Sunday morning. A barge in the Houston Ship Channel struck a…
Brunch at Animal Farm Permaculture Center
Off the beaten path, down a dirt road and out in the middle of nowhere, in Cat Springs, Texas, lies Animal Farm. I recently was invited out there for brunch by my longtime friend Gita Vanwoerden to scope out the location for an upcoming farm-to-table dinner called Under Autumn Skies…
Art Theft Crimewave Hits Houston Area
Apparently the wave of artcrime sweeping Europe has arrived on home soil. It didn’t hit New York, San Francisco or Houston. Nope, these thieves had eccentric, discriminating tastes. They knew just where to strike: Friendswood. ABC 13’s Erik Barajas reported this afternoon that a Friendswood gallery, which showcases the work…
The Quotable Tracy McGrady: “It’s About Winning.”
Well, apparently I’ve pissed off Canada.In a post that was largely meant to illustrate the cavalcade of clown that is Les Miles and make a salient point or two about the Houston Texans, the biggest reaction to yesterday’s “5 Winners, 5 Losers” came from north of the border, as a…
The Anachronistic Chef: Harvest Casserole
This is one in a series of posts in which I sample recipes from the days of yore (i.e., not the 1990s). The dishes featured were mainstays of 19th-, 18th- and even 17th-century tables, but for one reason or another (unusual taste, archaic ingredients), have fallen out of culinary fashion…
Breaking News: Whole Foods on Kirby Catches Fire
“So in other news whole foods Kirby just caught on fire while I was inside,” wrote Danielle Clark on her Twitter account at 2:20 p.m. A few minutes later, the picture to the right was snapped by former Houston Press employee Kristen Majewski and posted to her Twitter account along…
Rocks Off’s All-Star Team Of Rap Ballers
Basketball and hip-hop have crossed paths for decades. In the words of self-proclaimed No. 1 draft pick Drake: “I swear sports and music are so synonymous/ ‘Cause we want to be them, and they want to be us.” To mark the start of NBA training camp, Rocks Off assembled an…
Whole Foods On Kirby (Somewhat) Ablaze (Update: It’s Out)
Smoky but containedThe Whole Foods on Kirby is on fire, according to witnesses and Twitter photos (that can’t be accessed because everyone’s trying to see them).The Houston Fire Department reports 11 units on the scene of “a building fire.” At this point it’s a one-alarm fire, which sounds like it’s…
Neiman-Marcus: Just What A Recession Needs
Photo courtesy Neiman-MarcusThink of it as a moat against the hoi polloiHey, it’s fall; that can mean only one thing: More tasteless ostentation from Neiman-Marcus.For 50 years now they’ve been garnering publicity for their “his and hers” Christmas gifts, no matter what the current economic situation might be.That thing pictured…
New on DVD: The Human Centipede, Splice, The Oxford Murders, A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)
(Capsule reviews by Karina Longworth, Nick Pinkerton and Chuck Wilson) The Human Centipede In Tom Six’s torture-porn game-changer The Human Centipede, an evil German doctor kidnaps a Japanese man and two vapid American girl tourists, imprisons them in his basement lab, and shows them a presentation of simplistic hand-drawn slides…
A Taste of Honey: Harvesting A Beehive
This weekend we were invited to a honey-harvesting party at the home of Tom Helm, an urban outdoorsman who in 2006 was the subject of our cover story “Dark Water”, in which he and then-Press reporter Josh Harkinson kayaked 40 miles along urban Buffalo Bayou — from the Galleria area…
Ten Rejected Glee Episodes
It seems like Glee can make any song, no matter how trite, terrible, or just inappropriate for singing by high-school-age children into a runaway smash pop hit. However, Rocks Off would like to hypothesize that there are artists that are beyond even Fox’s ability to mold into mainstream. Here are…
Sex With Clients: Texas Lawyers Continue Their Brave Battle To Have It
Still plenty of action at the State Bar of TexasTexas lawyers have always been allowed to bone (or be boned by) their clients. No prohibitions, no scolding from the State Bar, no penalties.Everyone’s happy, right? And it’s not a barter system at all — in all cases, it’s true love…
A Heated Competition at Chefs Under Fire
Last night’s Chefs Under Fire event proved that some of the city’s most talented chefs aren’t cooking in the hottest restaurants in town…or even in a restaurant at all. Five area chefs competed in the Houston regionals of the annual Chefs Under Fire event to determine who would represent the…
Federal Judge Jack T. Camp: Drugs & A Stripper Mean Our Sam Kent Has Been Topped
Judge Jack Camp tops Judge Sam KentWe thought the Houston area could cruise for a while with the title of World’s Dumbest, Horniest Federal Judge.U.S. District Judge Sam Kent of Galveston made heroic efforts to set the bar high, what with all his after-lunch drunken groping of female staffers.Listen up,…
George Lucas Announces Star Wars 3-D; More Beating the Dead “Force”
First, the good news: Lucasfilm is re-releasing the entire Star Wars saga in theaters … drumroll … in 3-D. The planned delivery date is around February 2012. The powerful wizards at the Lucas castle (Industrial Light and Magic) are confident they can “convert” the films into a 3-D experience. Apparently,…
Exile In Margaritaville: Marshall Chapman Blooms After Jimmy Buffett
A year ago, Lonesome Onry and Mean wrote in these pages about the passing of a rather unsung musical giant, Tim Krekel. So it was quite a pleasant surprise to recently open a bubble-pack and find Marshall Chapman’s latest effort Big Lonesome, a musical homage to her deceased friend and…
Health Dept. Report
Last week was another light one for city health inspectors, who seemed mainly to nab the low-hanging fruit of their profession: chains and Chinese eateries with odd names. Subway (at 11936 Bellaire) was closed after an October 3 inspection found paperwork troubles and insect traps that threatened to contaminate food,…
Tea in Texas? Please Pass the Sugar
When I moved to Texas around eight-and-a-half years ago, I found out something so shocking that it shook me at my very core. Some people drink tea without any form of sweetener here. What in the hell is the point? I just couldn’t believe it then, and I still have…
Tupelo: New Baby Elephant To Challenge Baylor’s Cuteness Crown
Courtesy Houston ZooTupelo says move over, BaylorMere months after winning the epic Houston Zoo Cute-Off, Baylor the baby elephant is seeing his reign challenged by the arrival of Tupelo, an equally cute — and younger — rival.Such us the hard life of the jungle. Or the zoo.Tupelo entered the world…
Happy Hour at Fins
Excellent seafood and decent drinks at an affordable price make this hour very happy indeed. Craving some fresh seafood, I stumbled across Fins Seafood, Sushi, and Grill (2810 Westheimer Rd.). Housed in the former Rickshaw location, Fins is a very tranquil restaurant decorated in muted tones and rich textures…
Why Is Promoting Local Rap Shows So Difficult?
The hip-hop world is a less than sensible place – lots of times, you’re even required to clarify when bad means bad and when bad means good – so once a week we’re going to get with a rapper and ask them to explain things. Have something you always wanted…
Upcoming: Crowbar, Faith Evans, My Education, Nitzer Ebb, Etc.
The Birthday Massacre, Black Veil Brides, Dommin, Aural Vampire: Mon., Nov. 8. Warehouse Live. Cedric Burnside & Lightnin’ Malcolm: Sun., Nov. 7. Dan Electro’s Guitar Bar. Christopher Cross: Sat., Nov. 13. Stafford Centre. Clint Black, Chris Webb: CHANGED Sun., Dec. 5. Arena Theatre. Crowbar, Heavy As Texas: Tue., Oct. 19…
New Book Stay Up Documents Houston Street Art
Houston street art is receiving more and more attention. It’s the subject of a recent documentary film, our Flickr Pool is flooded with images weekly, and it’s now the subject of a new book by a local photographer. On October 15, David Elizondo will debut his book Stay Up: Houston…
Galveston: 21st Most Dangerous Neighborhood? Doubtful
Stay out of Waco!!!!Some outfit called NeighborhoodScout.com has been getting internet run with a list of the 25 most dangerous neighborhoods in America.Tourists walking The Strand in Galveston beware: You are strolling in the country’s 21st most dangerous neighborhood. Allegedly. What the website calls the “Church Street area” is more dangerous…
Continental Airlines Puts an End to the Free Meal…in Coach
Admit it. You knew this day would come. People have been ragging on airline food for almost as long as people have been flying in planes. And now they want you to pay for it. Yes, Continental Airlines is introducing menu-based cuisine to the skies. Beginning October 12, if you’re…
The Eight Stupidest iPhone Music Apps
Apple’s foray into the social-network field failed big-time last month with the release of Ping, the iTunes-linked program that promised to connect you to your favorite artists, as long as your favorite artist is Justin Bieber. When it comes to iTunes, we at Rocks Off are a discerning sort. It…
UH’s James Dickey Prepares For His Deliverance
It may seem like it’s been awhile since Mack Rhoades and the Houston Cougars hired James Dickey to take over the men’s basketball program.But in many ways, the time has been flying by as Dickey and his staff have attempted to settle in to the school, recruit players, get to…
“Hannibal’s On The Jazz:” A Stephen J. Cannell Retrospective
If you were born before, say, 1976 (the year of my little sister’s birth and hence my arbitrary demarcation line for coolness), you probably spent a healthy chunk of your prime TV-watching years enjoying the programs of the late Stephen J. Cannell. The longtime writer/producer created some of the most…
“Hannibal’s On The Jazz:” A Stephen J. Cannell Retrospective
If you were born before, say, 1976 (the year of my little sister’s birth and hence my arbitrary demarcation line for coolness), you probably spent a healthy chunk of your prime TV-watching years enjoying the programs of the late Stephen J. Cannell. The longtime writer/producer created some of the most…
30 Seconds With Peelander Yellow Of Peelander-Z
Rocks Off sat down with Peelander Yellow of Japanese action-comic punk super-posse Peelander-Z to see what we could learn about him in 30 seconds. Rocks Off: What is the worst song in the world and why? Peelander Yellow: “Ghostbusters.” If I hear the song, I can’t stop dancing, singing looking…
Where Are We Drinking?
A bottle of sake and a sleek ‘n’ chic interior. Sure, we’re in a sushi bar. But which one? Think you know where we’re drinking this week? Leave your best guess in the comments section below…
Bill White Takes Big Lead Over Rick Perry (In Facebook)
Facebook: The road to AustinBill White may have been unable as yet to top Rick Perry in any political poll on the governor’s race, but that hardly matters: White’s winning the Facebook battle!!And that’s very important, says the person who did a study of it.”Numbers don’t have an agenda or…
Joe DiMaggio — Nude! Bob Feller, Too! For Baseball’s Post-Season, Five Classic-Era Players Exposed (NSFW)
Breaking news for Houston –baseball’s post-season begins tonight. You probably haven’t given much thought to the sport since August, but the rest of the country has. To some degree.To celebrate the national pastime in autumn, when every pitch counts and seasons are won and lost, we harken back to the…
Weekly Time-Waster: Greek Games
Greek mythology has been a seemingly bottomless well for artists of all mediums to draw inspiration, from painters and sculptors to film directors and novelists. Over the past decade or so, as video games have been slowly gaining ground as an art medium of their own (and not just time-wasters),…
A Look at Laurenzo’s Garden
The garden behind Laurenzo’s is coming along even better than I could have ever imagined. I paid a visit the other day, and Jeff Hilson was hard at work putting up trellises and spreading good vibes to the plants. It was pretty awesome. I saw some artichoke sprouting out of…
Samantha Michelle Hamilton: Iced Tea Heist Could Equal Many Years In Prison
If you’re gonna take an aggravated robbery charge, whatever it is that you robbed most aggravatedly should be worth it. After all, this is a first degree felony we’re talking here, punishable by five to 99 years or life in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. This is…
Diet Cherry Seven 7Up Antioxidant
Forever on the lookout for new diet or light beverages, I picked up a two-liter Diet Cherry 7UP Antioxidant. I usually snub Diet 7UP, as Sprite Zero or Diet Sierra Mist are my no-calorie “lemon-lime” mass-market beverages of choice, but this flavor attracted my attention primarily because of its garish…
The Houston Culinary Awards Get a Facelift
“You can’t help but feel great when you’re honored and respected by your peers and Houston diners,” said Sean Beck today, after bringing home a stunning two awards at the annual My Table Houston Culinary Awards last night, for Favorite Mixologist and Service Person of the Year. “I’ve spent my…
Slideshow: Graffiti Gala Kick Off at Aerosol Warfare Gallery
Aerosol Warfare, Houston’s premiere graffiti-art gallery, hosted the Graffiti Art Foundation for a gala kick-off party Saturday night where attendees got an eyeful of street art and watched artist SKEEZ181 create a complete mural. The event also featured light painting by FrenetiCore, Laser tagging and a fully furnished graffiti-art bedroom…
Les Miles for President (Also, 5 Winners and 5 Losers From This Weekend)
“In the game of life nobody — repeat, NOBODY — is playing with more house money than Les Miles.” — Me on Twitter just after LSU’s 16-14 win over Tennessee As Homer Simpson would say, it’s funny because it’s true. The truly funny thing about that tweet actually isn’t its…
Open Tab: Time To Hit The Patio! And Not Each Other!
Thanks, God! The weather this week has been more hospitable than the past five months of hell you put us through, making it easier to drink and smoke outside without our sweat putting out our cigarettes. It’s always nice to know you got our backs, except for the whole dead-family-dog…
Slideshow: 10th Annual Art Car Show at Trader’s Village
Members of the Houston Art Car Klub (HACK) caravaned to Trader’s Village, the flea market on north 290, for the 10th Annual Art Car Show. Members toiled on their rolling works of art while onlookers admired more than 75 customized cars. PHOTOS BY MARK BRITAIN Check out the slideshow…
Sarah Palin’s In Town Tomorrow
Comin’ to town, without a “g”If you’ve got any moose lying around, look out for low-flying helicopters: Sarah Palin is in town tomorrow.Palin, who briefly served as Governor of Alaska, will be speaking on behalf of Heroic Media, which places ads on TV, the web and billboards “to connect women…
Recipe: The Hot Flamingo
A recent trip to the farmers’ market left me with a big bag of strawberries and fresh cayenne peppers. Luckily, I also had a big bottle of Dulce Vida tequila, so I got to work mixing up some tasty cocktails. This recipe was the best of the bunch, a fiery…
Saturday Night: Raul Malo At House Of Blues’ Bronze Peacock
Raul Malo House of Blues (Bronze Peacock Room) October 2, 2010 Raul Malo torched the Bronze Peacock Room at House of Blues Saturday night. Faced with a rowdy, lively audience packed with a huge percentage of 40-something ladies (especially up front) and their escorts, Malo wasted little time warming the…
Cash Smugglers Juan Sanchez & Pals: Soaking Wet & Wearing Only Underwear Is No Way To Transport $1.6 Million
Breaking Bad: Another guy who does drug work in his underwearMore trouble for those pesky drug lords trying to get their cash from the marketplace in America to home in Mexico — an employee, Juan Sanchez, just got more than seven years in a federal prison for doing their dirty…
Bryan Caswell: No Pity
Last night, half of Houston tuned in to watch Chef Bryan Caswell of REEF and Little Big’s represent the Bayou City on the Food Network’s newest show: Next Iron Chef. I didn’t watch it. I was catcalling people from the back of a banquet room at the Hilton during the…
Local Musicians Stump For Rocks Off’s “Hell Yeah!” Office
A contentious and cantankerous mid-term election season is upon us, and the AM dial is so full of hot air that Rocks Off is surprised our Matrix hasn’t started floating. Without taking a seat on either side of the aisle, it’s undeniable that a real current of anti-incumbent sentiment is…
Unidentified Male, Bayou Body Count No. 238
A stabbing death, but maybe no chargesA man was stabbed to death Sunday afternoon in a southwest side apartment, police say.The victim and another man were arguing in an apartment and the fight escalated into a stabbing about 1:20 p.m. in the 6400 block of Bankside, police say. The victim,…
Ingredient of the Week: Acorn Squash
What is it? This pumpkin-ish squash isn’t just another one of those decorative gourds that people put out in their yard for fall festiveness, but a winter squash that produces sweet flesh all year long. Bright-orange in color on the inside, it contains beta-carotene, plenty of fiber, vitamin C, vitamin…
Boardwalk Empire: Nucky Sends Jimmy Packing for Capone-Town
The most alluring aspect of period dramas is the way their eras can be romanticized by modern storytellers and audiences. Yet one of the things that makes Boardwalk Empire so fantastic is its stubborn resistance to glamorize a period in American life that was just as teeming with lawlessness and…
Happy National Taco Day From ZZ Top, Moby, Arcade Fire…
Today, October 4, is National Taco Day, and no doubt our friend Jay is somewhere bathing in tacos. Dude has made a healthy sideline just tweeting about tacos. Tacos don’t have much to do with music in our minds, unless you count the inside sleeve to ZZ Top’s Tres Hombres…
Farewell, Abstinence-Only Sex Education: Teen Mothers Don’t Salute You
Bristol Palin likes abstinence-only nowFor the first time in a decade, the federal government is out of the business of funding abstinence-only sex-education programs.Because, as it turns out, teaching kids it’s bad to have sex doesn’t really stop them from having sex. It just stops them from learning about how…
Caesar Salad Cupcakes and More: The 26th Annual Caesar Salad Competition
“We worked on these for two days straight,” laughed Jody Stevens as she proudly displayed a cupcake garnished with a romaine lettuce leaf. Stevens and her partner, fellow pastry chef Rebecca Masson, were in inhospitable waters on Friday night as they competed against over a dozen savory chefs in the…
The Week In TV: Industry Milestones and a Munsters Millstone
The weather’s been gorgeous, another TV series got the ax, and I started doing fantasy hockey camp and Civil War re-creation to meet girls. This was the week in TV Land: • Last week’s 30 Rock was fantastic, easily ranking as one of the best episodes in ages and more…
Unidentified Male, Bayou Body Count No. 237
Shot several times and left for deadA man was shot several times Friday night on the northeast side and was pronounced dead at the scene, police say.The man, whose identity was not released, was shot about 9:50 p.m. Friday in the 5200 block of Market, near Wheatley High School.HPD says…
Is Chris Brown Officially Unshunned?
Some rappers happen to be thoughtful, intelligent people. Every Monday that isn’t a national holiday, Rocks Off will have some of them hear discussing issues relevant to their culture. This Week’s Panel: Yung Redd, Fat Tony, Thurogood Wordsmith, Kyle Hubbard, Prince AJ Not Invited: Rihanna This Week’s Prompt: Chris Brown…
Pizza, Beer and Pixie Sticks: Partying at the Houston Zoo
Last Thursday, animal enthusiasts and party crashers alike crowded the Houston Zoo’s Duck Pond for their Flock of Seagulls 80s themed party. Guests were encouraged to dress up in their craziest 80s attire and nibble on mini appetizers, Saint Arnold’S Beer and 42 Below Vodka drinks while the DJ spun…
Arian Foster: Five Other Things He Should Be Disciplined For
Wearing pink? Sit him out for the first quarter next week!!Houston Texans coach Gary Kubiak disciplined star running back Arian Foster for missing a team meeting and showing up late for another.He sat Foster out for the first quarter and part of the second against Oakland Sunday. (We’re sure he…
Texans’ Tailgating: Say Goodbye To The Fights?
With the Giants coming to town this weekend, Texans fans will get their first look at the new tailgate rules, which severely limit the number of non-ticketholders allowed into the parking lots before the game.The web has been lit up by complaints about it, or people supporting it (one posted…
Space Beer: Coming Soon to a Galaxy Near You
STEP 1: Design a spacecraft fit for commercial space flight. Check. STEP 2: Build a fleet of such vehicles; brand yourself as the means for the common (extremely wealthy) man to see the universe. Check. STEP 3: Get space tourists wasted. Shit! It appears that commercial space travel is just…
Saturday Night: Michael Franti & Spearhead At House Of Blues
Michael Franti & Spearhead House of Blues October 2, 2010 Check out photos from the show. Hands are in the air immediately with the stupidly fun show opener “Love Don’t Wait,” as Michael Franti and his Spearhead instrumentalists file out onstage. Franti is a big dude, built like a basketball…
(Squeal!) Anderson Cooper is Coming to Daytime
We’ve watched the Yale educated son of Gloria Vanderbilt deliver the news from wherever hell-on-earth happens to be for over a decade now, working for 60 Minutes, 20/20 and CNN. What’s next for the sexy, silver-haired correspondent? Apparently, it’s daytime talk. On September 30th, Ken Werner, president of Warner Bros…
Friday Night: The Cult At House Of Blues
The Cult, The Black Ryder House of Blues October 1, 2010 See photos from the Cult’s leather-clad performance in our slideshow. So it goes that as the years pass, a band’s worth and status gets continuously reevaluated. For the past week, Aftermath had been pondering The Cult’s place in the…
Rice Owls Blind Sided By The Mustangs
Before the season began, the Rice Owls were confident that they would get the six wins needed to qualify for a bowl game. Five games into the season, with the Owls record at 1-4, the question isn’t so much whether the Owls will get to the six wins but whether…
Robert Hall, 22, Bayou Body Count No. 236
A shootout on the southwest side left one person dead and a second critically injured, police said.The incident occurred early Sunday morning.Police responded to a call of a person being shot about 3 a.m. near the intersection of Sway and Stone Haven and found an injured man.He was taken to…
Hyperbubble Heat Up Hot Fuzz On “Chop Shop Cop”
Sooooooo… Hyperbubble. We’ve mentioned them a couple of times in the past referencing the fact that they are pretty much the best electronic act in Texas that doesn’t involve those bondage pants and stompy boots that Korg sends bands like CTRL when they buy keyboards. The synthesizer couple’s latest album,…
Where Are We Eating?
A slab of brisket fresh off the smoker, ready to be sliced and served to a line of eager patrons. Does this meat look mighty familiar to you? Leave your best guess as to where we’re eating this week in the comments section below…
Universes in Ameriville
Bronx-based ensemble Universes finally brought its potent Ameriville to Houston this weekend, thanks to the city’s always-courageous presenter, DiverseWorks Art Space. The unusually emphatic and highly political 90-minute work attempts to capture the American mindset since Hurricane Katrina, branching out from those troubling 2005 events in New Orleans like a…
Texas & Concealed Handguns: Lone Star State Becoming Wimpy
Texas, we can do betterThe New York Times has published an utterly embarrassing look at how Texas has completely allowed other states to take the lead when it comes to concealed-handgun idiocy.Hear this, Texas: Tennessee allows people to take their Glocks into bars. We here in the Lone Star state…
Texans 31, Raiders 24: With A Running Game Like This, Johnson Has Time To Rest
Photo by Aaron M. SprecherMario Williams kept up the pressureIt only took one offseason and one Arian Foster to transform the Texans’ running game from shaky to the club’s foundation.As a result, the Texans on Sunday allowed star wideout Andre Johnson to rest his ailing ankle and saw their offense…
This Week in Deliciousness
Welcome back to the weekly roundup here at Eating Our Words, where we’ve almost finished constructing our 1700-layer cake in MineCraft. We started this week off right with some fried chicken coated in a buttery Cap’N Crunch batter. Pardon the tears. TWiD is just so damn happy right now. The…
Top 10: Canceled TV Shows We Sorta Miss
This week we saw the first casualty of the 2010-2011 television season with the cancellation of Fox’s Lone Star. The partially Houston-set, but not Houston-filmed, series centered on a man living two lives. It only lasted two episodes before the network pulled the plug on the series and ended production…
A Late Dinner at the Bar at Mockingbird Bistro
The first time I ate at Mockingbird Bistro (1985 Welch) was in 2002 when it first opened. I had lunch and never returned, but I don’t know why. The bar menu is impressive, to say the least. The apps are amazing, and the beer and cocktail offerings are some of…
Annise Parker Takes “A Lot Of Credit For Raising Houston’s Coolness Factor”
Annise Parker, Ms. CoolHouston, you are much cooler than you used to be, and Annise Parker is taking much of the credit for it.And here we thought it was due to…to…to…well, to be honest, we didn’t realize Houston was considered a cooler place than it used to be.Parker, in a…
Upcoming Events
Taking place on Monday will be the long-awaited Chefs Under Fire competition, in which five area chefs compete for a spot in the state-wide Chefs Under Fire Finals to be held in Austin on October 25. So far, the chefs from Dallas-Ft. Worth and the Austin-San Antonio region have already…
FAIL: ABBA, Animal Collective, Diddy, Pete Doherty
Hooray! Now Your Feet Are Boring, Too!: A clothing designer called Keep took a whole bunch of ecstasy (probably) and then invited Animal Collective’s Avery Tare to design some shoes for them. By “design,” we of course mean “scribble on some plain beige loafers which can then be sold for…
Rapper Tow Down, Brother Arrested On Drug Charges
Bryan Theriot, a/k/a Tow Down, a/k/a “Arrested Again”Tall Caucasian rapper Tow Down, aka Bryan Theriot, made mainstream news in 2008, when The Man raided his posh Sienna Plantation home and seized about 50 marijuana plants. But as sweet as Tow Down’s hydro set-up was, it looks downright juvenile compared to the two and a…
Art Attack Party
Please join us on Monday, October 11, 7-9 p.m., at Bering Art Collective to celebrate the launch of Art Attack, nominate artists and organizations for our annual Mastermind Awards, meet our writers and spend a Monday evening in the company of local artists. There’ll be a special performance by Bootown,…
Openings & Closings
After an extended hiatus, Las Alamedas (23501 Cinco Ranch Boulevard, Suite F410) has finally reopened — but not in its former location on Katy Freeway. Instead, the old-school Mexican restaurant known as the site of many a special occasion dinner has moved west to Katy’s La Centerra development. Of course,…
Even Ted Poe’s Grandkid Is Bored To Distraction With Him
Ted Poe loves to hear himself talk, but apparently not everyone in his immediate family has the same taste.The Awl found this piece of C-SPAN footage of Poe giving yet another of his windy “special orders” speeches to an empty House floor. The site says Poe had taken his grandson…
Continental Airlines: Last Stand For The Logo Downtown (Updated: People Are Acting On Rumors)
Photo by Richard ConnellyEnjoy it while it lasts, fellasWord has gone out to employees at Continental Airlines in downtown Houston: The historic — iconic, even — logo in front of the company’s (former) headquarters will be gone after today.As a result, people have been getting their pictures taken in front…
Alexander Hill, Tattoo Customer: Tasered While Sleeping?
Free with every tattoo, a Tasering?Alexander Hill says he just wanted a tattoo. Instead he got Tasered while he was sleeping, and then Tasered again for good measure.The claims are made in a lawsuit filed in Galveston County. Hill says he went into a Galveston tattoo parlor, and he and…
Great Gulf Dinner: What Oil Spill?
You may or may not have heard about this little thing that happened recently in the Gulf of Mexico. Some assholes were drilling for oil without following safety precautions and — oops! — nearly wrecked an enormous portion of the ocean for generations to come. Dicks. The good news is…
The Five Most Bogus Rapper Apologies
It’s the unwritten rule in rap: never apologize. Offering apology in hip-hop is a sign of weakness and rappers simply can’t appear weak, no matter what. Sorry, that’s just the way it is. Yet, every now and then we’ll see a rapper apologize for stepping out of line. Earlier this…
King Tut Strut
The Museum of Fine Arts Houston announced today that it will host the Texas debut of Tutankhamun: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs, an exhibition of more than 100 artifacts, many of which had not been seen in the U.S. prior to the current tour, which is currently on…
She’s Got Rhythm: Jazz-Pop Upstart Nikki Yanofsky, 16 And Swingin’
Nikki Yanofsky has been “singing since I could talk, basically.” And doing it well: When her dad asked the Montreal native to sing a few songs with his garage band at a charity event, it was a little different than practicing in the garage. In the audience was the founder…
DPS Tells Falcon Lake Jet-Skiers To Stay On The U.S. Side If They Value Their Lives
There be pirates on the borderThe Texas Department of Public Safety has issued a warning telling people who jet-ski on Falcon Lake, which is divided by the U.S.-Mexico border, to stay the hell on the American side.David Michael Hartley, 30, was shot yesterday afternoon and is believed to be dead…
Vintage Cocktails: Tiki Drinks
Say “tiki drink” to someone unfamiliar with the cocktail style, and they’ll often imagine a frozen daiquiri with an umbrella served at some bar where Jimmy Buffett is on repeat and all the patrons wear Tommy Bahama. But the truth is that long before the artisan cocktail trend ever hit…
Happy Hour Scene: Blue at Brenner’s
The Place: Blue Bar at Brenner’s on the Bayou1 Birdsall St. 713-868-4444www.brennerssteakhouse.comThe Hours: Monday through Friday 5-7 p.m.The Deals: Southern Star Bombshell and a Saint Arnold’s seasonal are $3. Select cocktails, like a Japanese Twist or Pear Martini, are $5. Select wines are the same price. Blue Bar also offers…
ACL: What Could Possibly Be Worse Than Last Year’s Mudbath?
In exactly one week, Rocks Off will be broadcasting live from the Austin City Limits Music Festival in Austin’s Zilker Park. This will be our fourth spin around the grounds since 2007, and every year we swear we won’t fall in love with a bartender in the media tent. We…
Texas A&M Aggies: Care To Make The Rest Of The Season Interesting?
I had other things I wanted to get to today, other anecdotes and information I wanted to share with all of you. Really, I did. But this one is time sensitive.If I wait even 48 more hours, the impact is lost because by then Notre Dame will have beaten Boston…
Lance Reyna: Transgendered Man’s Attacker Is Free
Photo courtesy HCSOTerrence Calhoun, accused of attacking Lance ReynaThis summer we reported on the assault against Lance Reyna, a Houston Community College student who was assaulted in a bathroom on the main campus.Reyna, a transgendered man, is a vocal leader in the HCC GLBT community, and supporters believed he was…
Unidentified Man, Bayou Body Count No. 235
Shot in the chest, but little else knownThere’s very little information about a man dead from a gunshot wound on the south side Thursday afternoon.The victim, whose identity was not released, was found shot in the chest shortly before 3 p.m. in the 4500 block of Maggie.What HPD has to…
Fox Hollow: What the Hell
I do not understand Fox Hollow. Maybe when the place has been open for a little while longer and had some time to really figure out what it is and what it wants to focus on, I’ll get it. But a recent visit mostly convinced me that the well-meaning bar…
Jack Freeman Pours It Smooth On Dark Liquor EP
No guest appearance on a song this year has prompted more of a “Holy Christ, Who Is This Guy?” response than R&B singer Jack Freeman’s feature on The Niceguys’ “Not At All” a song that is impressive in its own right. He was just about perfect on it, and very…
Keep Texas Self-Deprecating
It seems there’s a contest going on between Texas’ major cities to see who can devise the most self-deprecating city slogan and slap it on a bumper sticker. The above sticker was created by Dallasites earlier this year, and the makers (appropriately) started a Facebook group on April 1. Of…
Wine of the Week: Casa Silva 2009 Reserva Sauvignon Blanc
Goodness gracious, this is a ballsy Sauvignon Blanc from the Colchagua Valley in Chile. It doesn’t look like much in the glass, timidly light and unassuming in color and viscosity; barely discernable from ever-so-slightly yellow-green tinted water. However, the nose is incredibly strong, with sharp, almost dissonant notes of grapefruit,…
September 24-30: The Week in Photos
Each week, we take a dip into the Houston Press Flickr pool and see what our talented photographers have been up to. Tailgating, enjoying the cooling weather, concert pics, local food — if it’s Houston-related, we want to see it. Be sure to add your images to our Flickr pool…
Bob Dylan, Still On The Road And Not Looking Back
Still on the Road: The Songs of Bob Dylan 1974-2006 by Clinton Heylin Chicago Review Press, 448 pp., $29.95. Perhaps the world’s premier Dylanologist and author of the best bio on the man (Behind the Shades Revisited), Clinton Heylin continues his exhaustive examination of every song Bob Dylan wrote -…
Chandler Davidson: Rice Prof Looking For His Colleagues From Austin’s Civil Rights Era
50 years ago UT’s students began protestingAh, the early ’60s in Austin — for many people it meant beer, maybe some drugs, and Darrel Royal guiding the Longhorns.For Chandler Davidson and his colleagues it meant protesting to integrate UT’s Guadalupe Drag, the iconic strip outside the campus. It wasn’t exactly…
Asher Brown’s Parents On CNN; DA Getting Involved
The Asher Brown story went national last night, as CNN’s Anderson Cooper interviewed the parents of the Cy-Fair middle schooler who committed suicide.The parents appeared with their attorney and said they had made “many trips” to the school, and numerous calls and e-mails, to complain about bullying…
Chef Chat, Part 3: Minh Nguyen of Café TH
This week we’ve been chatting with Minh Nguyen of Café TH. Today we sample some of his favorite dishes. First up with that evening’s dinner special: papaya and shrimp noodle salad. This special was made with very fine vermicelli rice noodles. The noodles, papaya and shrimp are tossed in a…
Shock Therapy: Would Sinead O’Connor Still Cause An Uproar?
Sunday night is a special night. It’s the 18th anniversary of Sinead O’Connor’s infamous Pope-a-ripping on Saturday Night Live. For the extremely small number of you who somehow have the Internet but not VH1, the facts are these: O’Connor, always the most peaceable and least controversial of performers, ripped up…
Community: They’re Break-Dance Fighting!
For all its (admittedly wonderful) cartoonishness, Community is mostly about Jeff Winger’s gradual realization that he really is a good person and that life with his new friends is much better than his old one. But that’s not an easy lesson to learn, or at any rate, it’s not an…
The Black Ryder Growing A Cult Of Its Own
Hayden Scott, whom we met recently when he was drumming for Gram Rabbit at Last Concert Café in August, emailed Lonesome Onry and Mean to say that he’s playing drums with The Black Ryder, the Sydney, Australia rockers who are opening The Cult’s current tour. According to an overnight post…
The Houston Cougars In Search Of A Back-Up Plan
The Houston Cougars are on their bye week. For most teams, this would be a chance to get some rest. To heal some injuries. To relax. To start focusing on the rest of the season. Houston Cougars head coach Kevin Sumlin isn’t thinking this way, and his players this week…
Phuong Anh: New Houstonian Tells Of Her Time As Near-Slave
Photos by Paula BeltránPhuong Anh told a harrowing tale of survivalThe promise of a $300-per-month job was enough to convince Phuong Anh to sell her home in Vietnam and move to Jordan. Things didn’t turn out like she expected. Earlier this week a tearful Anh told her story of resilience…
Odd Pair: Shrimp Tacos & Chardonnay
Shrimp tacos are my current obsession. Yes, they are obviously just a riff on the classic fish taco, but the combination of a tempura battered shrimp on a freshly made corn tortilla with red cabbage and cilantro is not to be missed. And since they’re only $2 during Yelapa Playa…
The Week in Art Photos
Each week, we scour the Houston Press Flickr Pool and see what kinds of art shots our talented photographers have added. If you think you’ve got a good eye, drop your pictures in the pool and every Friday we’ll post the most eye-popping shots. (Be sure to enable the HTML…
Cage Match: Clint Black Vs. Tax The Wolf
Update: Clint Black’s show has been rescheduled to Sunday, December 5. Winner: Tax the Wolf! God, Clint Black’s lyrics are fucking terrible. Ladies and gentlemen, tonight a battle will be waged for your musical souls. In this corner, in the hat and shiny shoes, is Clint Black, bringing with him…
College Football and NFL: This Weekend’s Best Bets
Now that The Office has turned into a big, directionless mess, the title for Most Watchable Thing on Thursday night television (with apologies to It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia and The League) is the two-minute “Dr. Lou” segments that run at halftime of the Thursday night college football games on…
Texans Keep Out The Riff-Raff With New Tailgating Policy
Photo by Chasen MarshallBetter have game tickets, dudesRemember that great tailgating scene outside of the Texans-Cowboys game?Remember it well, because it won’t happen again.The Texans have announced a new policy after approximately 20,000 (they say) non-ticketed tailgaters took to the Reliant Stadium lots in order to bask in the pre-game…
Get Your Meat Sculpture
Yes, this is it. Carpe Diem, people. Bacon Kevin Bacon is up for grabs on EBay. The oversized head, measures 14.25″ x 8″ x 11.5″, comes with a marble base, and bears an odd resemblance to Conan O’Brien. It was commissioned by Justin Esch and Dave Lefkow of J&D Foods,…
Lord Have Mercy Jesus! It’s Divorce Court
I have a confession to make. I love court TV. In a daytime timeslot, the words “courtroom drama” mean something entirely different that in primetime. Take the case of Harper vs. Hicks, in which the defendant literally breaks into song on a recent episode of Divorce Court. Plaintiff: Loren Harper…
Unidentified Female, Bayou Body Count No. 234
Strangled outside a churchAn apparently homeless woman was found strangled to deathnear the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart downtown this morning, police say.Her name was not released, and an autopsy will be done to officially determine the cause of death, although police said she had “suffered trauma to her neck.”.A…
The 5 Reasons Your Food Photos Suck
From blogs to Flickr to food message boards, everyone seems to be taking photos of their food for all of us to appreciate, but it’s tough to enjoy crappy photos and far too many of them suck. Take just a few minutes to search Google or Flickr for any food…
The Ten Bleakest Songs In Country Music History
Country music isn’t all high-tech rednecks and honky tonk badonkadonks. Country artists have a tendency to, every now and then, sing about some dark, disturbing stuff. Sometimes scary, sometimes violent, and sometimes just weird, here are some country songs that rival the blackest of metal jams for their dark subject…
You Dress Like One. Do You Write Like One?
If you’re into blogging (female or male), Modcloth.com might think you dress like this, but we don’t care as long as you can write. Art Attack is always on the lookout for writers with an interesting and entertaining perspective on arts and culture. We got a budget to spend and…
Dynamo’s Boswell Learns About Boobies
From SBHouston comes word of this video, put up by the Houston Dynamo’s Bobby Boswell, of his efforts to film a puvlic-service announcement for Breast Cancer Awareness night.We’re not sure how many of these “bloopers” are planned — especially since the finished product at the end is recorded with a…
Houston’s Classic Desserts: Now In Convenient Book Form
I realize that it’s nowhere near Christmas, despite the First Baptist billboard on I-10 advertising their Christmas church services (which you apparently have to purchase a ticket to attend? WTF?!) that make me want to claw my own eyes out with rage every time I drive past it. It’s not…
HPD Scores Big On Federal Grant To Hire Cops
Houston is the only major Texas city to get funding in the current round of a federal police-hiring grant program, Mayor Annise Parker announced today.A $10 million grant will allow the city to hire 50 officers over the next three years, she said.Houston is one of only four cities nationwide…
Best Of Houston Music Awards That Didn’t Quite Make The Cut
BEST BAR TO WATCH A CULTURE CLASH There is nothing like watching hipsters and preppie folk drinking next to each other at Grand Prize. Some of the latter still show expecting the same vibe as Ernie’s On Banks only to find beards and chicks in leather leggings. Some nights you…
Food Fight: Battle Tortilla Soup
My name is Ruthie, and I am a soupaholic. Hot soups, cold soups, broths and purees. Hot weather or cold. Any time of day, every season in the calendar. It can be canned or homemade… borscht, gazpacho or Campbell’s Chicken and Stars. I never outgrew Top Ramen. There’s no support…
Rocks Off Thanks You Very, Very, Very Much, Houston
Rocks Off has tunnel vision. If something’s not right in front of us, we’re apt not to notice. Therefore, we were pleasantly surprised to open this week’s print edition of the Press and discover we are the readers’ 2010 choice for Best Music Blog. We are humbled and flattered, especially…
Jaxon Leone: 86’d From Hospital For Being Drunk, Police Say Local Man Then Swiped Ambulance
We’ve all heard that urban legend about the drunk guy who drives off in the cop car and forgets all about it…You know, he’s in a black-out, and he goes home and passes out, and then the next day, he’s woken by an angry cop beating down his door, and…
Go Texan or Go Home
Although the Go Texan Restaurant Roundup kicked off this past Monday, it’s not too late to support the Lone Star State while eating at some of Houston’s best eateries. Each year, the Restaurant Roundup celebrates and promotes Texas agriculture as well as locally grown, locally produced or locally made Texas…
Which Texas Rapper Would Make The Best Governor?
In many ways, rappers are akin to politicians. They possess oratorical skills, walk around with a posse, and always say things they don’t mean. With the 2010 gubernatorial elections little more than a month away, Rocks Off wondered which rapper might be best suited to lead the great state of…
Last Night: Rock Photography at Warehouse Live
Last night, the Warehouse Live Green Room opened its doors for “Three Songs, No Flash,” a permanent exhibit of dynamic and intimate concert photos by Houston-based freelance photographer Mark C. Austin. The all-access shots, covering everyone from Bono to Jack White, have been published in GQ, Rolling Stone, and plenty…
Going To Texas-OU? Look Out For DPS Troopers On The Way
They’re looking for you, Longhorn and Sooner fansYou can’t say they didn’t warn you: the Department of Public Safety has put out notice that they’ll be lining the roads headed to Dallas for the Red River Shootout.”Troopers will patrol IH-35, IH-45 and IH-20, and will be looking for drunk drivers,…
Write for Eating Our Words
Hey, guys. We know you’re out there doing it – you’re eating. You’re visiting new restaurants, exploring holes in the wall, trying recipes, coming up with your own, comparing grocery store prices, searching for deals on wine, watching food TV, reading about food trends, gossiping about which restaurants are closing…
First Jewish Cheerleader: Texans Bravely Breaking Barriers
Photo courtesy Houston TexansMichelle Lewis plans to be an OB/GYNLeave it to the Jewish Herald Voice to get the scoop, and the headline says it all: “Meet the Texans’ First Pre-Med Jewish Cheerleader.”You mean it’s taken this long to get a pre-med Jewish cheerleader? And we think we live in…
Musicians Face Their Toughest Audience Of All: Mom
When you’re a kid, you can’t wait to bring your mom the picture you drew, or sing her the song you learned. You live for her approval, that smile of pride. And later, that support can steadily make you more and more into the artist you will become. One day…
The Best of the Rest
Photo by chatirygirl ”Where’s the Best Wine List category this year?” Evan Turner wanted to know as he poured me a BrewDog Punk IPA last night at Branch Water Tavern’s quiet bar. I was momentarily caught off guard. Had we not included a Best Wine List category in this…
Unidentified Male, Bayou Body Count No. 233
Stabbed at an auto-repair shopA man was found stabbed to death in the parking lot of an auto-repair shop on the southeast side, Houston police say.The victim, whose identity has not been released, was discovered about 10:50 a.m. Wednesday in the 2900 block of Starmount.”A blue Ford two-door hatchback found…
R.I.P. Greg Giraldo
Stand-up comedian Greg Giraldo died yesterday as a result of complications from an accidental prescription medication overdose. He was 44. Unless you were a stand-up fan, Giraldo probably flew under your radar. Maybe you recognized him as a judge on Last Comic Standing, or from his sole appearance on The…
Remember Big Pokey’s Warning Shot?
Houston’s history is dotted with albums that, fairly or un, have been swept aside. We’ll examine them here. Have an album that you think nobody knows about but should? Email sheaserrano@gmail.com. Big Pokey Warning Shot (Oarfin Records, 2010) Ah, Mr. Croc Bull, perhaps the most underappreciated S.U.C. member of all…
$7 at Chicago Pizza
Where? Chicago Pizza, 1777 Airline, 713-862-2828. What $7 gets you: There are two sandwiches that will run you about $7: an Italian deli meat option and an Eggplant Parmesan. The price includes a hearty helping of your choice of side: fries, soup or salad. I selected the eggplant sandwich with…
RIP, Tony Curtis: His Little Piece of Houston History
Tap-dancing into Houston’s heartsTony Curtis has died, the longtime actor and comedian checking out at 85.Yes, he had a Houston connection. And a fairly recent one.Eight years ago, when construction was finally nearing an end on the $100 million Hobby Center for the Performing Arts, TUTS announced what show and…
Army of Dorkness: Joss Whedon Trivia Night at Little Woodrow’s
You might not know it to look at me (hopefully), but my dork cred is pretty strong. I read comics, and have since I was little. I’ve been an enthusiastic internet geek since the early AOL days, and can quote memes all the way back to HamsterDance.com and beyond. And…
Last Night: Atari Teenage Riot At Groundhall
Atari Teenage Riot, Black Congress, Weird Party, Balaclavas Groundhall September 29, 2010 Atari Teenage Riot’s set began with the entirety of Groundhall encompassed in darkness. As bass beat in everyone’s chests, strobe lights lit up the otherwise pitch-black venue. For a good five minutes, ATR let the crowd scream and…
Rice Owls Battle The Little Things
I’ve got a confession to make. I’ve got this thing for mediocre mid-`90s alt-rock, specifically, Bush. I mention this because whenever I attend a Rice press conference, or do the interview thing after the games, the one thing I hear over and over is a discussion about little things. So…
Remembering Our Friends, The Mujahideen
Obama’s Wars, Bob Woodward’s new book about the President’s management of the Afghanistan War, exposes some pretty significant divisions between Obama’s civilian advisers and the U.S. military on strategy concerning what is now America’s longest war: Book excerpts published yesterday suggest lasting scars from the infighting through last summer and…
Like Buddy Rich When We Fly Off The Handle
The joke goes like this… A drummer dies and goes to Heaven. When he gets up to St. Peter at the pearly gates, far off in the distance he hears this incredible drumming, truly spectacular drumming. “Is that Buddy Rich?” he asks the angel. “No,” says St. Peter rolling his…
Chef Chat, Part 2: Minh Nguyen of Café TH
Today we continue our chat with Nguyen, discussing the obstacles to running a restaurant in a dead Chinatown, and why Café TH’s banh mi is so good. EOW: Since this location is in a shell of what used to be the downtown Chinatown, what obstacles are you facing due to…
Remembering Our Friends, The Mujahideen
Obama’s Wars, Bob Woodward’s new book about the President’s management of the Afghanistan War, exposes some pretty significant divisions between Obama’s civilian advisers and the U.S. military on strategy concerning what is now America’s longest war: Book excerpts published yesterday suggest lasting scars from the infighting through last summer and…
Best of Houston: Readers Vs. The Staff
The 2010 Best of Houston issue is out, and formally hits the streets today. As always, it contains an eclectic mix of categories and picks, and you readers get the chance to chime in.And when you do, you often disagree with us.Only one can be right, right? You or us?…
Asher Brown: Tragedy And Questions
Asher Brown, a suicide at 13The suicide of 13-year-old Cy-Fair middle schooler Asher Brown is attracting growing attention around the net.It’s solidifying into a story of a gay kid who got bullied while school officials looked the other way. The parents say Asher told them he was gay last week;…
Asian Film Festival
The films for this year’s Asian Film Festival hail from South Korea, Japan and India. The festival kicks off on Friday with two screenings of the South Korean thriller Mother. Directed by Joon-ho Bong of The Host fame, Mother is a suspenseful tale about a frantic mother who fears nothing…
Best Musical
What a definitive production this was — bare bones and minimal in look, but so rich in context and essence. Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s Tony Award-winning classic from 1970 is a plotless, existential musical with perpetual bachelor Bobby (Luther Chakurian), his five pairs of friends and his three bedmates,…
Best Local Booking Collective
For Pegstar founder Jagi Katial, watching thousands of Houstonians and out-of-towners get blissfully swept up in the Flaming Lips’ psychedelic menagerie at Free Press Summerfest 2010 must have felt like sweet, sweet validation. Since 2003, Katial and his small staff have had to endure all manner of pooh-poohing from the…
Best Strip Club
When ranking gentlemen’s clubs, there are many factors to consider: How much is the cover charge? Is there a free buffet? What are the boobs like? How many boobs are there at any given time? Are these the kind of boobs I can’t see anywhere else? Michael’s International has astonishingly…
Best Place to Drink With an Oilman
There’s no doubt that at least some of the deals that shaped the modern oil and gas industry were hatched at the bar and at dinner tables in Houston’s Petroleum Club. It’s been referenced, for example, as a favorite spot of the former President George Bush and Vice President Dick…
Best High School Team
The Yates High School basketball team wasn’t just the best team in Houston; it was the best team in the entire country. Undisputed. The People Who Matter, like ESPN and USA Today, said so. But the team also drew a heavy amount of criticism for the same thing: being too…
Best Community Newspaper
These community newspapers in West University, River Oaks, Memorial and Bellaire are as thoughtful and researched as they are feisty. Bellaire Examiner Editor Charlotte Aguilar keeps things going at a steady pace, making sure these papers provoke discussion as much as they celebrate neighborhood achievements. Reporter Steve Mark stays on…
Best Vintage Clothing
Houston is blessed with lots of wonderful vintage clothing stores, but right now our favorite is Replay on 19th St. This charming boutique, right in the heart of the Heights, features 2,500 square feet of reasonably priced clothes, jewelry, handbags and other accessories. Plus, the friendly, helpful sales staff is…
Best Public Library Branch
We’ll always have a special place in our hearts for the downtown, main branch of the HPL, but let’s face it: Driving downtown is about as much fun as a migraine. Thank goodness there are plenty of convenient branches, and right now our favorite is this bright, clean building that…
Best Kolaches
Most cities don’t have the incredible diversity of food that we as Houstonians enjoy. Try finding a kolache in Seattle, for example. Fortunately, our fair city is filled with kolache makers — big and small, new and old, authentic and non. Our favorite? We drool over the boudin kolaches from…
Best Sports Moment
This has not been a good year for Houston’s pro sports teams. And there wasn’t much more to celebrate on the college level either, little of note from any school’s hoops or diamond squads other than some middling gridiron success by the Houston Cougars. Nope, you have to look across…
Best Pizza
What could be more Houston than an amalgamation of Italian, American and Indian concepts into one fantastic dish? At Bombay Pizza, located on the ground floor of the Commerce Towers, owner Viral Patel has combined his Indian background with an affinity for making great pies, and the result is dazzling…
Best Remembrance of Houston Past
Vanity Fair reporter and Barbarians at the Gate author and native Texan Bryan Burrough was raised on tales of the exploits of the great oil men, and The Big Rich is likely the only book you will ever need on their successes and excesses. While Dallas-Fort Worth barons like the…
Best Brunch Restaurant
Yes, Stella Sola is owned by local celebrity chef Bryan Caswell, and yes, Stella Sola can be a bit pricey for dinner and wine, but brunch is its great egalitarian offering. Served from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. every Sunday, brunch brings nothing less than this “Texas-Tuscan” restaurant’s spot-on food…
Best Spice Shop
Just step inside this Heights shop and smell the difference. It’s like taking a gourmet-shopping trip around the world. Want Vietnamese cinnamon? Tellicherry black peppercorns? Szechuan pepper salt? Mexican oregano? Yep, Penzeys has all that and more, offering spices, herbs, seasonings, gift boxes and some pretty cool pepper mills and…
Best Vietnamese Restaurant
Huynh is an easy spot to love — this family-owned-and-operated restaurant serves up fresh, authentic Vietnamese in a casual dining room in east Downtown. Favorites like char-grilled pork noodle bowls and spicy bun bo hue are lined up alongside some of the best tofu in town (No. 82, tofu with…
Best Delivery
Sometimes a night in is better than a night out. When reheating frozen foods just isn’t cutting it, call on Auntie Chang’s Dumpling House to kick those hunger pangs. The place will deliver its awesome steamed dumplings, lo mein, veggie and other classics straight to your door. Don’t have a…
Best Pre- or Post-Theater Restaurant
If there was ever a restaurant more fitted to a beautiful night out than The Grove, Houston hasn’t built it yet. The rustic yet modern restaurant — in both design and menu — from Robert Del Grande and Lonnie Schiller, is the crown jewel of downtown’s Discovery Green, with immense…
Hairspray
The story of a big girl with even bigger dreams, Hairspray is set in the tease-your-hair-into-a-giant-bouffant-and-spray-it-stiff-as-a-board 1960s. Tracy Turnblad, a plus-size teen, wants nothing more than to appear on The Corny Collins Show, a dance program on local television. Well, that and to have Link, the cutest boy in school,…
Best Card Game
Unfortunately, in Houston, if you want to play poker against actual people and not computer avatars, and you don’t want to go to an “underground” room where there’s always the possibility of participating in a police raid or having a gun pointed at your face, you’ll have to settle for…
Best Local Author
Author and Rice University Professor Justin Cronin, who had previously written literary fiction, wrote one of this year’s most anticipated books, The Passage, in answer to his daughter’s request that he write a book where a girl saves the world. Cronin’s response was a 766-page science fiction novel set in…
Best Museum
Bigger is usually better, but not when it comes to this year’s Best Museum winner. The Pearl Fincher Museum of Fine Arts, the only fine arts museum in the area that’s located outside of the museum district, might be small, but it’s having a big, big impact. Recent exhibits include…
Best Curator
Early this year, The Menil Collection’s high-profile curator of modern and contemporary art, Franklin Sirmans, became head curator of contemporary art at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. It’s seemed like a natural path for Sirmans, who worked with LACMA director Michael Govan at New York’s Dia Center before…
Best Astro
With the year the Astros are having, this is a tough one, kinda like picking the best excuse from a BP executive. Still, the answer is pretty easy: We’re gonna go with Bourn. First off, he’s a local, which has been something of a rarity for position players on the…
Best Aero
Houston Aeros right wing Jean-Michel Daoust is a scrappy little guy, not much more than five-feet-seven, and he’s pretty easy to miss in the jumble of the action on the ice. But it’s in that jumble that you want to look for Daoust, because it’s from that jumble that he’s…
Best Radio Talk Show
As everyone knows — because we’ve been told so over and over — talk radio from the left side of the political spectrum is boring, earnest and dull. Unless you listen to Partisan Gridlock on KPFT-FM Friday afternoons from 3-4. Host Geoffrey Berg, an attorney, is funny and sharp; he…
Best Bakery
Although owner Sandra Jean Bubbert boasts of being the “Baker to the Stars,” don’t be intimidated by pics of Bubbert smiling with Arnold Schwarzenegger, Larry King, Dennis Miller and Condi Rice: Even the little people can enjoy the specialty cakes, famous “lunch boxes” and extensive deli menu this old favorite…
Best Golf Course
There’s a rumor at Hermann Park Golf Course that the guys from Bon Jovi like to play the course when they come through town. At least, they have one time. Whether it was Richie Sambora, Mr. Jovi himself or just a couple of roadies, it doesn’t really matter. After all,…
Best Seafood Pancake
This Korean restaurant’s seafood pancake, or hae-mool pah-jun, is a force to be reckoned with. Diners often make the mistake of assuming this pancake to be less filling than it truly is while becoming addicted to its taste — it’s presented as an appetizer but is the size of a…
Best State Park
If some developer ever paid (bribed) the right person enough money to build a couple hotels and a cluster of restaurants in Brazos Bend, we guarantee it’d be the top tourist attraction in the region. It’s that cool. That will never happen — at least we pray it doesn’t —…
Best Twitterer — Arts
A better moniker for this year’s winner for Best Arts Twitterer, @dancehunter, might have been @artshunter. That’s because Nancy Wozny, the force behind the constant stream of news, critiques, discussions and, from time to time, a little gossip, doesn’t limit herself to just dance. Nor is the conversation aimed solely…
Best Vintage Record Store
It may be a drive for the average Inner Looper, but to vinyl fetishists and people looking for undiscovered gems, North Houston’s Vinal Edge is a worthy weekend road-trip destination. Just be sure to save some dough for gas money. Housed inside a nondescript shopping center on Veterans Memorial are…
Best Farmers’ Market Takeout
Started in 2008 by Manish Puri and his wife Ashmin Nisha, Nisha’s Quick-N-Ezee Indian Food is always one of the most popular stalls at Houston’s farmers’ markets. They accommodate meat-eaters, vegetarians and vegans alike and use local ingredients whenever possible. Though you cannot find Nisha’s deliciously authentic Indian dishes in…
Best Cuban Restaurant
Flor de Cuba never skimps on authentic flavor or Latin flair while serving up all of the best traditional Cuban dishes. Start your day off with a tortilla abuelita (omelet with fried plantains) and one of the most authentic cups of café cubano you’ll find outside of Havana. Or stop…
Best Wine Bar Food
Sonoma could beat out its competition in selection size alone, but it doesn’t stop there. For the traditionalist, there are elegant cheese and Italian meat platters with fruit and nuts. For the more adventurous, there’s lobster risotto with asparagus or the chicken satay skewers. The Sonoma Pizza is another great…
Best Place to People-Watch
For a city of our size, Houston’s not a great people-watching city. It’s so spread out and so segregated, by class if no longer by race. Take downtown, for example. For the most part, the middle-class office drones stay below decks in the tunnels while the poor people sizzle in…
Joshua Bell’s Mendelssohn
Mention the word Gibson to a musician, and most will think of Gibson guitars. Others, however, will think of the antique Gibson Stradivarius violin made in 1713. Not only is the famed violin one of the most well-crafted instruments of its kind, it gained additional notoriety for having been stolen…
Best Ice House
West Alabama Ice House has Outer Loop suburban icehouse charm right inside the Loop, with a healthy roster of beers in their coolers and an all-star cast of friendly bartenders slinging them for you. Most every weekend, something fun is going on outside on the expansive patio, from gourmet taco…
Best Bar Atmosphere/Decor
“Decor?” you may well be thinking. “At Walter’s? What decor?” Normally, you might have a point — usually the decor at Walter’s is limited to the sign above the stage bearing the club’s name. But this award is for atmosphere and decor, and the atmosphere at Walter’s is as laid-back…
Best Bar — Montrose
When you need a break from glittery lights and electro DJs spinning New Order jams and just want to drink your Jack Daniel’s in peace, you go to Lola’s. Housed in a dark building just off Montrose, Lola’s Depot has been a haven for smokers and swillers for years now…
Best Bar — Downtown
The walls of Warren’s Inn are already covered in plaques commemorating the bar’s previous Best of Houston® wins for everything from Best Jukebox to Best Bar, period, so we just hope there’s room for one more. But until we find a better place to relax with an after-work cocktail or…
Best New Astro
It pains us, as it no doubt pains many people, to name Brett Myers as a “Best” anything. He’s gotten into ugly incidents involving allegedly hitting his wife in a drunken argument (she asked for charges to be dropped) and with a reporter who dared question him (teammates broke up…
Best School
Somehow, T.H. Rogers keeps coming up with great principals who embody the school’s unique mission. That mission involves melding two distinct populations: Vanguard students who attend the gifted-and-talented magnet program from kindergarten through eighth grade, and deaf and multiply impaired students of all ages. Managing things can be a tricky…
Best Charity
Children caught — through no fault of their own — in the bureaucratic maze of the court system: It can be a recipe for disaster. Someone has to stand up for them, but it can be a frustrating job. For the past 26 years, Child Advocates has been taking on…
Best Cheap Thrill
With new rolling stock recently expanded to add more leg and ass room, the now-50-year-old Hermann Park train and its $3 ticket still offer some of the cheapest and gentlest thrills in town. The choo-choo travels just fast enough to bring some relief from the heat, and now that it…
Best Red Snapper
Not every Escalante’s serves local red snapper. It is usually done as a special, and you have to ask about it. But when it’s available, it’s some of the freshest snapper we have ever tasted — firm and mild, with the taste of salt water. The skin is extra-crispy, and…
Best Ceviche
One thing should be perfectly clear when ordering a dish of ceviche at Ocean’s, the new restaurant that has taken over the old Bistro Vino space with panache: This is not the ceviche to which you are probably accustomed. The plates that come out at Ocean’s are immense platters, artfully…
Best Empanadas
When you think of empanadas, you may not immediately think of the first Houston restaurant to be certified by the Green Restaurant Association, but the folks at Ruggles Green are churning out a delicious new twist on the classic South American dish. Cleverly named “Hempenadas,” this version is made with…
Best Twitterer — Politics
Most times after politicians are voted into public office, they stop reaching out to the people altogether except for fund-raisers or photo-ops. Not so much with Mayor Annise Parker, who is actually one of the more accessible Houston leaders in recent memory. The mayor takes to her Twitter account to…
Best Wine Bar
Cha has an amazing selection of reds and whites, plus an excellent list of Champagnes. Though you can pop a $400 bottle of bubbly here, you can also purchase a delightful glass for less than $10. Cha also has a small menu of delicious nibbles, including perfectly baked flatbread pizzas…
Best Asian Supermarket
This primarily Korean grocery store opened with great fanfare in the summer of 2008, and with good reason: The large national chain offers an enormous selection of Asian foodstuffs, fresh seafood and household products in a bright, clean space with prices that are competitive with the likes of H-E-B and…
Best Service
For more than 12 years, the friendly folks at Istanbul have been serving Turkish food with a smile and a helpful hand in Rice Village. Even if the rest of the Village is entirely different these days from the quiet shops and restaurants that once populated Times and University, Istanbul…
Best Steakhouse
With a space that epitomizes Texas-size luxury and a Sinatra soundtrack to boot, Vic & Anthony’s would be easy to write off as nothing more than a downtown power lunch/expense account destination. But here’s the thing: The steaks are really, really good. Like the 22-ounce bone-in rib eye, which you…
Best Local TV News Reporter
When it came to reporting on the ever-expanding Metro scandal, Greenblatt led the pack. He broke the news on the document shredding, and then, like a hungry pit bull’s jaws locked on a limb, he asked question after question and dug deeper and deeper, until it became virtually impossible for…
Where the Wild Things Are
In Where the Wild Things Are, a young boy is sent to bed without his supper. After falling asleep, he imagines an elaborate forest where he is the king of savage creatures as a way to deal with his anger. Based on Maurice Sendak’s classic children’s book of the same…
Best Local Film
When it comes to this year’s crop of local films, For the Sake of the Song is far and away the most significant. Other films were as well done, others as interesting, but For the Sake of the Song captured an only-in-Houston story like no other. Taking home awards from…
Best Nonprofit Art Gallery
Every gallery can count on striking out from time to time, but Houston Center for Photography swings for the bleachers with each show. A small space in comparison to the nearby Menil Collection and Lawndale Art Center, HCP makes the most of its walls by hanging only select images (there…
Best Club for Local Acts
Super Happy Fun Land is home to truly strange and innovative music-makers — noise, punk and freak-folkers. Located inside an old warehouse off Polk near the train tracks, Super Happy has art installations, graffiti murals, a newly installed back patio and a larger-than-average stage where traveling bands and locals do…
Best Student Theater Production
There’s no doubt as to this year’s winner for Student Theater Production — hands down it’s The Drowsy Chaperone produced by Episcopal High School. Led by the charming and delightful Stephanie Styles in the role of showgirl Janet Van de Graaff, the spoof of Broadway musicals swept the prestigious Tommy…
Best Desserts
With its smooth, velvety chocolate filling, crunchy hazelnut tart shell and rich and flavorful Nutella sorbet, the chocolate hazelnut tart at Canopy is to die for. The combination of flavors is classic, but the textures are what really make this dessert luxurious. One will never be enough. If any recipe…
Best Weathercaster
KTRK is home to one of Houston’s most enthusiastic practitioners of “Hype the Tropics,” Tim “Hurricane” Heller. Luckily, the station also has a more realistic meteorologist, Casey Curry, who doesn’t portentously announce the need “to keep an eye on” every thunderstorm that might form in the Caribbean. Curry ably describes…
Best Local Blog
Want to know what that new construction is all about on your street, or why there is a wrecking crew aiming for that quirky little building on your favorite corner? With its fingers on the pulse of the Houston real estate game, Swamplot more than likely has the skinny. This…
Best Cheap Sandwich
Every college student knows the best place to stretch your dollar is at a Vietnamese sandwich shop. Where else can you get three meals for the price of a single dish at most sit-down places? Les Givral’s clean, trendy interior isn’t all hype — there’s a reason there are now…
Best Milk Shake
After a lovely meal featuring some of Houston’s best seafood, go ahead and indulge that aching sweet tooth with REEF’s “No Minors” milk shake.This is not your grandfather’s milk shake, nor is it fit for the children. Here, the age-old milk shake gets a kick in the pants, adding brandy…
Best Cheeseburger
Hubcap Grill is a relative newcomer to the Houston burger scene, yet its influence is undeniable: Come lunchtime, the teensy downtown eatery is packed with suits, families, athletes, hipsters, youngsters, old folks, Americans and multinationals, all eating contentedly in close comfort. Among creative menu options like the Frito Pie Burger…
Best Shot
If Under the Volcano seems like an unlikely place to order a shot, that’s because it is. Most of the time, you’ll see most regulars at this classic Rice Village bar drinking frozen screwdrivers, frozen rum and Cokes or just a plain old draft beer. But if you’re feeling capricious,…
Best Shoe Store
If it were okay to use profanity in mainstream advertising, then DSW would be perfectly justified in describing its inventory as a “shit-ton of kickers at kick-ass prices.” Each location is a kingdom of footwear; a one-stop shopping experience for all your shoe needs, from sneakers to heels to wingtips…
Best Veterinarian
Say you have a pet in crisis, or one with special needs — maybe an elderly rescue fraught with medical problems, some of which require surgery. Forget all the Aggie jokes you’ve ever heard or told and head straight to the Small Animal Clinic at Texas A&M, where on any…
Best Toy Store
Everything about Toys to Love is a surprise. It’s in the city’s Galleria area, surrounded by towering new condos and upscale shops like RDG + Bar Annie and Pinto Ranch Western Wear, so you might expect to find an expensive, pretentious toy store. But you won’t. Toys to Love actually…
Best Taqueria
Seeing how the lunch rush starts darn near breakfast time, finding a quiet time at Taqueria del Sol is next to impossible. And once you begin your meal, you’ll see why. Your food will arrive fast and furious and all kinds of delicious. Gorditas are thick and picante, packed with…
Best Jewish Deli
New York Bagels is a Houston institution and a hot spot for Meyerland locals. It’s a place where both college kids and bubbes can nosh and sip coffee. Perhaps it doesn’t have the glitz of other local delis, but it makes up for that in quality. The cafe serves traditional…
Best Post Office
Okay, sometimes the lines can be long, but they always seem to send someone out to try to siphon off some of the stamps-only and potential self-service customers to keep things moving. The building has a special older, funky charm and we’re going to be sad if the feds ever…
Fatima Bhutto
Author and journalist Fatima Bhutto’s family history is inextricably bound up with Pakistan’s political past. Her grandfather Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was the country’s fourth president. Her father Murtaza Bhutto was an elected member of parliament and was assassinated in 1996. Her aunt Benazir Bhutto was campaigning for a third term…
BEST OF HOUSTON® 2010
The secret about Houston is getting out. We’ve known all along about our city’s attractions – its international cuisine, rodeo, and quirky entertainments like the Art Car Parade – but everyone else is just catching up. We’re celebrating what makes our city a destination, not just a great place to…
Best Bar Games
Here at Spring Branch/West Houston’s gateway dive bar, the owners don’t stop at pool and all those golf and deer hunter electronic games. Nor do they add in good-to-great cork dartboards and call it a day. Nope. The Burlap Barrel does strip-mall dive bars everywhere proud by also rocking a…
Best Film Festival
Happily, Houston finds itself with an abundance of good film festivals. Some focus on indie films, others on cinema from a certain country or region, still others on the stories of a particular ethnic group or sect. But only the Cinema Arts Festival Houston hones in on films by and…
Best Nonprofit Art Series
When it comes to size, no one beats FotoFest. During the 2010 event, one thousand photographers showed their work in dozens of official and unofficial venues throughout the city, and 250,000 viewers from 32 countries visited the exhibits. And when it comes to quality, FotoFest again stands alone. Each of…
Best Theater Production for Children
Houston’s youngest audience members get an unmatched introduction to the magic of live performances at the Children’s Hilltop Theatre Festival at Miller Outdoor Theatre. Produced by the Express Children’s Theatre, the annual festival includes several performances over a four-day period. The 2010 event included the musicals Three Billy Goats Gruff,…
Best Dynamo
For the last three years, Brian Ching has been pretty much the face of Dynamo soccer for most fans. He came oh-so-close to making the U.S. World Cup team, but a hamstring injury held him back. It would have been nice, but Houston will take him any day. Even though…
Best Ruins
Nothing about the decrepit, avocado-colored three-story building on the banks of Buffalo Bayou just west of the Main Street bridge advertises the fact that it used to be the focal point of Texas’s fertile psych-rock scene, which was both bluesier and more adventurous (musically and pharmaceutically) than its better-known San…
Best Place to Buy Music
No disrespect to any of Houston’s handful of plucky independent record stores — which, by and large, are doing just fine, thank you very much — but the best selection of music-related merchandise often comes with a live show as part of the bargain. And it is a bargain: Not…
Best Place to Watch Ultimate Fighting
Around the city and especially the suburbs, there are tons of sports bars, strip clubs and Hooters locations that seem to promote every big UFC fight. But that’s likely to be a miserable experience if it’s the fighting you’re really interested in. So to see some real fighting, and maybe…
Best Sushi
It’s refreshing when you find a place that’s as genuinely comfortable as it is delicious, and that’s exactly our experience at Osaka. The menu at this diminutive Japanese joint isn’t mind-blowing, but it’s consistently refreshing, with delicious salmon, shrimp, eel and tuna offered in creative combinations, all at reasonable prices…
Best Japanese Snack Food
Nippon’s simple and traditional sushi is but a grain of sand in this culinary pearl. Before the hostess leads you to your table, request the Japanese menu. Sure, you might not be able to read Japanese, but that’s part of the fun. With tapas-style dishes, most of the Japanese menu…
Best Burger
At Block 7, dry-aged beef is topped with well-melted Gruyère and a bacon relish that adds a hint of smoke and edge to the already flavorful meat. The kitchen keeps additions to a minimum (arugula, Dijon aioli), and this restraint, plus an excellent bun from local Slow Dough bakers, keeps…
Best Tree
Said to be more than 400 years old, the massive live oak at Bagby and Capitol (behind the Bayou Place entertainment complex) was no doubt a mite smaller back in the Republic of Texas days, when it would have been only about a youthful 225. Even so, it’s hard to…
Best Used Furniture
The slogan at The Guild Shop is “Resale at Its Best,” and we doubt that any city has a better resale shop than this Montrose gem. The store is run by St. John the Divine Church, and if you’re looking for some cool used furniture, this place really can be…
Best Tutor
Houston’s Medical Center, considered the best hospital system in the world, is expected to be bigger than downtown Dallas in just a few years. Even if that doesn’t happen, there’s no doubt that all the aspiring doctors in Houston will need some tutors. That’s where Varsity Tutors can help. Varsity…
Best Mexican Restaurant
Yelapa is not your run-of-the-mill Mexican joint. In fact, it offers more of a postmodern spin on traditional Mexican cuisine. Chef L.J. Wiley uses local ingredients in breathtaking ways, creating dishes that are as pleasing to the eye as they are to the palate. You won’t want to miss the…
Best Greek Restaurant
Alexander the Great Greek has certain dishes that people come back for again and again. It has the best whole charbroiled snapper in town, reason enough to stop here. Only if you took a boat out in Galveston Bay, caught a snapper and grilled it on the beach yourself could…
Best Radio Host (Talk)
Michael Berry might be too conservative for some, but we like how he has his finger on the pulse of Houston’s hot-button issues. We like to tune in after work to see what he makes of the day’s events, even if we don’t always agree. Often controversial, always compelling, he…
Graffiti Art Foundation Gala Kick-Off Party
Followers of the graffiti scene were expecting a gala by the Graffiti Art Foundation about this time, but since, as organizer GONZO247 says, the gala keeps getting “bigger, badder and bolder,” the party has been pushed to sometime in early 2011. In the meantime, the group has decided to keep…
Best Blues Club
Like its big-brother Music Hall next door, the Bronze Peacock Room at House of Blues welcomes all kinds of music, from punk-rock princess Exene Cervenka to hip-hop royalty Rakim to the Kate Bush-y alt-pop of Mexico’s Ximena Sariñana, but lately it’s also been putting the “blues” back in “House of…
Best CD by LocalMusicians
The Energy definitely doesn’t promise you a rose garden over their debut album’s eight gruesome tracks of suicidal Stooges- and Danish punk-rock-derived anthems. Led by singer and graphic artist Arthur Bates, the Energy is made up of some of our city’s best and brightest punkers who somehow banded together to…
Best Dive
You’d have to drive all the way to the seedier backstreets of Galveston to find a hive of villainy as delectable and Star Wars cantina-like as the Blue Lagoon, the dean of Witte Road dives. Beyond the deceptively folksy latticework entryway in this old Spring Branch strip-mall hole-in-the-wall is a…
Best Bar
In the upper Heights sits Big Star, one of the city’s most lively alcoholic redoubts. You can disappear at Big Star in a dark corner, or you can hold court with your drinking team on the dark back patio. The place has become a popular after-work hang for Houston chefs…
Best Bar — Washington Avenue
Washington Avenue has gotten plenty of grief this year, not only from the Houston Press but from other detractors who cry foul at all the glitzy trappings and seemingly nightly amateur drinkers. But there are a couple places where we find ourselves at home along the avenue: indie-club Walter’s and…
Best Twitterer — Sports
As his name indicates, Steve Shalagan lives in Katy. He also makes regular sports-related Twitter updates that are so funny, you’d think they were written by a team of sitcom writers somewhere in Los Angeles. A random sampling of some of his finest work includes gems like: “Now that the…
Best Local TV Talk Show
Local TV talk in Houston tends towards either somewhat dreary, earnest discussions of public works budgets, or breezy, content-free slam-bang interviews with celebrities plugging projects and repeating what they’ve said in a dozen cities. Ernie Manouse’s InnerVIEWS, despite its terrible title, is a welcome exception. He goes the national route,…
Best Demolition
How many places in the world have to shut down a whole city block because chunks of concrete are literally falling from the sky? That happened in Houston when pieces of the old Savoy Apartments — built in 1906 and the first building in Houston to have electricity — started…
Best Risotto
Marco Wiles’s latest Italian eatery is linger-worthy. The darkened dining room and menu of small plates feel perfectly authentic, despite the fact that Westheimer in all of its local color is whizzing by outside. Poscol does many things right, but its risottos are the best of all, creamy and decadent…
Best Cheese Plate
Mockingbird is one of those rare bastions of civility that’s open on a Monday night, all the better to enjoy a glass of wine and a carefully constructed cheese plate at the restaurant’s stately bar, under the whimsical and watchful eyes of a ceiling full of gargoyles. Of course, you…
Best Gun Range
Whether you’re shooting your old family-heirloom deer rifle or just squeezing off some rounds with your new .380, Bailey’s House of Guns will make any gun enthusiast feel at home. Located south just off Almeda Road, Bailey’s is a family-run institution. The range shop is filled with massive stuffed beasts…
Best Park Addition
When Harris County Commissioner Steve Radack wanted to spend more than $2 million to build a soapbox derby hill in northwest Harris County, some people thought he was crazy. But he got it built, and now the area has one of the finest soapbox derby hills around. The Greater Houston…
Best Bookstore
Every time we’ve been to Domy, we’ve been turned on to a book or author we’d probably never come across in one of the chain bookstores. Listen, Borders and the like obviously have their place, but sometimes you need something truly different, something that can only be had from indie…
Best Chain Restaurant
Since its humble beginnings as a sandwich shop in 1969 near the University of Houston, Frenchy’s has been churning out the best Creole chicken in town. Moist meat underneath crispy, seasoned skin, Frenchy’s golden bird always comes fresh from the fryer. And those sides, those sides! Fluffy, buttery biscuits, flavorful…
Best Green Store
Going “green” has come to mean many things to many people, but to the folks at New Living, it is a social, environmental and economic lifestyle. The place itself, located in an old hardware store in Rice Village, specializes in building supplies, such as organic bedding, nontoxic paints and nontoxic…
Best Atmosphere
Although we all miss the old Brennan’s, which was destroyed by fire during the ferocity of Hurricane Ike, the new incarnation of one of the Bayou City’s crown jewels has taken our breath away. Gone is the old, shaded courtyard and slightly fussy ladies-who-lunch interior. In their place is a…
Best South American Restaurant
There is no more authentic Argentinean restaurant in Houston than Manena’s, despite the presence of other empanada purveyors or churrascarias scattered about the city. To experience a culinary mini-vacation, simply set aside an afternoon to drive out to the west side, order some humita and jamón y queso empanadas to…
Best View
It’s the tallest building in Houston, the tallest edifice in Texas and one of the top 50 tallest skyscrapers in the world. With a résumé like that, it’s easy to understand why the 75-story JPMorgan Chase Tower has the best views around. Visitors can’t quite get all the way to…
Saint Arnold’s Oktoberfest 2010
Saint Arnold’s Oktoberfest 2010 is here, and the folks from the local brewery are ready to tap a cask or two of what Saint Arnold spokesperson Lennie Ambrose promises is world-class quality beer. If it sounds like Ambrose is bragging, he has a right to: St. Arnold knocked it out…
Best Band to Get Together in the Past Year
Since they got together this year, Robert Ellis & the Boys have reminded us of the country music we listened to growing up in Houston. From their Wednesday-night residencies to their stray gigs across the city, Ellis and his all-star Montrose band gave hipsters and oldsters a reason to want…
Best Student Art Exhibit
We’re stretching the meaning of the term “student” for this year’s Best Student Art Exhibit award. The painters, multimedia artists, sculptors and scholars who showed work during the Glassell School of Art’s “2010 CORE Exhibit” were actually bright and diverse emerging artists who won fellowships at Glassell, the teaching arm…
Best Local Music Blog
Here at the Press, we’re pretty proud of what we’ve done with our Rocks Off music blog. But even we can’t be everywhere, so we turn to blogs like Jeremy Hart’s Space City Rock as a tip sheet, especially for Houston music matters. Drawing on more than ten years of…
Best Club for Out-of-Town Acts
In our minds, Warehouse Live is the best venue for mid-level acts visiting Houston. Now that the Meridian or whatever it is called has dried up, live music is nearly dead in East Downtown, save the random warehouse party. Luckily we still have this venue up and running, with its…
Best Place to See aForeign Film
Not taking anything away from our friends at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, who host regular screenings of foreign-language films, this year’s Best of Houston® nod goes to Bollywood Cinema 6. This theater deserves the recognition not only because of the constantly changing line-up of ready-for-Hollywood Bollywood films, but…
Best Crime
Jeffrey Stern and his wife Yvonne seemed to have it all: a million-dollar home in Bellaire and an Aspen getaway for the long hot summers, two adorable kids and a foothold on Houston’s social scene. Unfortunately, police say, attorney Stern had another accoutrement of the high life, and this one…
Best Strip Mall
Here in H-Town’s funkier regions, strip malls, those much-maligned supposed harbingers of sterility and bland suburbanism, sure can have a hell of a lot of grit and soul. Take this doozy on the northside, just across the street from the site of the former Northline Mall. The actual strip looks…
Best Car Wash
The Upper Kirby location of this national chain packs ’em in on the weekends, but that’s okay because there’s plenty to do inside while you wait. Pull up to a lane, fill up the tank if need be and turn your car over to the army of attendants who hoover…
Best Pancakes
They’re the size of your face, but not cakey at all. They’re slender and buttery, with a shot of sweetness. They’re not quite a crepe, and they are the best damn pancakes in Houston. Come on down to this homey, unpretentious diner just outside the Loop near the corner of…
Best Rocket
Shane Battier is almost too perfect: a Duke pedigree, a guy who does plenty of charity work, an unselfish player who does the anonymous dirty work that helps his teammates get glory, a funny guy. He does have one glaring fault, though: YouTube evidence from a charity karaoke event shows…
Best Texan
The Texans have a lot of “usual suspects” when it comes to this annual award, but this year we’re making a bit of a stretch. Receiver David Anderson will probably never be an All-Pro, unless a really, really widespread rash of injuries strikes the NFL. But what other footballer would…
Best Chicken-Fried Steak
This isn’t your mama’s chicken-fried steak — it’s an obscene tower of goodness, impaled with a wood-handled steak knife, daring you to defeat it. Unlike many other CF steaks in town, the accompaniments at Beaver’s are just as good as the main event: mashed sweet potatoes and Southern-style greens, all…
Best Breakfast
Beware: Not all Alma Latina restaurants are created equal. But if you make it to the correct one — the location on Telephone Road in the Second Ward — your journey will be richly rewarded. Stay away from the breakfast tacos and instead focus on dishes like the hot, vividly…
Best Handyman
It wasn’t long ago that River Oaks was considered the richest ZIP code in the nation. But time can take its toll, and even $15 million mansions need a facelift sometimes. During the last three decades, Houston’s Exterior Worlds has helped with that. The company specializes in “high-end landscape design,”…
Best Life Coach
With the economy’s alleged recovery about as stable as Lindsay Lohan’s psyche, it’s not a shabby idea to seek outside help. No, not from a bank — they’re probably why you’re hurting in the first place. No, not a priest — ditto. Instead, get a life coach to help you…
Best Pakistani Restaurant
For an all-around authentic Indian/Pakistani experience, you can’t beat Royal. You will get the royal treatment here, not to mention some really outstanding food. The goat champ is reason enough to come here, but you must also try the chicken korma, which will send your taste buds to nirvana. The…
Best Filipino Restaurant
Tucked away in a decrepit-looking strip center south of the Medical Center, Godo is not the sort of place that has what could be called “curb appeal.” But it keeps the small Filipino bakery and cafe blissfully authentic and down to earth. The lunch buffet is the restaurant’s greatest draw,…
Best Window into the Oil Industry
Within Houston, there is a hidden city. No, were not talking about the tunnels, were talking about the behemoth oil refineries and petrochemical plants that stretch along and dominate the Houston Ship Channel, the commercial engine of the city. These industrial complexes are hidden, tucked behind a security wall of…
Poison Pen Reading Series: David Eagleman
David Eagleman took time away from running a neuroscience research laboratory at Baylor College of Medicine to write an international bestseller. “That’s probably why it took me seven years,” Eagleman says. “It’s a long process when it’s not your day job.” Eagleman’s Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives, published in…
Best Bar Bathroom
The bathrooms of Washington Avenue’s Darkhorse Tavern are museums to both male and female sexual exploits and skullduggery, if only in literary form. It’s as if they were decorated by a schizophrenic with a bag of axes to grind. The girls’ room looks like an NC-17 burn book from the…
Best Place to See a Local Film
A former-clothing-store-turned-bar might be a strange place to screen newly produced local movies, but Dean’s Credit Clothing has found a kindred spirit in the Houston Film Commission, which co-produces the monthly First Thursdays screenings at the bar. Dean’s regularly hosts a showcase of just-released films, clips of works in process…
Best Jazz Club
Jazz clubs usually bring to mind dim lights, linen tablecloths and softly clinking martini glasses, not to mention steep cover charges and/or pricey two-drink minimums. Houston has plenty of those places. But jazz has another side — a spontaneous, free-swinging and earthy one — and there’s no better place to…
Best Film Series
The midnight film series at the Landmark River Oaks edged out the competition for Best Film Series earlier this year with a screening of the horror film The Human Centipede, First Sequence, a delightfully horrific and gruesome tale by writer/director Tom Six. (We won’t go into the details here, but…
Best Beer Selection
One of a host of recent “gastropubs” to pop up around Houston, BRC is the only one that truly hits the nail on the head of this culinary trend. BRC — which, yes, stands for Big Red Cock — serves up not only a small but stunning menu of “pub”…
Best Place to Jog
Looking for a place to jog that’s close to downtown and the office? Then the Sabine-to-Bagby Waterfront Park and Promenade is the place for you. Just west of City Hall and the Hobby Center, two miles of hiking and jogging trails flank Buffalo Bayou, twisting along the water through lush…
Best Hero
When Pearland resident Cherry Woods found herself being attacked by two large pit bulls, she found salvation in the most unlikely creature. “She’s the most reclusive, timid animal I’ve ever seen,” Cherry’s husband, Harold, told KHOU about the couple’s cat Lima. But Lima sprung into action during the attack, hissing…
Best Tourist Attraction
No one paid a great deal of attention to the memorial statue for victims of Galveston’s 1900 hurricane when it first went up on the seawall in 2000. Then came Ike. Gripping, dramatic shots of Ike-powered waves crashing over the wall and above the statue were irresistible to photographers and…
Best Falafel
The area near Hillcroft and Westheimer is packed with Middle Eastern joints — from humble delis to jam-packed markets to fancier cafes — offering large portions of hearty delicacies at distinctly affordable prices. Our favorite is Zabak’s, a small, bright, family-run restaurant. The falafel there is moist, lightly crunchy on…
Best Fried Chicken
Necessity is the mother of discovery. You might expect the fried chicken at Randalls to be mediocre, but someone there has a love for crispy, golden-brown, juicy country-fried bliss that cannot be denied. On a bad day, it is better than most chains. Paula Dean would agree: The eight-piece combo…
Best French Fries
How good are the fries — or frites, as they’re appropriately called here — at Broken Spoke? So good that you won’t even think twice about recommending them as Houston’s best fries to all of your friends once you’ve tasted Catherine Duwez’s miraculous, double-fried, truly Belgian frites. Duwez, who was…
Best Hidden Neighborhood
While everybody else is jumping on the Westbury bandwagon, you’d be wise to check out Sharpstown, which is less a “hidden” neighborhood than it is one that’s undervalued and underrated. Like Westbury, Sharpstown offers spacious, mid-century mod houses on generous lots and is pretty convenient to everything worth going to…
Best Window Shopping
Houston is practically the capital of soulless strip malls, and if you spend much of your life in the car, crawling along the freeway on your commute, it’s easy to think that the commercial landscape is all one giant eyesore. The cure, then, is to get out of the car…
Best Liquor Store
The massive Spec’s near downtown might be the one must-see destination in Houston. While the “water wall” at the mall or the fountains by the hospitals are probably more photographed, Spec’s, a liquor store, is the place everyone seems to take out-of-town guests when they visit Houston. Apart from the…
Best Newsstand
As “written” communication is increasingly measured in tweeted characters instead of blocky paragraphs — or, for real journalism old-timers, column inches — the printed page nevertheless holds out a couple of key advantages over its computer-screen counterpart. First of all, it’s a lot less catastrophic to spill food or drink…
Best Greasy Spoon
After eating breakfast at Annie’s — the gigantic, fluffy biscuits with sausage gravy will put you into a carb coma — you’ll want to come back the same day for a cheeseburger, double meat, double cheese, extra bacon and a side of fries. This is a neighborhood classic offering food…
Best Seafood Restaurant
Sinh Sinh is the go-to seafood restaurant in Chinatown. Open till 2 a.m., it offers a list of traditional favorites that reaches into the hundreds, offering hot pots full of crab or lobster, softshell crabs with pepper, congee with mixed seafood, Dungeness crabs with beer, lobster baked with cheese and…
Paint and Perspective
By John Nova Lomax In defending Houston’s good name, after acknowledging that our climate, terrain, architecture and history are nothing special, sometimes exasperated lovers of Houston simply throw their hands in the air and say something like, “It’s the people. The people make Houston great.” That grand vague statement is…
Ameriville
In Ameriville, New York-based theater group Universes uses an eclectic fusion of poetry, jazz, hip-hop, politics, down-home blues and Spanish boleros to tackle poverty, racism and censorship. Performer Mildred Ruiz-Sapp says, “It’s about flipping a mirror back and forth on our nation and [the] people who are in the audience,…
Best Redneck Bar
Given the generally negative connotations surrounding the word “redneck,” we hesitate to hang the tag on any establishment where we enjoy raising a glass and would like to continue doing so. But if there’s any bar within the Loop we imagine wouldn’t mind the designation — sorry, Blanco’s — it’s…
Best Actor
In Tracy Letts’s nightmare Bug, Lance Marshall inhabited his character so fully, he put us on the edge of our seats out of sheer panic — and fascination. As the story went, way off-center skinhead Peter appeared in the squalid apartment of down-and-out Agnes, needing a place to crash. Suffering…
Best Dance Company
They were dancing as fast as they could over at Houston Ballet this year. And we mean both onstage and off. Not only did they just wrap up their 40th anniversary season with a fabulously fun La fille mal gardée, but the troupe is also making remarkable headway on the…
Best Bartender
If you are a regular at Anvil in Montrose, you no doubt know Mindy Kucan’s bright, smiling face well. The brassy brunette has been slinging drinks at the Westheimer haunt for close to a year now, and she has a devoted following. An eight-year vet of the bartending scene, Kucan…
Best Crawfish
There’s nothing pretty about Hank’s — it’s a dive in a strip mall way the heck out on Bellaire, but man can these folks boil some crawfish. Big, fat mudbugs are served up for some of the lowest prices per pound in town, but the tail meat is sweet and…
Best Democrat
Annise Parker has spent years being a quiet, middle-of-the-road Democrat in the putatively nonpartisan world of City Hall politics. This year, though, she became a worldwide celebrity. Why? Because she loves the ladies, of course. (One lady in particular for the past 20 years). This hasn’t caused much stir in…
Best Civil Attorney
The days of regular jackpot-jury payoffs in Harris County are long gone, but that doesn’t mean they have completely vanished. Rob Ammons, who specializes in pipeline explosions, won a big victory this year for the family of a man who was killed in a 2007 blast. Ammons convinced a jury…
Best Cemetery
For the crowd that enjoys touring cemeteries in hopes of having a paranormal experience or just to take in a bit of history, the Old City Cemetery in Galveston is a favorite. Parts of the cemetery are starting to deteriorate and the grounds are often covered in yellow wildflowers, a…
Best Martini
The Davenport is a dinosaur in the ever-changing nightlife world. And there’s a reason for its longevity — the killer martini. Beyond the purist’s gin martini, there are around 30 other varieties, many considered martinis only because of the glass in which they’re served. The Davenport’s gin martini is sheer…
Best In-Town Getaway
Need a weekend, or even just a night, away from your hectic Houston life, but you don’t want to go too far? Luckily, there’s no need to look further than the cozy, tree-lined boulevards of Montrose. Welcome to the Lovett Inn. Built in 1923 by former Houston mayor and federal…
Best Salad
Despite all the fabulous burgers and enchiladas Houston has to offer, sometimes you just gotta sneak in a salad. Our go-to place for salads is none other than Mission Burrito, where we just can’t quit that Que Mas salad. For any of you Yankees, youngsters and nonnatives, “que más” means…
Best Twitterer — Food
A former food blogger for Eating…Our Words and current food blogger for 29-95.com as well as his own personal food blog, Chris Reid is also one of the best people to follow on Twitter if you’re interested in food — Houston or otherwise. Reid live-Tweets adventures like barbecue crawls that…
Best Mom and Pop Restaurant
At Luigi’s, the owner works in the kitchen, the wife takes your order and the daughter brings you your food. In a fast-food culture, this kind of business is few and far between. Luigi’s just has plain good food and service. The pizza is thin-crust, with mounds of toppings and…
Best Hobby Shop
“Everyone is welcome here — from the über-crafty to those who can’t pick a sewing machine out of a lineup,” the Sew Crafty Web site states. And the folks there mean it. Sew Crafty is as much about community as craft; that’s why they host the monthly Crafty Cocktails gathering,…
Best Native Texas Plants
Brookwood is a local, nonprofit mini-chain of garden and retail shops with luscious plants that are in better shape than those at most nurseries. One season, they had a special breed of the bluebonnet, only it was maroon. (Surprise: Texas A&M cooked up that version.) Brookwood’s not limited to native…
Best New Restaurant
It says a lot about the changing palates of Houston diners that a highly modern sushi restaurant with a strong undertone of French fusion should be chosen as 2010’s best new restaurant. But the food at Kata Robata (and the casual atmosphere that belies some of the menu prices) is…
Best Expense-Account Restaurant
The days of oil company executives spending a grand on lunch are over. Thanks to big auto execs taking private jets to big-bank bailout meetings and the whole Enron fiasco, downtown offices are spending more time at Café Express than places like The Coronado. To step inside this place is…
Definitely a Plus
by Paul Knight The best approach to finding a movie at Montrose’s Audio Video Plus is simply browsing, because browsing here is better than Google. Take the Burt Reynolds section. We were marveling at these gems from the ’70s and ’80s when there, staring us in the face, was Reynolds…
Central Market’s Beer & Chocolate Pairing
The folks over at Central Market cooking school have come up with a class that’s sure to make students extremely happy — if not a little tipsy. Students in CM’s Beer and Chocolate Pairing class will try beer with different types of food. Today’s pairing class is led by pastry…
Best Song About Houston
Unexpectedly and improbably, Robert Ellis & the Boys became the talk of Houston’s Inner Loop hipster crowd over their yearlong Whiskey Wednesdays residency at Mango’s, impressing the two-stepping twentysomethings with a long list of honky-tonk standards from Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Ray Price, Johnny Paycheck, Dwight Yoakam and many more…
Best Actress
Playing a real-life diva is no walk in the park, especially when your model is opera diva assoluta Maria Callas. But we’d go anywhere with Celeste Roberts after her spellbinding performance in Terrence McNally’s bit of open-heart surgery, Master Class. Without singing a note, Roberts conjured the very voice of…
Best Biker Bar
Bimbo’s is a ramshackle old cabin-like structure set among a grove of Christmas light-draped oak trees in the middle of nowhere on the far northwest side of town. There’s seating on the front porch, but you don’t have to sit out there to legally light up as Bimbo’s is beyond…
Best Art Gallery
Only three shows into its new Houston residency, Art Palace had shattered expectations. From its first exhibit, Jonathan Marshall’s sophisticated sci-fi/psychedelic “Doubled Vision,” it felt as if the originally Austin-based gallery had landed intact from a SoHo storefront rather than from country-crafty Central Texas. By the time Emilie Halpern and…
Best Oysters
Little Pappas Seafood House might not be an oyster bar specifically, but it’s still an excellent place to down a dozen on the half-shell. The Pappas Restaurants, even though they are a chain, make everything from the mayo to the bread, so quality control is peak at every restaurant. Little…
Best Republican
It might be a stretch to call Bill Ratliff a Houstonian, but his district includes some of our northern exurbs, and you can’t argue that the dude deserves a pat on the back. He’s a solid Texas Republican through and through, but he — like so many other Republicans —…
Best Hairstylist
Just like Madonna or Cher, our local hairstylist to the stars goes by one name only, thank you very much. Cerón’s salon in Uptown Park (as well as his space at The Omni and his new Neiman Marcus shop in Dallas) caters to blue-hairs and socialites alike, but you don’t…
Best Lawsuit
If not the shot heard ’round the world, it was at least the beating seen ’round the country: Jamie’s House teacher Sheri Lynn Davis whomping on a 13-year-old boy. Thank goodness some enterprising student thought to record the event, rather than rush to the child’s aid, because the video will…
Best Bike Path
Bike paths are bike paths are bike paths, right? There’s some greenery, some type of easy-on-the-tires riding surface, a few bridges or water features, and a couple rest stops along the way. All that’s pretty much standard. So what makes the bike path in Kingwood’s East End Park so special?…
Best Dumplings
The soup dumplings, or “steamed pork buns,” as indicated on Fu Fu’s menus, are small, doughy bags of concentrated broth and meat eagerly waiting to erupt in your mouth. These meaty morsels are both amazingly delicious and amazingly hot. If you’re not careful, you’ll scorch your lips, tongue, gums and…
Best Calamari
Pesce doesn’t get the respect it deserves among foodies because it’s part of the Landry’s chain, and though it is a bit pricey, it does fish right. The Spicy Buffalo Calamari is a standout. For $10 you get a heaping portion of golden, fried calamari which can best be described…
Best Candy Store
Even grown-ups turn into kids in this candy store. The original location (next door to The Chocolate Bar) is barely bigger than a shoebox, but the sheer amount of sweets inside is staggering — be prepared to be dazzled. Brightly colored candies from floor to ceiling assault the senses, causing…
Best Indian Restaurant
Like most restaurants in Little India — the section of town that straddles Hillcroft where it meets Highway 59 — Shri Balaji Bhavan is a hole in the wall, and it’s enticingly inexpensive. But what sets Shri Balaji Bhavan apart from all its neighbors are two things: spice and authenticity…
Best Place to Buy Cigars
If smoking cigars were as popular as drinking booze, then the Briar Shoppe would rank up there with Spec’s as a Houston institution. In fact, it probably already does. The Briar Shoppe has been a Rice Village fixture for close to 50 years, and each year, the place keeps churning…
Best Spectacles/Glasses/Optometry
At Pearle Vision in the Galleria, optometrist Nadia Sledge and opticians Mehri and Bobbie brighten their customers’ days, making it easy to do what is usually a chore. This is the place to go for stylish professional glasses that will still get compliments years later. And the level of care…
Best Chinese Restaurant
The family that owns this Chinatown eatery knows what it’s doing. The salted pork ribs are a must-try here. Also get the wonton soup, a flavorful broth holding fresh dumplings packed full of ground pork. The noodle soup with brisket is too good to pass up, so you might have…
Best Late-Night Restaurant
When it’s three o’clock in the morning and you have somehow managed to talk your designated driver into taking you to get something to eat to save your life, Chapultepec is your Tex-Mex ace in the hole, offering the cheapest breakfast in town. You can get huevos rancheros that may…
Cowboy Country
by Paul Knight When someone watches a professional golf event, and he wants to try out the sport, chances are he knows where to find a local golf course. Same thing with basketball: Everyone knows where to shoot some hoop. But when someone turns out to the Houston Livestock Show…
Sarah Jaffe
“Somewhere someone’s listening to the sound of a record spinning,” Sarah Jaffe confides on “Summer Begs,” from her new album, Suburban Nature. “Secrets are for keeping/ That’s what gives them their meaning/ It’s your certain proclamation, and it needs no explanation.” Explanations may not be needed for Jaffe’s gentle folk-pop…
Best Bilingual Theater Production
The best kind of “there’s a moral to this story” storytelling is the kind that doesn’t flash a neon sign reading, “Hey, here’s the moral! Pay attention!” Grown-ups find such hammer-over-the-head tactics off-putting, and children, who can spot a moral a mile away, are instantly bored. So Bocón, the Talento…
Best Dance Performance
The breadth and scope of this spring’s Mixed Rep: Escape to Europe by the Dominic Walsh Dance Theater leaves no question about the winner for this year’s Best Dance Performance. The three-work program included the United States premiere of Small Hour by Czech choreographer Václav Kuneš, a reprise of Pression…
Best Band Name
In these contentious times, it’s downright refreshing to see a band that seems willing to reach out across the great divide. Tax the Wolf’s name not only nods to the iconic status of los lobos both within the young quintet’s Mexican-American heritage and the annals of indie-rock (Wolf Eyes, Wolf…
Best Music Festival
This year, Free Press Summerfest went from experiment to full-fledged event. Despite no favors from the weather — punishing heat and humidity both days; an hour-long Biblical downpour the second — thousands upon thousands of people packed Eleanor Tinsley Park for a festival that delivered a lot more than headliner…
Best Po-Boys
Any Louisianan would tell you that some of the best po-boys are served up in unsuspecting holes-in-the-wall. Calliope’s holds true to this tradition. Nestled in an unassuming strip mall, Calliope’s serves up po-boys that have been praised by Louisianans and Houstonians alike. Try the sliced roast beef po-boy covered in…
Best Route into the City
If you start out onto Highway 288 from Lake Jackson, you have one of the best vantage points for watching our Houston skyline come into view. From the wide-open spaces starting around the Stephen F. Austin statue, you can watch the skyscrapers steadily become more focused as you traverse expanses…
Best Criminal Defense Attorney
If you or I were in a bar in Waco, Texas, and we got into an argument with somebody, and then went outside with that person in full view of several patrons, and then shot that person point-blank in the face in front of several witnesses who would later testify…
Best Florist
You know River Oaks Plant House, even if you don’t recognize the name: Its breathtaking topiaries along the median at Buffalo Speedway and Westheimer are something of a landmark. And that’s just the cherry on top of the expansive selection inside. Whatever your needs, and whether you’re a horticultural expert…
Best Whiskey Selection
Branch Water Tavern has a wall of rare and expensive whiskeys behind the bar that will make any sour mash head drool. The bartenders serving your straight Kentucky, Tennessee or experimental whiskeys are knowledgeable and professional. The list of all-American bourbons reads like an erotic novel — we suggest perusing…
Best Breakfast Tacos
El Rey may cater mostly to weekend partiers and yuppies looking to get their Mexican or Cuban fix, but when it comes to slinging breakfast tacos, the chain taqueria is tops. The jam-packed flour or corn tortillas come with fluffy eggs and choice of potato, bacon, ham or a mix…
Best New Texan
Earl Mitchell, a third-round pick for the Houston Texans, is one happy defensive lineman: He gets to play in the NFL in his own hometown. Mitchell went to North Shore High before heading to the University of Arizona, and now he’s back as a third-round pick for the Texans. “Being…
Best Court Ruling
We knew to expect some fireworks when Kevin Fine rode the 2008 Democratic wave into a district-judge seat. After all, being a heavily tattoed former cocaine addict is not the typical way to get to the bench, unless it’s as a defendant. The fireworks came this year when Fine declared…
Best Soul Food Restaurant
Although it bills itself as Cajun food from southern Louisiana, there’s quite a bit of soul to this downtown institution. Since 1986, Zydeco has served up classic steam-table fare and Cajun favorites to a wide variety of downtown denizens: Cops, lawyers, construction workers and bankers all line up at lunch…
Best Aquarium Supply
The name of this category does not begin to do justice to The Fish Gallery, which could almost pass for a museum of natural science — except for the comfy leather couches in a soothing pale blue. The Fish Gallery offers outreach programs as a museum would: a summer reading…
Best Flea Market
Over 50,000 people stream each weekend through the stalls at this 35-acre bazaar that sprawls along a gritty, norteño-blasting stretch of north Houston’s Airline Drive. Not only can you get traditional flea market-style items like furniture, art and religious statuary, battered toys and cartridges from long-dead video game platforms, tools…
Best Cajun Restaurant
You can’t go to Beaucoup and not get the crawfish bread — it would be wrong to do so. It is that good. Imagine the best crawfish dish you have ever put in your mouth times ten, with crunchy, butter-soaked French bread covered with crawfish meat and smothered in cheese…
Best Barbecue Restaurant
As much as Houston loves barbecue, it’s hard to find a consistently great spot for it. After all, it’s fairly easy to mess it up. It’s gotta be moist and tender with a smoky flavor, nice smoke ring and solid fat cap. Lose any of those components, and your smoker…
Glee Town
by Craig Malisow Yes, Houston is an oil town. But it’s also one of the few cities in the nation with permanent, professional companies in opera, ballet, music and theater, all of which attract visitors to the city. One of the best ways to ensure that the performing arts stick…
Best Touring Theater Production
Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber’s dramatic love story The Phantom of the Opera, presented here by Broadway Across America, was nothing short of breathtaking during its Houston stop. Directed by Harold Prince, Phantom showed us why it’s one of the most musically thrilling, visually lavish Broadway musicals ever — and why…
Best Houston Book
Rachel Brady has long worked as a scientist by day, but she’s always loved reading fiction. One day she went from reading to writing, just to see if she could, she says. The result was Final Approach, published earlier this year. As readers might guess from the title, airplanes play…
Best Reading Series
Many of us grew up hearing the slogan “Reading is FUNdamental.” Well, the Cool Brains!, InPrint Reading Series for Young People didn’t invent the saying, but they certainly do embody it. Cool Brains! has brought reading and language fun to thousands of kids by hosting established as well as up-and-coming…
Best Artist
For his solo exhibition “Holy Ghosts!” at Moody Gallery, Bise, an atheist, delivered an apocalyptic series of drawings based on his own experiences growing up in a radically religious family. It might have been easy to interpret some sort of political agenda or bitterly judgmental attack lurking in Bise’s subject…
Best Pita Bread
The proprietors call it Phoenicia, but we like to refer to it as “heaven.” With aisle upon aisle of international goodies, this grocery warehouse is the kind of place where one can easily spend half a day and drop a lot of cash. But the pita bread (or pideh, as…
Best Local iPhone App
Tired of wandering aimlessly around the zoo and staring at a bunch of animals that you don’t know much about? Say hello to the free Houston Zoo iPhone App. The App opens up onto a live Twitter stream where fellow zoo-goers post helpful tips, such as which exhibits are air-conditioned,…
Best Principal
Bertie Simmons is the septuagenarian principal of Furr High School on Houston’s East Side, where 15gangs have been identified on campus. Despite this, calmness prevails and test scores are rising, thanks to the former district superintendent who came out of retirement to take over the then-troubled school in 2000 and…
Best Place to Meet MILFs
It’s a given that it’s much easier to meet women in places that are less threatening — just try to hit on a stranger in, say, a parking garage for negative confirmation of that adage. And where on Earth is less threatening than a children’s museum? And where are adults…
Best Croissants
The French Riviera Bakery feels like a slice of Paris just outside the Loop. Any time of day, devotees sit huddled around tiny outdoor tables sipping espresso and feasting on that most French creation, the croissant. The golden-brown bread starts off crispy and flaky at the ends, and slowly turns…
Best Dim Sum
What’s better than a truly authentic, Hong Kong-style meal of dim sum? Being able to get that meal nearly any time of day or night. Unlike most establishments, Dim Sum King serves the traditionally Sunday afternoon meal all day long, six days a week (no dim sum for you on…
Best Bread
Enjoy the bread at places like Da Marco and Branch Water Tavern? That’s because it’s baked locally by Slow Dough, an artisanal bakery run by Heath Wendell and Marlo Evans. Like the talented folks at Feast — which Slow Dough supplies with loaves of fresh sourdough — Wendell has taken…
Best Gas Station
The gas station at the northeast corner of Montrose and Richmond used to be a full-service garage and repair shop, meaning the retail part of it was as cramped as most Montrose convenience stores. Now it’s a big, shining example of how to do gas stations right. There’s 14 pumps…
Best Comfort Food Restaurant
Located in an airy little house in the Heights, the newly minted Zelko Bistro has taken a concept we readily adore — comfort food — and added an upmarket spin. Are you one of those naysayers who think comfort food and white linen don’t jibe? Fried chicken breaded with Cap’n…
Best Place to Buy Fish
There’s something fishy at the Whole Foods on Kirby. And we mean that in a good way. The fish section here is swimming with good buys, fresh fish and the coolest fishmongers in town. These guys and gals know their stuff. They stock only organic, sustainable seafood, and they’ll tell…
Best Antique Store
Smack-dab between the antiquing hotspots of lower Westheimer and West 19th Street there looms this 1895 carriage barn, with more than 5,000 square feet of trash ‘n’ treasure within. Lots of antique stores tend to cater to women, but Heights Station’s multi-dealer layout features a couple of fun testosterone zones…
Best Restaurant
Catalan is the restaurant that’s setting the bar for every other dining establishment in Houston; there’s a reason executive chef Chris Shepherd is referred to as “The Godfather” by his peers, after all. Just-off-the-truck fresh meat and produce from local farmers, carefully selected wines and a killer wine list by…
Best Burger Joint
The 35 years that Sam’s Deli Diner has been in business have only served to make this neighborhood burger joint more authentic and more beloved as time goes by. Since moving from its old location across the Katy Freeway a few years back, Sam’s has spiffed up a bit but…
Puerto Rico and Beyond
by Katharine Shilcutt The bacalao y mofongo on my plate at Tex-Chick is a brilliant jumble of fall colors: ruby red, auburn, burnt orange and bright gold. A dish originating in Portugal, the bacalao — chipped pieces of salted and dried codfish — ring the mound of mofongo like Matisse’s…
Juarez: A Killing Field
With the series Juarez: a Killing Field, the Rothko Chapel explores the ongoing violence in the city just south of El Paso that has resulted in hundreds of deaths and disappearances. Today’s program, Murder City, will be led by Charles Bowden, whose latest book follows the lives of three Juarez…
“The Anatomy Lesson”
The collaborative exhibition “The Anatomy Lesson” is the work of husband-and-wife team Bret Harmeyer and Rachel Harmeyer. The images are informed by the human anatomy, explains Harmeyer on her Web site, saying the “work is the means by which I come to terms with the concept of death,” and that…
Best Bar — Outer Loop
Molly’s is Clear Lake’s social ground zero, with only some dartboards and an Internet jukebox to distract you from good, old-fashioned boozing. Wednesdays are Big Ass Beer nights, when the haunt gets so packed it’s almost stifling. Sure, there may be bigger and more upscale bars in the Bay Area…
Best Local Rapper
It’s been quite a year for Trae tha Truth. When six people were wounded by gunfire at the end of last year’s Trae Day, which combines an all-day concert with community-outreach initiatives like a food drive and HIV testing, it touched off a chain of events that culminated in the…
Best Poster Artist
Jason McElweenie must have a thing about clowns. “They’re children of the devil!” vows the Houstonian of six years. A couple of the Canadian native’s recent Warehouse Live concert posters have featured the grease-painted harlequins — and not the benign jack-in-the-box/Bozo variety, but sinister-looking clowns like something out of the…
Best New Bar
The news that Ernie’s on Banks had closed down barely even had time to register before Grand Prize arose to take its place, and Big Star Bar’s Brad Moore’s latest watering hole has definitely helped alleviate some of the pain of losing the beloved Montrose/Museum District sports bar. Sleeker than…
Best Ice Cream
With flavors like Chocolate Banana Pudding and Brownie Supreme, the aptly named The Chocolate Bar is a chocoholic’s paradise. Try the Candylicious Junkyard, which takes six classic candy bars and mixes them into a luscious white chocolate ice cream, transforming them into the ultimate nostalgic treat. The most popular choice…
Best Place to Hike
Patches of true natural beauty are all too rare in this area, but this is undoubtedly one. Though no further from town than Humble, the five miles of wooded trails in this 225-acre forest park will take you far from Houston in spirit. Even though you are close to town…
Best Bait and Tackle
If you ever get lost and you look over and see the world’s largest anything, chances are you’re in Houston. Fishing Tackle Unlimited helps with that, because the place is literally the world’s largest tackle store. The good thing is, it’s not an overdone Disney World-type place like other mammoth…
Best Parade
For 23 years, crazy-ass folks have been tricking out all types of vehicles in all kinds of guises in what is truly a uniquely Houstonian tradition. Erstwhile Blues Brother Dan Aykroyd (himself the driver of a certain infamous 1974 Dodge Monaco) was the Grand Marshal of the 2010 installment of…
Best Sports Radio Talk Show
Is there a funnier guy on Houston radio — sports, music or talk — than Lance Zierlein? We don’t think so. Whether it’s spoofing the Communist-party propaganda coming from rival KILT 610, the Texans’ flagship, or the incomparable SEC Guy (can’t be explained; you just have to listen) or just…
Best Margarita
Sugarcane is quickly becoming Houston’s best option for an organic cocktail, and one sip of its unique take on the margarita will explain why. It’s called a “Skinny Margarita” because it only has about 100 calories, but the real treat is how good it tastes. The bartender starts with an…
Best Hot Dog
Never atop any list of health foods, hot dogs seem to get a bad rap these days. But if you feel the urge to splurge and gobble down a dog, you won’t find a better option than the all-natural foot-long at Barnaby’s Cafe. Served on a toasted bun and sliced…
Best Local TV Commercial
A year ago, local production company TVMan launched its “Be a Fan” campaign for the Houston Aeros, giving us some of the smartest, funniest, most absurd and effective ads we’d seen in some time. They’re all excellent, but we have a sweet spot for the one featuring mustachioed Sergeant Larry…
Best Place to Buy an Engagement Ring
As a young woman, jewelry shop owner Robin Lindberg was dubbed the Queen of Heirs when she inherited a trove of estate jewelry from a wealthy aunt in New Orleans, the sort of woman who would assuage the travails of a bad day by spending $5K on a ring. Years…
Best Costume Store
For 58 years, Frankel’s has helped kids and adults get in touch with their inner ghost, ghoul, French maid, pimp, ho, devil, clown, or whatever particular persona floats their boat. Whether you want to buy in-store, online, or over the phone, we’re pretty sure your Frankel’s experience will be a…
Best Grocery Store
If you find navigating a cart through Central Market on a weekend to be too much of an emotional and physical workout, try Belden’s in Meyerland. This refreshingly independent store is a treasure trove of surprises: hard-to-find baking supplies, steaks that eclipse anything from Outback, fresh baguettes put out warm…
Best Brasserie
“Brasserie” means “brewery,” and the folks at Max & Julie’s have captured the lively spirit of the iconic French experience here in the heart of Montrose. Dive in with a bowl of Soup à l’Oignon, freshly made foie gras or roasted bone marrow, and then hit up traditional favorites such…
Best Middle Eastern Restaurant
Not only does Zabak’s serve some of the best Middle Eastern in town, the little Galleria-area restaurant also has some of the best service in the entire city. Run by the Zabak family, which originally hails from Lebanon, the restaurant specializes in the kind of light, crispy, savory falafel that…
Catalan and the Bayou City
by Nishta J. Mehra When Chris Shepherd first took the helm at Washington Avenue’s Catalan, he kept his menu closely aligned with the region for which the restaurant was named, Spain’s Catalonia. “I felt I needed to focus on doing Spanish-influenced items,” he says. The decision earned him a lukewarm…
The Devil’s Rain
In his review of 1975’s The Devil’s Rain, Roger Ebert, the Chicago Sun-Times film critic, said, “All of this would be good silly fun if the movie weren’t so painfully dull.” (That quote alone launched the horror film into the “this is a cult classic because it’s so lame” stratosphere.)…
Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Would Not Grow Up
The Alley Theatre describes its production of Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Would Not Grow Up as “the rarely seen original fantasy.” The darker, more adult story is a very different version of the adventures of Peter, Wendy and Tinker Bell than most audiences know. There’s still a large,…
Best Festival
Arts fans around the city hold a special place in their hearts for BooTown’s Houston Fringe Festival. This year the little festival that could included a lineup of cutting-edge artists in theater, music, dance, film, performance art, puppetry and work that defies categorization. Spread out over several venues in the…
Best Photographer
It’s hard to stand out among the hundreds of participating photographers during FotoFest, but David Brown did so easily this year. His “trying to find my way” exhibition at Darke Gallery was a highlight of the festival. Brown, whom many know as the founder of Spacetaker, trained as a sculptor…
Best Gay Bar
Billed as “Your Country Sports Bar,” George is still, well, gay, so you’re as likely to see the occasional drag queen as much as a nice Stetson. Either way, the minute you walk into this laid-back neighborhood joint, you’ll feel welcome. And while we enjoy the darts, pool, the juke,…
Best Art Show
In late 2009, Lawndale Art Center presented a group show that transformed the place into a dimension-shifting sci-fi world. It was a thrill to explore the building’s three floors feeling like an invisible spy or an investigator of strange phenomena. Monica Vidal and Jasmyne Graybill fused the organic and synthetic…
Best Shrimp Dish
Fins’ salt and pepper shrimp may sound like a simple dish, but what it lacks in complexity, it makes up for in its flawless execution. All the ingredients are very fresh and flavorful. Plump, juicy shrimp are very lightly battered and fried until perfectly crispy outside and succulent within. The…
Best Flack
The life of a school-district flack can be frustrating: The media ignores all the “good” news you point them to, while constantly hounding you for more info on all the “bad” news they prefer to go with. Norm Uhl does a great job of being patient, returning phone calls and…
Best Radio Station
Nowhere else on the Houston dial this past year could you hear Wilco and Death Cab for Cutie, both within the same hour, at least on a major corporate radio station. It was sometime last fall that we heard the former’s single “You Never Know” while driving around town, and…
Best Bus Stop
When you’re talking about real estate, the only thing that matters is location, location, location. That mantra also applies to bus stops. This year’s winner for Best Bus Stop isn’t the prettiest, or the most well outfitted or even the most comfortable. It’s the stop that allows for the best…
Best Mojito
Taco Milagro may be nestled in River Oaks and surrounded by fine establishments, but it’s not pretentious, especially when skirts start swinging to the live salsa band. The place is a nice combination of fun and fun to look at. And what better way to people-watch than by sipping one…
Best Place to Breathe Clean Air
Sadly, there is no magic wellspring or font of clean air to breathe in Houston. Ozone can be anywhere, from the Ship Channel to Katy to the Galleria. The toxins belched up by the scores of petrochemical plants and refineries that dominate the area are impossible to escape nearby. “Everywhere…
Best Weekend Getaway
Want the bright lights of a big city? Hungry for glitz, glam and decadence? Go to Vegas. Looking for something a little closer to the quiet tranquility of the rugged Texas Gulf Coast? Try Palacios, just two hours south of Houston. Called “The City by the Sea,” Palacios is both…
Best Mechanic
We cried when Mike Grivon sold his gas station at the corner of Kirby and Westheimer to make way for West Ave, because it was the best local mechanic shop in town. But the sun shined again when he bought the Swiss Garage a few blocks away. The old gang’s…
Best Vegetarian-Friendly Restaurant
You don’t get much more vegetarian-friendly than a restaurant whose menu doesn’t contain a shred of meat on it. The southern Indian cuisine at Udipi is entirely meat-free, but that doesn’t mean it’s boring or won’t fill you up. Offering everything from playful, light-hearted fare like creamy, sweet mango lassis…
Best Pawn Shop
For some people, including us, Wolf’s Department Store & Pawn Shop is as much a Houston institution as Spec’s, the Astrodome or the Galleria. At Wolf’s, you can find a nice selection of new Kangol and Stetson hats, and the pawn shop collection is light years better than the typical…
Best Farmers’ Market Vendor
It is not easy to choose a vendor at all the local farmers’ markets as the best. There are so many, doing so many cool things right now. But when it comes to longevity and consistency, Animal Farm leads the pack. One talk with Gita Van Woerden will prove to…
Best Omnivore’s Dilemma Restaurant
Want to eat ethically and locally without giving up your nice dinners? Chef Randy Evans makes it possible at his new restaurant Haven. With menus printed daily, Haven carefully notes all of the local ingredients used in its dishes, from tomatoes to eggs to cheeses. Everything about the atmosphere of…
Best Italian Restaurant
With a new executive chef at the helm, Cavour has become the place where Houstonians can experience a true Italian meal without dusting off our passports. With its ingredients shipped directly from Italy in the hands of Chef Renato De Pirro, Cavour offers diners meals typically found in Italy. This…
10th Annual Village Art Car Show
Reverend Bryan Taylor is hoping he gets a couple dozen Santa Claus figures glued to his car in time for the 10th Annual Village Art Car Show, presented by the Houston Art Car Klub. So far he has a Santa hat on the roof and rows of Christmas lights, but…
Busytown
Kids will enjoy Kevin Kling’s Busytown, a sweet musical adaptation of Richard Scarry’s much beloved 1968 children’s book What People Do All Day. Every kid wants to know what grownups do when they go to work, and Busytown shows them how adults work together to make the whole community happy…
Planet Houston: Country Cooking
With so many different cultures and cuisines in the Bayou City, it was exceptionally difficult to choose only a few to feature in “Planet Houston.” Below are some of our favorites that didn’t make it in (as well as the places listed in the story). Pick one and go on…
Best Graffiti Artist
Graffiti guru GONZO247 is equal parts artist, entrepreneur, organizer, curator, activist, teacher and all-around good guy. Working in the field for more than 20 years, GONZO247 has had his edgy, powerful work on walls around the country, as well as in galleries — including his own Aerosol Warfare Gallery, part…
Best Happy Hour
Spacetaker is a nonprofit arts collective “whose mission is to provide artists and nonprofits access to economic development, continuing education and networking opportunities to support their professional growth.” And what better way to network than to do so with alcohol? So every Thursday, Spacetaker and Boheme invite a different arts…
Best Local Filmmaker
Screenwriter Johnette Duff was at a film industry conference when someone told her a secret: Keep your costs low by shooting at just one location. Duff took an elevator down to her next meeting, and by the time the elevator doors opened a minute or so later, she had the…
Best Bar — Midtown
With more than 100 vintage, always-lit Tiffany-style lamps, Midtown’s Nouveau Antique Art Bar is both an aesthete’s refuge and a stoner’s paradise. The bar’s surreal glow makes it a perfect spot for networking at one of the many corporate-underwritten happy hours — which, be aware, can get pretty crowded —…
Best Guacamole
Irma’s has been a Houston institution for years, holding court in a cramped but festive building almost directly underneath 59 South. The crowd is full of regulars, who know not to ask for menus (a list of available items will be delivered orally). This is the place to fill up…
Best Bureaucrat
No property owner likes appraisal districts. After all, organizations like the Harris County Appraisal District play a key role in determining how much property tax a homeowner pays, and that’s never a good thing. And HCAD deals with so many properties that horror stories do crop up from time to…
Best Criminal Court Judge
While a few Republican babies were thrown out with the bathwater of the 2008 Democratic courthouse landslide — Caprice Cosper, anyone? — such was not the case with the election of veteran defense attorney Shawna Reagin. In defeating crotchety old Jack Rains, she had support from both ends of the…
Best Maid Service
With 22 years in the cleanin’ business, Maid in the Shade must be doing something right. Whether you need residential or office cleaning, the full-time employees (i.e., no fly-by-night, subbed-out contract workers) will meet all your cleaning needs, no matter how badly you’ve let your place go. They’ll disinfect cabinets,…
Best Mac and Cheese
If you’re going to call yourself a gastropub, you better have some damn good mac and cheese. And if you’re going to call yourself an American gastropub, it better be hella great. BRC hits the mark with its mac and cheese of the day. Whether it’s made with Tillamook cheddar…
Best Enchiladas
Busting out of a strip mall on Woodway, Sylvia’s Enchilada Kitchen is a true Texican kitchen. Sylvia herself roams the place, checking on tables as her enormous turquoise earrings sway delicately along with her nonstop motion. She is the center of this colorful universe, where she mimics the flavors of…
Best Carne Asada
From the outside, the place doesn’t look like much — just a typical near-Northwest Side Mexican joint that has just about evolved from a taqueria into a full-fledged restaurant. And once you are inside, you will see that there are few frills and the prices are still nice. But one…
Best Twitterer — Humor
We didn’t get to include her in our cover story on Twitter a few months back, but we still think everyone in Houston who’s worth their social media real estate should be following @brandius. Brandi Aginagua weaves sweetly profane tales of daily life with each of her updates. She digs…
Best Comic Book Store
Bedrock City Comics boasts four Houston-area locations, covering every comic book devotee from Clear Lake to FM 1960 and all points in between with stacks and stacks of inked tales. There’s also a selection of collectibles in each store that will make your inner child salivate with glee, and the…
Best Sexy Lingerie
Sticking out like a giant neon-pink boner, Zone D’Erotica’s Galleria location is the perfect paean to no-zoning laws. So you wanna create a huge commercial district with a Container Store, Cheesecake Factory and plenty of nice hotels for dentistry conventions? Fine, we’re going to build a big freakin’ gaudy, obnoxious-looking…
Best Mom and Pop Restaurant
At Luigi’s, the owner works in the kitchen, the wife takes your order and the daughter brings you your food. In a fast-food culture, this kind of business is few and far between. Luigi’s just has plain good food and service. The pizza is thin-crust, with mounds of toppings and…
Best All-You-Can-Eat Buffet
Located nearly 15 miles west of downtown, Georgia’s Farm to Market food store may be one of the area’s greatest secret treasures. And its weekend all-you-can-eat brunch is even more so. Served from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday, Georgia’s offers up a rotating menu of delicious,…
Best Thai Restaurant
The collection of old houses and other charmingly rag-tag buildings that lie hidden off a road near the Katy Freeway and Highway 6 is a surprising enough find in and of itself if you aren’t a veteran west-sider. But the discovery of some of the city’s best Thai food in…
“Let’s Light Up: Alex Rosa and Armita Pebdani”
For the exhibit “Let’s Light Up: Alexandre Rosa and Armita Pebdani,” Apama Mackey asked the artists to present images of smoking. Pebdani’s comics-influenced style is simple, with minimalist lines rendered with the aid of digital technology. In Smoking Suit, we see a woman in a scarlet suit with perfectly arched…
Best Theater Company
Any theater group that can produce such a robust mounting of Tom Stoppard’s dense and rich Arcadia is number one in our view. That it also imbues such a magical play with clarity, intelligence and a bit of self-serving charm is pure icing. Throughout the season, Main Street has produced…
Best Jukebox
The recent proliferation of Internet-based jukeboxes is a perfect example of too much of a good thing. No matter how cool the owners of a bar, no matter how refined their ears, they can’t stop their clientele from making terrible choices with the music. Not long ago, we were regaled…
Best Nightlife Trend
Just last year Houston drinkers were relegated to driving or walking from bar to bar if they wanted to hop from joints off Washington Avenue or Midtown. In the past year, jitney services have popped up in town to haul the thirsty and party-hungry to far-flung places when walking or…
Best Public Restroom
Located between the Arts and Wellness sections on the second floor, the bathroom at the Borders bookstore at the corner of Kirby and Alabama is an oasis of tranquility. Unlike many stores, even other Borders, this shop does not lock its loo or require any sort of staff permission to…
Best Pho
Tucked into a nondescript block of Beamer well south of Hobby Airport lies the Pho Binh trailer and the best soup in Houston. That’s right, it’s a trailer: a temporary building with a weensy kitchen and two tiny rooms packed with tables. The gracious staff turns out bowl upon bowl…
Best Bowling Alley
In a world where bowling alleys are going chic — Houston got its own “boutique bowling alley” last year downtown — it’s refreshing to have a place like Palace Lanes that keeps it real. Here, it’s not about the music or the food or the beautiful people that show up…
Best Doggie Daycare
Sit. Stay. Play. Doggies do it all at Rover Oaks Pet Resort, and why not? This five-year-old establishment offers luxury suites that rival rooms at Hotel ZaZa for pets staying overnight. Doggie Day Camp-ers can romp over acres of green space, get in a little cuddle time and gorge on…
Best Sign
When Texas favorites Rick Perry, Sarah Palin and Ted Nugent showed up for a rally at the Berry Center in Cypress, the crowds followed. Wearing camouflage and hats decorated like American flags, the people listened to The Nuge shred the “Star Spangled Banner” and Palin say things like, “A lot…
Best Bloody Mary
The folks at Beaver’s begin their tantalizing Sunday brunch cocktail with a zesty blend of tomato juice, bruised celery, lime, garlic, Worcestershire, salt and pepper. They spice it up with both wasabi and their own special Ex-Wife Hot Sauce (a kick-you-in-the-pants blend of chipotle and red and green Tabasco). The…
Best Fish and Chips
Rumor has it that visiting Englishmen will get off the plane from London and hop a cab directly to the Red Lion for its fish and chips. Whether or not there’s truth in this rumor, the delicious fish is undeniable. The fresh cod fillets are fried in a light, crispy…
Best Quiche
Joe Steelhammer is cranking out some of the most luscious gourmet cakes, pies and cheesecakes in town, but it’s his ethereal quiches that are beyond impressive. His motto is “Real Men Eat Quiche,” and he takes this very seriously. It all starts with a decadently buttery, flaky crust which he…
Best Bike Shop
For many years, the vast majority of Houston’s bike shops were as sterile as a Greenway Plaza mid-rise. But as you can tell from the Día de Los Muertos mural spray-painted on the side of Blue Line, this is not one of those shops. Blue Line serves the odd ducks…
Best Gay-Friendly Restaurant
When Jenni’s Noodles moved to South Shepherd and West Alabama, gay smiles filled the ‘Trose. Now the gay-friendly eatery offers its Dream Rolls and Angry Udon inside the sacred Loop. Jenni’s is famous for serving traditional Vietnamese dishes with interesting names and plenty of culinary twists that are tasty and…
Best Farmers’ Market
As it says on the all-local Midtown Farmers’ Market’s Web site, “It’s a foodie paradise and morning party all in one!” And they aren’t exaggerating. Although it’s not the largest of Houston’s farmers’ markets by a long shot, it’s the best place to go on Saturday mornings from 8 a.m…
Best Pizzeria
Bombay Pizza Co. is worth visiting for its sheer originality. It only helps that every pizza made here is fantastically scrumptious. The pie starts on a thin, crispy crust studded with sesame seeds, unlike any crust you have tried before. Next comes an unprecedented array of toppings. The saag paneer…
Best Taco Truck
Nestled in the Spring Branch area of Houston lies gleaming-clean Taqueria Jalisco. Pick your meat and how you want it — in a torta, taco, etc. — from the posted menu on the side and wait to be wowed. The cooks do not skimp on your servings, and each plate…
Best Tex-Mex Restaurant
In the heart of old Bellaire lies one of the city’s best restaurants, for Tex-Mex and for interior and coastal Mexican as well. Although Pico’s, headed up by the venerated Arnaldo Richards, has been serving the neighborhood since 1984, the restaurant has always managed to fly just under the radar…
Montrose Match
See a slideshow of Caffe Bello’s pizza prep. “I’m shocked by how well these things go together,” I muttered over a martini. My dining companion looked down at the pizzetta we were sharing at Caffe Bello’s cheerful bar. “I’m not,” he contemplated aloud. “I think the honey goes really nicely…
Hidden Treasure
Wayne Myers has been in four major motorcycle accidents in his life, two of which required his removal from the scene via Life Flight. One of those somehow spiraled into Myers’s becoming a karaoke DJ. In fact, that’s what he’s doing at the moment — DJing a karaoke night at…
Mint Spice Bistro
“I came here in 1974, when I was two,” says Pritesh Shah, the owner of the new Mint Spice Bistro (16305 Kensington, 281-242-1212). Shah and his family have been in the real estate development business in Houston, and they built the center that houses the restaurant, an upstairs lounge and…
Sarah Jaffe
“Somewhere someone’s listening to the sound of a record spinning,” Sarah Jaffe confides on “Summer Begs,” from her new album, Suburban Nature. “Secrets are for keeping/ That’s what gives them their meaning / It’s your certain proclamation, and it needs no explanation.” Explanations may not be needed for Jaffe’s gentle…
A Clean Slate
By themselves, grits don’t have much taste. It’s all in what you put on them. At Bistro Catron (17754 Katy Fwy., 281-398-4070), Chef Justin Strang wields his South Carolina magic to make his Shrimp and Grits ($14) — coarsely ground grits redolent with truffles as well as the sherry-cream sauce…
Clint Black
Katy-raised Clint Black was a crucial part of country music’s third or fourth great pop-culture heist in the late ’80s, releasing debut Killin’ Time in 1989. The album cover featured the then 27-year-old twanger standing against a wall with his cowboy hat in his hands, ready to unleash the album’s…
Katatonia, Swallow the Sun, Orphaned Land
Self-proclaimed “suicide rock” ensemble Katatonia only knows three major chords, and only plays two of them. With roots in depressive, growly doom-metal – a style they’ve long abandoned but usually revisit for at least one song in concert — the Swedish band plays expansive Pink Floyd-ish hard rock with a…
Capsule Art Reviews: “35 Years: Anniversary Exhibition,” “Dante Marioni: Recent Glass Works,” “Joe Mancuso: Trace,” “Richard Serra: Weight and Level”
“35 Years: Anniversary Exhibition” Moody Gallery is 35! Packed with gallery artists, the anniversary show is like a big, riotous family reunion where all the crazy cousins showed up and brought art instead of a covered dish. Among the offerings, Michael Bise has a naked portrait of himself hooked up…
Capsule Stage Reviews: Driving Miss Daisy, Romeo and Julian, Among the Thugs, Auntie Mame
Driving Miss Daisy There are only three characters in Alfred Uhry’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play from 1988: Southern Jewish widow Miss Daisy, her businessman son Boolie, and her black chauffeur Hoke, but they encompass the world. Miss Daisy, who keeps saying she isn’t prejudiced in the least, doesn’t want to hire…
Blood Simple
An orphan for all practical purposes, 12-year-old Owen (Kodi Smit-McPhee) has been left to sprout like a weed. At home, he gets sparse recognition from his divorcée mother; at school, he absorbs castrating taunts from a pack of bullies who’ve gleaned “eternal victim” from his spacey stare. Owen fills the…
Twilight, Cleavage & Drugs
Political Animals Taping BARC Employee warned by boss about criticism By Craig Malisow When Chatauqua Allen, a supervisor at the city’s Bureau of Animal Regulations and Care, was shut out of certain meetings, she got the nagging notion that it might have to do with her race. The feeling was…
Goodbye, David Thompson
MHMRA Money Online readers comment on “Mental Cases,” by Paul Knight, September 15: Callous: Texas, a Godly state full of selfish assholes. The cowards in the Texas Legislature — you know, the ones who won’t raise taxes so that they can be re-elected — cost the state significantly more money…
Who Needs Friends?
The Social Network is a wonderful title, at once Olympian in its detachment and self-descriptive in its buzz. Everyone will opine (and Tweet) on this Scott Rudin-produced, Aaron Sorkin-scripted, David Fincher-directed, universally anticipated tale of Facebook’s genesis and founding genius — at least until something sexier comes along. The main…
Planet Houston
Click here for a more extensive list of restaurants by continent. “I was told there was a big Arab community in Houston when I first moved here,” remembers Hala Daher. “But it wasn’t at all like Dearborn.” Daher, an engineer, moved to Houston from Dearborn, Michigan, where more than 30…
The Night I Snuck Around Jones Hall and…Oh, Yeah…Talked to Anthony Bourdain
Fellow chef Mike Nutt, the Chef de Cuisine at Laurenzo’s Grill on Washington, invited me to tag along with him and the other chefs catering the book signing following Anthony Bourdain’s sold-out talk at Jones Hall, called Up Close and Confidential. I read Medium Raw, Tony’s latest memoir, which followed…
Kelvin Arms’ Rang Tang Martini
I was standing on the patio at Kelvin Arms (2424 Dunstan, 713-528-5002) holding the pinkest drink I’ve ever had and trying to ask my friend John to grab us a couple of beers when my voice cracked for the first time in months, maybe years. I don’t think he heard…
Neon Indian
It began with a grooving, hazy track called “Deadbeat Summer,” and there’s no telling where it may end. Dallas/Austin artist Alan Palomo’s outfit, Neon Indian, is the chief of chillwave, an upstart subgenre that fuses lazer-y synth lines, trebly beats and the chirpy blips of ’80s pop with guitar flavors…
Nistylin’ & Profilin’
With her seemingly limitless musical range, beauty and showmanship, it comes as no surprise that multiple Houston Press Music Award winner Karina Nistal radiates energy both on and off the stage. Chatter caught up with Karina to dish about her follow-up to 2006’s Nistyle, stage fright, the FlyNice project and…
SPECIAL DREAM EDITION
Dear Mexican, I understand NYC isn’t your jurisdiction, but maybe you have some insight, or maybe this is also a problem for other smart and successful Latinas. My question is: Why is it so hard to find an educated Mexican — or hell — even a Latino man who isn’t…
Early Man
Early Man’s recent album Death Potion takes the vision of its first, 2005’s Closing In, and expands it into a bloody mess of evil, lightning-hot riffs and kiss-off lyricism. The Brooklyn-based metalheads spent about five years working on Potion, in the meantime releasing a handful of EPs while touring with…
Abstract Art
Jewels isn’t about jewels. In fact, it isn’t about anything but the beauty of movement. George Balanchine’s first full-length, abstract (plot-less) ballet wound up with its name because of its gorgeous jewel-toned costumes and the names of its three sections: “Emeralds,” “Rubies” and “Diamonds.” In fact, when New York City…
San Antonio, Baby
Born and raised in Miami, Raul Malo may be Cuban-American, but he’s got a strong jones for late Texan Doug Sahm. When Malo’s band the Mavericks broke hard onto the mainstream country scene in the ’90s, Malo remembers most critics “either compared us to the Sir Douglas Quintet or Roy…
