Monday, May 4
May The Fourth Be With You At Flying Saucer That's right. It's Star Wars Day, so it's only appropriate to drink the beers. The Flying Saucer downtown is tapping Firestone Walker Wookie Jack and No Label Hop Solo. Come in your best Star Wars outfit to compete for gift cards and prizes. 705 Main. 5 p.m.
Hog Butchery Demos At Revival Market If you've ever wanted to understand how to butcher a hog yourself, there are two opportunities to learn from some of the best both tonight and tomorrow night. Revival Market's charcutier & head butcher, Andrew Vaserfirer, along with owners Ryan Pera & Morgan Weber, will show you how it's done. Students will learn the classic American and European fundamentals of butchery—how to break down whole pigs into sub-primals and smaller, more usable cuts and much more. Half-way through the class, attendees will enjoy a chef's-choice dinner. BYOB. Space is limited and time is short, so RSVP quickly if you want in on this. Call 713-880-8463 to reserve a spot (required). 7 to 9 p.m. $120.
Half-Price Oyster Specials Begin At Holley's
Starting today, Holley's is offering half-price oysters—both raw and baked—every Monday and Tuesday through May. The baked offerings include Oyster Diablo, NOLA-Style Charbroiled Oyster, Baked Oyster "Yvonne," and Oyster Granite. For more information, call 713-491-2222. 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. 3201 Louisiana.
Celebrate Cinco de Mayo Early At Molina's
Tonight and tomorrow night, all Molina's locations are continuing their multi-day Cinco de Mayo celebration with $5 margaritas and live bands. 6 to 10 p.m.
Get A Free Meal For Mom This Week At Mama Fu's
Dine at Mama Fu's this week and get a free meal later. Customers making food and beverage purchases of $25 or more from today through Thursday will receive a gift certificate for a complimentary meal. The Mother's Day certificates will be valid for redemption from Sunday, May 10 through Saturday, May 16 and are good for dine-in, delivery or online ordering. 1574 West Gray.
Tuesday, May 5
New Drinks And Luchador Thumb Wrestling At The Pastry War
For Cinco de Mayo, The Pastry War is launching a menu with seven new cocktails on it. Happy hour will last all day with upgraded $5 house margaritas made with Tequila Ocho Blanco Tequila, $3 Mexican beers and free games of pool. Also, elotes (Mexican street corn) on the stick are available, in addition to the tamales, queso and salsa that are always on the menu. There are 15 new agave spirits as well that will be half-off the entire night.
You won't want to miss the Luchador Thumb Wrestling Competition, which will begin at 7 p.m. The bartenders have been practicing their thumb wrestling skills for weeks. Sign up to participate between 4 and 6:30 p.m. and get your thumb painted at the bar (or show up with your own design). The winner will walk away with a $200 gift certificate to Hugo's, in addition to bragging rights. 310 Main. 4 p.m. to midnight.
Cinco de Mayo at Cuchara Cinco de Mayo celebrates the Mexican army's victory at Puebla, so Cuchara is offering a special menu featuring dishes from that region. The items include Mole Poblano with chicken, Chalupitas Poblanas (little corn cakes with salsa) and Cemita Poblana de Pollo (chicken sandwich with mayo, onion, avocado, chipotle pepper, Oaxaca cheese and papalo herb). There will also be $5 chiccarone (pork rind) and nopales (cactus) tacos, fancy margaritas and $5 shots of Rompope and Pasita. Call 713-942-0000 for more information. 214 Fairview. 5 to 10 p.m.
Tequila Tasting Dinner At 51 Fifteen & Pool Party At Hotel Granduca Start off Cinco de Mayo with a four-course dinner at 51 Fifteen paired with Pura Vida tastings and cocktails made to showcase the spirit. Then afterwards, head to Hotel Granduca for a luxury gift bag and pool party featuring live entertainment. RSVP to 713-963-8067. 6 to 8 p.m. $130 plus tax and gratuity.
Cinco de Mayo At Cadillac Bar
For Cinco de Mayo, the Houston location of Cadillac Bar has specials on margaritas, buckets of beer and tequila shots. A live DJ will get everyone dancing from 5 to 10 p.m. There will also be some giveaways and a special appearance by Cadillac Bar's very own food truck, Taco Me Crazy. Make reservations by calling 713-862-2020. 1802 Shepherd.
Cinco de Mayo Party At Tila's Tila's is celebrating with a party featuring live music, beer, margaritas and its authentic Mexican cuisine. Be sure to go the back way up McDuffie to avoid the construction on Shepherd. RSVP by calling 713-522-7654. 1111 South Shepherd. Starts at 4 p.m.
Cinco de Mayo at Dish Society In Katy Katy residents don't have to go far from home to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. Dish Society at Cinco Ranch in Katy is offering Skinny 'Ritas and Mexican Greyhounds for a mere $5. Call 281-394-7555 for more information. 23501 Cinco Ranch Blvd, Katy.
Midnight Margaritas At Pistoleros From 12 a.m. to 2 a.m., Pistoleros has started having $2 margaritas nightly and before midnight, house margaritas are $3 all day. Also, Cinco de Mayo falls on Taco Tuesday, so tacos are only a dollar all day. There's a new menu to check out as well. 1517 Westheimer.
Cinco de Mayo Drink Specials At El Patio The infamous Blue Margarita from club No Minor is $6.50 all day. If you're more into cheap lagers, there are $2 Coronas, Corona Light and Pacifico, or get a whole bucket full for $11. Dos Equis XX are $2.75, Frozen La Flaca Jimador Margaritas are $6 and La Moderno on the rocks is $8. Live mariachis will provide the music from 5 to 10 p.m. 6444 Westheimer.
French Forgiveness At Bistro Provence Yeah, the French lost, but Bistro Provence is getting in on the fun with their "Franco de Mayo" three course meal. It's actually a kind of a culinary history lesson into French-influenced dishes now considered traditional Mexican. Mexican flan differs very little from French crème caramel and really, filled crepes and enchiladas are close kin. The special menu will be offered all day. The items are also available a la carte and three courses will run about $29 plus tax and gratuity. For reservations and information, call 713-827-8008. 13616 Memorial Drive.
Oysters, Scotch and Cigars At Tony Mandola's If you're not feeling the Cinco de Mayo spirit, this is a great option. Tony Mandola's is having a "Mad Men" themed party called "On The Rocks, a Cigar and Scotch Mixer on the Patio." The cost includes 24 oysters-on-the-half-shell, hors d'oeuvres, two glasses of Scotch and one cigar of choice. Cigars presented by Specs Wine, Spirits, and Finer Foods. Visit this link to buy tickets. 5 to 9 p.m. $125.
Thursday, May 7
UPDATED, 5/16/15: We've been informed that Yellow Rose Distilling has waived the nominal fee on their Guest Bartender Series!
Radio Milano Bartender Guests At Yellow Rose Distilling
Yellow Rose Distilling's guest bartender series continues. This week features Peter Clifton of Milano Bar - Radio Milano. Visitors will enjoy a special $6 signature cocktail that features Yellow Rose's whiskeys. The series runs through May and leads up to a competition on May 28 where each featured mixologist will compete to win donations to their favorite local charity. The tiny admission fee includes five Yellow Rose samples. 1224 North Post Oak. 4 to 7 p.m. $7. Free!
Friday, May 8
The Texas Crab Festival Starts Today Head to Gregory Park in Crystal Beach for a weekend of fun celebrating everyone's favorite, six-legged crustacean. There will be games and events like the Crab Legs Contest, Washers Tournament, Two-Step Dance Contest, Wiener Dog Races, as well as a Kid's Stage, Crab Arcade and Carnival Midway. Browse Arts and Crafts with a coastal twist and feast on fresh local seafood like BBQ Crab, Crab Nachos and Crab Gumbo. All proceeds from the festival go to support charitable programs and scholarships that benefit the residents of Bolivar Peninsula. The festival continues through Sunday. Tickets are $8 or $10 and admission on Sunday is free. For more information and to buy tickets, visit the web site.
Saturday, May 9
Roses (the wine, not the flower) For Mom At French Country Wines
Today's wine tastings at French Country Wines features six roses. Also on-hand will be French macaron samples by Green Eyed Susan. Several flavors of the gluten and preservative-free delicacies will also be available for sale. For more information on French Country Wines, call 713-993-9500. 2433 Barlett St. Noon to 6 p.m. Free.
TXFEST
In store at TXFEST are live bands, food, drinks and shopping. Sponsors include Karback Brewing, Lucky's Pub, Rebecca Creek Texas Whiskey, so there certainly will be drinks on-hand. In fact, festival patrons will have access to samples of more than 100 brands of Texas beer, food, wine and spirits. It's at Hermann Square Park, so don't forget the sunscreen. The sampling is from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. only while the festival runs from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. More information and tickets are available at the web site. 901 Smith. $35 to $85.
Sunday, May 10
Check out our big list of Where To Dine In Houston For Mother's Day
Rosinka Wine and Tea House Mother's Day Art and Wine Event
For something a little different on Mother's Day, check out this art and wine event at Rosinka in the Rice Village. They're hosting an outdoor gallery where local artists will display their work for guests to see or buy. If you're mom is the creative type (or you are) there's a painting class indoors from noon to 3 p.m. Participants will be provided with step-by-step instruction, canvas, paints and brushes and wine or tea. As far as food goes, there areRussian, American, Italian and French offerings that include caviar blini puffs, savory pies, paninis and freshly baked pastries. 2509 Rice. Noon to 6 p.m.
