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Garden of Despair: Houston in Summer

By Lorretta Ruggiero

Jun 16, 2022

It's hot. Bloody hot. To paraphrase Shakespeare's King Richard III, "Now is the summer of our discontent". You would think we Houstonians would be used to it by now, but when the dog days of summer begin in early May, that's even too much for we natives. Record heat started...

Opinion: Another American Tragedy

By Lorretta Ruggiero

May 25, 2022

Two weeks ago, I attended my daughter’s graduation from the University of Houston. This week, I watched with thousands of other parents and family members as my son graduated from high school. And at both graduations, I cried. Not only with the bittersweet emotions of a proud parent, but also...

Book Uncovers Story of "Bad Mexicans" with Good Intentions

By Bob Ruggiero

May 4, 2022

No, the titular group of this book aren’t the “Bad Hombres” that a certain former U.S. President fretted about. Rather, they were the malos mexicanos dubbed so by their own countrymen who were supporters of (given how one believed) the great leader or despotic dictator, Mexican President Porfirio Díaz, who...

A Peek at Fish Camp from Goode Company

By Lorretta Ruggiero

May 4, 2022

The Goode Company of restaurants has been around for more than 40 years, founded by Jim Goode, his former wife Liz and Jim's uncle, Joe Dixie, when they opened Goode Co. Barbeque in 1977. It has become a familiar part of the Houston restaurant scene as a home-grown family-owned business...

Girls Rule, Guests Drool at Butcher's Ball

By Lorretta Ruggiero

May 3, 2022

Houston's culinary diversity and bounty of talented chefs is no longer a secret. The Bayou City has popped up more and more in national food magazines and television shows and each time, the hosts and journalists find themselves "surprised" that Houston is a cradle of global cuisine with an intimate...

Openings and Closings: A New B.B. Italia is Coming, Chris Shepherd Switches Gears

By Lorretta Ruggiero

Mar 4, 2022

B.B. Italia Bistro & Bar, 16250 City Walk Drive, is expected to open this spring in Sugar Land Town Square. The Italian restaurant from Berg Hospitality Group first opened in 2019 in the space formerly occupied by Carmelo's Cucina Italiana. B.B. Italia closed temporarily in February 2021, as we reported...

Houston Livestock Show: Fun For All Ages

By Lorretta Ruggiero

Mar 3, 2022

After a cold and rainy start, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo 2022 has finally been kissed by Mother Nature with some tremendously awesome weather this week. We aren't sure how long this is going to last so those looking for some family-friendly fun should head down to NRG Park...

Houston Rodeo Gold Buckle Foodie Awards 2022

By Lorretta Ruggiero

Mar 2, 2022

Houstonians are thrilled by the return of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. This year marks its 90th anniversary and celebrations have been in full force with the Rodeo Uncorked Best Bites, the Bar-B-Cue Contest and Tuesday, the Gold Buckle Foodie Awards. We had the opportunity to sit with a...

Rodeo Uncorked Best Bites 2022: It's On Again

By Lorretta Ruggiero

Feb 21, 2022

Houston, we have a rodeo. Last night, NRG Center was packed with cowboy hats, leather boots, turquoise jewelry and the people sporting them. The Rodeo Uncorked! Best Bites event was cancelled for 2021 due to the COVID pandemic. This year, Rodeo Houston has returned and even though we are warned...

Openings and Closings: Loro Houston Soon, Wild Oats to Sow Now

By Lorretta Ruggiero

Feb 11, 2022

Loro, 1001 W. 11th, opens February 23 in the Heights. This is the third location for the Asian smokehouse and bar, a culinary partnership between James Beard Award-winning chef and pitmaster Aaron Franklin and James Beard Award-winning chef Tyson Cole. Its other two locations are in Austin and Dallas. Loro...

Loro Houston: A Sneak Peek

By Lorretta Ruggiero

Dec 15, 2021

Pitmaster Aaron Franklin has a lot of fan boys. We apologize if that's a sexist trope and we realize there are plenty of people who adore the famous Franklin Barbecue in Austin. Still, there's something about young guys meeting their smoke hero that makes their eyes light up and give...

Thanksgiving 2021 Houston Area Grocery Store Hours

By Lorretta Ruggiero

Nov 24, 2021

For some of us, this is the first year since the pandemic started that we have been able to host a home full of loved ones or travel to grandma's house for her famous cornbread dressing. In our excitement, we are bound to forget something, whether it's jellied cranberry sauce...

Opinion: Matt Krause's Bad Books List Another Sign of the Texas Dystopia?

By Margaret Downing

Oct 27, 2021

Students in Texas public schools shouldn't read books that involve sexism or racism because it might make them feel bad? Armed with a list of about 850 books that he apparently finds suspect, Matt Krause, the conservative state rep (R-Fort Worth), wants an accounting from an unknown number of the state's...

COVID Metrics Improve Across Texas As U.S. Coronavirus Deaths Pass Grim Milestone

By Schaefer Edwards

Oct 5, 2021

The United States finally hit the tragic milestone of over 700,000 COVID-19 fatalities over the weekend, solidifying the coronavirus pandemic as the most deadly pandemic in the history of our country. But thankfully, key COVID-19 metrics across the country, Texas and in the greater Houston area continue to trend downward...

Texas House Speaker Phelan Rebukes Abbott and Patrick On Illegal Voting And Winter Storm Response

By Schaefer Edwards

Oct 1, 2021

In a series of tweets Thursday night, Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont) publicly broke with Gov. Greg Abbott over Abbott's insistence that Texas lawmakers should increase penalties for voting illegally, and disagreed with Gov. Dan Patrick’s assertion that retiring state Rep. Chris Paddie (R-Marshall) couldn’t be trusted based on...

Proposed Texas House District Maps Would Protect GOP Advantage Statewide

By Schaefer Edwards

Sep 30, 2021

If the new Texas House district maps unveiled by the Republican-led House Redistricting Committee Thursday are approved as expected, incumbent Republicans across the state would by and large be protected, likely solidifying the GOP’s grip on the House for the next decade. That advantage would come at the expense of...

Trump Tells Texas Four County Audit Isn't Good Enough

By Schaefer Edwards

Sep 30, 2021

Days after Gov. Greg Abbott’s administration hastily announced a partial audit of Texas’ 2020 election results, former President Donald Trump declared that the limited audit wouldn’t be enough to satisfy him or the legions of MAGA diehards in the Lone Star State. In a statement to the Texas Tribune Wednesday,...

Over 1.2 Million Marriage Licenses Added To Harris County's Website

By Schaefer Edwards

Sep 30, 2021

Access to Harris County’s marriage records took a leap into the 21st century on Wednesday, as the Harris County Clerk’s Office announced it had added more than 1.2 million marriage license records to its website, making it possible to view copies of them and purchase them online. All Harris County...

GOP-Drawn Texas Congressional Map Gives Wesley Hunt A New Red Seat For The Taking

By Schaefer Edwards

Sep 29, 2021

When the GOP Texas Senate on Monday unveiled its proposed new district maps for Texas’ seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, the likely impact on greater Houston’s slate of congressmen and women was pretty clear. Local red districts would get redder and blue districts would get bluer under the...

Abbott Tells Fox News A Rape and Incest Exception To New Abortion Ban Won't Happen

By Schaefer Edwards

Sep 27, 2021

In a recent Fox News interview, Gov. Greg Abbot didn’t flinch when questioned as to why Texas’ new “heartbeat bill” that’s effectively banned abortions as early as six weeks after conception doesn’t have any exceptions for rape or incest, and said he believes there’s no way the Republican-led Texas Legislature...

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Openings and Closings: Chris Shepherd Departs Underbelly, Goode Co. Kitchen & Cantina Heights

Opinion: What I Learned From Getting Starbucks With QAnon

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