02 October 2005
Go 'Stros!
Congratulations to the Astros, who just clinched a wild card spot with a 6-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/02/05 03:58 PM |
29 September 2005
Houston Press "Best Of" time
The Houston Press serves up its annual "Best Of" issue today.
Be sure to go check out all the nifty award winners the Press staff have chosen (and if you want some fun, contrast those with the reader picks where available).
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 09/29/05 09:54 AM |
25 September 2005
Capers v. Casserly: A story for the local sports media?
Last Sunday, two players prized highly enough by Houston Texans general manager Charley Casserly that he spent extra draft picks to get them found themselves benched by head coach Dom Capers as a result of their poor play. John McClain noted this in his coverage on Monday:
The defense was so inept that two starters who cost the Texans a combined five draft choices to acquire — outside linebacker Jason Babin and cornerback Phillip Buchanon — were benched.
Michael Murphy wrote the following:
While the Steelers were rolling on the field, finishing with 388 yards of total offense and averaging 7.2 yards per play, heads were rolling on the Texans sideline. Babin and cornerback Phillip Buchanon both found themselves benched and replaced by Shantee Orr and Demarcus Faggins, respectively.
Babin was punished after jumping offside with the Steelers facing a third-and-10 from their 32 with six minutes to play in the third quarter. Babin's boo-boo moved the ball up five yards, and Roethlisberger then hit Cedrick Wilson with a 40-yard pass to the Houston 23.
Three plays later the Steelers scored on Parker's TD run for a 27-7 lead.
"Obviously it upset me, but it sent a strong message to everybody — if you make mistakes, especially at critical times, then something's going to happen," Babin said. "I can't be upset. If I hadn't made the mistake, I wouldn't have gotten pulled. That's the way it goes."
Buchanon, who was yanked for simply playing poorly, shrugged off the benching and the loss.
That was it.
At the time, I wondered if the head coach wasn't trying to send the general manager a message, but no Chronicle columnist really followed up on those observations.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 09/25/05 05:41 PM |
19 September 2005
Envision Houston Region workshops underway
In his Move It column today, Rad Sallee reports on the Envision Houston Region workshop that took place at the University of Houston over the weekend.
Local anti-zoning activist Barry Klein is quoted in the story:
Barry Klein, president of the Houston Property Rights Association, said he is both "hopeful and apprehensive" about such exercises.
"I expect to see recommendations for some land-use codes to be relaxed, which is good from the point of view of a property-rights advocate," Klein said. "But I also worry that we will see suggestions for new controls on property owners to try and push growth next to rail stations.
"That, of course, brings up the prospect for zoning, which our group successfully led the fight to oppose," he noted.
More information on the workshops is available on the Envision Houston Region website.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 09/19/05 11:47 PM |
Texans dump offensive coordinator Palmer
The Chronicle's John McClain reports that the Houston Texans have fired offensive coordinator Chris Palmer, who has held the position since the birth of the team.
Replacing Palmer will be offensive line coach Joe Pendry, according to McClain:
Pendry, a long-time NFL coach who was previously offensive coordinator at Carolina and Buffalo, will try to develop some consistency in an offense that has been unproductive against the Bills and Steelers, the two best defensive teams in the NFL last season.
Interestingly, Pendry was fired by Capers after the 1997 season at Carolina. Although, it was never confirmed, there was speculation that Panthers owner Jerry Richardson made Capers fire Pendry, who was under fire because his offense was too conservative and unimaginative.
The offense was horrid in the first two games of the season, and it was easy to make Palmer the scapegoat and fire him, but the team suffers from a lack of overall talent (which is Charley Casserly's responsibility) and an offensive line that has been terrible since the team has existed.
Promoting the man responsible for the offensive line the last two seasons and a man once fired for being unimaginative on offense to offensive coordinator is unlikely to result in a team turnaround, but it was the easy move for a team that fans were booing noticeably on Sunday.
McClain writes that the team will not have a comment until Dom Capers' regular 3pm press conference.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 09/19/05 01:34 PM |
12 September 2005
Astroworld to close after 2005
KHOU-11 is reporting that Astroworld will close after the 2005 season.
The theme park had suffered from a lack of investment in recent years, and become run down.
Still, it's a landmark that will be missed in Houston.
UPDATE: Related coverage from the Chronicle, KPRC-2.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 09/12/05 04:50 PM |
06 September 2005
Restaurant smoking ban is in effect
Houstonians just got healthier (remember Mayor White is looking out for you) as the city's new restaurant smoking ban is now in effect:
Houston's smoking ordinance went into effect Monday, requiring restaurants and other eating establishments to ban smoking from indoor dining areas.
"We're working with the restaurants toward compliance," says Kathy Barton, spokeswoman for Houston Department of Health and Human Services. "If they refuse, then we will look into some disciplinary action."
Under the ordinance, restaurants can be fined $2,000 per violation.
A number of restaurants contacted by the Chronicle didn't realize the ordinance had taken effect.
"Wow, I didn't know," said Beso owner-chef Arturo Boada. "Thank God I'm sitting down. I'll put up a no-smoking sign tomorrow."
At One's A Meal and the Greek Village on West Gray, owner Louis Servos wondered whether smoking is still allowed on the patio.
"Do you know? Some people say you got to be 22 feet from the door. Others say 44 feet," he said. "The problem is, most patios are right there at the front door."
Passed in March, the ordinance does allow smoking in outdoor seating areas and restaurant bars.
The ordinance has "gray areas," El Meson owner Peter Garcia said. "For instance, how should the bar be separated from the dining room? It has to have some kind of separation, but it's unclear as to what kind. It could be a fence. It could be a couple of plants. We're just going to have to feel this out little by little."
But then Garcia, a smoker, decided to stop guessing and made the restaurant and bar area smoke-free. "There's a Spanish saying that goes, 'You can't cover the sun with your thumb,' " he said.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 09/06/05 06:55 AM |
27 August 2005
The twelfth annual Theater District Open House
On Sunday, downtown's Theater District will hold its annual Open House:
The Theater District in downtown Houston hosts its annual Open House, noon-5 p.m. Sunday. The free event features backstage tours, live performances, a petting zoo, refreshments and information booths about the arts in Houston. It takes place at the Alley Theatre, 615 Texas; the Hobby Center, 800 Bagby; Wortham Theater Center, 500 Texas; the Angelika Film Center, 510 Texas; and Jones Hall, 615 Louisiana. Visitors can also sample diverse fare at Taste of Downtown restaurant stations. For more information, call 800-4-468-7866 or access www.houstontheaterdistrict.org.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 08/27/05 08:55 PM |
Remembering John Jenkins
Earlier in the week, the Chronicle's Dale Robertson checked in on former UH football coach and offensive guru John Jenkins.
Here's a teaser:
Once, John Jenkins was convinced he'd die a Houston Cougar, taking with him every college football offensive record worth owning.
But this was not how things worked out for the cocky, often controversial coach whose frenetic tenure on Cullen Boulevard has been judged both the best and the worst of times in UH's checkered football history.
It's a good profile of the controversial coach. There's no doubt that since the start of Bill Carr's tenure as athletics director at UH and Carr's effectively dumping Jenkins as head coach of the football program, the athletics department has been mired in a downward spiral.
If Art Briles can recapture the magic of his first season and Tom Penders can build on his strong first season, perhaps that spiral will finally be reversed. Until then, it's kind of fun to reminisce about the Jenkins offensive fireworks.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 08/27/05 01:03 PM |
23 August 2005
Is a new ad campaign enough to fix AstroWorld?
John Wagner notes a Washington Post story that hints at some changes in Six Flags future. The Post story speculates that Mr. Six may be fired.
Wagner says Six Flags and AstroWorld need more help than just a new mascot or ad campaign:
My last trip to AstroWorld was about three years ago. It was badly in need of paint, repairs and general upkeep. I'm not alone in that assessment.
The remnants of the former themed areas created a weird experience, since the themes are no longer carried out.
The whole place seemed drab, messy and frankly, a little sad.
[snip]
Rather than spend millions on advertising -- at least in this region -- the company would be wise to invest in the park itself. Not on some new ride, but on the general look, feel and approach of the park.
It needs a good housecleaning and a strong focus.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 08/23/05 09:34 PM |
21 August 2005
Inner loop, the 'burbs, and the Chron - Take two
A few days ago, I linked to a post by John Wagner that seemed to suggest that the Houston Chronicle pushes an inner-loop bias on its pages.
I wasn't quite sure that Wagner meant to go that far, and wondered if he was merely referring to the editorial page, which does seem to push the inner loop and downtown.
Wagner clarified on Thursday in this post, and made it clear that he did mean to indict the entire newspaper for an inner loop bias.
I think between us, we probably have a decent mix of readers inside the loop and out in the suburbs, so feel free again to add your thoughts here or at Wagner's place.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 08/21/05 07:35 PM |
15 August 2005
Food and drink roundup (08-15-2005 edition)
It's high time a food and drink roundup made an appearance. And there are quite a few links this week.
Alison Cook loved her visits to Mary'z Mediterranean Cuisine, a restaurant that seems to take love of garlic to yummy extremes. She also does a smaller checking in at Gravitas on Taft.
Dai Huynh checked in with Houston Community College's Pastry Chef Eddy Van Damme, whose cookbook On Baking: A Textbook of Baking and Pastry Fundamentals beat out 4,000 entries from 60 countries to win the prestigious Gourmand World Cookbook Awards' best cookbook for professionals.
Peggy Grodinsky goes Hoffmanesque with her short review of Starbucks' new 500-calorie Green Tea Frappuccino.
Ken Hoffman gorged on Long John Silver's new Popcorn Shrimp that...actually seems to contain...shrimp.
Gracie Ochoa checked out Bond Lounge and found it to be "like New York's boutique-style nightspots." Again, that’s not necessarily a selling point to this sometime bH contributor.
Eliza Barclay examined the booming local market for premium tequilas.
And finally, Robb Walsh had a steak at Taste of Texas and ends his review with these few paragraphs:
Taste of Texas long ago slipped into the second tier. And I say this regardless of my political opinions. Edd Hendee, the restaurant's owner, vents his hatred for Muslims, liberals and immigrants five days a week on his talk-radio show. "They must have failed Bomb Making 101 down at the mosque," he recently quipped about the London terrorists whose bomb didn't go off.
Hendee took over the show when the previous self-righteous far-rightist, Jon Matthews, was arrested for exposing his genitals to an 11-year-old child. Hendee reportedly encouraged listeners to bring letters of sympathy to Taste of Texas so he could deliver them to his fellow conservative. Houston Press columnist Richard Connelly called the restaurant "Dittohead Central, the gathering place for Rush Limbaugh fans and light rail foes" (Hair Balls, May 13, 2004). Hendee is a close friend of Tom DeLay, who is also a student in Hendee's Bible study class at Second Baptist.
Hey, I'm not a big fan of Tilman Fertitta's worldview either. But I give him credit for running some great steak houses. Regardless of his politics, Fertitta is keeping an eye on national restaurant trends and knows what's selling at the butcher shop. Hendee, on the other hand, is running a restaurant that's ludicrously out of date.
I'm often chided by readers to leave the politics out of my reviews. But I don't see how you can leave politics out of a discussion of Taste of Texas -- it's become the restaurant's main attraction. Showing support for Tom DeLay, Edd Hendee and the conservative agenda seems to be the real reason that so many people stand in line to get into this mediocre steak house.
Sadly, up until these last few paragraphs, the review wasn’t that far off the mark. I hope this isn't a new trend for Mr. Walsh: panning a restaurant, panning the owner’s personal political views, assuming and panning the customers' political views, and then tying the restaurant's failures to said views and stands. Let's see, how would this work? It might be difficult to find out the political views of, say, for example, the owners of certain family chain restaurants in town, which also serve mediocre food at exorbitant prices and pack the crowds in like sardines every day of the week, but maybe with a little research...oh. Wait. Mr. Hendee is a bit more outspoken than that. Oh. Now I understand. But does that REALLY have ANYTHING to do with the quality of the restaurant, the food, the service, or the customers?
Regardless, it’s still all World Class!! Even when we include far-rightists, er, conservatives, in the steakhouse business. Enjoy!!
Posted by Callie Markantonis @ 08/15/05 08:41 AM |
14 August 2005
Houston elites: We're not inferior to Dallas! Really!
Back in April, the elites of the Chronicle editorial board insisted that Houston need no longer have an inferiority complex with regard to Dallas because we have... arts!
Today, David Kaplan's reporting for the Chronicle reflects the opinion of elites that Houston need no longer feel inferior to Dallas because we have... upscale shopping!
One wonders if the editors of the city's only major daily realize that these constant assurances that Houston is no longer inferior to Dallas but is indeed world class(!) may not exactly reassure those with doubts.
Besides, normal Houstonians who want a list of Houston's world-class charms surely don't turn to the Chronicle or Jordy Tollett. They go here.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 08/14/05 03:20 PM |
Non-political rats plague downtown
Yesterday, the Chronicle posted a story from Bill Murphy entitled "Part of downtown being plagued by rats."
He's not referring to our elected officials. Here's an excerpt:
As downtown's nightlife grows and residents move into loft apartments, the city is confronting a problem that bedevils all densely populated areas — the difficulty of wiping out rodents.
Beautiful, shady courtyards and attractive restaurant patios don't seem as inviting when visitors are a wee bit concerned that something not very nice at all might be scurrying by.
The county has vowed to tackle the problem around the administration building, the city has added rat bait stations in the area around George R. Brown Convention Center and owners of a private park near the center have hired an exterminator.
Is the rat population growing downtown? "I have seen a slight increase in rats around county buildings," said Marc Burr, a county employee who oversees pest control contracts.
Kathy Barton, spokeswoman for the Health and Human Services Department, and other city officials say complaints have not increased and they have no evidence of an uptick in rat numbers. But the city does not systematically track such matters.
"We have been fairly limited in our population," said Bob Eury, director of the Downtown Management District. "I don't think we have ever had an infestation."
No one questions, however, that rats are a problem in the courtyard between Fannin and Main outside the county administration building. Employees have been complaining about them for several months.
Perhaps one solution would be to arm the Downtown Jaywalking Revenue Stream patrols and the METRO Elite Counterterror units with rat poison?
PREVIOUSLY: The Bill White Vermin And Solid Waste Memorial Park.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 08/14/05 02:03 PM |
09 August 2005
Neighborhood uses BBB to battle bandit signs
KHOU-11 posted this teaser for a story about bandit sign eradication to its website:
Neighborhood activists call them "litter on a stick." For years now, they've ripped down and ripped up so-called bandit signs. One northwest Harris County neighborhood found a different solution
It was a disappointment to click over and discover that Lee Brown's consulting firm is not engaged in the bandit sign eradication effort.
The full story is here.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 08/09/05 10:14 PM |
Food and drink roundup (08-09-2005 edition)
It's time to gather up a food and drink roundup.
Alison Cook loved her dinners at the no-longer-stagnant River Oaks Grill.
Robb Walsh's meal of Vietnamese fajitas (uh huh) at Nam Vietnamese Cuisine had him wondering where to find authentic Vietnamese cuisine in town.
Ken Hoffman tried some Chicken Fries at Burger King...and liked them?
Lance Scott Walker once again gave Ernie's on Banks a look.
And bH's own Kevin Whited gave Yia Yia Mary's a non-review over at PubliusTX.
World Class, all!! Enjoy!!
UPDATE: The new location of Cyclone Anaya's, which was partly the focus of a recent Robb Walsh review and which is considered a favorite Tex-Mex hangout by some of the bH crew, has finally opened on Durham near I-10. It is now easier for anyone inside the loop to partake of their really yummy Tex-Mex and strong margaritas.
Posted by Callie Markantonis @ 08/09/05 09:00 AM |
05 August 2005
Best of Westchase
Houston's Westchase District is running a Best of Westchase contest. You can vote here.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 08/05/05 07:20 AM |
04 August 2005
Sporting News: Houston is a world-class sports city
A new survey by The Sporting News ranks Houston as the No. 6 sports city in North America:
Houston comes in at No. 6 among the best North American sports cities behind Boston, Philadelphia, Detroit, Miami and Los Angeles-Anaheim. Rounding out the top 10 behind Houston were Baltimore-Washington at No. 7, Dallas-Fort Worth at No. 8, Atlanta at No. 9, and New York-New Jersey at No. 10.
To be included in the rankings, a city must have at least an NCAA Division I basketball team or a minor-league baseball team, or it must score in certain other ranking categories, such as hosting a training camp for a major-league team or hosting a PGA Tour tournament.
Once a city meets the minimum criteria, The Sporting News takes a 12-month snapshot of its sports atmosphere, putting emphasis on such factors as regular-season records, playoff berths, bowl appearances, tournament bids, championships, overall fan fervor and fan knowledge.
It's fun to have as many college and major professional sports teams as Houston does, but do readers really think of Houston as one of THE top sports cities in the country, based on the criteria in the final paragraph?
Please share your thoughts in the comments. We'd especially like to hear from any transplants who moved here from other large cities with a good sports scene.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 08/04/05 02:07 PM |
Spoken like someone who's lived here a while
Ken Hoffman is skeptical about a good idea that's being floated:
Problem: People want to go downtown Friday and Saturday nights — to enjoy the restaurants and bars — but parking is a hassle and so expensive.
Solution: How about a deal where parking garages stay open Friday and Saturday nights and charge only $5? Then restaurants and clubs could offer $5 discounts to customers to cover the parking.
Pedicabs could be stationed at the garages to schlep people to Main Street.
Details are being worked out.
This idea makes so much sense, I'm amazed it's even being considered in Houston.
MayorWhiteChiefHurtt needs more potential jaywalkers to ticket.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 08/04/05 01:54 PM |
02 August 2005
Food and drink roundup (08-02-2005 edition)
Last week's food and drink roundup follows.
Robb Walsh had an amusing review of Nick's Pasta Place last week. It so amused several members of the bH crew that dinner had to be had there Thursday. The bH crew agrees. It isn't bad. Killer spaghetti with meat sauce to be had there.
Dai Huynh gave us a double shot last week. She and Michael Lonsford examined the new popularity of rosé wines one day. The use of exotic fruits in entrées, drinks, and desserts by local restaurants had her attention the next.
Ken Hoffman sat down to a 1414 calorie breakfast at Denny's called the Meat Lover's Complete Bowl Breakfast. 1414 calories...WITHOUT butter and syrup for the pancakes? As if...
Eyder Peralta checks out a movie and grub this week at Star Cinema Grill in Webster.
And Gracie Ochoa found a New York feel to Tribeca Lounge. Not a good way to sell it to this Houstonian.
Regardless, it's all World Class!! Enjoy!!
Posted by Callie Markantonis @ 08/02/05 06:45 PM |
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