ssullivan

Very well put kjb434. After reading Gary's post on I Corinthians I was going to respond but you basically said everything I would have. I think it's important to realize that not all people who claim to follow a certain religion interpret scripture the same way or believe exactly the same things. I was raised in the United Methodist Church and have very similar beliefs about the role the Bible plays in religion as you do. Of course I'm pretty liberal even for a Methodist. tw2ntyse7en, I struggle with that "Is there really a God?" question myself. I'd say overall I believe there is. And I think I'd rather err on the side of believing in something that doesn't exist than not believing in something that does. But I think it's a very human issue that everyone struggles with to a certain extent. And personally I'd rather be a thinking person who struggles with that issue and comes to my own conclusion based on my own study and examination, than a person who always blindly accepts what I am told by a preacher or other religious leader without ever questioning it. As for Lakewood taking over the Compaq Center, I've got no issue with it. Mega churches aren't really my style; I prefer a somewhat smaller congregation with membership in the hundreds, not thousands, but that's just my style. I think as long as Lakewood doesn't turn into another corrupt organization like those run by some of the big evangelists of the 1980s and 1990s, there's nothing wrong with it. And I'd certainly rather see Lakewood in that building than see it sit empty.

I read it in the print edition Sunday evening while at my parents'. I think it was in the Zest magazine section.

METRO owns a lot of land at the Wheeler station and near it. They've said in the past they'd be exploring development options for that property as well, but I think it's considered to be a lower priority project than the TMC Transit Center project.

I agree - I think the Warwick name needs to stay.

Great pictures citykid! Some of my favorite Montrose places. And I love the "highest point" one. Pretty funny.

No, HCTRA is paying TxDOT for those toll lanes. That's why the entire Katy project was accelerated. METRO isn't in the toll road business; HCTRA is. METRO's buses will be able to use the toll lanes for free, as will certain high occupancy private vehicles and van and carpools during rush hour. But the lanes will be operated by the HCTRA, not METRO. See the Katy Freeway Toll Road web page for more information on how these lanes will work.

Thank you! I'm not a big fan of ever expanding sprawl, but please, that area of the city has been heavily developed since the early 1960s!! If we're going to talk about sprawl, let's keep it to discussions of areas where there is no development now and development is planned. This isn't even outside the beltway!

Well... that's a remote possibility at some point in the future. As part of some ridiculous compromise between METRO, TxDOT, and the HCTRA, the overpasses for the HOT lanes on the new Katy Freeway are being built to be able to withstand the weight of passenger rail cars should a line be built at some point in the future. This is adding expense to the overall project, and needlessly so. Why? What are the odds that the HCTRA will ever give up the cash cow those lanes are destined to become to METRO for a rail line? NONE! The only way a rail line could be built in the corridor now would be to elevate it over the freeway or frontage roads or to expand the freeway ROW. Both will be extremely expensive to do, and will face great opposition from land owners along the freeway corridor. In any case, rail in the Katy Freeway corridor is decades away. If such a line is ever built (which I would hope it eventually is), I'm sure a stop at Gessner for Memorial City will be part of the deal regardless of whether this development is built or not. There's already a major mall and hospital there, Gessner is a major north-south street through that part of town that METRO has already identified as a route for its new "Signature Express" service that is part of the METRO Solutions plan, and the area is already served by at least five bus routes. A rail stop would obviously be placed there if the line is ever built because the area is a major destination for many purposes.

Depends on which bar you're going to. I typically pay $5-7 a drink at Meteor, less at JR's. And in typing this I just realized I haven't been to a bar that wasn't in a restaurant or hotel in months! Oh I'm so glad I'll soon have a salary and be able to afford to go out and have fun again.

Haha see we told you! Now I'm hungry, haven't had lunch yet, and all this talk about Berryhill Tamales is making me want some. I think I'm going to head over there for some right now.

Yeah let's build another stadium and raise our hotel and rental car taxes even more. Our 17% hotel tax rate is higher than places like New York (13.63% + $2), Boston (12.45%), San Francisco (14.05%), Washington DC (14.5%), and Chicago (14.9%). Our rental car taxes are also among the highest in the nation. Granted the average hotel price in many of these cities is more than it is in Houston, but our tax rate helps close that gap. And I'm sure it's negatively affecting our already suffering convention and hotel business. I'm all for soccer in Houston, but let's find a way to do it in existing facilities if possible. I'm not sure we can afford a fourth brand new stadium right now with the existing funding mechanisms.

As Parrothead said, the tamales at Berryhill don't come smothered in chili. They do have a sauce that is served on the side, but it complements the flavor of the tamale rather well, instead of overpowering it. Also, they are one of the few restaurants I've ever eaten in where tamales are served in the corn husks. As for the masa versus filling ratio, I've seen this a lot at other restaurants. However Berryhill's tamales are usually stuffed with filling and are very close to the ones I've eaten that were made by Mexican immigrants at home for their own consumption. I've not tried their tacos or much else on the menu, but the tamales are outstanding and by far the best I've ever had in a restaurant.

I second tw2ntyse7en's suggestion of checking out the center at Wilcrest and Westheimer in the Westchase District for people to ask for suggestions. Several of the Japanese restaurants in that center are family owned by very nice people who I'm sure will be more than happy to give you advice on where to look. The couple that runs Yorimichi is especially friendly to their American customers, and I'd expect that they'd be willing to give you lots of suggestions. Just try to go in outside of busy hours -- the lunch crowd there can be pretty overwhelming for the staff. During off-peak business hours business should be slow enough that they have time to talk and give you ideas.

Kaphan's on South Main at Kirby (where the CVS is now) was a big favorite of my family's. We had so many major celebrations of family events there, and my grandparents ate there almost every Sunday after church for decades. Not only was the food very good, but the service and staff were oustanding -- there were a number of waiters that had been there close to 50 years when the place finally closed down around 1993-1994. There was one waiter in particular that had been serving my grandparents, mother, and rest of the family for several decades, and he knew us all by name. I remember my last meal there in December 1992, when I was home for Christmas after my first semester of college. Mom and I had driven down to Houston on a Sunday morning to meet my grandparents for church and to celebrate my grandmother's birthday and deliver their Christmas presents. We had that particular waiter that day, and when he saw me he said "Master Steven! How was the first semester at Austin College?" I hadn't seen this guy in several months but he knew all about what I was up to from my grandparents. There was also a guy who worked there who wore a white suit (sort of a Marvin Zindler style) who always brought around a skillet of these hot crab ball appetizers. Those things were always so good. To this day many of my cousins talk about all those Sunday dinners we ate at Kaphan's and how the staff there always treated our family like royalty because my grandparents had eaten there so often for so many years. I still miss that place whenever I drive by the pharmacy that's there now. You just don't find restaurants with that kind of personal service much anymore.

You have a valid point here, although the reason the water fountains were turned off on Main is not that they couldn't find a drinking water supply. There was (I think it may have been fixed now but could be wrong on that) a leak in the water supply for those fountains that was allowing sediment to get into the line, therefore making the water unfit for drinking. It wasn't a case that the fountains weren't hooked up to a water line. Apparently the leak wasn't discovered until the project was nearly complete and the fountains were turned on. Last time I walked by one of the fountains I think the red tags had been removed. I know they were trying to get this fixed last year when the problem was first discovered.

The former Target has been renovated and I think Marshall's is in there now. That entire center has been redone, so I don't see Central Market going in there.

From what I was told by a realtor about three years ago, the property looks good and of course is in a fabulous location. But she usually had a hard time selling listings there because of some pretty poor construction that resulted in issues with leaking windows and door frames in many units. It also had some major flooding problems during Allison, with many residents losing their cars and everything in their storage units because all of those areas of the complex experienced severe flooding. Granted a flood like that doesn't happen every year, and it may be decades before we see a repeat of June 9, 2001. But at the time she was working with me Allison was a very recent memory and she was recommending her clients look at other properties because of the flood damage to the complex and the issues with the units' construction.

Jones Plaza isn't going anywhere. Besides, the plaza in its current configuration is only about three or four years old.

Will a new playground be constructed? I hope so as that will be a real selling point to keeping young couples that are currently childless in the neighborhood after they start to have children.

I'm sure it will not be a buffet - sounds like it will be a pretty classy place. Fu's Garden has always been one of my favorite Chinese places in town so I'm sure the food at Yao's will be very good. Can't wait to give it a try.

I haven't eaten at Kasra - can't believe I missed it in all the years I was working a few blocks away at 3100 South Gessner! I'll have to try it and Garson sometime since I haven't visited either one yet. I really like Fadi's on Westheimer. The food is always good when I'm in there but you're right, the cafeteria style service does kill the ambience a little.

The shopping center where Kasra is located used to have a Kroger in the large anchor space at the south end of the center. There was also a movie theater there originally, where Tuesday Morning is now. Hence, the huge parking lot for what's now just a collection of relatively small shops.

I hope they do move here, and they go downtown. No more major companies locating to the far suburbs until downtown's office buildings are filled back up!

The original name of Avenida de las Americas was the ever exciting "Convention Center Blvd."

Maybe the playground will come with the new park in front of the GRB.