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sunsets

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Everything posted by sunsets

  1. sunsets
    2 weeks ago I asked about a bike rack, and one of the staff told me they were working out some permitting thing with the city to be able to put seating outside (along with a bike rack). So apparently that is on the way. And as for this place not thriving? I'm pretty sure it will be a success. Yeah, I can order stuff like this online, but why pay the shipping and have to wait when I can just bike over to Revival and pick it up? Plus, if you don't own an industrial grade meat slicer, even mail order meats aren't going to work in sandwiches. Heights CPA, have you ever seen a catalog from Zingerman's in Ann Arbor? It's a deli, with the cheese and the meat and the bread and some amazing sandwiches that they charge ridiculous amounts of money for, but it has remained immensely popular for over 50 years. Even without their mail order business that place would still be booming. You can't get food there on a weekend without at least a 45 minute wait. People love good food, and they'll stick with the local place if it gives them what they want.
  2. sunsets
    Considering the mob scene at Target and the positive response to their addition of a grocery section, I would expect WalMart to follow a similar model.
  3. sunsets
    I agree on the above. Their work is lovely. They really have the knack for mixing old vs. new seamlessly. There's a reno on our street by this company as well: http://www.wmshawandassoc.com/index.html Definitely a more economical build - they've added a garage and at least one bedroom to a tiny bungalow. Looks pretty good.
  4. sunsets
    Umm, I saw some dried beans? Couldn't really tell what they were, so I guess they were "unusual" They weren't clearly identified, and since the place was mobbed I didn't get the chance to ask any of the staff what they were. They were shelved with the dried herbs and olive oil.
  5. sunsets
    Stopped in here on Saturday to stock up a picnic lunch for a "tour" at St. Arnolds. Wow. This place is doing it right! Everything we purchased was great - the tuscan salami was to die for, the copa and the pancetta also spectacular. Fresh herbed goat cheese was lovely, blue cheese from Houston Dairymaids tasted just like a barnyard (in that awesome way that cheese can). And the bread, oh my goodness, the bread! Slow Dough is a great company. Their rustic round loaf is the best I have been able to get in Houston. (Our household has been known to mail order bread from a deli in Michigan, just to get our rustic loaf fix on). Our out of town friends, who live in Organic Slow Food Central in Vermont,and who are familiar with "actual Italian food in Italy" were highly impressed. Oh yeah, the coffee was great, too.
  6. sunsets
    Westin opening is scheduled for March. Cheesecake Factory is up and running. And they have at least 50 valet spots roped off on the west side of the parking lot. Woe to the ice rink users who attempt to park nearby during mall business hours. There are some very unhappy hockey parents at Mem. City at the moment. The walls of second floor addition to the rink that connects to the sky walk are currently lined with really creepy fake storefront designs. I don't know what the plans are for that space, but the fake stores have got to go. Let kids paint murals or something. Right now all I think about when I look up there is the marketplace from "Total Recall".
  7. sunsets
    Again, I somehow feel obligated to defend those apartments. Probably because I bike past them and/or ride the bus with the people who live there. Sure, the complex is old, but next time you go past it, really look at the place. It's pretty much spotless. I've often witnessed the manager outside picking up trash left on the sidewalk. They plant flowers, for goodness sakes! Compare that to the Skylane on Watson and White Oak, and tell me which one you'd rather tear down! And, for the record, I'm more annoyed that the developer is choosing to replace the apartments with a strip center. Just what the neighborhood needs - another strip center. Because the three sitting half-empty on Heights already just can't keep up with all of the demand for retail space, apparently.
  8. sunsets
    Yep, it's a Westin. Never been inside, but I hatehatehate the outside facade of that hospital. What the heck IS that thing, a spaceship?????
  9. sunsets
    They are installing escalators from the second story of the new Cheesecake Factory addition to the ground floor just to the south of the ice rink (near the CA Pizza Kitchen). Obviously someone is expecting significant traffic flow from the hospital/hotel crossing. Now if they'd just finish up whatever they're doing to the plumbing and get the locker room hot water back on I'd be pleased.
  10. sunsets
    So I lied, I have additional news. The Cheesecake factory construction is also including an addition of a second floor on top of the existing locker rooms next to the ice rink. I've been told there will be a bar/observation area up there. If it does turn out to be a bar, there are going to be a lot of happy adult hockey league participants!
  11. sunsets
    I can't believe no one has picked up on the fact that a Cheesecake Factory is going up in place of the old department store on the west side. That's where the skywalk from the hospital/hotel will connect. So there's your Memorial City Mall construction news for the month.....
  12. sunsets
    Clearly you have never visited my block. We tend to pursue our quest for good-vibe living aided by the generous sharing and consumption of wine and martinis. Makes for some interesting arguments Though not about Wal-Mart! We're all OK with that. However, I don't have a fixie (though I bow to you who can ride one without crashing) and I have long passed the age where I can pull off skinny jeans.
  13. sunsets
    Yes! Absolutely. I was one of those buyers. Of course we wanted a little, charming, beautifully fixed up bungalow with a clawfoot tub and a big front porch. And we got it. But here's a dirty little secret - that big front porch isn't original to the house. A developer re-did a plan-jane boring flat-fronted bungalow and built out a lovely, "craftsmanesque" porch. Which the neighbors across the street somewhat copied when they did their new front porch. And the stone fireplace in the living room? Not even "actual" stone. It's a concrete substitute. Judging from the oohs and ahhs we get from visitors, no one is the wiser. The renovation probably wouldn't have passed muster with the committee, and that would have been a shame. It's a perfect example of a neighborhood-appropriate (though not "historically accurate") fix that improved the aesthetics on the block.
  14. sunsets
    Aw, I'm kind of sad to see the apartments go. I know they are low-income, but that place is always spotless. Flowers are always planted and several times I've observed management picking up the yard. Compared to the dreck that is Skyline on White Oak, they are very nice.
  15. sunsets
    Traffic is WAY better in the loop. Because the streets are grid patterns, not planned communities with one entrance/exit. Backup or accident on one street? Move a block over and drive around. Find different through-streets. Everyone has their favorite option, this keeps traffic spread out. In contrast, go out to Cypress and try to drive north. You have two road options. One is under construction. That's it. Wait in line with everyone else who needs to use the same road to get home to their subdivision. Yes, it's faster to zip around in the suburbs where there are fewer lights, but not if everyone else is trying to do the same thing!
  16. sunsets
    Just curious, because it was a done deal when I moved here, but did the Heights show this much opposition to the Target development? I suppose it was more a Woodland Heights/Norhill issue, since our neighborhoods are closest. Seems to me they are very similar in location and aesthetics. And my neighbors were thrilled when that Target opened. As far as Sawyer Heights, the traffic is pretty contained. Everybody gets off 10, goes shopping, gets back on 10. Not too terrible. It can get backed up during weekends, holidays, but it seems that the parking lot is where most of the traffic gets stuck. I even biked on Watson/Taylor to shop at Target before the completion of the bike path, and traffic wasn't that awful. I have trouble buying the argument that a big box development will kill the Washington corridor revival. Big Boxes don't tend to stray more than 1/2 mile from the freeway frontage. If anything, I'd argue that Washington Ave businesses might do better, if Joe and Jane Wal-Mart shopper decide to go explore the neighborhood a bit and decide to check out some of the eating establishments, for instance.
  17. sunsets
    I certainly hope that the Heights bike lane will be unaffected by the development. This actually presents an interesting issue for me. I hate Wal-Mart. But if the Wal-Mart puts in bike racks, might I actually stop there on my ride home instead of heading over to the Target for the same thing? Yes, I might. However, if they are dumb enough not to put in any kind of bike parking, Wal-Mart will be officially dead to me. Seriously, as far as danger on my bike commute, that new Whole Foods on Dallas and Waugh is going to be a bigger issue than traffic exiting from the rear of the Wal-Mart.
  18. sunsets
    Geez. There's no way I would let "mandatory" valet stand between me and an awesome meal. If I'm going to drop that kind of cash on dinner, valet is nothing on top of that. It's not like you're paying to park to eat at Applebee's. I ate at Ruggles once when I first moved here. It was very good. I've heard the new menu is much more "healthy" and lacks the decadent extravagance that the meals used to have. In other words, it's boring now. Can anyone confirm or deny?
  19. sunsets
    They're definitely expanding/finishing the pedestrian walkway. No sign of building any addition to the mall yet. The new brick crosswalks and street prettifications on Gessner are looking really nice. Hopefully the construction barriers leave soon and there are safer places for people to wait for the bus than the gutter of Gessner! Also, the hotel facade is getting finished as well.
  20. sunsets
    The other big player in this scenario is NIH funding. If that stays as pathetically low as it is right now, I would expect to see a slowdown in new buildings and research labs in the TMC. Heck, lots of labs are sitting empty right now because no one has the funding to hire people to work in them.
  21. sunsets
    Exactly. We already treat tons of people without health insurance, and the hospitals have to eat the cost. One of our bigwigs says it's all going to go single-payer eventually, but we'll see. Reform isn't going to stop patients from needing hospitals, nor is it going to grind research to a halt.
  22. sunsets
    I make weekly treks to Memorial City to play Saturday night hockey, so I can tell you this: Nothing has happened to the Mervyn's site, either. The pedestrian bridge still goes nowhere. Gessner is all torn up between the hospital and the mall. The empty storefront of the former Sun and Ski shop is still there, unused. The mall is constantly packed every Saturday, however.
  23. sunsets
    Get out there and apply!!! You can worry about which company is best when you get multiple job offers! For the record I know several PhD geologists who came to Houston to work for Big Oil. Most are with Shell, and the advice that Mark Barnes gave about Shell pushing for continued education is right on. It seems like a more "academic" style environment there. The Exxon guys are well-paid, but seem more stressed. Just what I've observed.
  24. sunsets
    I should really stay out of this, but, here goes... Why are you so angry about this, TJones? I don't think anyone was expressing sympathy for the jumper over the people he left behind. When I was a student in my 20's, a co-worker committed suicide. I remember being SO angry that he had gone and done that. How could he put his wife through that? His friends through that? I guess he was just "weak-minded", wasn't he? But you know what? He wasn't. He had a substance abuse problem. He faced up to it, he got help, he was getting his life back on track. That took guts. But on one night, just one night, he slipped. He slipped long enough to drink a lot of wine and pull out the shotgun and end it all right there. And years later, that is what upsets me the most. He almost made it. Only the strong should survive? We're not exactly running from sabre-toothed tigers anymore. If someone breaks an ankle when they step in a pothole should we just blame it on their weak bones and not treat them? Let them lie on the sidewalk and the pigeons can have at them? It's the same thing with mental illness - there are physical changes in the brain in clinically depressed people. Good therapies can help lots of these people, and save them (and their loved ones) from tragedy.
  25. sunsets
    We've purchased major appliances at that Sears a couple of times over the past year. It's nothing fancy inside (pretty much your standard 90's Sears remodel) but the staff have always been helpful.
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