moni

I know that we have talked about this before, but TLC does a great job of promoting all that is good in Houston with the two series, Big Medicine and The Little People. The cameras always show such flattering shots of the city and these shows are on every week for the world to see.

Yeah Spider, listen to Gary. Give it a rest and shut up already. If you can't offer anything constructive to the conversation or to the promotion of Houston you should just tune in and drop out.

We don't need your stinking negativity! You aren't part of the solution. You're part of the problem.

Actually, the Dome would probably make great sound stages. Ever been to Culver City?, same sort of thing, but the Dome is prettier. Hollywood is losing it's movie industry. Even our small NM town has had some movies made here without all the great resources of a great city like Houston.

Reminds me a little of the original Knotts Berry Farm in Southern California. It has grown to include everything imaginable. Actually, I saw this topic discussed on KVIA El Paso several weeks ago when the reporter interviewed the mayor of Tomball about it.

we always skin after freezing. maybe people just do it differently.

Well, I have never tried that. Maybe I will do that this year. It sure would speed up getting them into the freezer!

Moni, I have been talking with people from all around the country, and Hatch peppers seem to be readily available just about everywhere. So, I figured that the Greater Hatch Growing Area must have a 200-mile radius.

I buy into the Hatch phenomenon and extol their wonder even knowing, or believing that. But, the thing is, and at the least, Hatch (or whatever passes for Hatch) peppers are just as good if not better than Anaheim peppers. And for the cost of “Hatch” peppers, it’s still a great deal no matter what.

Actually, at $1.29/pound, Hatch peppers are a bit higher than they were last year due, I’m sure, to their popularity. That’s still a good deal. And you can find then occasionally for 99¢ at some places.

You are right about the price! Today, Walmart had a 20lb box of green chiles for $19.99. We normally pay approx. $14.00 for 20 lbs. You can get, mild, medium, hot or hot hot. Oh yeah, we always get the hot hot, lol. That 20 dollar price is seems too high.

half of what i got is for my mother. she's on the east coast and only has access to the canned stuff. what you do is freeze it after roasting (or blistering) it for use throughout the rest of the year. most of the time,after freezing it, i just pull out a small amount, skin it, and sprinkle it with garlic salt and eat it like that on sandwiches or for breakfast with eggs and/or roasted potatoes. you can chop it up and eat it mixed with regetables or rice. as mentioned, green chili stew is really popular in new mexico. it's just a basic potato stew with lots of green chili. here in texas, you have a king ranch chicken that you can use it in. you can use it for chili rellenos (my father's favorite). use it wherever you want, really. just play, and mix the flavor with the flavors of other foods.

as for what it's about, i can see how it looks like it has sort of a cult following. i think it's just really a part of the identity of new mexicans. it's involved with so many memories and food is such a basic part of our lives. combine that with the fact that it's hard to get it anywhere outside of new mexico, and, therefore, you really associate it with that place. it may not be the best food on the planet, but i really like it, and if i can get it, i do. i lived on the east coast for years, and went without it (except when my aunts would sent it) so it's a real treat now that i can get it again.

Most of the "Hatch" green chiles are grown right here in my town of Deming. We have the largest Chile processing plant in all of NM. "Hatch" has become a label, is put on the cans right here in town. That said, Hatch does celebrate annually with it's chile festival (not chili). All the markets here in town have large chile roasters in their parking lots, including Walmart. We never freeze them until we have taken the skin off. Roast, skin, freeze!

Good stuff and they do freeze beautifully.

Thank you very much. I really enjoy looking at all the faces of Houston.

Works for me.

Our local newspaper is running an Ad for small business owners to celebrate the # of years they have been in business, I am pretty sure this has something to do with the SBA. Anyway, the background for the Ad is the old Enron Towers. Very cool pic but I don't see what this has to do with small business. I expect this Ad to appear around the country with no credit to Houston.

Nope... just pointing out that out of the 5.6 million people in Houston, only 200k (max) use the downtown tunnels on any regular basis. Yet the time when most Houstonians travel to downtown is outside of business hours... for Rockets and Astros games, to visit Disco G, or to go to the theater district. There are people downtown, but they only have acces to half of downtown's retail base. It's just not smart business for the city or the downtown workforce.

AGAIN I LIKE THE TUNNELS... what I don't like is how they encourage downtown's retail base to only operate during lunchtime and business hours. Houston's tunnels are one of the coolest things about the city.

Please don't shout, we hear you.

I didn't know that Kroger was big in Houston. Today's Chronicle says that Wal-Mart Supercenter has surpassed Kroger in market-share. I thought that Randall's and H.E.B. Pantry were the two most popular supermarkets in Houston.

Years ago several of the Kroger stores in Houston changed to Henke-Pelot, but I can't find that information any place.

I just listened to a wsj.com podcast and a guy was talking about the "big" and "small" airports in los angeles.

LAX is the "big" airport, with Burbank, Ontario and John Wayne being the smaller airports. Lots of traffic at all of these.

FWIW, I remember a time in Houston when the city considered building all municipal buildings with NO WINDOWS, because of the cost of keeping cool in the summer. They were to have fake windows on the outside.

Times Square NY, NY..hmmm - how many of you have been to Tokyo?? Do you realize that the entire Times Square Area is just a fraction of the size of the entertainment district in Tokyo? I'm wondering if the people in NYC visit Tokyo and then come home and complain about the small area of Times Square? There is always someplace bigger and better.

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A minor accident led to a chase and a second wreck in southwest Houston.

According to officials, two cars were involved in a minor crash near West Bellfort and South Post Oak. One of the cars apparently didn't stop and the other driver pursued him. A METRO bus was sideswiped during the chase. No one on the bus was hurt.

Eyewitnesses reported the two cars involved in the chase were shooting at each other. Police have not confirmed that at this time.

That's about the worst news report I've ever read. Anyone hear anything else?

flipper

I can't even imagine "cars" shooting at anything, lol.

"I have heard from a few people that this place was haunted? Any stories or possible disbeliefs?"

If so, the ghosts are downtown workers who actually ate the food. It's pretty ghastly (ghostly?) - sort of Campbell's soup over pasta.

I have eaten at the Spaghetti Warehouse in Newport Beach, CA, St. Louis, MO., and Ontario, CA - All were excellent with yummy food. Seems odd that Houston would have something so "ghastly"?

I was there, it was a lot of fun!

The burger I had at the "lake house" was good too, and not too expensive, but the line was pretty long.

Great picture Jax, thanks.

Interesting show on the discovery health channel. It is set in Houston at the Methodist Hospital and follows doctors and patients in their quest for bariatric surgery. Always nice shots of Houston.

http://tlc.discovery.com/tv/big-medicine/about.html

My thoughts on the reasons behind Downtown and Midtowns problems.

1. Houston has plenty of room to grow so there is no need for high-density living. High density living is not usually by choice but neccesity.

2. People in Houston do not have the same attitude as people from other large cities like NYC, etc... Living in an apartment in Houston has a stigma attached to it. Parents and friends keep asking "When are you going to buy a house?" People of all social classes live in apartments in NYC.

3. Most people when given the choice of having a large 4 bedroom house with a big yard and an hour long commute vs. a townhouse with a short commute will choose the first. That's not my personal preference but I find that I am in the minority on that one.

4. You can live and work in Houston for years and never even go downtown and a lot of people like it that way. For many people the only time they go downtown is to pay a ticket or get a friend out of jail. It can be a very confusing place to someone who only goes there once a year, with one way streets and trains crossing all over the place.

5. Homeless. Who wants to buy a house where your wife has to pass by a vagrant on the street when she walks the dog? You have to get rid of them to get the average family with small children to feel comfortable.

In another thread about a new office building in the Energy Corridor someone commented about how much nicer it would be if this building was put downtown. It just struck me as kind of naive. Why would they want to build downtown? There's just no good reason I can think of for an engineering related business to build there. Most people in the energy business live in Sugarland, Katy and The Woodlands. For many of them the energy corridor is a shorter commute and most of the people who work in the business really don't want anything to do with downtown anyway.

You have absolutely nailed it! I think it is a good thing that Houston has the land and space for people to live their lives the way they choose. Choice is one thing missing from NYC, try finding a single-family residence with a big yard in a decent area there. Houston has a pretty DT and high rise living is available to those who want it, but really families want more than just a place to live, they want a child-friendly, pet-friendly community. DT living is basically for singles and childless couples.

Exactly! Those haifers who want downtown Houston to be a hot club/restaurant scene just don't get it. No place in the United States has that scene unless you believe that Houston can compete with Time's Square NYC or Las Vegas, NV.

In the Houston Business Journal today:

http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/stories...63&ana=e_du

New construction near downtown Houston... it's a shanty town under a billboard. Have any of you ever seen anything like this before? They were actually constructing a new structure as I watched! I saw at least 4 people in this shanty town.

Free rent! lol

Why Cant Houston get a damn W Hotel!!!! Its #4 in America an no W! but on the flipside Miami an Vegas just got theirs this year an those are very fashionable vacation spots, but that is besides the point I guess aloft is striped down W hopefully it does well an we get a W!

Possibly because Miami and Las Vegas are popular convention destinations.

This my sound like a dumb question, but if none of you mind, humor me. With all the new towers proposed, what keeps these firms from just building one or two 80-90 story towers?

Houston needs at least ONE iconic building and I think that is a way to do it. Im all for density, but I think you can make density by putting stores, bars ,or what have you in DT. Also, with the sudden willingness to build residential towers DT, the density will come. So again, I ask, why not 1 maybe 2 80-90 story office towers?

Second, what keeps developers here from desinging something iconic (just in design, not height) here in Houston. We have more than enough boxes. What wiil it take for someone to come in and just totally redefine the Houston skyline?

Sounds good, like the Arch in St. Louis. Doesn't serve any real purpose, but defines a city. You can see it for miles too, so you know...see the Arch and think: St. Louis!