albertnurick

It hasn't been mentioned here, but Sirenuse has already shut their doors.

Grimaldi's seems to be the sanitized, franchised stepchild of the legendary Grimaldi's pizza in Brooklyn: http://www.grimaldis.com/ http://www.patsygrimaldis.com/ They do list a Woodlands location, coming soon. If they're anything like the original Brooklyn store, I can hardly wait.

We looked in East Shore, and the prices that were being asked for townhomes was, to me, absurd. The prices would have been high for a prime inside-the-loop location. I feel bad for the folks who are buying these places; they'll be taking a bath when they decide to sell.

I've had to put Smashburger on my short list. They're a chain, they're from out of state, but they make a very good burger. The list: http://www.yelp.com/list/houstons-best-burgers-houston

They're in Beck's Prime territory in terms of price; I've yet to find a chain that comes close in terms of quality. We'll see how they do.

That's the one I frequent, but the Woodlands to Willowbrook is not a quick drive.

As a foodie, there are a few things I'm embarrassed to admit I really like. The McRib is one of them, as are Jack in the Box tacos. We need a whole new category for these things, delicious non-food foods.

Yep. Landry's bought the Grotto, and ruined it. It's gone from excellent to truly mediocre. But there's good news on the horizon. Tony and his son Jeff are opening a new upscale casual Italian spot on West Grey and Shepherd next year.

Beck's Prime is #1 for me. But it's almost too upscale to be considered fast food. Freebird's is my go-to burrito place, even though there's not one nearby. But a little birdy told me they're coming to the Woodlands in 2Q09. Up here in the Woodlands, Culver's does a superb job. I'm a Whataburger fan, but Culver's edges them out for an excellent fast food burger. But in terms of something that's everywhere, Chick-fil-a is my #1 choice, followed by Jack-in-the-Box (love the tacos, even though they're not actually tacos).

Hubbell & Hudson did buy up the Black Walnuts... sadly, I think they've gone downhill since the acquisition. As far as the other rumors, I find the idea of a Ritz-Carlton tough to fathom; I don't think we have either the business or tourist traffic to justify it.

Hi, Ceilene - This was shortly after I moved in, probably in 2005. At the time they had an office on Research Forest. As far as I know, it's gone now. - Albert P.S. If anyone has run across Treehouse plans, please PM me or e-mail me at albert@nurick.com . Thanks!

When I moved into Trace Creek in 2004, I began a quest to get plans for my home. I called Life Forms - they were no help, saying they didn't keep plans for homes built over 10 years ago. I then called the Woodlands Associations, to see if the plans were on file, as they're supposed to be. Nope. So I hit a dead end. If anyone has plans for a circa 1989 Treehouse, the largest plan with the upstairs office, please drop me a note.

I see why our vet is opposed to it... it looks like it goes right through her office.

My short list: Amici George's Pastaria Spaghetti Western La Baraonda Carrabba's (Kirby and Voss locations only) Damian's IMO Da Marco is overrated.

If you can't compete with Chili's and Applebee's, you deserve to close your doors. And that's what happened. Like many folks, I'd not been to a Bennigan's in years, and had no plans to do so again. I month or so ago I passed one, and wondered how they stayed in business. I guess I got my answer.

I believe it. When I lived in Austin, there used to be one of these crane machine games at the Chuy's on N. Lamar. Apparently it wasn't rigged properly, because we were able to get a prize out almost every time. We spent about $5 and came out with an armload of stuffed animals, succeeding about 4 out of 5 times.

1. Talk to your bank (heck, several banks) and see what you can get preapproved for on a car loan. 2. Nail down the price first, before you even think about monthly payments. 3. After you've got your price, and you know what you can do on a loan, then talk to the dealership's finance guy. If he can't beat it by a decent amount, go with the bank. If you're really smart, you learn that you can often sweeten the deal if you'll agree to crappy financing. If the purchase price drops a bunch (and it can) do the deal. Then immediately go to your bank and refinance the car using the preapproved deal you made in step 1. In Texas, there is no prepayment penalty for auto loans, so it's 100% legal. Whether or not it's ethical is another thing entirely, but IMO it's just karma coming back on the auto dealer. It's also great sport. One more thing: Extended warranties. On a vehicle, DO NOT buy them from the dealer. Huge markup. Google around, and you'll find some podunk dealer in a small town who will sell you the factory extended warranty (never, ever buy a third party warranty) for $50-100 over his cost. Normal markup is 100% or so, so you'll be saving a nice chunk of change.

So how does it compare to Beck's Prime? Culver's? Whataburger? IMO those are the three best chains operating in Houston, and Beck's is head and shoulders above any other fast food burger I've ever had.

The best deal I ever got on a car was when I bought a Honda Element a few years ago. Dealers had a LOT on the ground, so I simply spent half an hour on the phone, and spoke with a salesman at each dealership. I asked for his best price, and I told him that I was aware they had inventory, and so did everyone else, so the best price wins. Best that came back was $500 under invoice, so I told everyone that and asked 'em to sharpen their pencils and try again. Three were able to beat that price. I ended up paying about $1000 under invoice, and spent a grand total of an hour and a half doing the deal.

Car dealerships are incredibly unethical. And it seems to be pretty much universal; I'm always amazed when I run across someone who's even reasonably ethical in one. And I've been buying cars for a long time. That being said, once you understand the game, it can be a very entertaining experience. Let's be honest: If you're reasonably bright, you aren't going to be a car salesman, so once you learn their tricks you can thwart them and actually get a good deal on a car. Pay sticker? LOL. Sticker price is a joke. I suppose you go to hotels and offer to pay rack rates for your room?

OK. The important thing to remember about car dealers is that "invoice price" is meaningless, no dealer pays invoice price for cars. They all pay considerably less.

I tried the 1960 location soon after it opened. It was not a good burger. It wasn't even a good weird burger, a la White Castle.

Bellaire HS class of '81 here -- I frequented Meyerland most in the 70's and early 80's. Brown's was actually in the Maplewood center, down Beechnut from Meyerland Plaza at the intersection of Hillcroft. Brown's was actually a five and dime store, with (as you walked in) toys ahead and to the right, and sundries to the left. Maplewood was a classic 50's and 60's strip center, with an air conditioned public space in front of all the stores. Brown's was near the middle of the center, near Dr. Wishnow's optometry shop and near the fountain that later was drained and finally removed. Maplewood went downhill after Braeswood Square opened a mile or so away, but it was still there as of a year ago. It's been redone a couple of times.

nm5k: Yep, that's the place. I remember all the kitchy stuff on the walls, and the link looks like the right spot. Now that you mention it, I remember my parents saying something about a fire. Bunny Meyer. Yes, that was him. Weird how you instantly remember things you've not heard for 25 years.

Until Dubai rids itself of repressive religious fundamentalism, it's not going to become a tourist attraction.