Disastro

There was an Alfie's listed at 3301 S Shepherd (at Branard) which may be the one brucesw mentioned - it was rebuilt and is (was?) an MRI clinic.

It looks like you can tell what is still an Alfie's freestanding building by the half-timbering..

Other Alfie's from the 1970s and 1980s were at 74 E Crosstimbers near Fulton like Specwriter mentioned (now a seafood market but the half-timbering design is still there), 7525 Bellfort (near Telephone, across from the Fiesta, now a car lot), 3452 Ella (just north of 34th, same strip mall), 7229 Fondren (just south of Bellaire Blvd. - gone?)), and 10025 Long Point (just east of Gessner, now a Taco Stand?).

Here is the streetview of the Alfie's in Texas City:

http://maps.google.c...2,222.81,,0,5.8

I remember the Alfies on Shepherd...

I miss Hamburgers By Gourmet.

Those were scrum-dilly-umptious!

Especially the one with the chili on it.

That's funny, but I don't think UHD students will laugh. I stand by Houston City University.

Yeah...it was funny to me.

That's all that matters, fool. I don't give a rat's behind what they think!

If they don't like it, they can put on their red and white Coogah "big girl panties" and get over it.

How about University of Houston "City Center" (or Center City)?

Generally not significantly different from 'Downtown', but emphasizes the city/urban aspect as well as center/central aspect.

Also may help eliminate confusion with the primary flagship UH campus, which some may consider to be "downtown" as well, but probably not the "center" of the city.

How about:

Bayou Shores University (BSU)

Allen Place University

The Allen Institute

Or since the train runs alongside it...

Metro Station University

University on Rails

Any takers?

I didn't think so...lol!!!

Wasn't everything?

Tru dat!

Oh, I remember Gatorade gum! Seemed it was only around briefly. I used to get it from the corner store in my grandma's neighborhood. They also had Dr. Pepper gum. They were both good.

They had several scattered throughout the mall.

Ahhhh, Gunspoint...

I remember it back in it's 70's/80's heyday. Used to hang out there quite often! It was safer back then.

Dis

UHDT needs a new name about as much as Houston needs a new sports stadium -- which is to say not at freakin' ALL!

Actually I heard on the news that the Dynamo would be out at UH's Robertson Stadium today working the POD there (just as the Rockets team did yesterday).

No more stadiums!

Refurbish the Astrodome and make that work.

Let's recycle.

price's hamburgers were on wirt road just below long point...

the mexican restaurant was panchos mexican buffet...they opened in the mid-60's next to palais royal...the buffet was $1.49

monterrey house was on wirt road next to fed-mart...

western kitchen just around the corner from fed-mart had the BEST bbq...you could watch the meat being sliced for plates and sandwiches and they had the biggest baked potatoes...

If I remember correctly, there used to be a Panchos on Bellaire Blvd...that's the first one I remember...

And Uptown has at least a half dozen of them, the multiplied like a plague in 5 years.

Oh yeah, I've noticed that...ugly...

No need, I doubt you'd find anyone in Houston that thinks that building looks good. I know I whine and complain about low density projects, especially strip centers. But regardless of how tall this condo is, this one is butt ugly, the project stinks, and really, whether it was 4 or 2, they really should have just built them all for symmetry. The condo tower looks ugly, and looks even more so by itself.

Shame on the developers for not doing their homework and scaring the skyline with such an atrocity.

Stained urinal indeed.

I just don't like that style of architecture...not sure what you guys call it -- but all these crap buildings with the curved rooftops with pastel colors and chrome is just going to scream "late 1990's, early 2000's" in a few years.

I see it in schools, skyscrapers...lofts...you name it. Well, I'll name it: UGLY.

There's nothing timeless or aesthetically appealing about this style. It's butt-ugly. And I don't know what possesses these architects to copy each other and reuse this style over and over in this city.

It's gross!

Well it's either a blessing or a tragedy, the second "stained urinal" will no longer rise. The second condo tower is officially cancelled. WaMu bought the empty lot next to the existing tower and is building a typical bank. They already broke ground.

I think they should paint the sides and back to look like white puffy clouds with a blue sky on a sunny day. Wouldn't that be a hoot?

Oh wait...that might make a flight hazzard, huh?

There still is a Tookies in Seabrook. Their burger isn't really my taste but they are always packed and people who grew up in the area when they come to visit tell me the burger is just like they remember.

We used to get my dad cheesecake on is birthday at a bakery called How Sweet It Is.

Every Saturday my dad and I would go to get Big Toms at The Kolache Shop while my mom and teenage brother slept in.

When we first moved to Houston my brother liked this pizza restaurant that had a moose head on the wall. My mom thought the Pizza was good and we went there every friday night while we were getting settled in. The only think I remember about the place is being terrified of the moose.

And when we went to Galveston we always stopped at a po boy shop on 65th that closed not long after I moved back in 2000. Can't remember the name of the place but they were great po boys and they had a tomato based Gumbo. I got to eat there one last time before they closed... which was awesome... just like I remembered. But my favorite part about them was the owner. When my parents split up my dad and I went to Galveston every weekend that first summer and then didn't go back for about a year. We walked in a year after having been there and the guy looked up and said, "Hey you left your sunglasses in here last time you were here." He went into the back and brought out a pair of my dad's prescription sunglasses which he had in fact left there a year before.

On the way home from Galveston we'd stop at the Flying Dutchman in Kemah which is still there but undoubtedly owned by the Landry Corp as is probably Jimmy Walkers which was mentioned a couple of years ago in this thread. But there is one on the upper floor of Landry's. Take the stairs. It's more upscale than Landrys.

I'd have to say Burger Chef...The Cellar Door...Shakey's Pizza...Monterrey House...Del Taco...Farrell's Ice Cream Parlor...to name a few.

Unfortunately, Applebees is still around to fill the void Bennigan's has left behind.

Mediocre food and service and lots of it!

Oh...and if you like roaches -- might I recommend the ever-wretched "Golden Corral"? Too bad Marvin Zindler was in his declining years when this chain became big because they could keep him busy 24-7.

Lame...and nast-eeeee...

Every GC I ever went to -- the bathroom looked like the toilet exploded and puked up toilet paper!

Disgusting.

I'll never step foot in a Golden Corral for the remainder of my existence on this Earth, I'll tell you that!

I made the point earlier that newspapers should be biased. That's the whole point of a free press. The two best newspapers in the US are biased (in different directions) and make no bones about it. The Economist is biased, and quite proudly so, and it is the best news weekly bar none. I'm not worried about the editorial pages if the rest of the content is done well. I wish someone could explain what was so terrible about being biased - editors are entitled to have opinions.

Where the Chronicle fails is that it makes such an effort to not be biased that it ends up as nothing at all so as not to offend. Hence the dumbing down you mention. Maybe if they stopped being so paranoid about being biased the quality could improve.

That's all well and good, but the paper isn't presenting itself as political commentary overall -- it's supposed to be a "NEWSpaper" (emphasis on the word "news"). Editorial and commentary is not news -- although they have a page dedicated to that and not just one POV there. News should be presented as fact without a bias. It should be factual. The way the Chronicle words it's articles many times, it's clearly NOT objective and in-depth reporting. What they present are often cookie-cutter syndicated articles or, again...articles based on some facts but skewed to fit their political agenda.

But, ya know...I wouldn't care about their bias if there was an alternative paper out there with an OPPOSING bias. There isn't. At least not one that is printed locally.

People complain about Fox News and an apt comparison would be if you didn't like Fox News but that's the only news network you could get -- I doubt anyone would be protecting the right to be biased under those conditions. But with regard to network news, you have the option of CNN, ABC, NBC, and CBS.

However, in Houston, there is no mainstream alternative paper that espouses an oposing ideological bias.

Ah well...as I said, I get my news online now.

Also construction on Interstate 37 was help up until the fair was over and it now covers the western portion of the fair site.

I'm still looking for pirtures BTW. I have several boxes to go. I know we had some because I remember seeing them.

Hint to all of you with elderly parents: Get them to go through all their crap with you before they die. I'm having difficulty wondering what is worth saving and what is just crap. My brother and sister could care less.

I've got the guidebook from the fair. I'll scan some pages and put them up here. HemisFair has long been of historical interest to me. I was sorry to see they changed area so much from it's original layout. I wish the monorail and skyride were still there at least.

I don't like it.

I'm a conservative and I find the paper WAY too left-leaning for my tastes. Way too many syndicated articles -- and I used to like the Zest and concert reviews but the Zest has turned into a kind of People magazine and I have yet to actually read a review for a concert I have attended (recently). Section A is pretty much a waste as it's 90% ads.

I guess the sports writing is still decent, but I am not willing to subscribe to the paper or buy one for that.

At any rate, I find internet news sources more in-tune with reality and more in-depth than the Chronicle could ever hope to be at this point. If I am going to get my news from biased sources then I'd rather it be more in line with my values and belief system.

The Chronicle is a joke. My wife reads it, but I have no use for it.

Back in the 70s I worked on San Felipe just outside the Loop and there was a Yamins/Stephanos (can't remember which) just inside the Loop on Westheimer. I can't count the number of times we'd go there when we were working late, sometimes sending one of the crew to pick things up, sometimes taking a break en masse. I can't remember ever trying a po'boy so I can't compare but Mandola's Deli on Leeland @ Cullen will heat their po'boys and of course they do a meatball version. They're part of the Mandola family restaurant empire.

Yamins had great pizza! I would rank them right up there with Valians or Panjo's.

Okay, I did it. Tried out Griff's in Denver for lunch today. Really a good flavor to the burger. In a way, reminded me a bit of the Bellaire Broiler Burger. I will go back!

As for Del Taco, they came into Denver about 2 years ago. They are okay, but I don't see the attraction of tacos and french fries together.

HA! Yeah, I never got the fries (although they do sell hamburgers to go with those) -- I liked the burritos.

I agree fries and burritos are two great tastes that don't go great together.

Wow! Great stuff, Schwinn! You are DA MAN!!!

I remember those little loaves of bread and getting a new map every summer when I spent the day at Astroworld. Parents would drop me and a friend or two off -- we'd spend the day riding the rides, sweating like pigs...and oh yeah -- scoping out all the hot chicks! Parents would pick us up after the fireworks display in the evening (which I thought was one of the best displays around). Ahhh...those were the days. I don't think I'd drop my kids off anywhere like that now -- the world has certainly changed since those days.

I dig this site...really brings back the memories.

PS: Brent Spiner, the actor who played Commander Data on Star Trek: The Next Generation (a graduate of Bellaire High), was an actor on the Crystal Palace show at Astroworld.

This might jog a few memory cells. A 1970 Houston time capsule.

Schwinn! Did you put that together? NICE WORK MAN (whoever did it!)!!

Whoever put that together had a lot of nice reference photos to work with.

My hat is off to you/them.

Dis

Panjo's today -- two not-so-convenient locations to serve you (unless you are travelling to Rockport or Corpus!):

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Revi...port_Texas.html

http://www.boorah.com/restaurants/TX/corpu...337517A75F.html

Restaurants I miss (that apparently still exist in other states):

http://www.hsalt.com/

http://www.deltaco.com/page4.html

Ducho's Steakhouse just off N. Shepherd.

Alfie's Fish & Chips on Ella

The old Monterrey House Restaurants.

Butera's.

Dirty's on Shepherd.

I used to like H. Salt Fish and Chips...anyone remember those? The fish and chips came wrapped in paper that looked like an old newspaper.

I remember Alfies, but don't recall eating there...

This photo of the dome is awesome, but it's no good for showing Playland park. You are right, Playland would be out of the frame of the photo, to the left. In this photo you are at the south east of the dome looking north west. You can tell because you can see downtown, and the Shamrock in the background. The street at 9 o'clock on the photo is Murworth, heading due west from the Dome.

Playland would be south of what you can see here, at 610 and Main. Since you can't see 610 from here, you can't see Playland.

It could possibly be just left of the photo but I don't remember it being there opening day in April of '65

Regarding Goony Golf, we went by there once long after it had been razed. It must have been sitting vacant for at least 10 years. We found a golf ball. Amazing....

Hey RhinoVP: I remember the "Clock of Texas" from Sharpstown mall. I'm amazed that I never hear anyone talking or asking about that.

Here is a picture!!! I wish someone would post a video with sound of it.

Man! I had forgotten about that clock!

Very cool pic! Talk about a blast from the past...