sonic0boom

I walked by the World of Beer location yesterday, and it looks really nice. A long bar with a lot of windows that can be opened to the outside. Large patio out front. Grimaldi's looks ready to open .... think they may have been having a soft opening or some event. I wish I could be more excited about D'Amicos ... I've been to both locations and am always underwhelmed. But i'll go to a middling local chain rather than something like Olive Garden any day. Speaking of local chains, a Pronto or Cafe Express would be nice.

I recently used A Better Tripp. Found them on Angie's List and they had 100+ positive reviews. We don't have a new house yet and were just moving our stuff in to storage. The people at the storage facility told me that they were really impressed and took their info in case any of their customers needed recommendations. They have their own storage facility but the rep I worked with said that I could save money compared to their rates just using a local storage and went through the effort to find one for me. They certainly didn't have to do that...

Of course, for those of you who missed this "PSA" when it came out, it should help make it clear why the Alamo Drafthouse is the superior choice: (FYI, contains some foul language)

I think the postcard i got said June 1. That may have been for member previews, though, but it should certainly be in the upcoming weeks.

I might be moving later this year (staying in the Houston area). Has anyone recently sold a home in the area, or if you happen to be "in the know", and can comment on what kind of commissions they had to pay out? Also since i plan to purchase the next home in the Houston-area, I would consider using the same company to buy and sell. I understand this would give me some leverage to negotiate on the commission.... or is that wishful thinking? Any related tips are appreciated. Thanks.

Not enough gables in the design.

Word on the street from one of the guys at BRC is that Liberty Kitchen should hopefully start their soft opening in a month. Kegerator is going in right now. The theme of oyster bar with microbrews and wine is still in place.

Here's a sample from one of their locations. I'd expect the same type of thing. Sundance

I emailed Rob to congratulate him and asked that question. He said a press release will go out once they have a date. I'll post once i get that. If you go to the site, you can get on the mailing list specific to the Houston location.

I figured that the upcoming Sundance Cinemas that is replacing the old Angelika should get its own thread .... I received an email from Rob Arcos the other day that he recently joined on as manager for the new venue going in. He is the former manager for the Houston Landmark Theatres and owner of the late Movies! The Store. I expect some interesting things to show with him on board and am pretty excited with his involvement.

Where's this place? And I'll second you on Happy Fatz .... I liked the mini-cheesecakes (although my wife had a regular slice and thought it was generic). But we got a sampler of mini-cupcakes this weekend, and they were great. We both hate when places go overboard on the frosting, and we felt they used the right amount. Hotdogs are next on our list.....

My Table has this to say: "We hear that Sonoma Retail Wine Bar and Restaurant will be opening a second location in The Heights at 801 Studewood. The new location will have a casual neighborhood vibe, much like Sonoma’s Richmond location. Owners Farrah Fatouretchi and Dr. Kevin Lisman have some unique design features planned for the new project and report that it will have a larger kitchen and an increased focus on food. The planned opening is April 2012." I've been there once and it was OK, but I have to admit that 13 Celsius has set the standard really high for wine bars (just as Catalina has for coffee). Still, i have no complaints about a local wine bar if they use proper stemware (see, i am spoiled).

Update: my wife told me today that she ordered from Dragon Bowl last week while i was out of town and announced "Dragon Bowl is dead to me". Exact words there .... So, maybe they were still in the process of screwing up updating the menu when i went. It's a shame but really if i want sushi, I head over to Sushi Tora, anyway.

CT isn't open yet, but they already have the pool tables inside so I'd expect to see something soon...

I went there after the "reboot" and asked about sushi since it wasn't on the menu any longer, and they said they still have it. Why they took it off the menu is beyond me. Their "build your own bowls" menu is the same and doesn't taste any different (that's what i normally get), but i admit that I was certainly expecting more when i read about the changes that were coming.

Hbcu, allow me to refer you back to the subject of this thread which concerns the building of the Carnegie school. By all means start a new thread to discuss the displacement of low income residents by developers, etc, etc, but I still have yet to see a compelling argument that the school is acting in this capacity. Reading through the number of rebuttals here, it seems clear that Carnegie is a late-comer to the gentrification of this neighborhood (contributing to it, sure, but not the catalyst). So to be clear, is your discussion about the general gentrification of the 4th Ward and the displacement of the older, low income residents or is it about Carnegie's role in all this?

Any mathematicians around to hash this out? Bacon improves food by X. Revival's bacon is Y times better than normal bacon. A cupcake wrapped in bacon (or however else SilverJK likes his paired ) is Z times better than with other bacon or N times better than the food by itself? In all seriousness--and bacon is serious business--it is certainly the best i've had.

I picked up a leg of lamb on Sunday for an Italian stew. When i say leg of lamb, we're talking about 2 feet of leg bone on that sucker. They were kind enough to debone it for me, though. I saved a couple pieces of the lamb before putting it in to the stew, and it was excellent. FYI, they will also grind your meat to order. It would be a pretty expensive make at home burger, but some made from one of their ground ribeyes would be fantastic.

It's also worth noting that Frank, who designed the coffee bar and heads it up, is a former barista at Catalina. The cortado he made me over the weekend was just as good as the one I get at Catalina, so Revival is certainly a good alternate when Catalina is super busy on weekend mornings (they also sell sell the Araya coffee beans).

Do you ever find yourself in one of the following situations: 1) You are in NYC or some big city (or even Austin) and run across some locally run specialty grocer or whatnot and think: "I'd never want to live in this hellhole of a city, but, damn, it's great to have shops like this in your neighborhood that you can walk to." 2) You go to CM of WF here in Houston and think about how much you like shopping there, but also about how much of a pain in the butt it is to shop there. Well, Revival solves both of these problems (i know, life is so hard). You won't find 200 kinds of cheeses or pasta or whatever, but based on my visit yesterday, you can stop by there and get everything you'd need to make dinner. Or to grab chips and salsa and a couple limes for a margarita. Porchman covers a lot of what's there, and there are still lots of empty racks that will be filled in the upcoming weeks. Also, I talked to Morgan for a while (very personable guy) and he is all about listening to feedback from customers on they kinds of things they should carry. Keep in mind that the idea isn't necessarily that everything here is organic or "natural", but that it is local. Not that he doesn't strive for those things, but he knows pretty much all of the producers of his products and they do tend to lack all those additives and preservatives and whatnot in their products. And here's the best part, the prices are generally cheaper than CM and WF. You might spend close to $10/lb for deli ham at one of those places. $6.99 here and he's curing it himself. So, no, I'm not a paid spokesperson ... just a very excited customer. I admit that i am occasionally jealous of my brother in Austin because of the cool, local shops he has at his finger tips. This is exactly that sort of place that has been largely missing here in Houston.

Thanks for the updates. With all the cars in the lot this week, you would have thought they were open already....

My Table reports that the opening has been pushed back a couple weeks ...

You're not making it up, but it's telling that I don't think i even noticed it until this past weekend and that you aren't even sure yourself ...

The link to the article: Chron

BRC does not sell hard alcohol -- just beer and wine -- so it is likely this place will be the same. If that is, indeed, the case, how would it factor in?