Crash

I'd prefer to eat at a mom and pop place over a chain any day (if they were of equal caliber). I rarely if ever eat at the chains. I don't have anything against chains I'm just not particularly impressed by the taste of the food or creativity of the kitchen in most of them. But I'm not going to frequent a mom and pop restaurant that I'm not impressed by either. There are too many choices for restaurants in Houston to return to one that doesn't impress you. Restaurants likes and dislikes are very subjective. Glad you like Jenny's - I don't care for it. I also didn't rank any chains as mediocre in my list -- because quite frankly there are very few that I would consider anything other than mediocre.

Houstonist is another good one

I forgot about Jenni's -- that place is way overrated... good call. Not exactly bad food -- it just really doesn't live up to all the raving people do about it.

I definitely agree with all on the original list - especially Julia's and Mai's. If I had to add three additional - they would probably be: 1. Kubo's (actually I have yet to find GREAT sushi in Houston -- although there is plenty of good sushi) 2. Zula 3. Cyclone Anaya's

There were some posts up on Craig's List looking for staff for the glass wall. I happened by the restaurant yesterday as well -- it looks just about ready to open for business. Can't wait to have a new restaurant in the Heights. Hopefully the ongoing street work on Studewood won't be an issue. Not sure how the parking situation is going to work out for them either.

I've been to The Corkscrew a few times since they opened a couple of weeks ago and have only positive things to say about the place. They’ve certainly put a great deal of work into and it shows. The wine selection is very solid and reasonably priced. Everyone working there is knowledgeable and friendly. It’s definitely worth dropping by. Gretchen – you all are doing a great job. As for a metro line down Washington Avenue -- I've always thought that would be a fantastic idea.

Hey there can be worse things than a mattress store

That's an interesting observation. I tend to agree that 6th street and Beer Island are really not the most compelling destinations, there's really nothing wrong with them, just nothing great about them. From what I read you attribute that to a lack of a "laid back" feel. Out of curiosity -- what would you (or anyone on this board) do to change either 6th street or Beer Island to make them more interesting? I've got no stake in either of those places - just really interested by what makes a good bar a great bar. I know one when I'm there but I'm not always able to expound on what made it that way.....

Yep, the place is open and the food is pretty good. Like any restaurant though they are definitely going through their opening issues -- and then some. We went in knowing that things were most likely going to get messed up (which they did) so it wasn't a big deal. I'm sure they'll get all this stuff worked out in a couple of weeks. But if you're visiting this place, definitely go with some patience. Like Collina's this place is also BYOB - which is a nice bonus....

How good a source is the person you're hearing this from? I definitely wouldn't mind another Central Market - just surprised it would be so far out there.

Casa Manhattan is now called the Thirsty Cactus Cantina. I'm really not sure what name is worse - the former Casa Manhattan (when I think of Tex - Mex, New York City is certainly the first place that comes to mind) or Tipsy Clover. The only positive side to the name Tipsy Clover is I don't think anyone will mispronounce it, unlike another Irish themed bar downtown called Slainte. It's amusing how many people pronounce it "Slanty". Real pronounciation sounds more like "SLAWN CHA" (would almost rhyme with lawn chair). It

I'd have to concur -- the place is not very good. Apparently it's run by the same family who runs Cyclone Anaya's (another place that I've never been incredibly impressed by -- although their salsa is much better than terlingua). This location seems to be somewhat cursed, there have been 3 restaurants in here in the last few years... so far Terlingua has lasted the longest.

Yep, I would definitely put myself in that category. So many bars, so little time.

Anyone else notice that lately in this forum we've had responses from representatives of Glass Wall, Maple Leaf Bar, Darkhorse Tavern, and Corkscrew when the topics have discussed their restaurants / bars? I'm sure there are more than a few others out there. Good to know that the readership is this diverse.......

Gretchen -- thanks for the information. I'm looking forward to trying the place out when it opens. Please keep us updated.

Quick update - Cova has opened. More of a soft opening really -- but great wine selection and they'll start serving tapas tonight. It's a really good addition to the neighborhood.

Well, I don't consider the U.S. as a country that I've visited since I was born here and have lived here the majority of my life. Lived in NY, Louisiana, and Texas but have passed through around 35 - 40 states.

Spain (lived there) Ireland England (lived there) Holland Portugal Germany Italy France Czech Republic Sweden Denmark Honduras (lived there) Canada Mexico Costa Rica Guatemala Belize Columbia Argentina Uruguay Jamaica Trinidad and Tobago Fiscally conservative but socially neutral to liberal leaning.

Well on the HAIF site (outside of the discussion forums) http://houstonarchitecture.info/ShowBuilding.php?ID=90 it says that underneath the downtown Foley's there's a fairly substantial shelter. In the 1960's, the city built a massive nuclear fallout shelter in case of attack by the Soviet Union. The cavernous shelter is big enough to hold 30,000 people in addition to the supplies they need to survive. I have no idea whether this is true or not ------ frankly the 30K number seems a little dubious to me. Might have to call shenanigans on that one. Anyone out there know anything about this?

Looks like Washington Ave. growth is picking up. I've seen several signs for new places recently. Cova (wine store / wine bar / tapas restaurant in Rice Village area) seems to be opening up a store across from El Tiempo in one of the newly built strip mall buildings. Not sure whether it will follow the same format as the one in the village. I also saw a new sign for a place called Corkscrew - had wine bottles on it - so I can only guess it will be either a wine store or wine bar. This place was located further east down Washington not too far from the Dark Horse Tavern. It looks like it will open in a renovated building (which is always nice to see). Neither of these places looked like they will be opening up in the next few weeks -- but it hopefully won't be much further down the line. There's also a sign on Washington (near Heights) for a Maui Wowie smoothie shop. That one looks really, really far off though as the sign is posted on a vacant lot. The street has so much potential.

sorry about that.... I really thought there was a chance you believed those pics were caused by sushi....

I'm assuming you're kidding about that...... but just in case please see the link below where snopes.com busts another urban legend. By the way the link has the pictures referenced above and they're fairly graphic so don't click on the link below if you have a weak stomach SNOPES.COM

I would absolutely recommend midtown if you plan on going out a lot. There are plenty of decent walkable bars / restaurants in the midtown area and more seem to be opening every day. Proximity to Specs is also a big plus. Downtown is very close by rail or taxi and if it's not too hot outside it's not a bad walk. Tons of mid twenty to mid thirty year olds around as well. However, the ability to walk to supermarkets, dry cleaners, stumble to the bars, and grab some take out on foot was the most compelling reason for me to live there.

Has the H Town Diner closed already? I've driven by it a couple of times in the last week or so and it looks like it may have shut the doors. Does anyone know?