heights_yankee

This sounds cool. But the name has Allan Parsons playing in my head now...sweet

and now mine as well. thanks for that

Note to self, Waffle House better at hash browns than Lola's

anywhere has better hash browns b/c these weren't hasbrowns. it was hash. silly counter boy didn't know the difference

but it was tasty. pork products make anything better

Ah, beat you to it!

http://www.houstonarchitecture.com/haif/index.php?showtopic=21833

hmm... well, between being the world's best mom, heights blogger extrodonaire, wife of the millenium and superior role model for modesty/humility, i don't have time to read the traffic forum

I love mustard. Spicy brown and horseradish are it for me right now, but when it comes to sausage poboys or hot dogs it has to be cheap yellow. But yeah, on topic, I agree that an expensive sandwich deserves better than packet condiments.

and to add- this is part of why i believe Bedford did not do well. the service was far too casual for the price point. i know gadsby wanted a casual environment with good food but service still has to be up to par. look at cafe rabelais as an example. excellent food and you can definitely go there in casual dress (even with kids **gasp**) but the service matches the menu prices.

saw this last week just west of Vietnam, 19th @ Shepherd. not open yet and no phone listed. google turns up a location in conroe. all knowing HAIFers have any clue?

sign says breakfast, lunch & dinner.

i think these are all really good comments. while it's great to delicate flower about it here, everyone who has comments needs to call/email the restaurant or post on www.b4-u-eat.com so the owners will see it. when i had to bring my bacon back to the counter last weekend, the owner (blanking on his name) was working the line. he said to me "if you're ever not 1000% [sic] satisfied at any of our restaurants, you need to let us know." i should have told him to read HAIF.

again, the that's what she said-ishwebsite is www.eatlola.com

i toss a buck in the tip jar but do not tip generously for counter service. it's insulting to someone who hustled plates for 10+ years to tip someone who stands there, and as pp mentioned, doesn't even know their menu.

when i asked last weekend what kind of "hash" they had, i.e. corned beef or something else, rather than saying he didn't know, he told me it was just "hash brown" which surprised me since they also have b-fast taters. so, i ordered it. it had bacon in it. some of my judgy vegetarian friends would have gone postal if that had been their plate. these are the kinds of things people should know.

just got this from another Heights mom today:

Beginning at 9 p.m. Friday, crews reconstructing the 610 North Loop between Ella Blvd and I-45 will be shifting traffic on to the eastbound lanes of the freeway, and onto the outside shoulder.

I just spoke to the TXDOT central engineers office and inquired as to what the project entails and the duration. Here is what I got.

This project is the resurfacing of 610 North Loop between Ella and 45! The footprint of freeway, including the bridges and frontage roads will stay the same. The whole project will last at LEAST until December 2011!!

1st phase, which begins with this weekend's closure, will take about 7-8 months. They are switching the traffic on the north-side to the far 3 lanes. This will allow for resurfacing of the middle section of the freeway. During the 2nd phase, this same traffic-flow will switch to the middle 3 lanes, allowing the closed area to be resurfaced. Again, this will take 7-8 months. The final phase will be the south-side traffic moving to the center lanes and then resurfacing those final 3 lanes. The project also includes resurfacing of frontage roads. There was some unclarity as to when the frontage roads would be worked on - something about it depending on the flow of the rest of the project.

Also, all closures are subject to change due to inclement weather.

My suggestion is to STAY AWAY FROM 610!!

Noticed house moving equipment beside the house on the NW corner of Heights and 11th. I believe I recall that a strip center was proposed here. People, let's get some zoning to stop this kind of intrusion into the Heights. Please.

latest is the strip center will not be happening. http://www.houstonarchitecture.com/haif/index.php?showtopic=21841

Walked acroos the street last night and ate there... They had really good food with good service. The prices we really steep for breakfast and lunch but were very reasonable for dinner (at least for what they were offering). They are supposed to finalize their menu in the next few weeks. Who know, maybe we will see prices drop.

yeah, i thin it's strange that their bfast prices are almost the same as their lunch and some dinner options. eggs are cheap. maybe they know breakfast will be their boom?

AtticaFlinch needs to get in touch with reality. Houston would need 2000 plus HPD officers in order to visit every car theft, and don't call the police for a minor accident. I would much rather them be responding to high priority calls.

while i agree that police do not need ot make my car break in a priority when i know that there are home invasions and arson happening, this is very bad advice. by all means, report any and every crime.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33017602

Looks like the trio were "working" near 11th & TC Jester! Way cool the mailman & retired cop helped catch the perps. Kudos to Roy & Tommy! Everyone needs to keep watch since it appears to be the best (only?) way to stop crime in our hood.

with their baby. they should get extra time for that!

The original plans for the corner of 11th and Heights have been scrapped. The big blue house is being moved over one lot to the north. A new house will be built on the corner. The strip center is no longer part of the plans. This is a good outcome.

That is an excellent outcome indeed. Of course that house is on the large side. A carefully crafted addition and renovation could have brought big money without splitting a lot. But, no need for me to sound ungrateful that the original plan was cancelled. Another house is definitely the lesser of 2 evils.

What's going in on the corner of 11th and Studewood?

Lance Feagan of Glasswall is putting another restaurant in there.

lol

Apologies. I tried to search and did not turn up the original thread for this topic...

Looks like the project at the corner of Heights and 11th has started. The historic house is being moved to make room for another strip center. While I think this is a ridiculous project, I am still curious as to what the the new strip will look like. Anyone have a rendering?

I also heard from a friend who lives on that block, that the person breaking in was completely wasted, and was pretending that he thought it was his house he was breaking into...not of any consequence, but it was his attempted cover story.

I agree that the number of families in the Heights has exploded. Why, on my block alone, we've gone from 1 of the 20 households having children to 2. That's a 100% increase right there, from 5% to 10%.

All kidding aside, I am not sticking up for the restaurant that lost an order. However, during my years of restaurant ownership and management, families with toddlers were not our target demographic. They eat less, drink almost nothing, and often times make a huge mess. It's not that we did not like families, but our favorite customer consisted of 4 adults who drink. They fill up the table, spend a lot of money and do not make a big mess by demanding free crackers and throwing them all over the floor. Our next favorites would be couples or parties of 6. Families with toddlers ranked fairly low, just ahead of loud groups of teens.

None of this has anything to do with what initially annoyed me, which was the statement by the poster that pregnant women and families are entitled to better service than the rest of us. Now, as a single white male who smokes, drinks, and doesn't go to church, I am comfortable with my position at the bottom of the food chain, and I ask for no consideration, but as one of my mother's 8 children, I just feel like saying if she didn't ask for any special consideration (and she didn't), then you moms of 1 or 2 shouldn't either. But, at least now I know where the kids get that entitlement attitude from.

I will now await the wrath of one child moms everywhere.

you're not going to get the wrath from me. i don't think i deserve better service than anyone else.

i think the stereotype has changed. in this neighborhood, at least, families are a little more spendy and quite a bit more foodie than they were even during the 10+ years i was in the industry. i know when we go out with our friends and their kids we drink (we may only order one bottle of wine but it's going to be a good one), order food for everyone at the table, clean up after them and tip well. if we don't clean up after them, we tip even better.

and no one wants to live with kids on your block because they're scared of the giant flaming ball.

This seems to be a contradiction.

The demographics seem to contradict as well. Nearly 75%of the households in ZIP code 77008 have no children.

77008 demographics

i can see how it does seem contradictory. i would like to see more items on the kids' menu but 3 or 4 choices is not a deal breaker. if i'm not in the mood to order my kids one of their 4 choices, i have no problem sharing or ordering an adult meal and taking 1/2 of it home. i would just like to see more small portion choices, especially since the atmosphere is definitely kid friendly and this restaurant will definitely have a strong family clientelle.

unless "houston heights expert scott rose" has gone door to door in 77008 himself, i would guess these numbers are from the 2000 census. i am willing to bet those demographics will change quite a bit when 2010 numbers are reported. consider that heights kids group has over 600 participating families. admittedly, about 20% of those do not live in the heights but half of that 20% do live in montrose, rice military and other close neighborhoods. most, if not all, of these families do not have children over the age of 9. in fact the group has only existed for 6 years, so those with kids older than 9 in the heights probably do not even participate and those would be the ones in 2000 census figures. in my small circle of existence alone, i have had 2 children since 2000. i was at a baby playgroup on thursday with 22 moms of kids under 6 mos old. on my block, there were no children when i moved in to my house 5 years ago. now 4 households have children and 1 is expecting. 2 other households were expecting and moved to larger homes in other parts of the heights. but i live in 77009.

ETA: has anyone else questioned their choice of web address? www.eatlola.com

went today for lunch with my **gasp** baby and unruly toddler.

kids' menu is lacking. i would like to see more than 4 options(and before you make nasty comments about how i should keep my kids at home, Lola will have families there. all.the.time. non-kid friendly patrons will be the minority and by catering to families, the restaurant will always have business).

husband's chicken salad was incredibly dry but the fries were very good. on the salty side, as someone else mentioned, but that's how i like them so they were good for me.

i got the steak & onions sandwich. YUM! order came out wrong the 1st time, but they were apologetic and proper dish came quickly. i was worried that it wouldn't be good because i can't eat cheese right now (damn kids again) but it was super juicy and the onions were sweet. had the side salad- house dressing was very good but the salad was too plain. lettuce only. dice up some tomatoes and hearts of palm. that would be great with the semi-sweet vinaigrette.

like others, i am really looking forward to the dinner menu in the next couple of weeks.

^^^ i think there really is something to be said for that. my block has some pretty irregular hours between the married ballet dancers, the guy who photographs bands, the DEA agent, and the young couples who still have a social life. in large part, these comings and goings are why i feel very safe on my street.

i am talking about the norhill esplanade between temple and melwood, which is not a defacto dog park. as far as the other area, i understand that it has been that way for a long time and we always enjoy walking up there to see all the dogs. however, a medium sized dog from the esplanade got in to it with a large dog on a leash a few weeks ago, yanking the woman who was walking the large dog on to the ground. the dogs didn't actually fight but it could have gotten messy with only slightly different temperments. i would hate to see a dog get in trouble because its owners are not paying proper attention.

i do think the heights is ripe for a BARC park (which could be a whole other thread) but i almost think the city would never do it because there is enough outdoor space here vs somewhere like the one by the galleria...

The Chronicle has now done a more in-depth piece, with addresses of the fires, details about a suspect, etc.

did anyone else read it like this: the guy they questioned at the 1st fire was possibly NOT kept in custody and could have lit the 2nd fire 2 hours later? it said they questioned him as a person of interest but not that they arrested him... just curious.

i'm an animal lover and dog owner, but i hope this curbs the unleashed dogs in the area.

2 days ago i was walking with my sons (4 mos and 2.5 years) carrying the baby and the toddler was on his scooter. on the norhill esplanade a woman had 2 very large dogs (pooping. she did pick it up, to her credit) that were not on leashes. my son was very disappointed that we couldn't go over and toss the ball as planned but with a baby strapped to me in a sling, i can't take the chance that a 50+ lb dog will chase the same ball my son is chasing or not appreciate the beauty of his high pitched toddler screams and have it end with a boy being hurt and a dog being euthanized.

leash your dogs, people!!

the person definitely lives around here. or works, at least. one of the things about arsonists is they get the high from watching it burn. that's why the guy was only a couple blocks away this morning. i hope that second fire was enough, and excuse the pun, to really put a fire under the investigation. it's like he was laughing at them.

my husband's money is on the chupacabra.

I stopped by on Sunday night and chatted with the operator of Lola's. Looks like they're going to try to open up tonight or tomorrow.\

He handed me a menu and it looked pretty good-- upscale diner/comfortish food (can chilean sea bass be comfort food?)

Looks like it'll be hard to leave under $15 even for lunch. However, if the food tastes as good as the descriptions, it'll be worth it-- some tasty sounding menu items are there. It looks great on the inside and will have outdoor seating under shade and fans!I'm going to try to check it out later this week.

this is key! i am so looking forward to it.