tanith27

I can go to Messina Hof and buy wine at the winery, so I should be able to go to St Arnolds and buy beer at the brewery. Attention politicians: this is not rocket science.

During my weekly breakfast burrito trip to the Houston Tamale Factory on the SE corner of Studewood and 11th, I was informed that the building has been leased to a new tenant so they will be looking for a new home in the next couple months. Apparently the new tenant will be along the lines of a wine tasting venue, so I suspect they'll have quite a bit of renovation to do on that corner before it takes on the appearance of a cozy wine place.

My dad currently works at Tripler Army Base and he's okay with it too.

The Gumbo Shop on St Peters and Alpine on Chartres. Both about 20 yards from Jackson Square. Gumbo Shop doesn't make it every day so check with them and see if its on their menu. Mr. B's Bistro on 200 Block of Royal (part of the Brennans clan) is highly recommended too, not just for BBQ shrimp, but everything. I used to live in the Quarter and these were the places I'd frequent. If you like this spicy shrimp, then I can't recommend enough going to Gumbo Shop and getting a shrimp po'boy during one lunch. Its not your classic dressed sandwich, but a hollowed out loaf of french bread stuffed with sauteed and spiced shrimps, much like what you get with BBQ shrimp (no heads or shells of course!). Its amazing and at about $8 one of the best deals in the Quarter too.

When I lived in NOLA we had them quite a bit. No alcohol, but it was the same shaved ice format that you see in North Shore Oahu (for those that have been). I prefer the Oahu ones as they add ice cream and a whole bunch of other cool items to the snocone. Its like eating a fluffy snow compared to most of the snocones I grew up with which were very granular crushed ice pieces. i.e. they were crunchy. A good snowball is not crunchy.

I cycled most of the trail yesterday and was dissappointed to see the graffiti artists had already spray painted their sense of 'humor' on the trail by the train trestle (your last pic, Porch, good thing you didn't show all of it). Whoever Geno's mom is, she is not friends with the taggers.

Just saw this in a chron article. New Bullritos coming to Shepherd/Washington area. "He opened the La Porte restaurant in September and plans to open 10 more Houston-area Bullritos in the next 18 months. The next location is planned for Shepherd Drive near Washington Avenue." http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6421432.html

Website updated: now includes Sport Clips, Nail Salon, Dentist. http://www.propertycommerce.com/flyers/flyer44.pdf

My WTF moment involves booking a flight to the Bahamas. To get there you have to go thru Miami and then catch one of those little island hoppers. So I look at prices on the website for IAH-Bahamas and it says Flight A to Miami, then Flight B to Bahamas for a total of $800rt. Okay, then I look at booking the EXACT same Flight A to Miami first, then Flight B to the Bahamas second. Bear in mind, this is the exact same planes taken when I book IAH-Bahamas, this time I'm booking IAH-MIA-Bahamas. Final result? Less than $500rt. Weird.

During the groundbreaking they said completion was August, although there was a general acceptance that this would be done well before that. The next phase of the trail, which will take this on towards UHD, is supposed to start in the fall. Not sure if that is still the plan what with money being tight and all...

Hi, yes, I'd like to have my flat tire fixed and a couple Hail Mary's to go. Thanks.

I'll do a shameless plug for my site here too: www.heightsbeerclub.com Join the group on Facebook as well if you want to get the invites to our small gatherings. Art Car Parade coming up May 9th, Great Taste of the Heights May 16th, and Happy Hour coming up May 20th.

Last night I was on the back deck overlooking the neighbors yard and saw their cat and chicken playing a game of 'chase' with each other. They seemed very comfortable with each other.

Hmmm, maybe that explains the chicken strip special at Cedar Creek...

Its possible, but the kitchen is wide open for viewing and they had all the raw ingredients out and were actively cutting them up and making food when I went. I suspect since they didn't have a facility during last LITH to make these on sight, the chef could have pre-made them. Nothing I had suggested it was anything but fresh, and the fried shrimp was most certainly made on the spot. The only thing I saw that gave any indication of a prepared food was the sausage used in the jambalaya. That was store bought. (and wasn't andouille either). There's some great Texas sausages out there, I definitely think they could buy locally for that.

I've seen them before on White Oak, but not actively congregating at Jimmies. Maybe they had a good happy hour? I see chickens fairly often walking the streets over in the Woodland Heights. At first I had to do a double take thinking to myself, 'was that really a chicken I saw on the sidewalk?'. After living here for a few years, they give me a good chuckle and I just chalk it up to the oddball charisma that is the Heights.

Yeah, I was there for opening lunch on Friday. The food is really good. I had a fried shrimp po'boy w/ spicy fries, my friend had fried green tomatoes and jambalaya. The po'boy was really good, fresh bread, about 5-6 decent sized shrimps. Fries were adequate, like other spicy fries. The jambalaya was really tasty, but for $8 we only got a small scoop. Expensive for just rice. I HOPE that was a mistake as they had literally just opened and everyone was trying to figure out their place in the greater scheme, so I hope we ended up with a smaller portion that what should normally be served. The menu is limited now, no crawfish on weekends (yet). No Abita beer (whats up with that?). No bread pudding. I suspect those will come in due time, they just have to get used to things. I'm curious what others thought, but its a great addition to the hood imo.

I agree, its a mess there, but what's the alternative? Cavalcade has 3x the dirt and 1/2 the parking. And with the USPS coming out saying they will run out of operating money this year, I dont suspect the Heights PO will get a makeover anytime soon.

I thought this slightly appropriate given the content here.... http://www.hotchickswithdouchebags.com/

It looks pretty cool on Google Earth too, except the roads have long since given way to vegetation it seems...

I haven't heard any real news in decades. Today the 'news' programs are all filled with opinions and spins. Very rarely do I hear anything reported without a bias attached to it.

Big Mamou: not open yet Bedford: been twice and really liked it. The portions aren't large at all, but the quality of the food is A+. I've heard many complaints about the service there, but the both times I've been its been very attentive. The noise levels aren't nearly what Glass Wall is and the price level is fairly comparable. Textile: haven't done that one yet.

I'm looking for live bugs too, so thanks to all for the responses here. As an aside, a buddy of mine went to Mardi Gras Grill thinking they'd have good crawfish at a good price. They were $7/lb and he referred to them as 'plankton'. So I'd go elsewhere.

I read that the budget approved yesterday for rail did not set aside anything for the Intermodal. So I guess it's still a long way off?

LA is #1? Gosh, with the constant funk that hangs over that city, I'd sure hate to see what it would look like if it didn't have any green buildings.....