albertnurick

Yep. Landry's bought the Grotto, and ruined it. It's gone from excellent to truly mediocre.

But there's good news on the horizon. Tony and his son Jeff are opening a new upscale casual Italian spot on West Grey and Shepherd next year.

Hi, Ceilene -

This was shortly after I moved in, probably in 2005. At the time they had an office on Research Forest. As far as I know, it's gone now.

- Albert

P.S. If anyone has run across Treehouse plans, please PM me or e-mail me at albert@nurick.com . Thanks!

Hey Albert Nurick--If you read this!!

You stated that you contacted Lifeforms Homes--was that

"recently"

I thought that they went out of business (or something of the sort)

Is there anyone "left from the company" around these parts?

If so---do you have their telephone number?

I tried calling information---nothing

Any help you could give me is appreciated!!!!!!!

You're correct - those townhomes are really awesome. I also like the Stone Mill/Stone Creek Courts projects, though they don't have the same "woodsy" Life Forms contemporary feel of The Arbors.

I would LOVE to see copies of their plans from Trace Creek, hands-down my favorite enclave in The Woodlands. I'm still devastated that LFH went out of business.

When I moved into Trace Creek in 2004, I began a quest to get plans for my home. I called Life Forms - they were no help, saying they didn't keep plans for homes built over 10 years ago. I then called the Woodlands Associations, to see if the plans were on file, as they're supposed to be. Nope.

So I hit a dead end. If anyone has plans for a circa 1989 Treehouse, the largest plan with the upstairs office, please drop me a note.

I have been posting on this Krystal Burger thread for 4 years now, and no sign of them coming yet. Does any one have any info on it? We need a new fast food place down here. I wish something like Carl's Jr would come to this area, or Taco Bueno, or In N Out Burger. I thought Houston was getting a Fat Burger in that Target center?

I tried the 1960 location soon after it opened. It was not a good burger. It wasn't even a good weird burger, a la White Castle.

Bellaire HS class of '81 here -- I frequented Meyerland most in the 70's and early 80's.

I loved this place in the late seventies because there as a toy store there called "Brown's Toy Store" and they would get the new Star Wars figures in faster than any other store in Houston.

Brown's was actually in the Maplewood center, down Beechnut from Meyerland Plaza at the intersection of Hillcroft. Brown's was actually a five and dime store, with (as you walked in) toys ahead and to the right, and sundries to the left.

Maplewood was a classic 50's and 60's strip center, with an air conditioned public space in front of all the stores. Brown's was near the middle of the center, near Dr. Wishnow's optometry shop and near the fountain that later was drained and finally removed.

Maplewood went downhill after Braeswood Square opened a mile or so away, but it was still there as of a year ago. It's been redone a couple of times.

nm5k: Yep, that's the place. I remember all the kitchy stuff on the walls, and the link looks like the right spot. Now that you mention it, I remember my parents saying something about a fire.

Bunny Meyer. Yes, that was him. Weird how you instantly remember things you've not heard for 25 years.

Near the train tracks; anyone remember this place? (I'm not 100% sure about the name; it could have just been "Mel's". My parents referred to the place as "Mel & Bunny's"; I think Bunny was Mel's partner or perhaps his cook.

Mel's Bar B-Q At 4113 Willowbend Blvd.

Edit:

The one over on Beechnut? I used to go all the time back during high school. I missed my cheese melts when they closed.

Right across Beechnut from Meyerland Center, at the end of the strip center, across the parking lot from the carwash.

Great place. "Zappo's _andwich Land", IIRC, the S was missing for a long time. I think my parents got tired of my wanting to go there; Schlotzky's is a pale imitation, of the Zappo sandwich.

Where the heck do you get off thinking that TW is setup as anti-social? Our neighborhood on Wynnoak was overly social to a fault. Whenever my wife and I were working in the front yard inevitably five or six neighbors would come over to converse. Others would bring their dogs to play with our dog. Their kids would be playing football, baseball or soccer in the street. Before you knew it there were 10-15 people milling around our driveway and we could never get anything done.

Maybe the exception is the megabuck gated areas, but that is only a small fraction of the neighborhoods in TW. Actually I can only think of three gated neighborhoods here. Why does everyone assume/accuse that every neighborhood is megabuck?

I think TW has done a great job of developing the COMMUNAL bike paths, the COMMUNAL parks, and the COMMUNAL areas of Town Center. Plus every village has their own little COMMUNAL shopping center where you run into your local neighbors. How is this not promoting community?

I think most of these criticisms come from urbanites who object to the Woodlands on principle. When we're out in the neighborhood in the evening, we invariably run into neighbors, and end up talking for an hour or two.

IMO the Chronicle is a perfect example of why newspapers in America are failing.

Any bozo with a web site can republish AP stories these days. If the Chron doesn't do original reporting, it's worthless. We're in the fourth largest city in the country, and the heart of the world petrochemical industry. Why can't we have a first-class newsroom?

The "neighborhood" sections are pretty good, and allow someone to get truly local news. That's a plus.

The reader blogs make me cringe. They range from fair to dreadful. If you find a journalist with a Houston bent in the blogosphere, hire him and put him on staff. Without a good editor, what's the advantage over a generic web site?

(I base my comments on the chron.com web site. Does anyone actually read the dead tree edition?)

P.S. I am really tired of the weekly litter that appears in my driveway, tossed from their van. I don't ask for it, and I don't want it.

Christies, the old one on Bellaire Blvd.

We went to this place all the time when I was a kid. Great fried shrimp. Oddly, I heard recently that this wasn't associated with the "real" Christie's.

Great game last night (we had wonderful seats, right by third base, four rows back).

We were loving the offense -- it's been forever since I've watched an Astros team that could hit the ball. And the baserunning was excellent as well; they took risks that payed off, which is another thing I don't remember seeing in the past.

Looks like 2008 may be a fun year. I like what I'm seeing so far.

I went to Pier 21 with my parents regularly; it was "their" seafood place. Jackie was our waitress.

The Polynesian doesn't ring a bell, although we did frequent Albert Gee's PolyAsian on S. Main.

Pier 21 was on Fannin, just down from the bayou (I think), and The Polynesian was on the northeast corner of Sage and Westheimer... and Wyatt's Cafeteria in Highland Village... and the drive-in (like a Sonic) that was just across the tracks from Highland Village, the north side of Westheimer (west side of tracks) that had orange striped awnings? (I'll be surprised if anyone remembers this one).

We live in Trace Creek, and love the neighborhood. Safe, quiet streets, lots of kids in the age group you mentioned. I really love Lifeforms; a pity they went out of business.

Treehouse is what Lifeforms called the homes with the primary living areas upstairs. Our house has the living room, dining room, kitchen, breakfast room, office, master suite, and sunroom upstairs. Downstairs is the den and the other three bedrooms.

I see these post go back to July 2006 but I'm hoping to get some more information as we are actively looking to buy.

We plan to move from Houston to the Woodlands NOW. The things I want/need of the Woodlands are: a house on a greenbelt (or very wooded), neighborhood with lots of kids (ages 6-12), not too far back into the woodlands, quiet from street noise, and great schools for all levels. Lifeforms seems to be the right fit for the living in the trees idea. I don't see the point of moving to The Woodlands and living in a typical builder house.

We have been looking in IS,CC,PC. I like some houses in Grogans but worry there are not young kids around. I like Trace Creek a lot and I'm also drawn to the area around Bear Branch Park. Let me know your thoughts of areas to look at. People always refer to the "treehouse". Is this the most popular plan of lifeforms? Is there a way to search for lifeforms on the market now? I see the one on windstar... Parrothead seems to know how to do this.

There have been many good posts but special thanks to Parrothead, Bachanon, and Arch Daniel for the insightful comments. I look forward to your thoughts and ideas.

Thanks, archidave

This saddens me; it's my absolute favorite house in Houston. I grew up in Meyerland, and my parents knew the folks who built the house; they attended several parties there. They always referred to it as "The House of Formica"; I guess in the 60's Formica was a space-age product. I remember going through the house once as a child, and being amazed by the huge round room. What a truly unique space.

(I actually looked into purchasing the house before I moved to the Woodlands, but the $700K+ asking price seemed more than a little absurd.)

I heard a similar tale when I did a story on the Balinese Room shortly after it reopened. They attributed it to the original Balinese room:

http://www.thedeliciouslife.com/feature.cf...y=16&Page=9

Yes, I knew Phil. He passed on several years ago.

Speaking of Margaritas, here's a bit of trivia about the origins of the Margarita.

Santos Cruz stands behind the mahogany bar at the

We prefer modern. We almost always end up buying from Finger's.

Nice furniture, good prices, good service. We had one bizarre incident with an entertainment center; it was damaged out of the box, and their warehouse staff opened up the 15 other identical models they had -- all were broken. They ended up giving us the floor model at a discount, after fixing (without being asked) a tiny chip.

Ikea has some nice stuff as well, although some of what they have is pretty junky.

I liked Cantoni at first, but upon closer inspection, it's very stylish cheap furniture. At those prices, particleboard should be a no-no.

If you want serious modern furniture, Roche-Bobois is a wonderful place. But it ain't cheap.

Across the Street

I remember going to a burger place in the late 60's or early 70's where you phoned in your order from the table. It was called "Round the Corner". Your phone rang when your order was ready to be picked up. I think it was on Hillcroft...Food was great. I went to one in Denver a few years ago and I think they are still doing good business..

"Expensive" seems to be the word that most of the new urban fans forget. Look at Midtown, look at the Woodlands Town Center, and the common factor you see are some of the highest rents in the area. Thus the retailers who are attracted are those who can generate the revenue to pay the rent. You won't find funky little boutiques or small, quaint restaurants.

Instead we have a mix of upscale stores, upscale restaurants, and a theater. Not a bad thing, but it does tend to bypass George Mitchell's vision of The Woodlands as being a place for those at all income levels. Fortunately the Woodlands isn't all a new urban fantasy world.

The Woodlands is a very successful hybrid. You have real neighborhoods where people know each other, and have yards for their kids to enjoy, and room to park their cars, and houses that range from affordable to extravagant. You have parks and nature trails. You have a lovely faux downtown, albeit an expensive one.

But does this ever happen with New Urbanism? Has anyone looked at home prices in Seaside, Florida lately? Two million dollar townhomes. Cheap housing is a one bedroom cottage... for 1.4 million. Other listings: 1,500 square feet for 2.3 million. In a small town out in the middle of nowhere, Florida.

Speaking of La Pavillion ... is Tony's still around? Remember it was somewhere on 'the Boulevard' too? I never ate there (always heard how expensive it was/is).

Tony's is in a new location in Greenway Plaza, and it's a gorgeous building. The food is still amazing. And in an odd coincidence, my company built web site:

Tony's Website

Does anyone remember the name of the "upscale" Chinese place on Post Oak north of Westheimer (not Hunan). Uncle Tai's maybe?

Uncle Tai's Hunan Yuan. Upscale chinese, notable for their HOT dishes. Mid 80's, if I recall.

I love this thread. I was fortunate enough to have parents who loved to dine out and took me with them, so I tried many of these great places before I was old enough to really appreciate them.

Someone mentioned the Velvet Turtle; wasn't that off 59 just outside of Hillcroft? I remember going there with my parents, probably late 70's or early 80's.

Another place I've not seen mentioned was La Pavillion; IIRC it was just inside the Loop over near Post Oak. First place I ever had bearnaise sauce.

The photo of Los Troncos was amazing. Anyone have one of Albert Gee's Poly Asian? We were regulars there; the mynah bird up front was an old friend of mine. LOL.

In my quest to move from a 60's semi-modern Meyerland Ranch, I looked all over the Houston area. I wanted a real mid-century modern house, but didn't like any that I could find and afford.

I looked all over the area. The instructions to my agent were to find something truly interesting. If it was too weird for most of his clients, I wanted to see it.

I'd not been in the Woodlands for a decade, and drove out. The first homes we browsed were a new Lifeforms subdivision - the houses were tiny, but I instantly fell in love with the inspired floorplans and amazing use of space. I ended up purchasing a LifeForms Treehouse, circa late-80's, in Indian Springs. The back yard backs up to a greenbelt, and it's got a half-dozen 80' trees, and countless smaller ones. Almost all of the non-landscaped parts of the yard was covered in flagstone, creating a park-like atmosphere.

The interiors are wonderful. Pecan floors had been installed, lots of ceiling fans, and more windows than I've ever seen in a production house. I had to change my style a bit; mid-century seems to harsh for this house. Fortunately, Danish Modern works very well - Lifeforms put in a great deal of wood detailing, including some gorgeous hardwood cabinets and built-ins.

Here are some photos. (The interior shots are from when we were looking at the house - the furnishings are NOT my idea of attractive. LOL.)

Restaurants I miss:

Los Troncos (built in/around a huge tree)

Rice Hotel Coffee Shop and the downstairs cafeteria

Pier 21 near Braeswood and Fannin

The Red Lion on S. Main, north of Braeswood

Kaphan's

The Polyasian on S. Main, south of Braeswood

Alfred's on Stella Link

Trader Vic's on Gessner, near Westheimer