goastros

She attended Cypress Creek Christian Church previously.  Then after her marriage she started attending a traditional Lutheran church.  In her early adulthood she attended a Methodist church.  

She used to belong to the singles group at Cypress Creek and they would go out to lunch and go on trips.  I'm not sure what other activities they were involved in.  Once she met her late husband they started working on a property investing business so she hasn't gotten to do regular activities for a while (hence the need for a new church home and a new circle of friends).  She loves reading and she recently got a dog (her late husband was allergic to dogs so she had been without for a while).  We're trying to get property mgmt companies set up for her properties so she doesn't have to be burdened with the day to day operations of those anymore.  But, that leaves her with more time on her hands.  She's a wonderful caretaker so she enjoyed working in the ministry at her old church visiting people at the hospital.

Well, I should clarify that I grew up Catholic and I don't want to go back.  Since I'll be going with her, I get a say in what the final decision as well.

I've put Immanuel Lutheran on my list to try.  Thank you. 

Thank you.  I will definitely take her by to check out a sermon there.  I had previously marked it off the list because we tried attending there years ago before the new pastor was appointed and we didn't care for the speaker.  We already tried St. Mark's on Pecore but it didn't feel like home.

My mother in law recently moved to the Heights area and I'm trying to help her find a new church home.  She's a senior citizen and I'm looking for a church for her that has an active senior's group that goes on trips, goes out to eat together, etc.  She's open to just about any religion except Catholic.  We've tried a few already and the congregations seemed really small.  We were looking for a mid-size congregation for her.  Small enough for her to get involved but large enough that she can find a variety of friends.  Thanks for any recommendations.

I wanted to love BB's because I've never tried them before and I wanted a good cajun place closer to home. Their fried catfish was wonderful and we tried the appetizer that sounded really disgusting to me (but ended up being terrific). It was the french fries covered in cheese with roast beef and gravy. I would have never tried it if my husband hadn't ordered it but they were really good. The cheese tastes a lot like rotel mixed in but even with a canned product the outcome was good.

I finally tried the gumbo because that makes or breaks it for me. I have to pass on the gumbo. The veggie chunks in it are just not right. Gumbo should have all that stuff in it but it should be cooked down and you shouldn't be eating chunks of it in the gumbo--the only chunks should be the seafood, chicken or sausage. I'll have to keep with the Mardi Gras as the only place in Houston that sells gumbo the way my mom makes it (ordered with an extra cup of rice of course). My whole family is from Louisiana and Mardi Gras is the only place that I've found that makes a gumbo with roux the way I've always eaten gumbo. Too many places make their gumbo in a creole style that I don't care for.

I'm not crazy about Mardi Gras for any of their other food but their gumbo is the tops. If anyone has a suggestion for a better place for gumbo I'd love to try it out.

De

I just sent Corporate an email thru their website begging them to reconsider their location off of Washington and instead consider the area surrounding Northwest Mall. Northwest Mall has been on a downward spiral for years and if that was torn down to make a mega Walmart I would definitely shop there. It's not in the historic area but is close enough to 3 freeways to make it a convenient location to shop. I would love a Walmart nearby without causing all the fuss of people who do not like them in their neighborhood. I don't think they would encounter any problems with the community if they would consider that location.

3 Hermanos Grocery & Grill @ 6500 N. Main:

this is a fairly new grocery convenience store and hamburger stand. The people that work there are incredibly generous. Going in there can be a throw back to the hippie days of the 60s. The employees are always, let's see how to put this, happy? I stopped once right to ask if they happened to have a plunger for sale (have you tried to buy one of these at 3:00 in the mornin?) and they looked for one to lend me when they didn't have one to sell.

The guy that works at 3 Hermanos hit my vehicle while trying to pass me on the left on 24th St. He tried to collect from my insurance company and gave me a fake insurance card. He is a low life. Would never step foot in this drug infested establishment--bunch of crooks.

I've passed by Chatters--what kind of food do they have?

We're right around the corner from Kojak's as well but I wasn't impressed with them.

We recently visited One's a Meal over in Montrose--they are fabulous. We have the Greek salad with gyro meat on top and it is the best gyro meat ever!

Have you tried Cavatore's? It's Italian. There's also a pretty decent Italian place over off 290 in the same parking lot with Black Eyed Pea--Fratelli's.

We've been meaning to try El Rey over off Ella but haven't made it over yet.

I can't help you with the sushi--we don't eat that. Let me know if you explore anywhere new.

I used Mike with Harvard Heights and I thought his work was excellent. We didn't have him build a garage apt, just the garage. If we had wanted it shelled out for a garage apt cost would have been $24K total (which included the upgraded roof we picked out). We had him shell out the garage and we insulated and sheetrocked it. You could save considerable amounts on getting him to shell it out for you and then slowly get the tradesmen in yourself to to electrical and plumbing. You can keep a permit open indefinitely while you work on it. Then insulate and sheetrock yourself. We just threw the board on the walls and had someone come in an tape and float it which saved us tons on labor. We rented the stand from Lowes that hoists the sheetrock in the air to attach to the ceiling.

Mike can be a little flakey but he has the building of garages and garage apts down to a science. He has very little waste with his projects. He had our garage built in a week and that was with having to do some minor changes in the concrete work to pass inspection. He does all the design work so it cuts down on the costs. It's hard to get ahold of him because he does a lot of business. His cell is 713-857-9688 if you have problems getting him to call you back.

Wild Wild wings is on the other side--sort of on the opposite side of 18th from Foodarama but before you reach Queen Burger if you're heading toward 610.

Thanks for the review on Chachos--I'll have to talk hubby into doing the drive-thru.

We love the shredded beef tacos at Chachos--just wasn't sure if the one off Tidwell was as good.

Let me know about the wings place (especially if they have the boneless chicken that they'll dip for you). Hubby is reluctant to try any new places unless he knows someone hasn't keeled over from eating there.

We drove by the old place on Hempstead (Live Oak Grill) and it looks like they might be building a Brick House pub there (like the one on 290). I don't think it's open yet but the one on 290 is. The Live Oak Grill was wonderful to sit outside but their hours were terrible.

Not exactly in the Heights, but has anyone tried Wild Wild Wings on 18th Street near W. T. C. Jester? I see it in the strip center but couldn't find any reviews.

Also, has anyone tried the new Chachos on 45N at the Tidwell exit? We go to Aunt Bea's a lot for breakfast on the weekends and saw it there. I love the one over on the SW side but it's a lot of traffic to get there.

We just moved from Sunset Heights to Lazybrook and went from being zoned from Helms to Sinclair. The reviews on Sinclair on greatschools.net are just ok.

We were thinking of using Trinity Lutheran for private but I don't know how good they really are. Any ideas on really good rated private schools? I work downtown so anywhere from the loop to downtown works.

If you live in the Heights, where do you send your kids to elementary school or where do you plan for them to go? Public--which one, private--which one?

I hear lots of people say how much they like Creme de la Creme downtown for day care but I wasn't sure what they did about school once they reach that age.

That's one of the reasons we stopped going to Java Java--our toddler is up at 6:30 on the dot and I really don't want to listen to whining until 8:30. Plus no kids menu. We're fixing to move closer to the loop so we'll give Frank's a try. Anyone know how it compares to Aunt Bea's?

If you try out Java Jave definitely get the croissant and the breakfast potatoes. I think they open at 8 on Sat and 8:30 on Sun. I've been there for lunch too and it was pretty good.

Also not in the Heights but close enough for us to make the drive is Aunt Bea's at the Tidwell exit off I-45. It's in the same shopping center as the Ponchos. We love their omlettes and their hash browns are wonderful. The biscuits are hit or miss. Their pancakes are great too. Service is always friendly. They don't have a kids menu but they do sell al la carte and the regular breakfast servings are so large that we never have a problem feeding our toddler off our plates (and they'll automatically bring you an extra plate).

I've also heard raves about the veggie omlette at Spanish Flowers--I'm not a fan of veggies so I can't recommend either way. We used to go to Java Java all the time but the service is so spotty and sometimes the food quality is spotty. I also hate how they cook their bacon all on top of each other and it's one giant mound that you can't separate when they bring out your food. You also have to get up and get your own coffee most of the time.

I work in that building and at first I thought it was ugly, but if you really take a look at the design and the materials, it is a really high end building with a lot of thought put into the materials and workmanship. The interior finishes are beautiful--matched pieces of limestone on the walls, granite all over the lobby, including the exterior plaza, beautiful gardens with japanese maples and azaleas. Most of the office interior walls are made of metal and they provide you with magnetic hooks to hang pictures, coats, etc. No holes in the office walls. It's a classic.

Does anyone have a picture of it further away so you can get an idea of the entire facade facing the street? Where is the garage in relation to the front of the house?