Omar2bar

Our wrought iron fence needs some repairs. Does anyone have any recommendations?

For clarity, I'm wondering if anyone has a company they recommend that does wrought iron work. I'm not seeking ideas on how to fix it myself.

Our wrought iron fence needs some repairs. Does anyone have any recommendations?

I just saw a post online that a new dessert shop was openning at 512 W. 19th St., in the same strip as Collina's and Penzey's Spices. Can't wait to try it.

http://fredeatshouston.typepad.com/wwwfredeatshoustoncom/2009/11/dessert-shoppe-opening-on-19th-street.html

Saw a liqour license app for the old Salud! winery space (end of the 2-story yellow strip mall next to Dirk's). It is shown for "Shade Cafe & Bakery"...presumably related to Shade in the Heigts.

Does anyone have any info on this? Haven't seen anything on the Houston food blogs.

I don't think it's related to Shade in the Heights but in case you're interested, the owners of Shade are opening a restaraunt called Canopy in Montrose.

http://blog.cleverley.com/2009/11/05/claire-smith-announces-new-restaurant--canopy.aspx

Cool thanks.. I didn't make the connection with it being the same location. Didn't know they had upstairs dining.

Looking forward to checking it out.

There's a post about Stella Sola on the Houston Press blog, Eating Our Words...

http://blogs.houstonpress.com/eating/2009/11/tripletail_stella.php

Well, it turns out that Archie (the former owner) has been in Asia somewhere for the last couple of years. He was back in town a few weeks back, but said he was going back to whatever country he was hanging out in. He claimed that he had the stores (11th Street, Sports Lounge, Prive) being taken care of, but we all know that has not been the case. So this sounds like he may have sold the place, or at a minimum worked a deal with someone to run it for a cut of the profits.

Isn't Prive and Heights Sports Lounge closed? Both look like they've been abandoned.

If 11th Street is under new management, has the menu changed? I'd love to see something that isn't fried or full of grease on the menu. Also, the place could use a little TLC inside. There's so much potential with that location!

Ok here is a little more meat around the situation on are facing pertaining to Yale.

1. The city is only at 15% of the "planning/design" phase.

2. The preliminary plans called for a 44' four lane street.

3. Utilities and sidewalks are not in the scope as of yet.

4. They recognize the concern of the residents of the Heights and are taking a "conservative" approach toward the trees.

5. They are looking at Yale as a future "main" thoroughfare with connection to I-10.

6. They plan to keep residents and all concerned parties in the loop and will listen to our wants and ideas (next meeting is in one month).

7. This will affect streets off of Yale and the surrounding area by making the land much more attractive to large scale developers.

8. The ground breaking for this project is slated for Oct. 2009.

That being said, here is a little background.

1. Currently Yale is 40'-42' wide.

2. Most of the trees (20+ year old Live Oaks) are 1' to 2' away from the street.

3. The current preliminary scope would potentially remove 250-290 trees (including the 2 in my front yard).

4. The traffic flow and density are projected to signifigantly increase due to projects such as the apartments on 19th and more densly packed townhomes in the area. Think, where there used to be 1 home, the land area can now house 3 townhouses or 10-15 apartments.

I think I put down everything I absorbed last night. If there is something I forgot to mention please correct or add.

In a nut shell, we all recognize the need for Yale to be fixed, however, we need everyone's voice/ideas/input to come up with a compromise that will work for the both the CoH and the residents of the Heights.

D

Regarding #5, why not keep Shepherd Dr./Durham as the main thoroughfare to I-10???

Home in the Heights blogger, Martin Hajovsky, recently posted this on Chron.com.

Yale resident and longtime Heights volunteer Debra Broman is sounding the alarm about the possible destruction of the live oak trees that line Yale Street from Interstate 10 to Loop 610. According to Broman, a former Heights Association Citizen of the Year, the city's plans to widen the street pose a serious danger to these trees, almost all of which were planted by volunteers, including Broman, in the 1980s.

No matter what you think about the need for Yale to be resurfaced (I know I for one am tired the poor quality of that road), this is an issue that does affect the quality of life in the Heights. A tree-lined thoroughfare is what we have and what I want to continue to see on that street. I definitely do not want to see North Sheperd or Durham redux.

Can the street be resurfaced without widening it? Those who were involved in the Studewood resurfacing a few years ago (photo of that experience above), your expertise in that process might be needed here. One thing I do know is that these public comment periods are valuable and the city does indeed listen. You may not save the trees with action, but inaction will definitely doom them.

A discussion on this issue will be held at the Houston Heights Association's Urban Forestry Committee meeting 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Heights Fire Station, 207 West 12th at Yale.

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 just received an email from the owners of Big Mamou and thought you'd be interested in what it said. Sounds like they are listening to their customers which is always a good sign.

Friends and Neighbors,

Rufus and I would like to thank you all for your encouragement and support. The overall response from the neighborhood has been terrific! We're still working from our "Soft Opening" menu, but we are adding items each week, such as bread pudding with Jack Daniel's Whisky Sauce and Pasta Wednesday (last week was a shrimp and crawfish linguini scampi-style). This week we are adding Dirty Rice to the menu.

We also wanted to let y'all know that we now have Abita beer!

Our first brunch will be Sunday, April 12 (Easter Sunday). We've planned a special menu for the Easter holiday,

complete with Mimosas and of course, pancakes for the kids!

We've had a number of folks ask us about our fantastic Po-boys and muffalettas! We strive to use the freshest

and most authentic ingredients available. Our bread comes directly from Gambino's Bakery in Kenner, LA. It is baked, flash-frozen and

shipped daily to Houston. Likewise, our shrimp are from the Gulf of Mexico, wild-caught, not farm-raised in Viet-Nam or China. Our oysters are from Matagorda Bay, TX, and our Natchitoches Meat Pies are really from Natchitoches, LA. And to insure that we have the freshest produce available,we use local markets and it is delivered daily (or as often as we need it!).

The weather is warming up a bit, just right for sitting out on the front deck or back patio with a cold Abita or nice glass of Pinot Grigio!

Good Afternoon All,

Any word what is being built on Shoe Stand building on Studewood and 13th ?

Also what other streets are getting curbs or new pavement besides Oxford & Columbia ?

Does anyone know completion date for North Main ?

Just wondering if there are more major plans for the Heights ?

Some have mentioned the Heights Theatre , corner building 20th & Studewood,

also those town homes behind Block Buster ????

Thank You

The article below was in the Houston Heights Association's Jan. 2008 Newsletter. I'm guessing they're just running behind schedule.

2008 City of Houston Construction Plans for the Heights

Construction is scheduled to start in May or June on the Hike & Bike trail on Nicholson Street and the old MKT railroad right-of way. By the end of the year, bicyclists should be able to ride from 19th street to downtown Houston on the new trail.

The city's Neighborhood Street Reconstruction Program has scheduled to rebuild portions of Cortlandt St. and Oxford St. in 2008. The project will remove all pavement and rebuild with curbs and gutters. The sections that will be rebuilt are: Cortlandt from White Oak to 11th, 12th to 14th, and 18th to 22nd; Oxford between 15th and 16th streets.

I went to the Big Mamou this weekend. I had the catfish poboy, my friend had the shrimp poboy, and we shared a bowl of gumbo. Overall, we were both pleased with the food - especially for the price. We both had a lot more than 5 pieces of fish/shrimp.

It's a casual place where you order at the counter, grab a beer out of the cooler and then sit and wait for your food to come out (which didn't take long at all). I'm anxious to try them again once they have their full menu available. I also noticed a sign that said they would serve brunch starting the middle of April.

Another friend of mine mentioned that he had breakfast at the newly expanded El Bolillo bakery on Airline. I didn't get a chance to ask what all they served. Does anyone else have more info? Do they mainly have breakfast breads and pastries or do they have additional items on the weekend such as eggs, etc.?

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.

They have a place on their Web site to make comments. Maybe we could convince them to add Abita to their beer selection. I'm sure they would appreciate suggestions from the neighborhood.

http://thebigmamou.com/contactus.html

I haven't been yet but plan on trying it out this weekend.

I don't even see really how they would make it bigger than River Oaks Kroger.

How or why? There's plenty of retail space in that whole strip for them to take over to make it a huge store. I just wonder why they don't focus on quality of products and service instead of quantity of space. I don't recall too many comments about the current space being too small. Most of the comments have been about the expired products, lack of cleanliness and the horrible customer service from the employees.

supermarket managers must be reading this thread. today at whole foods, i had fabric softener, baby bubble bath and dish soap in addition to my food. the cashier asked if i would like them in a small, seperate bag! it's a grocery revolution!

I've been driving out to Bunker Hill for my groceries too so I haven't been in the Krogers to see if there are any signs yet of a renovation or major improvements. Is there any signs of hope??? I wish they would do something. Although it will take a lot to convince me to switch back from HEB. Like everyone is saying, the selection is great and the employees are wonderful. Plus, no horrible smells.

My wife and I love the Heights area and have enjoyed our first year living here. One thing that we wonder about though is the lack of restaurant diversity in the area. We enjoy the new Thai Spice quite a bit...but find ourselves having to go to Montrose or Rice Village if we ever want anything other than a burger, sandwich, chinese food or pizza.

It seems like recently the Heights just started getting some new restaurants outside of the same old lines. We love Onion Creek...but Dry Creek, 6th St. Bar & Grill, etc. all serve up the same burger and fry options.

For example we love Indian food as many of our friends do in the area but it seems as if no Indian restaurants are venturing into the area. Just more burger joints.

Question...is the lack of restaurant diversity in the area from wanting to keep the small town feel or is it from restaurant owners not realizing there is a demand for this in the area? I think progress is being made. We like the recent additions of Glass Wall, Thai Spice, etc.

Your thoughts.

It looks like the Big MaMou is open now on Studewood. http://thebigmamou.com/index.html

Has anyone tried it yet? If it's good, then at least we now have a Cajun restaurant in the Heights.

I just heard that the police caught the guy in our neighborhood. According to a neighbor that shares the alley on 12^th Street, he was staying at his mom's house in the area where the crimes took place.

I hope this is true. I'd feel so much better knowing that he has been caught. I feel thankful for the strong sense of community in our neighborhood -neighbors watching out for one another.

On the exterior you can see that they've also made some key changes by bringing in brand new homeless guys to sit on the benches at the side of the store and look creepy as you walk back to the car at night.

You can also see that they're saving up for the big expansion by cutting out all training for the baggers and adopting the tried and true "cram it into a paper bag just like you do plastic bags" method. Eventually they'll save money on buying paper bags because customers won't ask for them anymore. BRILLIANT!

If Kroger invests in that store anymore I might start going to the new HEB on I-10 now for EVERYTHING and not just for big weekly trips.

EDIT: how did I manage to quote myself? Fixed now.

I've also noticed that they tend to keep expired produce and dairy products on the shelves rather than replacing them with fresh items. I check all "sell by" dates because once I made the mistake of bringing home some yogurt that was almost a month expired! I made a quick trip there a few weeks ago and after searching through ALL the bags of salad, I finally found someone to go in the back and find some that weren't past their "sell by" date. He brought back a huge crate full of bags of salad so it wasn't like they just hadn't received a new supply. I too now shop at the new HEB on I-10. It's great.