Is it wrong that I got giddy with excitement when I found out that a new brewery was opening just five minutes from my house? Karbach Brewery, the new kid on the Houston Craft beer scene opened its doors this past Monday and I made sure I was there. All in the name of responsibly bringing you, dear reader, all the news you can use. Sure, the chance to sample free beer was an inducement, but surely, that can’t be held against me?
I’m a little perplexed why doing good always has to be early in the morning or outside in the full heat of the day, but I guess that sweat equity earns karma points. Most Saturday mornings, come 6:30, you can find me blissfully snoring away in my bed, a little drool running down my cheek. Ok, a lot of drool. Last Saturday, I found myself groggily stumbling through my morning ritual before heading over to the Houston Food Bank to do my good deed for the week, eh month… ok, year.
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Maybe it’s because I’m infantile or maybe it’s because I just love to drink, but I’ve stumbled onto a new show “Drinking Made Easy” with Zane Lamprey. Basically, the premise of the show is a few friends get together, drive an RV around the country and find interesting bars, breweries and distilleries in various cities. As I went back and checked out the show, lo and behold, they had been to Texas. A Dallas show (filmed all over the metroplex) and Austin, but no Houston. As a matter of fact, the episode guide for Dallas mentioned it being the 9th largest city. Uh… yeah, so? Houston’s fourth in the country and the largest in Texas. How could they just bypass us like that? Could it be because Mark Cuban owns their network? Isn’t he satisfied enough with torpedoing the Rockets every year, that he can allow Houston to have a piece of the action?
In 5 Words: Fried, Chicken, Champagne, Trendy, Neighborhood
As a society, we’re all about labels. Conventional wisdom says that things have to fit into certain categories and once relegated to those categories, they must adhere to the stigmas attached to them. Max’s Wine Dive is one of those places that takes this conventional wisdom and places it on it’s head.
There’s a new aguacil in town. Recently hired consulting Chef Jonathan Jones, most notably of Beaver’s fame, is doing Mexican his way at the new El Xuco Xicano / old El Patio’s Midtown location. While we’re still not sure how the whole process is going to work, the food, which is just a little more important than what a restaurant is called, is right on track. On a recent Friday afternoon, I had the pleasure to sample some of the new menu’s fare. While I didn’t see any evidence of the name El Xuco Xicano, other than an inordinate amount of capital X’s on the menu, the proof was in the pudding… or refried beans if you will.
I have a few confessions that may or may not influence your impression of this piece. First, I was turned onto Wilco back in 1996 after reading Greg Knot’s review of Being There in Rolling Stone. Being more familiar with Sun Volt, I decided to take a flyer on the Wilco album, and at first, wasn’t thrilled with my purchase. For some reason, rather than end up at the bottom of my stack with winners like Warrant or Screaming Trees, the double disc album managed to find it’s way back into my CD player time after time and, after a while, I realized that the toned down, acoustic alt-country had actually become a favorite of mine.
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In 6 Words: Greek, American, Tzatziki, Diners, Drive-Ins, Dives
Sunday afternoons are meant for convertible drives down the pacific coast highway, shady hammock naps or barefoot strolls on the beach. Unfortunately, often times real life gets in the way and Sunday afternoons are spent running errands, digging gardens or tarring roofs. This past Sunday, with our refrigerator barren, a much needed trip to the grocery store took the place of any Sunday Funday activities we might have preferred.
It seems that the trendy new restaurant fad is dining in the dark. Like all fads, they start on the coast and work their way towards middle America. While Houston doesn’t yet have a restaurant offering an unlit dining room, after a little drive to the edge of the universe, I was able to experience dinner sans light this past weekend, in a movie theater of all places. Okay, so Katy might not actually be the edge of the universe, but it’s a heck of a drive on a Friday night during rush hour. Luckily, with two people in the car, we cruised down the HOV lane and flew by the commuters making their nightly trek home.
During a recent trip to Washington D.C., a friend took me to Lebanese Taverna and, as unbelievable as it is given what an unadventurous eater I am, I was hooked. While they offered many vegetarian offerings and hummus a millions different ways, they also offered meat, meat and more meat. While meat is always good, the best part was that it was good! Strike that… it was amazing. Succulent chicken, juicy lamb and tender beef all served on a platter just waiting to be stuffed into a fresh hot pita. Forget Burger King, this was my way, right away… and as much as my greedy hands could stuff into my fat, greasy cheeks. I left Lebanese Taverna that night a changed man.
In 3 Words: Lodge, Microbrew, Hunting-chic,
I knew that Blue Moose Lodge was my kind of bar the minute I walked in. The vibe, which is as upscale as a hunting lodge can get while staying true to its roots, isn’t like anything else on Washington. While I’m not convinced that it will keep all the douches away, if you’re looking for Reign version 2.0, you’re in the wrong place. This isn’t the place for emasculated pretty boys and the women who love them.
