Friday, January 28, 2011

Heights Snapshot: Pop In for Pie


Sunday, January 23

2:00 PM

M Squared Gallery, 339 W 19th

It was National Pie Day during the Year of the Pie. From Noon until 3 pm, Heights residents and/or pie lovers were welcome to M2 for pie, beer and live music. When I rolled in with my Bog Boy (4 years old tomorrow. Unbelievable.) I thought this was an admission line formed under a giant piece of popcorn. I was wrong. This was the line for pie. I went outside where Oh My! Pocket Pies had their food trailer parked to see if I could procure a pocket pie that way. No, I was told. They were making pies for inside. They were out and new pies were going to take about 20 minutes. Oh my! Popular pies!

We weren't able to wait. 20 minutes is an eternity to an almost-four-year-old. I had to promise to bring Big Boy back some afternoon for a Smores pocket pie. You can find Oh My's trailer on 19th St, just off the sidewalk in the little alley next to M2, Wed/Th/Sat until 3 pm. They're good enough that all the people in that picture were willing to wait, but the wait at the trailer is rarely that long.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Heights Happenings: January 26- February 2, 2011

Wednesday, January 26, 6:30 PM: RUDH Public Meeting: Traffic Impact Analysis for the Washington Heights development
  • Responsible Urban Development for Houston is holding a public meeting regarding traffic concerns dealing with the Washington Heights development, aka Heights Walmart.
  • The group believes there are serious traffic and safety concerns that need to be addressed, from Failing intersection ratings to load zoned bridges that may not be able to handle 18wheeler traffic.
  • This meeting will also include an update from RUDH's face-to-face with the City engineering department.
  • Council for Alcohol and Drugs, 303 Jackson Hill
Friday, January 28, 8 PM: Heights Live! presents Miss Leslie featuring Wayne Turner
  • Heights Live is honored to have a favorite home town girl in the house Friday night! Miss Leslie is "the Queen of the Houston Honky Tonks, and can belt out hard driving songs like no other. Miss Leslie, born Leslie Anne Sloan, boasts a clear, crisp voice that cuts straight to the chase of a variety of honky-tonk truths. She sounds like the love child of Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette..."
  • Wayne Turner, vocalist and guitarist, has worked with Hank Williams, Jr. since 1979. As a member of The Bama Band, Wayne has performed with many stars including Reba McIntire, Kris Kristofferson, Dickie Betts, Lee Roy Parnell.
  • As always, Heights Live! shows are BYOB. Shows are also family friendly and childcare is provided for a small fee.
  • 240 W 18th at Heights Presbyterian. $10 at the door.


OUTSIDE THE HEIGHTS:

Saturday, January 29, 10 AM- 4 PM: National Arbor Day celebration at the Houston Arboretum
  • Story telling, crafts, tree planting demonstrations, tree tours and discounts on memberships will be available.
  • For more information and a daily schedule, visit their website linked above.

IN OTHER NEWS:

BRAZARRE 2011 – AN ARTFUL BRAS EVENT is looking for artists/entries!
  • Submissions are being accepted for the first annual Brazarre 2011. Artists are asked to donate an artful bra. Each submission should incorporate an actual brassiere, and each piece should vaguely or abstractly retain the form of the bra. However, the piece need not be wearable or functional.
  • Artful Bras will be sold in blind auction format, and all proceeds from this event will benefit the Relay for Life Greater Heights (RFLGH).
  • Brazarre 2011 will be held on April 29th, 2011 at G Gallery, 301 E. 11th St.
  • Submission Requirements / Facts
    All submissions for consideration must be submitted via email.
    Artists will submit a maximum of four digital photos of each piece to be considered for inclusion (JPEG, no larger than 2100 x 2100 pixels). The maximum size for total entry should not exceed 4MB.
    The deadline to submit images is Friday, April 1, 2011.
    The following information also should accompany the digital photo(s): Artist’s first and last name, title of work, art medium used, and a brief description of your work and its inspiration.
    Please email all submissions to Veaker@gmail.com
    SUBJECT LINE shall read: Brazarre 2011 Submission / Artist’s Name
  • All submissions are subject to approval, and each applicant chosen for inclusion in the event will be notified by email. Additional event information will be provided upon notification.

Curiouser and curiouser

The vacant lot at the corner of Studewood and 11 1/2 has been nothing more than that since I have lived in the Heights. It's always been the subject of much speculation, most notably it was rumored for years that Tillman Fertita bought it and was going to put some horrible "concept" restaurant there.

Then, it must have been 2 years ago, a new sign went up with a rendering that showed a small restaurant on the bottom with some sort of drive thru and a front patio, as well as 2nd story office space. The neighborhood was buzzing. But nothing ever happened.

Then it started getting very unkempt. It was red flagged by the City several times, although I never looked at what the violations were. I bet some were overgrowth/ no maintenance. It was largely a holding area for big metal cans and empty shipping containers, the occasional trailer for an 18 wheeler.

Eventually the sign with the happy little shopping center came down and a plain old sign with a couple of commerical real estate names went up. And fell down. And was fixed again.

The rumor I always heard that made the most sense was the lot used to have a dry cleaner on it and that it was hard to sell because it would need to be remediated. I once heard that an elderly couple who live on Key at Studewood own it. I tried to look up the HCAD records but I don't know what the address is. I am not a very good detective, to be honest. I like discovering things that are newly opened, not figuring out who owns an empty lot.

But the whole thing just got more interesting to me. Yesterday I saw a construction vehicle on the site. I wasn't too surprised with the condition of 11th St and the regular use of the lot as a holding area. Then I noticed they were putting these metal things that reminded me of landmines down...

Then today, this:


A black fence has gone up around the perimeter of the lot. The "For Sale" sign is down.


The lot has also been cleared off all debris, including the metal cans that always looked they could be there for no other reason than to store radioactive goo.


So, any good detectives out there want to find out what is happening on this rumored corner? I'm hoping maybe Gus at Swamplot (or his readers) will have the answers if no one here does.

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Saturday Supplemental: Helping Hogg

This email was sent out to the Heights Kids' Group this morning. The effort is being organized by a neighbor of mine in looovely Norhill and I told her I would share it however, where ever I could. I hope you can take 3 minutes of your time and support community efforts to build better schools. Even if you don't have kids in the HISD schools in the Heights, getting a better education for all children helps all of us in the end! Thanks!

Friends and neighbors,

A group of community parents have been investigating ways to revitalize Hogg Middle School. A few us met with Dr. Grier to discuss the need for significant change and improvement to Hogg. He seemed to appreciate our directness and asked us to gather Grassroots support.

To demonstrate that improving our neighborhood school, Hogg MS, is an issue widely-supported by the community, an online petition has been created. We are hoping to gather 1000+ signatures from the 77007, 77008 and 77009 zip codes in the next 10 days or so. Below is the link:


Please sign the petition, if you support this effort and live within the 77007, 77008, 77009 area. It would be great if you would also forward to other individuals you know in the community.

Our need for a strong, viable neighborhood middle school option grows every day! How wonderful it would be to send our children to school down the street and with the classmates with whom they have shared so many years already. Every child in our diverse neighborhood deserves a quality education.

Monday, January 17, 2011

The Height's Most Asked Question

From HAIF to Heights Kids Group to this blog's Facebook page, there is no question I've seen asked more frequently:

Where do you get the best Chinese in the Heights?

Now, I think most people can agree when we talk about "Chinese food" in the Heights, we are talking about Americanized Chinese. No one is under the illusion that this is Bellaire. Some people recommend Happy All Cafe, often with a disclaimer to only get delivery. Some people (like me) are still wary of Happy All... My family used to order from Empire Seafood all the time, then they changed their concept. The question gets asked with regularity, and I don't have an answer.

This is why I was so excited about Height's [sic] Asian Cafe's "Now Open" sign last week! I have been watching and waiting since May, when I posted this photo:

From Coming Soon, May 2010. Notice the sign says "Height Asian Cafe." The current sign says "Height's Asian Cafe." I am still torn as to which is worse...

The building, now reddish and yellow, is literally just a shell of its former self. Inside is clean and simple and no trace, to me at least, of it's previous incarnation.


One thing I automatically liked about the new interior is that it isn't... tchotchke, like a lot of Asian restaurants can be. While this is a matter of personal aesthetics for the most part, it's of practical value for me as a mother of a toddler and pre-schooler. There is very little my children can harm in the clean and simple, yet warm, environment of the restaurant. The table tops are granite, the booths are leather-ish, the floor is laminate. This is the kind of place where I think we can expect tables to turn quickly with messes expected and easily handled.


When you walk in the door on the north side of the building, there are benches and a desk, ready and willing to take your to-go order. Paper menus are available to grab, and you can call ahead. I asked if they would be doing delivery and the manager told me they do intend to, but aren't ready yet. Wisely, they are making sure their operations are smooth and they have the service part down before adding demands on the kitchen. The manager is a long term veteran of Kim Son and seems to be running a tight ship thus far. The fact that I was there twice within a week of opening and both experiences were very smooth is pretty amazing and a testament to the management and ownership.

So, the food. My 1st visit was Wednesday, the 4th day since Height's Asian Cafe opened their doors. I went for an impromptu lunch with my friend, Mairi. We sat in a bright booth in the front of the restaurant, where I was often drawn away from conversation by the traffic moving along Yale. Our waiters (one was in training, I believe) were extremely efficient, bringing drinks as soon as they were ordered and refilling often. Important to note: soft drinks are in a can so you pay for each one, rather than fountain style refills. We started with dumplings. Dumplings are of extreme importance to me as they are one of the only Asian foods my older son will eat without much prompting.


The vegetable dumplings were soft and spongy, filled with noodles and some veg, but not much. They were very flavorful and, my lunch companion happily noted, not heavy on the cabbage. As a matter of personal taste, most of the dumplings I've had lately seem to be more like mushroom dumplings than veggie. I was happy that these were more like the typical American-Chinese dumplings I was used to.



I didn't see on the menu where it said soup was included with our lunch, so I was pleasantly surprised when a small bowl showed up for each of us. At 1st glance, we were unsure of what kind of soup we were being served but one bite was all it took. Hot and sour! It had a nice bite to it and is one of the best h'n's soups I've had in a while!


Lunch was off to a good start, and I was hopeful my main course would be equally as satisfying. While the question to be answered is all about Chinese food, I couldn't help but order from the Vietnamese dishes. Vermicelli is one of my favorite lunches. I ordered the combo: pork, chicken and eggroll.


The chicken was perfectly tender and nicely glazed. The eggroll was crispy and flavorful. The pork was tender, although I didn't like the flavor. Disclaimer: pork is not something I typically order in noodle bowls so this isn't to say it was bad or that there was anything wrong with it; I just didn't like it. Still, it was nicely cooked and not chewy at all. One thing that I thought was odd, not in a bad way, was that the noodles were thick, almost more like spaghetti than angel hair. And there were a lot of them. The bowl was mostly noodles, not as much lettuce. I liked this, while others may not. I would say it's simply a matter of asking for more greens, if that is your preference. I liked having enough noodles to feel like I had a full meal.

Mairi ordered General Tso's chicken, which is also my husband's go-to Chinese. The menu states that all the dishes are moderately spiced so you should order to your preference. Mairi got hers as-is, which wasn't spicy at all. However, she said it was very, very good-- full of flavor and "no weird chicken pieces," i.e. all white meat. The chicken was crispy and the broccoli was fresh and green, rather than cooked to within an inch of its life.


I was extremely satisfied with my 1st experience. Again, the service was spot on, and everyone seemed to be getting their food promptly. No orders appeared to be sent back from the diners around us. While this might not seem like much of a positive, it certainly is for only 4 days open. I've been to (and worked at) much pricier restaurants who couldn't claim the same level of success in their first weeks of business.

Since I had such positive things to say, my husband was anxious to try Heights Asian Cafe out as well. This brought me back to the restaurant a couple days later, this time for dinner with the family. Once again, we started with dumplings. This time veggie and pork. Unfortunately, the pork, Big Boy's guaranteed-to-eat item was a big kid fail. Hubs and I thought they were great but the pork inside was loose, rather than packed, and mixed with spices and minced green onion. This was wonderful from a flavor perspective, not so great from a 4 year old perspective. There was also a brown crust on the bottom, like they had been pan fried as well as steamed. This wasn't an issue for us but is worth noting, especially for parents as many kids have texture hang-ups as well. Ah. Life as a parent...

Since we expected the kids to chow down on the dumplings, Hubs and I ordered Vietnamese spring rolls. They were fresh and flavorful, with cilantro, lettuce, shrimp and your standard peanut sauce for dipping. Nothing out of the ordinary.


Hubs ordered Cashew Chicken for dinner. I thought he would go for Tso's with extra spice... Even after a decade together, I guess I can still be surprised. Once again, a little bowl of soup arrived at the table. This time it was egg drop, which was unfortunately not on par with the hot'n'sour from lunch. It was just ok and, for me, the smooth, silky texture I expect in egg drop was thrown off by slices of water chestnut. It had corn, which I see often, but not enough to seem like a real part of the soup. Three or four kernels seemed to float around almost by mistake. I would order the h'n's over the egg drop every time.


His choice of entree was much better. The cashew chicken, like the Tso's Mairi ordered at lunch, was full of flavor. The sauce was light and in a perfect amount; the veggies were all fresh and crisp. Entrees come with a heaping serving of brown or white rice and a fried egg roll.

That would be my Wee One's small hand reaching in for some brown rice. While Big Boy is ever finicky, the little guy will eat almost anything you put in front of him.

Once again, I veered toward the Vietnamese side of the menu, ordering Pho. A large, steaming bowl was put in front of me and, like my Vermicelli bowl from lunch, it was packed with thicker-than-normal noodles, way more than I am accustomed to getting at other restaurants. This was great for me since I always seem to be picking around the bottom of my bowl with chopsticks, looking for more noodles, only to come up with sprouts instead. Unfortunately, the excitement ended with the noodles. The soup itself was just ok. It really lacked any strong flavor and the meat, while tender, was in short supply. I guess they made up for it in noodles?


I was also disappointed with the garnishes. Only cilantro (which, mind you, is my favorite) and sprouts. No hoisin or fish sauce, no mint (although there were a couple springs in the bowl), no Thai Basil and, most importantly, no lime. Luckily, I had some hoisin left over from the dumplings. I threw that in along with a teeny dollop of Sriracha and dash of soy. This brought the flavor up a couple notches but it was still only ok. Yes, I made it to the bottom of the bowl but I probably won't order Pho here again.

Garnishes for my Pho were plentiful and fresh; there just weren't enough of them.

So, does this re-purposed fast food joint answer that burning Heights question? I think it might. Heights Asian Cafe has solid Chinese food. The ingredients are fresh, and they do a great job of cooking them. The restaurant itself is bright and clean. The staff is friendly and efficient. Is it better than Empire Seafood was? Yes, I think so. Is it better than Happy All? I may never know, but I venture to say "yes." Could it be they are still working out the finer details of some of their dishes? Absolutely!

Unfortunately, Chinese food isn't all they serve and they seemed to fall a little short on the Vietnamese side. Could I have gotten one bland bowl of Pho and every other bowl they ever serve will be tangy and delicious? Possibly. Maybe they were just out of Thai Basil and limes that day? They were actually out of Diet Coke, so it certainly could have been the case. They've only been open a little over a week. Luckily, we do have other options for Vietnamese in the area and they are decent, but in the end may not even necessarily be "better" than Height's Asian.

So, there could be better someday, but for right now, I'm going with "Yes!" It is the best Chinese in the Heights.



Heights Asian Cafe
2201 Yale at 22nd
BYOB
Serving lunch 11AM- 3 PM, Dinner until 9 PM
Closed Sundays

713.880.9998
Delivery Available

Friday, January 14, 2011

Heights Snapshot: Can't Touch This


Monday, Jan 10

9 AM

10th at Waverly

My-my-my music hits me so hard
Makes me say oh my Lord
Thank you for blessing me
with a mind to rhyme and two hyped feet

It feels good when you know you're down
A superdope homeboy from the H-town
And I'm known as such
And this is a beat, uh, you can't touch

Monday, January 10, 2011

Heights Happenings: January 12- January 19, 2011


Saturday, January 15, 6 - 9 PM: Hello, Lucky celebrates it's 3rd Anniversary!

  • Let me just start by saying if you've never been in to this store, you're missing out! Not only do they sell the most unique and interesting stuff in the Heights, Teresa, the owner, is a true gem of a person and someone I am so glad to know!
  • For the Anniversary party DJ Psychedelic Sex Panther spinning tunes in the storefront window, H-town Streats Food Truck will be parked outside, a sidewalk fashion show at 7:30, all with new work on view by Lisa Marie Godfrey, Melissa Juvan, Jennie Nuttall and Frances Trotter.

OUTSIDE THE HEIGHTS:


Saturday, Jan 15, 9 AM- 1 PM: Urban Harvest fruit tree sale

  • The organization’s next fruit tree sale will be held at the University of Houston Robertson Football Stadium.
  • Urban Harvest’s sale is favored among Houston tree enthusiasts because the trees are grown locally and are suited for Houston’s climate.
  • All proceeds from the sale support other Urban Harvest programs.
PLAN AHEAD:

Saturday, January 29, 1-4 PM: l+j industries offering "How to Recover Your Dining Chairs" upholstery class at Sew Crafty
  • This class will cover the fundamentals of reupholstering your basic padded fabric seat cushion. No previous experience or sewing is required. It is a hands-on class where students will learn how to use basic upholstery tools and easy techniques to reinvent your dining chairs.
  • Bring 1-2 chairs and fabric. Two yards of medium to heavy weight 54” wide fabric is needed to recover 4 chairs. You can even do this project with re-purposed tea towels, curtains or blankets.
    Tools are available for your use. Supply fee includes new foam, padding, webbing and Dacron batting. Handouts of upholstery and fabric resources will also be provided.
  • For a complete description and more information, see Sew Crafty's calendar page.
IN OTHER NEWS:

Dying to know when you'll be getting a new single stream green recycle bin?

  • The city has expanded the large automated recycle bin program to the Heights but in Woodland Heights only. Garden Oaks and Oak Forest have had the program for months! Click here for news article
      • There is no date set for the rest of the Heights to start using the new bins. You can send emails to swddirector@houstontx.gov and districth@houstontx.gov telling them you want the single stream recycling program expanded to your neighborhood.

Conmigo "Mommy & Me" Spanish Program at Helms Session III begins this Friday, January 14th. Call or Email Ms. Sosa, Dual Language Magnet Clerk at msosa@houstonisd.org / 713-867-5130 to register. More informaton below....
  • Conmigo, a mommy & me style Spanish program, introduces Spanish to young children through music, finger plays, rhymes and interactive play. Exposing children to a second language at a young age helps develop fluency, cognitive thinking and socialization.
  • This fun and stimulating environment is open to 1-4 year olds.
  • The 7 week sessions are held at Helms CLC on Friday mornings (9 am or 10 am) with a new teacher, Ms. Maya. The cost is $60 ($40 for additional sibling). Siblings under 12 months may attend free of charge.
  • Enrollment is limited to 10 per class. Make checks payable to Helms PTA. To register contact Helms Magnet Clerk, Jessica Sosa at 713-867-5130 or msosa@houstonisd.org.
  • Helms is a HISD Dual Language Magnet Elementary School in the Heights - located at 503 W. 21st Street Houston, TX 77008
  • Want to know when your next opportunity will be? 2010-2011 Session Dates: Session III January 14 - February 25; Session IV March 25 - May 13

Friday, January 7, 2011

Do It Write

A lot of the talk during Holiday 2010 was about "local." Here in the Heights, we are partial to local either way, but with the Walmart battle raging it's more on our minds than ever. This isn't exclusive to our neighborhood though. All across the country, small towns and big cities are realizing more and more how the small and local businesses fuel their local economies. Even American Express got in on this "go local" trend with their Small Business Saturday promotion. Small businesses create 80% of jobs, and local businesses inject more money in to local economies.

I think these are great reasons to shop local, but they are not the reasons I originally started being such an advocate for neighborhood businesses. My reasons are much more sentimental. I grew up in a small town where, when I was young, we pretty much only had small businesses. My grandmother worked with the wives of these businesses; I went to school with the kids and grandkids of these businesses. When these businesses closed, we felt it as a community. Because of this, when I see a small business I see the owner. Small business owners are usually doing what they are doing to somehow make their life better. They rarely usually do it with an eye to getting rich. In fact most of them hope it will be enough to just be comfortable and happy at the same time. If you live in reality, you know that small business owner is a hard job and involves a lot of sacrifice. But it also gives the owner a sense of pride and allows a person do things on their own terms.

Fun, playful pens are exactly the kind of cheery items Write Now! is coming to be known for. In addition to these whimsical pens, the shop offers some finer writing implements as well.

Timekeepers for the kitchen, the desk or the kid's room. The alarm clocks on the right sound off like the animal pictured. I brought the frog to a White Elephant gift exchange and it was highly coveted!

Take Shanna at Write Now! on White Oak.... Shanna didn't become a small business owner because she was bored with her life of leisure. She didn't have an inheritance and decided to humor herself. Shanna spent 25 years in one the most valuable yet undervalued careers we have: teacher. Inner city teacher. Inner city science teacher. For more than 2 decades, she educated children and loved doing it, but the school system made it harder and harder for her to keep going. She feels "the direction that education is headed is squeezing the joy out of learning and teaching." Shanna was ready for a watershed moment. She did what most of us would do facing an unknown future: she looked at her past. She thought about places, times, people... and she remembered the years she worked at Iconography in Rice Village. Iconography's stationery store is now home to a national candle selling chain, but Shanna has great memories of her time there. She "loved working there," and other than teaching, she says the time at Iconography "was the best job" she'd ever had.

The Melissa & Doug brand is a favorite with the Mommy Mafia and with good reason. Write Now stocks a great collection of their art supplies for kids including coloring pads, stamp sets, paints and sticker books.

With education more frustrating than rewarding and its future not leaving much promise for change, Shanna decided she wanted to recreate a piece of Iconography. She loved the products and the atmosphere and wanted to recreate how people felt when shopping or working there. Shanna cashed out her nest egg to open her own little stationery shop. It would be, she hoped, "a miniature rebirth" of the store she loved so much.

Album cover clocks and coasters are some of her best sellers. I guess they appeal to the nostalgics among us. David Bowie, The Doors, Elvis, Johnny Cash and more.

But where? Rice Village doesn't have the feel it did all those years ago, and we won't even get in to the price of trying to make a go as a small business down there. Shanna has lived in Silverdale, just across 45 from the Heights, for 15 years. She has seen the Heights develop and knows the people here care about and support small business. She also felt there wasn't a store like what she was going to open amongst all the wonderful little shops in the area. Surveying the neighborhood, she was drawn to the renovated strip center 2 doors down from Onion Creek. It was boldly remodeled in art nouveau style a few years back but has been vacant since the re-do. It was real leap of faith--cashing in her retirement to open a store that caters to (what some consider) the dying art of letter writing/card sending in a less-travelled location in the neighborhood.

Starting a small business with a finite amount of resources calls for some creative thinking. Shanna got these... ahem... pantyhose racks at Fixtures International in the Heights for far less than she would have paid for actual card racks. Bet if I didn't tell you that, you never would have known the difference!

This is what is so special about small business. The business is the person. Shanna put herself in to her store. And it's obvious. My absolute favorite thing about any small, locally owned store is that you can see the owner's personality in every corner. Write Now! is bright and a little quirky, just like it's owner. Her years as an educator can be seen in the carefully selected art supplies and gift items for kids. Shanna spent a prior 10 years with the Wildlife Discovery Program at the Houston Zoo. Those years are reflected in her variety of animal themed supplies, from pencils and magnets to clocks. Like any small store owners, Shanna has hand selected each and every item in the store. She knows how they work and what's cool about them. She knows why they're there and who she hopes they will appeal to. And she is there, to greet you, chat, show you around, answer questions.

While you can find more traditional and subdued items, bright color and a sense of humor dominate the shelves.

As Shanna thumbed through this blank journal, she told me all about how seeing them at market, how they are made and why she chose to sell them. No cashier at Target can do that!

Her leap of faith is paying off. Write Now! weathered it's 1st holiday season, selling Heights residents holiday cards, decorations, and great stocking stuffers. Now, the store is bright, clean and ready for 2011. Additions for the New Year include fun planners and organizers, plus some business card holders which customers suggested she stock. As far as setting up shop on the road less travelled, perhaps Shanna is a visionary: with Christian's Tailgate and D'Amico's coming in just down the road, White Oak will be seeing a lot more traffic and Write Now! is going to get a lot more visible. Looks like she got it right!


3122 White Oak Dr
Tues- Sat, 10 AM- 6 PM and Sun 11 AM- 5 PM.

P.S. Write Now! also sells postage stamps!

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Heights Happenings: January 5- January 12, 2011

2011! I hope everyone had a safe and happy Holiday season, whichever holidays you were celebrating. I had a wonderful Christmas with my kids, which included our annual hayride around the Heights, and a wonderfully quiet New Year's Eve (although I was woken up at midnight to the sound of fireworks). It's been hard to get back in the game after all that family time but there are things happening in the Heights this weekend and I want to tell you about them!


Friday, January 7, 8 PM: Heights Live! presents Tody Castillo
  • The 2011 season the Heights' family friendly music series kicks off with a great Texas singer songwriter. Tody Castillo's newest album was recorded right here in the Houston Heights. I'm sure his connection to the neighborhood will bring a special energy to the show.
  • For more information, check the Facebook Event page
  • $10 cover. As always, kid friendly, sitting services provided, and BYOB.
  • In the listening room at Heights Pres, 240 W 18th at Yale
Friday, January 7, 6 PM- 8:30 PM: Heights Beatniks opening for Michael C. Rodriguez's REACTION is RESOLUTION
  • Beatniks is very proud to kick off the new year with this local artist. Michael C. Rodriguez. is a Houstonian who is definitely leaving his mark on this town! You may have seen his work on the covers of Free Press Houston, at the Summerfest music festival, at local art events (like the one and only Houston Art Crawl), CD & LP album artwork, or at one of his solo exhibitions. If you haven't had an opportunity to marvel at his work in person, now is your chance.
  • Meet Michael and if you own any of his artwork feel free to bring it along; there's a very good chance he will autograph the piece for you.
  • Wine and light snacks will be served. You're also welcome to B.Y.O.B.
  • Check out some of Michael's illustrations on his facebook page
Saturday, January 8, 1-2 PM: Heights Garden Club meeting featuring Dianne Norman
  • Dianne Norman is a fruit tree "guru" who will be speaking about which trees do well in Houston's climate, how and when to plant them.
  • You will also be able to order bare root trees if interested
  • Hosted by Wabash Feed Store, just outside the Heights at 5701 Washington
IN OTHER NEWS:

Heights Books- Libros is in it's final days. All remaining stock, including Spanish language books for adults and children, are now 65% off. There are several fixtures available as well as a printer and credit card machine. Doors close for good (sadly) on January 15.

Did you know Stude Park offers Jazzercize classes? In addition to the classes, they have just started offering child care for the 9 AM class. Cost for care is $3 for the first child and $2 for the second, and monthly passes are available that offer care at a steep discount. Classes are offered Mon- Sat at 9 AM, Tues/Thurs at 6 PM. For more information, here is the Jazzercize Houston- Stude webpage