Opportunities for Giving in the Heights #GivingTuesday

Today is what has become known as #GivingTuesday in the social media world. From GivingTuesday.org

What is #GivingTuesday?We have a day for giving thanks. We have two for getting deals. Now, we have #GivingTuesday, a global day dedicated to giving back. On Tuesday, December 2, 2014, charities, families, businesses, community centers, and students around the world will come together for one common purpose: to celebrate generosity and to give.

There are so many opportunities to give in the Heights, both for #GivingTuesday, and all through the Holidays. Actually, the organizations that help our community could use help all year round. In the spirit of the season and the day, though, here are some local, greater Heights area organizations that would appreciate your support:

AIDS Housing Coalition Houston

Located in the Heights, AHCH has been assisting those infected and affected by HIV and AIDS for over 20 years. Gifts donated to this organization will be used to house, feed and otherwise educate people living with the HIV virus and AIDS progression. AHCH-inc. has also served guests Cancer and other immune system chronic diseases.

They need donations of winter clothing, volunteer hours, and many other resources. Please visit this How You Can Help Page link to donate.

Heights Interfaith Ministries Food Pantry

This small pantry, opened in 2009, is 100% volunteer based. It was started by a consortium of Heights Faith communities to serve families in our local zip codes (77007, 77008, 77009, and 77022).  With so many families suffering from food insecurity in a growing neighborhood, the help of the community is so necessary so the HIMFP can serve the needs of our neighbors.

Donating is so easy! You can Feed Frank at the HIM building, 3525 Beauchamp, 24/7. Frank would love to be filled with non-perishable foods and diapers (larger than newborn size). This time of year, Frank also graciously welcomes new and lightly used toys for client parents to gift their kids at Christmas. You can also give funds via their PayPal link.

Wesley Community Center

Founded in 1904, Wesley Community Center has helped generations of Houstonian's in the Near North Side community and beyond. Offering everything from early childhood education to care for needy seniors to job training, this community service agency is truly full service. Their missions statement reads: Helping people help themselves and each other. And they do! Their amazing Financial Opportunity Center helps people struggling to get out of poverty by teaching them how to change their spending behavior and make long term financial goals. Read more about the FOC here.

Wesley can use help with everything from tending their gardens (which provide fresh produce for needy families) to office help. Like most non-profits, though, they can also use financial and in-kind support. They accept non perishables for their food pantry, have an on-going wish list for materials,  and also gladly take financial donations via their giving page link.

Support our local schools

Texas is 46th in the nation for per capita spending on public schools. Our schools, especially those with high rates of poverty, depend on the community to help them provide a proper education for their students. When kids can learn and thrive, we all benefit! Here are several projects to help build stronger schools and raise smarter kids in our community:

Jefferson Elementary

Jefferson Elementary is a high poverty school in 77009, just across 45 from the Heights. They currently have four projects on DonorsChoose.org including a couple of basic necessities lists for things like paper, dry erase markers, and folders.
This link will take you to all of their projects: 
http://www.donorschoose.org/school/jefferson-elementary-school/17337/?teachers=true

Browning Elementary

Browning is a high poverty school, with 65% of students qualifying for free lunch. They are a Title 1 school in Monte Beach with a great need for access to arts and technology. They only have one small project- to buy a new iPod. It has received $0 so far and only has a couple weeks left until the project expires. This should be such an easy wish for our community to grant!
Help buy a new iPod and bring joy to the little ones at this school here: http://www.donorschoose.org/project/please-help-replace-our-old-orange-ipod/1388249/#materialsList 

Love Elementary

Many of you probably remember when HISD wanted to shut down Love a few years ago. The parents and community fought back, and now they continue to fight for the best education for their students. Love needs a lot of basics and their amazon.com wish list gives you the opportunity to help by sending everything from tempera paint to uniform pants for students in need.

Support Love's teachers and students here:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/ref=cm_wl_search_1?ie=UTF8&cid=A3I02VFMIRD3A0

Field Elementary

Field, perhaps the cutest school in all of the greater Heights, is experiencing a bit of a renaissance. The Friends of Field group has not only donated time, talent, and money to making the school better; they have actually enrolled their kids there! Still, this small group of parents wants to help the whole school community. Their big goal for this year is to stock the library with all the great books elementary schools need to fuel the learning and imaginations of their students. This project, if completed, would add 3000 books to the schools library.
Help buy books by simply buying off their Amazon wish list and they'll be sent directly to the school: http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/1D67XYE243S98/ref=cm_sw_su_w

Roosevelt Elementary

Roosevelt, in Oak Forest area, is another Title 1, high needs school. This school caters to many kids whose first language is Spanish. They have projects that include listening stations, so students can hear books read to them in English to increase fluency, and just generally providing books for the student population.

They have seven projects on DonorsChoose.org. You can select one to help here: http://www.donorschoose.org/school/roosevelt-elementary-school/16576/?active=true

I know there are ample other opportunities to give in the greater Heights, so please do share info and links in the comments if you have other organizations that also need our support!

Go crazy? Don't mind if I do....

Hey, all!

I've gotten quite a few emails lately asking if I have quit blogging here. Well, as I have been known to say, sometimes my real life gets in the way of The Heights Life. It's been a crazy few months; I've spent a lot of time feeling a little like this:

Fear not, though! I have some stories about Heights businesses on the way- small, local companies that you don't hear about in most of the Houston social news. I look forward to sharing that information with you after the holidays are over. Until then, you can always dig through old posts and, of course, we are having a great time on the The Heights Life Facebook page and Instagram.

Thanks for visiting! Hope to see you around the Heights.

Instacart Launches, an early review & a Discount for you guys!

Instacart (www.Instacart.com), the only service that can deliver groceries from multiple local stores within an hour, launched Houston’s first one-hour grocery delivery service today. You probably read about it here, and here, or saw the story here. 

See last paragraph for discount code

Starting today, Instacart customers in Houston can order groceries from both Whole Foods Market and H-E-B. Additional stores will be added in the coming weeks, and customers can combine items from multiple stores into one order. All this and it will be delivered to your door.

"Originally launched in San Francisco and since expanded into many other major cities, Instacart has disrupted the traditional grocery delivery space with its crowdsourced labor force dubbed "Personal Shoppers" who shop for and deliver grocery orders providing their own transportation in as little as one hour. This eliminates the need for costly infrastructure such as inventory, warehouses, trucks and full-time drivers." It kind of reminds me of Uber, but with groceries. 

Instacart will initially serve the areas of downtown Houston and inside the loop, west of downtown, including the neighborhoods of Montrose, The Heights, River Oaks, West U, Rice Military, Memorial Park, The Galleria, Bellaire, Briargrove, Memorial Villages, Midtown, Washington Ave, Upper Kirby and the Museum District.  A map of Instacart’s coverage areas can be found at www.instacart.com/locations.

Houston customers who order TODAY August 27 will receive a free month of deliveries.

While Houston City Launcher Matt O’Connor is looking at "the proportion of young professionals who work long hours is very high in Houston and we expect the convenience of Instacart for grocery delivery to resonate with them," I also see tons of families with two working parents in the Hieghts. I think those people are ready, willing, and able to pay for this convenience as it means one less errand and more time together. 

Customers can open an account at www.Instacart.com, and get free delivery on their first order of $10 or more. Instacart also offers an Amazon-Prime like service called Instacart Express -- an annual membership that eliminates delivery fees for all orders of $35 or more. The cost is just $99. Customers can sign up for a free two-week trial at www.instacart.com/express. They have also offered an exclusive $10 off free grocery promotion code for The Heights Life readers and followers: HEIGHTSLIFE Also, if you order TODAY (Sept 27, launch day) you get a month of Express service for free.

A friend of mine in Woodland Heights was eager to try the service. She ordered early this morning and had this to say about the experience: 

Today was about convenience. I needed to get to work on a project, so knew I’d be at my desk and could wait for a delivery. I used my desktop computer to shop, not the app.

 Creating your order is fairly easy. It helps to know the brand name—searching “Bob’s Red Mill Oat” got me the oatmeal I wanted.

 I didn’t try to order anything that required a special description. I did order one produce item I’m fussy about—bell peppers. I wanted to see what I’d get.

 At check-out, it showed the list of recommended substitutions for each item, and I had three options: yes, swap it for the recommended one; yes, but substitute a different item than the one suggested (and then I could search to find my preferred sub); or, don’t get a substitute if what I want isn’t available. You should hover over the suggested substitute to check the price and avoid surprises– the $3.49 hummus had a $7+ recommended substitute, which I declined to accept because I could make a gallon of hummus for that much money.

 The prices were a bit higher, which is how the delivery fee stays low, for sure. Today, I was willing to pay for the convenience. I’d want to check to see just how much higher, and I wonder if the company pass along any special store pricing, or if they buy at the sale price but sell to the user at the regular one.

 I placed my order at 10:41.

 The shopper called from the store to double-check the substitutions. Online, I only had the option to select organic cauliflower; she wanted to be sure I would be OK with conventionally-grown.

 I got a text at 11:13 saying my order was on the way, with an estimated delivery time of 11:50. The actual delivery was at 11:35ish. By 11:44, I had a text from Instacart allowing me to rate the experience.

 The peppers passed my inspection. The eggs arrives safely, too.

 I’d do it again, especially if I were ordering my staples and cleaning supplies. I wonder if the app allows you to scan barcodes to create a favorites list?

Nina delivered the groceries

Crowd sourcing allows for quick delivery

In The Zone: Zone 9 Tropicals

Growing up in Louisiana, Wayne DuPont lived with a mom and two sisters who loved plants. He was surrounded by the houseplants they would grow and grew to love plants as well. After his sisters left home, he took on their roles of resident plant grower, learning the many lessons it takes to successfully propagate and grow plants. His first lesson in household horticulture came along with his first "greenhouse," his sisters' unused doll house. Without enough light, his plants died. Lesson learned.

Around the 8th grade, DuPont's interest in engineering (he's now a pipeline engineer) started to surface, and he once again decided he needed to engineer a greenhouse. A real one. Again, at the age of 13, he learned a valuable lesson: 7' is not enough height to manage temperature in a green house. Plants- fried. Lesson- learned.

For the next few years, DuPont would continue to tinker with house plants and dabble in propagation, the process of creating new plants from seeds, cuttings, bulbs, and other plant parts. When he went off to college, he got ... busy... and kept a couple houseplants but generally left the cultivation hobby behind.

A variety of tropicals in different stages of growth in the "propagation room."

In 1990, Wayne DuPont bought an original bungalow at 1015 Arlington in the Houston Heights neighborhood. The house had your usual St Augustine front yard. The back yard was "largely empty, low lying, and flood prone." There were a few trash trees and a long driveway along the south side of the house. With space to use, the itch to work with plants resurfaced. He used the back of the long driveway to build a greenhouse; this time, one that was functional for real cultivation. DuPont started working with tropical plants, suited to the heat and humidity of Houston. He collected different plants and propagated them, soon filling up his greenhouse. And then outgrowing it. He was good at what he was doing, and his hobby had become very successful, a bit more than he needed for himself. DuPont figured he should move some of the plants out so he could continue growing more. He started Zone 9 Tropicals as a way to do this, and maybe make some money to support the habit, plus share wonderful, unique plants with others who enjoy them. DuPont started offering his plants online at Zone9Tropicals.com and quietly hosting "open garden days" 2 weekends a month at his Arlington Street home. 

The back of the main greenhouse

When you walk under the sun-faded Zone 9 banner, it's hard to imagine what you're going to see. A narrow driveway has been transformed in a greenhouse bursting with amazing plants, many taller than an average man. Rows and rows and rows of smaller pots cover shelves. Pots sit on pedestals and the ground. It is hot and damp and vivid green and amazing flowers. As you reach the back side of the greenhouse, you might think that's it. After all, it's amazing enough. A doorway appears and leads to another green house, full of smaller plant rooms, some for shopping, other for propagation, and a dry room for certain varieties of plants that need a slightly different climate. Zone 9's administrator Randy Judd has noticed locals love exploring these nooks. The small rooms have a "certain Heights character," says Judd. While Zone 9 continues to have strong internet sales, local sales have started to surpass online receipts. 

Plant lovers benefit from stopping by the greenhouse. Because it's labor intensive to keep plants at an appropriate size for shipping and, because there are additional steps that must be taken to mail a plant, the cost of the process is added to the price of the plant, plus the cost to ship. Locally, shoppers get lower prices and more variety. DuPont is proud of the unique selection of plants he can offer thanks to his independent propagation and growing. Larger, local nurseries and local suppliers make their money selling bedding plants, so it's not in their best interest to sell tropicals. Roughly 75% of what DuPont sells is unique to Zone 9, not for profit but for the sheer pleasure of growing and owning these varieties of plants. DuPont knows that "people care that it's local." They appreciate that the plants are well cared for and "get excited to have the one [plant] they want that they can't find elsewhere."

If you are interested in tropicals or plants different from what you've seen at the bigger nurseries, you can pre-shop on the website, keeping in mind that your local price will be lower. There are also a number of plants that aren't offered on line, i.e. items that can't be kept in small pots or generally wouldn't ship well. A visit during open garden weekends will allow you to browse a greater variety, including tropical fruit trees and spice plants.

As Zone 9 Tropicals has gained a strong, local following, Wayne DuPont has figured out that he wants to do more. His love of plants is bigger than his residential yard on Arlington. DuPont and Judd, the admin, are excited to have purchased six acres in the nearby Independence Heights neighborhood. They are planning multiple greenhouses and much more room. As a full nursery, they'll also be able to be open regular hours. 

Until then, you can still visit Zone 9 Tropicals on Arlington Street and see what they have to suit your plant fancy. They are open the 1st and 3rd weekend of month during the growing season; Saturdays 9am -5pm, Sundays 1pm-5pm (although Sundays are packing/shipping days so you might catch them there on off weekends, too).

Zone 9 Tropicals

1015 Arlington (parking on street)

Zone9Tropicals.com

Zone 9 on Facebook

Zelko Bistro Is [Probably Not] Leaving The Building

UPDATE (4:07 pm) Well, this was a complicated and crazy morning. Below you will find the account of my conversation with the leasing agent from Berkshire Hathaway. However, this afternoon Zelko posted messages on both Facebook and Twitter, claiming they are in negotiations but plan to stay in the 11th Street location. 

Some theories involve the property owners putting out the sign as a last ditch effort to bring the negotiations to an end and get a lease signed. Could be... In any case, I think the neighborhood will be very happy to see one of our favorite restaurants stay open for business. I am sure that, in the melee Chef Zelko was able to see how many people support and love her restaurant. I would be willing to bet a new wave of business is coming her way as she has been catapulted back in to the neighborhood consciousness in a big way. Maybe that was also a plan? Ha! Who knows, but hopefully we can all enjoy her comforting food in that unique and lovely space for a long time to come. 

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This morning I posted and tweeted this picture of Zelko Bistro with a  "For Lease" sign in front. After many retweets and many Facebook comments speculating about what's going on, I decided to try to get to the bottom of it myself.

A call to the restaurant was answered by a pretty concerned employee, who assured me they were open. His voice told me he was confused and probably a lot nervous. He had no idea what the sign meant. His confusion regarding the issue was such that I literally pulled up the photo and triple checked that I had the right building.

Next I called the number on the sign. Mike Huff, a Realtor from Berkshire Hathaway right down the street, returned my call immediately. I had a pleasant and informative chat with him, and he assured me the building is for lease. Zelko will be moving out. He doesn't know when and can't disclose much about why, but whether they close or re-locate is uncertain (although there are additional, unsubstantiated claims that they will relocate. Yay!). Either way, they will no longer be housed in the gorgeous bungalow at 705 E 11th.

According to Huff, who represents the property owners, they have been in negotiations with Jamie Zelko for at least six months. Huff says that the owners have gone to great lengths to keep Zelko Bistro in the building but negotiations broke down and became "one sided." While I am sure there is a second side to the story, this is all we have right now.

Currently, the sign has been taken down because of a call to Huff from the restaurant. There have been many calls interested in the space, even in the short time it was posted, Huff said. So, while Zelko seems to be open for lunch service today, the building is available for lease immediately. The owners hope to "not have a single day of vacancy" between the exit of Jamie Zelko's concept and what ever new one takes over.

This is a sad day for the Heights. This restaurant was much loved. Jamie Zelko is a Heights resident and respected in our community for her food and her honeybee project. I wish good things for her and hope to eat her Captain's Chicken or better-than-my-grandma's meatloaf again some day. Until we have more information, though, you might try grabbing lunch. My heart really goes out to the employees, who seem to know nothing about the fact that they may be losing their jobs any day. Give them an extra tip at your au revoir meal today. They'll need it.

Addendum from Facebook:

• Jeremy Goodwin Here is the skinny. The sign was up for a few hours, the landlord is upping the rent to what I consider an untenable amount, already has a list of potential clients and took the sign down. The restaurant will stay open until the end of the lease, I don't know when that is but probably 90 days.

  Like · Reply · 11 minutes ago
• 

  The Heights Life Realtor told me the space is available immediately if someone is ready to move in. He got a call from the restaurant asking him to take the sign down. He also said that the owner went to great lengths to get Zelko to stay. I pushed back hard on that, knowing full well what property owners are doing in the Heights these days. I mentioned that 11th St is particularly contentious right now and that many much-loved Heights businesses, spots that define the neighborhood, are being pushed out. He said that is not the case with Zelko. Until Chef Zelko makes a statement, this is all the information I have.

  Like · a few seconds ago

UPDATE, maybe (12:49 pm): People keep calling the restaurant out of concern. They are being told by employees at Zelko that "the sign was a cruel joke." Above are details of my conversation with the leasing agent, Mike Huff, of Berkshire Hathaway. If this is a joke, it's pretty well thought out to have the Realtor duped as well. Only time will tell at this point...

Sneak Peek: The Big Blue Whale

The Pink Polka Dot/Olive Anne has vacated the spot on 237 W. 19th Street. Opening in it's place comes The Big Blue Whale, a more comprehensive toy shop with items for more ages (and more genders) than it's predecessor. 

Owner Vanessa Woodhouse is a Native Houstonian and Heights resident who hopes the shop will become a destination for "curious kids and the people who love them." The Big Blue Whale will carry brands familiar to many with kids in their lives, like Crocodile Creek, Playmobil, Skip Hop, Hape (sustainable bamboo and wood toys from Germany), and Schleich (realistic animal and nature figures). There will also be lots of books, arts and crafts, games, and vintage style toys.

The shop will open for business next Tuesday, July 15th. Until then, a quick peek:

The Big Blue Whale

237 W 19th

281.685.3044

Facebook/bigbluewhaletoys

Seeing More Red: A quick look at the completed Red Dessert Dive on Studewood

As we all wait with bated breath for Red Dessert Dive on Studewood to actually open, here is a further look at the 961 sq ft bakery and coffee/wine bar. For background on Red read

my post from April- Sneak Peek: Red Dessert Dive

Here is the light fixture which inspired the interior design of the whole space. It hangs in front of the southern window and adds a lot of visual interest to a decidedly clean and organized space.

Coffee bar is ready to go. Staying true to her desire to be local, shop owner Jessica Lusk is using coffee products from Boomtown Coffee on 19th Street.

I love the view from a good window seat. Not everyone thinks Studewood is a view, but I adore living in the city and that means passing cars.

The night we crashed her party popped in, Lusk had invited a few friends and family to come by. The menu was limited but we were treated to samples of beer bread, cookies, and this dreamy thing: A kolache filled with bacon and cream cheese. I hate to admit that I went back for seconds and could have probably had a third. I hope these are regular menu items!

This blondie was also to die for. I don't even know what was in it other than a taste of heaven. My husband, who was born without much of a sweet tooth, enjoyed it immensely.

Giant jars of cookies that are a step above everyday seem to really exemplify what Red Dessert Dive will be- a comfortable, local spot that is just the other side of ordinary. 

I look forward to their opening in the next couple of weeks and will be sure to step across this threshold often!

Heights Bites: Lillo & Ella

Last week I shared the Facebook page for a new restaurant in Heights-adjacent Lazybrook/Shady Acres. Today I had lunch there. Lillo & Ella only opened a week ago and I was of the mind-set to give them some time, but the location was suggested by a friend with whom I really-extra-more-than-normal-enjoy eating out. I haven't written a "Heights Bites" in a long time and thought today would be the perfect opportunity to talk a nibble of food again, so I agreed to her suggestion and we headed to northwest Harris county (I kid. I kid).

The first thing I noticed as I pulled up to this familiar corner of Ella, across from Tony's, was how much cleaner the entire lot looked. The building looks bright and inviting and not so much like you'll get tetanus there. Disclaimer: I like to eat and drink at a lot of places where someone might get tetanus from, say, stepping on a rusty nail. That's not a criticism, necessarily, just a point of fact. It was very welcoming. I pulled right up in front of the orange doors, unsure if that was acceptable but there were no signs to the contrary. It wasn't until I left that I noticed they have added considerable parking to the west. Another nice change from its predecessor. 

Inside had the same feeling- crisp and welcoming. I'll admit to having never actually been inside El Gran Malo. I only ate/drank on the patio. I can't claim to know much about how different it is now, but Lillo & Ella is small and tidy, with a lot of natural light. About half the tables were filled with groups of two to four having conversations, but it wasn't loud, even for a small space with all hard surfaces. The music was upbeat but not distracting. It seemed every bit the casual, neighborhood joint.

The menu is pretty small, which can be good and bad. It was good for me today, as I was feeling very indecisive and having about eight choices worked to keep me from over analyzing something as simple as my lunch. Houstonia has the lunch and dinner menus on line here: Houstonia Gastronaut 

I was really tempted to get the Bao because I love steamed buns so very much, but decided to go with one of the handful of entrees. I ordered the flat iron steak, which is not something I would usually get at lunch but it just sounded right. My lunch date was swayed away from the Bao when I ordered an entree; she ended up going with the quail.

Simple succulents and two staple condiments which don't need labels

I know a lot of Texans can eat a steak for lunch. I am usually not one of them. What ever it was that drew me to a hunk of beef for lunch this day, I am grateful for it. My perfectly lunch sized steak was beautifully cooked. It didn't rely on a lot of salt or pepper for taste, just good quality meat. The steamed rice was excellent- lightly sweet and just enough on the plate to have some with every bite of steak and veggie. Mint and cilantro garnishes gave several bites slightly different tastes, all of them good.

The quail was chopped but of course still on the bone. This is one of the reasons I stay away from quail- for me the work always falls slightly short of the reward. My dining companion didn't mind, making quick work of pulling off tender, large pieces of meat to mix with the rice, and, yes, picking up the bones with her fingers to get the good stuff. She was very pleased with the flavor, noting that hers was flavorful but didn't overly rely on spices. Just enough. Like me, she loved the rice. We both cleaned our plates.

When the waitress came over to ask if we wanted to see the dessert menu, I shrugged her off. I just ate a steak. At lunch. The glare that came across the table was one for the ages. I am glad I was ocularly threatened in to another course because, well, Nutella Pie. So.... I can't really say much more except that. And "banana ice cream." It was kind of sick. Our server came to clear our almost-clean-enough-to-be-back-on-the-shelf plate and said "It's so good, isn't it? Sometimes in the kitchen I want to shove my face in the whole pie. The whole pie." I hear ya, sister.

For a restaurant that's only been open for a week, I found the service efficient and friendly. It wasn't very busy, but after a decade in the service industry I know all too well that you often get the worst service when a restaurant is not crowded. Servers and kitchens depend more than most people realize on momentum. If they can get the service right in week 1, they should be in pretty good shape going forward. Go there now. Now it's a cool, neighborhood joint. Get to know the servers, the bartender. Do it now because I don't doubt this restaurant will get lots of good reviews and press and soon will be even harder to get in to than it's sister establishment, Roost. It could end up being much more than a neighborhood joint, despite how much it looks like one. Lillo & Ella could very well end up the second real destination restaurant in the Lazybrook district. More:Houston Press- Kevin Naderi Talks Lillo & Ella and Lunch & Brunch