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Articles by Hidden Houston
The Houston Zoo's New Food Program Is Delicious, Sustainable and Getting Better
Last February, we wrote about the Houston Zoo's first Enchantment Under the Sea dinner, a meal devoted to educating guests about sustainable seafood. It's returning this year on Friday, February 17, and tickets are newly on sale. On April 22, the annual black tie Zoo Ball will include an even more elaborate ethical fish dinner. But each of those events is just one night. Since January 21, the zoo's everyday food service has begun its transformation to an intensely Earth-friendly establishment.
International Photography Festival Sets 2018 Dates
Like a visually stimulating history class, photographs capturing religious conflict, poverty, nationalism, and the partition of India and Pakistan will be the focus FotoFest 2018, the seventeenth international biennial of photography and new media, in Houston from March 10–April 22, 2018.
Botti, the Philosopher King of Montrose
It was a beautiful November morning in Houston, decorated with incredibly blue skies, almost unreal yet most definitely a gift from the Gods… I was listening to my beloved manic mechanics, Click and Clack, on a rerun of NPR's Car Talk when I stopped to say hi to my friend Botti at the Montrose Shell service station. There, I was shocked to discover the episode was a rerun, as I'd missed the news that co-host Tom Magliozzi passed away in 2014.
70th Annual Preservation Conference Comes to Houston-For the First Time!
Houston is known for many things—the oil and gas industry, the first word to be spoken on the moon, Beyoncé—but historic preservation is not high on the list. While some progress have been made, like the tenacious efforts of Courtlandt Place, McMansions continue to trump historic properties everyday. Attendees will be delighted by the city’s architectural legacy, and the diverse and expansive local culture that Houston has to offer.
In Dripping Springs, a Culinary Getaway at Juniper Hills Farm
When Sibby Barrett was growing up in Dallas, she often heard her grandfather tell tales about the beauty and majesty of the Texas Hill Country. “To me, it’s a place that doesn’t even look like it belongs in Texas. It’s in its own world,” Barrett says.
Star Ingredient of the Season: Persimmon
Now that fall is underway (sort of), Japanese persimmons are beginning to appear in Houston's grocery stores and Asian food markets. Other names for this tasty fruit include kaki, fruit of the gods, honey apple and Sharon fruit. Cultivated Japanese persimmons are sweeter and tastier than the wild ones you might remember eating in the woods. These persimmons are yellow-orange or red and either chewy, crunchy or soft depending on the variety.
The Traveling Black Dress: Halloween Steam Punk Edition
It's that time of year again when we get to dress up and take on the role of some of our favorite characters. Halloween is a fun holiday for children, but also for us grown-ups! Each year it's always hard to choose which costume to wear, or what character or era to reflect. Let's start with my LBD and build from there! This Halloween, I decided to give my LBD a steampunk-inspired theme.
Morning Eatery Snooze Opening Three More Houston Locations
If the long lines at the Montrose location of Snooze, an A.M. Eatery have so far prevented you from trying out the Denver-based breakfast chain, good news: Soon you'll have three other locations of Snooze to try, though good luck finding one in the U.S. that doesn't yet have a queue in the mornings. Snooze will be opening a second location in Memorial, though not in CityCentre, where much of the area's new development has occurred.
Houston Grand Opera's 'Elixir of Love' is a Marvelous Riot
Gaetano Donizetti’s 1832 opera The Elixir of Love is a trifle. A featherbrained comedy that Donizetti allegedly wrote in two weeks, the opera requires singers to be technically amazing while pattering through a silly plot—an amalgamation that Houston Grand Opera expertly masters. Forget about love—the only magic potion in this story is money.
Carrie Underwood Gets Physical to Celebrate Dick's Sporting Goods in Houston
Any eyes turned towards the Houston sky this weekend might have caught an unexpected sight—a blimp aloft advertising DICK'S Sporting Goods. The sports mega-retailer has officially made its first foray into Houston, celebrating the opening of six Houston-area stores in October with a three-day celebration featuring country megastar Carrie Underwood and 40 other celebrity appearances at local stores.
Sugar Rush: Vampire's Delight at SweetCup Gelato
As with any myth whose history spans many hundreds of years, there's some debate regarding the origins of garlic's role as a vampire repellent. Some folklorists believe that the rare group of diseases known as porphyria helped generate fear against sun-sensitive individuals who only came out at night. The illness was not uncommon among inbred European nobles, whose other symptoms included longer-than-average eye teeth (fangs) and sensitivity to alliums like garlic.
Behind the Scenes at Three of Houston’s Most Private Clubs
Despite being known for its welcoming, all-inclusive nature, Houston is still home to plenty of private, members-only clubs, most of which are off-limits to the public.
The 10 Best Ways to Entertain Yourself for Free Around Town
A real insider knows how to make the most out of Houston even when on a budget. Below, our 10 favorite terrifically fun, totally free, family-friendly activities around town: No matter where you are, there’s likely a free outdoor movie screening this weekend near you: Market Square Park and GreenStreet downtown, CityCentre out west, LaCenterra and Central Green Park in Katy, town squares in both Pearland and Sugar Land, even Tomball Depot.
The Perfect Party: Cause and Effect Edition
If the Rockets once again crash and burn, then the ever-resilient city rests its hopes and dreams on the team’s new coach, Mike D’Antoni. If a reasonable-seeming Donald Trump woos the country’s Hispanic community—including Houston attorney Jacob Monty—but, less than two weeks later, trots out his old everyone-must-go-back rhetoric, then a disgusted Monty resigns from the candidate’s National Hispanic Advisory Council.
Off-Limits: Exploring Houston's Abandoned Places
How long have you been exploring around Houston? When I was about 16 or 17, I used to skateboard. And a lot of people who were into graffiti and street art and skateboarding, we search out the same type of places—lost or forgotten places where nobody is paying attention. A friend said, “Have you heard of urban exploring?
Talking Houston: A Cheat Sheet
Sooner or later, making all that small talk, you’re gonna get roped into a conversation about something other than the latest Texans game. Here’s a few topics to keep you in the know: No, Houston is not a perpetual motion machine existing for the sole purpose of producing and repairing potholes. Discussion of the never-ending traffic and woefully underfunded public transit is, however, a perpetual fixture.
Those Million Mattress Firms Aren’t Going Anywhere-for Now
Over the past few years, as mattress stores began to pop up next to mattress stores around town, Houstonians started to imagine a dystopian future full of streets lined with shopping centers full of mattress stores. And we started to wonder: How long can this last? For a time this summer, the market appeared to confirm what we already suspected.
Where’s Your Sign?
Club No Minors 6444 Westheimer Rd., elpatio.com Look for: the red door inside the El Patio near the Galleria bearing a small white plaque that reads “No Cigars ID Required No Minors” Marfreless 2006 Peden St. Look for: the royal-blue door underneath a white staircase in the River Oaks Shopping Center parking lot Captain Foxheart’s Bad News Bar & Spirit Lodge 308 Main St. Look for: the set of doors downtown between the entrance to The Nightingale Room and the patio of Moving Sidewalk Valhalla...
What’s a Bayou Anyway?
We are, by virtue of our watery backbone, The Bayou City. But what, exactly, makes a bayou a bayou? The word in its original form, bayuk—which we imported from the Choctaw of Louisiana—referred to a small stream. But it now describes the swampy, low-lying rivers that, by and large, host flora and fauna found along the Gulf Coast: crawfish and gators, catfish and cattails.
In Houston, History Hides in Plain Sight
Of the 88 privately-held rooms at The Lamar Hotel, Suite 8F wasn’t especially noteworthy: two bedrooms, a dining room, and a living room, all in need of updates. “Don’t touch it,” George Brown used to say. “Just leave everything the way it is.” Who cared about the appliances, anyway? It’s the discussions inside Brown’s corner pad that mattered. In the ’50s and ’60s, 8F was known to some as the secret capital of Texas.
The Woman Who’d Rather Die Than Vote
It’s impossible to sum up a life in one sentence, even if it’s a great sentence. Lynn Lasher understands this well. Earlier this year, her mother died, and Lasher faced the unenviable task of writing the obituary. Forty-eight hours passed before she felt comfortable composing her thoughts. “I was sad, and even though it was inevitable, and she was older, it’s still just a real loss and shock.” And so she waited, for peace and clarity.
When It Comes to Holiday Tablescapes, Purple Reigns
To add something unexpected and dramatic to your holiday table, there’s nothing like purple, whether you favor an earthy aubergine hue or something a little more royal. It’s the ultimate jewel tone for a sparkling season, especially when paired with live-edge pecan wood, glistening gold details and Goode Co. pecan pie.
The Man on a Mission to Bring the Green
It’s a weekday morning at Shady Lane Park, which fronts a newly paved stretch of Parker Road just off the Eastex Freeway.
Houston Life Hacks: 5 Famous Locals Share Their Tips
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“Some of the best biking routes are along the White Oak and Brays Bayou Greenways. Buffalo Bayou Park has great trails that you can ride with any kind of bike. I also love riding through some of Houston’s historic neighborhoods like Freedmen’s Town (Fourth Ward), and Third Ward around Texas Southern University and the University of Houston.
By Sarah Rufca, Alice Levitt Verified, Hidden Houston, Jeanne Lyons, Victoria Haneveer, Mellanie Perez Verified, Sarah Nielsen, Beth Levine
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Houstonia
Verified
The Best DPS in Houston
One might assume that the Yelp reviews for the Houston-Rosenberg DPS Mega Center would be filled with pure vitriol, about lengthy lines and sour smells and cranky attendants. But that couldn’t be further from the truth.
No Zoning? No Problem!
Houston’s almost total lack of zoning often means running across restaurants—or farms, or circuses—right where you’d least expect them. Below, our four favorite examples of what happens when you take a no-holds-barred approach to capitalism: Since 2014, Tommy and Dan Garcia-Pratts have coaxed everything from kale to kohlrabi from their one-and-a-quarter-acre urban farm, which sits in the shadows of a group of Second Ward warehouses—the first of its kind inside the 610 Loop.
Inside Houston’s New Rage Room
The wall of instruments held baseball bats, crowbars, golf clubs, lead pipes, a sledgehammer and a bowling ball. Wearing a face shield and protective gloves—and still feeling the stress of a very long day—we stood before it, pondering. We had, after all, just been issued a kind of dare. “If you can break apart that desk, you’ll be the first one to do it,” Shawn Baker, owner of Tantrums LLC, had told us.
The James Harden Signature Shoe Has Arrived
For years Houston Rockets forward James Harden has been the basketball player who has people talking about his style nearly as much as his game. So when Harden signed with adidas just over a year ago, landing a jaw-dropping $200 million endorsement deal, you knew his signature shoe was going to push the envelope both aesthetically and technologically. And it looks like he delivered. The adidas James Harden Collection Vol.
Island Time: The Ideal Galveston Itinerary
Houstonians adore the feeling they get hitting I-45 for a quick trip to Galveston, as downtown recedes in the rearview mirror and our problems are left behind. Once we get to the coast, we all, of course, have our secret island haunts. Head to this family-owned café to fortify yourself for the day with a fried Gulf oyster Benedict. Grab banana bread to-go in case you need a snack later on.
Courtland Place: Going Behind the Gates
If you aren’t looking for Courtlandt Place, you’ll miss it. Through its inconspicuous gated entrance just off Spur 527 to downtown, a canopy of hundred-year-old oaks shades equally old homes, each painstakingly preserved or restored. It looks like a movie set, which is to say, it does not look like Houston. Founded in 1906, the private Montrose neighborhood was established for the city’s elite business and manufacturing families (rather than the era’s new oil-moneyed citizens).
At the Blue Lagoon, Where the Water’s Warm
An hour and a half north of Houston, down a tree-lined road dotted with ranches, lie two crystal-clear, spring-fed lagoons. Tall pines shade these two former limestone quarries, each filled with 28 feet of warm, blue-green water. The Blue Lagoon, outside Huntsville, is private, with a hefty $20 fee per person, but the experience is worth it. The place caters mostly to scuba divers—there’s a full gear shop onsite—some of whom camp overnight.
Beyoncé’s Father Builds a Brand-New Girl Group
Workers at the post office on Hadley Street in Midtown have gotten used to seeing three women running around the block in high heels. “They know us now. They wave,” says Bunni Ray, one third of hip-hop trio Blushhh Music. It’s all part of the program developed by Mathew Knowles, musical creator of Destiny’s Child and genetic creator of Beyoncé and Solange. Beyoncé has spoken about the intense regime her father put her through en route to becoming a superstar.
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