Review: House of Blues in Houston

The Rundown:
The City: Houston
The Place: The House of Blues Houston
The Day: Saturday
The Time: 5:00 P.M. - 6:30 P.M.

The Review:
Planning to take in my first American soccer game and enjoy some Houston Dynamos, my friends and I thought it might first be appropriate to try and find a decent place to eat, somewhere fun and without too much fuss. This led us to the House of Blues, earlier than when their music gets going and at a lull in the day. Located in downtown Houston, getting cheap parking isn't the easiest thing if the parking meters are filled up, and that provided an initial obstacle. Still, it's not the House of Blues' fault that the city doesn't know how to zone their properties. We arrived in a small party of six, and were quickly seated, given the lack of diners at this hour.

Pictured: Empty.

I understand it gets much more lively during the evening, once the music is going, but I did not mind the laid back nature of the afternoon, allowing for a quick dining experience. Let me first go on the record discussing their drinks: A Jack and Coke I ordered. Mind you, I only had one, preferring to keep the bulk of my alcoholic indulgence for beer at the Dynamo Stadium. However, my drink was not too pricey. In a city that serves these for anywhere from six to ten dollars, I felt eight dollars was fair, and though the drink was not incredibly strong, I did not feel cheated on the alcohol served in mine.

Alcohol. The source of, and solution to, all our problems.

The House of Blues is a large venue, with more than enough space for a raucous evening filled with multiple diners. A huge screen at the front allows diners a chance to catch the game if there are no bands up, and an assortment of booths, tables and bar seating allows for multiple options suited to anyone's style. The lighthearted portraits and wall paintings give the House a lighthearted feel, while the open seating arrangements allow for a real sense of openness. Paired with the perfect lighting and wide open windows that allow for the natural light of the outdoors, and you have all the makings of a wonderful dining ambience. It feels fun and lively, and I can only imagine that gets better when the House is in full swing.

Really, it makes me want to come back for dinner service.

But let's talk about that all important, critical component: The food. Those of you that follow my reviews know my standards for excellence. I love a good meal, because, truly, who doesn't? I ordered a traditional ham and cheese BLT with a side of fries, nothing too complicated but perfect for a sunny afternoon just hours before the start of a soccer game. First up? Presentation. Although serving fries in a cup borders on pretentious, House of Blues makes the tray work. The side serving of cucumbers may seem extraneous, but it helps balance out and divide the dish against the large portions that are the BLT itself.  Overall it's about as interesting a presentation as you'll see on a traditional dish, and it looked appetizing. The fries didn't look like they were strewn about in a greasy lump and, thankfully, they weren't. The fries were golden, slightly browned, with just enough crispness. The flavor was perfect, with just enough seasoning and no sense of burn from too much application. But what are the sides if the main dish isn't any good? It's difficult to mess up a BLT, so let's tackle how House of Blues composed this dish.

The bread was toasted perfectly, always a good start. No sense of running juices that would have made it go limp or soggy, and the sandwiches held together perfectly. The bacon was cooked just crispy enough, not burnt, while the layers of cheese and meats are done perfectly. There's no sense of mess, of your sandwich falling apart. The sandwich is served in two towers, so initially it's hard to see that you pull them apart to make four separate servings. Initially I was perplexed about how to actually fit the damned thing in my mouth, but using my Sherlock like intuition I figured out the meal came apart into four portions. Perfectly sized, perfectly held together, great crispness where there should be and excellent layering of cheeses and meats. My only disappointment, where House of Blues fell short in their meal, was in the chipotle sauce. The BLT is such a simple dish in so many ways that the addition of a chipotle flavoring really intrigued me and would have brought the entire meal together with the right application. Unfortunately, it was so lightly applied that I got almost no taste of it. Remember, these are rather thick servings, so you want to apply enough that the sauce enhances the flavors without overwhelming them. Sadly I almost missed the flavor of it entirely during the first half of my sandwich. It was almost as if it had been applied only to one half of the sandwich. When dealing with thick, hearty portions, it is advisable to apply sauce just slightly more liberally. If I walk away unable to taste it on half the sandwich, that definitely indicates uneven application.

Houston baseball. We know how this will go.

 Still, for overall ambiance, pleasant service, fantastic fries, a good drink and an almost great sandwich, I can certainly recommend the House of Blues. I keep going back to those fries, but they were surprisingly excellent, and the sandwich missed the mark by just inches. What a shame. Still, a very good meal in a great setting with great staff. Here's to next time, House of Blues.


The Final Call:
Facilities: 5/5
Staff: 5/5
Service: 5/5
Drinks: 3/5
Food: 4/5

Overall: 4/5

Review: Black Walnut Cafe at Rice Village

The Rundown:
The City: Houston
The Place: The Black Walnut Cafe at Rice Village
The Day: Sunday
The Time: 1:00 - 2:00 P.M.

The Review:
Once again on my blogging adventures, and again on the often times Quixotic adventure of trying to find a good church to attend, I recently found myself being invited by a local church group to The Black Walnut Cafe in the Rice Village area. Rice Village, one of the nicer, charming areas of the city, is home to a number of restaurants, bars and stores. Of course any store catering to the British is immediately an area of town I'll be visiting.

The Black Walnut itself doesn't sit on Rice Boulevard but is instead just a street back, where yet another impressive array of stores, bars and restaurants all sit cozied up to one another. I'm not sure I can level this as a criticism at the restaurant, but the parking situation in Rice is atrocious. Despite all it has to offer, it's difficult to find a place to saddle your car so that you can actually enjoy the area. Then again, this is Houston, and the lawmakers of this city don't seem to actually care whether anyone shops around here.




To get this out of the way, The Black Walnut is, undoubtedly, a pleasant place to gather and sit. Though slightly crowded on this Sunday afternoon, the owners have done a wonderful job of making sure the area is well lit with natural light instead of fuzzy interior lights. Windows empty out on the streets and fill the restaurant with just enough sun. A long stretch of seating lines the back wall while bar stools and tables sit along the main dining area, and tables can be brought together quite easily for larger parties. The Black Walnut has a good problem in this respect. So many people want to eat there, that they struggle slightly to accommodate the numbers given a simple problem of size. The rich wood, so beautiful, and the slightly antique styled chairs provide a quirk and charm to the restaurant that makes it a lovely gathering place on a sunny afternoon.



From the point of entry there's nobody to greet you but the front of store is easily located directly ahead of the entry, with a number of menus just off to the side and some popular dishes and drinks chalked on the boards above the order area.




There are a delicious number of pastries presented up front as well, there to delight the eyes and tempt the tongue. However the first point of confusion emerged at this point, since it becomes confusing to order if you've never been to the Black Walnut. There are two signs that say "Order Here". However, you're actually only supposed to order at the first, while the second is for pick up. This had to be explained as my companion and I struggled to find a place to actually get a lunch requested. Not a massive stumble, but at least a hiccup.



A rather minor one of course, but then, we haven't actually discussed the food. I ordered what it labeled on the menu as the "Thirteen Coins". Oh dear, what could that possibly mean? A quick examination quickly presented it as a sandwhich, almost a club, though with a greater variety of meets and an interesting bread to top it off. To quote, from their online menu, it is a composition of "Cajun Turkey, honey ham, hard salami, provolone, red onions, tomatoes, lettuce, pesto La-chac-la bread, tomato savory dressing, served warm".

That last bit is good for a chuckle in retrospect. Here's what my meal looked like as it was served.





Keep a close eye on that bread. As far as sides go, the fries were well seasoned, though perhaps slightly overly so. When I eat a fry, the aftertaste of the seasoning shouldn't be so strong that I need to take a drink of water to cool my throat. However, better a well seasoned fry than a bland one, and even despite the over-seasoning it wasn't offensively done so. The crime on those fries, though, had nothing to do with the seasoning and everything to do with the taste. Slightly cold, not mushy but not crisp, almost limp. It felt as if they'd been sitting on the plate for a few minutes before the sandwhich was brought to the window for plating. Unfortunate.

Still, not extraordinarily bad, just not as good as I was expecting. Here's the real kicker. Remember that bread? This is what it quickly became:



What a soggy mess. Kudos to the restaurant deciding to use so many different ingredients, but the choice of bread creates a disaster as the diner tries to actually eat the damned thing. At times I wondered if I shouldn't grab a fork and go at it like a salad. The chefs at Black Walnut Cafe need to decide to go with either a different bread for this sandwich, or a different method of presentation is less bulky portions, because this simply won't do. Mind you, La-chac-la is merely their fancy way of saying flatbread. I noticed my neighbors sandwich in normal toasted bread was staying together quite nicely.

So my review of Black Walnut Cafe? Mixed, honestly. I understand they were busy on a Sunday afternoon, and the price at 12 dollars is reasonable, but you're still asking for some basics from your meal. Warm fries. Not oily and limp. And bread that doesn't fall apart because it's too tin and soggy. It's a damned shame considering the appeal of the restaurant, and in the end the food defines what you are as a restaurant. Much like the crowded interior of the cafe, the food is just sort of a confused mess.

The Final Call:
Facilities: 4/5
Staff: 5/5
Service: 4/5
Drinks: N/A
Food: 2/5

Overall: 3/5

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Houston, TX

Meeting Ben Hall, Mayoral Candidate for Houston

Except not for us small timers.

So obviously I'm into politics, and I love the city of Houston. We're America's most ethnically diverse city, we're wrestling between liberal and conservative at the moment, we've got a long history, we're actually building light rail (IN TEXAS), and the University of Houston has a great research program. As an active member of the community, a member of the history department as well as the owner of a small catering company, I'm interested in learning about politicians and what they bring to the office, if they get elected.

 

So when I was incited by the owner of a local establishment to come to a meet and greet for Ben Hall, from 6 to 8 on the 28th, I thought it'd be a great chance to as a few questions about his policies. I mean, two hours is a good piece of time to have to talk with someone. Even an hour would have been nice.

 

But then the flyer went out that it would be from 5 to 7, so I said, okay, I may have to miss a bit of work but I'm willing to do it, especially since I was personally invited by the owner to come, support and maybe get some talk in. Certainly even a few minutes would have been nice. Members of the National Black MBA Association were there. Although the total crowd was small, there were at least a dozen people there specifically see Hall.

And what does Ben Hall do? He doesn't show up from 5 to 7. Instead he gets there at 7:30, his staff having arrived an hour ahead of time. When he drops in, he shakes hands down the line at the bar, does the Wobble with some women on the floor, and vanishes ten minutes later. No time to talk, no time to ask about policy, no time to show that he cared. To be honest, it was rather insulting.
So listen up Houston. As of right now, Ben Hall doesn't really seem like he has the time to discuss policy with members of the community. I suppose we weren't just high enough on his list for him to pay more than lip service to. What's insulting is that I was not the only one that took time out of their day to arrive. At least two other men complained to his staff that they'd arrived at five to see Hall, and were now having to leave before the man even arrived, because Ben Hall didn't have time in his day to have even a ten minute discussion about how he'd help the Third Ward or anyone in Houston, really.

Politics is partly a personality game, a publicity game. Hall didn't do himself any favors by acting as if we weren't worth his time.

Riding a Bus is Good for more than just the Environment

So often in the discussion of mass transportation, we, quite logically, examine the environmental impact and benefits of using mass transit versus individual vehicles. I'm not going to say I'm a heavy bus user. I like my car, and I want an electric one soon, to ease the burden on the planet and our use of fossil fuels. However, I've been trying to ride the bus on a more frequent basis, especially to congested areas like Downtown or the Theater District here in Houston, places with great locations to hang out and have fun, a drink or take in some culture. However, parking is a chore, and it just occurred to me I should try the bus more often. It's a bit more environmentally responsible and Houston is constructing an ever growing lightrail system to get people around from the University of Houston, to the Medical Center, Downtown, Theater District... everywhere major, really, in addition to their bus routes. Regardless of which vehicle you're taking though, I've come to realize, everyone should ride in mass transit on at least a semi regular reason, and for reasons that go beyond environmental concerns. 

 

Ethnically speaking, I've seen Asian Americans, African Americans, Anglo Americans, Mexican Americans, and more. Economically there's been lower wage workers on certain routes and at certain times, and groups that skew in the middle class and slightly higher on different routes at different times. I've seen couples arguing, one man having a sexual conversation with his girlfriend in the back of the bus, a few men debating how little money they're making at their job. One was assisting his wheelbound mother, another pair of friends were taking their young daughters to the Rodeo. One young man jammed out on headphones whose volume was too high and one girl was carrying so many shopping bags I wondered how she'd get them all out of the bus.

They've looked shabby and nice, worn second hand clothes and suits, had different attitudes, agendas, and destinations. What's intriguing though, is the slice of life you get when you are simply around others. I find it hard to think you could be unsympathetic with the poor if you had to bus with a few low wage earners every day of your life. I think you'd find it difficult to continue hating gay people if you got to overhear loving conversations or just normal, day to day talk, instead of always perceiving them as caricatures communicated to you by talking heads. I don't think you could continue being racist, or at least you could find your prejudices softened, if you had to interact with other people of different ethnicities each day of your life.

This sort of gets back to the concept of "The Bubble". We often use it to refer to the echo chamber that's developed in Republican circles, especially with the closed loop of Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, Breitbart and the Daily Caller, among others. But as creatures of habit, everyone is subject to creating their own bubbles at times. We get used to our usual, our particular group that is economically and ethnically like us, even if we intellectually and even emotionally sympathize with people of differing backgrounds.

And this isn't a call to always be challenging yourself at every single moment to spend time with people different from yourself. There's nothing wrong with the norm, your usual, as long as you get exposed to something else once in a while. The bus is symbolic in that sense, of a limited means of seeing people similar and dissimilar from yourself, and at least getting a glimpse of life outside your norm. And sure, once in a while, try something really different. Mix it up, see what others are doing. It's difficult to imagine sympathizing with people you don't associate with whatsoever, after all. If you're associations are always in a closed circle, The Bubble can become strong, and it's a tricky thing.

Yes, this means a willingness to talk with Republicans too. I always find it strange when I hear about people wanting Republicans off of tv shows and cutting them off as friends. There is occasion for that, sure. If you find out someone you know is a virulent racist that is absolutely impossible to talk to sensibly, might be a good idea to rethink that association. Others, though, are Republican for various reasons. Some are fiscally conservative, and have little use for social conservative ideas that would cut off different groups from the American Dream. I've got a few Libertarian friends that, while I absolutely disagree with their hands off view of government, and who I find to be naive about the consequences of a government that is uninvolved, I still associate with positively on a number of social issues. Finally, there is just plain crazy, the sort of people that think Obama is a Marxist Kenyan who's planning to turn the country over to the U.N., and who spout nonsense like that one guy at CPAC who said he'd still be okay if slavery was going on. That's a little nuts.

Usually, though, people aren't caricatures. They're complicated and have complex backgrounds and approaches, and discussion with them helps understand where they're coming from. This is just good advice for everyone. Get to know people unlike you. Because I still have concerns about my city.
Houston is often touted as diverse, and I'll give you that it is, but it's diverse in a way that's still segregated. Take the nightlife. There are places where black people go, and places where white people go. Hispanics tend to fluctuate between the two types of places depending. I can go one place and be the only white person in view. Nothing wrong with that, but you can categorize these places as 1.) Hardcore hip hop playing locations with 2.) Almost entirely African American attendants. Go to another place and I'm one more grain in the white rice. There's a mix of 1.) Soft, dancey hip hop with dance and rock mixed with 2.) Almost entirely white attendants, with maybe two or three African Americans in the mix. Then you have places where all the Asians go, or they go there on particular nights, like Tuesdays and Saturdays, while the African Americans go on Fridays.

So we've still got work to do integrating diversity. It's a step by step approach, but one day I hope to be able to go to some of my favorite places and not have to worry that someone's going to come up to me and say "What are you doing here, cracker?" Because please guys, I'm just here for the music.

Houston City Councilman: "You don't die from the flu".

It's not as if we don't already know Texas is a hotbed of crazy. In the scheme of things, Houston is one of the more diverse cities in the state, and the country. Ethnically, culturally, there are people of many backgrounds here, from African immigrants to Latino and Caucasian descendants of old state founders. Because of this, the politics of the city tend to sway from Republican to Democrat, depending on the vibe. Unfortunately, some of those Republicans have a bit of The Crazy. 

 

I'm talking about people like city Councilman Jack Christie, who recently claimed "You don't die from the flu". Houston is currently assessing whether or not to accept 3 million dollars in federal funding to expand childhood vaccinations against the Flu. To the city council's credit, the vote went 15-1. The sole exception? Jack Christie.

Three things to point out about why he voted against it.
1.) The government doesn't have the money to pay for it and we'll have to pay it back. Sounds like a Tea Party vibe right off the bat.
2.) Natural immunity is superior, while vaccines create an artificial immunity. In other words, better to suffer through it and gain a natural advantage.
3.) The media is embellishing how deadly the flu really is. Really?

Mother Jones had an informative article about the flu just a week ago. One of its informative charts detailed where the fly was spreading at the highest rates. Want to guess which state was part of that red zone? That's right, Texas. Alongside several states in the south and midwest, Texas has one of the highest transmission rates in the country. Don't trust a crazy liberal rag? Even the Plano Star has an article about how many people are catching the Flu in this state.

The councilman also ignores the fact that flu vaccines aren't just beneficial for you, but your neighbor as well. Simply because you don't come down with a bad strain doesn't mean it won't be a bad strain for the elderly couple across the way. Health officials are of the general consensus that vaccines are one of the most important advents of the 20th century. They save lives, thousands of them, and how their importance is up for debate is beyond me.

Sometimes people are under a misconception that we've found a cure for viruses, in the same way we have effective antibiotics. We don't. There aren't cures for viruses, only vaccines to boost our immunities. Sometimes vaccines are so effective they push a virus to extinction, but that's a rare occurrence. Viruses like the flu, which have multiple, mutated strains over just the last few years, are still deadly and still require vigilance.

But hey, what does that matter to Jack Christie? He never got a vaccine, and he's fine, which means all of our lives should mirror his experience perfectly. So good luck kids. If you come down with the flu because there wasn't funding for vaccines? Blame men like Houston City Councilman, Jack Christie. Because your life isn't worth the money to preserve it for men like him.

The Houston Texans are about to be Destroyed

83-109.

That is the combined record of the teams that the Houston Texas beat this year. Of those teams, the only four winning teams they beat were the Denver Broncos, the Baltimore Ravens, the Chicago Bears, and the Indianapolis Colts. I'm not even quite sure how much you can count the Colts game, since the Texans lost to them just a few games later. 

The teams they lost to had a combined record of 44-20, and included the Greenbay Packers, the New England Patriots, the Minnesota Vikings, and the Indianapolis Colts.  The Packers clinched their division, the Patriots clinched their division, the Vikings clinched their Wild Card spot, and the Colts clinched a Wild Card spot. 

Now here's why the Texans are going to get destroyed on Sunday.

Of all their wins, from a pure standings perspective, their greatest victory was against the 13-3 Denver Broncos. However, that was early in the season. I'm actually not too impressed with Denver overall, either, but if you contrast them against the Texans, at least Denver hit its stride late in the season, where Houston faltered. All of Denver's losses were early, and it went on to win all its games from mid-October on. It's also manned by one of the greatest quarterbacks of our generation, something the Texans can't claim.

The Texans stumbled late. It was destroyed by New England 42-14 and finished the season with only wins in five games during December. Where you can trust a Manning or a Brady to create offense, the Texans have struggled, barely finding the end zone through the end of the season and into its Wild Card game. After seeming dominant for such a long stretch it sputtered out and didn't even seem capable of handling the Bengals. 

Sometimes, in sports, momentum means something. Houston has had none since December, and even its wildcard win can't save its dying offense. The Patriots started the year 3-3, looked comparatively weak when compared against a team like the Texans, yet still clinched their division. That's a mental toughness the Texans just don't have, at least not yet. And when Sunday finally gets here? The Pats are going to be coming off of a week of rest and time to heal up, and will be playing at home. They have the experience to win in the playoffs that the Texans don't. 

Matt Schaub has only had one touchdown pass in the past 23 quarters, going back to their win against the Titans, and he's going to continue cracking as the pressure intensifies in the playoffs. The Texans' best chance of winning will be by dominating the time of possession, but they have no way to keep Brady off the field considering how bad their offense has looked. If Schaub had given the Texans any hope against the Bengals this might be a different story, but look for the Pats to stay on the field and Brady to dominate once again. You can't beat the Pats on field goals. 

 Houston, I love you, but the Pats are about to eat your lunch. So leave the letter jackets at home.

Texas Lost: Homeless Children and the Education they won't Receive

If you haven't had a chance to read the Texas Republicans' stance on minimum wage, I don't blame you. It's written into their party platform, which is a frightening piece of writing containing stances that were current about a century ago. Fortunately, their position on it is brief and easily repeatable here:

"Minimum Wage – We believe the Minimum Wage Law should be repealed."

What's truly unfortunate about Texas Republicans is that they aren't the only group of Republicans trying to swim away from providing better wages to the least fortunate. While the Democratic Party is busy trying to help those in need with better wages, Republicans are literally driving away from any constituents bothering to ask about higher payments.

However, while debates about minimum wage and the economy seem to be little more than political games for Republicans to pander to their constituents over, there are some very stark realities for those living in Texas who are barely getting by. From Galveston today:
 
"Lailani is one of about 650 homeless students beginning their second week of classes in the Galveston school district. Almost 10 percent of the district's students have been identified as homeless.

While Galveston's situation is unusual because of the lingering effects of Hurricane Ike, the number of homeless students is increasing nationally and in Texas even as resources to help those students dwindle.

.....

Over the past four years the national number increased by 57 percent, to about 2 million, and by 151 percent in Texas, to about 85,000, said Ralph da Costa Nunez, president of the Institute for Children, Poverty and Homelessness in New York."

Previously discussed has been the growing situation in Texas in which education funds have been slashed at both the K-12 and collegiate level, as well as the cuts to healthcare and services for the poorest. This has combined with a growing number of homeless. In Galveston, that number reaches nearly ten percent, and leads to a situation in which individuals are nomadic, without steady social support or opportunities for education.

Lack of housing that stems from underpayment combines with a lack of social services, forcing families into a nomadic lifestyle. Children are forced to move schools multiple times, providing little consistency. Meanwhile, the schools they do attend are likely to have become victim of Texas' cruel budget cuts, providing substandard education services to those already on the margins of society.

Senator Jane Nelson wrote recently that 115,000 Texas receive aid as part of TANF, welfare to the neediest few. That's less than 1% of the population, in a state with some of the harshest requirements to get on welfare. For many in this state, that leaves them in limbo, unable to receive assistance, underpaid, and forced to stay on the move.

Texas is creating an entire generation of underserviced, undereducated citizens. This wouldn't be new for Texas, which has one of the worst graduation rates in the entire country, and also has a higher rate of drop outs than the national average.

This leads to some simple questions Texas politicians have to answer. What are the effects of having ten percent of our population earning minimum wage, and another large percentage earning less than their peers, nationally? Because the effects are systemic. Lower paying jobs means less revenue gathered by the state, leading to less social services. This in turn creates situations like poor Lailani's, in which she must stay nomadic, on the go without hope of any proper education. This in turn will create a new generation of low wage, undereducated earners that will reduce Texas' prospects in the coming era.

It's strange that, nationally, Republicans are hoping to emulate the Texas model by slashing public services while cutting taxes to big business. Rick Perry and the Republican party have already done that, and the result, which we're seeing develop before our very eyes, is a lost generation of Texans. In ten years, when Texas is floundering in a sea of of welfare applicants, it will only have itself to look at. Welfare isn't something that people seek out because it's their highest aspiration, but is instead something created by bad policies and mismanagement of resources. Texas has done that in spades. Will national Republicans keep trying to do the same?