Houston, TX

The Texans have come out strong winning with a big win in their first game of the season. Mario Williams is proving he was a good pick with a great performance, including a 38-yard fumble return for a touchdown in the game against Kansas City. The final score was 20-3. The defense also came out strong. They forced four turnovers, and sacked Chiefs quarterback Damon Huard three times. The game was exciting to watch, with a 77 yard touchdown thrown by Matt Schaub to Andre Johnson.

It’s a great—and hopeful start—to the season.

What are your predictions for the season? What do you think of the team this year?

Matt Schaub, Andre Johnson, Mario Williams, Kansas City Chiefs, Houston Texans, Texans

Most Houstonians love their beef, and when looking for something more casual than steak au poivre but better than fast food…we need good recommendations for great burgers!

Every Tuesday the Houston Chronicle does an online reader poll to find out the best recs by residents. Recently readers voted for their favorite hamburger restaurants. See where readers say you ought to be eating for the tastiest burgers:

#1 Lankford’s Grocery — Lankford’s is a retro spot in mid-town on Dennis Street, and readers loved the juicy burgers piled high with all the veggies. It sounds like delicious burgers and great ambience if you like classic diners.

#2 Tookie’s — this one surprised me. I had heard it highly suggested so we gave it a try. We must have hit it on an off-day because we found tiny, tasteless burgers of McDonald’s quality for top price! But 20% of readers—the highest number—said it has the best burgers in the Houston area. Tookie’s is down on 146 just before the Seabrook-Kemah bridge.

#3 Bellaire Broiler Burger — A classic burger joint from the ’60s, readers loved the flame broiled burgers so juicy you need extra napkins. Critics say the decor is simple, the food traditional and delicious. Located on Bellaire Blvd in Bellaire.

#4 Christian’s Tailgate Grill and Bar — After the top three old-fashioned and retro entries, readers next liked the modern version of hamburger and sides. Select from hand-formed burgers, prefab fries and carmelized onion rings. Located on Bagby in Houston.

#5 Mytiburger — Mytiburger has two locations in Houston (northwest and west). I haven’t tried it and no readers rated it with any specifics so it’s a bit of a mystery…but if you feel like taking a bet, perhaps 9% of readers responding to the poll can’t be all wrong!

The #1 write in was the District 7 Grill on Pierce St. in Houston. Apparently the service is as good as the burgers there.

Have a great weekend.

[tags]Burgers, Best Burgers, best Burgers in Houston, Houston Chronicle Poll[/tags}

MUSIC

Summer Storm with Norman Brown, Peabo Bryson, Marion Meadows & More
Verizon Theater
www.verizonwirelesstheater.com
8/17/2007 only! 8:00 p.m.
Verizon Wireless Theater, 520 Texas in Bayou Place
713.230.1600

Women in Jazz: A Salute to Sarah Vaughan (featuring song stylists Kamil and Mickie Moseley and saxophonist Theressa Grayson)
www.milleroutdoortheatre.com
8/17/2007 only! 7:30 p.m.
Miller Theater, In Hermann Park, 100 Concert Drive
281.FREE.FUN

MUSEUM EVENTS

Mixers, Elixirs and IMAX Summer Social Series
www.hmns.org
Every Friday night until August 24, 7:00-10:00 p.m.
Museum of Natural Science, 1 Hermann Circle Drive
713.639.IMAX

Andy Warhol: Three Houston Women (Jermayne MacAgy, Dominique de Menil, and Caroline Wiess Law)
www.menil.org
Through 8/26/2007
Menil Collection, 1515 Sul Ross
713.525.9400

Frogs: A Chorus of Colors (through 9/3/2007)
and
Of Gold and Grass: Nomads of Kazakhstan (through 9/9/2007)
www.hmns.org
Museum of Natural Science, 1 Hermann Circle Drive
713.639.IMAX

Current exhibits at the Museum of Fine Arts
www.mfah.org

CONVENTIONS

Annual Houston Home Show - Fall 2007
www.texashomeandgarden.com
8/17/2007 through 8/19/2007
Convention Center, 1001 Avenida de las Americas
713.529.1616

PERFORMING ARTS

Tuna Does Vegas starring Jaston Williams and Joe Sears
www.thegrand.com
TUE to FRI at 8:00 p.m., SAT at 2:00 and 8:00 p.m., and SUN at 2:00 and 7:00 p.m. through 8/26/2007
2020 Postoffice Street, in Galveston
800.821.1894

It’s How You Play the Game: Professional Sports in Houston
www.heritagesociety.org
Through 9/23/2007
Heritage Society, Downtown, 1100 Bagby @ Allen Parkway
713.655.1912

Late Nite Catechism
www.stagestheatre.com
Through 9/30/2007
Stages Theatre, 3201 Allen Parkway
713.527.0123

FOR MORE EVENTS, CHECK OUT

Unique Urban Outings—a list of fun and exciting events for singles, couples and families by Joshua Hinsdale, Houston Editor

Best Live Music Venues

Zvents

Have fun this weekend, Houston!

arts, entertainment, theater, live music, performances, fun, fun in Houston, Houston events, Houston live music, Houston performances, Houston events

As you expect here in Houston—where there’s always something fun for every interest and age group—there’s a lot of exciting events this weekend!

Now…for the great things to do. This is by no means everything, but it’s a few things that begin this weekend, are ending this weekend or soon, or are hot right now. If you know of any good events, please leave a comment with the information.

Check back later for a guide to the best burger joints around Houston!

Visual Arts Events

Buffalo Soldiers—Starts 8/11 at Buffalo Soldiers National Museum
1834 Southmore Blvd
Houston, TX 77004-5947
Phone: (713) 942-8920
Hours: Mon-Fri 10am-5:30pm, Sat 10am-4pm
Take a trip back in time and learn about the brave Buffalo Soldiers—an African-American troop formed in 1866 by the U.S. Army—through artifacts, videos, prints and other pieces of history.

Current Exhibits at Museum of Fine Arts Houston
1001 Bissonnet
Houston, TX 77005
Phone: (713) 639-7300
Hours: Tue-Wed 10am-5pm, Thu 10am-9pm, Fri-Sat 10am-7pm, Sun 12:15pm-7pm

Catch these soon because they end soon!

The Great Wall of China: Photographs by Chen Changfen
Through August 12, 2007
At the Audrey Jones Beck Building

Building Foundations: Ima Hogg and Bayou Bend in the 1920s
Through August 12, 2007
At the Caroline Wiess Law Building

Brett Weston: Natural Abstractions
Through September 3, 2007
At the Audrey Jones Beck Building

Performing Arts Events

Stargazer’s Guide—Starts 8/11 at Burke Baker Planetarium
One Hermann Circle Dr.
Houston, TX 77030
Phone: (713) 639-4629
Hours: Mon-Fri 12pm-3pm, Sat-Sun 12pm-5pm
The NASA-funded planetarium offers state of the art technology to provide you with an experience almost as real as being in space yourself! Watch real time images from the Hubble Space Telescope and see additional special effects of planets and more.

Romeo & Juliet—Starts 8/11, Ends 8/11 at Miller Theatre, 8:30 p.m.
Miller Theater, In Hermann Park, 100 Concert Drive
Phone: (281) FREEFUN
Web site: www.milleroutdoortheatre.com

Musical Events

Faye Robinson and The Mid City Players—starts 8/11-8/17 at Sammy’s at 2016 Main, includes Funk, Soul & R&B
2016 Main St
Houston, TX 77002
Phone: (713) 751-3101
Cross Street: Gray Street
Specialties: Dance Club, Live Music Venue
Hours: Wed-Sat 8pm-2am

Food and Fun Events

The Main Event—8/11-2/8 at Downtown Main Street, includes Community, Food & Wine
Come enjoy this car-free area of downtown. Sample food, wine, enjoy art and crafts sold by artisans, and listen to the strolling musicians.

Coming events!

Diva Row—Starts 8/13-2/11 at The Magnolia Hotel, includes Jazz and Blues music

Grady Gaines—Starts 8/15-2/6 at Sammy’s at 2016 Main, includes Funk, Soul & R&B

The Amazing Astronomers of Ancient Rome—Starts 8/16 at Burke Baker Planetarium

Rock the Dock—Starts 8/16-8/30 at Kemah Boardwalk, includes Funk, Soul & R&B

Fried Ice Cream—Starts 8/24 at Sammy’s at 2016 Main, includes Funk, Soul & R&B

Starry Night Express—Starts 9/1-9/2 at Burke Baker Planetarium

Texas Renaissance Festival—Starts 10/6

For more events: City of Houston

Houston, events in Houston, Houston events, Houston fun, what to do in Houston

Hello! I wanted to say hello and introduce myself. You can read my bio for details about me, but here I wanted to talk to you about this blog…I want it to be what you want. So, please feel free any time to comment or email me about specific topics or particular information you hope to see me cover here and I’ll make sure to get to it the best I can! Let me know about any events or goings-on you’re involved in, too.

Keep checking back…I have hot local info sitting in drafts, ready to go.

Thanks for reading!

Julie Pippert

Avid Chron readers might remember a story a while back about free airport parking for elected officials. There was a big debate over whether or not it’s a fair practice in the first place and whether or not some elected officials abuse the privilege. In that same vein, I learned today via TTC News that 5,500 free EZ Tags have been issued to elected officials, county and state employees, firefighters and police officers.

The tags are only supposed to be used for business, but how can that be enforced? The system has been in place for 15 years and has never gone under review to make sure the free tags are really only used for job-related trips. None of the free tag users are ever required to account for their trips or turn in any kind of paperwork to prove they only use their tags for work trips. The policy was finally placed under review last month, so I’ll be on the edge of my driver’s seat until we find out what’s going to happen.

In June of 2006, the tags cost $82,557.80. That’s only an average of about $15 per tag, which doesn’t sound too outrageous, but an average really doesn’t demonstrate any abuse of the system. How do drivers feel about this? One that was interviewed called it “unacceptable” with no explanation for his feelings. This driver isn’t quite so outraged, but I don’t like the idea of John Culberson driving to a fat sandwich shop on the Beltway on my dime - if, in fact, the taxpayers do pay for this. It’s unclear from what I’ve read where the money for this service comes from. I’ll try to investigate it and report back later on.

houston, transportation, politics

Houston is a nifty little town, but I wouldn’t say I’m exactly here to prove that to you. Houston’s inferiority complex has lasted long enough, and I don’t think I’m the only one sick of the we-have-theatres-just-like-new-york-and-la mentality. I want to generally operate under the assumption that Houston is a desirable place - which is not to say that we can’t criticize or improve upon it. But hating on Houston is so passe. There’s a lot going on in Houston, but I don’t want to list a lot of events all the time. I’ve been toying with ideas for features, but I definitely want to touch on Houston’s politics, history, celebrities, weather, sports, arts, music, media, and anything else I can think of. If there’s something you want to see here, let me know and I’ll try to accommodate.

As for myself, my name is Alexandria (or Alex) and I’m a full-time student at the University of Houston. I’ve lived in Houston for my entire life and I love it - practically blindly. It’s a big deal for me to say anything remotely negative about my beloved city, even, yes, it’s humid. I’m majoring in political science and I follow local politics pretty closely. My personal blog can be found here. Besides Houston, blogging, and politics, I enjoy watching baseball, reading, the occasional MTV dating show, and Latin.

So here’s a Houston trivia question to kick things off. About what Houston landmark did Bob Hope say, “This is one heck of a place just to be in and watch whatever is going on. If they had a maternity ward and a cemetery you’d never have to leave!”?

houston, bob hope