The Day the Music Died, so long Fiesta....

....you will be missed.

This Fiesta Store was small, but it had all the good stuff.(I use the past tense here, because for all practical purposes, the store is no more.) I shopped there as often as I could. Sometimes it was just for one or two things, sometimes it was just to go into a friendly place where music from my early years played. Singing along and dancing down the aisles was a regular occurrence and I wasn't the only one. If you listened carefully, you could hear a whole grocery store singing along with Ray Charles, Three Dog Night, Chicago, Aretha.

It was weird going in there recently. The shelves are not being restocked. Some of them looked threadbare.

My favorite sections of the store were the produce, the seafood and the wine. There will never be better deals on wine anywhere else. That's the truth.

great produce

Best wine deals in town.

While I was checking out, I asked the guy at the register if the store was really closing on July 15. He said yes. I told him I would really miss coming into the store. He said that he would miss all the customers. He went on to say that the whole strip center is going to be demolished to make room for a high rise. I asked if Fiesta had made a place in other stores for all the displaced employees. He said that they had. Yeah!! Fiesta.

I like grocery stores. I'm fortunate to have such a selection within a one mile radius from my apartment. Each one of them offers something different, each one has its own personality and even though I have other stores to shop, I will really miss this quirky fun little store.

The whole strip center is going down.

The Fiesta at West Alabama and Dunlavy

Goodbye, Fiesta.
Ah, I love the smell of cilantro in the morning.

Quote of the Day:
"I love grocery shopping when I'm home. That's what makes me feel totally normal. I love both the idea of home as in being with my family and friends, and also the idea of exploration. I think those two are probably my great interests." Yo-Yo Ma

Toasting Patrick Flanagan at Hendricks Pub....

....it just seemed like the right thing to do.

I have been wanting to go into Hendricks Pub, because it is a curiosity to me. I remember it not as a pub but as Settegast Kopf Funeral Home.

Hendricks Pub is on the right. The left side of the building is a club called Roak. It has a pool inside.

Certainly, the outside screams "I AM A PUB" not "I USED TO BE A FUNERAL HOME," albeit a very nice one as those things go, but I remember it as the later. It is in fact the last place that I saw Patrick Flanagan, before being taken to his final resting place at Lawndale Cemetery. Patrick and his wife Peggy, neighbors at the first apartment complex I lived in, had taken this hick-from-the-sticks young woman under their wings when I blew into Houston from Kansas, a very long time ago. They  introduced me to Houston as only natives can. I will be forever grateful for their kindness. I felt it was appropriate to give Patrick a proper toast in this funeral home turned pub.

Plus, I have another connection with this pub/funeral home, I worked on an industrial training video with my friend David, who directed the video for SCI, in the 80s. In fact, I played a dead person, lying on a gurney, waiting outside the embalming room. I think I was fully covered by a sheet, but still, it was a bit creepy. We also did a shot of a hearse leaving the garage. The parking lot was sprayed down with water so the concrete looked even, with a nice reflection. David timed the shot perfectly, the garage door opens, the headlights are revealed, the hearse pulls out, turning to the right. We did it at sunrise. It was dramatic and well done.

To be honest, I was a bit nervous going into the pub, so I asked my friend Taavi, who is a good friend and an excellent hip hip horrayer, to meet me there. I just didn't know what to expect or how I would feel once inside the place. I liked it. The pub was warm and open and very lively!!! We sat at the bar, the service was great. Taavi and I raised our glasses to Patrick Flanagan.  "Here's to you Patrick Flanagan, a kind and generous soul. I am so glad that I knew you."

I looked around the place and realized that I was one of the older folks there, wondering if any of these youngster even knew about the funeral home aspect of the place. Luckily a young man in his mid 20s stepped up to the bar, so I asked him if he knew the history of the place, did he know that Hendricks Pub used to be a funeral home. He said that he did. I asked if that bothered him at all. He said not in the least bit. He seemed to be having a good time with friends.


Hendricks Pub has an impressive beer selection and a full bar. I had my usual local beer from Buffalo Brewery Co., Taavi had a beer from Oregon. Both very good. I also tried one of their signature drinks, Hendricks Gimlet made with gin, elderberry flower liqueur, a dash of orange bitters, lime, topped off with champagne. I liked it, because it wasn't overly sweet and it had an effervescence that was refreshing. I do want to go back and try their food. Pub grub is a favorite of mine.

An Old Irish Blessing

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Hendricks Pub and Eatery
3320 Kirby Drive
Houston, TX 77098
713-522-1500
www.hendrickspub.com 

May Day, May Day!!! Flying Saucer Pie Company....

...on high alert. Incoming, Coconut Cream Pies, prepare your taste buds for the sweetest invasion of your life. Take me to your leader!

This is not a fancy place, strictly grab and go. While I was trying to decide on which pie to buy, a man walked in. I asked him if this was his first time at Flying Saucer Pie Co. He said, "No." That he had been coming to Flying Saucer since it had opened for business in 1967.

He went on to explain that he lives in Conroe and when he does manage to get to Houston, he stops in Flying Saucer Pie to stock-up on pies for himself, family members and people that work for him. The guy made it clear that he isn't too fond of Houston, but Flying Saucer Pie makes the trip worth the effort. I asked him if he had a favorite. He said they are all good. However, his eyes got brighter when he started to describe the Strawberry Pie. "Big red juicy strawberries, topped with whipped cream."  Mmmmm.

I had been invited to dinner, needed to take dessert, wanted it to be good, because I knew that the meal would be other worldly tip-top stellar, and it was. The hard part was to decide which pie to buy. They all sounded delicious, but my pie meter landed on Coconut Cream, one of my favorites. The Strawberry Pie did sound good, though. The man suggested that I buy two pies.

With pie in hand I went to dinner. I was greeted at the door with a happy look that zeroed in on the pie box.

Yumm! was the initial reaction. I was the only one at dinner who had never had pie from Flying Saucer. Let me tell you, I was extremely pleased with my dessert choice.

It was delightful. The filling was light, melt-in-your-mouth good, topped with whipped cream and toasted coconut and the crust, flaky and crisp, savory, a nice pairing with the sweetness of the filling. The pie was a nice cap to a very scrumptous meal.

I guess at the Holidays there is a line around the block for pies. I can see why. I want to exhaust their menu and then start all over again.

Quote of the day: "Don't get fancy. Have you cooked an apple pie? You don't know what you did wrong? Do this: Take two or three apples. Put them on a table. Study them." Paul Prudhomme

Certainly Flying Saucer Pie has studied the apple and has come away from the lesson, "A+" students! 

Flying Saucer Pie Company
436 Crosstimbers Road
Houston, TX 77018
713-694-1141
www.flyingsaucerpieshop.com

An Interview with Nabi chef/owner Ji Kang.....

...a gracious man, a talented chef. I hope that you enjoy the interview and after watching it, make your way over to lower Westheimer and give Nabi a try. You will not be disappointed.

click on the link!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kA7k9GPsDWc&feature=youtu.be

This is Chef Ji Kang and filmmaker Yunuen Perez-Vertti.
Nabi Neighborhood Restaurant
1517 Westheimer
Houston, TX 77006
www.nabihouston.com

Turrell's Skyspace at Rice, unbelievably wonderful...

...in the daytime, what will it be like at dusk or twilight. That requires another visit and excitedly so.

As I walked toward this art installation, I wanted to look at it, take it all in, admire the simple genius of it, the other part of me wanted to run toward it and be absorbed by it. I compromised, walking at quicken pace without taking my eyes of it for a second, I arrived just at the perfect time and with all my tactical senses on alert. I entered the chamber on ground floor, feeling embraced, at home. I then climbed the stairs to the second floor, sat down, immediately stilling my mind, feeling the smooth concrete surface with my hands, relaxing. The experience is calming and invigorating all at the same time. The clean lines take away the clutter. The breeze easily flows through, shaded, the temperature is about 10 degrees cooler. Nice for getting out of the Houston heat.  I think being there during a rain storm would be a thrill. Mmmmm. The possibilities just keep coming.

Skyspace is open to the public and is situated on the Rice University campus between the Shepherd School of Music and the Jones School of Business. A grass bern surrounds the structure. It certainly grabs the interests of kids. I wonder if they understand that they are running up a piece of art.  Does it matter? Experiencing it is what matters at any age and at any point in the day. Maybe the next time I am there, I will get the gumption to run up the hill, barefoot.

Beside being delightful place to sit, this space is a companion to the Shepherd School of Music, designed for small concerts. Wouldn't it be a blast to experience music rising through to the opened sky? That would be the icing on the cake, the sour cream, chives and bacon on the baked potato, the strawberries on top of cheesecake. (Okay, I had to get some food references in there somewhere.)

The roof reflects the green from the bern. At night lights shoot up from around the inside of the structure. I don't know if they change color, but I will be finding that out soon.

This isn't the first experience I've had with James Turrell's art. He has another installation at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, called "The Light Inside." This installation is in the Wilson Tunnel between the two main MFA galleries. Again an art installation that is interactive, one that disorients me a bit, but changes my perceptions of space and how it can change with colored light. I purposely choose to cross from one building to the next using the tunnel. The experience of it never gets old and I feel or observe something different every time I go through it; much like "Skyspace" will do, I'm sure of it.

Rice University
6100 Main Street,
Houston, TX 77005
www.rice.edu
 
Quote of the day: 

"Light is not so much something that reveals, as it is itself the revelation."
James Turrell

BRC gave me plenty to chew on.....

...and it was most satisfying. This southern comfort food restaurant on steroids (metaphorically speaking) was a surprise for a lot of reasons, one of them has to do with its name. It took me a few drive-bys, seeing the giant red rooster at the the corner of Blossom and Shepherd to make the connection between the rooster and the initials, BRC, on top of the building.

Hello, BRC. I think it is bold, fun and definitely a conversation starter, because I have to tell you, that people who have never been there, know exactly what you're talking about when you ask "Have you seen that giant red rooster on the corner of Blossom and Shepherd?" There is always, always a grin and then they reply, "You mean BRC?"

As I entered the BRC I wasn't sure what to expect. Would it be cheesy with only burgers on the menu, sawdust on the floor? I got my first clue as to the quality of the place by the patio just to the right of the front door. It is contemporary, well shaded, with nice greenery. The inside is as nicely appointed  in neutral tones with that splash of BRC red on the walls and bar stools. There are framed pictures of what else on the walls? Hens and roosters, of course.

I started my meal with a beer from Buffalo Brewery. It's a local brewery and the beer is very good.

BRC offers a wide variety of handcraft brews along with ciders and wines. They also have a unique selection of appetizers.  I tried the fried oyster, bacon and deviled egg appetizer. It sounds a bit funky, but Holy Toledo, Batman, it was really good. The oysters and bacon are piping hot, the eggs are chilled. The egg mixture adds a saucy taste to the oysters. I liked it.

My friend Barb met me there for lunch. This gave me an opportunity to get a couple of different dishes on the the table. I ordered the Spice Roast and Grill Finished Brisket Slab (It is a slab for sure, a thick slab). The meat was fork splitting tender, rich, yummy.

It comes with mashed potatoes that tastes like a baked potato loaded to the max with green onions, bacon, sour cream and cheese. There is mushroom-onion gravy that I requested on the side, because I'm a gravy snob. So few places know how to make a good gravy, my mom has set the gold standard for that, but BRC's gravy was quite good. There is nothing worse than having gravy poured all over your food and then the gravy taste like paste; ruining the good food underneath.

Barb ordered the Chicken Pot Pie which comes with a fresh green salad. The pot pie is huge. I tasted it. Liked it very much. It is cooked with pulled chicken, peas, pearl onions, celery, carrots and parsnips.

And to round out the whole experience, I ordered cake balls. They are made by Petite Sweets an affiliate restaurant of BRC, that and Liberty Kitchen, too. The cake balls are made from scratch and pack a hefty punch of flavor. Below is Red Velvet, Chocolate Peanut Butter and Italian Cream.

 The people at the table over ordered the Bread Pudding. It looked scrumptous, too.

There are lighter things on the menu, like this grilled chicken salad with greens and roasted beets. I decided to go for a heartier meal.

The food is quality. The wait staff is friendly and informative. It was a great experience all the way around. The BRC has me wanting more. It certainly put the cock-a-doodle in my doo. I will dine there again and maybe try out their happy hour, too.

BRC Gastropub
519 Shepherd
Houston, TX 77007
www.brcgastropub.com

Need a Sugar Fix......

...let me introduce you to Sugar Fix! A vegan bake-to-order sweet treat kind of business. There isn't a store front, but there is a phone number for orders. Also, owner-baker Amber Aldredge sets up shop at events, like the one this morning, at Boheme Cafe and Wine Bar.

Oatmeal Cranberry Walnut Cookies

I was immediately drawn to Amber's Oatmeal Cranberry Walnut Cookies. I have a deep appreciation for oatmeal, because I tell myself, that even though the oatmeal is in cookie form, that I have to be getting something heart healthy out of the deal!!! I was very pleased that I tried them.  They were moist without a heaviness, flavorful and I'm going to throw in healthy.  Other treats on the ready to sample were: ginger bread muffins, banana nut muffins, brownies, cupcakes. A tasty bunch of treats as I've ever had. Look for Amber or give her a call, order these delightful treats.

Look at the size of those brownies.

ginger bread and banana nut muffins

Cupcakes

I brought the cookies home and set up for tea. They complimented the tea perfectly, of course.

There is one more thing I would like to mention. Amber told me that she was let go from a job. She has always loved to bake, so she decided to give it a go and the good news is, she is making a sustainable living from her baking. I can taste why, too, yummmy!!!

The stories out there are great. Talking to people who care about what they do, because it is a genuine interest seems to be a good way of finding a better way to live. Adding a positive attitude only enhances the chances for that success.  There are inspirations all over the place. Amber is one of them. Yeah Amber!!!!

Quote for the day: "Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors where there were only walls."

Joseph Campbell


Sugar Fix
"When you're craving something sweet..."
www.sugarfixsweets.com
909-851-4567