10 Years After Hurricane Katrina

This month marks ten years after Hurricane Katrina. An event in which millions of Houstonians opened their arms and their care to hundreds of thousands of Katrina evacuees. It will always be one of the most pivotal events in Houston history, during a time of tragedy we showed the world the size of our hearts and our compassion.

Our hearts go out to Deputy Darren H. Goforth

Our condolences go out to Deputy Darren H Goforth and his family during this trying time and tragedy.

Happy Birthday Market Square Park!

Happy Birthday to Market Square Park! Home to Niko Niko's downtown restaurant, a great dog park and the beautiful and moving 9/11 Memorial!

Houston Nominated as one of America's Most Cultured Cities.

Houston has been nominated by USA Today as one of the most cultured cities in America. Make sure you get out there and vote for it.

Houston deserves the ranking as one of the most cultured cities in America. Houston is the most ethnically diverse city in America, which reflects itself in the vast array of food establishments. 90 languages are spoken in Houston and it has the third largest concentration of consular offices in The United States. Houston is home to the Museum District with some of the best museums in the world and the Theater District with some of the best theaters in the world.

Houston is easily a nominee for the most cultured city. Now let’s get out there and vote and make it number one! Here is the link! 

http://www.10best.com/awards/travel/best-destination-for-culturephiles/houston/

Happy Birthday Houston!

On this day in 1836, The Allen Brothers purchased land along Buffalo Bayou, officially founding the City of Houston. Today is Houston’s birthday. Houston was founded in 1836 by the Allen Brothers. The two brothers took a boat down Buffalo Bayou as far as they could and founded the city there. John Kirby Allen was a representative in the first Congress of the Republic of Texas. He was able to successfully lobby to make Houston the capital of the Republic of Texas and have it named after Sam Houston. Houston would move on to become the fastest growing city of the 20^th century in America. It was still a small town in 1901 when oil was found in Beaumont. Houston is a great city and I am very happy to celebrate its 179^th birthday.

Montgomery County Road Bond Will Happen!

After a May road bond proposal was struck down by voters, The Montgomery County Commissioners court and Texas Patriots PAC have reached an agreement on a $280 Million Road Bond Proposal that will be on the November ballot.

After a crushing defeat at the polls, Montgomery County Officials have displayed a shining light of how working together can be obtained.

In May, a $350 Million Montgomery County road bond was shot down by voters. Complaints included a proposed Woodlands Parkway extension and a significant amount of the money going to road maintenance. It looked like Montgomery County would not get their road bond, a county of 500,000 people, projected to reach 1 Million by the next decade.

The primary opposition group was the Texas Patriots PAC. After negotiations were held, The Texas Patriots PAC and Montgomery County Commissioners Court reached an agreement on a road bond proposal that will now go to the voters in November, along with the Texas Patriots PAC’s endorsement.

I am very happy that an important road bond proposal happened. This is a shining example of how in Houston, we can work together.

Houston Photo Series #8

A view of Downtown Houston from the JP Morgan Chase Tower observation deck.

One Man's Party to Fight Multiple Schlerosis

One Houstonian knows how to throw a party.

On October 11, Chris Sheperd will host Southern Smoke, an event that will turn Underbelly, Hay Merchant and Blacksmith into a massive street party that will raise at least $100,000 for the MS Society.

When Chris Shepherd learned his good friend and former sommelier Antonio Gianola had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, his first reaction was to "throw a huge party and raise a ton of money." So, he contacted his friends Aaron Franklin of Franklin Barbecue, Sean Brock of Husk, McCrady's and Minero and Rodney Scott of Scott's Barbecue to see if they'd be interested in a trip to Houston.

Aaron Franklin, the first pitmaster to win a James Beard Award, is driving his smoker in from Austin to serve up his award-winning brisket that attracts hours-long lines at Franklin Barbecue. Rodney Scott's whole hog South Carolina barbecue has reached legendary status, with people driving hours to his hometown of Hemingway just for a taste. Sean Brock, a two-time James Beard Award winner, is credited with reviving and preserving heritage foods in the South.

Southern Smoke will also mark the first event featuring the HOUBBQ Collective, formed by a group of local chefs-Seth Siegel-Gardner, Terrence Gallivan, Ryan Pera, Justin Yu and Chris Shepherd. 

This will be a block party-the street between Hay Merchant and Blacksmith will be shut down. Tickets on sale Monday, August 24 at noon at southernsmoke.org

This event will be great for Houston and represent Houston’s traditions of kindness and good Bar-B-Que.

Texas gains jobs in July, Houston loses.

While Texas gained jobs in July, Houston has lost jobs.

Although Houston lost jobs in July, the loss is expected and here are the reasons why. Texas added 31,400 jobs in July, second only to California. The situation in Houston is occurring due to several factors. First, job growth has outpaced population growth and there are not enough workers to fill the slots that new job opportunities are creating. Also, the summer leaves a lot of teachers not working. Considering the loss of jobs the summer brings when teachers are off work, most economists would have predicted Houston losing about 13,000 jobs, however, Houston only lost 4,900 jobs. Greater Houston unemployment registered 4.7 percent for the month — above the Texas average of 4.2 percent, but below the national rate of 5.3 percent. Economics is always up and down but I am sure that before long, Houston will be creating jobs again.

Houston's Creole Food Scene!

Today I will talk about Houston’s role in a particular cuisine of food that Houston excels at.

 Houston has an excellent creole food scene. Houston Restaurants like Underbelly and Brennan’s in Montrose serve traditional Louisiana Creole dishes like jambalaya and remoulade-topped po'boys combined with the culinary traditions of the area's indigenous, African, Caribbean, French and Spanish populations. Houston’s geographical location puts it in an area surrounded by bayous and swamplands while also close to gulf coast seafood and of course Louisiana itself. I love Houston’s culinary scene and its creole scene is one of the best.