houston intown magazine

november/december 2010 intown 1

intown

selling the city

the peoplethe placesthe events

nov/dec 2010

2 intown november/december 2010


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Charles Justiz

Holiday Gifts

Houston Renovator

Selling the City

Shop Guide

Investment World

Arts & Entertainment

The Buzz

Med Center Journal

Food For Thought

Cover photo by Jim Olive

CONTENTS


letterM.A. Haines

PUBLISHER

Tess ReganEDITOR

Irene YangWEB & LAYOUT DESIGN

Elaine BrownLAYOUT DESIGN

Jay FordWEB DESIGN

CONTRIBUTORSBuddy Bailey

April CanikGracie CavnarMarene GustinKatheryn HoukCarrie Kaufman

ADVERTISING [email protected]

Intown Magazine is published bi-monthly by SNS Media at 1113 Vine St., Suite 220, Houston, Tx 77002. Articles are welcomed and will be given careful consideration for possible publication. In-town Magazine does not assume any responsibil-ity for unsolicited materials. Material submitted will be returned if accompanied by a stamped, self addressed envelope. You can also email [email protected]. Copyright 2010 by Intown Magazine. All rights reserved. Content may not be reprinted or otherwise reproduced without written permission from Intown Maga-zine. Space reservation deadline for all issues is 15 days prior to publication date. Final closing deadline for ads that are not camera-ready is the 5th of the preceding month. continue on page 30

TT

November, the month of harvests, Thanksgiving and the gate-way to winter holidays, seemed like a perfect time to launch a column about eating.

Eating is not an option, but the way we eat is. We each consume about one thousand meals a year, and our attitude about those meals can swing dramatically on any given day, from “Ugh, I have to cook dinner tonight” to “We can’t wait to have you over for dinner.” We use food as the language of love to show we care for friends and family. Our celebrations of life passages most always center on it, but food can also represent dutiful drudgery.

In the coming months, I hope to share with you the full spectrum of possibilities for paying homage to local harvests, to inspire you to adventures of taste, exploration of our community and joyful celebration of our Gulf Coast foodways and traditions. I also want to inform you about what is happening in our national food sys-tem and bring to your attention issues you need to be aware of for the sake of your health and your family’s well being. Food is too important to ignore or take for granted.

I have always been unrepentant chef groupie and food enthusiast, but lately you might call me obsessive compulsive about the food I eat. I have to admit, It’s an addiction that sneaked up on me . . . . tiptoed in the back door. One day I was begging for Tang, the drink of astronauts, and the next thing I know I’m asking at the farmers market how far away from town the arugula was grown. Fifty years ago, who woulda thunk it?

I loved white, spongy Wonderbread as a kid. I ate it smothered in navy beans and ketchup, or cream gravy, or slathered with marga-rine, and often sandwiching bologna and mustard. In other words, I was a typical child of the 50s. My avante garde mother was en-amored with convenience food. In striving for the Jetson lifestyle she willingly jettisoned the traditions of her Bonanza childhood. Even though she admitted that processed food couldn’t hold a candle to the taste of fresh produce, it didn’t matter. We ate canned vegetables and frozen fruit and rarely saw a fresh green salad that was more than a thin wedge of iceberg, because we were modern.

Introducing Gracie Cavnar

Brand new intownmag.com coming soon on Dec.1st !


year tenure with the space agency, he developed the Crew Resource Management program for NASA aviators and pushed to get it ad-opted, was the program manager for developing an on-board landing simulation system for Space Shuttle pilots to use while on orbit and has been the Chief of Aviation Safety for NASA.Currently, he holds an adjunct associate professorship at the Uni-versity of Houston in aerospace engineering and a doctorate degree from the University of Houston for his research in Thermo Physics and Plasma Dynamics and is a NASA Doctoral Fellow.His wife is fond of saying to him, “It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to do that. Oh, wait, I guess it does.”This summer Justiz retired from NASA, just as the agency began to make some massive changes, including budget reductions, changing missions and the end of the shuttle program, a program that defined his decades with NASA.“From the very beginning it was exciting,” he recalls of the early 1980’s. “We had never flown a reusable space craft before and we re-ally had no idea of how to do it. We just made stuff up as we went.” In those heady days NASA was rocked with creativity and enthusi-asm. After test flights, the first orbital space shuttle, Columbia, carry-ing four astronauts was launched on November 11, 1982. Justiz was part of it all: the breakthroughs, the routine missions and the horrific disasters of Challenger and Columbia that claimed the lives of 14 crew members. The space shuttle program dovetails Justiz’ career at NASA. He was there in the early days and now, just like Justiz, the shuttle program is being retired. After almost 30 years, the final flight is scheduled for June of 2011.“It’s going to be sad to see it end without something to replace it,” he says. “But I do think we’ll continue in space, if not NASA than with commercial explorations.” As for the administration’s new focus, from the moon to Mars, he’s

Charles Justiz Is Flying HighFrom NASA Pilot to Sci-Fi Author

by Marene Gustin

The beefy six-foot, silver-haired pilot looks like an ad in GQ maga-zine, as he lounges in front of a T-38 that would make Tom Cruise’s Maverick from Top Gun drool.With a name like Dr. Charles Justiz he could be the lead character in a TV crime drama, but he’s more interested in the sky than in catch-ing criminals. Justiz has logged in excess of 15,000 flight hours in more than 100 different types of aircraft, including NASA’s weight-less training aircraft affectionately known as the Vomit Comet and the Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft. He’s been hooked on flying since he was 14. “My dad was a surgeon in Cuba,” Justiz recalls. “He had a fear of heights and decided the best way to get over it was to take flying lessons. He’d share the lessons with me and I fell in love.”Justiz’ family is Cuban, but his father had practices in both Havana and Miami, which is where Justiz was born. The family moved to Florida permanently during the Castro revolution of 1959. (Their former home in Havana is now the Cuban Ministry of Marriages.) His love of flying continued in America, but lessons cost money.“It was expensive,” Justiz says. “I thought, ‘who could I get to pay for this? Oh, I know, the Air Force!’”In 1974 he graduated from the United States Air Force Academy and spent ten years in the Air Force with tours of duty as an instructor pilot at Webb Air Force Base as well as doing flight tests at Eglin Air Force Base before retiring to join NASA. During his almost 30

TAuthor of Rock to the Top with his wife, Dayna Steele, former KLOL rock jock


not too sure. “It’s a lot easier to get back to the moon than to Mars,” Justiz says. “We haven’t even established a base on the moon and there is a ton of information to be had there before leaping to Mars.”Today Justiz runs his own company, JFA Corporate Aviation Safety Consulting, with a large Internet company as a major client. And he’s taken to writing sci-fi. No stranger to writing, he is the author of 20 technical papers on in-flight simulation, as well as 30 techni-cal papers on ionized plasma flows around charged spacecraft, he’s decided to take the plunge into fiction.“I’ve always read science fiction but I found there just wasn’t much out there anymore that interested me,” he explains. “I wanted to write a thriller that was based in actual science.”His first novel — and the first in a trilogy — Specific Impulse, is now available at Amazon.com. The book is a science-based thriller that has been compared by critics to the works of Michael Crichton and Robin Cook and features a machine based intelligence named FRED, that is rather like a friendly HAL, as one of the main charac-ters.“FRED was really an afterthought,” explains Justiz. “I needed a third main character and I didn’t like the way MBIs were portrayed in fiction. Data (the MBI from Star Trek: The Next Generation) has no emotions. Why? MBIs have emotions, we just don’t understand them.”The lovable computer has become a favorite part of the book and spawned T-shirts sporting the slogan What Would FRED Do?In between consulting trips, Justiz resides in Seabrook, Texas, with his wife, Dayna Steele, former KLOL rock jock and author of Rock to the Top: What I Learned about Success from the World’s Greatest

Rock Stars, three sons and a faithful Labrador named Lulu. Son Cris, 22, from a previous marriage, is in college now but the two younger boys are still at home. He often bikes along with 14-year –old Dack (whose name is a NASA acronym for Dayna and Charlie’s kid) and 11-year-old Nick to school in the mornings.“It’s an idyllic life,” the pilot turned author says. “Golfing, water ski-ing, just sitting on the patio by the lake with a Scotch and a good ci-gar. What more could I ask for?” And of course, he’s working on his second book, a project that his multi-tasking wife helps to promote.“David Crosby called me, June 3, 1990, and asked me to take care of a bunch of astronauts who wanted to come to the Crosby, Stills and Nash concert in The Woodlands,” recalls Steele. “This guy shows up in tight jeans and aviator sunglasses and I asked if he was with our group. He lowered his sunglasses and said ‘I hope so.’ I called my girlfriend and said ‘I just met the guy I’m going to marry.’”Twenty years later the couple is still committed to each other, fre-quently flying small planes on family vacations. They’re also season ticket holders to Broadway Across America-Houston. His wife says the big guy is a sucker for musical theater and chick flicks.“Although he’ll watch Top Gun over and over,” Steele says. “With the volume full blast on the surround sound so you think the jets are right there in the living room with us.”Once a fly boy, always a fly boy.On November 11 the nonprofit Literacy Advance of Houston will honor the Justiz couple in its Champions of Literacy Series. The fundraiser is called, appropriately enough, Rock ‘n’ Roll Meets Rocket Science.

For more information and tickets visit: literacyadvancehouston.org.

His wife is fond of saying to him, “It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to do that.

Oh, wait, I guess it does.”

6938

River Oaks Baptist School 2300 Willowick Houston, TX 77027.3996

713.623.

www.robs.org

Laying a firm foundation for your child’s future

Applications due by December 15 for first round admission consideration.

For over 55 years, River Oaks Baptist School has been providing students a firm foundation – academically, morally, spiritually, socially, and physically. Discover how we help children grow in knowledge, character, and faith.

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ROBS_Intown_TP.pdf 3 10/22/10 5:49 AM


The holidays are around the corner, which also means so is Christmas shopping. The malls will be crowded, parking lots full and… your bank account nearly empty. Given this year’s gloomy economy and tight holiday budgets, we still want you to enjoy the sea-son of giving without breaking the bank. Here are 10 of our favorite Christmas gift ideas that are practical and budget-friendly.

d Hands on cooking class.

Buy a gift certificate from Well Done Cooking Classes. Your recipient can choose from the list of classes of-fered. Each class lasts between three and four hours and the prices range from $49, $59 and $69 per class… not bad for learning, eating and socializing. www.well-donecc.com (Includes picture)

d Best Selling Novel of 2010.

Visit Amazon.com and save more than 50% on a variety of novels that made the best sellers’ list. Total cost = $6-$20.

Holiday Gifts

You Can Buy or Make without Breaking the Bankby Carrie Kaufman

Promoting Business in the Galleria, Intown, Highland Village, Uptown,West Houston

Greenway Plaza

Nov.1 – 15th Annual Golf Classic, Sweetwater Country Club Nov. 4 – Ribbon Cutting @ Lexis FloristNov. 5 – Ribbon Cutting @ Winetopia

Nov. 10 – Leadership Breakfast, Discussion on the Cap & Trade Bill, The Marriott West Loop

Nov. 10 – Ribbon Cutting @ Edwin Watts GolfNov. 11 – Beautique Post Oak Grand Opening

Nov. 12 – Politics & Pastrami, Colburson Election Wrap-up, Kenny & Ziggy’s

Nov. 17 – Ribbon Cutting @ Morton Keuhnert Auctioneers, 1Nov. 18 – Business After Hours @ Courtyard Marriott Galleria

Dec. 7 – La Mancion Grand Opening Dec. 8 – Leadership Breakfast, Discussion with Dan Alvarez on Nord-

strom Service, The Marriott West Loop Dec. 13 – 25th Anniversary Holiday Party, Sullivan’s Steakhouse

Dec. 16 – Galleria Sip & Stroll

www.galleriachamber.com5005 Woodway Drive

(713) 629-5555


d A respectable, worthy recession-era bottle of wine. It’s out there… one that makes you want to skip dessert and drink the wine instead. Total cost = $10-$25d For her

Buy a bath spa and manicure set from Pier One. These leopard-print accessories will make relaxation and bath time as exotic as ever. Total cost = $2.99-$10

d For him

Buy a Houston Texans Cheerleaders and/or Houston Rockets Power Dancers 2011 swimsuit calendar. Total cost = $10

d Beer Savers

Pop it. Drink it. Cap it. Save it. When you can’t finish your beer, cap it with a charm to keep it fresh and safe. www.beersavers.com. Total cost = $12.99

d For the movie lover

Buy a movie rental gift card from Blockbuster Video or Hollywood Video. Spice up the movie night with a Theatre Popcorn Popper from Crate & Barrel for only $29.95. Total cost = $6-$36

d Set of wine glasses

Purchase glasses from Dollar Gen-eral (yes, they are durable!) for… you guessed it… $1. Be creative and paint designs on them. Glass paint can be purchased at Hobby Lobby for just… take another guess… $1. Add a t-light candle inside and the wine glass trans-forms from a wine glass to a candle holder. Total price for two wine glass-es and two colors of glass paint $4.

d Baked goodies

Bake your favorite holiday treats and include the recipe.

d Gourmet coffee, chocolate or nuts

This gift is perfect for friends who love these treats.So even though a sour economy means a tighter holiday budget, it doesn’t have to have a tight grip on your cre-ativity. It’s still the thought that counts, so rather than spending gobs of money on a gift take a step back and consider a more practical approach. Choose something that fits their personality as well as your budget.


ArchitectureHouston is home to some prestigious architec-ture by the likes of some very famous names. The J.P. Morgan Chase building was designed by I.M. Pei, as was the Hilton Houston Post Oak, there are a ton by Gerald Hines, and a building in River Oaks that is supposedly an early Norman Rockwell. The skyline is also quite beautiful and is the third largest in the U.S.

Selling the City: the people, the places, the events and the ideas that shape this ardent, divergent and vibrant city. Houston is pretty cool. I know all you hear is the weather is hor-rible, there is traffic, pollution, it’s not as pretty as California—whine, whine. But here’s the deal: it is hot enough in the summer to make you appreciate the winter and cold enough in the winter to make you appreciate the summer. Visit Chicago in November, then tell me we have lousy weather. And no one can deny that the early winter weather in this city is amazing. I mean, what other city has “patio season.” Houston offers a great climate for busi-ness-- energy, medicine, the port, universities, the list goes on and on. Hermann park is gorgeous, the colorful, shop-packed streets of Montrose are a flavorful sight, Discovery Green and the new Market Square renovation have breathed new life into downtown and made the city greener, the downtown skyline is a knock-out at sunset, the sunsets themselves are amazing (thanks pollution), Rienzi and Bayou Bend are great looking, as is Allen’s landing at Buffalo Bayou. I guess you could say that diversity has not only shaped Houston, but has defined it as well. You can go out and meet someone from any part of the globe, or find a restaurant that serves food from almost everywhere in the world. There are out-lets for any interest you can imagine, from art and literature to any type of music, theater, dance, sports and beyond. The historical aspect of our city is also quite unique. Every city has a history and every big city has, by nature, a rich and varied past. Houston is no different, but what is special here is availability. You needn’t visit a museum to learn of the city’s past because it’s everywhere—we get to walk or drive past it everyday. 3921 Yoakum, now part of St. Thomas, was the childhood home of Howard Hughes, his grave rests down Washington, the same street that houses Rockefeller’s, originally the Heights State Bank, which was once robbed by Bon-nie and Clyde. Some say you can still see the bullet marks on the building’s façade. And speaking of that dynamic duo, it is rumored that the two of them visited the old theater on West 19th, whenever they happened to be in town on business. These are just a couple examples and there are millions more. Here are some of our fa-vorites…

Texas Medical CenterThe cutting edge of medical care and research goes on right here. Not only does it fuel our economy, it saves lives. MD Anderson is the premier cancer center in the world is where the venerable heart surgeon Michael Ellis De-Bakey began his career.

Port of HoustonThe Port of Houston is a 25-mile-long complex of diversified public and pri-vate facilities resting just a few hours’ sailing time from the Gulf of Mexico. It is the busiest port in the U.S. in terms of foreign tonnage, second busiest in terms of overall tonnage and the 15th busiest in the world. Originally the port was located at the conflu-ence of Buffalo Bayou and White Oak Bayou down-town, the area known as “Allen’s Landing,” near the U of H downtown. This is recognized as the birthplace of the City of Houston, as the shipping business not only fueled, but practically created the city’s economy.

Selling the City FestivalsHouston offers festivals of every kind. There is the International Festival, Greek Fest, Turk-ish Fest, Italian Fest, and the Free Press Music Festival, who in just its’ few short years, has already garnered international attention. There is the Bayou City Art Festival, Art of the Avenue, Gay Pride, the Westheimer Street Festival (now much smaller in scale but still very cool) and there are hundreds more.

NASA Though the organization’s future is unclear, Houston is still home to this groundbreaking and historical enterprise. The location also houses Space Center Houston, a place where children can have fun while learning and even sample astronaut food.

Photo by Jim Olive


The Houston BalletThe fourth largest professional ballet company in the U.S., it has one of the largest endowments held by a dance company in the country and produces around 75 shows every year at Wortham Theater Center.

MuseumsThe Museum of Fine Arts Houston rotates some of the masterpieces from around the world regu-larly. Look forward to their upcoming display of art from the National Gallery. The Museum of Natural Science also showcases some pretty interesting specimens, running the gamut from a corpse flower to mummies and beyond. There is also the Health Museum, the Children’s Mu-seum, the Museum of Printing History, the Blaf-fer at the University of Houston, the list goes on and on. And not every city has such a plethora of options when it comes to this sort of thing, and all pretty close to one another at that. You have to admit, we’re pretty lucky.

Discovery GreenThis downtown oasis is not just easy on the eyes but it is dedi-cated to health and fitness, for all members of the family, for free. You can take your kids to a lush patch of green amidst skyscrap-ers and learn yoga for free. How cool is that?

The Menil CollectionOne of the best and most acclaimed art muse-ums in the world. The collection houses master-pieces from some of the most renowned artists of twentieth-century, including some 15,000 paint-ings, sculptures, prints, drawings, photographs, and rare books. Also on location is the Rothko Chapel next door, a gorgeous sunlit dedication to all forms of spirituality, with religious texts of almost every variety, and the adjacent Byzantine Fresco Chapel. That structure holds houses two 13th century Byzantine church frescoes, the only such frescoes in the Americas. The Menil col-lection is open to the public Wednesday through Sunday, and admission is free.

John and Dominique de MenilThese Parisians you might say epitomized the idea of what culture and class has come to mean in Houston. Dominique was heiress to the Schlumberger fortune and John de Menil was the son of Baron Georges Au-guste and Marie-Madeleine Rougier Menu de Menil, a family whose title was bestowed by Napoleon him-self. Throughout their lives, the two were voracious art collectors and, after settling in River Oaks in the’50s, dedicated their time and collection to Hous-ton, which lacked a real arts community at the time. Their vision culminated with the opening of the Me-nil Collection in 1987, a masterpiece of a museum still internationally known and admired.

Shopping The Galleria, need I say more? Probably not but I will anyway. Houston has not just the Galleria, a shopping destination chock full of the best de-signer labels as well as low and mid-priced gear. We also have the mecca of trend on the Westheimer strip in the Montrose, up-scale boutiques in Rice Village, Uptown Park and Highland Village, hip-per but still pricey shops in River Oaks, knock-off fabulous in Harwin and antiques and retro cool on West 19th in the Heights.

The Places

The People


Houston Livestock Show & RodeoIt all began as the Houston Fat Stock Show and Livestock Exposition, formed in 1931 over lunch at the Texas State Houston as the cattle marketplace. It was also meant to benefit the youth of Texas by providing prize money for those associated with FFA and 4-H. The first show was held in 1932 at Sam Houston Hall, a wooden structure built to house 1928 Democratic National Convention. The first star entertainer appeared in 1942, in the form of Gene Autry, the most popular country and western musician of the time. One of the original motives behind the rodeo found broader fruition in

1957, with the award of the first major educational scholarship in the amount of $2,000. Four years later the name of the event was officially changed to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, moved from the old Sam Houston Hall to the brand new Astrodome, with the Astrohall building just for the Livestock Exposition. 1974 brought two more feats: the genesis of the World’s Championship Bar B-Que Contest and the monumental performance of Elvis Presley, who set the attendance record of 43,944, breaking his own record with a second show on the same day, with 44,175.

Major League SportsHouston is one of the few big cities to not just adopt a Major League Soccer team but truly support them complete-ly. The new Dynamo stadium will energize fans and perk up the downtown area even more. And if soccer isn’t your thing, we’ve got Rockets basketball, Houston Texans foot-ball, Astros baseball and even hockey.

Minute Maid Park a.k.a. the Ballpark at Union Station and formerly Enron Field, this peach of a park opened in April of ’99. The Astros’ home was renamed in 2002 after the Houston-based fruit juice Coca-Cola subsiderary. The park’s unique design blends in beautifully with the skyscrapers of downtown, and with an added touch of history, kept the nearly 100 year-old Union Station building in tact. The park’s draw has helped to revamp downtown with a plethora of new restaurants, bars and other attractions. Sports fans can rejoice, as the Rockets’ Toyota Center is right around the corner, soon to be joined by the new Dynamo Sta-dium, set to open in fall of 2012. Too bad the Texans didn’t elect to put Reliant Stadium downtown!

Gerald D. Hines arrived in Houston in 1938, a time when the city was busting at the seams with a bus-tling port and big oil. But it was big buildings that caught Hines’ fancy. His company operates in 100 cities and has built, acquired or managed more than 1,000 properties. His eponymous company is also responsible for the downtown Shell Oil Company headquarters, Penzoil Place and Williams Tower, just to name a few here and there in our city. He’s known for using such stellar architects as I. M. Pei, Philip Johnson, Cesar Pelli, Frank Gehry and Robert A. M. Stern. His building currently under construc-tion in downtown Houston, MainPlace, will set a new standard for green building in our city.

Michael Ellis DeBakey – this world-renowned car-diac surgeon, scientist and educator was the chancellor emeritus of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and director of The Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center and senior attending surgeon of The Method-ist Hospital in Houston. DeBakey is celebrated for his invention of the roller pump, an essential medical component that made open-heart surgery possible. His long list of awards includes the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Foundation for Biomedical Research and in 2000 he was cited as a “Living Legend” by the Li-brary of Congress. On April 23, 2008, he received the Congressional Gold Medal from President George W. Bush.

ParksHermann ParkThis 445 acre museum district park includes a reflection pool, jogging trail, Japanese garden and the Hermann Park Golf Course and Club House. It is a rare and fine thing to be able to play golf at a great looking public park right in the heart of the city and again, Houston has it.Memorial ParkThis 1,466 acre park along Memorial Drive includes facilities for tennis, softball, jogging and cycling. It also encompasses the 18-hole Memorial Park Golf Course, one of the highest rated municipal golf courses in the state.

The Events FestivalsHouston offers festivals of every kind. There is the International Festi-val, Greek Fest, Turk-ish Fest, Italian Fest, and the Free Press Music Festival, who in just its’ few short years, has already garnered international attention. There is the Bayou City Art Festival, Art of the Avenue, Gay Pride, the Westheimer Street Festival (now much smaller in scale but still very cool) and there are hundreds more.


Tony’sTony Vallone’s epon-ymous eatery turns 46 this year and is still going strong, wowing foodies and hosting parties, ladies who lunch and ambi-ence and service that is synonymous with Tony’s. Renowned New York food and wine critic John Mari-ani has been a Tony’s fan for more than a quarter of a century.

“Early on I recognized he was one of the most im-portant restaurateurs in Houston, “ Mariani says. In fact, Vallone begat an eatery empire: La Grigila, Grotto, Valone’s and Anthony’s – all foodie havens and see-and-be-seen places. He also inspired an en-tire generation of chefs who sprang from his kitchen and have now opened their own eateries including such celebrities as Mark Cox and Monica Pope. “I slowed down for a while but now I’m back!” Val-lone exclaims. And indeed he is. As Tony’s turns 46 this year he now shuttles back and forth between the famous foodie haven and his new Ciao Bello restaurants, and more recently Café Bello.

ZZ Top-Maybe not as popular as the Stones or the Beatles but perhaps as enduring, at least in Houston, is ZZ Top, a band who’s style and swagger shaped much of the ‘80s. Founded in 1969 in a “little old town in Texas,” Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill and Frank Beard recorded their first album with their new name in 1970 at “The Cellar.” In 1973 they recorded Tres Hombres, which included the classic hits “La Grange” and “Jesus Just Left Chicago.” In 2004 ZZ Top was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by none other than Keith Richards, guitarist for the Rolling Stones and living embodiment of rock and roll.

Beyonce – The singer, songwriter, actress and fash-ion designer was born and raised right here in H-town, attended HSPVA and Alief Elsik High School. Her rise to international fame began with the girl group Destiny’s Child and she is now a household name in countries where English is not even the spo-ken language. Her career is prolific to say the least and incredibly profitable. Her estimated net worth as of February 2010 is over $315 million. But all that money doesn’t stay in her pocket. Beyonce donated $100,000 to the Gulf Coast Ike Relief Fund, which benefited Houston victims in the line of that hurri-cane’s treacherous path. She is also said to be orga-nizing a fundraising benefit for Ike victims through the Survivor Foundation.

The Spindletopdowntown’s only rotating restaurant, 26 floors up at the Hyatt is now revamped (after the destruction inflicted upon it by Hurricane Ike) and back in business. The food there is great but that’s not why we mention the Spindletop. We mention it because it is, and has for a long time been both a Houston institution and landmark. It is a part of our skyline and our history.

Pappas RestaurantsFounded by brothers Pete and Jim Pappas in the mid ‘70s, Pappas Bros. today boasts more than 60 loca-tions. Their original restau-rant was the beloved Dot Coffee Shop just outside of downtown along I-45. The company has grown to include such staples as Pap-padeaux, Pappas Seafood House, Pappasito’s, Pap-pas Bros. Steakhouse and Intown favorite Little Pap-pas Seafood Kitchen. More recently they’ve purchased Luby’s and Fuddruckers chains.

Blanco’s Bar & GrillThe ramshackle powder blue sits on a huge shell crushed lot on W. Alabama at Buffalo Speedway in the shadow of high-rise apartments and new office buildings. Pretty prime real estate for a country bar. But it didn’t start out that way. About forty years ago the one-story wooden structure was built as a child daycare center. Barry E. DeBakey, son of Dr. Michael DeBakey opened Blanco’s almost 30 years ago in river Oaks. The bar and grill is now a local landmark.

Carrabba’sFounded in 1986 by Johnny Carrabba and his uncle Damian Mandola, Carraba’s Italian Grill opened its first location on Kirby Drive. A second location opened soon after at the in-tersection of Woodway and Voss. In no time it became the place for quick yet upscale business lunch and is now incred-ibly popular with professionals and families alike. Outside of Houston, Carrabba’s partered up with OSI Restaurant Part-ners and now has a chain of over 200 restaurants in 27 states, though the original places, and the original people, remain in our hometown.

Willie G’sThis place still stands on Post Oak, surrounded by new streets and high rises. Tilman Fertitta bought an interest in Landry’s and Willie G’s. Fertitta took the company public in 1993 and Landry’s has become the parent of a chain of seafood houses, Kemah boardwalk, Downtown Aquarium, Pesce, Vic & Anthony’s, Saltgrass among others.

The Places

Market SquareThe newly remodeled down-town park is a beautiful hom-age to the city’s rich history while remaining utilitarian—i.e., the dog run and has a Niko Niko’s to boot – how awesome is that? It also hosts free live music performances and per-haps best of all, is surrounded by some of the coolest bars in the city.

The People


s

INVESTMENT world

PIt’s election time again, so you take time to learn about the various candidates and their positions on the issues. But you also need to make informed decisions in other areas of your life — such as when you “elect” the investments to help pursue your goals.

Actually, you can find some similarities in selecting candidates and choosing invest-ments. Here are a few “votes” that can ap-ply to either situation:

• Vote for vision. When you vote for po-litical candidates, you expect that they have a solid vision for what they want to accomplish. And when you put together an investment strategy, you also need a vision of the goals you’re hoping to reach — and this overall vision should help guide your moves over the years.

• Vote for potential. When you vote for candidates, you are showing your con-fidence in their potential to be effective legislators. And when you choose specific investments, you are counting on their po-tential to help you attain your objectives. For example, when you purchase growth-oriented investments, you are anticipating that their value will grow so that you can eventually sell them and make a profit. Of course, the price of these investments will fluctuate, and if you sell when the price is down, you could lose some or all of your principal. But if you purchase quality in-vestment vehicles, and you hold them for the long term, you may be able to “smooth out” some of the market’s volatility and take advantage of your investments’ poten-tial.

• Vote for suitability. In choosing a candi-date, you’re looking for someone who will represent your views, as well as the best interests of your community or state. And

Vote 2010


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P“Elect”

Investments to Help Pursue Your Goals

you also want to choose investments that are suitable for your individual preferences and goals. So, if you’re naturally a conser-vative investor, you won’t want a heavy exposure to riskier investments. Or, if you need a specific amount of money in a set number of years, you may want to choose an investment that offers greater protection of principal and possibly a fixed rate of re-turn.

• Vote for clarity. Before you vote for a can-didate, you’ll want to be sure you really un-derstand his or her messages and promises. And you’ll need a similar clarity in choos-ing investments. Never invest in something unless you understand its risks and poten-tial rewards.

• Vote for experience. In any election, you want to vote for someone who has the abil-ity to carry out the office that he or she is seeking. And before you choose an in-vestment, you should have the experience necessary to evaluate the pros and cons in-volved.

You can gain some of this knowledge by studying up on the investments that you’re considering, but, given the complexities of the financial world, you also may want to work with an investment professional.As a responsible citizen, you know how important it is to make your voice heard on Election Day. As a dili-gent investor, you understand how impor-tant it is to “elect” the right investments for your portfolio.

This article was written by Edward Jones for use by your local Edward Jones Fi-nancial Advisor. Edward Jones does not provide tax or legal advice. For more in-formation, contact Buddy Bailey at [email protected]


MuseumsBayou Bend11/21 Family Day: Our National Thanksgiving11/26 Candlelight Open House

BlafferOngoing – 11/13 Gabriel Kuri: Nobody needs to know the price of your SaabOngoing – 11/13 Amy Patton

Contemporary Arts MuseumOngoing – 1/2 Perspectives 172: Kirsten Pieroth11/6 – 1/30 Benjamin Patterson: Born in the State of FLUX/us

Holocaust Museum Houston11/5 – 4/17 Displaced Persons: Photography by Clemens Kalischer11/5 – 6/5 Fragile Fragments: Expressions of Memory

Houston Center for PhotographyOngoing – 11/7 Created and Found Maps – Exploration of Self and WorldOngoing – 11/7 Learning Curve 4

Lawndale Art CenterOngoing – 11/6 Retablo ExhibitionOngoing – 11/6 Community Ofrenda11/6 Family Day Fiesta

MenilOngoing – 1/30 Kurt Schwitters: Color and Collage11/19 – 2/20 Vija Celmins: Television and Disaster, 1964 – 196611/19 – 2/20 Kissed by Angels: A Selection of Work from Southern California12/17 – 4/3 Tony Smith: Drawings

Museum of Fine ArtsOngoing – 12/5 “A Variation of Impressionism” German Impres-sionist Landscape Painting: Liebermann—Corinth—SlevogtOngoing – 12/5 Drawing from Nature: Landscapes by Lieber-mann, Corinth, and SlevogtOngoing – 1/9 Dynasty and Divinity: Ife Art in Ancient NigeriaOngoing – 1/9 Teach Me to SeeOngoing – 1/23 For the Love of Books: Celebrating the New Kitty King Powell Library and Study Center at Bayou BendOngoing – 1/30 Form Follows Function: Celebrating 10 Years of the American Institute of Architects, Houston Design Collection at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

Museum of Natural ScienceOngoing – 1/9 From the Pecos to the Rio Grande, Texas’ Big BendOngoing – 2/20 Forgotten Gateway: Coming to America Through Galveston IslandOngoing – 2/2 Secrets of the Silk RoadOngoing – 2/6 Real Pirates: The Untold Story of the Whydah from Slave Ship to Pirate Ship

Museum of Printing HistoryOngoing – 1/15 Literary Effigies: Woodcuts by Charles JonesOngoing – 3/5 The Workshop of Ernest F. de Soto, Master Printer

Rienzi11/6 Rienzi’s Porcelain Masterpieces11/6 Sketching the Galleries12/9 Rienzi’s Porcelain Masterpieces12/10 Houston Grand Opera Studio Recital: “La Belle Epoque”12/11 Artist Workshop: “Needlepoint Ornament”12/11 Houston Grand Opera Studio Recital: “La Belle Epoque”HOU

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arts & theaterA. D. Players11/17 – 12/31 A Christmas Unwrapped, a collection of holiday comediesAlley Theatre11/19 – 12/27 A Christmas Carol – A Ghost Story of Christmas11/21 – 12/31 The Santaland DiariesBroadway Across America12/14 – 19 Burn the FloorCompany OnStage11/12 – 12/18 Three Bags FullDa Camera12/4 Anat Cohen Clarinetwork DiverseWorks11/5 Brent Green: Gravity Was Everywhere Back Then11/12 – 13 Screening of Gravity Was Everywhere Back ThenHouston Ballet11/26 – 12/26 The Nutcracker12/3 Jubilee of DanceHobby Center11/2 – 7 Je’Caryous Johnson’s Marriage Material11/3 Musiqa with special guest Everette Harp11/5 Voices of the Spirit11/13 1610 Vespers11/24 – 12/5 Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas: The Musical12/5 Inaugual Concert of the 2010-2011 Season12/14 – 19 Burn the Floor12/18 – 19 Amahi and the Night Visitors12/31 Musical ResolutionsHouston Grand OperaOngoing – 11/5 Puccini’s Madame ButterflyOngoing – 11/12 Britten’s Peter GrimesHouston Symphony11/6 Lunada11/12 – 14 One O’Clock Swings!11/23 Kaddish “I Am Here”11/26 – 28 Pictures at an Exhibition12/4 The Snowman12/8 Andrea Bocelli12/10 – 12 Very Merry Pops12/17 – 19 Handel’s Messiah in CandlelightMain Street Theater11/26 – 12/19 The Heidi ChroniclesOpera in the Heights11/4 – 13 John Strauss’ Die FledermausRadio Music TheatreOngoing – 11/20 You’ll Never Forget the End of the World11/26 – 1/15 A Fertle HolidayTexas Repertory Theatre Company11/18 – 12/23 Plaid TidingsTheatre Suburbia11/5 – 12/4 A Good Old Fashioned Redneck Country Christmas

EventsArena Theater11/5 Legacy Fighting Championship MMA11/6 Loretta LynnGeorge R. Brown Convention Center11/4 – 7 International Quilt Festival11/10 Texas Conference for Women11/17 – 21 2010 Theta Charity Antiques Show12/12 HEB Feast of SharingReliant Park11/6 Fresh Fest11/10 – 14 Disney on Ice: Princess Wishes11/11 – 14 Nutcracker Market11/26 Jeff Dunham11/27 The Bug Stars of Comedy12/31 Cedric the EntertainerToyota Center11/6 Justin Bieber11/10 – 14 Cirque du Soleil: Alegria11/20 Roger Waters11/23 Usher12/4 Chayanne12/5 Trans Siberian Orchestra12/8 Andrea Bocelli12/19 WWE Tables, Ladder & Chairs

SportsHouston Rockets11/3 vs. New Orleans Hornets11/7 vs. Minnesota Timberwolves11/16 vs. Chicago Bulls11/22 vs. Phoenix Suns11/24 vs. Golden State Warriors11/28 vs. Oklahoma City Thunder12/1 vs. L.A. Lakers12/7 vs. Detroit Pistons12/11 vs. Cleveland Cavaliers12/14 vs. Sacramento Kings12/17 vs. Memphis Grizzlies12/27 vs. Washington Wizards12/29 vs. Miami Heat12/31 vs. Toronto RaptorsHouston Aeros11/5 vs. Toronto Marlies11/17 vs. Chicago Wolves11/21 vs. Texas Stars11/26 vs. San Antonio Rampage11/17 vs. Milwaukee Admirals12/2 vs. Rockford Icehogs12/3 vs. Rockford Icehogs12/10 vs. San Antonio Rampage12/21 vs. Hamilton Bulldogs12/26 vs. Texas StarsHouston Texans11/7 vs. San Diego11/28 vs. Tennessee12/13 vs. Baltimore

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MED CENTER JOURNAL

This year the Nobel prize in physiol-ogy or medicine was awarded to Robert G. Edwards, English biologist who with colleague Dr. Patrick Steptoe, developed the in vitro fertilization procedure for treating human infertility. Their years of work were rewarded on July 25, 1978 with the birth of the first test tube baby, Louise Brown. Despite facing much opposition of both ethical and religious varieties, Dr. Edwards’ in vitro fertilization process has given life to some four million babies worldwide, overcoming many previously untreatable causes of infertility.

Local couples trying to conceive can take heart in the fact that Houston is at the forefront of medical advancement. Cutting edge research is taking place at the Medical Center and our universities every day. Thanks to Dr. Edwards’ work in the 1970s, it is now possible for couples who never thought they would be able

to have a biological child, whether due to age or some other physiological issue, to conceive their very own baby. The former problem is becoming more and more prevalent as social trends have led to deferred childbearing, and an increas-ing number of women are experiencing age-related infertility and pregnancy loss. Women older than 35 years should receive expedited evaluation and treatment after 6 months of failed attempts to conceive, or earlier if clinically indicated. When it comes to age, What happens is, as partners grow older the chances of conception drops, and by culturing 3 – 5 days of eggs and selecting the ‘prettiest’ and freezing the rest, the doctor can fertilize in the lab. This greatly improves the likelihood of pregnancy. Odds for women under 35 are much greater (close to 50%) compared to 20% when a woman is over 40. However, hope springs eternal for many new or older couples now with over 30 years of advancement in this life-giving procedure.

Dr. Edwards’ in vitro fertilization process has given life to some four million babies worldwide


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Food for ThoughtBy Gracie Cavnar

It was my dad who insisted on a gar-den. Dad gave me my first nip of pure food. It was sweet corn on the cob, and I was hooked. I couldn’t get enough. I sneaked around mom and learned to cook straight from the garden. Pan-dora was out of the box and there was no going back. I wanted more. Julia Child captured my imagination; I read cookbooks like novels, went to cooking school in Paris, and became a sometime caterer and enthusiastic thrower of dinner parties. I wasn’t totally gone. I still bought Ranch-style beans and was known to use Cool Whip. I joked about Velveeta, but always made the queso with it. Fabulous fresh food to me was celebration of life, a hobby, like mac-ramé, not a political position. It was all about taste.

But life-changed when I had my son. Food was in the news... boycotts, chem-icals... Aspartame in baby food hit the headlines, then shocking reports that those jars of innocent looking Beechnut

and Gerbers were made of 90% sugar. I started paying attention to details be-sides flavor. I realized that the world of chemistry had overtaken the simply canned food of my childhood and the results could not be assumed innocuous. Protective maternal instincts drove my decision to abandon commercial baby food. No more heavily processed food ever came through my kitchen again. Cooking from scratch was the way we rolled. Still, I was relegated to super markets for my ingredients and as fac-tory farming became more the norm, the flavor drained from even fresh fruits and vegetables I found in their produce sections. I wished I had time to garden, but I was already juggling a career and family—and of course cooking. Herbs, a few tomato plants and lettuce were all I could muster. I started looking for better resources.

Texas lagged behind the national trend to famers markets and specialty food stores, but in the last fifteen years we

have had an explosion of organic farm-ers, farmers markets, locally prepared foods and chefs who embraced this new “localvore” movement, and of course Central Market and Whole Foods. An abundance of seasonal, local, organic produce is now easy to find in Houston.

If you haven’t tried cooking something that has just been picked at the height of its ripeness, then I urge you to try. The difference inflavor will surprise and delight you. What better place to get your Thanksgiving ingredients that at one of the many farmers markets that now dot our urban landscape? The lat-est market to launch is The City Hall Farmer’s Market, which his held around the reflection pool on Wednesdays from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. You can find a whole list of area markets and farmers who sell direct here: http://www.real-timefarms.com. There are also dozens of informal impromptu pop-up mar-kets in parking lots and parks all over town. Keep your eyes peeled and visit one. I’ll see you there!

Step One: Prepare the Sprouts• Collect and measure all of your ingredients to create a mise en place• Cut each sprout in half lengthwise and then in half again to make little wedges• Place a veggie steamer into the bottom of a saucepot that has a lid, and add water to just below the steamer.• Bring water to a boil over high heat.• When you can see that the water is bubbling, add the 16 sprouts onto the top of the steamer and put on the lid.• Steam for 8 minutes, the sprouts will be bright green, remove from heat immediately.• Lift the steamer out of the pan using tongs or wearing an oven mitt, and discard the water.• Dump the cooked sprouts back into the hot pan. Step Two: Layer the flavor• Mix together the oil, honey (or syrup) and vinegar in a jar with a lid and shake to emulsify• Immediately pour the oil, honey and vinegar mixture into the hot sprouts, stir to coat.• Add the chopped walnuts, and stir to mix well.• Taste and add salt and pepper as desired.• Serve hot as a side dish or cold as part of a salad.

Walnuts in BrusselsReprinted from Eat It! Food Adventures©, by Gracie Cavnar

Cool season Brussels sprouts were pop-ular in ancient Rome, but came back to Venice in the 13th century from the Netherlands, which is how they got their name. The secret to sweet sprouts is, don’t over cook them!

Serves 4INGREDIENTS16 fresh Brussels sprouts, washed, dis-colored outer leaves removed and stem cut off¼ cup walnut oil1 tablespoon local honey or real maple syrup1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar½ cup walnuts choppedsalt and pepper to taste

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