PRIME-Mar/April 2010

March/april 2010

Texas

The Luxury of Choice

Divine DESIGN discover the new face of urban living in downtown houston

Green Giants Local architects look to building a better city

Wild Planet

Get back to nature with luxury eco-destinations

Blossoms & Belles

Sip and savor at our allnatural garden party

The Ultimate in a Builder.

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2010 CASA Showcase Home |

Lakes of Williams Ranch, Richmond, Texas Designed by Patrick Berrios, Berrios Designs, Inc. Interiors by Designer Showcase Contracted by Steve Fuqua Homes

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â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our Body of Work Speaks for Itself â&#x20AC;?

March/April 2010

26

green by design

Three Houston architects look towards a better, more sustainable future

33

urban outfitters

Local designers square off and change the face of downtown living

61

sacred earth

Earth-friendly excursions combine luxury with conciousness

61

33 march/april â&#x20AC;˘ 2010

3

alsoinside

42

Publisher & Editor-in-Chief Karyn Dean

11 â&#x20AC;˘ cocktails & conversation â&#x20AC;˘ Where to Go, What to Do 10 Suessisms â&#x20AC;˘ Paradise Found â&#x20AC;˘ Buzz â&#x20AC;˘ City Q&A â&#x20AC;˘ Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s on Tap â&#x20AC;˘ Music is Her Muse â&#x20AC;˘ Urban Oasis â&#x20AC;˘ My Life â&#x20AC;˘ Natural Treasures

kdean@prime-living.com

Publisher Terry Dean

tdean@prime-living.com

41 â&#x20AC;˘ connoisseur â&#x20AC;˘ PLâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Guide to Discerning Taste Haven Sent â&#x20AC;˘ Good Eats â&#x20AC;˘ Cleverleyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Corner Table â&#x20AC;˘ Red, White or Green â&#x20AC;˘ Eco-Chic Garden Party

Managing Editor Michelle Jacoby

mjacoby@prime-living.com

Assistant Editor Sue Hauenstein

51 â&#x20AC;˘ the gentleman's room â&#x20AC;˘ For the man who commands the very best Fill â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Er Up â&#x20AC;˘ High-Class Hybrid â&#x20AC;˘ Tech Toys â&#x20AC;˘ For the Birds 66 â&#x20AC;˘ live well â&#x20AC;˘ Feel Good, Look Good Organic Head-to-Toe â&#x20AC;˘ Natureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Essentials

sueh@prime-living.com

Art Direction & Design SW!TCH s t u d i o Jim Nissen, Erin Loukili, Chaidi Lobato, Kris Olmon, Nicole Budz

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68 â&#x20AC;˘ dining guide â&#x20AC;˘ dine out & dig in at houstonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s top restaurants

www.switchstudio.com

Senior Account Executives Linda Osborne

72 â&#x20AC;˘ prime list â&#x20AC;˘ Events, Galas and Fundraisers Cabaret for the Cure â&#x20AC;˘ Deville Fine Jewelry Event â&#x20AC;˘ McWhorter Gallery Fine Art Event â&#x20AC;˘ Houston Symphony â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Planets â&#x20AC;&#x201C; An HD Odysseyâ&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;˘ JulieBeth Handbags Launch â&#x20AC;˘ Kristine Mills Performance Event â&#x20AC;˘ Datebook 78 â&#x20AC;˘ pLâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Postcards â&#x20AC;˘ Greetings from texas destinations Dallas â&#x20AC;˘ On the Wings of a Dove

the

losborne@prime-living.com

Mike Taylor

mtaylor@prime-living.com

54

Account Executive Jennifer Ludlow jludlow@prime-living.com

Marketing/Event Coordinator Jennifer Dean jend@prime-living.com

list

74

Circulation/ Distribution Brian Stavert

bstavert@prime-living.com

Contact 311 Julie Rivers Drive Sugar Land, Texas 77498 281.277.2333

72

Editorial Inquiries editor@prime-living.com Advertising Information advertise@prime-living.com www.prime-living.com

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prime-living.com

Dress and jewelry from Dimensions; styling by Sherry Eichberger; makeup by Jennifer Aronson; hair by Michael Saldana; model from Neil Hamil.

Photographed at One Park Place on Jan. 17, 2010 by Mark Lipczynski.

Prime Living Magazine is a publication of SRG Services, Inc., published bi-monthly.

Copies are mailed and hand delivered to households and businesses throughout the greater Houston area. This publication may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, without the express prior written permission of the publisher. The publisher assumes no responsibility to any party for the content of any advertisement in this publication. The opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the position of the publication.

publisher’s note

[Locals] are rapidly

becoming moreand more

aware of

eco-friendly

alternatives.

J coming up The “Jet Set” Issue: It’s all about the VIP treatment with this special issue focused on how to travel in luxury and style.

Correction: In the last issue of Prime Living, we inadvertently omitted Roswitha Vogler as a photographer for Prime List. Vogler photographed the John Palmer Greek Event, which was held at the John Palmer Gallery & Studio on Oct. 17, 2009.

6

prime-living.com

karyn dean Publisher & Editor-in-Chief

ust in time for spring, Prime Living is introducing our first “Green Issue.” As we began researching for this issue, it became apparent that residents living in the greater Houston area are rapidly becoming more and more aware of eco-friendly alternatives.

More importantly, they are choosing them as well.

In “Green by Design” on page 26, meet three amazing people, who, each in their own way, are showing that innovative design and eco-friendly initiatives can co-exist. By integrating cutting-edge methods with sustainable materials, these passionate architects are creating beautiful and purposeful spaces to live, work and play.

Luxury meets earth-friendly in “Sacred Earth” on page 61, a compelling look at eco-tourism, designed for those wanting to focus their travel experiences on saving the environment. From the Galapagos Islands to Costa Rica, we give you suggestions on some of the most luxurious, earth-friendly excursions in the world.

Nothing epitomizes “green” more than Houston’s Discovery Green, around which an influx of new dining, entertainment and living venues are popping up, luring baby boomer suburbanites back downtown. One such hotspot is One Park Place, a luxury high-rise development that is the venue for the first annual Prime Living Design Challenge. In this unique competition, we brought together three notable, talented designers and assigned them each the task of transforming an empty apartment into a stunning space that epitomizes their signature style.

Curious design lovers are encouraged to tour the three magnificently decorated units and vote for their favorite through an online voting system. On March 10, you’re also invited to meet the designers and join Prime Living at our launch party/open house where you can vote for your favorite design. We’ll announce the winner in the next issue, so stay tuned! Get a sneak peek at the designs in “Urban Outfitters” on page 33.

Last but not least, check out Postcards, a new department showcasing the wonderful things to see and do in the great state of Texas. Our first stop: the Deep Ellum Arts Festival in Dallas.

When the weather warms up, jump in the convertible and head up the highway while enjoying springtime in Texas. And, yes, that means bluebonnets!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

kdean@prime-living.com

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contributORS the talented people who drive prime living

8

Jennifer Aronson | Makeup Artist With more than 15 years of experience in the cosmetic industry, Jennifer Aronson has been a NARS brand expert since 2003, when she joined the company in New York City. Since then, she has returned to Houston, bringing with her the expertise and philosophies Francois Nars established the brand on and translating that to beautiful makeup for editorial and commercial projects, fashion shows and events, and private clients.

Brian Bookwalter | Photographer Specializing in architectural and interior design photography, photographer Brian Bookwalter finds his work exciting and rewarding. “With each job, I get to see amazing work by very talented and passionate people,” he says. In “Redesigning Houston,” Bookwalter captured the competing designs by three local designers at One Park Place.

“Getting to see the designs in person and meeting the designers was a pleasure,” he says.

Sherry Eichberger | One Green Street Former actress, stay-at-home-mom, community volunteer. All these words describe Sherry Eichberger, who can now include eco-entrepreneur on her list. As owner of One Green Street, one of Houston’s first environmentally-friendly focused boutiques, she offers healthy alternatives to products ranging from bedding to cosmetics.

“We offer products that will help us live healthier lives,” she says.

Mark Lipczynski | Photographer Phoenix-based photographer Mark Lipczynski is a regular contributor to Prime Living, having shot more 10,000 pictures for the magazine alone last year (not all were published, of course). His favorite subjects are the ones that challenge him the most and come out the best in the end. He specializes in people, food and architectural photography for a number of editorial and commercial clients between Houston and Phoenix.

Anthony Rathbun | Photographer

Nancy Wozny | Writer A contributing editor at Dance Magazine and weekly columnist for Culturemap, writer Nancy Wozny is all too familiar with Dance Salad artistic director Nancy Henderek. “Spring is synonymous with Dance Salad and Nancy is a force of nature in the dance world,” she says. A 2005 National Endowment for the Arts Fellow in Dance Journalism, Wozny also received the 2003 Gary Parks Emerging Critic award.

prime-living.com

In the photography world, photographer Anthony Rathbun is a jack-of-all-trades. “If there was ever a piece of advice I ignored about photography, it was to specialize in one or two types and stick with them,” he says.

For Prime Living, Rathbun photographed Da Camera director Sarah Rothenberg. “I respect her career and the passion she has moved through life with,” he says.

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cocktails & conversation.

cocktails & the prime living guide to what's happening now

Rex Rystedt

inside:

Michael Peterson, Coastal Stack IV, 2008. Courtesy of del Mano Gallery.

12 13 14 16 17 18 22 24 25

• • • • • • • • •

Prime Ten | Suessisms Day Tripper | paradise found The Buzz | What's New Hot List | What's on Tap Houston Deconstructed | City Q&A Arts | Music is her Muse Design | Urban Oasis My Life | Nancy Henderek Style | Natural Treasures

March/april • 2010

11

cocktails & conversation.

prime ten

“Sleepwalking too, are the Curious Crandalls, who sleepwalk on hills with assorted-sized candles.” Another typical night in the Houston-area suburbs.

“Did you ever fly a kite in bed?

Did you ever walk with 10 cats on your head?” Cloudy musings from a person who just took a prescription pain killer after having root canal surgery.

“I do not like green eggs and ham, I do not like them Sam I am!” An American breakfast session of Congress where Democrats and Republicans chew on the finer details of healthcare reform.

10 for

“In my world, everyone’s a pony and they all eat rainbows and poop butterflies!”

A mommy blogger strikes again with her social media cuteness.

“I am the Lorax. I speak for the trees.

I speak for the trees for the trees have no tongues.” The original opening line of Al Gore’s apocalyptic climate change poem in his book Our Choice, before his publisher noted it had been done.

“A person’s a person, no matter how small.” The commercial airlines take on a “small” business practice of charging full fare to passengers who fit comfortably in the overhead cabin.

12

prime-living.com

Modern Times

“Then of course from THEN on, as you probably guess, things really got into a horrible mess.” A rambling Tiger Woods explaining to his team of handlers exactly how the situation unfolded.

Story | sally j. clasen Illustration | Paul Svancara

Theodor Seuss Geisel, fondly known as Dr. Seuss, was a master of language and storytelling whose rhythmic limericks and personal quotes are timeless. In honor of his birthday on March 2, here are 10 “Seussisms” interpreted for the modern reader.

“This mess is too big and too deep and too tall.

We can’t clean it up! We can’t clean it up at all!” Overheard in the Oval Office as President Obama holds his Monday morning meeting with Ben Bernanke.

“I meant what I said and I said what I meant.”

Admit it, you thought your parents came up with this one? It’s the (birth) mother of all child-rearing quotes.

“I like nonsense. It wakes up the brain cells.” What Ben Bernanke, chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, says every time he gets to the office and reads the financial news.

day tripper

cocktails & conversation.

While you’re in the neighborhood, check out these other great spots:

Downtown Green Market

paradise found

Story | Jean Ciampi

Courtesy of Greater Houston Convention & Visitors Bureau

M

ost Houstonians merely saw a wide spread of asphalt parking lots. Mayor Bill White, members of the Discovery Green Conservancy, and some of the city’s most generous and forward-thinking citizens saw an opportunity to bring a breath of fresh air to downtown when the nearly 12 acres in front of the George R. Brown Convention Center became available.

The City of Houston purchased the land and donated it to the newly formed nonprofit, Discovery Green Conservancy, in December 2004. The organization then raised approximately $55 million in private donations to construct a new park with a one-acre lake, interactive water features, multi-use amphitheater stage, lawns, public art works and a Houston Public Library Express office. A commitment was also made to sustainable design and operation and, as a

result, Discovery Green obtains 100 percent of its power from renewable sources. Opened in April 2008, a million people were welcomed in the first 18 months.

People come not only for the exercise classes, farmers market, and Recycling Saturdays, but also for the dog parks, playgrounds, and the casual and elegant dining.

This March, Discovery Green will host the Butterfly Festival with the Houston Grand Opera, which will include several handson components and a newly commissioned opera.

Also in March, Shell Oil and the City of Houston will bring the Shell Eco-marathon Americas to Discovery Green. An opportunity for high school and university students to test their cars-of-the-future and establish which can go furthest on the least amount of fuel, organizers hope to make Houston and Discovery Green the permanent home for the event.

The more than 400 free programs each year—movies, children’s classes and activities, arts, performances and special events—are funded through donations. Cooperative programs with organizations like Theatre Under the Stars and the Fresh Arts Coalition also help bring people to the downtown park.

“Our goal is to always keep Discovery Green a place to experience the park,” says Susanne Theis, programming director for Discovery Green.

“We always want it to be a park, no matter what else is going on—a place for a kid with a bat and a ball or a family with a picnic.”

Discovery Green has certainly accomplished that and more.

1500 mckinney st.

713-400-7336 discoverygreen.com

Set up along the Andrea and Bill White Promenade in Discovery Green every Saturday from noon to 4 p.m., Central City Co-op’s Downtown Green Market features the freshest sustainable produce and products made by local artisans. Find everything from orchids in bloom and organic cotton clothing, to plantable note cards and fresh herbs.

1500 McKinney St. 713-400-7336 centralcityco-op.org/ discoverygreen

The Grove

A destination restaurant under the spreading live oaks, The Grove has quickly become the hotspot for redefining see-and-be-seen dining in downtown. The tantalizing American rustic menu and the “tree house” rooftop margarita bar draw the urban elite to the south end of Discovery Green for leisurely drinks or mood-setting meals.

1611 Lamar St. 713-337-7321 thegrovehouston.com

Hearsay Gastro Lounge

Houston’s first “gastro lounge” lures theatergoers, business moguls and residents for chic drinks and eats under soaring 50-foot ceilings and a stunning Tuscan crystal chandelier. Occupying the renovated 1896 Foley’s department store building, Hearsay is the new jewel in the Historic District.

218 Travis St. 713-225-8079 hearsayhouston.com

March/april • 2010

13

cocktails & conversation.

buzz

Sweet

Dreams ooking for a new alternative to your comfy-yet-not-necessarily-earth-friendly bed? If you dream of being kindler and gentler to the earth, lay your head on an OrganicPedic mattress, touted as the “world’s purest mattress.”

Made by Organic Mattresses Inc. (OMI), the mattress is made with certified organic cotton and manufactured in an Eco-factory—a smoke- and fragrance-free, Global Organic Textile Standard-certified environment—that, according to the company, “ensures the creation of the purest product available on the market.”

New Living, a natural home goods store located near the Texas Medical Center, now carries OrganicPedic mattresses, adding to its already growing list of green building and home products that help create safe, clean, healthy indoor spaces.

“Our goal is to make the green movement accessible and provide consumers with the purist, eco-solutions,” says New Living founder Jeff Kaplan. “We spend 90 percent of our time indoors and, while we are not able to control Mother Nature, we can create a healthy indoor living environment with products like the OrganicPedic mattress.”

New Living is at 6111 Kirby Drive in between Rice and University.

For more information, call 713-521-1921 or visit www.newliving.net.

Having a Ball S

he was just a girl with a recipe and lots of creativity. When Angie Jackson first saw “cake balls” in a newspaper article, as well as in a blog about baking, she knew the compact cake creations were for her.

Made with any cake flavor and icing, cake balls are rolled into a ball shape and dipped into chocolate, creating a happy marriage between cake and candy. And speaking of marriage, Jackson’s cake balls have become a big hit among Houston’s bridal set, becoming the hottest new thing in wedding favors.

Jackson also offers a fun twist on the standard cake ball: cake pops. Stuck on a lollipop stick, they’re fun, fresh and make for pretty presentations. For information, call 832-347-4987 or visit angiescakes.com.

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prime-living.com

top to bottom: Adam Brackman | David Jones

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Mystery in

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9/2/09

marfa

ocal writer, radio host and Prime Living contributor John DeMers takes a whole new direction in his 40-book career with the big-splash national release of “Marfa Shadows,” his first mystery novel and the start of a series starring culinary crime-fighter Chef Brett Baldwin.

The story is set in the small-but-artsy far West Texas town of Marfa, Brett’s hometown and the place his fictional restaurant called Mesquite is located. But, as DeMers stresses, the action can take his hero just about anywhere, starting in “Shadows” with the nearby drug violence-riddled Tex-Mex border.

DeMers will have a book signing at Murder by the Book, 2342 Bissonnet St., on March 25 at 6:30 p.m. The second book in the series, “Marfa Rocks,” is already written, with the third, “Marfa Blues,” in its early stages. Published by Bright Sky Press, books are available at Amazon.com.

12:32 PM

Page 1

E RY A CHEF BRETT MYST

JOHN DEMERS

buzz

cocktails & conversation.

PL`s click list Our favorite “green” sites this issue: Ecorazzi.com PawLux.com WholeTravel.com Envirogadget.com GreenWithGlamour.com BranchHome.com GreenLashesAndFashion.blogspot.com JunoAndJove.com SeventhGeneration.com GreenYour.com

Life is Grand V

Rex Rystedt

alentino Houston, the posh, contemporary Italian restaurant in the Hotel Derek, salutes Prime Living readers with an exclusive spring special, La Festa del Crudo.

Valentino owners Piero Selvaggio and Luciano Pellegrini were in town recently and designed a special crudo feast for the Prime Living reader.

“This is the ultimate Italian trend,” says Selvaggio, who, with Pellegrini, picked 10 of their favorite fish and crudo dishes for the feast, including smoked swordfish with blood orange and Sicilian capers, lobster Carpaccio, white tuna with passion fruit and fennel, finished with a dish of risotto and bottarga topped with sea urchin. The decadent feast would not be complete without an assortment of champagnes.

La Festa Del Crudo is $125 per person. For reservations, call 713-850-9200 and mention Prime Living. For more information, visit valentinohouston.com.

Wood-n’t You Know G

et back to nature at the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, where “Michael Peterson: Evolution/ Revolution” will be on exhibit March 27 to July 2. This unique show will feature elegant and bold wood sculptures by the Texas-born artist, document the evolution of his 20-year career, including his early lathe-turned bowls to his current revolutionary sculptures. More than 30 sculptures inspired by the geographic environment of the Pacific Northwest will be on view.

The Houston Center for Contemporary Craft is located at 4848 Main St. (at Rosedale).

Admission is free. For information, call 713-529-4848 or visit crafthouston.org.

Michael Peterson, Earth and Stones II, 2004. Collection of Ronald and Anita Wornick.

March/april • 2010

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cocktails & conversation.

hot list

Live Oak Brewing Company

What’s on Tap

Using Old World European brewing techniques rarely found in American breweries today, this Austin fave serves up delightfully flavorful and drinkable beers. Their Live Oak Pilz, Big Bark Amber Lager, and Live Oak Heffeweizen can be enjoyed in Houston at Ginger Man Brew Pub, Flying Saucer Draft Emporium, and Anvil Bar and Refuge. If you’re in the Austin area, brewery tours run Saturdays at noon. Reservations required.

Story | Karl Hauenstein

Let’s start with a quick show of hands. How many of you like…no…love beer? We’re talking can’t-live-without-it love.

If you answered yes, this month’s Hot List is for you, the true beer lover for whom beer is much more than a tasty, mildly intoxicating beverage. Rather, it is a genuine sensory experience, a gourmet meal in a bottle. In your honor, we present five local establishments that share your passion.

Named after the patron saint of brewers, Saint Arnold is the largest microbrewery in South Texas. Their wonderful Amber and Brown Ales, Lawnmower Lager, Wheat Beer and seasonal Stout and Christmas Ales can be purchased in stores or pubs, but the best way to enjoy their beers is at their tastings. For a mere $7, you get an 8-ounce souvenir glass, filled four times with your choice of delicious brews.

2000 lyons ave.

713-686-9494 saintarnold.com

Go for the fine ribs, sausage and brisket, but stay for the award-winning beers: Axe Handle Pale Ale, Agave Wit wheat beer, Hill Country Organic Amber, and Back 40 Blonde Ale. 1530 barton springs road, austin 512-476-0100 unclebillysaustin.com

Baker Street Pub & Grill

A relative newcomer on the local fine beer scene, Southern Star started operations in 2008. Their fine beers—consisting of Pine Belt Pale Ale, Bombshell Blonde, and Buried Hatchet Stout—are worth looking for in local pubs, and should soon be available in stores, too. Brewery tours and tastings are held Saturdays at 1 p.m.

There are pubs that have a great selection of beer. There are restaurants that serve amazing food. There are lots of places to enjoy live music. However, when you want all three under one roof, you can’t beat Baker Street Pub & Grill. Part of the Sherlock’s Pub Co. empire, Baker Street offers good food and an extensive selection of domestic, imported and craft beers, all served by friendly people who actually care that you’re having a good time. Throw in a regular dose of aspiring local musicians vying for their shot at the big time, and you have all the ingredients for a party.

1207 n. fm 3083 e, conroe 936-441-2739 southernstarbrewery.com

15970 city walk, sugar land 281-494-0774 sherlockspubco.com

Southern Star Brewing Company

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Uncle Billy’s Brew & Que

prime-living.com

3301 e. fifth st., austin 512-385-2299 liveoakbrewing.com

Saint Arnold’s Brewery: Ed Schipul | Live Oak Brewing Company

Saint Arnold Brewing Company

Houston Deconstructed city Q&A

cocktails & conversation.

Get the answers to your burning questions about the Bayou City

Story | Barbara Fulenwider

Memorial Park – Courtesy of the Greater Houston C&V Bureau | Beer Can House – by larry harris

Q

Beer Can House

What's the story behind the Beer Can House?

In the late 1960s, John Milkovisch, a retired Southern Pacific Railroad employee, lived in a non-descript house at 222 Malone. Perhaps retirement brought out his artistic side or maybe he was just bored.

Whatever the reason, Milkovisch began decorating his patio with pieces of brass, marbles, rocks and buttons. When he finished, he replaced his lawn with similar debris and then gave his house an artistic redo, made exclusively with beer cans. It took Milkovisch 18 years and some 50,000 beer cans to complete the new look of his house. He would drink, mash, attach and even use the pop tops for chains that chimed in the wind. Milkovisch’s legacy today is the Beer Can House, owned by the Orange Show Foundation and open to gawkers on weekends.

Q

Who was Stella Link?

No one, says Marks Hinton, writer of “Historic Houston Streets/The Stories Behind the Names,” adding that most Houston streets were named by developers. There was a J.W. Link, who, in 1910, began developing the Montrose neighborhood. Link could have had a daughter named Stella, but he didn’t and Montrose is miles from Stella Link.

Hinton says Stella Link got its name because the road paralleled a railroad line that connected Bellaire to Stella, a town in Fayette County that once had a station for the InternationalGreat Northern and Texas & New Orleans railroads. The street now named Stella Link was the link to Stella.

Q

How did Memorial Park get its name?

The park was named as the result of a successful crusade by Catherine Emmott, who wanted to preserve a small part of Camp Logan as a memorial to soldiers who lost their lives during World War I. One of the largest urban parks in the country, Memorial Park opened in 1924 after the city bought the land at cost from Houston philanthropists Will and Mike Hogg. From 1917 to 1923, the acreage where the park is today was Camp Logan, a WWI Army training camp.

Today, thanks to the generosity of spirit and wallet of the Hogg brothers, visitors to Memorial Park have 1,466 acres to use for recreation and relaxation.

It’s an oasis of nature between uptown and midtown, where recreational opportunities include golf, tennis, softball, track, croquet, swimming, volleyball, skating, cycling and running. An arboretum and botanical garden sit on 155 acres in the park and there’s also a bird sanctuary.

Q

Memorial Park

What was the location of Texas’s first capital and how many were there prior to final permanency in Austin?

It was difficult to designate a capital when Mexican troops kept threatening to destroy it, so from 1836 to 1844, the capital of Texas was a moving target. The first location was temporarily in Harrisburg on Buffalo Bayou and came shortly after the Texas Revolution in 1936, when the city of Houston was laid out on the bayou. As Mexican troops moved east after their victory at the Alamo, Texas’s Vice President David G. Burnet and part of his cabinet boarded a steamboat at Harrisburg on April 15, 1836, making it the de facto capital of the Republic until Texas officials went ashore at Galveston on April 26.

The capital then moved to Velasco and from there, was located in West Columbia, again in Houston, San Antonio, Washington-onthe-Brazos and finally found permanency in Austin.

Have a burning question about life in Houston? E-mail your curious inquiries to askhouston@prime-living.com.

March/april • 2010

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cocktails & conversation.

arts

muse

Music is her

Story | John DeMers Photography | Anthony Rathbun

S

arah Rothenberg can remember many things about her childhood growing up with a mother who was a violinist and a music teacher. But recalling a time before she knew how to read music is not one of them.

“It’s like speaking. I don’t remember when it happened," says the New York-born Rothenberg, who came to Houston in 1994 to become artistic director of the presenting organization Da Camera.

"The time [I spent] at the piano became a sacred time for me. It was very much the time when you get in touch with yourself, and even as a child that was something really important to me.”

Founded in 1987, Da Camera was created to produce a series of thematically programmed concerts designed to attract new listeners to the concert hall. By bringing together leading American and international musicians, Da Camera concerts offer a broad range of repertoire and musical styles, while ensuring a product of musical excellence.

Members of the Houston Symphony and faculty of Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, University of Houston’s Moores School and others are often included in Da Camera programs.

Passionate about connecting music to other art forms, Rothenberg has conceived and directed numerous original performance works, including the celebrated “Music and the Literary Imagination” series linking music to the works of Proust, Kafka,

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Mann, Akhmatova and others. These programs have been presented across the United States and in Europe, and have been the subject of feature articles in the national press and arts publications.

In addition, Rothenberg has curated and performed concerts for art exhibitions at The Menil Collection and the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, as well as the Guggenheim and the Jewish Museum, both in New York City. She conceived and performed in “Moondrunk,” a chamber music/dance theatre piece featuring Schoenberg’s “Pierrot lunaire,” that inaugurated Lincoln Center’s New Vision series in January 1999 and was hailed by American Theatre magazine as “the birth of a new genre.”

It was largely on Rothenberg’s intuition about the group’s audiences that Da Camera expanded from presenting classical concerts to presenting jazz performances as well. And while the leap might seem death defying to some, both music forms, she notes, involve smaller ensembles playing in intimate settings without benefit of a conductor. Over the year, she delights in reporting, many audiences for one form have come to appreciate and support the other.

“This goes to the heart of music today,” she says.

“All sorts of contemporary music are influenced by jazz. Indeed, all sorts of music—including pop and independent rock—are starting to influence each other. At our concerts, each musician is a soloist, and each individual voice is an important voice.”

bestbets Sargent and the Sea American expatriate artist John Singer Sargent (1856-1925) is best known for his glamorous society portraits. “Sargent and the Sea,” on view at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston through May 23, is the first exhibition to examine the little-explored maritime paintings and drawings that he produced in various locales during the first five years of his career. The show gives us an intimate selection of 36 oil paintings, 23 drawings and watercolors, and one scrapbook, all drawn from a wide range of public and private collections in the U.S. and Europe.

HGO’s Queen of Spades One man’s obsession with a lucky card trick turns the fates of three in Tchaikovsky’s vibrant melodrama “The Queen of Spades,” produced by Houston Grand Opera April 16 to May 1 at the Wortham Center. Russian tenor Vladimir Galouzine returns to HGO as the tormented Hermann, internationally-renowned soprano Tatiana Monogarova makes her HGO debut as his beloved Lisa, and Vasily Ladyuk is the dashing Prince Yeletsky. This award-winning production is a visual treat, with imaginative puppets and mixed-period costumes. Italian maestro Carlo Rizzi conducts.

Speech and Debate Stages Theatre offers the regional premiere of Stephen Karam’s dark comedy “Speech and Debate,” opening March 17.

Teen misfits Solomon, Diwata and Howie discover each other online and build a tentative alliance in the form of their high school’s first speech and debate team. Now they just have to decide which of their pressing personal issues will make for the best performance: teen pregnancy, online predators, gay/straight school programs... or who should be the lead in the school play! This winning, fiercely funny play is part “The Breakfast Club” and part Arthur Miller. It was hailed in its 2007 off-Broadway run as a brilliant look at the modern teenager.

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cocktails & conversation.

arts

Through May 16 Iron: Forged, Tempered, Quenched Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, 4848 Main St. Call for times. Free. 713-529-4848, crafthouston.org

March 5 Music of Paradise and Hell Christ the King Lutheran Church, 2353 Rice Blvd. 8 p.m. $35.

713-432-1744, houstonearlymusic.org

March 9-21

W

hile hardly “the greatest musical ever,” as proclaimed in radio and TV ads before the touring company alighted at the Hobby Center, Michael Bennett’s 1975 love song to the “kids” behind the stars on Broadway did remind us of what it does best.

It still had the same playful but gritty swagger it did 35 years ago—and a warm heart that pleased, even as we realized we’ve heard it all before.

Just as a photo can be worth a thousand words, a song can too… if it’s the right song. Big-bucks composer Marvin Hamlisch and his lyricist, the late Edward Kleban, filled the two-hour, no-intermission running time with talky cacophonies that merged when least expected into luminous moments of grace.

Houston audiences lapped up the catchy, early-on “I Can Do That,”

the thoughtful and enigmatic “Nothing” and the ever-luminous anthem “What I Did for Love,” right along with the extracolorful “Tits and Ass” (its title strategically omitted from the listing of songs in the Playbill).

In particular, the chance to see “A Chorus Line” after so many years allowed me to be impressed all over again by Kleban’s witty, cute, savvy, dark and dead-on observations about the aspirations we saw before us.

With an extremely limited set and no costumes beyond tights and other thrown-together tryout attire (until the famous finale called “One”), the show was, and is, all about those aspirations.

To point out that “A Chorus Line” is an ensemble piece seems a bit redundant. Ironically, but true to the world of theater, even though each young man or woman we meet “on the line”

is competing for a job, in most cases with some desperation, they all do become an ensemble by the end.

Certainly, in any production of “A Chorus Line,” the character of Cassie will receive the lion’s share of attention—with her story as an aging once-successful dancer, right along with her past romantic relationship with the director. As Cassie, Rebecca Riker harked back to the show’s dazzling original, Donna McKechnie, while adding a few twists of her own.

Other standouts included Nicky Venditti as the tiny and troubled Paul, Selina Verastigui as Diana Morales (whose long and lovely vocal lines drove “What I Did for Love”) and Nathan Lucrezio as Al, who found a creative way to help his new but tone-deaf wife find the notes (almost) in “Sing!”

Spotlight: Green House Gallery

From oils and acrylics, to photography and jewelry, the Green House Gallery is all about offering a diverse selection of art pieces created by Houston artists who all share a passion for environmental issues. Opened in 2008, the gallery features works made with recycled or repurposed materials or pieces inspired by nature and the environment, including unique wearable art and jewelry by artists Mina Agah and Monique Weston. Open from noon to 6 p.m. Thursday through Sunday, and by appointment, guests will get the opportunity to visit with artists, who will answer questions and offer demonstrations.

716 w. alabama st. • 713-535-6462 • greenhouseartgallery.com

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South Pacific Hobby Center, 800 Bagby St. Call for show times. Starting at $24.

713-558-8887

March 26-28 Bayou City Art Festival Memorial Park, S. Picnic Lane.

10 a.m. $10. 713-521-0133, bayoucityartfestival.com

March 27 to April 25 Driftwood Main Street Theater-Rice Village, 2450 Times Blvd. Call for show dates and times. $10. 713-524-6706, mainstreettheater.com

April 6-18 In the Heights Hobby Center, 800 Bagby St. Call for show times. $26 to $75.

800-982-2787, thehobbycenter.org

April 9-18 The Full Monty Hobby Center, 800 Bagby St. Call for show times. $37 to $67.

713-315-2525, thehobbycenter.org

April 15 Faces of a Woman, with Tapestry Trinity Episcopal Church, 1015 Holman. 8 p.m. $35. 713-432-1744, houstonearlymusic.org

April 21 to May 9 Harvey Alley Theatre, 615 Texas Ave. Call for show times. $21 to $70, 713-220-5700, alleytheatre.org

Paul Kolnik

review A Chorus Line - Broadway Across America

cocktails & conversation.

design

oasis urban

Above: Aquarium in Rohe & Wright custom home Below: Tabletop fountain

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T

he rush of water is one of nature’s most beautiful forces and, fortunately, the effect doesn’t have to stay outside. Water can babble along a bar top, flow around a spiral staircase or add artistic drama to a large, open foyer.

Aqua Design Group provides water walls and other custom features for residences in the Houston area and across the country. Their statement-making pieces enhance home interiors while providing steady, stress-reducing background “music.”

“Clients come to us wanting a refreshing environment,” director of operations Alex Kosovsky says of the self-contained, free-standing water walls that don’t require plumbing installation. “You walk in and hear this beautiful echo of water cascading down.”

Water walls come in several styles, such as curved, floating or framed, and fountain-like features with a shallow pool at the base. Styles are made of glass, stone, stainless steel, granite or marble, and often feature integrated lighting. The sleek pieces serve as accents against walls and in niche spaces like alcoves or

act as room dividers, while the natural-sounding flow not only provides an immediate calming effect, but often acts as a sound buffer in entertaining spaces.

Water features can also be custom made, Kosovsky says, referencing a large, curved steel mesh piece that fits around a home’s three-story spiral staircase, giving the illusion of water pouring from the ceiling and then disappearing into the floor. The free-falling hydration can be touched from either side and features a recessed basin.

Most of Aqua Design Group’s pieces, which start at $5,000, are perfectly vertical. This means they rely on gravity rather than a high output of energy, Kosovsky says. The design makes the models mistand splash-free. Some are LEED-accredited and use energy-efficient pumps and recycled materials.

Homeowners may instead choose an underwater atmosphere in a living space or office. Andy Suman, principal at local custom home builder Röhe & Wright, says aquariums are making a comeback in recent years, along with ornate indoor fountains and pools.

courtesy of Rohe & Wright image by Rob Muir

Story | Allison Bagley

design

“Clients building luxury homes are requesting more substantial interior water features,” he says, describing the large hand-carved natural stone fountain accented by glass mosaic tile his team designed for the foyer of a Royal Oaks home. “A fountain like this grabs your attention the moment the front doors swing open. Water features can provide a beautiful and serene backdrop.”

Indoor water features may also serve to clean a home. Airborne particles are attracted to the water, so some systems act a bit like air purifiers that destroy bacteria. In addition to enjoying the natural beauty

Clockwise from top right: Stansbury Burke Spa Fountain; Rain Curtain

by Aqua Design Group; Rhoe Wright fountain; Mercury Suspension lighting feature

of water inside their home, residents will often notice a reduction in dust.

Additional dramatic pieces include those featuring aquatic life in a large container that serves as the focal point of wall-to-wall custom shelving or water that bubbles under a glass bar top or tabletop. There are also several home accessories, including lighting features and artwork, which give the illusion of running water.

Luxury indoor water features are a tranquil trend that’s here to stay, Kosovsky says.

“They are mesmerizing while also quite stunning.”

cocktails & conversation.

Making a splash Transform your home into an oasis with these unique water features: Custom Rain Curtains by Aqua Design Group have a dramatic effect, giving the illusion of water completely surrounding clear “rods” that run from top to bottom. 877-663-5028, aquadesigngroup.com With barely a sound, the Red Vanilla black tabletop water fountain juxtaposes industrial black concrete and flowing rain fall. The easy assembly makes this a statement piece for any room. $750 at More Than You Can Imagine, 2817 Westheimer. 713-668-8811, mtyci.com The Mercury Suspension lighting feature by Ross Lovegrove for Artemide reflects natural light that dances like floating particles of water. (Made with halogen lighting, polished chrome, stainless steel cables and a clear electrical cord.) $2,320 at Kuhl-Linscomb, 2424 W. Alabama St. 713-526-6000, kuhl-linscomb.com Aquarium Design Group builds custom “aquascapes” created to blend with the interior design of a home.

The underwater elements inside their freshwater tanks, which are more energyefficient than saltwater tanks, are often designed in a minimalist fashion using unique types of stones, gravel and driftwood. 3520 S. Sam Houston Pkwy. E. 713-622-6467, aquariumdesigngroup.com The indoor or outdoor Stansbury Burke Spa Fountain is made of glassreinforced concrete. $2,500 at Kuhl-Linscomb.

March/april • 2010

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cocktails & conversation.

my life

Henderek nancy

Founder, Dance Salad

N

ancy Henderek does her part placing Houston on the global dance map, thanks to her annual three-day international dance festival that draws dance enthusiasts, presenters and VIPs from all over the world.

As founder and artistic director of Dance Salad, Henderek conceived the festival while living in Brussels, where she held the first three festivals. When she moved back to Houston, she brought the “Salad” with her, making Houston a destination dance city.

“Every ballet is an individual ingredient, but they all must mix together,” she says.

As founder and artistic director of Dance Salad, Henderek regularly attends top international dance festivals and presenter conferences to select each year’s lineup, which often features a company or choreographer who has never been seen before in the U.S. She prefers the hands-on approach and actually selects each piece of choreography, rather than the troupe, to organize the show into an exciting three-day extravaganza. Henderek also works tirelessly with each artistic director to excerpt evening-length works into a manageable length for a festival audience.

“I am more of a curator of a dance museum,” she insists. “I enjoy the creative part of putting it all together most of all.”

Logistics, such as fundraising, securing visas and program planning, are not so simple. Henderek, an expert on visas, has to figure out how to bring all these international artists to Houston. Over the years, she’s had some harrowing last-minute crises with dancers from Cuba and other locales.

“Sometimes, we become an expert in something we have no desire to be an expert in,” she says.

Born in Kansas City and raised near in Bethesda, Md., Henderek moved to Houston

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Interview | Nancy Wozny Photography | Mark lipczynski

in 1972 with her husband Michael, a former Exxon Mobil executive. The couple hopscotched across the globe, living in Brussels, France, Germany, Sweden and Hong Kong.

“I consider myself a citizen of the world,” she says with pride. “One of the perks of my profession is that my circle of friends is truly international, and just keeps getting larger.”

Now celebrating its 15th anniversary, this year’s Dance Salad features several neverbefore-seen troupes and highlights including Budapest’s Hungarian National Ballet Company, one of the oldest ballet companies in Europe; Ballet de Lorraine from Nancy, France; Norwegian National Ballet of Oslo, Norway; and Royal Ballet of Flanders from Antwerp, Belgium.

When all the dancers arrive, usually from a dozen countries or so, Henderek likes to bask in the excitement she has created. Any number of languages can be heard backstage at the Wortham during “Salad” days.

“It’s funny,” she ponders, “I am the most relaxed when the festival is actually happening, although I always wish I had more time to visit with the dancers.”

When she’s not traipsing the globe shopping for outstanding choreography to bring to Houston, you can find Henderek sorting through heaps of DVDs or spending time with her two adult sons and her grandchildren.

“I love them dearly and they are such a rich part of my life now,” she says. “Dance and family fill my life.”

style

cocktails & conversation.

treasures Natural

Story | Roseann Rogers

Photography | Mark Lipczynski

From Houston to Hollywood, jewelry designers are going green. Whether it’s using recycled gold or conflict-free gem stones, designers are getting creative when it comes to their wearable works of art.

Off the Cuff

Houston designer Leighelena uses 75 percent re-purposed leather, 50 percent recycled copper and some recycled glass in these unique leather cuffs she describes as “very organic and very fun.” $74 to $79 at High Gloss, 1131-06 Uptown Park Blvd., 713961-7868; and the Museum Shop at the Contemporary Arts Museum, 5216 Montrose Blvd., 713-284-8250.

here in gold, the Spider Web Cuff is also made with 92.5 percent silver alloyed with tin rather than copper, making her pieces tarnish resistant and easily recyclable. $450 at juliafailey.com.

Simply Stunning

Using a trio of colorful and natural Brazilian gems stones, artist Mary Geluda has a passion for jewelry and the environment. Her unique craftsmanship combined with bold, Dream Weaver clean lines accentuates the gold and garnet Inspired by nature, Julia Failey is spreading band ring, aptly called Simply Three, for a ecological appreciation and awareness through contemporary classic look that’s both versatile her unique, high-quality jewelry. Shown and fashionable. $900 at marygeluda.com.

Pop Culture

Houston designer Melissa Borrell’s Circle Pop-Out pendants and earrings are made from powder coated stainless steel that come attached to the medal from which they’re cut.

The Pop-Out pieces come flat packed so they take up less space when they’re shipped and are 100 percent recyclable. $20 to $120 at Kuhl-Linscomb, 2424 W. Alabama St., 713840-1500; and Peel Gallery, 4411 Montrose Blvd., 713-520-8122.

Bold Statement

Going green can still be luxurious. At a whopping $42,200, Ruff & Cut’s boulder cluster ring is a true stunner with a heart.

With over eight carats of faceted and roughcut, conflict-free diamonds nestled in certified recycled 18K gold, you can feel even better about wearing the ring since 10 percent of the proceeds go to non-profit partners. $42,200 at ruffandcut.com.

March/april • 2010

25

green by design Three Houston architects look towards a better, more sustainable future Story | Bruce Farr

Photography | Mark Lipczynski

I

t should come as no surprise—especially to Houstonians—that the city is home to a cadre of visionary architects who are at the forefront of the “green” building movement sweeping this country. After all, Houston has long been regarded as contemporary and progressive, even by national standards, so it stands to reason that an urban area with such extraordinary growth over the past several decades would attract and harbor architectural leaders of this caliber.

But here and elsewhere, the debate over environmental sustainability, climate change and the moral and economic impact of green practices reaches all the way to the core of American ideals. On the one hand, the movement is so trendy that, as a concept, “going green” has become a commodity of sorts, something that builders and real estate professionals loosely toss around to add to the marketability of their projects.

So is it a lot of hype or is it based in sound, lasting principles of conservation and common sense? To find out, we posed the question, “What does being green really mean?” to a trio of local architects who have been trailblazers for environmentally sustainable building practices. Here’s what they had to say.

‘Holistic’ Approach “Sustainability—in architectural terms—addresses quality of life; it’s about creating buildings that enable us to live in harmony—not just human beings, but all living things. We can’t ignore all of the other life forms around us—the flora and fauna and even the earth, air and water.

If we support those in what we’re doing they in turn will support us.”

So notes longtime Houston architect Laverne A. Williams, AIA LEED AP, the principal of Environment Associates Architects & Consultants. The focus of Williams’s 35-year-old practice is on smaller-scale residential dwellings, but he’s also involved in planning environmentally sustainable communities—residential “clusters” of sorts—that take into account the increasingly forward-thinking prospect of creating urban habitats with shared resources.

Williams, a graduate of the University of Houston’s College of Architecture, has been designing with the environment in mind ever since he first opened his doors, decades before the green-building trend took root.

“I was heavily influenced by the work of Sim van der Ryn, the visionary author, educator and internationally distinguished pioneer in ecological design,” he says.

A major proponent of developing what he calls an “accountable approach to architecture,” Williams believes that the general public uses terms such as “sustainability” and “green building” far too loosely.

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“Sustainability, in the true sense of the word, is a very difficult goal,” he explains. “To say that a project is sustainable, we have to take into consideration everything, right down to the way we procure our materials. We can’t truly call anything we’re doing sustainable as long as fossil fuels are involved, and by that I mean involved in the mining, processing, manufacturing and shipping of the raw materials themselves.

“Green can be misleading,” he continues, “and it’s being used to mislead people.”

Nowhere are Williams’s disciplined notions of sustainable architecture more evident than in the awardwinning LEED Platinum home he designed in Austin.

At roughly 3,100 square feet, the structure is crafted to enable rainwater harvesting and food production close to the house itself, all for greater self-sufficiency. With a solar panel system that supplies 80 percent of the residents’ energy needs, the dwelling was constructed mostly from natural materials that were local to the building site itself.

“The beauty was that the total cost of the home came in at roughly a third of what it would have cost in the Houston area,” Williams notes.

Williams says that he defines “green” as a way of characterizing where we’re at right now: a point between where we have been—which is extremely wasteful—but on a path toward sustainability.

“I’m saying that, as a profession and a culture, we have to go beyond ‘sustainable’ to being regenerative and restorative,” he says.

Laverne Williams, Environment Associates

March/april â&#x20AC;˘ 2010

27

Kathleen Reardon, RD Architecture LLC

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very much about “theIt’senvironment ,

Organic Housing

On her firm, RD Architecture’s Web site, Kathleen Reardon, AIA, LEED AP, says that, 20 years from now, she hopes that the technology of homebuilding—particularly that related to making “green’” choices—will have caught up with other industries.

“It’s amazing to consider the amount of innovation that has gone into technology and electronics,” Reardon explains. “Can you imagine what the building industry would be like if we had put the same type of innovation into building and energy efficiency? It would be very interesting to see what happened if people began demanding the same level of technology in their homes as they do in their iPhones, for example.”

Reardon, who graduated from Cornell University and the University of Houston, believes that people today are on the cusp of shifting their thinking to look at their dwellings as organic and dynamic environments. She says that, even today, she doesn’t believe that most homebuyers think in terms of a home’s performance.

“When they buy a house, they’re mainly concerned with whether or not the roof will keep the rain out, not how energy-efficient it is, how it was built, if it’s a healthy home or what the house’s impact on the environment is,” she says.

“We’re just now beginning to wake up to these ideas. If the market shifted so that people were demanding highperformance homes, what would that look like?”

Reardon says she is proud to have worked on the first LEED home in Houston. “We tell our clients that every decision in building a home has a green component to it, beginning with the very big planning decisions, how it’s sited on the property, the orientation of windows, all the way down to what kind of countertop you’re going to choose,” she explains.

Those green considerations get more complex as a project gets down to the smaller details, Reardon suggests. “I mean, granite countertops are great, but you have to ask yourself, ‘Do I really want to support an industry that takes a piece of stone out of the ground in Brazil and then ships it to be fabricated in the U.S.?’ It’s very interesting to see how people are becoming more aware of making green choices as their projects progress.”

A LEED Gold project Reardon’s firm was responsible for designing is a great example of green design, she says. “It’s

but it’s also asking yourself, ‘What is the best way to live

and be satisfied with my life?’ The answer isn’t necessarily in the pursuit of bigger and more luxurious; it can be about the pursuit

of something else.

”

in a very high-end neighborhood, where most of the homes are in the 7,000- to 8,000-square-foot range. We focused on creating a house that was the right size for the family and it ended up being roughly half of what many of the neighboring houses are size-wise. Money was spent on the best envelope system to generate greater energy efficiency.

Solar panels. Ikea kitchen cabinets. It’s a prime example of making trade-offs; you spend less money on some things so you can spend more on things that save energy.”

The economy is a challenge—the number of new architectural projects has dropped dramatically, Reardon notes. But she believes that there may be some silver lining.

“We were building like crazy and the houses were getting bigger and bigger. This economy has given us the opportunity to pause, step back and think about whether we need to shift the way we’re building and what we’re building with. Ultimately, people need to ask themselves, ‘Do we really need a home that big?’

“There are so many things wrapped up in the green movement,” she continues. “It’s very much about the environment, but it’s also asking yourself, ‘What is the best way to live and be satisfied with my life?’ The answer isn’t necessarily in the pursuit of bigger and more luxurious; it can be about the pursuit of something else.”

March/april • 2010

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John Kirksey, Kirksey Architecture

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Green for Good

“Being ‘green’ has been a function of our company for the past 27 years, when we started doing an annual tree-planting in lieu of giving Christmas presents,” says prominent Houston architect John Kirksey, FAIA, president of Kirksey Architecture. “That was the first step to becoming a totally green-oriented company.”

After 39 years in the business, Kirksey’s firm now focuses 100 percent on environmental or green-oriented design for commercial projects in both Houston and, more recently, Miami. Like many others in his profession, Kirksey, an architectural graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, thinks that the popularity of green building has created some discrepancies around what is and isn’t truly sustainable.

“There’s a lot of lip service that’s been paid to the green movement,” he says. “In buildings, which represent about 40 percent of our electricity in the United States, a lot of people talk about being green, but many of them are doing things like putting sun screens on the outside of their windows and calling it ‘green.’ ” Kirksey believes that the operational aspects of a building offer much more powerful, statistically measurable support for whether a building is green or not.

“You have to monitor buildings for one, two, three years and back up what you’ve done with statistics to see if you’re actually achieving what you set out to when you began the project,” he explains.

Sustainable building, as expressed in LEED certification requirements, offers a solid, common sense approach to construction, Kirksey notes.

“Our real estate community here is very receptive to LEED,” he says. “When you explain the costs, outline the benefits and then discuss the payback, you get very little resistance to it or to green building.

“Frankly,” he adds, “I didn’t expect LEED to be around as long as it has, but the people there have done a very good job, and it’s become a very powerful means of measuring building and setting standards of performance.”

What falls under the category of green design can be all encompassing, Kirksey says. “Outside, even beyond site planning considerations, it’s how you collect and recycle rainwater, the materials you use in your paving, the plant material. And then you move inside the building and to the construction process itself, waste recycling, building materials, the performance of those materials, shading, screens and the most important thing of all, the energy package—how it’s designed and operated by automated systems and how it’s managed on an ongoing basis. All of these things are components of green.”

“In buildings, which represent

about 40 percent of our electricity in the United States, a lot of people talk about being green, but

many of them are doing things like putting sun

screens on the outside of their windows and calling it ‘green.’”

Kirksey says that green is definitely here to stay.

“Everything we’re doing makes so much sense from all perspectives that it’s taken on a life of its own and it really doesn’t have to be ‘branded’ anymore.”

Two of Kirksey’s projects that he says were landmark buildings for his firm include the SpawMaxwell Construction Company headquarters building and the Satterfield & Pontikes building.

“We’re very proud of both of those,” he says.

Over the years, Kirksey has been a major voice in attempting to educate people about the issue of climate change in the world and its impact on the future. In speeches he delivers to a variety of audiences, he laments what he calls that the politicization of the climate change issue, which he believes has distracted people from accepting what can only be described as a dire forecast for the global environment.

“At some point in the future, empirical evidence is going to be so strong that there’ll be a galvanizing moment when we say to ourselves, ‘Holy cow, what have we done?’ It’ll be at that point when we realize we have no further options but to comply with massive amounts of regulations while we try and salvage some quality of life here.”

March/april • 2010

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invites you to tour three fabulously decorated apartments.

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Feb 17 – May 2 2010 Wed – Fri 12 – 2pm Sat – Sun 1 – 5pm

Tickets $10 All proceeds benefit Discovery Green

OneParkPlaceLiving.com 713.868.5933

Urban Outfitters Local designers square off and change the face of downtown living

Story | Deborah Mann Lake

I

n an urban design laboratory in downtown Houston, three designers create very different home environments for imaginary clients that include couples, world travelers and a single guy. While each has its own design genius, there are surprising similarities, such as light-colored upholstery in casual linen, vintage Oushak rugs and a dramatic touch of zebra.

Photography | Brian Bookwalter

Join the tour and vote for your favorite in “Redesigning Downtown: A Style Competition at One Park Place,” a unique design competition hosted by Prime Living and the Finger Companies’ beautiful high-rise overlooking Discovery Green. You’ll come away with plenty of ideas for your own special abode.

March/april • 2010

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his & hers Renea Abbott, Shabby Slips

T

he signature slipcovered pieces that put Shabby Slips on the map are here in crisp oyster Belgian linen. But owner/designer Renea Abbott blew up any vestiges of grandma furniture long ago and the evidence is all over this 32nd floor unit.

Abbott set the stage in the entry hallway with a kind of greenish, brownish charcoal wall color that announces urban sophistication in a space planned for an imaginary couple.

The famed “Smoke Ring” prints of American artist Donald Sultan provide the first images of an organic edge in a unit that balances notes of masculine and feminine throughout.

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Nearly all of the furnishings are from her shop: A tall Baker cabinet/desk contrasts with the oversized washable suede ottoman in the study and an antique French table cozies up to a custom linen settee in the dining area. The standout piece, hands-down, is the custom “wing bed” in luxurious chocolate velvet

[The space] balances notes of masculine and feminine throughout.

flanked by curvaceous bedside chests covered in painted raffia.

Accessories such as the romantic, painted silk Fortuny light fixture in the bedroom and geometric rugs with Moroccan roots came from her husband’s company, Creative Flooring. Other pieces—pillows from Foxglove, a horn mirror, a zebra skin—add interesting texture that is an Abbott signature.

Much of the art (some via Gremillion & Co. Fine Art) is “borrowed” from her Houston home and has a decidedly contemporary edge. An arresting original of a horse’s head and curving neck, which hangs over the sofa, was commissioned from a local artist.

Perfection.

Resource Guide

Renea Abbott, Shabby Slips Curtains (study) and bathroom accessories Pottery Barn 4011 Westheimer 713.627.8901 potterybarn.com

Curtains (living room) IKEA 7810 Katy Fwy. 713.688.7867 ikea.com

Coffee table and buffet Curtain rod (study) Watkins Culver Restoration Hardware 2308 Bissonnet St. 4091 Westheimer 713.529.0597 713.850.8838 watkinsculver.com

Upholstery, accessories and art work Shabby Slips 2304 Bissonnet St. 713.630.0066 shabbyslipshouston.com Rugs Creative Flooring 2410 Bissonnet St. 713.522.1181

Lighting Foxglove Interiors 1420 W. Alabama 713.528.1513 foxgloveinteriors.com Art (dining room) Gremillion & Co. 2501 Sunset Blvd.

713.522.2701

Barstool and lighting High Fashion Home 3100 Travis St. 713.528.3838 highfashionhome.com

March/april â&#x20AC;˘ 2010

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high drama Chandos Dodson, Chandos Interiors

I

n her signature style of sophisticated contemporary edged with the unexpected, interior designer Chandos Dodson has created a space for an imaginary couple who travels the globe, but still calls Houston home.

Vintage Persian Oushak rugs in colors softened by age mix comfortably with custom furnishings upholstered in tufted natural linen and dramatic modern art selected from Gremillion & Co. Fine Art. The backdrop is one of her favorite wall colors, Stone Brown from Benjamin Moore.

“I envisioned a couple who were collectors of art, who wanted a getaway in Houston—a nice place to entertain,” Dodson says.

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The unexpected comes in faux alligator end tables flanking the high-backed tufted linen sofa made by Joseph and Company; an oversized ottoman/coffee table in zebra hide; and a headboard made from a screen upholstered in a Clarence House Art Decoinspired fabric. Dodson selected white beaded wallpaper in the unit’s master bathroom

“The art and rugs are the spirit of the space.”

to give it a more glamorous “powder room feeling” since guests would be using it.

There are pillows trimmed in pony hair and bone; a single piece of wood sculpted incredibly to look like cardboard by Paris artist Christian Renonciat; and a high-gloss Art Deco bar, a favored style that she has loved since her days growing up in her mother’s antique shop. On each side of the bed sit Louis-Phillipe antique burnished gold mirrors and opposite is a painted antique Italian armoire with cherubs. It is one of the few pieces of furniture that has color.

“I wanted to keep all the upholstery neutral,” she says. “The art and rugs are the spirit of the space.”

Resource Guide

Chandos Dodson, Dodson Interiors Rugs Stark Carpet Decorative Center Houston 5120 Woodway #1010 713-623-4034 starkcarpet.com

Art Gremillion & Co. 2501 Sunset Blvd.

713-522-2701 gremillion.com

Audio/video equipment Audio Video Guys 2306 Aste Lane 281-894-2800 avguys.net

Upholstery The Joseph Company 2210 Sandman 713-862-7490 Lighting Circa Lighting 2001A West Gray 713-526-4100 circalighting.com

Bed and bath linens/ accessories Plush Home 2233 Westheimer 713-522-5230 plushhome.net

March/april • 2010

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organic opulence Michael Stribling, Michael Stribling Interiors

A

n enormous Grecian head lies on its ear on the coffee table and with an impish grin, designer Michael Stribling walks over and casually picks it up. Despite its size and appearance, it is made of plastic, not stone, and it’s an indication of the kind of outrageous creativity that marks this young designer’s One Park Place space.

The Season 3 HGTV “Design Star” contestant drops the names of two leading film actresses who are among his clients but he chose a single “man’s man” as his imaginary client for this project.

“It’s masculinity meets urban; earth meets contemporary,” he says.

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Burnt Sienna walls are the backdrop for an interior that mixes classic pieces, such as Knoll’s modern Barcelona chairs re-covered in distressed leather, with traditional wing chairs in luxurious brown velvet. One is draped with a zebra skin in a dramatic touch that, again, points to Stribling’s sense of dramatic surprise.

“It’s masculinity meets urban; earth meets contemporary.”

A giant mirror made from reclaimed wood shares space with a vintage table covered in a “reclaimed” vinyl in the central living space. In one corner are black painted 8-foot-tall tree trunks from Scene One Interiors. Mecox Houston in Highland Village provided many of the furnishings, such as the wonderful Grecian head on the wooden coffee table.

“You don’t see stuff like that every day,” he says in an understatement. Art is from Gremillion & Co. Fine Art. Jane Brown assisted him with the design. “My space is totally different from the others.”

And so it is.

Resource Guide

Michael Stribling, Michael Stribling Interiors Furniture Mecox Gardens 3912 Westheimer 713-355-2100 mecoxgardens.com

Rugs Ashly Decorative Rugs 7026 Old Katy Road 713-426-5454 ashlyrugs.com

bedding Plush Home 2233 Westheimer 713-522-5230 plushhome.net

Accessories Scene One Interiors 7026 Old Katy Road 713-895-8686 sceneoneinteriors.com

Paint New Living 6111 Kirby Drive 713-521-1921 newliving.net

Art Gremillion & Co. 2501 Sunset Blvd.

713-522-2701 gremillion.com

Kitchen accessories The Great Indoors 10496 Old Katy Road 832-476-8000 thegreatindoors.com

March/april â&#x20AC;˘ 2010

39

INTRODUCING

HOUSTON’S PREMIER CEMETERY Beautiful Memorial Oaks has provided Houston families with their funeral and cemetery services for the last 50 years. Continuing this tradition, Memorial Oaks has developed 26 of our most beautiful acres, creating our proudest achievement: Reflection Lake Estates. For this new development, the finest landscape architects, developers and designers have created a stunning, awe-inspiring vista and a clear choice for Houston’s most discerning families.

Peaceful, tree-lined walkways and the calming waters of Reflection Lake welcome visitors, while bronze and granite monuments will stand in quiet repose alongside the magnificent Texas Liberty Mausoleum and Heritage Chapel. Once constructed, the mausoleum will comprise of

8,000 square feet, with premier entombments available for selection. The Heritage Chapel will serve as a quiet escape for personal meditation.

Those looking for a truly unique experience will find it in Lakeside Estates, where families have the opportunity to build their own private estate overlooking peaceful Reflection Lake. Regardless of your choice – cremation or traditional burial – Reflection Lake Estates offers a number of memorialization options, including custom monuments and estates.

Design standards for new sites will uphold the beauty and serenity of Reflection Lake Estates, maintaining the sweeping grandeur for you and your loved ones.

I would like to personally invite you to call me at 281- 497-2210 to schedule a tour of the new grounds and to discuss special construction pricing that is available only during this introductory period. Availability is strictly limited. Please inquire about how you can provide an enduring and majestic legacy for your family in Houston’s premier cemetery development.

Sincerely,

Russell Allen, President P. 2 8 1 . 4 9 7. 2 2 1 0 |

W W W. R E F L E C T I O N L A K E E S T A T E S . C O M

Disclaimer: Mausoleum not available until construction is complete. Anticipated date of availability: December 2010.

connoisseur

the prime living guide to discerning taste

inside: Wedding Cake cocktail, III Forks

42 44 46 47 48

• • • • •

Main Dish | haven sent Small Bites | Good Eats Corner Table | Cleverley Dishes Uncorked | Red White or Green Entertain | Eco-Chic Garden Party

March/april • 2010

41

connoisseur main dish

Executive Chef Randy Evans

haven

sent

Story | Holly Beretto Photography | Mark Lipczynski

If Zen can be achieved in a restaurant, it will be done at Randy Evans’ new inner loop eatery, Haven. Tucked in a curve off crowded Kirby Drive, this is the sort of place where the relaxing begins the minute you walk through the doors.

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Haven is a richly wooded oasis, with airy enclaves and inviting ambiance. There’s a gently soothing quality to the mahogany and walnut, juxtaposed against wide windows and casually industrial design touches.

This isn’t a spot that tosses its hipness in your face; rather as an undercurrent amid the calming greens and easy atmosphere.

Begin at the bar and sample one of Haven’s specialty cocktails, designed for the restaurant by mixmeister extraordinaire Bobby Heugel. Each of the six Haven signature cocktails uses Texas ingredients, and the Haven Airmail is a particular delight.

A big bag of lavender citrus, it’s an earthy concoction that fits perfectly with Evans’ concept.

Haven is a “seasonal kitchen,” and Evans took pains to ensure that most of the menu is sourced from Texas growers and producers. Because he uses only what’s fresh and immediate, the menu is in constant flux, changing both with the seasons and by the day, to offer diners an entirely new experience every time they visit.

If you’re lucky enough to find free-range deviled eggs on the menu, start off with those.

They’re from Animal Farm in Cat Spring and laid by Araucana hens. The yolk is whipped and creamy, and there’s a contrasting crunch from the pickle relish, made in house by Evans and his team. The plate of homemade meats, condiments and artisan cheeses change daily, but you’re guaranteed an array of house made sausages, salamis, tourines and other choices.

For a truly stellar salad, select the torn greens, with a snappy black pepper Dijon dressing, fried green tomato croutons and Texas cheddar. The acidity of the tomatoes and the Dijon are beautifully complemented by the richness in the cheddar and the earthiness of the greens.

If you miss the free-range chicken entree, you’re missing something special. More than comfort food, it’s the art of doing chicken right. Haven starts with a free-range bird, served plump and juicy on a bed of bacon spaetzle, handmade doughy bits that pay homage to Texas’ Czech and German heritage, done with in-house-prepared bacon and accompanied by crispy Brussels sprouts leaves. It’s rich and savory, the butter and smoke from the spaetzle a great partner to the sprouts and poultry.

Another must-try is the woodgrilled chateau loin, served with roasted root vegetables and a red wine glace. The loin is tender and rich in flavor, sourced from the Gonzales. Done up like this, with parsnips, carrots and baby turnips prepared al dente, it’ll quickly become your new favorite beef.

And the escolar will become your new favorite fish. This mackerel cousin comes flash seared over a bed of creamy locally grown cabbage with a Meyer lemon brown butter. Meaty, flavorful and elegantly simple, it’s a true menu wonder.

For dessert, sample the vanilla bean pound cake, made daily using a recipe that was Evans’s mom’s and plussed up during his days at Brennan’s.

It’s always served with different accompaniments, but you’ll love it with Meyer lemon curd and strawberries.

Freshness thrives at Haven and Evans has true passion for his Texas-made palate.

“Texas cuisine is different from Gulf Coast cuisine, different from Southern cuisine,” he says. “Here, we pay attention to what our state does well, and we showcase it.”

Season after season, Haven is sure to shine. haven 2502 algerian way 713-581-6101 havenhouston.com

connoisseur main dish

Pound Cake with Lemon Curd & Strawberries Pound Cake

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature 2 cups granulated sugar 1½ vanilla beans, split and scraped, seeds reserved 7 eggs, room temperature 2 cups unsifted all-purpose flour Pinch salt Chantilly Cream

1 cup whipping cream 2 tablespoons granulated sugar ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

Lemon Curd

½ cup lemon juice ½ tablespoon lemon zest 1¼ cup sugar 4 eggs 1 stick butter

Free-range deviled eggs

Torn greens with fried green tomato croutons

Strawberry Sauce

3 cups fresh strawberries, stems removed, divided 1 cup granulated sugar, divided ¼ cup brandy

Pound Cake: In an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar for 10 minutes or until fluffy, scraping the sides of the bowl. Add vanilla seeds. On low speed, beat in the eggs one at a time. Combine flour and salt; add to creamed mixture a third at a time, scraping sides of bowl after each addition. Only mix until incorporated. Pour into two 8x4x3-inch loaf pans coated with nonstick cooking spray. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 1/4 hours or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to a wire rack to cool completely.

Lemon Curd: Over a double boiler, add lemon juice, lemon zest, sugar and eggs. Stir constantly to keep the eggs from curdling. When mix has become thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, remove from heat. Add butter cubes and stir until completely incorporated. Transfer curd to a shallow pan, cover with plastic directly on the curd and refrigerate.

Strawberry Sauce: In a blender, puree 1 cup strawberries, 1/2 cup granulated sugar and brandy. Depending on size, halve or quarter remaining 2 cups strawberries and add to puree; reserve, keeping chilled until ready to use.

Chantilly Cream: In a chilled bowl beat cream, 2 tablespoons granulated sugar and vanilla extract until stiff peaks form; reserve in refrigerator until ready to use.

To plate, cut each loaf into eight equal slices. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a sauté pan over medium heat. Brown cake slices on both sides until golden, remove from the pan. Spoon lemon in the center of the plate and place the warm pound cake on the curd. Spoon the sauce over the pound cake and top with a dollop of cream. Serve while cake is still warm. Serves 16.

Homemade meats and artisan cheeses

Free-range chicken

March/april • 2010

43

connoisseur

small bites

Towering Sensation

Key Lime Martini, Bailey's American Grille

Caprese Martini, Fleming's Prime Steakhouse

good eats Story | Holly Beretto Photography | Mark Lipczynski

For a new take on the well-rounded meal, table-hop these Houston eateries for some of the best tastes in town.

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Every now and then, a dish’s presentation marries perfect form and function. Such is the case with the Chilled Seafood Tower at Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse. A delight to both gaze and dine on, this is one indulgence you need to know about.

Picture an almost beveled glass plate piled with ice, illuminated from below, practically overflowing with ocean bounty: rich lobster chunks, butterfly Maine lobster tails, king crab legs, plump Gulf Coast shrimp and jumbo lump crab meat, served with lemon and spicy cocktail sauces. For the first few seconds, you might be too taken aback by its beauty to dive in.

Snap a photo and get to it, for this is a feast of flavor. The lobster tail is a standout, evoking the turbulent cold water that is its home. Rich and meaty, it’ll make you think you’re dining on a dock in New England, not in Fleming’s cushy, whitetablecloth, River Oaks dining room. The Gulf shrimp are plump and juicy. Dunk them into the chipotle-laced cocktail sauce for a spicy, smoky zing. Then drench the crab and lobster meat with lemon and a little horseradish and you’ll bring out the big, meaty tones with a bang.

This is a dish to share, so bring friends when you order it. Savvy diners will ask the sommelier for a wine recommendation.

Thankfully, Fleming’s list offers ample possibilities—from bright, lean sauvignon blancs to rich pinot gris—that will complement the seafood and the sauces. fleming’s prime steakhouse 2405 w. alabama st.

713-520-5959 flemingssteakhouse.com

c connoisseur

small bites

Pork Out

The Pavilion’s new steak house, III Forks is rightly known for its steak. But diners in the know don’t miss the Prime Double-Cut Pork Chop. This isn’t just another version of “the other white meat.” Rather, it’s a dynamite dish, huge and juicy, with a flavor as big as Texas.

So tender it almost falls off the bone, you’ll fall for this corn-fed creation. The pork is organic, sourced from farms in Iowa, where the tender care it received means you have an entrée that’s to-die-for. Served with a peach-habanero demi-glace with hints of Balsamic vinegar that offers a sassy zing to the rich meat, this is food you’ll crave. Let everyone else order the rib-eye, the strip steak and the filet (they’re all sensational), you’ll savor this.

Match it up with your choice of sides from the menu, but the off-the-cob creamed corn is a stellar recommendation. Prepared daily in-house, it’s buttery and rich with cream and a lovely sweetness.

The six-cheese potatoes are another great choice, III Forks's re-imagining of the old-school au grautin. Paired with the pork, these will ensure a clubby, vintage steak house experience, proving that III Forks does pork just as well as it does beef. iii forks 1201 block of san jacinto st. • 713-658-9457 • iiiforks.com

Layer by Layer

Let’s face it, the English are not known for their cuisine. But there’s one thing the Brits gave the culinary world that’s a true standout: the trifle. The confection dates back to the mid-1500s and was originally made with cream, rosewater and ginger, and was a more liquid version of what we know today. In the 1800s, the dessert began to take the form we recognize: cake layered with fruits and cream custard.

Here, in the 21st century, you’ll find an excellent example of this 400-year-old sweet at Polo’s on the Southwest Freeway. A swanky Italian spot owned by the Post Oak Grille, Polo’s trifle has been on the menu since the restaurant opened. Pastry Chef Byron Ramon offers it daily as Blueberry English Trifle, but says he can tailor it to a diner’s delight, which might mean a key lime version one night and one with fresh strawberries the next. No matter which way you go, you’ll love how light it is, even while satisfying your sweet tooth.

Ramon makes his trifle with a base of homemade vanilla pound cake and handcrafted raspberry preserves. He layers the dessert with a pastry cream he crafts from eggs, milk, sugar and vanilla, and just a hint of liqueur. It’s topped with plump blueberries and almond shavings and comes served to you looking like a mini Baked Alaska, covered in cream and drizzled with whipped cream and raspberry sauce.

It’s all enough to make you exclaim, “Brilliant!” polo’s 3800 southwest freeway 713-626-8100 polosignature.com

March/april • 2010

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connoisseur Cleverley

Cleverley’s corner table

Story | Cleverley stone

i Marie LeNôtre, Albert Roux, Cleverley, Alain LeNôtre, instructors at Culinary Institute LeNôtre

f

celebrity sightings ...

power lunch

found a delicious dining deal at Crave Sushi at Travis at Elgin. The $10 business lunch special offers a half-pound Kobe beef hamburger, served with homemade veggie root chips and creamy wasabi ranch dressing. Their wasabi ketchup is unlike anything I’ve ever tasted and it’s addicting!

If you’re in the mood for steak, Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steak House has a three-course business lunch special for $26.95. It includes a choice of soup or salad, six-ounce filet mignon or salmon fillet served with potatoes, and cheesecake or chocolate mousse for dessert. Seriously delicious. Also try the new dessert drink called Del’s Delight, a creamy concoction of Blue Bell ice cream, dark crème de cacao and walnut liqueur served in a martini glass with a straw. At $8, that’s a sweet deal.

ood Network star, author and British hostess extraordinaire Nigella Lawson came to Houston in December to promote her book “Nigella Christmas” at Williams-Sonoma. I interviewed her for my radio show on CNN 650 Radio News and she was just delightful.

I, however, did not air the full interview because we got into a little “girl talk” about a celebrity chef and some funny insider stories about him that may not be ready for prime time!

What a treat it was for me to take world-famous master chef Albert Roux with me for a recent visit to Culinary Institute LeNôtre, where Scotsman Matthew Gray, chef de cuisine at Roux’s restaurant, Chez Roux, La Torretta Lake Resort, joined us. Chef Roux sampled the students’ food and said it was the best he ever tasted!

He was especially impressed with their cannele, a French cake that is difficult to make, and even shared his own secret tip for making the dessert.

The most touching part of our visit was when Alain LeNôtre and Roux saw each other for the first time in more than 30 years.

“My father, Gaston, and Albert were good friends in France,” he says. “Seeing Albert in my school was almost like having my departed father with me. My eyes welled up with tears.” And so did mine.

Cleverley and Nigella Lawson

t

soup king

he 9th Annual Chicken Soup Cook Off was held at the Congregation Emanu El in January. More than 1,400 guests enjoyed chicken soup interpretations from 37 Houston-area restaurants. Guests donated 500 pounds of canned food to the Houston Food Bank and Emanu El wrote a check for $2,600 to the charity. Kenny & Ziggy’s Delicatessen won two trophies: Best Traditional Chicken Soup and People’s Choice. Buca di Beppo won Best Contemporary Chicken Soup.

Marvin Barish and Ziggy Gruber

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Kobe Burger, Crave Sushi

Meals on wheels

d

on’t miss the March 29 foodie film series at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, where Armando Palacios will introduce one of his favorite films, “Super Size Me.” The Cleverley Show sponsors this series that runs through May. cleverley stone She dishes about Houston’s food, wine and dining scene on CNN 650 Radio News, Fox 26 TV, “Cleverley’s Restaurant Minutes” on K-HITS 107.5, and in her newsletter and blog at Cleverley.com.

connoisseur uncorked

CADE Winery

green

red, white or

At Quivira Vineyards and Winery in Sonoma County’s Dry Creek Valley, one of the industry’s most profound commitments to nature has been in place since they became a Demeter-certified biodynamic and organic winery in 2005. A 55kW solar electric system has supplied 100 percent of Quivira’s energy needs since 1988, when few of us even Story | John DeMers thought in such terms. Guided by a deeplyheld principle of careful stewardship, the winery has been actively engaged in restoring work based on a points system that takes the here’s a new set of terms turning Wine Creek, the Coho salmon and Steelhead whole site, structure, exterior and interior up on the wine shelf and in the trout spawning stream that winds through the materials and energy efficiency into account. winemaker’s vocabulary—words like “Going organic,” on the other hand, applies center of the estate. “organic,” “sustainable,” “LEED certified” and In the spring of 2008, Quivira broke to growing grapes. Such farming is essentially “biodynamic.” Without them, we might not ground on a biodynamic and organic garden the way intelligent farmers tended their fields know exactly what we’re buying, or exactly designed to educate visitors on farming and for thousands of years, making the most of what we’re drinking. viticultural practices, as well as supply local their land by constantly renewing it with Many wineries, in forward-thinking markets with fresh produce. The garden California and far beyond, are using these terms animal fertilizer, crop rotation and the other includes 120 raised beds, growing a wide in efforts to go “green.” Some of the techniques good things available to them. That harmony variety of produce, a biodynamic prep changed abruptly in many agricultural lands are actually as old as wine itself, representing tower, pond, greenhouse and chicken coop. in the mid-20th century, when chemical more of a return than a dramatic leap forward.

Winemaker Steven Canter and proprietor pesticides, herbicides and fungicides became Others are as new as the latest technology and Pete Kight say they are firmly committed widely available. At that time, some grape our ever-changing understanding of it. to biodynamics as the path to crafting “Change is good, green is good, organic is growers joined other farmers in using new benchmark wines. wonder chemicals to kill pests and pump up good,” says John Conover, general manager “Biodynamic winemaking is one of the their plants for bigger crops, not understanding and partner at the CADE Winery on Napa Valley’s Howell Mountain. The winery, among how these fertilizers and poisons would damage last ways that modern western man (or woman) can take direct communion with the their soils and the environment in general. other things, has earned LEED certification. universe’s unseen yet immeasurable truths,” Some of the most enlightened wine estate “We’re doing it because it’s the right thing to owners now believe that going organic makes says Canter. “It is but one way to plug the do as stewards of the land.” leaks that drain away our souls. I would put LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and for healthier soil, more biologically balanced great a value on that.” and pest-resistant grapevines, and more Environmental Design, a program created natural and complex wines. Organic farming by the U.S. Green Building Council in the late 1990s. LEED certification indicates how avoids synthetic fertilizers and insecticides, John DeMers and encourages the use of compost and green a building is. The LEED system gives Covering food and wine for more than manure to create soil rich with natural architects, engineers, builders, landscape 25 years, John DeMers hosts “Delicious Mischief” on NewsRadio 740 KTRH. nutrition, and beneficial plant and animal life designers and interior designers a method to He recently released Follow the Smoke: that help sustain the vines from year to year. measure the environmental health of their 14,783 Miles of Great Texas Barbecue.

Cesar Rubio

T

March/april • 2010

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connoisseur

entertain

Top it Off

garden party eco-chic Story | Allison Bagley

Photography | Mark Lipczynski

In Houston, spring time is a time to celebrate. And what better way would there be to toast to warmer temperatures than with an eco-chic garden party. From fresh cocktails to sustainable fashions, everything at this glam get-together is environmentally friendly.

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Set the scene with jarred goodies from Vervacious, a line of organic products inspired by the makersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; travels around the world.

The jarred apple orange confit spices up an otherwise average cheese plate or, for your something sweet, consider adding fresh fruit to a decadent dessert.

connoisseur

entertain

Fire Works

Light up lively conversation with this unique and modern fire feature

by EcoSmart out of Australia. It’s easily portable and, rather than gas, it runs on denatured ethanol made of corn and sugar.

Lovely Linens

Dress your table with crisp linens from Plover Organic, whose subtle prints are designed to mix and match. Adding to the comforting décor is a throw pillow by Eliza Interiors in Spring, with an antique English cotton tablecloth.

Ingenious Invite

RSVP in style with a die-cut invitation that blooms.

The fresh citron and chocolate color scheme created by Tad & Faboo, local husband-and-wife designers, uses papers that are made with post-consumer waste or in a process powered hydroelectrically.

The Goods table linens Organic cotton lines by Plover Organic; tablecloth, $110; napkins, $13 each; available at One Green Street, 5160 Buffalo Speedway. 866-469-8527, Ext. 700. onegreenstreet.com

Raise Your Glass

A party guest, dressed in a hand-felted scarf by and a skirt “upcylced” from vintage slips, toasts with a signature Green Light Martini. The cocktail is made with Texas’ own Dripping Springs Vodka, freshly brewed unsweetened green tea, diced kiwi and Angostura bitters, and is garnished with fresh mint.

gourmet treats Balsamics and table sauces

by Vervacious; $8 each; available at One Green Street. food & drink The Grove at Discovery Green Park, 1611 Lamar. 713-337-7321, thegrovehouston.com pillow Hand-finished pillow by Eliza Interiors, $150; available at One Green Street. clothing & accessories Designs by Fullenstar, Armour sans Anguish, Sarah Aghili and Miss Ruby Sue; available at One Green Street.

al fresco fire Outdoor Mini T fire feature

by EcoSmart Fire, $1,990; available at One Green Street. invitation Invitation, envelope and liner, $4 each unit; available at Tad & Faboo, tadandfaboo.com, 713-944-0912 makeup Jennifer Aronson, Solution for Hair & Makeup, 1800 Westheimer. 713-526-4545, solutionforhair.com event planners Green Lily Events, 6111 Kirby Drive. 713-894-4040, greenlilyevents.com Product availability and pricing subject to change.

March/april • 2010

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gentleman’s room

For the man who commands the very best

inside:

52 54 56 57

• • • •

Nostalgia | Fill 'Er Up Driver's Seat | HIgh-Class Hybrid High Tech | Tech Toys Great Outdoors | For the Birds

March/april • 2010

51

gentleman’s room nostalgia

Fill‘er up Story | Karl Hauenstein

o

ver the last 10 years, it seems that sticker shock has joined death and taxes as another inevitable fact of life. As we pump and contemplate gasoline prices that move relentlessly higher, periodically flirting with record highs, we are sometimes tempted to think back in disgusted wonder on simpler times long ago, when fueling our vehicles was a far less painful experience. Consider this: + The term “gas wars” meant that oil companies were competing for our business by offering lower prices. + One or two dollars bought enough gasoline to have you cruising the beach or the local hangouts all night long. + Your $1 or $2 gasoline purchase also got your car’s windshield washed, the oil checked and matybe even some green stamps or a free souvenir drinking glass.

Gasoline was cheap. Gasoline was plentiful. Life was simple. Those were the good old days.

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There’s only one problem with this wistful remembrance of the days of cheap, affordable gasoline. It’s completely wrong.

Although gasoline prices may have seemed much lower in the ‘50s, ‘60s and early ‘70s, they really weren’t. True, before the oil embargo in 1973, gasoline in this country was plentiful and there were never shortages or lines at the pump. But were prices much cheaper then than they are now?

Although our hearts and our fond memories of our youth tell us yes, inflation-adjusted accounting tells us not really.

The $0.50 we spent for a gallon of gasoline in 1960 would be equal to about $2.30 today, which is almost right on the current gasoline price. In fact, gasoline prices were, in real-dollar terms, very high during the early years of wide-spread automobile use, starting with an inflationadjusted $3.57 in 1918. From this high level, they steadily decreased, with the exception of spiking at $3 per gallon in the 1930s, until they reached a low point of around $1.80 just before the 1973 embargo. From there, they rose quickly over the next few years, until they reached another inflation-adjusted spike at $3.20 per gallon in 1981.

We all know what has happened since then. After 10 years of steadily falling prices to an all-time historical low of around $1.40 per gallon in 1998, prices have again risen steadily and quickly, first to an all-time high of more than $4 per gallon in 2008, to the current average of around $2.60.

So, if your memories of the “good old days” include plentiful and cheap gas, then the “good old days” weren’t that long ago.

didyou know?

Viewed from the perspective of inflation-adjusted prices, not only does the price of gasoline seem reasonable today, but also the prices of the cars that burn it.

In 1925, the Ford Model T, the first mass-produced car in this country, cost $250 to buy. In today’s dollars, that same Model T would cost $45,000. Makes your fully-loaded Lexus look like a real bargain, doesn’t it?

An Unbridled Affair ASID Bazaar & Derby Day Festival

ENJOY — ASID Bazaar 10 am – 6 pm Sidewalk Sale and Showroom Tours Fantastic buys on designers’ fabrics, furniture, art and jewelry “Ask A Designer” Sideline Socializing Silent Auction Derby Day Hat Contest Purchase tickets on-site for food and beverages.

Kids Carnival with pony rides, horse painting contest and more! $10 per person in advance, $15 at gate. Children under 12 are free.

Kentucky Derby Party 1 pm – 6 pm Simulcast TV coverage of the races Live Entertainment Derby bidding pools Premium Bourbon Tastings

SPONSORS

Gourmet Food Live Auction Awards for the Best Derby Chic Attire $75 per person, $100 at gate.

VIP tickets $150 per person in advance. Includes Bazaar.

The Houston Design Center

Saturday, May 1 The Houston Design Center 10 am – 6 pm

7026 Old Katy Road Houston, Texas 77024 www.thehoustondesigncenter.com For ticket and sponsorship info,please call 713-626-1470 or visit www.asidtgcc.org

gentleman’s room Driver's Seat

high-class

hybrid

quick facts Lexus HS 250h

Story | Don Armstrong

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and Scion. There are, however, similarities between the HS and the rest of the Lexus sedan models that include sleek lines, long hood, steeply raked windshield, fastback roof and short deck lid— ingredients that other luxury car makers have mimicked for years.

The interior has all of the bells and whistles we’ve come to admire from Lexus. There are two trim levels: standard and premium. Selecting the standard version will get you the niceties that most folks think are plenty, like leather seating; a satelliteready, 10-speaker, 137-watt audio system with six-disc CD changer; and Bluetooth with USB and iPod connections.

Check the premium box and those leather seats become heated and ventilated in front, plus real wood cabin trim, and more. Of course, the packaged options list is where the real dilemma comes. There’s the surround sound system that’s available only on the premium

Location: Kokura manufacturing facility, Japan model when ordered with the navigation system, as well as the Park Assist, Technology and Touring packaged options. These combos can be mind boggling, but when you’re in a buying frenzy, you’re likely to wind up with an HS that’s like a fully loaded baked potato.

This Lexus is every bit luxury in the way it handles and rides. Cornering is flat, almost sports car-like. The cabin is quiet, even at highway speeds and controls for navigation, climate and audio are easy to use through a mouse-like knob on the unique console. don armstrong Don’s passion for all things automotive is no secret.

His popular What’s Don Driving? TV series garnered rave reviews and made him the new car go-to guy. He is also a member of the Texas Auto Writers Association.

Classification: Compact Sedan Seating: Five Engine: 2.4-liter I-4 + electric motor Horsepower: 187 combined 0-60 mph: 8.4 seconds Top Speed: 112 mph Transmission: ECVT Brakes: 4-wheel disc Curb weight: 3682 lbs.

Base MSRP: $34,650

Lexus

w

ithout trumpeting its arrival, Toyota’s luxury brand has quietly brought an all-new, purposebuilt, five-passenger hybrid sedan to Lexus dealerships called the HS 250h, a beautiful example of what human engineering can do to help ease the carbon footprint created by every one of us.

The Lexus HS 250h is a totally new creation, not an existing gasoline-only fueled car retrofitted with a hybrid system. It’s powered by the same set-up as the one found in the Camry hybrid, a four-cylinder gasoline engine married to a hybrid-drive electric motor that delivers 187-HP to the front wheels. Getting a combined highway/city mileage rating of 35 mpg and exhaling 70 percent fewer smog-forming emissions than an average new car, this beauty is every bit an eco-winner.

When we say all-new, we mean it. There is no other chassis or bodywork like it in any of Toyota’s lines, including Lexus

Manufacturer: Lexus

Certified Pre-Owned BMW

www.momentumbmw.net 713-CALL-BMW

The Ultimate Driving Machine®

Déjà new.

After rigorous inspections, only the most pristine vehicles are chosen to be Certified Pre-Owned by BMW. That’s why we offer a Protection Plan* for up to 6 years or 100,000 miles. In fact, it looks so good and performs so well it’s hard to believe it’s pre-owned. bmwusa.com/cpo Certified by BMW Trained Technicians

/

BMW Protection Plan

/

BMW Leasing and Financing

/

BMW Roadside Assistance†

*Protection Plan provides coverage for two years or 50,000 miles (whichever comes first) from the date of the expiration of the 4-year/50,000-mile BMW New Vehicle Limited Warranty. †Roadside Assistance provides coverage for two years (unlimited miles) from the date of the expiration of the 4-year/unlimited-miles New Vehicle Roadside Assistance Plan. See participating BMW center for details and vehicle availability. For more information, call 1-800-334-4BMW or visit bmwusa.com. ©2008 BMW of North America, LLC. The BMW name and logo are registered trademarks.

The Ultimate Dealership Southwest Freeway Exit Bissonnet

713.CALL.BMW

www.momentumbmw.net

gentleman’s room high tech

Q: Hold on, Mr. Smartphone.

Should I get one of these new tablet devices?

A: Don’t confuse smartphones with the new tablets or slate devices on the market. These indeed are hot with Apple’s recent launch of the iPad and others now on sale. These slate devices are essentially handheld screens that do some or most of what your laptop does, but with touch controls and 3G data access. The IdeaPad U1 from Lenovo is a winner with two processors and a gorgeous 11.6-inch diagonal multitouch screen. This won’t replace your smartphone, but consider it to replace your laptop for about $999.

Tech toys Story | Michael Garfield

E

ach new year brings us closer to the “Jetsonian Age,” that period where we’ll be flying in cars and have talking robot maids. I figured that by 2010, we would be close to that era.

However, it seems we’re still (light) years away. I receive many questions about when technology will emulate that great cartoon series starring George Jetson. I don’t have an answer to that, but here are a few good ones from my inbox.

A: If your answer isn’t a pacemaker, then my suggestion is a smartphone. We are officially a mobile society and need to communicate frequently.

Blackberry devices have a 40 percent market share in this category with Apple’s iPhone around 25 percent. Stick with one of those, or consider Google’s Nexus One device, which runs the latest Android operating system and is a bit lighter and thinner than the iPhone. You can buy it “unlocked” (you can use it through several wireless carriers) for $549. Google does things right and should gain some ground on other smartphones.

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Q: Michael, I want a toy.

A cool toy. Cost is not a consideration. What do I want?

A: If cost isn’t an issue, then I want to hang with you. If we do get together, go get one of these: the Parrot A.R. Drone, a remote-controlled helicopter that works over Wi-Fi from an iPhone or iPod Touch.

Even cooler, it’s got a camera in its snout that streams to your iPhone’s screen. Just tilt your iPhone to steer the helicopter, with touch controls to adjust altitude. The iPhone app features a virtual game mode where the screen shows virtual enemies in front of your real chopper for you to strafe. Look for this to come out this summer for around $500.

A: The big buzz in TVs this year is 3-D. Thanks to new technology and more 3-D movies being produced, manufacturers are rolling out HDTVs with the capability of replicating t3-D like we see in movie theaters. ESPN and Discovery Channel have also announced 3-D networks coming later this year. Sony, Samsung, Panasonic and others are just now rolling out new models. Pricing has yet to be set, but expect them to start at no less than $6,000. And yes, you still have to wear the geeky glasses.

Michael Garfield Known as “The High-Tech Texan®” to audiences nationwide, Michael hosts technology and issueoriented talk radio shows six days a week on The 9-5-0. See what he’s up to at HighTechTexan.com.

Parrot A.R. Drone | Lenovo | Nexus One | Samsung

Q: What is the one gadget I cannot live without?

Q: I want the latest and greatest TV on the market. Whatcha got for me?

gentleman’s room outdoors

for the

birds

Story and Photography | Doug Pike

O

n a good day, almost anywhere in Texas, any time of year, birding enthusiasts can count dozens of species.

In fact, no other state boasts more species of birds, be they residents or migratory visitors. At latest count, the number exceeds 620 and stops within a few ticks either side of there depending on whose list you believe. Whatever the exact number, that’s a lot of birds!

And for every different category of bird in Texas, it seems there are flocks of people eager to see it and add it to the so-called “life list” that catalogs personal sightings. Even a casually interested birder might have 100 or so Texas birds on such a list. The truly devoted, either by confirmed sight or sound, may document three times as many.

Birders are not measured so much by their proficiency, however, as by their enthusiasm.

In a way, birding is like golf: Not everyone can shoot under par for

18 holes, but the man who scores 120 is just as much a golfer as the man who posts a 68. There is highly competitive birding for those so inclined, but for most, enjoyment counts more than score.

There is steadily growing attraction to this pastime, which can be practiced almost anywhere at anytime. Wherever there is a sky under which they can spread their wings and fly, there are birds.

Observation can begin in your own backyard or out an office window. Without leaving your own ZIP code, whatever it may be, you can rack up dozens of species over the course of a year.

Birders willing to stray an hour or two from home, and exert even minimal effort, will have no trouble doubling their lists. Within 75 miles of Houston, there are dozens of world-class birding destinations.

The Bolivar Peninsula this time of year, over roughly an eight-week period, is first stop over land for tens of thousands

get started The best local resource for birding, whatever your current interest level, is the Houston Audubon Society (houstonaudubon.org), which offers a variety of classes and learning experiences, including classroom sessions at its west Houston sanctuary and field trips to key birding destinations.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (tpwd.tx.us/ birding) also offers vast amounts of information on birding, including maps of its statewide birding trails. of neo-tropical birds returning to northern nesting grounds from winter homes as far as South America. They cross the Gulf of Mexico twice annually and, on the return, stop here to rest and replenish energy stores.

The prairies east and west of Houston are winter homes to more than one million migrating waterfowl, which are preceded each fall by tens of thousands of migrating raptors.

No matter how many birds someone has seen, there is always another. And even if he or she is

looking at the same species for the thousandth time, a devoted birder has difficulty lowering the binoculars.

Look around. Pay attention this time. Those birds have been there all along.

doug pike Doug has traveled the world to satisfy his passion for the outdoors.

During his career, he has won 100-plus state and national awards for writing, broadcast and photography.

March/april • 2010

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15th Annual Keels & Wheels Concours dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Elegance Honoring Packard, Alfa Romeo, Vintage Racers and Classic Motor Boats

May 1st & 2nd, 2010

Lakewood Yacht Club on Clear Lake in Seabrook, Texas 713-521-0105 | keels-wheels.com | bfuller@4u.com

A Special Event showcasing a most impressive collection of Automobiles and Watercraft Major Highlights:

Saturday, May 1st: 10am-5pm & Sunday May 2nd : 9am-4pm

Benefiting Boys & Girls Harbor, Keels & Wheels is the largest classic autom obile and vintage wooden boat show in the United States. Over 200 cars and 80 boats are on display at the show, held at Lakewood Yacht Club on Clear Lake in Seabrook. This is not just a local show, the cars and boats come from every part of the country. Last year over 14,000 car and boat enthusiasts/ spectators attended from throughout the country and Europe. Special features include famous adventure novelist, Clive Cussler as Grand Marshal and the Tora,Tora, Tora Japanese air group conducting an air attack each day as a reenactment of the infamous Pearl Harbor raid.

Reenactment Extraordinaire “Tora, Tora, Tora” Japanese Air group, which will conduct an air attack on the Lakewood harbor both days of the show at 11:00. Ground and Naval forces will be on hand to shoot back with 30 and 50 caliber machine guns as well as a barrage of pyrotechnics and flak.

The R.E. Monical Collection Auction On Friday, April 30, the R.E. Monical Collection Auction of 74 classic automobiles will be sold at no reserve.

The Houston Classic Auction 110 outstanding automobiles and vintage boats will be offered up this year at the Houston Classic Auction. Highlights include a collection of rare Porsches, the extremely rare 1960 Maserati Tipo 61 “Birdcage,” the Ex-Tyrone Power 1934 Rolls-Royce PII Continental Roadster and many other vehicles from the Buess Collection.

Parking is free and free shuttle buses are provided to the show. Discount tickets may be purchased online at www .keels-wheels.com through click-n-print.

Bob Fuller, Event Chair

2010 Major Sponsors — City of Seabrook, Alex Rodriguez Mercedes-Benz, SW Lincoln Mercury Dealers Association, & Worldwide Auctioneers.

Clive Cussler, Grand Marshall

Media Sponsor — Prime Living Magazine

escape

sacredearth Earth-friendly excursions combine luxury with consciousness Story and Photography | Michael Bauer

March/april â&#x20AC;˘ 2010

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f

or any world traveler, seeing the earth’s natural wonders is a must. Pristine shores, ancient civilizations and remote wilderness call to the explorer with exotic allure.

However, it’s crucial to preserve these wonders as they were before they became such hot destinations.

Ecotourism is the new way for travel enthusiasts to go while ensuring that the destinations maintain their beauty.

Eco-travel has developed and expanded over the years as an integral part of the travel experience. In varying forms, it is focused on the protection of the environment, so

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that minimal impact allows the area to thrive in its natural state. Responsible programs include everything from recycling and litter control, to removing introduced plants and animals, to “volun-tourism” in support of local communities.

Taking trips that focus on the environment can make a lasting experience for both the destination and the traveler. Tour companies that support eco-programs are usually far more interactive, with guides that are passionate about their job and the location.

Be prepared for vivid tales and histories. Even information about conservation projects is amazing,

tracking the care put into rebuilding or keeping an area free from human interference. Look for companies that partner with global and local conservation groups, and who actively promote green travel.

Volunteer projects in cleanups or working with indigenous populations make the kind of hands-on interaction with the most memorable experiences on the road.

One prime example of ecotourism is the otherworldly Galapagos Islands. Off the coast of Ecuador, they are home to animals found nowhere else on earth.

Walking through trails and along beaches, encountering undaunted

birds that waddle along with you and seals that beach right next to a sleeping tourist—it’s a once in a lifetime experience.

Snorkeling with dozens of turtles, cormorants and penguins at your side is something you will never forget. Wildland Adventures uses premium ecotourism to provide the fantastic experience of island sailing in luxury, all in the mindset of preservation. With only 20 people on board, you will see nature undisturbed and come across breathtaking secluded areas. Between top-notch chefs, nature talks and spacious ships, it’s the perfect way to cruise nature’s playground.

Going Green in Costa Rica Story | Sally J. Clasen

Finding a comfortable place to rest your natural-fiber bags and eco-conscience while traveling can sometimes be a bit rough.

In verdant Costa Rica, however, you don’t have to play amenity leapfrog to discover upscale planet-friendly accommodations.

With 4 percent of the world’s biodiversity and a strong environmental policy—the Costa Rican government is shooting for carbon neutrality by 2021—it’s easy being green in this Latin American paradise.

From the cloud forest to the coastline—several luxury properties promote sustainability and protect Costa Rica’s diverse natural resources:

El Silencio Lodge & Spa

When you sit at the top of a carbon-offsetting tropical cloud forest, your green factor is naturally high, but El Silencio, a 16room wellness retreat in the central volcanic region of Bajos del Toro, embraces the elements in every beam of its rustic setting.

Most food is sourced from an organic greenhouse garden or bought from local farmers and fishermen, while there is minimal waste due to a no-plastic-bottle policy and composting efforts. In addition, 85 percent of the staff is hired from surrounding communities.

Other earthy initiatives include a “Climate Change Friendly” reforestation program; al fresco yoga deck; electric golf carts; low-level lighting to keep native wildlife calm; topographic hiking trails; and hidden waterfalls. El Silencio has earned a five-leaf rating (out of five) from the Costa Rican Certification for Sustainable Tourism (CST). elsilenciolodge.com

Harmony Hotel

A refurbished beach property in Playa Guiones, Nosara, on the Pacific coast, the eco-vibe here is low-key but purposeful. Popular with upscale surfers, yoga enthusiasts and families, sustainable rhythms include an organic garden; fresh drinkable rainwater; and a vegetarian restaurant with organic seafood, fruits and vegetables.

view from the overlook hill is In South America, the great Incan breathtaking. No place on earth looks out over such a verdant empire built a monumental city high in the Andes, Machu Picchu. sprawl of advanced buildings. The amount of work and precision Whether you’re trekking the Inca Trail through the jungle to the top, required to build such a massive city, carrying stone by stone taking the train or a car, you will be amazed by the scenery, as you're up to a mountaintop, is simply mindboggling. surrounded by emerald slopes of Wildland has gone to great towering mountain rainforests. The lengths to hire the best guides hike is an unparalleled experience and work with nature lodges for reaching the city. Along the to provide sanctuary for the way, you will see exotic plants, rainforest wildlife and to keep the hundreds of varieties of orchids, hummingbirds flitting through the Incan site preserved for future visitors. Walking the grounds puts trees and more. every step back into history, and The real magic hits when you imagining the construction and reach the top. The panoramic

El Silencio Lodge & Spa; Harmony Hotel

I Can See Clearly Now

Spa ingredients are also harvested on property, including Red Flower biodegradable bath products, while other eco-amenities include biodegradable surf wax; post-consumer recycled glass; composting; gray water wetland system to encourage growth of native plants; chlorine-free pool; raw-food juice bar; and guest involvement programs like volunteer beach cleanups and Plant a Tree. The Harmony Hotel is the first property in Costa Rica to receive a five-leaf rating on its first evaluation from the CST. harmonynosara.com

Si Como No Resort & Spa

In this hilltop jungle property, diverse natural wonders set the backdrop for responsible tourism. With views of Manuel Antonio National Park, Si Como No is surrounded by lush tropical rainforest, soft sand beaches and nearby rafting rivers.

Conservation efforts include use of organic spa products; well water for gardening and maintenance; bio-digesters for sewage; biodegradable products for housekeeping; solar panels to heat water; and all glass, plastic and aluminum products are donated to a local women’s auxiliary each month. In addition, the property’s new 30-acre wildlife refuge and nature exhibit features a multilevel butterfly botanical garden and guided nature walks. An active member of CST. simcomo.com

March/april • 2010

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escape

daily life with such astonishing views leaves one speechless.

Nearby side trips include the Gate of the Sun, the Urubamba Valley and the city of Cusco, which has plenty of colonial flair for food and historic sites of the Incas, as well.

What’s New, Pussycat?

On the African Savanna, you’ll find a completely different kind of animal encounter. Tanzania is home to the big animals of the plains and Jeep safaris from fivestar lodging is the perfect blend

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of opulence and one-of-a-kind wildlife. The lodges from the Singita Reserves were designed on three pillars of conservation, eco-friendly tourism and community support.

Working with local reservations is critical in keeping the wildlife abundant and the reasoning is obvious once you’ve seen your first cheetah sprint across the plains or a pride of lions basking under a tree. It’s an untamed world that everyone should see. The local population also gets involved by sharing

their culture and working with lodges for education and involvement in development, without sacrificing their traditions and customs.

Ecotourism is still growing and the positive impact is encouraging in every program.

There is incredible beauty out there it makes sense to preserve it for future generations to enjoy. Regardless of where you go, there is always an opportunity to lend a hand or help preserve the beauty of the world for others to share.

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TwitterHP.indd 1

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11:30 am River Oaks Country Club

Chairmen

Kristi Schiller and Millette Sherman Honoring Houstonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Outstanding Mothers Eva Bisso Greggory Burk Mary Cullen

Irene Fraga Joanne King Herring Susan Plank Sybil Roos

Kathryn Smith Randa Duncan Williams Joanne Wilson

Inspirational speaker, Sean Tuohy, who was recently portrayed by Tim McGraw in â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Blind Sideâ&#x20AC;? will share his wisdom about parenting and charity at this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s luncheon.

For more information contact Jenny Barnes at 713.838.9050 x 304 or visit www.ucphouston.org.

Š 2009 SWITCH Studio, All Rights Reserved

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live well

beauty

organic head to toe Story | Sue Hauenstein

e

verywhere you turn, you’ll see that environmental issues have taken the forefront for many baby boomers, who are no longer just about saving the whales. Rather, today's boomers are now using reusable cotton bags when they grocery shop, purchasing hybrid cars in great numbers and buying healthier foods, free of chemicals and preservatives.

Their kitchens and bathrooms are becoming familiar with organic household cleaners and they’ve taken note of sustainable clothing and jewelry. They’re interested in preserving their health and saving the earth. They’re aging hippies, who don’t want to look “old.”

“Natural” and “organic” products are popping up everywhere, promising that they’re better for our planet and healthier for us. Our research shows that from your teeth to your toes, you can go green.

You don’t intentionally eat toxins, so why put them on your body? Beautiful hair starts with a healthy scalp, but remember that our scalp and skin readily absorb carcinogens that can sometimes do more damage than the toxins we ingest. Look for repair, strength, hydration and protection in your shampoo and conditioner, such as Lush, which offers both healthy liquid and solid shampoos.

For your pearly whites, toothbrushes are being produced with recycled handles and biodegradable bristles. There’s even one with a handle made from recycled dollar bills.

If you use homemade toothpaste to go green, it most likely won’t have fluoride, so be sure to add fluoride drops or take alternate steps to protect the health of your teeth. It’s also possible to find “green” toothpaste, or

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toothpaste made with fewer toxic ingredients.

And they come in various flavors, too.

Now that you’ve got your teeth looking good, what about those lips? There are an array of options to ensure against absorption of harmful chemicals used in lipstick. Made with fresh organic oranges, lemons, chocolate and honey, Lush produces the “tastiest lip balms on the planet,” while Sephora boasts a natural lip stain that stays on all day and is gluten- and oil-free.

Moisturizing is also an important part of the daily skin care routine. Organic moisturizers use fresh, natural ingredients, while many have sun protection offering added fortification against sun damage while inserting silkiness back into the skin. Essential oils and natural ingredients also protect the skin from dehydration.

If you’re looking for organic nail polish, you may have to wait a while. Synthetic ingredients are necessary in the manufacturing process. It is, however, possible to buy a safer nail polish and many companies are now producing polish without the harshest chemicals. For the time being, look for polish without formaldehyde.

Don’t think for a minute that these chemicalfree products are all geared for women. From

live well

shaving creams to bath gels and moisturizers, there are products for the man in your life, including shaving creams made with linseed mucilage that soften the stubble and let him shave without the red, raw soreness.

Keep in mind that not all products are created equally. The organic industry is minimally regulated, so be sure you know what you’re looking for so you don’t get scammed. Read the labels, research and recognize the names of harmful chemicals, and remember, just because a product is labeled as “organic,” doesn’t mean it is.

Did You Know?

A product isn’t organic unless it comes from a plant, grown in an environment devoid of chemicals and without manmade ingredients. Natural products are formed by Mother Nature and utilize few or no chemical ingredients during their production.

Nature’s Essentials

Stock up on these earth-friendly beautifying products that will make you feel just as good buying them as you will using them: Honey I Washed The Kids Fun cheese-wedged, toffee-scented soap infused with bergamot and sweet orange. lushusa.com None of Your Beeswax A light lip balm made specifically for vegans. lushusa.com Jack Black’s Supreme Cream Triple Cushion Shave LathER Contains certified organic ingredients and are fragrance-free, paraben-free and colorant-free. getjackblack.com bareMinerals A product of Bare Escentuals, this powder isn’t only soft and creamy, it’s free of the chemicals and preservatives that can irritate skin. bareescentuals.com Ooh La Lizz Biodegradable soy based candles, made from 100 percent pure natural soy beans and 100 percent cotton core flat braided wicks. oohlalizz.com

Chew on This

Even our dogs are getting into the cleaner living act. From his teeth to his feet, your pup can enjoy all-natural, organic, biodegradable products made especially for dogs. In fact, PawLux.com offers a full line of treats, chews and organic dog biscuits, as well as health and wellness items.

PawLux evolved from an overwhelming love of one family pet and developed into a one-stop online destination that caters to the need for healthy alternatives for our four-legged friends. The brands they sell use the purest ingredients and sustainable resources. They fuse quality and design with eco-sensitivities. And they are made by people who share PawLux’s values to make a positive difference in the world.

Not only are their products good for our dogs, they’re good for our earth.

March/april • 2010

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â&#x20AC;&#x153;the originalâ&#x20AC;?

1800 post oak blvd 713.961.1492

river oaks 2040 west gray opening fall 2010

the woodlands 21 waterway ave 281.367.1492

diningguide Whether youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re craving a thick, juicy steak or a spicy little Latin number, Prime Livingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dining guide gives you everything you need to know (and then some) on Houston's wonderful array of dining options. Use our handy legend to find out each restaurant's amenities and features.

WWW.CORDUA.COM

legend Date Night Friendly

Entertainment

Jacket Required

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AMERICAN

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Charming 1930s house-turned-bistro is Houstonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s foremost al fresco restaurant.

Features award-winning American bistro fare, full bar, winning wine list and live jazz at brunch. â&#x20AC;˘ 1103 s. shepherd. 713-521-2239, backstreetcafe.net.

Benjyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

Masraffâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s on Post Oak Lane

Benjyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s modern American experience is the combination of a focused, chefdriven menu and warm Texas hospitality.

Since 1995, Benjyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s has strived to build a restaurant that is uniquely Houston.

Specialty dish: Sesame crusted ahi tuna â&#x20AC;˘ 2424 dunstan, 713-522-7602; 5922 washington ave., 713-868-1131; benjys.com

A casually elegant restaurant with unique Euro/American cuisine and ambiance.

Specializing in seafood, lamb, beef and fowl, Masraffâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s is the recipient of numerous prestigious culinary awards. Specialty dishes: Chilean Sea Bass, Osso Bucco, Rack of Lamb. â&#x20AC;˘ 1025 s. post oak lane. 713-355-1975, masraffs.com

Dessert Gallery Bakery & Cafe

Mockingbird Bistro Wine Bar

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Houstonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sweet spot for decadent desserts, sandwiches, wraps and salads. Perfect for a quick sugar fix or leisurely lunch or dinner. Specialty dishes: Calypso Chicken Salad, Old-Fashioned Diner Cake. â&#x20AC;˘ 3600 kirby dr., 713-522-9999; 1616 post oak blvd., 713-622-0007; 2260 lone star dr., sugar land, 713-797-8000; dessertgallery.com

The French and Italian rivieras meet Texas at Mockingbird Bistro, where Texas Provence cuisine is praised by media and diners alike. Casual and inviting, this bistro offers two private dining areas, a full bar and award-winning wine list. Specialty dish: Steak Frites. â&#x20AC;˘ 1985 welch. 713-533-0200, mockingbirdbistro.com

Ouisieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Table Gravitas Restaurant

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Laurier Cafe & Wine

A new American neighborhood bistro whose focus is fresh, seasonal, highquality foods and dishes that let the ingredients shine. Award-winning wine list has moderately-priced niche wines from around the world. Specialty dishes: Crab Cake, Steak Frites, Soft Chocolate Cake. â&#x20AC;˘ 3139 richmond ave. 713-807-1632, lauriercafe.com

Backstreet Cafe

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HandLEs Private Parties separate bar area

Featuring a sophisticated-yet-laidback interior by architect Ferenc Dreef and an eclectic American menu from executive chef Jason Gould, Gravitasâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;as the name impliesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;takes food seriously while keeping the atmosphere warm and comfortable. Specialty dish: Applewood smoked pork chop with apple slaw. â&#x20AC;˘ 807 taft st. 713-522-0995, gravitasrestaurant.com

Elouise Adams Jones, aka Ouisie, invented this restaurant of Southern food and eclectic tendencies decades ago and has been the darling of diners ever since.

Elegant, imaginative, warm, always entertaining and daring only begin to describe this Houston icon. â&#x20AC;˘ 3939 san felipe. 713-528-2264, ouisiestable.com

Polo’s Signature

Boasting a French-American fusion menu, the swanky Polo’s Signature is the namesake of restaurateur Polo Becerra.

Live music, exquisite lighting and an inviting interior design complement Executive Chef Adam Puskorius’ imaginative fare brilliantly. • 3800 southwest freeway.

713-626-8100, polossignature.com

Serenitea Tea Room

A superb venue for Tea parties, showers and private events. Offering lunch, dessert and English-style afternoon tea service with custom blended loose-leaf teas. • 13889 southwest freeway, sugar land. 281-491-4588. sereniteatearoom.com

VOICE Post Oak Grill Uptown

Elegantly presented American fare with a Mexican accent, this veteran of the Houston dining community is owned by restaurateur Polo Becerra who once worked as a line cook in its kitchen. Business people fill it by day, romantics by night. • 1415 s. post oak lane. 713-993-9966, postoakgrill.com

Prime

A casually elegant and relaxing waterfront showplace for the farm fresh, New American cuisine of award-winning Executive Head Chef Joseph Trevino. Prime indulges the senses with a menu and decor that are equally sophisticated. Specialty dish: Lamb chop and Cassoulet with Roast Baby Roots. • 600 la torretta blvd., 936-448-4400, latorrettadellagoresortandspa.com

Rainbow Lodge

Well known refined Lodge setting “In The Heights” featuring Gulf Seafood, Wild Game & Local Harvests. Lunch, dinner and Sunday brunch with a view. Stellar wines and a super patio for parties and receptions. • 2011 ella blvd. 713-861-8666. rainbow-lodge.com

RDG + Bar Annie

RDG + Bar Annie is the new signature restaurant from Chef Robert Del Grande and the Schiller-Del Grande Restaurant Group, and the spiritual successor to the world famous Cafe Annie. The all-new BLVD Lounge is located on the venue’s first floor • 1800 post oak blvd. 713-8401111, rdgbarannie.com

The Remington Restaurant

Decidedly modern American with a definite dash of Texas. Busy executives can take advantage of a special lunch menu that adheres to tight schedules without sacrificing culinary excellence. Specialty dish: Southwest Caesar Salad. • 1919 briar oaks lane. 713-403-2759, theremingtonrestaurant.com

Hotel ICON is proud to present the awardwinning VOICE restaurant, where Executive Chef Michael Kramer pairs inspired modern American cuisine with one of the city’s most dazzling venues. Recognized as the No. 1 best new restaurant by Texas Monthly. Specialty dish: Mushroom Soup “Cappuccino.” • 220 main st., 832-667-4470, hotelicon.com

ASIAN

Gigi’s Asian Bistro & Dumpling Bar

By combining exquisite modern Asian cuisine and top-notch service with a chic, exotic ambiance, owner Gigi Huang and Executive Chef Junnajet Hurapan have created a true see-and-be-seen dining destination in the heart of the Galleria.

Specialty dishes: Shu Mai Dumplings, Braised Short Rib • 5085 westheimer, 713-629-8889, gigisasianbistro.com

FRENCH Au Petit Paris

Considered one of Houston’s more unique spots, Au Petit Paris will remind you of Paris with its authentic French creations from Chef Eric Legros and Pastry Chef Dominique Bocquier. Specialty dish: Sautéed sea scallop, smoky bacon, and curry cauliflower puree with green asparagus. • 2048 colquitt st. 713-524-7070, aupetitparisrestaurant.com

Chez Nous, Cuisine Francaise A small, quaint restaurant situated in a former Pentecostal church, Chez Nous specializes in the sturdy classical French style of cooking. “The chef is the owner, as it should. The chef is in the kitchen, where she belongs.”

Specialty dish: Dessert soufflés. • 209 s. ave g, humble. 281-446-6717, cheznousfrenchrestaurant.com

diningguide Chez Roux at La Torretta Del Lago Resort & Spa

The crown jewel of La Torretta Del Lago Resort & Spa’s cuisine experience, Chef Albert Roux, a revered name in the international restaurant world, created this fine dining gem. Specialty Dish: Chef Roux’s Soufflé au fromage a la crème de mais blanc • 600 la torretta boulevard, montgomery. 936-448-4400, latorrettadellagoresortandspa.com

Mezzanotte Italian Ristorante

This modern Italian ristorante welcomes diners with dramatic and stylish decor, convivial bar area and a sophisticated atmosphere. The menu features Italian fare with modern accents including pasta, seafood, steaks, rack of lamb and more.

Specialty dish: House made lobster ravioli, rack of lamb. • 13215 grants road, cypress.

832-717-7870, veryfinedining.com

Mingalone Italian Bar &Grill Textile Restaurant

Located in a turn-of-the-century textile mill from which the restaurant derives its name, Chef Scott Tycer’s fans will recognize his sophisticated take on modern American cuisine complete with seasonal, organic ingredients • 611 w 22nd st. #1-a. 832-209-7177, textilerestaurant.com

INDIAN Kiran’s

Enjoy modern Indian cuisine in a fine-dining experience.

Accolades include Zagat Rated Excellent and Wine Spectator Awards of Excellence. Specialty Dish: Kiran’s Chilean Sea Bass with Mango Chutney. • 4100 westheimer. 713-960-8472, kiranshouston.com

Reminiscent of the family’s trattoria in southern Italy, with an open kitchen and an elegant interior, Mingalone serves dishes such as Gnocchi al Zafferano (potato dumplings tossed with arugula, saffron and Parmesan cream sauce).

Specialty dish: Vitello al Teatro. • 540 texas ave. 713-223-0088, mingalone.com

Prego

This contemporary Rice Village trattoria has been a neighborhood favorite for more than 20 years. Menu features house made breads and pastas, and the freshest meats, seafood and produce. Attentive staff, award-winning wine list. Specialty dishes: Center-cut pork chops with prunes, Chianti essence, rapini and sweet potato gnocchi. • 2520 amherst. 713-529-2420, prego-houston.com

Trevisio

ITALIAN Arcodoro

This beautiful Galleria area restaurant reflects owner Efisio Farris’ Sardinian heritage, and the glamour and sophistication of the Costa Smeralda. The menu shines with a simple, rustic cuisine rich in flavor and texture.

Specialty dish: Malloreddus a la Bottarga. • 5000 westheimer. 713-621-6858, arcodoro.com

Arturo’s Uptown Italiano

Savor a romantic slice of Tuscany while indulging in exquisite Italian dishes prepared by renowned Chef Arturo Boada. Enjoy your meal on the flowering patio or inside among warm hues of golds and reds. Complimented by excellent service and a great wine list. Specialty Dish: Crabmeat Raviola. • 1180-1 uptown park blvd.

713-410-8694, arturosuptown.com

Grotto Enjoy authentic Italian cuisine in a warm, entertaining atmosphere that will transport you to the cozy setting of a trattoria in the Old Country. At Grotto, everything is homemade on-premise. Specialty dish: Shrimp Paillard. • 4715 westheimer. 713-622-3663, grottorestaurants.com

Located in the heart of the Texas Medical Center, this stunning restaurant features two 64-foot exterior waterfalls, while a sixth floor perch affords diners incredible views. Considered one of Houston’s most attractive restaurant interiors. Specialty dish: Porcini-crusted beef tenderloin with wild mushrooms, pearl onions, roasted garlic and broccolini. • 6550 bertner, 713-649-0400, trevisiorestaurant.com

JAPANESE Kata Robata

Kata Robata is a new, chef-driven Japanese grill and tapas concept built on the pillars of high quality, creative food and exceptional service. The menu from rising star Chef Horiuchi is a combination of traditional and modern Japanese cuisine. Specialty dish: Foie Gras Sushi. • 3600 kirby dr. 713-526-8858, katarobata.com

YOI Sushi Bar at La Torretta Del Lago Resort & Spa

Located on the second level of La Torretta Del Lago Resort & Spa’s exquisite lobby, Yoi offers the finest in contemporary Japanese sushi. Freshly carved sashimi, carefully sculpted nigiri and meticulously wrapped rolls are offered daily. • 600 la torretta blvd., montgomery. 936-4484400, latorrettadellagoresortandspa.com

LaGriglia

LaGriglia offers guests a delicious display of authentic Italian dining. Colorful Italian murals and busy mosaics provide a playful ambience while creative pastas, chicken, beef and fish tempt guests with an array of fabulous choices. Specialty dish: Shrimp and Crab Cheesecake. • 2002 w. grey. 713-526-4700, lagrigliarestaurant.com

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LATIN

Americas Restaurant

Americas offers an adventurous menu specializing in the foods of all the Americas: North, Central and South.

Experience signature dishes including ceviche, churrasco steak and mouth-watering tres leches.

Specialty dish: Churrasco steak. • 21 waterway ave., the woodlands. 281-367-1492, cordua.com

MEXICAN Hugo’s

Hugo’s celebrates the vibrant, diverse cuisines of Mexico with delicious dishes made fresh in-house: hand-formed tortillas, cheeses, chorizo and houseground chocolate. Enjoy the city’s best margaritas, hand-shaken with only fresh juices. Specialty dish: Ceviches and chiles rellenos. • 1600 westheimer.

713-524-7744, hugosrestaurant.net

SEAFOOD Grotto

Enjoy authentic Italian cuisine in a warm, entertaining atmosphere that will transport you to the cozy setting of a trattoria in the Old Country. At Grotto, everything is homemade on-premise. Specialty dish: Shrimp Paillard • 4715 westheimer. 713-622-3663, grottorestaurants. com

Massa’s Seafood Grill

Serving fine seafood since 1944, family-owned Massa’s Seafood Grill is located across from The Four Seasons Hotel and is a favorite for corporate lunches, conventions, sporting and entertainment events. Specialty dish: Redfish Ponchartrain. • 1331 lamar, 713-655-9100; 1160 smith, 713-650-0837; massas.com

Pesce

From the tasteful design and elegantly appointed dining room to the unparalleled cuisine, Pesce is a feast for the eyes as well as the palate. Renowned Chef Mark Holley has carefully crafted a seafood menu featuring a melting pot of flavors.

Specialty dish: Seafood Martini. • 3029 kirby dr.

713-522-4858, pescehouston.com

STEAKHOUSE Brenner’s On The Bayou

Situated in a picturesque retreat on Houston’s Buffalo Bayou, this rustic-yet-elegant restaurant is surrounded by lush landscaping, a waterfall and gazebo. Brenner’s classic dishes include prime steaks and succulent seafood.

Specialty dish: Steaks and German potatoes. • 1 birdsall. 713-868-4444, brennersonthebayou.com

Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar The ultimate steakhouse destination for people seeking a stylish, lively and contemporary dining experience.

Renowned for its superb prime beef, warm and inviting ambiance, and gracious and knowledgeable yet unobtrusive service. • 2405 w. alabama. 713-520-5959; 788 w. sam houston pkwy. north, 713-827-1120; 1201 lake woodlands dr., the woodlands, 281-362-0103; flemingssteakhouse.com

Shulaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Steak House

Shulaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s serves the Shula Cut, premium Black Angus Beef, the best beef money can buy. Great steaks and seafood with attentive service. Steak selections are presented on handpainted Wilson footballs â&#x20AC;˘ 1200 louisiana st. 713-375-4777, donshula.com

Strip House

Known for prime signature cuts of beef charred to perfection, Strip House also serves up decadent side dishes including Black Truffle Cream Spinach and Goose Fat Potatoes. Part of the experience is the sumptuous, all red decor featuring vintage photographs. Specialty dish: New York strip steak. â&#x20AC;˘ 1200 mckinney st.

713-659-0000, striphouse.com

Sullivanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Steakhouse

Named after the champion bare knuckle boxer John L. Sullivan, who was nicknamed â&#x20AC;&#x153;the best of the best,â&#x20AC;?

Sullivanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s has been a local Houston mainstay for the last 10 years. The 1940â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s styled steakhouse features the finest steaks and seafood. â&#x20AC;˘ 4608 westheimer. 713-961-0333, sullivanssteakhouse.com

March 17 - 28, 2010

Presented by

Great Southwest Equestrian Center Katy, Texas

Vic & Anthonyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Steakhouse

Vic & Anthonyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Steakhouse features an elegant yet intimate atmosphere created with an undeniable attention to detail. Their award-winning menu features only the finest prime beef, fresh seafood and more, as well as an extensive wine collection. Specialty dish: USDA prime Midwest grain-fed steaks â&#x20AC;˘ 1510 texas ave. 713-228-1111, vicandanthonys.com

pinoak.org 713.621.6290

The Pin Oak Charity Horse Show is a 501 ( c ) 3 entity, benefiting The Ronald McDonald House of Houston and Texas Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Hospital.

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Tapas

CLIENT

Capriccio Tapas

CONTACT

Capriccio brings Spanish flavors and fine dining to northwest Houston. Enjoy a menu of more than 30 tapas (literally â&#x20AC;&#x153;small platesâ&#x20AC;?) to sample yourself or share among friends while enjoying fine wine and great conversation. Specialty dishes: Paella, extensive list of tapas. â&#x20AC;˘ 10865 jones road. 281-807-9442, capricciotapas.com

Authorized Signature:

Tintos Spanish Restaurant & Wine Bar

Q Name correct?

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Tintos serves great traditional Spanish tapas, as well as modern style tapas. The menu also features tapas that have Cuban and South American influences. Signature dish: Paella. â&#x20AC;˘ 2015-j w. gray. 713-522-1330, tintosrestaurant.com

PHONE

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Date:

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Q Ad approved

Date Night Friendly

Valet Provided

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as is

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Fax Back To: (281) 277-2353 Š 2009 SWITCH Studio, All Rights Reserved

www.charitycharms.com â&#x20AC;˘ 800.615.3120

the

Cabaret for a Cure • 1.15.10

list

Hilton Americas-Houston

Featuring Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr. as the headlining performers—along with the musical talent of two-time Grammy award winning vocalist/pianist Diane Schuur—the second annual Cabaret for a Cure was held on Jan. 15 benefiting Legacy Community Health Services’ HIV/AIDS Programs. Paul-David Van Atta, director of catering for the Hilton Americas-Houston, the city’s largest hotel, was the creative force behind this annual star-studded soiree. Using his background in musical theater, Van Atta created and produced Cabaret for a Cure 2009, for which he was honored with the year’s corporate Legacy Leadership Award.

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Photography | Phyllis Hand

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1 Brian H. Teichman and Joanne King Herring 2 Cherri and Joe Palmieri, Trini Mendenhall Sosa and Frank Sosa 3 Debra Grierson, Joan Schnitzer-Levy 4 Trini Mendenhall Sosa and Frank Sosa, honorees and recipients of the Shannon R. Schrader Humanitarian Award 5 Carolyn Mann, Judi Mcgee, Sidney Faust, Phyllis Williams 6 Sharon Montgomery, Bob Luna, Tommie Lee Bradleya 7 Mark and Debra Grierson, honorary co-chairs 8 Diane Lokey Farb, Mark Sulllivan 9 Philamena and Arthur Baird 10 Virgil and June Waggoner 11 Margaret Alkek Williams 12 Barry Mandel, Dr. Scott Sawyer, Legacy 13 Robert Davenport, Leisa Holland-Nelson

prime-living.com

Deville Fine Jewelry Event • 12.09.09

DeVille Fine Jewelry

DeVille Fine Jewelry opened the doors of its jewelry salon for a special, exclusive event for private clients, media and special guests. The invitationonly event showcased their fine jewelry collection, comprised of one-ofa-kind precious and semi-precious pieces from across the globe. Guests enjoyed the opportunity to visit with DeVille executives and private client staff, and were seen socializing with Houston’s most discriminating jewelry fans as they relaxed on the salon’s European stainless steel and leather sofas.

Surrounded by soaring arrangements of calla lilies and art, guests toasted the new space as they sipped and supped on Jackson + Co. menu offerings at their hand-hewn, granite champagne bar.

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Photography | Brad Sechler

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1 Caroline Kenney, Gabriella Dror 2 Bob and Nancy Peiser 3 Jacqueline Baly Chaumette, Bryce Kennard 4 Jim DeGeorge Sr., Amilee Wendt 5 White Bakelite and diamond cuffs 6 Sharron Melton, Beth Younger, Lori Freese 7 Liz Glanville 8 Laurel and Tim Blando

the

mcwhorter gallery fine art event • 12.12.09

list

McWhorter Gallery

Joined by more than 150 fans and friends, McWhorter Gallery held its grand opening celebration in style. With 14 pieces of art sold, a percentage of the proceeds from the evening's fundraising went to benefit Fort Bend Seniors Meals on Wheels. The exhibit and silent auction featured TMFA artists Ian Anderson, Roberto Del Rio, Justin Garcia, Kevin Peterson and Allan Rodewald. Other featured artists included Alfredo Scaroina, Kelley Devine, Jane Dipaolo, Anne-Joelle Galley, Van McFarland, Matt Messinger, Chris Silkwood, Janet Wayte, Lindsay Peyton and Taft McWhorter.

Photography | McWhorter Gallery

get on the list at primelist@prime-living.com

March/april • 2010

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the

Houston Symphony “The Planets – An HD Odyssey” • 1.21.09

list

Jones Hall

It was a star-studded evening in Space City as astronaut John Grunsfeld presented Houston Symphony musical director Hans Graf with a replica of Graf ’s baton that he took with him on the Space Shuttle Atlantis, Mission 4. The baton was presented at the world premiere of “The Planets – An HD Odyssey” at Jones Hall, after which, a contingent of more than 200 Houstonians jetted to New York City to show their support for the symphony’s Carnegie Hall performance. The night before, a four-course dinner was held at the Modern, overlooking the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden at the Museum of Modern Art. Journalist Dan Rather tweeted fans from the Carnegie Hall performance, “highly recommending it.”

Photography | Pete Baartz

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6 get on the list at primelist@prime-living.com

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1 Mary Ann and David McKeithan 2 Mayor Annise Parker 3 Bill and Christie McCartney 4 Paul and Vicki West and Allen Gelwick 5 Marshall West and Lindsey Tames 6 Hans Graf and John Grunsfeld 7 Carol and Mike Linn 8 Carol and Mike Linn 8 Ed and Lorraine Wulfe 9 Malcom and Jackie Mazow 10 Bobby and Phoebe Tudor 11 Jill and Ray Kirk

prime-living.com

JulieBeth Handbags Launch • 12.09.09

Hotel ZaZa

The JulieBeth Handbags luxury line of evening and couture handbags was presented to private clients, fashion media and other special guests at designer Beth Younger’s JulieBeth Holiday + Resort Collection Trunk Show at Hotel ZaZa’s famous Black Label Suite. The invitationonly event showcased the newest evening clutches, while several one-of-a-kind pieces were worn by models and paired with evening gowns by Houston-New York designer Cesar Galindo. The evening also featured a performance at sunset by Grammy-recognized jazz artist Kristine Mills. Throughout the event, guests were invited into Solution Salon’s en suite mini-spa for a coif and NARS makeup refresher.

the

list

Photographer | Todd Parker

the

Kristine Mills Performance Event • 1.28.09

list

Hotel ZaZa

Award-winning jazz artist Kristine Mills wowed the overflowing crowd at Hotel ZaZa’s Monarch Lounge in a special, live performance for VIP clients, media and other special guests. Featuring Mills’ full, four-piece band, special guest DJ ASH accompanied Mills and the band on the lounge’s box stage.

Photographer | Morris Malakoff

get on the list at primelist@prime-living.com

March/april • 2010

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and the Houston community.

Benefitting United Cerebral Palsy of Greater Houston. River Oaks Country Club, 1600 River Oaks Blvd. 11:30 a.m. $200 713-8389050, ucphouston.org

March 27

April 10

April 22

Yellow Brick Gala Auction event benefiting victims of child abuse and enhance public awareness of neglect and abuse through Child Advocates of Fort Bend. Sugar Land Marriott Town Square, 16090 City Walk. 6:30 p.m. $125. 281-341-9955, cafb.org

A Celebration of Reading This year’s readers include A.J. Jacobs, Mary Karr, Greg Kinkaid and Kathryn Stockett. Benefiting the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy. Hobby Center, 800 Bagyby St. 7 p.m.

Starting at $150. 713-942-1209, barbarabushfoundation.com

Boogie Support the Fort Bend Women’s Center at this “Elvis: A 75th April 14 Birthday Bash” themed event.

April 23 Stafford Centre, 10505 Cash Road, Crafting a Legacy Event honoring three motherPower of Legacy Stafford. 6:30 p.m. $75. 281-494A Celebration daughter pairs who have Learn about the signs and of Reading, April 22 4545, fortbendwomenscenter.org been closely involved with effects of stroke through music. the nonprofit.

Benefiting Benefiting the American Heart March 6 March 27 the Houston Center for Association. Hobby Center, 800 Houston Area Women’s Pi Beta Phi Style Contemporary Craft.

River Oaks Bagby St. 6:30 p.m. Starting at Center 22nd Annual Race Show & Luncheon Country Club, 1600 River Oaks $250. 713-610-5000, heart.org Against Violence Get a sneak peak at the latest Blvd. 11:30 a.m. $150. 713-529Participate in a 5k run/walk to spring fashions while supporting 4848, crafthouston.org April 27 help end domestic violence. Sam the Pi Beta Phi Foundation An Evening with Texas Houston Park at Bagby. 8 a.m. literacy philanthropies. Hotel April 17 Legends 713-528-6798, Ext. 2229, InterContinental Houston, 2222 The Legendary Junction Boys will hawc.org/raceagainstviolence.com West Loop South. 11 a.m. $100. Riviera Rendezvous Gala be interviewed by sportswriter Support the Assistance League 713-840-8407, pibetaphi.org.

Mickey Herskowitz. Benefiting of Houston at their annual March 13 the Texas Children’s Cancer spring fundraising gala.

Proceeds nd March 28 2 Annual UCPals Center. Hilton Americas, 1600 will benefit the nonprofits Crawfish Boil Carousel’s Family Lamar St. 6:30 p.m. $300. 832philanthropic programs. Hilton Enjoy crawfish, beer and live music Event at the Zoo 824-6818, texaschildrens.org/ Post Oak, 2001 Post Oak Blvd.

by Honeybrowne. Benefitting “Give a Hand” to Texas texaslegend 7 p.m. $175. 713-526-7983, United Cerebral Palsy of Greater Children’s Cancer Center at this assistanceleaguehou.org Houston. Armadillo Palace, 5010 family-friendly event feature Kirby Dr. 2 p.m. $20. 713-838entertainment, interactive 9050, ucphouston.org activities, food and fun. Houston Zoo, 1513 N. MacGregor Dr. March 14 $50 adults, $25 children. 83221st Annual AIDS Walk Houston 824-6914 carouselfriends.org Benefiting AIDS Foundation Houston, AIDS Walk Houston is April 2 the largest HIV/AIDS fundraiser Divas & Darlings Children’s of its kind in Texas. Sam Houston Fashion Show & Luncheon Park Downtown, 1000 Bagby Ooh and ahh over the latest St. 8 a.m. 713-403-9255, children’s fashions at this annual aidswalkhouston.org fashion benefitting Boys & Girls Harbor. Houstonian Hotel. 111 March 17-28 N. Post Oak. 11 a.m. $200. 713688-6262, boysandgirlsharbor.org Pin Oak Charity Horse Show Benefiting Texas Children’s April 8 Hospital. Great Southwest Equestrian Center, 2501 S. Top Hat and Tennies Mason Rd. 5 p.m. Call for exact Enjoy an evening of inspirational dates, time and prices. 713-621comedy featuring Squire Rushnell 6290, pinoak.org and Louise DuArt. Benefiting An Evening with Texas Legends, April 27 the Houston Junior Forum March 23 College Scholarship Program.

Hats Off to Mothers Luncheon InterContinental Houston, 2222 West Loop South. 7 Event honoring 10 Houston Prices listed are for individual tickets. Sponsorships may be available. Event dates, mothers who have made significant p.m. $155. 713-868-1850, times and prices subject to change. To have your event considered for inclusion in houstonjuniorforum.com the Datebook, send complete event information to datebook@prime-living.com. contributions to their families

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Barbara Bush: George Bush Presidential Library | Junction boys: Laughead Photographers

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Dear Prime Living, to the Deep Ellum If you’ve never been , you’ve got to Arts Festival in Dallas -hour drive from five e Th ! make the trip shot or, if you’d t Houston is a straigh Field is less than e Lov las Dal fly, rather ay. an hour aw t of downtown, Just three blocks eas elli ’ dw ng place for Deep Ellum is Dallas tival is an annual fes e Th ic. the eclect being held April ty” outdoor “street par ges and non-stop sta or tdo ou th Wi .

2-4 ional, regional and performances by nat and visual arts, tive local bands, decora k, and a pet parade drin and d foo of s ton s, this is a party for with hundreds of pet see you there! ’ll all the senses. We -Sue

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allas has countless hotels of all persuasions.

For a little luxury and pleasure, get a room at the chic Hotel ZaZa (2332 Leonard St.). Pets are allowed, so you can even bring your pooch. After spending the afternoon at the festival, enjoy a few hours relaxing at their luxurious spa before heading down to the Urban Oasis Lounge for a drink before dinner.

On Sunday, have brunch at Hotel ZaZa’s Dragonfly before heading home. The McKinney Avenue Trolley is right outside the hotel and will take you to the Dallas Museum of Art and West Village.

If you prefer a celebration of Old World magnificence and refinement with a rich sense of history and European charm, the Adolphus (1321 Commerce) is perfect. This hotel is steps from a vibrant restaurant district and a short drive from the exclusive North Park shopping center.

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on the wings of a Dove Clockwise from top left: Dallas Arboretum, Dallas Skyline, Dallas Zoo, Dallas Rail System (DART), Dealey Plaza Window

Friday night, head over to the Mansion on Turtle Creek (3411 Gillespie St.), one of Dallas’s finest restaurants for almost 30 years. For delicious sushi, try Deep Sushi (2624 Elm St.) in Deep Ellum. The trendy Dallas hotspot is known for its innovative sushi created by Chef One (Ahn) Vannarom.

Check out the spot where John F. Kennedy was assassinated or visit the wonderful theaters, art galleries and museums in the new Dallas arts district. The legendary Southfork really does exist and, better yet, they give tours. Just a short drive from the city, you can see lasting elements of TV history and relive the adventures of Dallas’s conniving JR and Sue Ellen.

Dallas has so much going on and so many fine places to eat, there’s no way there will be enough hours in the day, giving you more reason to plan your next trip back.

In Dallas, it’s not a dove, it’s a mockingbird! Be sure to visit upscale Mockingbird Station, where you can experience urban charm whether you catch a flick at one of their two theaters or grab a bite to eat at any of a variety of eateries. From apparel to stationery, you’ll find just what you’re looking for at Mockingbird Station.

Also check out (or in) the newest luxury urban resort in the city’s playground for arts and entertainment: the Palomar (5300 E. Mockingbird). In this smoke-free environment, guests will find some of the finest amenities in Dallas.

Complimentary Internet is available throughout the hotel and check out this neat feature: They offer “tall rooms,” for those of us who are not vertically challenged.

Dallas Arboretum; Dallas Zoo; Dallas Convention & Visitors Bureau; Joe Swift/DART/DC&VB; Sixth Floor Museum

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SPRING 2010: March 30 - April 3 FALL 2010: September 28 - October 2

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gold leaf Architect Kathleen Reardon plays a creative game of hide and seek during her photo shoot for Prime Living. Photographed at the Ronn residence, the home is LEED gold-certified and was featured on the “World’s Greenest Homes” on the Planet Green channel.

Photographed by Mark Lipczynksi on Jan. 16. 2010.

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Is staying healthy on your mind?

Taking care of your family’s health is what we do best.

At Memorial Hermann Sugar Land Hospital, we envision better health on a community scale. That’s why we’re offering fun, engaging events to bring you the latest information on a wide range of health topics for your whole family. Our signature “Girls’ Night Out” series focuses on age-specific health issues that matter most to women. Memorial Hermann’s affiliated specialists discuss new approaches to prostate cancer, heart health, sports medicine and more through our popular employer series, “The Doctor Is In.” We invite you to participate in our innovative health forums, right here in your neighborhood.

Memorial Hermann Sugar Land is a full-service acute-care facility that brings the latest medical technology and expertise to our community. Our new Back Pain Program provides an online inquiry tool that delivers immediate response to your back pain questions. We’re the only hospital in the region that offers a 24/7 nurse advice line for back pain. And our Children’s Emergency Center, through our affiliation with Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital, provides fast access to the only Level I pediatric trauma center in the Gulf Coast area.

If you need a primary care physician, visit memorialhermann.org or call 713.222.CARE.

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