This weekend, the Houston-area chapter of the Chowhounds boldly declared, "We don't need no stinkin' Texas Monthly surveys!" as Pearl Bar played host to the first annual Chowhound BBQ Smackdown to find the best barbeque in Houston. The results were surprising, to say the least. The Houston Chowhounds are a group of food bloggers (pro, semi-pro and amateur), food lovers and industry insiders from around town who arrange various meet-ups and events for fellow foodies,......

Texas Monthly has released their annual list of the Top 50 BBQ Joints In Texas in the June issue that's just hit newsstands. For you Houston barbeque fans, we hope that you like the bitter taste of disppointment with your brisket: Only two Houston restaurants made the exclusive list. In a state known for its barbeque, making a list containing only 50 barbeque restaurants is no easy task. And since barbeque is perhaps best made......

Upscale Barbecue. Sounds like an oxymoron, right? BBQ, the real sport that precedes major sporting events, the Five Elements (Brisket, Link, Beans, Tater Salad, Sauce), the food group that evolved out of the simple necessity of cattle drives: surely it can't be froofy without ceasing to be bbq. Monica Pope, proprietor and mastermind behind the beloved t'afia, decided to see if she could make the two words fit together in a converted icehouse in the......

From local Houston headlines, we bring you these weekend news bits... • Ashley Benton, the 17 year old accused of murdering a 15 year old, has agreed to a plea bargain and will avoid prison time. • Former President George Bush's favorite BBQ joint, Otto's on Memorial is going to be razed to make way for new construction. There is no current date for the demise of Otto's, so go grab a Bush plate......

Tonight, catch Soviet-born Regina Spektor and her unique "anti-folk" style at Warehouse Live. Tomorrow, catch Houston's own pop/rock outfit Prodigal Son at Rudyard's. Friday night is a tougher choice: you have Grupo Fantasma at the Continental Club (see our interview with them and win tickets), Ghostland Observatory at Warehouse (more details on them tomorrow), or if you're a club-goer, you may want to catch Paul Oakenfold on his "Greatest Hits" tour at Planeta Bar......

LAist is experimenting with blogging dates from J-Date, but finds the best men are found offline. Some date vicariously online and that is one reason why porn is big -- really freaking big -- so they ask if they should cover XXX since the heart of it lays in the city's San Fernando Valley. A writer grapples with her food porn photography obsession, another gets censored on Flickr, one gets scooped by the LA......

Remember when the Astrodome was considered to be the 8th wonder of the world? It is amazing how quickly times have changed…now the redevelopment is struggling to meet funding deadlines for the $450 million project. In August 2006, the Astrodome Redevelopment Corporation (catchy name) signed a letter of intent proposing a 1,000 room 4-star luxury hotel and parking garage inside the previous sports stadium. The first 'proof of funding' deadline passed in December of 2006,......

Even as the stores sport back to school sales (which depress us, even now), summer lingers on your friends the -ists. This week's collection of links provides some of the best, worst, and oddest bits of summer fun. So, bring your laptop up onto the roof, make yourself an umbrella drink or ten, and enjoy this week's choice posts from across the Gothamist network. Torontoist (where it's 75 degrees F as of this writing)......

In this Houstonist interview we talk with Matt Mullenweg, creator of the popular blogging software WordPress. Matt’s story is in the classic vein of “Local Boy Makes It.” Matt grew up in Meyer Park/Willowbend and, with a mixture of good sense and good timing, ended up part of the Internet revolution. Unlike many dot-commers who raked in venture capital on an idea, only to bust, Matt has worked with an online community to offer his......

If you haven’t noticed, we like lunch. If it weren’t for lunch, we’d probably not make it to dinner. If it weren’t for lunch at Thai Cottage, we’d probably go insane. The food is so good that we almost forget that two people can eat there so well for around $15. Located near the Edwards Grand Cinema on the corner of Richmond and Wesleyan, it’s a favorite amongst the Greenway set. The location affords......

The readers of Texas Highways have named Galveston one of the state's top five vacation destinations — barely. The city ranked fifth on the magazine's list of local getaways, after San Antonio, the Hill Country, Big Bend and South Padre Island. Don't feel bad, little sandbar. It's hard to compete with the Riverwalk, beautiful natural scenery and silicone-filled bikinis. According to KTRK, readers said they like Galveston because it's inexpensive and has "famous landmarks like......

Sometimes it feels like the only films shot in Texas are shot in Austin. While it may be true that anyone who spends more than three days in that fair city ends up in the background of at least one movie, Houston is not without its share of films that show off our distinctive skyline. Houstonist has prepared a list of films that you can netflix and carry with you on extended trips to avoid......