Houstonist recently spent a Saturday evening downtown at the grand opening of McCormick & Schmick, the popular steak and seafood chain, at the newest attraction downtown: the Houston Pavillions. Just one of many restaurants opening in the $200 million mixed-use development that's aiming to create a shopping and dining district for both downtown residents and workers, McCormick & Schmick gave Houstonist an opportunity to experience first-hand what the Houston Pavillions will have to offer. The......

Want to support the local arts scene in Houston, but wish there was more liquor involved in your patronage? Then head over to Beaver's Icehouse tonight for the kickoff of Cultured Cocktails from 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Sponsored by New Living and Spacetaker, this series of happy hours held each Thursday will benefit a different arts non-profit group each week. This week's Cultured Cocktails will benefit the Fresh Arts Coalition, a network of......

Titus Andronicus, that epic tale of vengeance set in 4th century Rome, is widely-regarded as Shakespeare's most violent play, with rampant and excessive scenes of murder, dismemberment, torture, filicide, rape, exsanguination, blood-filled pies and even the execution of a clown. It would be almost hilarious in its hyperbole if the play itself weren't so deadly and gruesomely serious. And although not traditionally performed as a ballet (you can probably imagine why; stumps are hard to......

If you're still mistakenly laboring under the impression that ballet is dry, dusty and boring, the Dominic Walsh Dance Theater would like the chance to persuade you otherwise. This Saturday and Sunday night at Miller Outdoor Theatre, the Dominic Walsh company is putting on a decidedly modern and contemporary production of the classic ballet Sleeping Beauty, set to Tchaikovsky's original score but with choreography and costumes that are anything but traditional. Dominic Walsh himself......

Wherever you may be headed tonight, make sure to at least do a fly-by at the Contemporary Arts Museum so you don't kick yourself later for missing Steel Lounge Underground. Held on the last Friday of every month, Steel Lounge Underground is a mad tonic of music and art featuring local DJs and musicians performing alongside the latest exhibit in the Contemporary Arts Museum's Zilkha Gallery. This month features Houston-based DJs Jessica Lozano and Cee......

Many people are unaware that Planned Parenthood offers a variety of free or low-cost services to the local communities in which they operate, including yearly well-woman exams, healthy babies programs, breast cancer screenings, pap smears, cervical cancer treatments, access to all forms of birth control and educational information about men's and women's reproductive health. In the past year, Planned Parenthood of Houston and Southeast Texas provided 300 prenatal care exams for low-income Gulfton residents, treated......

Every day this week, Houstonist will feature an event scheduled in conjunction with Lawndale Art Center's 20th Century Modern Market. Today: The Hour: Cocktail Time Design 1930-1980 , Happy Hour Reception We told you on Monday about the exhibit opening at Lawndale in conjunction with the 20th Century Modern Market that displays over 100 vintage objects from the golden era of smoking and drinking. The exhibit includes works produced in ceramic, glass, metal and plastic......