You read that headline right, folks. The year is 2006 and The Medicine Show is playing at Helios again. Sort of. Rekindle those lovely memories of finishing a long day's work and partying at Helios on Monday night to the rousingly rambunctious Medicine Show. Instead the place is technically called AvantGarden, it'll actually be a Friday and the band changed its name to the Sideshow Tramps. Not to worry, though. You still get to listen......

Good morning, Houston. Looks like our freewheeling land-use policies have gotten some national attention: The Wall Street Journal has a story focusing on the proposed residential tower at Bissonnet and Ashby. "The condo-tower dustup is just the latest in a string of odd situations allowed by Houston's lenient land-use rules," the article explains. "Rowdy cantinas, rock-crushing operations and commercial dumps sometimes pop up in residential neighborhoods. Condo towers sprout next to schools. A pay-by-the-hour......

Westheimer Road is a long, thriving, paved snake of potholed infrastructure. It guides you into town from the Grand Parkway through Beltway 8 and Loop 610 until it brings you all the way into a cozy, little enclave of town we lovingly refer to as The Montrose. Not really the heart of Houston, because that would probably be the Medical Center, but more like the liver or one of the kidneys of Houston as......

Searchers from Texas EquuSearch believe they might have found the remains of a missing Pearland flight attendant Saturday buried at a San Antonio-area ranch. The remains, found in a shallow grave just off a roadway, were on property belonging to the grandfather of Terry Mangum, the man charged last week in connection with Cummings' death. A series of purchases on Mangum's credit card led EquuSearch to a gas station in Schulenburg, between Houston and the......

Universal Happy Hour Day Houstonist loves happy hour, and we especially love it on Thursdays, when it seems that everyone in the world loves happy hour. It is our early evening celebration of the approaching weekend. In honor of what we like to call "Happy Hour Day", here is a list of Thursday Happy Hours in and around the Houston area... enjoy! Amazon Grill 5114 Kirby Drive Houston, TX 77098 4pm-7pm $1 off wine Various......

A Celebration of Conservation Houstonist loves our adult beverages and we love our fine dining, but when you can do both of these things at once and call it charity, it becomes more than love, it becomes event obsession. Now that you know this about us, we can introduce you to our current event obsession, happening tonight at The Oceanaire Seafood Room. The Oceanaire Seafood Room is one of the newest additions to the......

I was wondering if you could do a round up of restaurants that will be open on Thanksgiving for we few freaks who will not be spending time with friends and/or family. You would know this better than a recent transplant like my(sorry)self. Hey, just because you're not able to spend time with friends and family on Thanksgiving doesn't make you a freak — it's what you do while you're away from your loved......

The shot from flickr user and Houstonist photo contributor Cpwardy. It's a common goal for photographer's to get a great reflection shot of a building or person in a window or water. This reflected B&W shot of St. Anne's Church along Westheimer is fantastic. A little history of the church: "St. Anne Parish was organized in 1925 to serve the increasing number of Catholics moving to the west section of Houston along Westheimer Road.........

Houstonist reminds you that we're diligently working to bring you the best information available should you love burgers — the sacrifices we make! To that end, we made our way to Pappas Burger for our usual bacon cheeseburger and onion rings (shown in the photo). Like many of our favorite joints, Pappas is a walk-up — and a crowded one. The waitstaff was extremely friendly, and management visited our table once we were seated......

In college, Houstonist started the weekend like most other college students at our school – on Wednesdays. Maybe that explains our 2.1 GPA. Anyway, we’re keeping that tradition up with our first official Houstonist “Happyist” hour this Wednesday. Stop by one of our favorite bars, Poison Girl, between 6 and 8 p.m. this Wednesday, Aug. 2, and have a drink on us (until our tab runs out, that is). You’ll meet some of your......

We're working under the assumption that you haven't made plans for after work Wednesday, Aug. 2, yet (and that if you have, you're about to change them). Houstonist will be having our first happy hour that day — we're calling it "Happyist," because that's how we roll — and you're invited. Did we mention we're buying you drinks? So, the details: Come by Poison Girl between about 6ish and 8ish, have a drink on......

If you have a yen to make some art and no plans tonight, we suggest stopping by Helios for Painted Tuesdays, a weekly life-drawing session that's open to everyone, whether they're a Rubens or more MOBA material. If you haven't been to Helios before, you should check it out, figure drawing or not. Located in an old Avondale house, Helios is a local art organization showcasing independent art of all stripes in three performance......

There's some debate on how the Margarita originated — one theory is that a Texas bartender made the first one by mistake. Sounds like a good explanation to us. Whatever the story, one thing everyone can agree on is that this heat is ridiculous, and we have about three months more of it ahead. It's the perfect time of year to cool down with (what might be) a real Texas drink. Frozen or on the......

In her Sunday real estate column, the Chron's Nancy Sarnoff chronicled what could be the beginning of change on lower Westheimer — or not. Sarnoff notes the opening of the American Apparel store at 1665 Westheimer Road near Dunlavy, which to some real estate observers shows a possible shift in the funky businesses that line that stretch of street: "When national-quality tenants come in, the bar usually raises: better tenants, better foot traffic, better sales,"......

Planning to attend tonight's meeting on the proposed MetroRail University Line? You just might run into Mayor Bill White, who will be among the city leaders attending the meeting. Metro's called the community meeting to discuss proposals for where to put the University Line, which will connect the University of Houston main campus with the Uptown area. Though the MetroRail referendum called for the line to run along Westpark, Metro now says ridership would suffer......

Students at St. Anne Catholic School got an unexpected treat this morning when a gas leak forced them out of the school — and into Randalls. Students and staff at St. Anne's Catholic School were evacuated from campus at about 9:15 a.m. as a precaution after a construction crew hit a gas line on Westheimer Road near Shepherd Drive. The students were taken to the Randalls grocery store on Westheimer at Shepherd, where they will......

After months of anticipation — or was that construction? — RA Sushi finally opened its doors this weekend with private parties Friday and Saturday. The sushi restaurant/lounge's first Texas location is above West Elm in Highland Village; RA already has restaurants in San Diego, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Tuscon, Chicago and Palm Beach. So here's what to expect after you climb the custom wood spiral staircase (ladies in heels, don't worry: there's an elevator): Menu RA......

Your brave and daring Houstonist writers are hoping that entering a pinewood derby contest will raise our profile in the community, at least among the Eagle Scout demographic. The specific contest we've entered is the predictably inappropriately named Morning Wood Derby, hosted by The Buzz’s own Rod Ryan. Though we’re not certain we’ll win, we do have a good feeling that we’re going to have some fun and we hope you’ll join us: Official Weigh-in......

The one thing Houstonist never got about Austin is why it was such a sub town. Really, Austinites are passionate about their subs. Houston has always been a sandwich town, at least in our humble opinion. Exhibit A: the Brown Bag Deli. With three locations in Houston, Brown Bag Deli serves up sandwiches that you would make if you had a deli. No fancy organic cinnamon havarti spreads, no pheasant or Nigerian flatbreads. This deli......