...and nobody expects Spanish wines to be paired with traditional English food, but that's exactly what the avant-garde chefs over at Feast are doing on November 11th for their Armada Dinner. James Silk and Richard Knight, the two chefs behind the popular new English restaurant Feast, have put together a five-course dinner that creatively pairs their classic English dishes with elegant Spanish wines. And to make it even more tempting, each course features a......

Plane tickets are expensive these days, especially plane tickets to Europe. Add in the cost of a hotel room, a Eurail pass, fancy walking shoes and money for last-minute souvenirs at Charles de Gaulle, and you're looking at a fat wad of cash. On the other hand, you could head out to Liebman's tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m. for their Tour of Europe wine and beer tasting, for a mere $20 (plus tax). Still want......

Thursday marks Pico's monthly Paella Dinner which begins with a Jamon Serrano sausage and cheese tapas and then Arnaldo's Seafood Paella, accompanied by flights of Spanish wines which begin at $7.50/flight. Dinner will set you back $30/per person plus tax and gratuity. Dinner seatings from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. by pre-paid reservation only. To reserve your spot, please phone Alex, Gerardo or Jose at 713.662.8383. What are you waiting for? Get yourself to Pico's......

Just when you were wondering what to do for dinner, here we are with a yummy suggestion. Paella at Pico's!! Tonight is their monthly Paella Dinner which begins with a Jamon Serrano sausage and cheese tapas and then Arnaldo's Seafood Paella, accompanied by flights of Spanish wines which begin at $7.50/flight. Dinner will set you back $30/per person plus tax and gratuity. Dinner seatings from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. by pre-paid reservation, only. To......

::Sangria & Salsa at the Tasting Room:: Does dancing With the Stars make you wonder just how many washed up D-List stars are in Hollywood? Us, too. Who's next? The cast of Gimme a Break? Check out some Houston A-List dancers tonight as the Tasting Room in Rover Oaks hosts Sangria and Salsa Wednesdays! Heck, it takes us a few bottles glasses before we're any good anyway. Enjoy great music from the Charlie Perez Trio......

:: FOTOFEST BIENNIAL :: Fotofest starts tomorrow and continues until April 20th. Houston will be covered inside out with some amazing photography and photo-related art, and we heartily encourage you to see as much as you can. The theme this year is China and the ancillary theme (like minoring in college?) is transformations. Get a preview of the outstanding work on show here. Start tomorrow with the opening over at official HQ: the Vine......

Photos from our 2008 Light Rail Pub Crawl...

::Troy Winscott at Max's Wine Dive:: Troy Winscott's designy giclee prints will be on display at Max's, and the reception for his work is tonight. Winscott studied illustration at the Art Institute of Houston and has a background in jewelry design as well. Both crafts are at play in his tantalizing prints. Max's will host live music, light hors d'oeuvres and offer wine specials for the night. And, of course, the artist. It's a......

Local tech news in a compact, digital format. State Of The Mac Address This is your early warning from the Houston Area Apple Users Group. Bob "Dr. Mac" Levitus will be giving a State of the Mac address, Saturday, February 16, 2008 starting at 10am at the Looscan Library on Willowick. Late Night Links Because Grand Stream Dreams has recently had some sleepless nights, we benefit with his Cures for Late-night Boredom. Check out......

It's an American tradition, just like representative democracy and childhood obesity: the Super Bowl. Even people who aren't football fans usually find a way to watch the game (or the commercials, depending on your priorities) and the die-hards view Sunday as some combination of Christmas, graduation, and the non-lame parts of the Olympics all rolled into one. If you don't have plans for the big game already, here are a few options around town: -......

We're not claiming to be winos, but Houstonist is just like any other Joe Schmo who likes a good glass of wine. . .or two. Maybe three. That being said, we were more than thrilled to stumble (not literally—that comes afterwards) across Sonoma Wine Bar and Boutique. Okay, so we didn't even bother checking out the "boutique" part, but do you blame us? Even though there was an extensive wine list at our fingertips, we......

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Christmas is a week away (great googlymoogly - we still have some last minute gifting to get) and if you had planned to have lots of different cookies on hand, or made up to take to your rotten coworkers, and haven't quite managed to bake, a lot. This is a super simple, very fun way to host a gathering, have a good excuse to get your nog on, and have a respectable assortment of goodies.......

If you remember the last time we featured a house in Shelterporn — longer ago than it should have been, we know — you'll remember that we have a thing for modern houses. So, naturally, we were drawn to this Montrose contemporary, a three-year-old house designed by architect Scott Ballard. The defining feature is the barrel-vaulted roof, which not only gives the house a unique silhouette but also creates some pretty impressive interior spaces.......

Raise your glass and raise some funds for the HERO project -- a humanitarian campaign of the United Nations Association (USA) dedicated to providing comprehensive, school-based support to orphans and vulnerable children living in HIV/AIDS-affected communities in Africa. All you have to do is show up at New Gallery/Thom Andriola (2627 Colquitt) tomorrow, Wednesday the 12th between 7 and 9PM. Taste some wine, admire the art, and feel good knowing you're doing something for other......

::Social Media & Web 2.0 Happy Hour:: Do you spend more time on Facebook than you do reading a book? Do your sentences end with, "I'm SO Twittering that."? Do you scour the internet begging for invites to Beta testing of new sites? You're not alone. And there is help and support for people like you. Join your kind tonight at Sonoma Wine Bar as Houston's Social Media Community celebrates the season at the Houston......

Champagne Bubble Bath The Tasting Room - River Oaks Saturday, December 8th 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. 2409 W. Alabama 713.526.2242 Taste some "sparkling wines", (hey, it's not Champagne, unless it is actually made in Champagne, France, just saying) and try some appetizers. The cost is $50/ per person, but, you get a $5 discount if you donate a new, unwrapped toy for Toys for Tots! Holiday Farmer's Market and Wine Tasting The Tasting......

Wassail, both a noun and a verb, manages to come up in at least one conversation (or carol) each December holiday season. And yet, what the heck is it? The drink is from medieval northern Europe and used to resemble something like mulled beer. It's now more like mulled cider, wine or dry sherry. The word means "Be thou hale!" and was used as a non-Christian greeting or goodbye. Houstonist wonders if Shalom or Aloha......

Houstonist doesn't need an excuse for a party, but last night we had one: our second birthday. We got together with our readers and friends at Monsoon Wok downtown for a few drinks, a bit to nibble on and some amazing cake from The Acadian Bakers. Thanks to everyone who helped put the party together, and especially to everyone who showed up. By the way, we noticed a few of you taking photos. If......

The Biomimicry Guild and the AIA Committee on the Environment will host a lecture this Wednesday (12/05/07) on Biomimicry its uses and applications. Dayna Baumeister, PhD, and co-founder of the Biomimicry Guild, will give the evening lecture which will then be follow by two workshop sessions on Thursday and Friday. For those less familiar, Biomimicry is "a new discipline that studies nature’s best ideas and imitates them to solve human problems." But wait, aren't......

Here you go Houston, more food and wine events for you to peruse. We are going to work to get you more than one Culinary Events posting per week, as the holidays can increase the number of events, dinners, fund-raising food and beverage activities and festivals. Also, we strive to give you some advance notice - as you can't always get your reservations or tickets, which ever the case may be, on the day......

Good morning, Houston. Did you know that we're now in a bold new Fluorescent Age thanks to Mayor Bill White and his colleagues in Dallas, San Antonio, Austin and El Paso? The collective His Honors gathered in San Antonio on Friday to name the compact fluorescent bulb the "state bulb of Texas." If that doesn't make you want to switch to CFLs, try this: December is Compact Fluorescent Light Month in Texas. What's so......

So if you've been following our easy, no-fuss no-muss primer on learning about art and local artists, etc. now is your chance to show off your new knowledge! This weekend brings us Spacetaker's 2007 Holiday Sale, featuring all kinds of work from local artists. They'll have everything from jewelry to paintings to sculpture for purchase AND 75% of the proceeds benefit the artist while 25% goes to Spacetaker, which helps nurture the Houston arts community!......

With this colder weather hitting us, what better way to stay warm than with a nice glass of wine? We have some great events coming up. Food, wine, and maybe a little of bit of fun thrown in makes for a happy Houstonist. Check out the upcoming events! Sempre Vive Wine Dinner at 1926 BICE Ristorante Wednesday, December 5, 2007 6:00-11:00 PM, $125 Sempre Vive is hosting a wine tasting paired with a delicious......

On Monday, we told you about the super groovy Houston: It's Worth It campaign, the brains behind it, and the accompanying photo book that will be released tonight at a special event at Lawndale. Check. So what else is happening tonight? Glad you asked. Hey, we can't do it all, we need your help in this fight to cover the mean streets of the H. Now get out there and get your event on. The......

Here we go, the big mother of all holidays. Love it, or hate it – it’s nearly December and whether you’re into Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanzaa or whatever else you may be into, December is a really bigass month. If nothing else, the streets are more congested, people drive even crazier than normal and the average Houstonian is pelted with food, drink and festivities. Yeah, we hate drinking and eating, we know how you feel......

VS As shopping season is about to kick into high gear (yes, Thanksgiving is right around the corner which means that crazed shopaholics, uhh, we mean dedicated parents, come out of the woodworks to get a little violent for good deals) and Houstonist plans to be in the midst of all the hubbub at the Galleria. Yes, the parking will be crazy. Yes, the mall will be packed. Yes, we'll spoil ourselves to a......

Ok, ok. We listened to you. We DO do that sometimes. And you've said that even though you can't live without really enjoy the Daily-ist everyday, a feature that picks out one kick arse event each day from the thousands, um, ok, lots and lots of things going on in the city, you are busy people. And you would like to plan ahead. Ok, we hear ya. So it's back: The Weekly-ist List. We'll......

Better late than nevah - here's our roundup of feasting and imbibing in the very near future. See the bottom of the post for some Thanksgiving food ideas, we'll be continuing to update that, and no, we won't add Grandma Kroger to the list, or any other supermarket, for that matter. Well, maybe Central Market or perhaps Whole Foods, maybe. Great American Bake Sale -Dessert Gallery, Sugar Land Friday, November 16th – 6:00 p.m. until......

Now that Halloween is over, you’ll start hearing Christmas music everywhere you turn – on the radio, while shopping, and from that annoying singing Santa doll on your cubicle neighbor’s desk. Well, we have a sanctuary for you from Michael Bolton singing “Silent Night”: the "Houstonist iMix. Our picks for November include a track from excellent new CD from now Austin-based Sam Beam, otherwise known as Iron & Wine. The latest from Seattle’s indie-pop Band......