What's New In Houston - November EditionNovember 8, 2007
Contact Information: Starwood Plans aloft Hotel for Houston Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. has given the green light for an "aloft" hotel in the Galleria area. The $40 million hotel is being developed just west of the Galleria mall, where Westheimer meets West Alabama. Starwood is launching the boutique hotel concept across the country. The urban hotels inspired by the company's trendy W brand aim to attract business and leisure travelers under the age of 40. The aloft niche concept is described as an eclectic mix of hip and high-tech. Rooms will have the ambiance of lofts with nine-foot-high ceilings and oversized windows. Each room will have wireless Internet access and the ability to connect laptops, music players and other electronics through a flat panel television. Various hotel services will sport flashy names. Guests can: • re:mix in the communal lobby area. • re:charge in the fitness center. • re:fuel with food to go (aloft won't have a restaurant). • Relax in the w xyz bar. The aloft will be a select-service hotel rather than a full-service hotel. Atlanta-based Songy Partners LLC is developing the 152-room aloft Houston at 5433 Westheimer, next door to the 11-story Prosperity Bank building. The office building will remain intact on the triangular tract of land. A two-story parking structure to the east of the building will be demolished and replaced with the hotel on top of a 292-car parking garage. Additional parking on the other side of the building may be redeveloped into retail space in the future. The first two aloft hotels are expected to open in the second quarter of 2008 in California and Massachusetts. The nine-story aloft Houston will debut as early as the first quarter of 2009. 30 More Miles of Light Rail Planned for Houston The Metropolitan Transit Authority board voted Thursday to use light rail on all five of its next rapid transit lines. The board also approved a route for the University Line, part of which include a portion of Richmond and a portion of, which will provide a 10-mile east-west complement to the existing 7.5-mile Main Street line. The five new lines would increase the number of rail cars needed to about 100 from the present 18. Metro officials hope to have all five of the planned light rail lines completed in late 2012. Houston Pavilions Adds Dueling Piano Bar to Tenant Lineup Pete's Dueling Piano Bar is planning to open its first Bayou City location at the Houston Pavilions in the fall of 2008. The 7,000-square-foot location will open in conjunction with the grand opening of the $170 million mixed-use development in downtown Houston. The concept first opened on Austin's historic 6th Street in 1992 as Pete's Peanut Bar & Piano Emporium. Started as a one-man show spearheaded by Steve Green, the show's popularity helped the bar grow for six years, at which point it became Pete's Dueling Piano Bar. Houston's Pete's Dueling Piano Bar will be "a sing-along, clap-along, drink-along" venue, according to the owners. In addition to dueling performances, Pete's will also feature "showtime" throughout the evening when waitresses and bar staff take the stage to sing and dance. Houston Pavilions, a $170 million project encompassing almost 700,000 square feet of space, will include 360,000 square feet of retail space with entertainment venues located on the third floor. A central courtyard and streetscapes will allow for alfresco dining and window shopping. The tenant lineup includes House of Blues, upscale bowling lounge Lucky Strike, Pete’s Dueling Piano Bar, Lawry’s - The Prime Rib, Forever 21, Books-A-Million, McCormick & Schmick's, Yao's Restaurant & Bar, Mia Bella, Red Cat Jazz Cafe, BCBG, Journeys, Guadalajara’s, The Wine Bar at the Pavilions and more. New Wooden Roller Coaster for Kemah Boardwalk The Boardwalk Bullet, the only roller coaster on Texas’ Gulf Coast, made its dramatic debut Aug. 31, 2007. Located just feet from Galveston Bay, the Boardwalk Bullet offers a rousing ride with a breathtaking bay view. Boasting an audacious forty-two crossovers, the ride begins with a 92-foot drop, tackling winding twists and turns, reaching speeds over 50 mph. Additionally, the coaster sports enough room to sustain twenty-four passengers in six cars of two rows each, totaling a capacity of 800 people per hour. Designed by The Gravity Group, LLC and constructed by Martin & Vleminckx Rides, LLC, the Boardwalk Bullet is one of the most compacted and twisted coasters ever built. Kemah Boardwalk, a magnificent 40-acre entertainment complex, was developed by Tilman Fertitta, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Landry’s Restaurants, Inc. This spectacular waterfront destination offers themed restaurants, the Boardwalk Inn, amusement rides, dancing fountains, a water garden, mid-way games and retail shops. Restaurants include Landry’s Seafood House, The Flying Dutchman, The Crab House, Cadillac Authentic Mexican Restaurant, Willie G’s Seafood & Steak House, Saltgrass Steak House, Babin’s Seafood House, and Aquarium - an underwater dining adventure featuring a 50,000 gallon tank filled with more than 100 species of colorful fish. Boardwalk Inn, a first class hotel featuring Gulf Coast architecture, is the centerpiece of the waterfront development. Arts of Korea Gallery, First for the Southwest, Opens Dec. 8, 2007 at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston As a first step toward an expanded representation of Asian art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, a new gallery dedicated to the art of Korea opens to the public on December 8, 2007. Prominently located on the first floor of the museum’s Caroline Wiess Law Building, it will be the only museum gallery in the Southwest devoted to Korean art, and will combine contemporary Korean art with traditional artworks. As announced in 2006, the long-term loan of traditional works from the National Museum of Korea in Seoul, Korea forms the basis of the new installation. Two Korean National Treasures, never before shown outside of Korea, make an exclusive two-month appearance. A selection of recent acquisitions of contemporary Korean art rounds out the presentation of 5,000 years of cultural history. A unique component of the MFAH installation will be an entrance gate, commissioned from the renowned contemporary artist Do-Ho Suh, to be completed and installed in 2008. With the opening of the Arts of Korea gallery, the museum is placing new emphasis on this country and becomes one of a handful of museums outside of Korea to showcase this ancient culture. The new Korean gallery itself is part of an ongoing commitment by the MFAH to Asian art. Over the next two years, the Asian collection will be relocated and reinstalled on the first floor of the Law Building in space that is quadruple the size of the previous galleries. Next in line is a gallery for art of Indonesia that will open in Spring 2008. Galleries for the art of China and Japan are scheduled to open in December 2008, and a gallery devoted to Indian art will open in 2009. In addition to the expansion of floorspace, the MFAH is dedicating additional resources to the acquisition of new works in all areas of Asian art. In addition to expanding the Asian galleries, over the next two years the MFAH will present several special exhibitions devoted to Asian art, beginning in January 2008 with a showing of the modernist Korean ink painter Suh Se-ok’s work in a show titled Where Clouds Disperse: Ink Paintings by Suh Se-ok. In February 2008 the contemporary Japanese photographer Yanagi Miwa is the subject of an exhibition, and in the summer of 2009 the Ancient Arts of Vietnam will feature ceramics, jewelry of gold and gemstones, more than a hundred bronze artifacts, and Hindu and Buddhist sculpture. In October 2009, Contemporary Art from Korea, co-organized with the Los Angeles Museum of Art, will gather together works by Korea’s finest contemporary, internationally-renowned artists for a major exhibition. Holocaust Museum Houston Acquires Rare Artifact Holocaust Museum Houston will mark the attendance of its one millionth visitor this month with the installation of a rare Holocaust-era artifact that will be used to tell the heroic story of a three-week period in 1943 when Christians in Denmark risked their own lives to save more than 7,200 Jews from almost certain execution at the hands of Nazi Germany. An authentic fishing boat of the type used to ferry Jews and 700 others from small towns along the Danish coast to safety in Sweden under cover of darkness has been located and donated to the Museum and is now being transported from Denmark. The boat arrived at the Museum on Oct. 31, 2007, for installation as part of the Museum's permanent exhibition "Bearing Witness: A Community Remembers." The boat was placed next to the Museum's Holocaust-era railcar, also built in 1942, to help the Museum teach students and other visitors the continuing importance of each individual's responsibility to act when confronted with injustice. "Our railcar and other artifacts tell the stories of incredible evil committed by ordinary people against their very own neighbors,” said Museum chair Walter Hecht. “They remind us of the horrible injustices that occurred while much of the world stood idly by and did nothing. By placing this artifact alongside our railcar, our visitors can also learn of the heroic efforts of good people who refused to be bystanders and did the right thing, even at the risk of their own lives." The boat, built in 1942 in Denmark and carrying the signal letters XP 2853, was once named the "Jørn Finne" but was officially renamed the "Hanne Frank" - or Anne Frank in English - in January 1985, according to the Royal Danish Register of Shipping. Frank was the young German girl who hid from the Nazis in an Amsterdam attic until she was betrayed and eventually died in the Bergen-Belsen death camp. Her diary subsequently became one of the world's most widely read books about the Holocaust. The fishing boat - 37.1 feet long, 13.9 feet wide and 5.7 feet deep - was located, documented and acquired after an extensive effort spanning several years. Former Museum Chair Peter Berkowitz and wife Charlotte began the search in September 2001 while visiting Denmark but were told all such boats had fallen into disrepair such that they were no longer traceable or had been destroyed. But in 2006, while visiting Denmark on vacation, Museum Executive Director Susan Myers located a boat broker in the small town of Gilleleje who said he knew of such a boat. Broker Jan Ferdinandsen of the firm N.B. Ferdinandsen & Sønner - the largest boat brokerage in Denmark, Norway and Sweden - then promised not only to locate the boat, but to arrange for its refurbishing to its original 1942 condition and then to donate it to the Museum in memory of his father and father-in-law, who both were honored by the Yad Vashem museum in Israel for their own part in the Danish boat rescue of Jews in 1943. La Vista Introduces Wine Room for Private Dining La Vista introduces a new addition to the their Fountain View location. The wine room, coined “The Cool People Room” by owner Greg Gordon, is the perfect addition to this come-as-you-are eatery. La Vista’s wine room is a cozy addition set apart from the main dining room that exudes the feeling of old-world charm with its vibrant red coated walls, adorned with paintings created by Gordon’s uncle. Centered above massive wooden table that’s just large enough for gatherings of 20, hangs a bold yet rustic chandelier emitting a dim glow throughout the room. The wine room also has its own sound system so guests can control the mood music. Adjacent from the wine room, guests will also enjoy their own private bathroom set apart from the main dining room. The La Vista wine room offers two different dining experiences. The room can be rented for $200 plus the cost of what is ordered off the menu or for $45 per person, with a minimum of 10 people, guests can enjoy “family style” dining each meal begins with crestini pizzas, followed by an entire meal served in large rustic Spanish bowls. The corking fee is waived if guests choose the “family style” option. In addition to the wine room, twenty-one air-conditioned individual lockers with locks are available to rent. The lockers are big enough to store bottles of wine and your favorite wine glasses. La Strada Introduces Midnight Brunch La Strada, a popular Montrose Sunday brunch destination, has introduced Mezza Notte, midnight brunch on Friday and Saturday nights from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. The menu will consist of La Strada brunch favorites, as well as pasta dishes, salads, steaks and more. Live acoustic bands will perform until 3 a.m. Museum of Fine Arts, Houston Offers Free Admission First Sunday of Every Month The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, with the support of Target, is enhancing its Family Day program beginning this fall by offering more activities, more time to participate, and free museum admission for everyone every first Sunday of the month. Each Free First Sunday offers an array of art workshops and artist demonstrations, family films, story stops, musical and dance performances, and refreshments. Children are encouraged to collect a sticker at each activity to put on their First Sunday Map, which can be turned in at the end of the day for a special gift. Rare Red Bird of Paradise Hatched at Houston Zoo A rare red bird of paradise is being raised by its mother at the Houston Zoo. The chick hatched in the Zoo’s off exhibit breeding area following an incubation period of 17 days. The chick fledged 17 days after hatching. The breeding is the first at the Zoo since 1978. Only three other zoos accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) have red bird of paradise. Of those three, only one other zoo has successfully bred the birds this year. The chick is being raised by its mother and is receiving a diet of fruit, meal worms and crickets, and a nutritionally balanced pellet food. Considered near-threatened in the wild, red birds of paradise are found on several small islands off the coast of Papua, the Indonesian governed western half of New Guinea. The species was almost harvested to extinction in the late 1800s when the birds distinctive tail plumage was used as fashionable hat décor. The birds have been immortalized in literature for centuries. In 1795 Samuel Taylor Coleridge dedicated a line of poetry to the birds. Houston Post reporter William Sydney Porter, better known by his pen name O. Henry, described a female character in one of his short stories as having “a soul…even above birds of paradise.” The Houston Zoo’s male bird of paradise hatched in 1993 and came to the Zoo in 1995. The chick’s mother hatched in 1998 and has been at the Zoo since 2000. The male and female live in separate facilities in the Bird Department’s off-exhibit breeding area for exotic birds to better replicate their wild environment. During the breeding season, a four to six month period in spring, the female was introduced to the male for one to two hours each day. Males are known to interfere with breeding attempts by destroying nests built by hens. Birds of paradise are managed by the AZA’s Population Management Program (PMP). Dessert Gallery Launches Nationwide Delivery Houstonians, as well as dessert lovers across the country, can eat their cake and send one too, thanks to a new consumer website recently launched by Dessert Gallery Bakery & Café. The website, part of the company’s new initiative to reach a national audience, will allow the bakery to deliver their best-selling Diner Cake, Pecan Pie and much more, overnight and nationwide, putting Dessert Gallery on the national map as a manufacturer and distributor of desserts. The site has launched just in time for the holiday entertaining and gift-giving season. Located at www.dessertgallery.com, the new website will allow consumers to purchase products direct from the bakery, as well as track shipments, review past online order history, select future ship dates and send shipments to multiple locations. Holiday best-sellers include adorable handmade gingerbread people, amazing cookie platters, stunning gourmet graphics (homemade butter cookies or rich layer cakes personalized with favorite images or company logos) and fabulous three-layer cakes, among many other sweets. The bakery, also known for its beautiful packaging, can custom wrap orders to fit any budget. To ramp up for distribution to a national audience, Dessert Gallery recently introduced a dozen new items to the menu, including Red Velvet Cake, a holiday favorite in the South, among other offerings. Products available online for national distribution include many of the bakery’s 9-inch cakes, pies and cheesecakes, as well as cookies, gourmet graphics and dessert gift tins and boxes. Ordering is easy and products are baked fresh. All desserts are made at Dessert Gallery’s recently constructed 5000-square-foot commissary. M.D. Anderson Cancer Center to Expand 12-Story Alkek Hospital On Aug. 23, The University of Texas System Board of Regents approved expansion plans for The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center to add nine floors atop its 12-story Albert B. and Margaret M. Alkek Hospital. With the construction of the eight new inpatient floors, M. D. Anderson will add space to accommodate more than 300 additional inpatient and Post Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) patient beds, pharmacy facilities and nursing pods. In addition, a mechanical floor will be built and renovations will be made to the top floor of the present hospital and areas in another adjacent building. The expansion is expected to cost about $293 million with $224 million coming from revenue bonds and the remaining $69 million from local hospital revenues. When the expansion and renovation are completed, M. D. Anderson will house 867 beds that will meet projected inpatient growth through 2020. The construction of the first four floors of the expansion is expected to begin later this year; completion is scheduled for 2013. The other four inpatient floors will be built as shell space along with a mechanical floor. Two of the four floors are expected to be built out in 2014, while the remaining two floors are projected to be completed in 2016. Renovations will be done on the current top floor of Alkek to prepare the building for expansion and to reinforce the infrastructure of the floor’s protected environment, a unit with special air filtering systems for patients with compromised immune systems who are undergoing bone marrow and stem cell transplants. In addition, two floors of the adjacent Lutheran Pavilion will be vacated to provide horizontal expansion for surgery and diagnostic imaging Opened in 1999 at the corner of Bertner and Bates streets, the Alkek Hospital currently houses 261 inpatient beds as well as operating rooms, radiation treatment facilities, the medical and surgical intensive care units, diagnostic imaging services and the Children’s Cancer Hospital’s inpatient unit. The hospital is named for the late Houston oilman and philanthropist Albert B. Alkek, who, along with his late wife, Margaret, gave M. D. Anderson $30 million. The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center was ranked the top cancer hospital in the nation last month in U.S. News & World Report’s Best Hospitals survey. It was the fifth time in eight years that M. D. Anderson was ranked number one by the national survey. With more than 16,000 faculty and staff and 1,600 volunteers working in more than 25 buildings in Houston and Central Texas, M. D. Anderson is one of the largest cancer centers in the world. Zoes Kitchen Opens in Houston Zoës Kitchen, the fast casual restaurant concept offering fresh, made-from-scratch menu items inspired by Mediterranean cuisine, opened its first Houston area location. The restaurant is located at 3701 S. Shepherd Dr. between Highway 59 and Richmond in the Upper Kirby District. Zoës Kitchen specializes in quick-serve, homemade casual fare prepared with all-fresh ingredients. Signature dishes include “world famous” homemade chicken salad sandwiches, grilled chicken roll-ups with feta cheese and caramelized onions, spicy pimento cheese and the grilled chicken plate with Greek salad and rice pilaf. Zoës homemade salads – chicken salad, tuna salad, egg salad, pasta salad and potato salad- are made fresh at the restaurant every day and are all available by the pound “to go.” Zoës signature marinated slaw is made with scallions and feta cheese and Zoe’s famous homemade dressing. The Greek salad vinaigrette is also sold in bottles “ to go.” |
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