ZOMBURBIA - October 31st

Friends and neighbors! Steph and George (Cousin and Cupcake) are having their 2nd annual haunted house this Halloween. Apparently their unfortunate subdivision has had a recent zombie infestation. We, being the 'glass half full' kinda people that we are, decided to make lemons into lemonade. So we have corralled up some of these unfortunate 'living impaired' individuals and put them to work at Cousin and Cupcake's casa doing what they do best..... moaning, staggering, eating brains and generally scaring the crap out of people.

They really are pretty entertaining (so long as you be sure to stay at least a few paces out of reach of them), so we suggest you swing by and check 'em out. We'll be menacing the neighborhood from dark:30 to about 9. The post-zombie party will follow immediately afterward. Our own Halloween brews - Oatmeal Stout and Pumpkin Ale will be on tap. The perfect beers for pairing with fresh, warm brains! ;) See you there!!!

~S

City Eats - Kingwood, Tx

Cupcake and I felt like we HAD to write this review, even though its not about a bar. It’s a simple, little hot dog joint called City Eats. We had to because in our little bland, clonelike suburb of Kingwood we feel compelled to give props to anyone who makes the great leap of faith in trying to show a little bit of character here.

Don't get me wrong though.... its not like a piece of Austin or The Montrose was just magically dropped on our doorstep. Its just a hole-in-the-wall hot dog joint..... BUT they don't half-ass what they do. As the WAY over-used slang phrase goes.... they "bring it." From what I gather, the owner is from New Jersey and its apparent he knows his way around a hot dog.

I have to be honest in saying that being from Texas, until a few years ago I was ignorant of what a real hot dog is, what it means and how good it can be. Now fellow Texans don’t start… just don’t! Hush it. Slapping a little chili and cheddar on a dog is not the be-all and end-all of hot dogs. And it damn sure isn’t throwing a dog in a cheap bun and squirting some ketchup on it… that’s for kids…. and absolutely disgusting. We have to accept the fact that our friends from the North are the masters of the dog. Next time you’re up there, see for yourself. Try out a dirty-water dog in New York, or a Chicago style while in the Windy City….. trust me they are like heaven. And now thanks to City Eats, Kingwood has the opportunity to eat some truly authentic dogs and not some lame facsimile that some places might try to peddle around here. For those of you transplanted from up North, you’ll be happy to know that they have managed to import Sabretts dogs all the way from New York. (Texans, please refrain from repeating that Pace Picante sauce commercial catch phrase here)

As a true lover of the bizarre creation that is the Chicago style hot dog, it had to be my first dog at City Eats. I chose to go with a polish sausage sub'd in for the frank. It ROCKED! After lots of study of this style I can tell you it was authentic, right down to the poppy seed bun. And trust me, poppy seed buns are hard to come by around here. I scoured every grocery store in the area and found NONE. George had the New York style with the red onion sauce...YUM! I understand you can buy the Sabrett Red Onion Sauce there.... yet another reason I'll be back.

Don’t expect to be overwhelmed by the décor, City Eats is definitely a hole-in-the-wall. But then if you’ve been to Jersey or NYC, you know there are plenty of holes-in-the-wall up there that make some amazing food. I think we down here have been swept up by a culture of always needing to be entertained, no matter what the venue. The truth is we don’t always need restaurants to have cute little mass-produced knick-knacks and “flare” on the walls to make our experience enjoyable. (Ssshhh… the secret is… all that crap is to distract you from the fact that the food in those places is mediocre at best.)

So anywho, if you’re up in Kingwood and hungry, give City Eats a try. You may be thinking… dude, its just a dog. But is it really? I think not. Its America…. at least it’s the small part of America that hasn’t been dumbed-down and turned into the lowest common denominator in order to maximize profit. Grab your nearest yankee friend, take them to City Eats, and have them instruct you on how to eat a real dog. Lets do what we can to encourage more businesses like this. Don’t be afraid of a little culture…even if it is “just a dog”.


The Brew Card

Atmosphere: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10
Clientele: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10
Beer selection: N/A
Food: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10
Service: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10
Prices: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10
Stuff to do: N/A

Overall: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10