Month: September 2018

Categories
Foodie Diaries

Poitin: Sophisticated, but where’s the wow factor?


By Jim Ayres

Bread service in American restaurants is different than elsewhere in the world. Here, the bread basket entices famished diners to butter up and chow down before ordering anything else.

But in Paris, your server will cut a few slices from a baguette and bring them, unadorned, with your meal. The premise is that you’ll use the bread to sop up sauce from your main course. I don’t know if America’s over-portioned patrons would like that.

Lately some restaurants have started charging for bread service. In most cases, a few dollars will bring you an artisan creation with dips and compound butters to match. It’s worth the small investment.

It should be that way at Poitin, too, a new restaurant in Sawyer Yards. Here, a House Sourdough is $6, accompanied by cultured sorrel butter. Order it, and a beautiful warm round will arrive. But tear into it, and you’ll find something akin to plain white bread, with butter so salty it can hardly be eaten.

This was one of a few surprises at Poitin that night. The restaurant isn’t a total dud, but there was enough awkwardness to put me on the fence about recommending it.

The menu is divided into small and large plates. If you want to commit to an entrée, you can choose from several protein and sides offerings in the $25-40 range.

More intriguing are the small plates. I started with Cornmeal Dusted Okra with Cajun-dill buttermilk sauce. Now, frying a whole okra is risky business. Fresh okra is firm, and a few minutes in hot oil can’t change that. So, a thick, pasty and flavorless batter encased an ornery vegetable. Not much more to say about that.

Choosing a cocktail to go along was easy. When I saw the Key Lime Pie Martini, I had to have it. It took forever, but when my personable server brought it, he praised Poitin’s “house made whipped cream.†Umm, it was frothy egg whites, but an A for effort and it did taste like a key lime pie. I wish the glass held more than three sips.

I almost loved Elote, the Mexican grilled corn dish. All the ingredients — queso fresco, bacon, cilantro — were there. So was corn, straight from the cob (fibers abounded, so that’s how I know). Grilling gave the kernels a slight toughness, but the dish itself had great flavor.

Things got even better with the 72-Hour Texas Short Rib. Four chunks of meat were charred outside but delightfully tender within. A sauce of peanut butter, eggplant and kimchi sounded odd, but worked spicy magic with the beef.

But at these prices, I expected more of a “wow†factor at Poitin. The décor is like an upscale chain — not overdone, but not special either. Chain link fencing on the ceiling is questionable, though light shimmering through a wall of wine bottle bottoms lends drama. Poitin seems a bit paint by numbers now, but hopefully its personality will blossom with time.

Poitin

2313 Edwards Street Houston, Texas 77007

713-470-6686 | PoitinHouston.com

Categories
Paula Dream

A Cajun twist on burgers and fries


By Paula Dream (AKA Kale Haygood)

Well folks, another summer has come and gone, so let’s start with a couple of recipes that are easy enough to “fall†into.

How about a good (non-beef) burger with some good fries to go along with it?

The final recipe is a bonus. It is different and great to make for a gathering or just for home. I can’t remember where I got it from, but everyone always raves about it. It’s quick and easy, too (sort of like me).

Thank you for all your questions and comments. Paula loves ‘em. And please remember to support our advertisers who help make this publication possible.

CREOLE SHRIMP BURGERS

For the burgers:

4 scallions, chopped

1 rib of celery, chopped

1 lemon, zested

12-to-16 ounces large to medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

1/4 cup panko bread crumbs

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning

1/4 teaspoons Tabasco sauce

1 tablespoon olive oil (preferably organic)

Non-stick cooking spray

For the remoulade sauce:

1/2 cup mayo

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon shallot, minced

1 tablespoon dill pickle, minced

2 teaspoons capers, chopped

Black pepper, to taste

Hot sauce, to taste

Burgers: Pulse scallions, celery, and lemon zest in food processor or blender, then add shrimp until you get a coarse chopped texture. Place in a large mixing bowl, then add panko, 2 tablespoons mayonnaise, Old Bay and 1/4 teaspoon hot sauce. Mix well. stirring. Form into two 3/4″ thick patties, or desired size. Chill patties in refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Remoulade: Stir together mayo, mustard, shallots, pickle, and capers. Season to taste with black pepper and hot sauce, then chill.

Heat oil in a cast iron skillet or large frying pan over medium-high heat. Spray chilled patties with a non-stick spray and cook. Cook patties on each side about five minutes each side until golden brown and firm. Remove patties from skillet. Serve burgers on toasted buns, with the remoulade sauce. Garnished with red leaf lettuce.

CAJUN OVEN FRIES

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

1 large russet potato (about 12-to-14 ounces) cut into 1/4″ sticks

1 tablespoon olive oil

Non-stick cooking spray

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Mix all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. In another bowl, toss potato stick in oil, then transfer to seasoning bowl coat well.

Place potato sticks in a single layer on a baking sheet coated with non-stick cooking spray. Bake for 30 minutes until golden brown and crisp, turning after 15 minutes.

NON-DESSERT SAUSAGE BROWNIES

6 ounces cream cheese

1 10-ounce can Rotel tomatoes, drained

1 roll breakfast sausage

2 cans crescent rolls

Non-stick cooking spray

Brown sausage in large skillet or frying pan, breaking into small pieces; drain. Add cheese and mix well until cheese is melted, then add tomatoes. Roll out one whole can of crescent dough. Spray a 9″ x 13″ baking dish coasted with non-stick cooking spray. Spread one can of dough evenly on bottom of dish. Spread sausage mixture evenly over dough. Spread the other can of dough on top of mixture. Bake 20 to 25 minutes until dough is browned. Cut into squares and serve.

Paula Dream, AKA Kale Haygood, owns Beyond Service, a Montrose-based, home-cooking catering company. For more information, call 713-805-4106 or email barrykale@yahoo.com.

Categories
Across the Causeway

Lest We Forget: 118 years ago, the storm of storms hit Galveston


By Forest Riggs

Beautiful September has finally arrived. The crowded beaches have thinned, traffic along the Seawall is back to some degree of normalcy, the long lines in restaurants have dwindled and though tourism remains active, hotel reservations have slowed. With most schools having resumed in late August and early September, the crowds of young folks circling in trucks and fancy cars have hugely decreased.

September is a great time to be on the Island, but it has not always been so great. Generally, Galveston and the Texas Gulf Coast have concerns about storms and hurricanes that historically have been at their worst during September and October. It is fair to say that locals take a deep breath during these storm activity months and anxiously await the coming end of the Hurricane season. Just a year ago, Harvey lingered in the warm waters of the Gulf long enough to soak up enough water, only to come ashore and begin a three-day onslaught of wind, rain, flooding and devastation. A year out and many homes and areas are still in a state of catastrophe after the beating from Harvey.

For a long time, Galveston has been linked with hurricanes and the destructive lore that surrounds them. Over the years, there have been many storms, too numerous to name. The very mention of names such as Alicia, Carla, Beulah, Andrew, Rita and many others, conjures sad and unpleasant memories for many Islanders and Southeast Texas residents. Back before storms had names, the mother of them all roared ashore on the bustling Island and forever changed the Island and its place in the world.

September 8, 1900 is day that lives in infamy. What began as a typical Saturday morning on the Island quickly turned into the largest natural disaster ever on American soil. The Great Storm, as it has since been called, engulfed the tiny island, destroying most all structures and taking with it, (depending on which reports and versions you read), over 5 thousand lives; some estimates even go as high as 12,000 deaths. No one will ever know the exact amount, but it is monumental. Men, women, children and animals perished in a hell of wind, water and flying debris.

Although we have since gotten a taste of the damage great storms can do, 118 years later it is almost impossible to fully grasp the devastation the Great Storm brought. Time and technology have moved the human race so far along, most cannot recall life before cell phones, radios, internet and television with weather tracking and so on. Being caught in the storm with no way to know what is happening must have been a horrible nightmare.

The storm and its impact has been chronicled in numerous books, documentaries and research projects: from ghastly stories of piles of burning bodies to a handful of nuns lashing little children together with bed sheets in order to survive only to be found in the sand and rubble after the tempest blew, still connected with tattered sheets. Even the great Thomas Edison sent a film crew that made a short film showing the world just what had transpired on the tiny island.

The stories of heroism, loss and devastation are haunting and to read of them stirs at one’s soul and heart. The Island has never forgotten that day and, though no survivors are alive today, there are many recorded tapes, transcripts and photos housed in the famous Rosenberg Libraries’ special collections. As you listen to survivors recount that Saturday in September, it sends chills up your spine.

Even today there are still books and movies produced retelling the story of the Great Storm.  Erik Larson wrote perhaps the best descriptive work with Isaac’s Storm, a national bestseller that vividly tells the story of Isaac Cline, resident meteorologist with the U.S. Weather Bureau. Living in Galveston and realizing a horrible monster of a storm was on the way, Cline tried to warn people and make plans for evacuations and escape, but all in vain.

Isaac’s Storm is a must-read for anyone interested in Galveston and the Great Storm, especially during September and storm season. Former mayor, now deceased and beloved Galveston daughter Lyda Ann Thomas said of the book, “It really is one the greatest things I have read regarding that day in September.â€

No doubt the Great Storm left its mark on the tiny bar island. To walk the Seawall, a great architectural feat, is to walk along the very spine of history where man’s resilient spirit rose to forever fight the wind and waters that come with great hurricanes. Galvestonians are saddened but proud of their great history and the story of the storm that devastated the island. They are sad for the loss of life, beautiful buildings, animals and a genteel way of living, but they are proud of their courage and strength to rebuild, a pride and strength that continues to this day.

A detailed telling of the storm story can be viewed at the Pier 21 Theatre. The Great Storm is an excellent visual and auditory lesson about the storm that forever changed Galveston Island. 2100 Harborside Drive. Adults, $6. Students 6 to 18, $5. Children under 6, free.

Whatever this September brings — hopefully only sunshine and happiness — let us all take a few minutes to remember the thousands of people and animals that perished on that September day in 1900.

Forest Riggs, a resident of Galveston, is no stranger to the adventures of life. A former educator and business owner, he enjoys Island life and all that comes with it. He says he is a “raconteur with a Quixotic, gypsy spirit.†He has written for several newspapers and magazines as well as other writing pursuits, including a novel and collection of short stories.

Categories
PFLAG News

PFLAG Houston meeting to highlight community’s political goals


By Linda Bratsen

Mike Webb and Maria Ivonne from Houston’s GLBT Political Caucus addresses PFLAG Houston’s monthly public meeting on Sunday, September 9, 2018. As dedicated supporters of the LGBTQ community, they will share an enlightening, non-partisan presentation highlighting Caucus goals, the endorsement process, and what we might expect during Texas’s 86th legislative session, scheduled to convene January 8, 2019.

The meeting begins at 2 p.m. in the Jones building at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, 5501 Main Street; doors open at 1:45 p.m. Parking is available between Fannin and San Jacinto. Small groups, where members and visitors can confidentially share their individual journeys, follow the program. A small group is dedicated to families of transgender loved ones.

Houston Transgender Unity Banquet. The Houston Transgender Unity Banquet is presented by the Houston Transgender Unity Committee (HTUC) and has become the largest Transgender Community event held in Houston each year. The 2018 banquet is scheduled Saturday, September 15, 6:30 ’til 11 p.m. at Doubletree by Hilton Houston Intercontinental Airport (15747 John F. Kennedy Boulevard, 77032).

The banquet raises money for scholarships, Houston Pride activities, Houston DOR, annual recognition awards, and small grants.

The Unity Committee operates within the Transgender Foundation of America (TFA) and is a 501(c)3 public charity. For more information, please visit UnityBanquet.com.

PFLAG Houston turns 40. On October 13 at 7 p.m., PFLAG Houston cordially invites all to join in celebrating the group’s 40th anniversary at Resurrection MCC. Co-chaired by former Houston Mayor Annise D. Parker and wife Kathy Hubbard, the event offers a great opportunity to reminisce, enjoy delicious food and fellowship and learn more about PFLAG HOUSTON. Attendees are encouraged to share a story or recount an amusing incident. Mark your calendar, and tell your friends and family.

More PFLAG Houston meetings. PFLAG Houston is committed to supporting families and educating the public about LGBT issues, and invites all to consider the group’s numerous volunteer opportunities. PFLAG Houston is also passionate about advocacy to ensure equal human rights and end discrimination. PFLAG Houston invites all family members, parents and/or youth who are having problems with coming out issues, and welcomes everyone, regardless of religious affiliation, ethnicity or political persuasion. The group is proud of its rich history and the continued contributions of members, and invites all to learn more about the organization and join in efforts to create a more diverse, accepting society. Find a home in PFLAG!

PFLAG Houston’s Mid-Month Sharing Meeting meets on the third Thursday of each month, beginning at 7 p.m. The meeting is located at Bering United Methodist Church, 1440 Harold Street in Houston. Enter under the teal awning. The meeting is in the first room on the left.

PFLAG Houston’s Clear Lake Sharing Meeting meets the fourth Sunday of each month at 2 p.m. at Bay Area Unitarian Universalist Church in the fellowship hall. The church is located at 17503 El Camino Real Drive in Clear Lake.

PFLAG Houston’s Katy Sharing Meeting meets the fourth Tuesday of each month, 7 ’til 8 p.m. at First Christian Church, located at 22101 Morton Ranch Road. Please enter the main building through the front doors and follow the signs. PFLAG Houston is excited to bring support, education and advocacy to the west side.

PFLAG Houston’s Yahoo Group subscription list is confidential, and all members can immediately post messages to all other members of the network. Subscribers may search PFLAG Houston’s archives to look at all previous listings.

For information about support, upcoming events and meetings, as well as up-to-date news relevant to PFLAG Houston’s family and friends, visit PFLAGHouston.org, email PFLAG Houston’s hotline at helpline@pflaghouston.org or call 713-467-3524.

 

 

 

 

Categories
What A World

People Will Talk: The Gastro, Grundles and GOP Edition


By Nancy Ford

“We believe in self-sufficient families, founded on the traditional marriage of a natural man and a natural woman … the official position of the Texas schools with respect to transgenderism is that there are only two genders: male and female…. We oppose all efforts to validate transgender identity…. We believe there should be no granting of special legal entitlements or creation of special status for homosexual behavior, regardless of state of origin, and we oppose any criminal or civil penalties against those who oppose homosexuality out of faith, conviction, or belief in traditional values.… Transgendered persons should not serve in the military as a special class; no special considerations or medical treatment shall be required or offered.… We affirm God’s biblical design for marriage and sexual behavior between one biological man and one biological woman, which has proven to be the foundation for all great nations in Western civilization. We oppose homosexual marriage, regardless of state of origin. We urge the Texas Legislature to pass religious liberty protections for individuals, businesses, and government officials who believe marriage is between one man and one woman. We oppose the granting of special legal entitlements or creation of special status for homosexual behavior, regardless of state of origin. We oppose any criminal or civil penalties against those who oppose homosexuality out of faith, conviction, or belief in traditional values. We support the definition of marriage as a God-ordained, legal, and moral commitment only between one natural man and one natural woman. We believe this (Supreme Court of the United States) decision, overturning the Texas law prohibiting same-sex marriage in Texas, has no basis in the Constitution and should be reversed, returning jurisdiction over the definition of marriage to the states. The Governor and other elected officials of the State of Texas should assert our Tenth Amendment right and reject the Supreme Court ruling.â€

—2018 Platform of the Republican Party of Texas. Via TexasGOP.org

“I know a lot of people are still perplexed — why are Christians so supportive of Donald Trump? Well, it’s really not that hard to figure out when you realize he is the most pro-life, pro-religious liberty, pro-conservative judiciary in history and that includes either Bush or Ronald Reagan. I think that is why evangelicals remain committed to this president and they are not going to turn away from him soon.â€

—Dallas megachurch pastor Robert Jeffress, who characterizes homosexuality as perverse, and a “degradation of a person’s mind.†Via Fox.com

“You talk to some of these people that have had grundles of sex partners and the self-loathing and basically the unhappiness and the self-hatred level is tremendously high. The gay community really needs to start having some conversations within their community, saying how is our lifestyle affecting our mental health.â€

—Salt Lake County Republican Party communication director (and gay man) Dave Robinson. Robinson says he knows people within the LGBTQ community who have had “over 2,000 sex partners,†and feels that this high number of partners may lead to “some of the self-loathing to the point of suicide†within the community. Via LGBTQNation.com
 

“My son was nervous to tell me he was gay. He told me at 9. I was driving, I looked back at him and said, ‘I still love you, son.’ He is my sunshine. He is my baby.â€

—Leia Pierce, mother of a Colorado boy who had just begun fourth grade, who killed himself. Pierce said her son was bullied for coming out as gay. Via ABCNews.com

“This is a tremendous victory for Marsha. She, just like all people living in rental housing, whether LGBT or not, should be assured that they will at least be safe from discriminatory harassment in their own homes. What happened to Marsha was illegal and unconscionable, and the court has now put all landlords on notice that they have an obligation to take action to stop known harassment.â€

—Karen Loewy of Lambda Legal, which represents Marsha Wetzel who sued the retirement home she lived in for 15 months, the Glen St. Andrew Living Community (GSALC) in Illinois, for failing to do anything about anti-lesbian harassment and violence perpetrated against her by fellow residents. Via Advocate.com

 

“Actually, do you mind if we don’t? I have a lot of queer and Mexican fans, and I don’t want them to think that I support your views.â€

—Singer/songwriter Sia to Donald Trump, who refused to have her photo taken with Trump when they both appeared in an 2015 episode of Saturday Night Live. Sia reported having a bout of “crazy diarrhea†following the encounter. Via DailyMail.co.uk

Categories
Star Buds

Antiquated cannabis laws create ‘medical refugees’


By Rena McCain

Happy Weedsday! I hope today finds all of you doing fine. If you’re not, keep your chin up and change perspective…you may find your outlook clearer!

Today I want to tell you of my young hero. Her name is Alexis Bortell.

Alexis Bortell.

Alexis was born in Rowlett, Texas in 2005 to her parents Dean and Analiza Bortell, who are both disabled veterans. She also has a beautiful younger sister named Avery.

In July of 2013, Alexis had her first epileptic seizure. Alexis was diagnosed with life-threatening epileptic seizures, which is a disturbance in the electrical activity of the brain of unknown origins. This is generalized epilepsy.

To treat the epilepsy, the doctors gave her a regimen of the drug Carbatrol extended release 200mg tablets to be given twice a day. In Dean’s own words, “It was like throwing gasoline on a fire.â€

With the introduction of this drug, Alexis’s seizures increased in frequency. Obviously, there needed to be a change of some sort with the medication. At the request of the parents, the medication was evaluated. After evaluation the doctors then decided to increase the dosage for the Carbatrol. This caused some catastrophic results. With the increase of the medication, Alexis began having even more seizures. Additionally, she was having more than one type of seizure. Although the symptoms of the epilepsy were worse and the seizures were worse, they were advised to stay the course and let the medication do its work.

After about a month of “letting the medication†work into her system, Dean and Analiza took Alexis to their primary care provider for a second opinion. The primary care provider immediately recommends a new neurologist whose first action was to put Alexis back in the hospital for monitoring. After this evaluation, the doctors then put Alexis on 250mg of Depakote twice a day and returned her back to the original dose of Carbatrol, 200mg twice a day.

With these medication changes, this is what her family had to say: “We have also seen drastic changes in Alexis’s personality. Every day at about the time of each medicating, she goes through periods of euphoria or depression. It is as if we have traded the problems of epilepsy for the problems of the drugs given to combat it. Either way, this quality of life is not satisfactory or sustainable.â€

Now, I don’t know about a lot of things, but I do know that Depakote is not recommended for children under the age of 18. Have you ever looked at the side effects of Depakote? Some of these include (but are certainly not limited to) hepatic failure, birth defects, pancreatitis hyperammonemic encephalopathy, suicidal behavior and ideation, bleeding and other hematopoietic disorders, hypothermia, drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS), multiorgan hypersensitivity reactions and many, many other side effects.

As a parent, I can understand the desperation of wanting your child to not have to go through so much of this. I would try anything to make things better!

So, one night Dean and his wife found Dr. Sanjay Gupta on a CNN special about medical marijuana. Learning how cannabis might help their daughter, they took her to a neurologist in Colorado where the plant is legal. There, they were told that it was the best medication for their daughter. Alexis obtained her “red card†in Colorado and now is a legal cannabis patient. But that is in Colorado. In Texas, where she lives, cannabis is still illegal. This is how Alexis and her family became medical refugees. Alexis and her family had to literally move their entire life to another state so that Alexis could get the medical treatment she deserves.

No child or family should have to pack up everything they know — their whole life — because there is a plant that heals people that is not legal in one area or another. Since Alexis and her family moved to Colorado from Texas, Alexis has actually been seizure-free for a good amount of time now. She has adjusted to Colorado life. I am sure however, I know she would love to see her grandparents who are too elderly to travel. How can she, though? If she comes to Texas, her medicine is not legal here. Child Protective Services or officers of the law would surely take her. It’s a real shame and heartbreaker when there is this forced divide between families. It’s one that should never happen.

It personally makes me angry that there is this plant out here that does so much good, but laws are in place to benefit the ones that make money off sicknesses.

In February 2018, Alexis sued Attorney General Jeff Sessions regarding the constitutionality of her right to medicate with cannabis. In this particular interaction with the federal courts, a federal judge admitted that cannabis has medicinal properties. This is historic in every way.

Make sure to tune in to Alexis as she has a new date with the courts in her Cannabis fight (Washington v. Sessions) on October 29, 2018. It will be at 40 Foley Square (2nd Circuit) Thurgood Marshall Courthouse, in New York City.

Thank you, Alexis Bortell. You are my hero.

#FreeTheWeed

 Rena McCain is a co-founder of the Cannabis Open Carry Walks. Find her on Facebook at Rena McCain, or via Twitter @sassikatt24 and Instagram at ganja_grrl420.

 

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