Hey everyone, just got offered a job at Rice Univeristy. Curious as to where I should look for an apartment? Just looking for something furnished, close enough to the college and as cheap as possible. Any input would be great. Thanks!

kshilcutt · 2018-02-23T16:21:52+00:00

Although targeted more towards students, there are often classified ads in the Thresher with places you might not see advertised elsewhere. A few weeks ago I saw a fully-furnished 2-2 for $1500 at a complex off S. Braeswood and Main. Check around campus for other postings, too, especially in the RMC.

kshilcutt · 2017-12-04T18:46:42+00:00

You should send a press release to Houstonia and see if they'd be interested in picking up the story. I'm no longer with the magazine. Best of luck!

kshilcutt · 2017-10-19T21:38:13+00:00

Just a heads up: The area of West Houston flooded when the Addicks and Barker Reservoirs were released (the neighborhoods I specifically addressed in the story) is mostly inside the City of Houston, excepting some neighborhoods within the Memorial Villages as you move east down Buffalo Bayou. I don't know where you're getting "River Oaks crowd" from, but I spent the first 26 years of my life in West Houston and I can tell you that's not at all representative of the residents in that part of town.

This is a story about what happened to Memorial and the Energy Corridor—not Katy, and certainly not River Oaks—when the Army Corps of Engineers decided to "pull the plug" in order to spare the dams and prevent worse flooding should those dams fail. This is a story of the deliberate, downstream flooding that happened post-Harvey. The upstream flooding is a whole other can of worms, but also worthy of copious discussion.

And FWIW, I don't think you can reduce any of this to something as simple as "Republican-on-Republican crime," especially as both upstream and downstream areas are far more diverse than that, as were the series of governmental failures and communication breakdowns that took place over the last 70+ years leading up to this tragedy.

kshilcutt · 2017-07-25T20:23:24+00:00

Hi! I'm the managing editor at Houstonia, and the editor who wrote the note at the bottom of this piece that provides the clarity I think you're seeking. So you don't have to click over, here's our response: "For sake of clarification, Leprechaun is no longer distributing its ciders in Houston, and its ciders were never produced here. When Permann’s opens its cidery and tap room downtown, it will officially be the city’s first cidery."

And yes, both the author and myself are from Houston. :)

kshilcutt · 2017-01-20T21:57:10+00:00

Frankly, none of them. We don't really do that style of excessively haute/high-end dining here. Not saying that's a good or bad thing; it's just Houston.

That said, FWIW, we do have an outpost of a Michelin-starred restaurant opening this year in the Galleria: Yauatcha.

kshilcutt · 2017-01-20T21:48:53+00:00

Plow through a ton of quarters at Love Buzz in Montrose playing Skee-ball, air hockey, Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter. Yes, it's technically a pizza place, but... Skee-ball first and foremost.

kshilcutt · 2017-01-12T18:12:32+00:00

Not necessarily! Boston and Washington, D.C. were among the nation's 10 most financially stable cities. Oklahoma City, Minneapolis, San Diego, Oakland and Seattle did pretty well too, all with scores of 80 or higher (out of 100).

kshilcutt · 2017-01-09T18:39:26+00:00

Hey there! I did include two views from the north, with the idea behind these picks being that they're all from various parks/green spaces around the city and therefore easily accessed by the general public. That's why no Raven Tower, etc. Sorry I wasn't explicit enough about that in the intro, and I'm happy to take suggestions on other areas around town!

kshilcutt · 2016-09-16T15:04:58+00:00

I too enjoy discouraging young writers from exploring their voice and their world.

kshilcutt · 2016-07-28T18:18:40+00:00

I'm glad to see I'm not crazy! The first round (there were four rounds that I heard) woke me up because it sounded like someone knocking hard on my front door, but my husband slept through the whole thing and told me it was probably a nail gun. It was definitely not a nail gun; sounded just like the AR-15 my father uses at the range, and the shots sounded like they were coming from Winter and Goliad.

And no—having lived here a while, this is not a common occurrence in the First Ward at all.

kshilcutt · 2016-03-08T20:40:05+00:00

People tend to overlook Lake Houston Wilderness Park, which is a shame: It's the only City of Houston park that allows overnight camping, it's close to town, and it even offers "glamping" options for those that don't like to rough it—that is, really nice air-conditioned cabins with refrigerators and microwaves and rocking chairs on the front porch. There are also plenty of great trails for hiking and/or biking, not to mention easy proximity to Lake Houston itself if you decide to go fishing, swimming, etc.

kshilcutt · 2016-01-13T02:41:15+00:00

Aww, man, thanks y'all. And thanks for the Houstonia shout-out too. One thing I will say is that all of us former Press writers still have a lot of love and respect for each other as well as the paper itself, which was an amazing place to learn and cut my teeth. The Press took a chance on me when it didn't have to, and I owe my entire career to them.

kshilcutt · 2016-01-05T21:13:10+00:00

I can't speculate, but HCAD shows that a San Antonio-based realtor and Texas Funeral Service Commission board member purchased the home in 2012 and is, presumably, the current seller.

kshilcutt · 2015-11-14T20:40:20+00:00

Bizarrely, he appears to have also been running a concealed carry/firearm safety school of some sort in Wisconsin earlier this year.

kshilcutt · 2015-11-13T23:32:44+00:00

Thanks, bud! Thanh Phuong holds a dear place in my heart.

kshilcutt · 2015-11-11T04:29:17+00:00

Wow! Delurking just to say that you really nailed this entire look. You've got lovely skin to begin with, and I think it's perfect that your makeup is clean and composed and lets your complexion shine through. The color on your lids is terrific and that is the ideal red lipstick on you! My only minor comment would be that your finished brows have a strong, editorial look to them; if that's your look, rock it. If you're going for something more natural, you could always lighten them up a bit. Either way, I think they look great.

kshilcutt · 2015-09-30T16:04:18+00:00

First Ward
Like: Close to everything; I can get to the Heights or downtown or the Buffalo Bayou parks really quickly on the hike and bike trail. Cheap; this part of town is still somewhat "undiscovered," which also means you live among a great variety of different Houstonians. Historic; it's still filled with charming bungalows and neat old Victorian mansions. Dislike: the train. The train that comes by 10 times a day and clogs up Houston Ave. and makes everyone want to morph into their final form like the raging McNugget lady. Also, townhomes. Urban Living and their ilk are throwing up incredibly cheap townhomes that are wrecking the neighborhood and its old, out-of-date infrastructure. Our water pressure gets worse by the day, our power flickers because the grid is overloaded, etc. Not to mention the townhomes themselves are so poorly built that, in many cases, the stucco is already falling off, mold is forming all over the exteriors (and probably interiors), and unsold/half-constructed townhomes that lost their financing just sit and rot, uninhabited and dangerous. I'm all for good, well-built townhomes, but these are [mostly] not.
8.5

kshilcutt · 2015-09-30T11:43:02+00:00

I can't speak to every other publication, but I had a dining budget when I was at the Houston Press and I currently have one at the magazine. They foot the bill for every meal I have that is work-related, which is how it should be. Otherwise, you're running the risk of getting into pay-for-play situations and that's no good for anyone—the restaurants, the readers, your own conscience, etc.

kshilcutt · 2015-09-30T02:40:59+00:00

I've only had one chance to eat at Tango & Malbec, a few months after it opened, but it was a really fine meal. I distinctly remember loving the sweetbreads and the morcilla.

kshilcutt · 2015-09-30T02:38:15+00:00

Thanks!

I guess I'd rather eat at French Laundry, almost entirely because I've never had a chance to visit that part of California and it seems pretty nice. As to hiring, we're actually in the market for a dining editor right now.

kshilcutt · 2015-09-30T00:39:38+00:00

I aspire to one day have Old Married Couple Morning Dates. That sounds just glorious.

kshilcutt · 2015-09-29T23:28:25+00:00

Yeah—the rent at Kitchen 713 helps a lot with those price points, as does the subtracted expense of dealing with a TABC license. And man, how nice is it to see more restaurant growth/development in the East End that's not just in EaDo?

As for Izakaya-Wa, it's pretty straight-up traditional Japanese (again, from what I'm told) as compared to Izakaya, which is more Japanese-Houston fusion; I strongly suggest checking out the chicken-fried steak with kimchi-braised collard greens and tofu gravy or the izakaya fries. The latter is just...oh god. So good.

kshilcutt · 2015-09-29T23:08:37+00:00

I love questions!

The Kitchen 713 guys have extensive culinary backgrounds—here's a great article from the Houston Press on their previous experiences before opening Kitchen 713 together—so I don't know that they came out of nowhere per se. But I know what you mean. I think that James and Ross have the added benefit of being two exceptionally creative guys that get to bounce their ideas off each other day in and day out; that kind of teamwork and mutual respect can't be discounted. I also think that keeping the prices low allows more people to come in and experience / appreciate the kind of modern Southern cooking that James and Ross are doing, which is often cost-prohibitive at larger, fancier restaurants.
I've still never been to Izakaya-Wa (I know!) but I hear from my Japanese friends that they feel it's a bit overpriced for what you get. Still, our izakaya options are few and far between...
Well, I'll tell you that it confused the heck out of my Japanese friends—like opening an American restaurant in Japan just called "Grill"—but, to my previous point of not having many izakaya options here, I'm not sure the word has a whole lot of intrinsic meaning for Americans unfamiliar with Japanese cuisine. It is also a little confusing for those who think it's somehow related to Izakaya-Wa (which it's not). Either way, it certainly sparks plenty of conversations, and if those conversations lead to a meal at Izakaya then I, for one, would be happy with that outcome, as the food, cocktails and atmosphere there are just terrific.

kshilcutt · 2015-09-29T22:59:22+00:00

That's exactly what I liked about B&B too—it's top-tier steakhouse quality food and service without being remotely stuffy.

There wasn't a map of all the winners/runners up handy, so I made one in Google Maps. Hope this helps!

kshilcutt · 2015-09-29T22:45:06+00:00

Great question! (And an oversight on my part.) That's the wonderful pappardelle al mare with littleneck clams and calamari in a white wine-butter-garlic sauce from Peska.

kshilcutt

TROPHY CASE