Mv - Memorial Villages

The True Art of Living Well – The Village of Tanglewood

A Houston tradition in luxury senior living, The Village of Tanglewood offers discerning seniors an elegant lifestyle and maintenance-free living with a host of services and amenities, each designed to allow residents to Live Life Well®. The luxury senior living community allows residents to experience the best of all worlds, with the freedom to enjoy friends, community ties, and personal interests, along with superb dining and worry-free transportation—all included in your monthly lease.

There is a lot of positive energy at The Village of Tanglewood! The community has a fully operational generator. With this full-building generator, there is no outlet that can hide. The entire building will be powered which will eliminate the need to evacuate residents, ensure power for necessary equipment, provide safety and security during inclement weather, prevent mold growth, and food from spoiling. The on-site generator will also ensure that systems such as refrigerators, stoves, and air-conditioning will be served without missing a beat.

As sole owners of the latest, most advanced piece of equipment, The Village of Tanglewood has full rights of usage. This is advantageous compared to most communities leasing the equipment where they are at the mercy of others in when and how they are able to use the generator. The Village of Tanglewood prioritizes the safety and comfort of its residents to be able to have the freedom to utilize such an important piece of equipment without any potential obstacles.

The Village of Tanglewood is located minutes from the Galleria, Theatre District, and the Texas Medical Center, allowing us to provide access to the best that Houston has to offer.

The Village of Tanglewood believes that your apartment home should be as appealing as its premier location. With high-quality design details and finishes, such as nine-foot ceilings, crown molding, spacious walk-in closets, stainless steel appliances, washer & dryers, and balconies, our residents enjoy traditional, luxury living.

We’ve Got the Power

Join The Village of Tanglewood for monthly events or visit for lunch to experience its excellent culture and a taste of tradition in luxury senior living. Visit our website, www.villageoftanglewood.com or call 346-800-5981 to schedule a tour and lunch.

Powered by the latest generation, state-of-the-art generator, e Village of Tanglewood provides its residents the safety and security to weather whatever mother nature has in store. As the only senior living company in Houston with the newest high-powered generators, residents are able to live with peace of mind knowing

e Village is a community that values tradition and caters to a sophisticated lifestyle. Enjoy meeting old and new friends with similar interests and passions. Live independently with access to on-site licensed home health and therapy services should you need it. At e Village you’ll have everything you need to Live Life Well®.

THERE’S A BETTER APPROACH TO CANCER CARE in the Texas Medical Center

At Houston Methodist Neal Cancer Center, we treat every aspect of your cancer. Leading oncologists work with our specialists across disciplines to minimize cancer’s effects on major organs. One comprehensive team — dedicated to your individual care — uses the latest research, treatments and technology to stop your cancer. From infusion and clinical trials to surgery and reconstruction, our innovative care is available in the Texas Medical Center.

That’s the difference between practicing medicine and leading it.

Celebrating 25 Years

As those 25 years of age or older already know, while a lot happens in those two-plus decades, it all moves too fast. Intown celebrates its silver anniversary, which is rare in the magazine business. In the overall media business, two decades is an eternity. In 1997 when Intown published its first edition, the internet had barely begun. Newspapers still ruled. Facebook and Twitter did not exist. A year later, in 1998, a little company called Google began to change the world as we know it.

There is little time to reflect on the media business; the winners and losers get weeded out quickly. With each calendar change, I have a sense of renewal and promise to do better. Growing my company, reading more, losing some weight, and being more thoughtful come to mind. The new year is a time of renewal with who write and what they write about, along with many new design ideas. After two long years of grappling with the pandemic, the aftermath of paradigm shifts has created a new landscape.

My renewal thoughts consist of less negativity, division, or downtrodden articles about many things wrong with our society. What about some of the bright spots that push us forward through the fog of life?

Our new motto is to inspire, entertain and inform. How can we help improve our city and our lives? Contributing in some way to making Houston a better place is a good starting point for the next 25 years of Intown. Looking back, we have been doing quite a bit of this already, which may be why we have survived the first 25 years.

Intown’s initial focus was to promote business in the Upper Kirby District. The magazine and now its website houstonintown.com continue to expand with its roots still in Upper Kirby. The company that publishes Intown now publishes eight titles mailed to 25 neighborhoods in Houston and Cypress, Texas neighborhoods. We hope to continue and renew our mission to inform, entertain and inspire.

A Look Back at Some of our Most Inspiring, Informative, and entertaining:

Carrabba’s The Original 30 years of Amazing - Yvette Streit

Pulitzer Prize in Perspective: Lisa Falkenberg

Raising The Bar by Jeanette Clift George

Julep – A Bar For the Southerner in Us All

Toufic Elsaadi’s Journey From a Refugee Camp to Montrose

Making Cancer History

Avondale House

Tom Flanagan: Intown’s Medical Person of the Year

The Cannes Experience

Go to www.houstonintown.com to read these inspiring stories and many others.

The Cannes Experience

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston Presents Portrait of Courage: Gentileschi, Wiley, and the Story of Judith in January 2023

Two paintings depicting the Old Testament story of Judith slaying Holofernes—one by 17th-century Italian artist Artemisia Gentileschi and the other by contemporary American artist Kehinde Wiley—will continue their national tour at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston from January 25 through April 16, 2023. Presenting Gentileschi’s Judith and Holofernes (c. 1612-17) from the collection of the Museo e Real Bosco di Capodimonte in Naples and Wiley’s 2012 Judith and Holofernes from the North Carolina Museum of Art, Portrait of Courage: Gentileschi, Wiley, and the Story of Judith places the two paintings in dialogue with one another, revealing shared narratives and ideas across time and culture.

MUSEUMS

Asia Society Texas Center

Lain Singh Bangdel: Moon Over Kathmandu Through April 30

Museum Of Fine Arts, Houston

Gordon Parks: Stokely Carmichael & Black Power Through Jan 16

Philip Guston Now Through Jan 16

Alberto Giacometti: Toward the Ultimate Figure Through Feb 12

Portrait of Courage: Gentileschi, Wiley, and the Story of Judith Opens Jan 25 - April 16

Contemporary Arts Museum Houston

Troy Montes Michie: Rock of Eye Through Jan 29

Diane Severin Nguyen: IF REVOLUTION IS A SICKNESS Through Feb 26

Holocaust Museum Houston

HOPE: Stories of Houston Survivors Through Jan 29

Woman, the Spirit of the Universe Ongoing through April 2

The Life and Art of Alice Lok Cahana Opens Feb 3 through April 9

Every Saturday, Rain or Shine

9am - 1pm

Hunters Creek Village at First Congregational Church 10840 Beinhorn Road

Neighbors 1938. We were all Ladenburgers Feb 24 through June 18

Menil

Samuel Fosso: African Spirits Ongoing through Jan 15

Robert Motherwell Drawing: As Fast as the Mind Itself Ongoing through Mar 12

26 W Shore Dr. | Bentwater

List Price

Beverly Smith | Coldwell Banker Realty | 713-569-2113

Walter De Maria: Boxes for Meaningless Work

Through Apr 23

Wall Drawing Series: Mel Bochner Ongoing though September Houston Museum Of Natural Science Special Exhibits

Transcending Audubon Dreher Materworks1 Body Worlds & The Cycle of Life King Tut’s Tomb

MUSIC & DANCE

Classical update by Philip Berquist

Let me continue to hear from you at classicalmusicberquist@gmail.com. For updates go to www.houstonintown.com

THEATER

ALLEY THEATRE

Cambodian Rock Band

Jan 20 through Feb 12

Broadway Across America Hobby Center

Pretty Woman The Musical Jan 3 through 8

Jesus Christ Superstar Jan 17 through 22

Intown’s Classical Music Editor and Critic, the Hon. Philip Berquist, Honorary Consul for the Republic of Croatia for Texas

The holidays are now firmly behind us and let’s begin the New Year by highlighting what is in store for us. Coming soon to a venue near you -

Houston Grand Opera

HGO presents two operas in their winter repertoire, Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro and Massenet’s Werther.

Mozart’s comedy, The Marriage of Figaro, was composed in 1786. Dealing, as usual, with love and its trials and tribulations, it is considered by many as among the greatest operas ever written. This is a revival from 2016 and is set in Spain in the 1960’s.

The Marriage of Figaro 3 hours and 28 minutes, one intermission. Sung in Italian with projected English translation.

Patrick Summers, Conductor, Michael Grandage, Original Director, Ian Rutherford, Revival Director

Price range - $20 - $210

Jules Massenet’s, Werther, was written in 1887 but had its first performance, in German, in Vienna in 1892. It was performed soon thereafter in its original French. These performances feature Matthew Polanzani and three time Grammy award winner, Isabel Leonard. Conducted by internationally acclaimed, Robert Spano.

Werther 2 hours and 52 minutes, 2 intermissions. Sung in French with projected English translation. Robert Spano, Conductor, Benoît Jacquot, Director Price range - $20 - $210

All performances - Brown Theater at Wortham Center

Houston Symphony Orchestra

The Houston Symphony has cleverly set its January and February performances as two festivals, “Riots and Scandals” and “Songs of the Earth.” Béla Bartók’s The Miraculous Mandarin was set to accompany a pantomime stage presentation and was initially considered to be in violation of current moral standards and was banned after its first performance in Prague. Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring achieved the highest honor of having the audience at its premier at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris in 1913 descend into an actual riot with fighting, screaming and the tearing of clothes. One patron famously considered his torn shirt collar a family heirloom! Now, over a hundred years later, the music is still provocative and is always a favorite.

Secure, luxury living in Royal Oaks Country Club. Golf course views from open living areas with high ceiling and wall of windows. Island kitchen, primary + 2nd bedroom down, home office, game room and media room. Large bedroom up has balcony, can be 2nd primary bedroom. 3 car garage.

The “Songs of the Earth” festival features what, in my opinion, will be the highlight of HSO’s first season with Music Director Juraj Valčuha - Das Lied von Der Erda - The Song of the Earth by Gustav Mahler. Written in 1909, only two years before his death, Mahler was very aware of the significance of a ninth symphony, with the ninth symphonies being the last of Beethoven and Schubert. As a result he did not label Das Lied as a symphony following his massive 8th. No less than Leonard Bernstein has declared it to be not only a symphony but to be Mahler’s greatest. Mahler next completed what he called his 9th Symphony which would be his final completed symphony, so it seems that one should not kid around with fate.

Gamelan refers to the historical Indonesian music of percussion. This will be featured along with Debussy’s Quartet in G Minor performed by plays of HSO. This will be a special one evening concert at a significantly reduced general admission ticket.

Lastly, famed violinist and collaborator with HSO, Itzhak Perlman will perform a recital on Sunday evening, February 26th.

The 2022-2023 Arts Season Continues in January & February

“Riots and Scandals Festival” ProgramH. Kendall, The Spark Catchers | Rachmaninoff, Piano Concerto No. 3 Bartók, The Miraculous Mandarin | Music Director Juraj Valčuha, Conductor Yefin Bronfman, piano | Houston Symphony Chorus, Allen Hightower, Director 1 hours, 45 minutes, one intermission Price range - $29 - $144

“Riots and Scandals Festival” ProgramRevueltas, Sensemayá | Tchaikovsky, Piano Contero No. 1 Stravinsky, The Rite of Spring | Music Director Juraj Valcčula, Conductor Khakis Buniatishvili, Piano 1 hour, 30 minutes, one intermission Price range - $30 - $144

“Songs of the Earth Festival” ProgramQ.Chen, Itinerary of an Illusion (Orchestral Variations) Mahler, Das Lied von der Erde - Song of the Earth Music Director, Juraj Valčula, Conductor | Sasha Cooke, Mezzo-Soprano Clay Holley, Tenor 1 hour, 45 minutes, one intermission Price range - $30 - $144

“Songs of the Earth Festival” ProgramDebussy, String Quartet in G Minor | Gamelan of the New Moon Members of the Houston Symphony - MuChens Hsieh, Principal Violin Tong Yan, Violin | Samuel Petersen, Viola | Louis-Marie Fardet, Cello Thursday, 16 February, 7:30pm

Special price, $20, General Admission

“Songs of the Earth Festival” Ravel, Mother Goose Suite | Takemitsu, Quotation of Cream (Say Sea, Take Me!) T Hosokawa, Autumn Wind | Debussy’s La mer Music Director Juraj Valčula, Conductor | Lucas and Arthur Jussen, Piano Kojiro Umezaki, Shakuhachi (Japanese bamboo flute) 1 hour, 30 minutes, one intermission

Price range - $29 - $109

Itzhak Perlman in Recital Program to be announced Itzhak Perlman, Violin | Rohan De Silva, Piano Sunday, 26 February, 7:30pm

Price range - $29 - $135

All performances - Jones Hall

Houston Ballet

Houston Ballet will present the magnificent music of Prokofiev to accompany Stanton Welch’s choreography set to Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. This is Prokofiev at his absolute best and should not be missed.

Prokofiev, Romeo and Juliet

Prices begin at $25

All performances - Brown Theater at Wortham Center

Looks to me like a very impressive January and February. Go for it! Keep letting me hear from you at classicalmusicberquist@gmail.com

After Uvalde, Texas Could Finally Fix Notorious Flaw in Public Information Act

by GUS BOVA Observer

“This article was originally published by the Texas Observer, a nonprofit investigative news outlet. Sign up for their weekly newsletter, or follow them on Facebook and Twitter.”

Atragedy like the Robb Elementary shooting of May 24 leaves its mark in many places. There are the homes that will always feel empty and the schools all over the nation that feel less safe than before. There are the parents who find themselves unwilling activists and the government officials who, thanks to that dark day’s botched police response, find themselves distrusted. And there’s a reinvigorated debate over gun control—though our state’s leaders will likely stop up their ears. Now, the legacy of Uvalde could also include something a touch wonky and seemingly far-removed: the closure of a gaping hole at the heart of Texas’ public information law.

In November, state Representative Joe Moody, an El Paso Democrat who served on a committee that investigated the Uvalde killings, filed House Bill 30, a multifaceted measure that would close

what’s called the “dead suspect loophole.” Under current law, Texas cops and prosecutors may withhold from the public many records stemming from investigations that did not result in a conviction. This statute arguably protects the reputations of innocent Texans, but it also casts a veil of secrecy over cases where there’s no conviction because the suspect is deceased—including when cops kill someone during an arrest, or a person dies in jail, or a school shooter’s rampage ends, as happened at Robb Elementary, with his own demise. Moody’s bill would specifically open up many cases where the lack of a conviction resulted from a suspect’s death.

Since May, state police have withheld records such as video and audio recordings from the Uvalde scene on the premise that the local district attorney is still investigating—a standard reason that agencies hold back much detailed information. Under the dead suspect

law

loophole, however, those records can plausibly be kept secret forever. HB 30 would head this off.

“I certainly respect the investigatory process, but at some point you turn the corner and the public deserves to scrutinize the records, and that is at the heart of the Public Information Act,” Moody told the Observer. “The government doesn’t get to decide what is good for us to know and what is bad for us to know.”

In June, GOP Speaker of the House Dade Phelan tweeted support for closing the dead suspect loophole in Uvalde’s wake, and a spokesperson confirmed in early December that the speaker continues to support such a policy though he is “not yet familiar with the specifics of legislation that has been filed.”

In its present form, HB 30 would also expand public access to information about police misconduct in general and to videos of jail deaths or shootings by police, along with creating a public database of reports related to such shootings, among other provisions.

Next year’s legislative session, to begin

An El Paso Democrat wants to close the “dead suspect loophole” that’s helped gut Texas’ once-distinguished open records

in January, will mark the fourth time that Moody has tried to close the dead suspect loophole. In past sessions, discussion of his bills centered on prominent cases in which Texans were shot on their porches, tased in the back of squad cars, or left to perish in jails. Moody nearly succeeded in closing the loophole in 2019—with help from a contingent of small-government Republicans open to criminal justice reform—but he was derailed by a last-minute, scorched-earth campaign from the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas (CLEAT), the state’s largest police union, in a fight that left the El Paso lawmaker and the lobbying powerhouse as bitter adversaries.

Transparency advocates hope that Uvalde will make the difference this time around, but they won’t be getting any help from CLEAT. “Just like it has been in the past, this is a George Soros-funded fishing expedition that seeks to tear down our profession by false innuendo,” said CLEAT spokesperson Jennifer Szimanski, homing in on parts

of the bill dealing with police personnel files. “We’ll definitely be fighting this piece of legislation.”

Szimanski—who also said of the bill: “This is ‘defund the police’”—added that there was likely no path for her group and Moody to discuss any compromise because “the author of this bill has not contacted us since 2019.”

Moody countered that his bill is “properly tailored” to only target information in police personnel files necessary to shed light on misconduct and specific incidents including ones involving dead suspects. “This is a serious policy. It’s not political grandstanding, but the people of that organization are completely disingenuous,” he said of CLEAT, adding that he has not received backing from George Soros, the Hungarian-American billionaire—often used as a bogeyman by the political right—who’s funded criminal justice reform efforts in recent years.

In addition to overcoming CLEAT, Moody would also need acquiescence from archconservative Lieutenant Gov-

ernor Dan Patrick, who controls the state Senate, and freshly reelected Governor Greg Abbott, who wields the veto pen and may harbor presidential ambitions. Neither responded to requests for comment for this article.

The road that led to the dead suspect loophole winds back through five decades.

In 1973, in the wake of the Sharpstown stock fraud scandal that shook the state, the Legislature succumbed to a rare bout of good governance in passing what was then called the Texas Open Records Act. The statute, one of the nation’s strongest transparency measures at the time, made an exception for law enforcement records. But Texas’ attorneys general, who interpret and enforce the law, quickly decided the carveout only covered active investigations. Once a case file was closed, agencies had to release information unless they could prove it “unduly” interfered with law enforcement. This status quo stood for roughly two decades.

Then, in 1996, Harris County District Attorney Johnny Holmes—aggrieved at least in part by the work it took to fulfill record requests—successfully challenged the provision in a case styled Holmes v. Morales. The Texas Supreme Court ruled the open records law made no distinction between open and closed files and suggested the Legislature clarify its intent. In the meantime, law enforcement agencies could now withhold both open and closed case records.

The following year, Democratic state Representative Harold Dutton and then-GOP Senator Jeff Wentworth carried identical bills to reinstate the pre-

Holmes status quo. The proposal drew bipartisan support but got pushback from district and county attorneys. Late in the session, Wentworth took to the Senate floor and explained that, following a flood of faxes and letters from prosecutors, he’d worked out a revision to his measure: Rather than free up all closed case files, he was going to let law enforcement keep secret any without a conviction.

Wentworth explained the reasoning: “If somebody calls the police department and leaves some t1gvvinformation that’s scandalous but not true and it’s discovered that it’s not true … that file would

stay closed; it would not be subject to the open records act,” he said. The amendment, approved near-unanimously, birthed the dead suspect loophole.

For the next 10 legislative sessions in a row, Dutton, whose own bill died on the House floor in ‘97, carried legislation trying to undo Wentworth’s prosecutor-friendly exception to no avail. Meanwhile, the seemingly innocuous carveout grew into a yawning pit, as cops and prosecutors increasingly withheld files in cases without a conviction including when the suspect had died.

Before the late ‘90s, “a Texan could be as proud of the state’s open-records laws as she could its well-maintained highways back in the day,” quipped long-time criminal justice reform advocate and blogger Scott Henson in 2016. “On open records these days, we’re considered middle-of-the-pack or worse. And let’s please not speak of the roads.”

The term “dead suspect loophole” was first popularized around 2018 when the Austin TV station KXAN and the libertarian outlet Reason published investigations on its use. That year, Reason identified thousands of instances between 2003 and 2018 when records were withheld because there was no conviction in the case, including 81 in which someone died in law enforcement custody.

Perhaps the most high-profile illustration of the harm caused by the loophole is the case of the Dyer family. One night in 2013 in Mesquite, 18-year-old Graham Dyer, who was high on LSD, died shortly after being arrested and taken to jail. His parents tried to acquire video from that night but were stymied by the loophole. The parents then convinced the FBI to consider the case as a possible violation of their son’s civil rights, and even though this led to no federal charges, the Dyers were able to obtain the videos in 2015 from the FBI—because there is no dead suspect loophole in the federal Freedom of Information Act. The parents discovered that police had tased their son in the testicles and that he’d been left on a concrete floor at the jail as he banged his head on the ground. These facts had

been omitted or misrepresented in the basic incident report that Mesquite police had released. The Dallas County district attorney said there was enough evidence to charge the cops, but the statute of limitations had passed.

For Henson, the advocate and blogger, the best policy solution to this problem would be to completely abolish the

exception for all conviction-less cases, not just for those in which a suspect died—in other words, to return fully to the pre-1997 status quo. “The criminal justice exception problem is vast, and just fixing the so-called dead suspect loophole would correct this narrow sliver of it,” he told the Observer, noting that there are plenty of law enforcement

actions that merit public scrutiny even though no one died.

But Moody, the El Paso Democrat, said that “fine-tuning” the law by just freeing up the dead suspect case records is the better and more “politically viable” approach.

Of course, political viability in Texas depends more on what Republicans think than Democrats. Moody has the House speaker and what remains of a fairly ineffectual bloc of reform-minded Republicans on his side, but the path through the Senate and the governor’s desk is murky at best. With the Uvalde tragedy, Moody at least has a fresh and haunting example of his policy’s purpose. In the past, cases like that of the Dyer family and other Texans effectively murdered by the state weren’t enough to make the Legislature buck entrenched law enforcement interests. Perhaps, though, the secrecy that’s marred our state since that horrific day at Robb Elementary will convince our leaders to let some sunlight back into government.

Years in Houston

Reliving Sicily Through A Bottle of Planeta La Segreta Il Rosso Sicilia

By Virginia Billeaud Anderson

Photographs show us at the 5th century BC Temple of Segesta is western Sicily. There’s handsome Donnie near a massive column. The way this temple is situated into the surrounding landscape is perfectly breathtaking. A nearby amphitheater has views of the sea. Segesta was inhabited in the 9th century BC, before the Greeks colonized Sicily in 753 BC, although Professor Peter Green preferred the word “rape” for the Greeks’ pilfering of Sicily’s resources. Renzio Barbera wrote that after God created the earth he took it in his hands and kissed it, and where he put his lips, is Sicily. I could see his point the day I gobbled-down mussels in garlic and wine sauce and rustic bread on the southern coast. We were heading east on SS115 to the temple ruins at Agrigento. Pindar described Agrigento as “the fairest city inhabited by mortals.”

Here in Houston, I’m hankering for Sicily. So I stock-up on olives and pecorino cheese and put on the scarf I bought in Palermo and haul-ass to the Sicilian section of the Italian wine section of Spec’s Wines and buy a bottle of Planeta La Segreta Il Rosso Sicilia DOC. I chose the La Segreta Il Rosso because it cost $15. I’m cheap. More so, I chose it because 50% of its grapes are Nero d’Avola. Nero d’Avola is a big daddy of indigenous Sicilian grapes. The Greeks cultivated Nero during their rape. Nero d’Avola means black grape from Avola. Avola is on Sicily’s east coast. Gradually the grape spread from its historic home to other parts of the island. We knocked-back quite a bit in Sicily.

In past centuries, Sicily’s rural estates got ambushed. To protect family, agricultural products and the peasants they employed, landowners typically surrounded their residence, courtyard, and farm buildings with high walls and fortifications. Today for the most part banditry is less common. Many Sicilians restore farming estates for hospitality and wine tourism. They call them baglios or forts. We stayed at a baglio near Marsala with a tower that dated to the 1700s. Its historic architecture, courtyard, pool and view of the vineyards were stunning. In 1985, Diego Planeta and his children Alessio, Francesca and Santi reestablished vineyards at their baglio, Fort Ulmo, on land the family has owned since the 1600s. They added additional vineyards nearby in the hills at Menfi. There, they grow the international varieties such as the Merlot, Cabernet and Syrah that are blended into the La Segreta Il Rosso I bought. Menfi is Planeta’s main manufacturing and administrative headquarters. The family has homes there as well as resort accommodations for wine tourists near the beach. Menfi is very near Selinunte, a coastal city founded in the 7th century BC, where we saw the remains of eight Greek temples.

Planeta makes many wines. If you’re tastes are too elevated to drink blended grapes, you might want to try one of their more pricey bottles. You might want to try for instance the Planeta Santa Cecilia DOC Noto, made with 100% Nero d’Avola from their vineyards in Noto, near Avola. This region is called the cradle of Nero d’Avola. I however was happy with my “cheap” La Segreta Il Rosso blended with 50% Nero. After I downed the first bottle I bought two more at my local HEB.

Planeta’s indigenous Carricante grape near Etna

Santi, Francesca, and Alessio Planeta

Norello grape

Photo by Patricia Toth

I read that on Sicily’s southern coast, Mediterranean breezes push sea minerals into the already mineral-rich vineyard soil. If ordinary winds from above North Africa can enhance grape terroir, imagine the impact of a volcano. Mount Etna in eastern Sicily near the Ionian sea is Europe’s largest volcano. It’s one of the world’s most active. From safe distances it’s possible to gawk at lava flowing from Etna’s “bowels,” as Virgil wrote after the Roman Empire stole Sicily from the Greeks. Grapes love Etna’s volcanic soil and steep hillsides. Planeta has multiple vineyards in the Etna region where lava deposits “add minerality.” At one of them on a peninsular part of Sicily’s northern coast, they cultivate not only Nero d’Avola but other native varieties that grew in ancient times.

How tragic that this beautiful land still has remnants of mafiosi. Until recently, these parasites used explosives to encourage cooperation. Assassination was their favorite way of weeding out anti-mafia judges and law enforcement. But Sicily always had predators. The Phoenicians who predated the Greeks and Romans highjacked minerals. Later Sicily became the Roman Empire’s breadbasket. But first the Romans deforested the island for lumber. Byzantines, Arabs, Normans, French and Spanish all plundered. Each of Sicily’s conquerors on the other hand deposited some of their language and culture. For example the Arabs brought exquisite architecture as well as the lemon and the eggplant. Try to imagine Sicily without eggplant parmesan and caponata.

Tradition holds the goddess Persephone was born on Sicily. Persephone gave Sicily the pomegranate. The sight of pomegranate trees heavy with fruit near villa walls made me giddy. More importantly, the goddess gifted the change of seasons for nature’s death and rebirth. When I see images of the sunbaked red soil at Planeta’s vineyards at Vittoria, in the east on the southern coast near Ragusa, where summer temperatures get extremely high, I understand the value of Persephone’s gift. At Vittoria, Planeta grows Nero and Frappato, the latter grape originating from this area. Here too at Vittoria the family performed rather enlightened architectural restoration, turning a historical building into a swanky winery, thus adding to their list of venues for wine tasting and hospitality.

http://www.planeta.it

Tanglewood Wooded Lot on The Bayou.

Planeta vineyards and winery near Ulmo

Planeta vineyards near Mount Etna

New Year, New Eats

Where to

eat

right

now, and for the rest of 2023

It was a long, hard year, but now it’s a shiny new 2023 and if you dissed that boring New Year’s Resolution to lose weight and instead pledged to eat new things, than we have some places you need to try. These are some hot spots that opened, or reopened, late last year that we think you’ll enjoy well into 2023.

lunch or dinner here, preferably starting with crispy artichokes or tasty meatballs, followed by your favorite entrée and a side of the melt-in-your-mouth polenta. Wash it down with the house specialty drink, The Bracco, a frozen greyhound made with fresh grapefruit. After all, bracco translates to hound. lbraccorestaurant.com

TEN Sushi + Cocktail Bar

By Marene Gustin

Coast eatery, TEN Sushi is under the management of BK Management whose popular Bosscat Kitchen and Libations is right across the street. Grab a seat on the 800-square-foot patio overlooking Mid Lane at TEN and sample the signature black rice rolls and beyond fresh sashimi. Try the specialty Cajun seared albacore or the smoked pepper salmon. There are also plenty of Japanese main courses like the shaken beef filet or the honey walnut shrimp. Go for the happy hour or splurge on a private dining experience, it’s all good at this elegant Asian spot.

Il Bracco

Opened last August in the home of Post Oak Boulevard’s former California Pizza Kitchen, Il Bracco has transformed the space, with the aid of Michael Hsu Architecture, into a 6,000-square-foot fine dining Italian spot complete with dining room, bar, and luxury patio. Filed with fancy furniture and fine art, the food at this Dallas-transplant rivals the décor; house-made pastas and breads, along with a couple of juicy steaks and a mean eggplant parm for the vegetarian crowd pair with a lengthy Italian wine list and some craft cocktails. Do enjoy

Another new out-of-towner, this one with local management roots and co-ownership, Ten Sushi + Cocktail Bar sprang up in River Oaks offering a fancy vibe on Asia food. Originally a West

Karne

tensushicocktail.com

Looking for something different? How about a Korean steakhouse? Karne is the brainchild of Dak & Bop’s Jason Cho whose Korean fried chicken garnered hungry fans, many who were firsttime eaters of Korean cuisine. Opened in the Heights just last November, Karne is an upscale steakhouse blending thick cuts of American and Japanese beef cooked tableside with kimchi, pickles, and egg souffles. This one should definitely be on your special night out list, bonus points if you opt for the multicourse chef tasting menu.

Navy Blue

And the much-awaited sister to Aaron Bludorn’s eponymous eatery, Navy Blue, opened in November in Rice Village with fresh seafood and more. A delight on the menu is the throwback clams casino, although the steamed version is also good, and Dover sole, which remind of us of divine seafood days or yore. Mainstays like the grouper sandwich and blackened red snapper are more modern and reflective of the comfortable and casual interior here. Dinner only, and a cute cocktail menu (Chasing Penguins is an actual drink here) make this a perfect date night out spot.

navybluerestaurant.com

Mala Sichuan Bistro

Not new, but new to the Heights, this stalwart of regional Chinese cooking cruised into its fifth location last year with sizzling dishes and a traditional dining room with lanterns and a pagoda to make you feel like you’re dining in China. Just like the original in Chinatown, this North Shephard eatery offers up Dan Dan noodles, red oil dumplings, and some simmering soups that will cure whatever ails you in the chilly early

months of 2023. Oh, and those crepe cakes make an excellent end to a meal at Mala Sichuan Bistro. malasichuan.com

Becks Prime

Here’s another tried and true, home of the never-frozen-always-fresh beef patty, Becks Prime. Not even a new location, but a welcome addition to 2022, is the reopened Kirby Drive location. After an extensive remodel, this fami-

ly favorite quietly reopened just before Christmas, but the longtime regulars were ready and anxious to line up for those burgers, parmesan truffle fries, and thick shakes. A family favorite for the drive through meals that range from steak and baked potato feasts to fajita platters, Becks has something for everyone. And Upper Kirby fans are glad it see it back.

becksprime.com

once upon a HigHnie

. . .

The story began as a quest to create the perfect boxer short. We viewed it as locating the perfect home for the family jewels. It needed to be a custom home, handmade, including a spacious ballroom with full seating and a sturdy front entrance so that no one slips out unexpectedly. This home should be built with the finest 400 thread count Pima cotton with virtually no shrinkage (on our part).

So behold, we present to you the “royal highnies”, the only place that deserves to house the family jewels.

These boxers have been personally tried and tested for over 5 years on family, friends, acquaintances and a few rock stars. enjoy your First

Vincent Ford Custom Apparel

experience.

SHOPVINCENTFORD.COM

1818 Fountain View Dr Houston, TX 77057 (713) 974-6321

How to Combat the Rising Cost of Credit

By Robert May Assistant Vice President Frost Commercial Banking

After a two-year period of exceptionally low interest rates, the Federal Reserve has spent most of 2022 increasing rates to counteract skyrocketing inflation. And while these are still well within the normal historic range, significant rate increases tend to create an economic ripple effect – impacting everything from consumer spending to business development to the stock and bond markets. Aside from investment considerations, rising interest rates are especially noteworthy for another reason: borrowing money becomes more expensive.

Even consumers with a solid financial footing may use debt as a tool to finance important purchases, making the rising cost of credit relevant to everyone. While a few extra percentage points probably won’t put you in dire straits, it’s worth considering how higher interest could affect your personal financial decisions over the next year. Here are three money moves to consider.

ONE

Look into alternative financing. Think twice about selling off investments to make major purchases in cash. This could trigger capital gains taxes or derail other financial goals. First, talk to your banker to explore options like a personal line of credit or home equity line of credit (HELOC), which can still be obtained at relatively low rates.

a fluctuating rate, it might make sense to refinance those balances to lock in a fixed rate before the Fed raises rates yet again.

Before making any major financial decisions, be sure to speak with your Frost banker who can provide strategic counsel based on your individual needs.

Would you like to talk to a financial professional?

Contact Robert May at 713.388.7821 or Robert.May @frostbank.com.

Investment and insurance products are not FDIC insured, are not bank guaranteed, and may lose value.

THREE

TWO

Refinance variable rate loans. If you have an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) or private student loans with

Take advantage of the flip side. Keep in mind you’re not the only one paying higher interest rates. Banks now have to pay you more to access your money, which presents some opportunities. For example, increasing the cash in your emergency fund or purchasing certificates of deposit (CDs) could help hedge against volatility in the investment markets.

Brokerage services offered through Frost Brokerage Services, Inc., Member FINRA/SIPC, and investment advisory services offered through Frost Investment Services, LLC, a registered investment adviser. Both companies are subsidiaries of Frost Bank.

Investment management services, financial planning and trust services are offered through Frost Wealth Advisors of Frost Bank.

Additionally, insurance products are offered through Frost Insurance.

Deposit and loan products are offered through Frost Bank, Member FDIC.

Frost does not provide legal or tax advice. Please seek legal or tax advice from legal and/or tax professionals.

Unmatched service. Sound advice. And peace of mind knowing your money is well cared for.

Now, how can we help you today?

Visit us at frostbank.com or call at (800) 51-FROST.