THERE IS TALK OF THE CITY AS A WHOLE IN THAT BAD FOOD THERE 
Katharine Shilcutt gets into a few extra-culinary issues in her review of Johnny Carrabba’s new restaurant on Kirby Dr.: “The narrative at Grace’s is one of unironic kitsch, a longing for the good old days that were only good for a select few. The menu speaks volumes about Houston, but about a Houston we are far removed from not only in time but in attitude. We are not a Houston whose provincial understanding of the world at large is manifested in clumsy, token ways; we are a Houston of effortless inclusiveness. We are a city of weavers. We are a city of builders and big ideas, not sad, sweaty plates of tuna or bland, underseasoned steaks.
We are also a city that knows where to get a good tampiqueña plate for less than $22, and a city that knows better than to employ ‘Chinese Takeout’ font for the two Asian dishes on a menu. But hey — at least Grace’s has ample parking and excellent service, which goes pretty far these days.” [Houstonia; previously on Swamplot] Photo: Loren A.
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- 1127 Caspian Ln. [HAR]
TAMPICO HEIGHTS RISES AGAIN, THIS TIME IN A BUMPER STICKER CAMPAIGN 
In a setback for the upstart movement to rename Brooke Smith and portions of East Sunset Heights east of N. Main St. and west of I-45, the appearance of the name “Tampico Heights” on Google Maps got shut down late last month by a couple of eagle-eyed citizen editors who noted that the name was “being used by a small group of residents to try and encourage the adoption of the name for this neighborhood, much to a larger group’s displeasure.” The newfangled designation has now been removed. But pro-Tampico campaigners have taken to the streets — or at least the shopping-center parking lots: A reader sends Swamplot this photo of a Tampico Heights bumper sticker spotted on a Chevy TrailBlazer parked in front of “Party” Kroger on Studemont St. over the weekend. [previously on Swamplot] Photo: Mel
WHY THESE SEISMIC VIBRATOR TRUCKS HAVE BEEN SHAKING UP SOUTHEAST HOUSTON 
A neighborhood resident tells Swamplot what George Henderson, owner of Premier Geophysical Services, told the Park Place Civic Club last week about what the firm’s seismic vibrator trucks have been doing in the area: “He is going west as far as I-45 and south of I-10 from Beltway 8 East. He is mapping gas, oil, and minerals. Per Henderson, Park Place property owners own the mineral rights. No, he will not divulge his client. No, COH does not have access to his findings. He gave an example in the past where they set up equipment on a commercial lot and purchased a house next to it for a hefty sum. He said they can work across long distances from set-ups like that. They should be done here in two weeks.” Photo: Swamplot inbox
THE RIVER OAKS SHOPPING CENTER’S NEW PARKING METERS 
Hooded, solar-powered parking overseers have arrived on streets surrounding the River Oaks Shopping Center on West Gray St., reader James Glassman notes. Here’s a photo of a meter dressed in a blue cape, awaiting orders to undress on Peden St. at McDuffie. [Previously on Swamplot]Â Photo: James Glassman
LOSING HOPE STONE STUDIO 
The end of this week will mark the end of all classes at North Montrose’s Hope Stone Studio. Director Jane Weiner will be shutting down the warehouse-y slot fronting 1111 Van Buren St. in the Tribeca Lofts building (pictured at left) by the end of the month, after 10 years of hosting dance, movement, exercise, and other creative classes for kids and adults and rehearsal space for dance groups on its sprung floor. MATCH director Emily Todd explains the simple reason: Rounding up funding year after year for the 17-year-old nonprofit had become “too difficult.” The trigger, Weiner explained in an email announcing the decision last month: The organization’s lease is up. Though the studio and its classes are shutting down, her Hope Stone Dance Company will continue to perform; the organization hopes to find ways to continue some of its programs. [Houston Chronicle; more info] Photo of Hope Stone Studio, 1210 West Clay, Suite 26: Hope Stone Inc.
Swamplot’s Daily Demolition Report lists buildings that received City of Houston demolition permits the previous weekday.
Yee-haw! Here’s a little list we’re building for the city’s upcoming Demo Day:
- CHI St. Luke’s Planning $110M Medical Complex on 23 Acres Near Exxon Campus, Grand Parkway [Houston Business Journal]
- Energy XXI Services Expands Space at One City Centre Downtown by 25%; Building Now 90.6% Occupied [GlobeSt.com]
- Morgan Group Developing 8-Story Pearl Residences at CityCentre, Across the Street from Its CityCentre Pearl Apartments [Houston Chronicle ($)]
- White Oaks Partners Renaming Colorado Club Apartments It Purchased on the East Side to the Oaks at Greenview [Houston Chronicle ($)]
- Sugar Land City Council To Vote Again on St. Laurence Catholic Church’s Proposal To Expand Amid Neighbor Complaints [Houston Chronicle ($)]
- Fire Breaks Out at Townhome on Greenway Chase Undergoing Renovations To Repair Damage From Previous Fire [abc13]
- On Next Demolition Day, May 17, 33 Structures Will Be Cleared Under City’s Revised Process [The Leader]
- North Forest ISD Memorabilia Up For Auction Now Through May 25 [Hair Balls; auction site]
- Houstonians Who Biked To Work Dropped from 0.5% to 0.4% of Commuters from 2000 to 2012, Finds Recent Census Data [The Highwayman]
- Will 6 New Digital Billboards Along Houston Freeways Promoting Hurricane Safety Cause More Car Crashes? [The Highwayman]
- RVs, Travel Trailers Could Put Millions of FEMA Dollars at Risk in Galveston County [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
- Sneak Peek at Solaro, Texas’s First Estate Urban Winery, Making Wine at 330 T.C. Jester [Eating Our Words]
- Government Health and Safety Experts Don’t Know Much About the Tank Cleaning Industry [Houston Chronicle ($)]
Photo of Amtrak train downtown: David Elizondo via Swamplot Flickr Pool
Headlines
COMMENT OF THE DAY: GOODBYE TO WOODCREST 
“. . . I contend that Rice Military has eaten up Woodcrest whatever the original boundaries were. I have lived about a mile from that Knox Street house for five years, riding my bike through there several times a week, and have never seen any evidence of the Woodcrest brand. (Though the pic of the sign in the TC Jester esplanade on the crickets-empty Woodcrest Neighborhood Association website looks vaguely familiar. It’s in black and white so no telling how old it is.) Rice Military, Crestwood/Glen Cove and Cottage Grove all have Wikipedia pages. Woodcrest does not. 999 out of 1000 Houstonians would not have a clue where Woodcrest was, but lots more know Rice Military. Its original identity has been erased in the last ten or 15 years and it’s now a Condo Canyon like Rice Military so let’s just let that boring Woodcrest name go, especially since there’s a Crestwood right down the street.” [John Nova Lomax, commenting on Hearsay Doubling Up Downtown; Touring the Inner Loop’s Second-Cheapest Rent House] Illustration: Lulu
- 13630 San Martin Ln. [HAR]
Tilt Creep? The saw-toothed roof of a 1977 Walkers Mark townhome located south of the Energy Corridor and west of Wilcrest Rd. appears to have slanted some of the interior’s fittings as well. If so inclined, grab a protractor and explore all the angles on this property . . .
The Jagged Edge
Last year, the purchase and subsequent demolition of a series of small properties on the half-block surrounded by Westcott, Feagan, and Knox streets in Rice Military piqued the interest of a Swamplot reader, who wondered what would become of the 35,613-sq.-ft. combined parcel immediately south of the Commonwealth Title office building at 550 Westcott St. It turns out the properties’ purchaser, the Oakton Foundation, is connected to the Woodlawn Foundation, a nonprofit that fundraises and funnels funds to projects supported by the Catholic Prelature of Opus Dei. And they’ve decided to use the site for the 4-story Mediterranean style building depicted here. The Westcott Study Center for Men will run Opus Dei programs and house 14 staff residents — just a couple blocks south of the western end of Houston’s best known strip of debauchery, Washington Ave.
Westcott Study Center for Men
A reader reports seeing some activity on the long-vacant 9.177-acre melting-erlenmeyer-flask-shaped parcel of land at the northeast corner of Hwy. 288 and North MacGregor Way: no construction equipment yet, but crews were picking up trash and cutting grass. The Houston Community College system bought the property last November with plans to build a new medical-focused charter high school on the property.
288 and North MacGregor
The city restarts its demo engines. Plus, these great addresses for destruction:
- Former Houston Club Building in the Way of Skanska’s Capitol Tower Will Be Imploded This Fall [Prime Property; previously on Swamplot]
- Fountain Residential Partners Breaks Ground on Second Off-Campus Housing Project Next to University of Houston [Prime Property; previously on Swamplot]
- Main St. MATCH Arts Complex Breaks Ground in Midtown [Houstonia; previously on Swamplot]
- David Weekley Homes Opens Cottage Grove-Area Complex, Will Soon Begin Selling Homes in Another [Houston Business Journal]
- Longtime Garden Oaks Watering Hole Red’s Bar Sold to Developer CMC Enterprises; Multiple Townhomes Planned for Lot [The Leader]
- Snap Kitchen Set To Open Next Month in Food Court at The Shops at Houston Center [Eater Houston]
- Average Home Price in Houston in March Was $258K, Surpassing National Average of $246.8K [Houston Business Journal]
- FTC Fines Houston-Based Outfit GoLoansOnline.com for Deceptive Mortgage Lending Ads [Houston Advocate]
- Metro Releases Draft Map of New Bus Plan Aimed To Increase Ridership, Will Change Based on Public Suggestions [The Highwayman; previously on Swamplot]
- Energy Corridor-Area Home Uses ‘Micro-Trigeneration System’ That Could Generate More Electricity Than It Uses [Houston Chronicle ($)]
- Residents of Portion of Near Northside Hoping Minimum Lot Size Restrictions Will Keep Townhome Developers Away [abc13; previously on Swamplot]
- New Missouri City Signs Warn Drivers To Slow Down for Crossing Turtles [Houston Chronicle]
- Sugar Land Has the Most Cheaters in Houston Area, According to Infidelity Website Ashley Madison [KHOU]
Photo of the Art Car Parade preview: Molly Block via Swamplot Flickr Pool
Headlines
