Holiday 2016: On Location
Welcome back for round two! Here's your intimate behind-the-scenes look at the sophomore issue of the most exciting new magazine in Houston.
Nov. 21, 2016
The Annie (photo by Jenn Duncan)
The Annie
Score reservations for Christmas Eve brunch or dinner service with the regular brunch and dinner menus available, along with a few chef specials. Christmas carolers will be spreading cheer at the restaurant from 6:30-8:30pm.
B&B Butchers & Restaurant
B&B dining room
Join the steakhouse for Christmas Eve brunch or dinner, featuring Christmas carolers making merry as well as a festive reindeer for photos with the kiddos.
Backstreet Cafe
Serving a three-course menu ($55 per adult, $15 per child), dinner highlights include lobster risotto, lamb shank with cauliflower puree, and chocolate cake with macerated cherries. Complimentary eggnog!
Benny Chows
This still-new Cantonese concept from Berg Hospitality is festively decorated for the holidays. On Christmas Eve, lunch and dinner from the regular menu will be served. Or guests can enjoy the four-course prix-fixe menu for $95 per person.
Bludorn
The Montrose staple will be open during regular hours on Christmas Eve, as well as for brunch. Don’t miss seasonal favorite Beef Wellington elevated with rich umami infusion of wild mushrooms encased in a robust pastry crust and lit up by Perigourdine sauce. Optionally, guests can take this holiday classic to bake at home. Order the limited-edition Beef Wellington a la carte or as a full feast online for pick-up on Christmas Eve from 11am-3pm.
Etoile
Etoile
This chic French haunt in Uptown Park will offer Christmas Eve lunch from the regular menu and dinner from 5 to 9PM serving a special three-course menu ($84 per person, $34 per child 10 and under). Expect options like duck foie gras au torchon, venison medallions with braised Savoy cabbage, red wine pears, and au poivre rosé sauce, and bûche de Noël for the finale.
Hugo's
Hugo's
Guests can feast on the Cena de Noche Buena, a special Christmas Eve buffet ($52 per person, $15 per child) from 5-8pm. Optionally, there is a full holiday take-out menu available for pre-order.
Le Jardinier
Spend Christmas Eve in a beautiful setting in the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. The modern, French dining institution by The Bastion Collection is celebrating with a five-course dinner ($175 per person). Anticipate Scallop Crudo with heirloom beets, lime cream and Royal Kaluga caviar; AOP Gruyere Cheese Souffle with shaved black truffle and winter mushrooms; Saffron Carolina Gold Rice Risotto with halibut and clams; Red Wine Braised Chuck Beef, and a Black Forest Log cake with kirsch macerated cherry and chocolate cremeux. Make reservations via Resy or call the restaurant.
MaKiin
This luxurious Thai newcomer in the Hanover River Oaks will be open from 11am-10pm both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Rest assured that the chefs are serving a special upscale menu full of creative surprises for both occasions.
Numero28
Numero 28
On Christmas Eve, keep it casual and order a pizza for the whole family, salads, and the signature Cacio e Pepe tossed and served table-side in a pecorino cheese wheel. Open for lunch and dinner. Walk-ins are welcome; parties of 5-plus, call 713.485.5248 to reserve. Click here for menus.
Rosalie
Rosalie
Celebrate Christmas Eve with the Italian-American holiday tradition the Feast of Seven Fishes. The special menu features Insalata Di Mare with marinated scallops, mussels, squid and tuna; Spaghetti alla Chianti with crawfish and rapini; Monkfish with potato, clams, olives; and kumquat-Gianduja Torte for dessert. Dinner runs from 5-10pm ($75 per person). Reservations via Open Table.
Sorriso
Sorriso's Feast of Seven Fishes
Catch the Feast of Seven Fishes, available only on Christmas Eve in The Woodlands: a three-course, family-style dinner ($65 per adult, $22 per child ages 13 and under). Menu highlights include roasted oysters on the half shell with Meyer lemon and ciabatta breadcrumbs; fritto misto brimming with scallops, shrimp, calamari, and spicy marinara; Gulf shrimp risotto, and more. Tiramisu and strawberry panna cotta for dessert.
Wild Oats
Underbelly Hospitality’s Texas-inspired, family-friendly restaurant has arrived in Spring Branch and is welcoming guests to Christmas Eve Brunch ($40 per person) and two screenings of How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Screenings run at 11am and 2pm. The family-style feast includes Who Pudding (bread pudding French toast sticks), Who Hash and Roast Beast with eggs (potato hash and prime rib), plus Grinch Popcorn (Caramel popcorn with a green twist).
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Burlesque Dancer Lady AnnaBelle performs at The Burly Soirée (Photo by Striking Designs)
The evening will feature comedic, over-the-top performances by Divine Darlings dancers Foxy Tocin, Ivy Divine, and Sin Pellegrina, headliner Peter Pecker, and special guests Devilish Damia and the hunky Flip Oliver. Leading the Darlings is the illustrious Lady AnnaBelle, a.k.a. Taylor Ann, founder of the troupe and Houston Divine Studio, where adults can learn the foundations of classic burlesque, including shimmies, bump and grind, glove peels, and boa play, as well as formal technique and dance fundamentals. The studio, which also offers yoga and meditation classes, prides itself on being a safe and inviting space, and beginners are always welcome.
Lauren L., who performs with The Divine Darlings as Holly GoSpankMe (Somewhere, Audrey Hepburn is smiling!), can attest to that welcomeness and the transformative power burlesque has had on her life. Lauren’s first experience with burlesque was seeing a performance by Houston’s The Moonlight Dolls, and it was love at first sight. The women onstage exuded confidence and a sense of empowerment, qualities that she was desperately in need of at the time. “I was at such a low point in terms of how I felt about myself,” says Lauren, who has a lifetime of experiences with sexual assault and trauma. “It seemed unattainable for me to ever get to that level. But I immediately thought, ‘Oh, man. I want that!’” Lauren attended her first Divine Studio burlesque class with Taylor last year and soon found herself performing with the troupe. “It very much felt like a taking back of my own power,” says Lauren, who onstage has donned a cotton candy wig and tassels and poured champagne over her body; transformed from Little Red Riding Hood into the Big Bad Wolf; and strutted her stuff a giant, walking vagina. (We’ll leave that one to your imagination.)
Humor, if you haven’t figured it out already, is a key element of burlesque. The fact that laughing is so closely tied to healthy breathing is not lost on Ann, who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at a very young age and found yoga, breathwork, and meditation key to managing her mental health. “If I were not dancing, I might not be here,” says Taylor, who opened Houston Divine Studio in 2018 to teach adult women how to feel good about themselves. “She pours her heart and soul into taking care of these people and making sure they can express themselves and feel comfortable, regardless of experience or size,” says Lauren. Both she and Ann agree there is less stigma in our current cultural moment regarding the importance of mental health. “The more we talk about it, the more we realize we’re not alone,” says Lauren.
Multiple vendors will be at The Burly Soirée selling handcrafted items and “burlesque and beyond” accessories. Attendees can bring in food from nearby restaurants and food trucks, and 8th Wonder offers handcrafted cocktails made from an in-house line of liquors and “high quality” treats from their Cannabis Corner.
Unlike most burlesque shows, a Divine Darlings performance is fun and interactive, with dancers making eye contact with the audience, typically made up of couples and groups of friends, and even inviting them onstage to partake in some sexy silliness. Expect plenty of skin, and plenty of smiles. Lewd or inappropriate behavior from a Divine Darlings crowd is very rare.
“Our audience feels very much like our friends,” says Lauren.
Holly GoSpankMe (photo by Showgirl Studios)
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