Adventuring Out: Dim Sum
Foodventures with our YES Prep student have continued and are more popular than ever! I’ve actually switched to a World Literature curriculum this year -- not only because it’s closer to my heart, but also because it ties to well to introducing food in the classroom. Laugh it up. I’m not joking. This past Sunday we took nine confident and capable YES Prep sophomores to try dim sum for the first time at Ocean Palace. Since we’re reading The Joy Luck Club in class, we’ve had a cultural amuse bouche, and several students were ready for a true main course. Excited w

Deck the City
It is *splendid* outside right now. Absolutely splendid. Yes, the weather’s nice and the livin’s easy. So where do you dine to take advantage of this fleeting joy? The problem is, no matter how nice the temp gets, “outdoor dining” here often means you’re sitting in a glorified parking lot. Never fear, gentle eaters! Here are a few selections to take your mind off Concrete City. Next stop, Niceville. If it’s a burger you seek, head to Beck’s Prime on Augusta for a two-hander and one of the best milkshakes in town. Get yer grub on while you cool your jets under the shade of Houston’s largest tree, a great-grand

Vegan Dining to the Max
There are four reasons why I could never be vegan, and their names are Red Hawk, Milk in My Coffee, Butter, and Macaroni and Cheese... Pleased to meet you. I do, however, hold a healthy respect for anyone with willpower enough to strike these demonic joys from their lives. I couldn’t do it, for sanity’s sake, yet I envy their healthy digestion :)I attended last night’s vegan dinner at Beaver’s to satisfy a long-standing curiosity. My concept of vegan foods had been the nasty-lo

Loves Me Some Chicken and Waffles
Without a doubt, chicken-and-waffles is one of the best inventions to come out of the 1800’s, right alongside the light bulb, the telephone, and industrialization. Seriously. More recently, this historically soulful concoction has found a little cubbyhole in my heart that I never knew existed. And while I generally don’t love mixing savory with sweet, I’ve developed a shameful lust for C-n-W that demands to be kindled. To that end, I’ve been making my way around town in hopes of locating the very best iteration. Fried Chicken? Awesome. Waffles? Awesome. Fried chicken and waffles together? Triple

The Shame of Our Schools
You might already know that I teach 10th grade English at a rigorous, low-income charter school called YES Prep. What you might not know is that more than 80% of our students qualify for free and reduced meals -- and what you almost assuredly do not know is what “free and reduced lunch” looks like. Well, here you go. It looks like this.