Picks and Pans – Houston, TX

Larry had noticed our affinity for barbeque while reading our website and decided we should be introduced to some Texas BBQ at Goode Co. It will probably come as no surprise that when it comes to barbeque, Texans are all about the meat. The beef brisket was deliciously smoked and the drizzling of sauce definitely made clear that the important thing was not the condiment, but what was pinky, and smoky and tenderly sliced underneath it.  And although the meat is deservedly the focus at Goode Co., their sides are worth a gander too.

After dinner, Larry took us over to a gallery opening at Koelsch, where many of his folk artist friends have shown in the past. We were treated to the clever vegetable art of Cisco Tucker Kolkmeier and we met Barbara Irwin, a found object artist from Austin (who, later in our travels, we got to visit at her home/studio). Check out her website to see her found object art. It’s some of the more interesting work of its kind out there.

Following the Koelsch Gallery opening, we headed over to the opening of a sculpture exhibit at the the Art Car Museum (who knew there was such a hopping art scene in Houston?). Now, for those of you who do not know about art cars, I refer you to the work of David Best, my personal favorite art car artist (and the creator of the Temples at Burning Man).  We got to see one of Best’s car at the museum, along with a lot of great sculptures (my favorites being the ones by Mark Bradford), some live music and a couple of other cool cars.

The Menil Collection is reason enough to visit Houston. The deMenils were a French couple who moved to Houston in the 1940s due to Mr. deMenil’s involvement in the oil industry, but they are better known in the city for their incredible work promoting modern artists and their art. Their sizeable collection is now housed in the multiple buildings commissioned by Mrs. deMenil and is free for all who wish to visit! The space is an incredible quiet, cool oasis in the middle of Houston and the art could keep you there all day. We saw everything from Max Ernst to Roman antiquities and all in a very engaging and approachable environment. I could easily imagine becoming a regular visitor to this spot, were I a Houstonite.

Unfortunately, when we stopped by Mr. Turner’s house for a visit, neither he nor his flower covered bicycle were home. However, Mr. Turner’s home speaks volumes about the joy that it’s owner must have when creating his art.

The Orange Show is another art environment created by one man dedicated to preaching the benefits of the orange. The bright colors and labyrinthine stairs and passageways may be what initially draws you in, but you’ll stay because you’ll want to read all the quotes that are embedded in the wall mosaics throughout the show. The show must be super fun venue to see music and other types of performance.

How do the Vietnamese take rice noodles, chicken and some vegetables and make a bowlful of deliciousness? I don’t know, but the good people of Van Loc sure do, and they will also serve you some yummy shrimp spring rolls with it, if you so desire. Sean says “it was ok, but well worth the price!”

So there we were, driving through industrial park Houston and suddenly we’re surrounded by 20 foot tall, white busts of U.S. Presidents 1 through 43. Imagine the conflicted emotions of one politically invested American as myself when being dwarfed by such giant heads and shoulders. I was just waiting for Stephen Colbert to jump out and say “Gotcha!”.

If you want to commune with the dead power elite of Houston, or at least see their fancy headstones Glenwood Cemetery is the place to go. Plus, it’s a nice, quiet place to spend an afternoon in the shade, if you don’t mind the company of a thousand or so dead folks.

We saw some of Mark Bradford’s sculptures at the Art Car Museum and were lucky enough to drop by his work space while he was there working on his entry for the upcoming Art Car Parade (a part of Houston’s annual Art Car Weekend). The place was like falling down the rabbit hole into a combination of Sean’s dream backyard with welding equipment, metal scraps and power tools everywhere and a wonderland of fantastic metal creatures. Mark was gracious enough to take some time to demo his new car for us (see Sean’s video of the awesome dinosaurific snapping turtle car). We also got to see some of his previous entries to the Art Car Parade, including a giant praying mantis car and another giant insect car armored with metal spoons that were donated by airlines after 9-11 when spoons were reclassified as deadly weapons.

Once there was a retired man in Houston who liked to drink beer. He also hated to mow his lawn and paint his house, as said activities subtract precious beer drinking hours. What is a man to do? Well, cover his entire house with flattened beer cans and cement over his lawn, of course! The Beer Can House was artfully and meticulously created by a retired Houston furniture upholsterer who used his talent and his glut of empty beer cans to make what can only be called a pure delight of an abode.