The Little Things: Chicago Italian Beef + Recent Shows

Mani and Crystal are recording, and I'm cold lamping on the couch with a glass of wine and my Macbook. Having nothing on the agenda after our regularly scheduled 9-to-5's has been refreshing. The living has been easy for the first time in a long time.

Last week, we caught a couple of movies, won second place at Maple Leaf Pub's trivia night, celebrated Father's Day with our amazing dads and met up for Mike's (Mic Skills) birthday.

Coppola's new film Tetro starring Vincent Gallo was a real bummer. The plot had promise, but the acting was stale and the script poorly written. The Karate Kid was a sleeper hit. It was both nostalgic and original, and Smith and Chan brought surprising depth to their characters. Plus it was kid-approved; our nieces loved it to pieces. (Shout out to Leah who beat the third-best juvenile golfer in the nation at last week's tournament. We're so proud of you!)

On Sunday, we got brunch with my family and then watched a little World Cup at Mani's parents' pad.

This weekend will be somewhat more action-packed. We celebrate our second-year anniversary with a picnic-brunch at Hermann Park, followed by the HMNS's Magic and Archaeopteryx: Icon of Evolution exhibits. We're still trying to nail down a good brunch menu, but so far, we're thinking eggs in purgatory with orange-grapefruit mimosas. I guess we're a couple of nerds. We often find ourselves at the museum in celebration of romantic occasions. We may swing by the Hater Magazine art show and HMNS's Mixers & Elixirs on Friday too.

Anyway, without further ado, here are a few pictures that are long overdue:

-Mike's Birthday at Chicago Italian Beef-

It was Mike's birthday last week. A Chicago native, the one thing he wanted for his birthday was to go home to the Windy City. The next best thing to Chi-Town, in our estimation, was a slice of deep dish, so we took him to Chicago Italian Beef.

Chicago Italian Beef is the closest you'll get to Chicago deep dish deep in the heart of Texas. Neither of us are real fans of deep dish pizza. We prefer New York-style pie and have Pink's Pizza on speed-dial.

And although we still like our pizza folded, the offerings at Chicago Italian Beef are a tasty knife-and-fork affair nonetheless. Mike was happy, and that's all that mattered. Happy Birthday, Mike!

Clockwise: Mike (Mic Skills), JB, Byron (Radremm), Karina Nistal, Dmetrius, Craig (BBC), Ahmad and his girlfriend, Sadia, Nibu and Val.

-Recent Shows-

Here are a few pictures from shows we've covered recently for Hater Magazine and the Houston Press, along with links to reviews we've written. Mani took all of the pictures below. Not too shabby, little guy.

Common & Biz Markie:

Mani's review, Val's review

Summerfest 2010: A whirlwind weekend that ended in a marathon writing session and strep throat. The turnout was astounding. Houstonians braved the relentless heat and mud all in the name of music.