Dish-Houston

Oh wow what an amazing "soft opening"! This was a full blow out! Festari for Men has moved to the new building right next to the new RDG/Bar Annie. The new digs are GORGEOUS and actually very similar in layout to the former store. The layout was so perfect, why mess with it? The food and drinks were stellar and the crowd was beautiful. Debbie Festari was GORGEOUS in her short green leopard one shouldered dress and short sassy perfectly coiffed hair and delicious heals! Rudi Festari was casual in a light colored suit and yellow shirt. Also among the crowd aside from DISH-Houston of course were Robin and Charles Reimer, Dr. Roland Maldonado and Joel Bickley, Edward Sanchez, Carlos Hernandez of Houston's new Mercer Club, Yvette Gallucci, Mahek Sheh and Jeremy Little, Photographer Daniel Ortiz, Renee and Fernando Somoza, Dr. Michael and Rachel Brown.

It was fun to catch up with new and old friends! We all headed next door to RDG/Bar Annie for drinks. DISH enjoyed dinner with Robin and Charles Reimer. The dinning room is beautiful and simple all at the same time. Elegant and refined without being pretentious. The food is brilliant. The portions aren't too big and the white tail is devine! We all ordered different desserts and not one was lacking! Not too rich so you could actually enjoy them! People seen in the crowd in addition to the Festari group that had moved over were Mark D. Sullivan, Manfred Jachmich from So Vino, Jennifer Stein, Jim Parker and so many more! A great time was had by all!

The evening wound up at the new Mercer Club! You absolutely want to check that out when you can! It's the old Uropa but there is nothing OLD about this place! It's hot, hip, new and FUN! Ask for Carlos when you go and tell him DISH sent you!

DISH was on paparazzi duty while with friends today. DISH friends and local celeb Erica Rose and Exa Grubb were spotted at Swirl just like regular folks enjoyinga frozen treat and reading US Weekly! It's true! Celebs are just like real people! hahaha

Truth is we were making fun of those mags with their pics of people walking out of grocery and getting pedicures. It's so odd and useless that we had to make an artful statement! =)

Gamer MusiCON 09 with Video Games Live! & Blizzard Live

The Houston Symphony, in partnership with Tommy Tallarico, Jack Wall and Blizzard Entertainment®, has expanded the visionary Video Games LiveTM concert to an all-day celebration of the cutting-edge video game music industry. The world premiere of Gamer MusiCON 09 includes two high-energy concerts featuring Symphony performances of the industry's greatest video game hits with exclusive game footage and synchronized lighting. The first features the sights and sounds of Blizzard games World of Warcraft®, Diablo® and StarCraft® and never before performed music from World of Warcraft - Wrath of the Lich King. While the second brings back an all-new Video Games LiveTM with material from games like Chrono Trigger®, Halo 3: ODST ® and Mega Man. Throughout the day, a Game Crazy festival will offer playable game demos throughout all three levels of Jones Hall, plus a Guitar Hero® contest for the chance to appear on stage during Video Games LiveTM. The festival also includes an interactive panel and Q&A session with Blizzard Entertainment® game composers, and an on-stage costume contest for attendees dressed as their favorite video game character.

To View Video clip, click here.

Gamer MusiCON 09 timeline:

2:00 Doors to Jones Hall open for lobby festival
3:00 – 4:30 Blizzard Live! concert
4:30 – 7:30 Lobby festival
7:30 – 10:00 Video Games Live! concert
10:00 – 11:00 Post concert autographs & merchandise sales

Event Highlights:

Game Crazy festival with playable game demos throughout all three levels of Jones Hall
Interactive panel and Q&A session with Blizzard Entertainment®game composers
On-stage costume contest
Merchandise Sales
Post concert autograph session
Guitar Hero contest in lobby - winner plays on-stage during concert
Stay tuned for more!

And an ALL DAY PASS starts at about $50!! It sounds like a great time! CLICK HERE for tickets!

Hey DISHIES! Help me in welcoming Jacqueline! She's the owner of The Dog Bowl on Sunset. She writes an amazing and informative blog and will be sharing her info and insights withyou on the Dog DISH!

Her first entry is up and it's about food labels. Yes you even have to read them for your pets. If you need organic, raw or just better food and treats for your fur children head on over to the Dog Bowl and tell them DISH sent you! Jacqueline has the coolest beds, there is always a rescue in there to play with and she will give you training tips, guide you toward a holistic vet that will come to your home AND help out your health while you are there! DISH had a cold and thanks to Jacqueline's advice we're all better! In record time too!

Hope you enjoy the new addition fo the DISH family! =)

And as always, Thanks for reading!

Here is a quick lesson in HOV (otherwise known as the High Occupancy Lane) etiquette. 

1) It's for vehicles with TWO (2) or more passengers.

That's it! It's quite simple and yet today a man who was involved in a 4 car pile up was alone in his vehicle with a half of a mannequin.

Metro Police officer Miguel Rodriguez was afraid the man slumped forward in the Toyota pickup had been injured in the four-vehicle wreck but no worries here because it wasa dummy dressed in business attire, along for the ride in the inbound HOV lane.

Rodriguez confiscated the legless mannequin after the incident on 290, near Beltway 8. The mannequin's owner, Michael Hooper of Houston, (why we are claiming him as one of our own, DISH will never know) was charged with excessive speed and unauthorized use of a high-occupancy vehicle lane. The HOV lane requires at least two people per car. Got that folks??? AT LEAST TWO PEOPLE! How hard is it to get that?

Hooper rear-ended a car when traffic slowed shortly around 7 Thursday morning according to METRO officials. Hooper, of course,  denied he was using the mannequin to sneak solo into the HOV lane.

“I was not using him for that purpose,” said Hooper, 54, an information technology consultant. “I was transporting him somewhere. He was in the front seat.”

Hooper declined to explain where he was taking the mannequin and said he couldn't say anything about what led to the crash itself because he needed to speak with his insurance company. (uh-hum)

Here is the fun part of the story DISHIES... Metro Police Capt. Michael Raney said officers confiscate, on average, one fake person a month from motorists in HOV lanes. If you are interested in keep track of the stats, the most common type is a baby doll strapped in a car seat. Among fake adults, males are more common than females.

“It should be a real person that is alive and breathing,” Raney said of the HOV passenger requirement. “Infants in the womb don't count.”

He mentioned it because he's heard it. NICE!