Kymberlie "Zombooberlie" M.'s Profile

For years, friends and I would make Twelve Spot one of the last stops on our traditional Tuesday night out after trivia and I've been sad since it closed that this space has remained unoccupied.  A few weeks back, though, I was driving by and happened to see that it was now inhabited and my burning need to check out Hearsay was born.

A few friends and I wandered down there a couple of Thursdays after starting off at Sambuca around 11:00.  We didn't know it to begin with, but they close at 12:00 during the week.

The bar, one of my favorite spaces in downtown, is just as gorgeous as it used to be with the high ceilings, beautiful mirrors, and gorgeous lighting.  There's still an upstairs area though, sadly, the make-out room underneath the stairs is now a cooler since they serve food.

The two bartenders - Jessica and Joe - and the floor manager (at least I think he was the manager) Britain were just as nice as could be.  They remixed my drink when I mentioned that it could use a touch more alcohol, gave us shots for my "birthday," and let us stay after closing as we talked and finished up our beverages.  Joe even sliced me an apple to eat when I saw that they had Granny Smiths (my favorites) and asked for one.

We'd already had dinner, so I didn't get a chance to try out the food, but the menu looked delicious.  I'm going to make it a point to get there early and try both the burger and the mac and cheese.  If it's as half as good as the pictures look, it's going to be delectable.

Honestly, I haven't been this excited about a new bar in quite some time and can't wait to go back.  I'm kind of sad my calendar is so busy in December that it's making getting over here difficult!

For years, I've been looking for a local pizza place that serves great delivery pizza and I've always been stymied.  Most of the places near me were of the mediocre chain variety.  I finally tried Mr. Jim's, though, and was very happy that I did.

Mr. Jim's pizza, to put it simply, is great.  They load the pizza with toppings and cheese and even a small slice can be a fairly good-sized meal.

The toppings are delicious (Oh, pepperoni, how I love you!) and reading through their website, it appears that they take real pride in their pizzas.  The sauce and cheese are apparently made according to specifications created by the owner and the meat toppings contain no soy or other products that get used in pizza.  Color me impressed.

The real kicker, though, is the crust.  While I don't usually eat my pizza crust, I always eat it here.  There's a slight nutty taste to it and again, reading on their website, the process that is involved in making and baking their dough is extensive and impressive.  You can also get different flavored crust and I highly recommend the garlic butter.

They also have tasty garlic and garlic cheese bread, though the pizza is enough of a meal on its own.  It's hard to resist ordering it!

I'd say that they are a little on the pricey side, but this isn't a Little Cesar's where it's obviously not the best quality ingredients, so the extra cost is well worth it.  They do have coupons on the website, but since most of them are for meals or multiple pizzas, I rarely use them.  Must remember to save them from the weekly coupon paper I get and usually toss!

All in all, the pizza is definitely the best out on this side of town and worth the little bit of extra money.  As a bonus, their pizza heats up better than almost any other I've ever had and works out great as a late night snack or lunch the next day.  If you're out in Spring, you ought to give them a call.

Oh, Dirt Bar.  How I love you.  You are by far, one of my favorite places on the planet.

After not being by for almost a year (I worked nights for a long while and that just *killed* my social life), a friend and I decided to drop by before a Halloween party.  It probably goes without saying, but once we got to Dirt, we never made that Halloween party.

Dirt Bar is kind of hard to explain.  It's not really a dive bar because it's too nice for that, though it does look pretty dive bar-ish when you drive by the low-slung concrete building with no decorations except for a neon 222.

It's also not a place where the patrons can be easily classified as one group or another.  There are people hear with mohawks and large number of body piercings and there are also guys in button downs, who look like frat boys.  Absolutely anything goes as far as Dirt Bar attire is concerned.  Also, every single person that I've ever talked to or stood next to at the bar has been nice and friendly.  I guess everyone just loves being at the Dirt.

The bar itself is one big, dark room with a concrete bar.  There are a fair amount of chairs, which is nice.  The bathrooms are also surprisingly clean and the ones in the main part of the bar are huge.  I'm always a little shocked when I totter in there drunkenly to pee.  In addition, they project covers of 60s and 70s girlie magazines and pulp comics on the wall which only adds to the allure as far as I'm concerned.

The music here is also a perfect fit.  It's on the heavier side - rock, metal, industrial - but never too loud that I can't have a conversation.  There's a scrolling marquee that has the band name and song which has lead me to try and decipher what I was listening to when I drunkenly texted myself just a name or song.  I'm still not sure what some of the songs are after extensive searching.  I need to remember to send myself both the song AND the band.

Let's get down to the nitty gritty finally, though - the drinks.  The drinks here are fanfuckingtastic.  They are strong.  They are cheap.  They have a drink called the Rim Job that is vodka and Tang with more Tang on the rim.  I know it sounds disgusting, but it is anything but.  The genius that decided that these two flavors would go together is my personal hero.  He's even smarter than the guy that put chocolate and peanut butter together.

If you are lucky and end up here on a Tuesday, it's Flip Night which means that the bartender flips a coin and, if you call heads or tails correctly, your drink is free.  Flip Night has lead to some spectacularly good bad decisions on my part.  Man, do I love Flip Night.

I've also go to mention the people.  Steve, one of the owners, is friendly and fun and just a blast to hang with.  The bartenders are all pretty personable, but ladies, if you happen to get Andre, you are in luck.  He is - without a doubt - the hottest bartender I have ever seen.  Gorgeous and buff and also delightfully charming.  I'm always happy to see him behind the bar.

I wish it was easier to explain the awesomeness of Dirt Bar.  My review falls short, but just go and see.  I'd told my friend about it for months but it wasn't until Halloween that she got it and understood why I say that Dirt Bar is the place where all good bad ideas are born.  I cannot wait to go back.

I started going to this Kroger when I became a Massage Envy (http://www.yelp.com/bi...) member since it was next door, making it easy to get some shopping done after destressing with a massage.

First of all, this Kroger is freaking huge.  I don't know if it's just me or what, but I don't think I've ever been in a bigger Kroger.  It would be perfect for holing up in case the inevitable zombie apocalypse happens to break out while you're doing your shopping.

Secondly, in addition to the giant bakery and deli area, they also make fresh sushi.  I don't eat rolls, but their nigiri (I get the ebi and maguro) is quite tasty.  I hardly ever eat out on my side of town (I spend my going out time in Houston proper), so I'm not familiar with a lot of places for sushi.  This makes a great place to pick some up.

Thirdly, they also have a pretty decent beauty aisle, so I've spent some time taking a lot at the various items and have found some steals (which is good since the last thing I need is more make-up).

There's also a large number of aisles, both regular check out and self-service, so it makes getting out of here easier.

All in all, it's a Kroger, but very nice with delicious sushi to boot.  It's hard to go wrong.

For Valentine's Day last year, my friend Jennifer took me to Massage Envy and I had a fantastic massage (you can read my ROTD review of it here: http://www.yelp.com/bi...).

After not having regular massages for a while, my back was beginning to really bother me since I spend most of my day sitting in my desk chair at my laptop.  I really needed a massage, so I thought I'd take a look and see if I could find a Massage Envy nearby and check for any promotional deals.

Lo and behold, there's a location about fifteen minutes from me and for first time visitors, you can get an hour massage for only $39.  I called and booked an appointment right away and, since they're open until 10 pm, had no problem finding a time to fit my (at the time) weird work hours.

The massage was fantastic.  I like a deep tissue massage and was delighted to find out that this is one of their specialties.  I was incredibly happy with the massage, so when leaving, I looked into their membership packages.

Previously when I had gone, monthly memberships were around $90 a month or so (I believe), which isn't bad, but you can find other massage places that are close to that.  Now, though, monthly memberships are only $49 and while you have to sign up for a year, if you don't use your massage in a given month, it rolls over to the next month, so you never lose any unused massages.

After debating about it for a few days, I went ahead and signed up and I've been very happy with my choice.  All of my massages have been good with some of them being downright spectacular.  The close location, late appointments, and almost always available appointments (I've even made ones on the same day) makes this one of the best decisions I've ever had.

When I went in for my massage tonight, it turns out that the location is a year old, so they're running a special for new members.  You get a free 1/2 hour massage and 20% discount on all products.  If you're not a member, you can get massages all week long for only $39 an hour (no limit on the massages).  They also have drawings for free massages and other items like bath oils.  This offer is good until October 24, 2009.

Bottom line, everyone out there can probably do with a massage at least once a month.  Massage Envy makes it easy and affordable to take care of yourself and give yourself a little pampering at the same time.  Who doesn't love that?

I've been a fan of horror ever since I can remember (I read Stephen King's "Skeleton Crew" around the time that I was ten) and when I heard that Houston was going to have a horror convention, I immediately made plans to go.   I'm a bit of a nerd anyway and have always wanted to attend a convention, so I figured that this would be a great first one.

A friend and I arrived at Reliant about twenty minutes beforehand since we weren't sure how busy this thing would end up being.  There weren't a lot of people that early, so after initially wondering if we were even in the right place, we found the convention table upstairs.  We checked in, got our wristbands, and after a little confusion on where the convention actually was, went inside.

The first person that we saw was Dee Wallace Stone (the mom in Cujo and ET, amongst other things) who was gracious and nice and called me cute when we posed for a picture together.  I totally developed a girl crush on her.

The convention also included other people like Michael Berryman (from The Hills Have Eyes and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest), Courtney Gains (from Children of The Corn), Adrienne Barbeau (from Swamp Thing and Creepshow), Kristy Swanson (from Buffy The Vampire Slayer), and Jonathan Breck (from the Jeepers Creepers films).  All of these people were so kind and easy to talk to.  I was very pleasantly surprised.

In addition to the celebrities at the convention, there were vendors selling items as diverse as horror DVDs, trading cards and photography of dead bodies by mock serial killers (I bought cards and this photo: http://www.flickr.com/...), corsets and horror-inspired clothing, and a tattoo artist.

There were panels with the celebrities which I found absolutely fascinating.  It was amazing to hear them talk about various aspects of their craft.  Their lives are so different from mine, so anything they say I found fascinating.

As an added bonus, I was an extra in a local zombie film, Zombiefied (http://www.zombiefiedm...), and they premiered the trailer and had a panel with the director, a few of the actresses, and the production assistant.  It was super exciting to see this start to come together.

In addition to the panels and booths, it was cool to have interaction with the celebrities like walking into the bathroom to find Adrienne Barbeau singing.  Dee Wallace Stone also came over to talk to my friend and me while we were sitting outside the convention area just to chat.

We found the convention a little unorganized (there were no programs with the panels on them, for example, so we had to keep going to the front table to find out times) and the rooms for the Q & A and the actual convention location weren't clearly marked.

The convention itself was actually a little on the small side, but since this is the first one, I'll cut them some slack on that.  As a first time convention goer, it may have actually been easier to deal with this way than a super huge one.

All in all, though, I had a blast at this, as did my friend.  We are definitely looking forward to next year's and hope to see it growing bigger and better over time.  If you're a fan of horror, you have no excuse to miss this.

I've been into video games since the early days of my Atari and my Nintendo, since Pac-Man and Galaga.  I moved to Super Nintendo and the original Playstation and then on to the Wii and now my Playstation 3.  Throw in a lot of time spent spending quarters in arcades and tons of pinball in college and you can believe me when I say I like games.

Imagine how happy I was to find that there was a place that would let me play all of the old and new video games and pinball machines that I love in just the type of place that I love - a bar!  Literally an entire building stuffed full of games and pinball machines along with alcohol!  Is this heaven?

Joystix has what they call Pacman Fridays where on the first and last Friday of the month, for $15 you can play all the games you want.  Considering that they not only have your run-of-the-mill games like Galaga and Joust but also the expensive games like racing cars and boats.  I try to hit these every few months and have had a blast playing Rampage, Galaga, DigDug, Mappy, Mortal Kombat and more while sipping drinks from the bar.

Speaking of the bar, there are waitresses that circle around getting your drinks, but I've found that if you go to the bar, the drinks are stronger.  Maybe because I make sure to request them that way.

Since I love games and booze, I've thrown a birthday party of sorts here as well.  I called Charlie the owner to see if I would be able to bring in a cake.  Not only did Charlie let me bring in my cake, he also held seats for me and my group so that we would have a place to sit when we needed a break from the carousing.

The only thing you need to look out for is if there's a baseball game, since this place is right next door to Minute Maid Park, it can make finding a parking place a little difficult.  It's not enough to keep you from going, but do be aware of it.

Seriously, though, if you're looking for something to do and like alcohol, video games and/or pinball machines (Who doesn't?), I highly recommend that you check this place out.  You absolutely won't be sorry.

I'd been away from Spaghetti Western for a while, but started going back now that Houston Roller Derby bouts take place just down the street.

Upon my first return trip, I explained to the waitress how I loved the pizza but it was too spicy for me to eat.  She quickly explained that several people had mentioned the same thing and that they had changed the pizza based on the feedback.

I ordered the pizza and was ecstatic to discover that it was no longer spicy but still delicious.  I've ordered the pizza several times since then, including a large to split with a friend that was way too much for both of us to eat, and since I'd said I'd up may rating if only I could eat the pizza, here's the five stars that I'd promised.

Try the pizza; I promise you won't be disappointed.

There are a few things that everyone needs to know where to find in their town.  You need to know where the best burger can be found.  You need to know where the best drinks are.  You also need to know where the best pizza can be found.  I know where some pretty good ones are, but I'm always on the look out for more.

My friend Jim swore by Ponzo's pizza and since I end up at Coffee Groundz at least a few times a month for different events, we agreed to meet up early so I could give it a try.

While the place is a little small and in a strip center, as soon as you get there, you can tell that it's a family-owned and that they take pride in the place.  There's Italian sayings and cute pictures on the wall.  The Sinatra channel is always on (which makes me happier than I can ever put into words.  The people behind the counter are always incredibly friendly and seem genuinely happy to see you.  As a bonus, they've even offered to walk my order over to Coffee Groundz so I didn't have to wait for my pizza to cook.

The real reason for coming to a restaurant, though, is the food and I've got to say that Ponzo's has some of the best pizza I've had in a very long time.

I was all set to order a standard slice of pepperoni, but when I saw the pizza rolls on the menu, that quickly changed.  Almost all the pizza places I go to don't carry pizza rolls, so I was excited to see them as an option.

The rolls were as delicious as I had hoped: hot, the dough almost on the sweet side, stuffed full with oozing cheese and pepperoni. Three of them cost $5.95 and they fill me up just fine.  It's now my staple order, though after reading about the lasagna, I may have to give that a go soon.  I haven't had good lasagna in longer than I can remember.

Jim got a slice of supreme pizza and it was massive, with so many toppings on it, I don't even think it's possible to actually pick up off the plate and I am one of those people that never use a knife and fork when eating pizza.

It might be hard to believe that an Italian joint in a strip mall might be fantastic, but Ponzo's easily passes that test.  They're also open until 11:00 on the weekends, so if you need something to eat after drinking, this is an excellent choice.  I'll be at Coffee Groundz in a few weeks and you can bet that I'll be by to get some pizza too.

Some friends and I have recently begun a yearly pilgrimage to Destin and while I'm not a big outdoorsy type, I can sit on the beach and drink with the best of them.

I'm pretty easy going, so when the girl in charge of planning any excursions told me that I was going on a boat to see dolphins for about $28, I agreed readily enough, though I wasn't exactly jumping up and down at that thought.

Our group drove down there, paid our money, and boarded the boat.  It had two levels and while it wasn't huge, was big enough to accommodate all of the people easily and leave plenty of room so you didn't have to be too near to other groups or kids (we drink and cuss a lot, so we're not exactly a family-friendly crew).

The boat started out driving around the harbor, followed by a massive flock of seagulls, stopping so that the crew could pull up a crab trap.  They gave some brief information on crabs and then walked around so that anyone that wanted to pet the crab could (I, naturally, wanted to).

Before leaving the harbor, the captain explained that seagulls LOVE Cheetos (Who doesn't?).  Holding a Cheeto in the air caused the massive cloud of seagulls to descend to pick them from your fingers.  My friend Brian even held one in his teeth and the bird plucked it from him, easy as pie.  I hadn't bought any Cheetos from the snack bar, but the captain gave me one to hold up to the birds anyway.

We then drove out into the gulf and the few dolphins that we had spotted in the harbor, became a fair number of dolphins.  We stood around the bow and watched as many as four of them swim right next to the boat, surfacing and playing.  It really was quite enchanting.

All in all, we spent about two hours in the boat.  When we were heading back in, the captain noticed my friends and me standing in front of the glass and motioned for us to come in and drive the boat.  We got to wear the captain's hat and take pictures, which was extremely silly and fun.

Honestly, I didn't expect much from the cruise, but that made the whole thing better.  Nothing like thinking you're going to have an okay time at best and then having a complete blast.  I highly recommend doing this if you get a chance.  It was really the highlight of the trip for me.