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Born with a comic book in one hand and a remote control in the other, Cory DLG is the talent of Conroe's very own Nerd Thug Radio, Sports. Check out the podcast replay of the FM radio shows www.nerdthugradio.com!
So this week technically started last Wednesday with NXT's debut. The hour long show started off with a four woman battle royale, that was pretty good. They girls were impressive and entertaining, I'm not sure they were as polished as they should be for televised wrestling, but maybe that's the style or point of NXT. I'm not sure that following it up with a squash match was all that smart but they did. The Velveteen Dream is a great athlete and put on an impressive match but having interference in the match was very WWE and I think it works. Overall NXT was a good hour of wrestling.
Raw kicked off with The Fiend and Seth's rivalry which will always be interesting but they then followed it up with The Viking Raiders, who they have made boring and predictable. They did beat the stuffing out of the OC which was nice. Rusev's return has been great and Sasha is getting a great run for an allegedly unhappy superstar. Lacey Evans fighting Ember Moon is a great match these are two powerful and athletic wrestlers. Is anyone still excited to see R Truth and the 24/7 title? Well now it's Carmela's turn! King Corbin and his custom crown actually looks pretty cool, although he's still one of my least favorite in ring personas. Seeing Rey Mysterio in a title match isn't on anyone's wish list I feel like. Finishing with the Fiend like Raw began is a great opening.
Smackdown kicked off with Rowan cutting a mediocre promo and Daniel Bryant coming out and challenging him to a fight. I don't think there's a universe that exists where Bryant could beat Rowan and apparently neither did the WWE. Teaming Roman and Bryant together immediately makes Daniel Bryant a face again, which can't hurt now that he's lost the title. Chad Gable is pretty annoying on the mic, it really makes me wonder why he's getting this push, also are we STILL doing short jokes about Gable? Sasha and Bayley vs Charlotte and Carmela is a great match and it's good to see Carmela in action again. Becky interrupting the match was great to see but it only reminds me that she's been absent from the ring for a little bit, this is that burn out that happens when you get too popular. Mustafa Ali is running out of time in the spotlight I hope, these matches aren't exciting. During the New Day and the B-Team tag match, they mentioned that during the draft they may split the New Day and that would be a huge mistake. Kevin Owens is just awesome on the mic and a ladder match would be awesome but you just know Shane is going to have his guys show up and help him.
Feel free to check out my brand-new comic book Another Day at the Office email me for details or buy a shirt from Side Hustle Ts where some proceeds help people struggling with cancer or listen to Nerd Thug Radio. Thoughts, complaints, events and comments can be sent to corydlg@gmail.com.
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The menu includes dishes such as steak au poivre and deviled eggs topped with caviar. Photo by Becca Wright.
A growing Houston restaurant group is ready to unveil its latest creation. Maven at Sawyer Yards will open this Friday, October 18.
Located in a former commercial trucking station on the Sawyer Yards campus (1501 Silver St.), the new restaurant is an evolution of Maven Coffee + Cocktails, the beverage-focused concept created by Astros pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. and his business partners, local entrepreneur Juan Carlos de Aldecoa and attorney Jimmy Doan as part of the Rex Hospitality Group.
Currently, Maven operates coffee shops and cocktail bars at Minute Maid Park, Toyota Center, and the Thompson Hotel, but the new Sawyer Yards location is an all-day restaurant that opens at 7 am daily for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The 2,400-square-foot space has been divided into a main dining room, bar, and an outdoor patio.
“The opening of Maven at Sawyer Yards — the brand’s fourth outpost in less than 16 months — is a testament to the demand for quality-driven, handcrafted food and beverage experiences,” Nina Quincy, president of Rex Hospitality Group said in a statement. “We envision our Sawyer Yards location as a neighborhood destination that lends itself to both daytime and nighttime experiences. Maven at Sawyer Yards differs from our other concepts in that it offers a complete dining experience, rooted in quality, chef-driven cuisine.”
To deliver “chef-driven cuisine,” de Aldecoa recruited his cousin, chef Nicolás “Nico” Baizan de Aldecoa, to serve as the COO for Rex Hospitality Group. Baizan brings a range of experience to his role, including a lengthy stint working for superstar chef Jose Andres, as he discussed on an episode of CultureMap’s What’s Eric Eating podcast.
“I really strive for, like Lance said, it’s more than a coffee shop,” he said about the menu at Maven’s Thompson Hotel location. “It really is a place we want people to enjoy a good dinner and create memories that you’re not able to get otherwise. One of my favorite spots in Chicago is Kasama. It started off as a pastry shop with amazing breakfast, now it’s the first Filipino restaurant to have a Michelin star.”
Baizan’s Spanish-influenced menu includes smoked fish dip, beef tartare, octopus with fingerling potatoes, and deviled eggs topped with caviar. Entree choices include steak au poivre, roasted chicken, and a take on the trendy spicy rigatoni pasta. Morning options include breakfast tacos and avocado toast, while lunch features sandwiches such as a Cuban — a nod to McCullers’ Cuban heritage — a truffle grilled cheese, and a smoked grouper melt with American cheese, which sounds like a very adult version of a fast food fish sandwich.
For drinks, the partners turned to Chicago-based cocktail consultant Paul McGee, whose resume includes legendary Chicago tiki bars Lost Lake and Three Dots and a Dash. Of course, the restaurant will serve coffee-based cocktails such as the espresso martini and carajillo as well as takes on the Old Fashioned, margarita, daiquiri, and caipirinha. Non-alcoholic cocktails will also be available as well Maven’s full lineup of coffee drinks.
“We’re looking forward to Silver Street being an expanded Maven,” McCullers said during the podcast. “Very welcoming, approachable food. A place where people don’t really know why, but they feel like that’s their spot.”
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Fans of Houston sports and Houston food can now score tickets to The Tailgate, CultureMap's all-out party devoted to everyone’s favorite way to get in the gameday spirit. The event, presented by Verizon, goes down from 6-9 pm November 11 at 8th Wonder. Find out more about it here.