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Enjoy a Relaxed Meal at the Goose’s Acre Bistro & Irish Pub

February 5, 2015 by

Named after a little green park in Ireland where locals grazed their geese, The Goose’s Acre Bistro & Irish Pub boasts a menu of traditional Irish fare flavors, as well as fresh, modern dishes. This restaurant is a favorite among locals, who say the traditional dishes simply can't be beat.

Try the crispy, ale-battered cod filets served with seasoned fries and a unique apple-based coleslaw, or dig into a rich serving of shepherd’s pie filled with braised sirloin, leeks, carrots, peas, and onions, all topped with a layer of creamy cheddar whipped potatoes. If you'd prefer something lighter, try the wasabi-and pistachio-encrusted ahi tuna steak served with grilled vegetables, or opt for the restaurant's signature grilled chicken salad with a unique mix of spring greens, berries, dates, tangy goat cheese, toasted walnuts, and house-made cornbread croutons. Whatever you order, you can be confident it will be served quickly and with a smile.

The Goose’s Acre Bistro & Irish Pub
21 Waterway Avenue
The Woodlands, TX 77380
(281) 466-1502
www.thegoosesacre.com/modules/wfchannel
www.yelp.com/biz/the-gooses-acre-bistro-and-irish-pub-the-woodlands

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White Flamingo: Fabulous Food in a Casual Atmosphere

January 29, 2015 by

Fine dining can still be casual, especially at the White Flamingo. A perfect place for a tasty lunch or classy dinner, the White Flamingo offers fantastic food in a classy, casual atmosphere. Located not too far away from Avana Grogan’s Mill, diners come into the White Flamingo and notice the beautiful tables, all with white linen tablecloths. The lunch sandwiches are hearty and come with a bowl of the day’s soup. Or try a salad, especially the special Ginger Mandarin or Strawberry Avocado salads. For dinner, enjoy a tasty appetizer and move on to outstanding chicken, seafood, or steak entrees. And don’t pass up the dessert cart, which changes every day. Having an event? The White Flamingo is the perfect place for birthdays, anniversaries or larger events. The restaurant is open every day for lunch and dinner, and for breakfast on the weekends.

White Flamingo
24307 Aldine Westfield Road
Spring, TX 77386
(281) 907-0778
http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-white-flamingo-spring

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Recipes That Make Use of Those Overripe Bananas

January 22, 2015 by

Bananas are quite finicky fruits, and if you don’t eat them right away they turn brown and too soft for many people’s tastes. Before you toss out those overripe bananas, however, try one of these delicious recipes that welcome that extra sweet flavor!

Chocolate Banana Creamsicles [alimentageuse.com]
While these cool, healthy treats are especially refreshing during the hot summer months, they taste just as delicious year-round. Simply blend a few overripe bananas with cocoa, vanilla, and coconut milk, then freeze it to create a handheld treat.

Bananas Foster Parfaits [myrecipes.com]
Give your browned bananas a second life with these gourmet quality parfaits. Greek yogurt creates the base, while cooking the sliced bananas with butter, apple juice, and toasted pecans imparts a sweet and robust flavor. If you’re serving this to adult dinner guests, substitute the apple juice for rum to create a more grown-up taste.

Banana Banana Bread [allrecipes.com]
This moist, dense bread contains so many bananas, it uses the word twice. It’s hearty enough to eat for breakfast, but it’s so sweet and delicious that it makes a great dessert, as well. Best of all, the riper the bananas, the better they work in this simple recipe.

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Shag Spa and Salons: A Cut Above the Rest in The Woodlands

January 15, 2015 by

When residents of The Woodlands need to beautify, they head to Shag Spa and Salons, a one-stop beauty shop for hair, skin, and nails. This full-service salon even offers advanced cosmetic procedures, such as laser hair treatments that promise thicker-feeling tresses.

Stylists use such products as TIGI, Moroccan Oil, and Kerastase to cut, color, condition, or smoothen hair, while skin specialists slather skin in Dermologica products during facials, chemical peels, or microdermabrasion. Meanwhile, massage therapists promote relaxation and detoxify the body using fluid strokes and kneading, and nail technicians tend to hands and feet with cuticle trimming, skin softening, and nail painting.

The Shag Spa and Salons team boasts employees with more than 20 years of experience each, and many of employees here hold special certifications and training in New York, London, and Scotland.

Shag Spa and Salons
4747 Research Forest Drive
The Woodlands, TX 77381
(281) 296-7424
www.shagspaandsalons.com
www.yelp.com/biz/shag-spa-and-salons-the-woodlands

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Peckinpaugh Preserve: Weave Your Way through a Maze of Hiking Trails

January 8, 2015 by

The Peckinpaugh Preserve is a wooded preserve in the Spring area that merged two areas of donated land to form 25 acres of hiking trails and green space. The preserve is located across Spring Creek and adjacent to the Riley Fuzzel Road Bridge, which makes it a convenient hiking spot for many Spring residents.

The trails wind around the preserve in a maze-like manner that makes them very interesting for even the most experienced hiker, and the terrain varies between sand and dirt. Many different animals and bird species frequent the wooded areas around the trails, so bird watchers and nature lovers alike frequently visit the preserve to catch a glimpse of these creatures in their natural habitats. The creek also provides an opportunity for fishing and for launching canoes into its flowing waters.

To help navigate Peckinpaugh Preserve’s complicated series of trails, there are colorful maps available at the small visitor center building at the entrance to the preserve.

Peckinpaugh Preserve
1209 Old Riley Fuzzel Road
Spring, TX 77386
(281) 367-3977
www.springcreekgreenway.org
www.yelp.com/biz/peckinpaugh-preserve-spring

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Kona Grill: Enjoy A Varied Menu in The Woodlands

December 22, 2014 by

Kona Grill serves some stellar modern American cuisine along with an expansive menu of sushi. Indoor and outdoor seating and a bright ambiance add to the appeal of this popular local restaurant.

Happy Hour is a great time to visit to enjoy spectacular specials on food and drinks! Order a cocktail, beer or glass of wine and a sumptuous starter like Chicken Satay or Ahi Wonton Crisps. Flatbreads and salads are on Kona Grill's menu, along with a flavorful list of sandwiches. Offerings include a Turkey Burger, an Avocado Chicken Club, and a Big Kahuna Cheeseburger with applewood bacon. Sweet Chili Glazed Salmon with pork fried rice, Pan-Asian Noodles with beef tenderloin, and Miso Sake Sea Bass with ratatouille are among the entrees avilable here.

If you'd like to try it for yourself, Kona Grill is open every day in The Woodlands, Texas.

Kona Grill
3 Waterway Square
The Woodlands, TX 77380
(281) 466-4061
www.konagrill.com/restaurants/the-woodlands-tx.aspx
www.yelp.com/biz/kona-grill-the-woodlands-the-woodlands

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Technology Trivia: Three Important Chess Computers

December 18, 2014 by

Playing chess against a computer opponent is fairly commonplace stuff today. But the development of computers able to play chess competitively led to many important milestones in artificial intelligence, culminating (at least for now) with Watson, the famous Jeopardy!-playing computer, and Siri, the iPhone virtual assistant.

If you're interested in learning more about the history of artificial intelligence, here are three important chess computers:

Kotok-McCarthy
The Kotok-McCarthy computer was was developed between the years of 1959 and 1962 by a group of students at MIT. Advanced for the time, it was very slow by today's standards: it took anywhere from five to twenty minutes to calculate a single move! This computer also participated in the very first chess match between two machines, losing to a slightly more advanced computer from the Institute of Theoretical and Experimental Physics.

Deep Thought
Deep Thought was developed in a partnership between Carnegie Mellon University and IBM; it was named after a fictional computer in the book series The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. The computer won the North American Computer Chess Championship in 1988 and the World Computer Chess Championship in 1989. Deep Thought is perhaps most well known for losing two widely-publicized games to chess champion Gerry Kasparov.

Deep Blue
Deep Blue was developed as a successor to Deep Thought. In 1997, it beat Gerry Kasparov twice yet losing the match 4-2. The match was controversial, as Kasparov later accused technicians of making moves on Deep Blue's behalf. The match — and the controversy — later became the subject for a documentary called Game Over: Kasparov and the Machine.

CC-BY-SA-2.0/Flickr/soupboy

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Old Town Spring: A Historic Experience for the Whole Family

December 11, 2014 by

Founded by settlers in the early 19th century, Spring began as a hub for railroad development and industrialization in Texas. As the economy flourished, Spring also became a destination for trade and business. Much like the rest of the United States, Spring was hit hard by the Depression in the 1930’s and took time to rebuild. The town subsequently reemerged several decades later and grew into a hotspot for festivals, events, and tourism in Texas. Today, Old Town Spring is recognized as one of Texas’ leading attractions. Visitors can wander the streets to feel history or visit the local Spring Historical Museum to learn more of the town’s journey.

These days, Old Town Spring is most well-known for its quaint, welcoming storefronts and businesses that maintain an old-timey feel along Main Street. It also garners attention for annual gatherings, including the popular Texas Crawfish & Music Festival and PetFest, an adoption event that places furry friends with loving families.

Old Town Spring
405 Main Street
Spring, TX 77373
www.oldtownspring.com
www.yelp.com/biz/old-town-spring-spring

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Pro Tips for a Perfect Pie Crust

December 4, 2014 by

With the holiday season in full swing, you might want to impress your family and friends with a delicious, homemade pie at your festive gathering. Although making a pie from scratch seems intimidating, these tips from the pros will ensure that your crust turns out completely flawless.

  1. Chill everything. It’s fairly common knowledge that a good pie crust relies on very cold butter, but you can even go one step further by chilling everything (like flour, butter and shortening) before beginning.
  2. Keep things lumpy. While most recipes require you to blend or mix the dough until it’s perfectly smooth, a good pie crust relies on those small chunks of butter or other fats. This is what creates small air pockets for that lovely flaky texture once it’s done baking.
  3. Don’t over-handle the dough. The warmth from your hands can cause the gluten in the dough to seize up, so be sure to only touch the dough when transferring it into the pan.
  4. Use parchment paper. Not only does sandwiching your pie dough between parchment paper keep your kitchen cleaner, it also prevents the crust from tearing when it gets too thin.
  5. Create an aluminum shield. Because the pie’s filling and its crust tend to cook at different speeds, wrap a shield of aluminum foil around the crust’s edges during the last five minutes of baking.

10 Tips for Making Perfect Pie Crust [About Food]
The 10 Commandments of a Perfect Pie Crust [Real Simple]
6 Tips For Perfect Pies And Tarts [Food Network]

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Tommy Bahama Restaurant & Bar: Caribbean Flair in The Woodlands

November 24, 2014 by

Whether you're looking for restaurant to host a group dinner for a special occasion, or you simply want to relax and enjoy a good meal on a Friday night, Tommy Bahama Restaurant & Bar is a solid choice. This place is often packed, and yet customers still routinely give it high marks for both hospitality and food.

Yelp reviewers rave over the coconut crusted crab cakes with Thai chili sauce, so if you like seafood, this is a good appetizer to begin your meal. As far as entrees go, the blackened fish taco with tomato relish and chipotle aioli is another customer favorite, while the kona coffee crusted ribeye steak served with herbed marrow butter and warm potato salad is one of the kitchen's specialties. Be careful, however: the menu is so varied and appealing that it can be easy to fill up without leaving room for dessert. Regulars will tell you this is a big mistake, because dessert at Tommy Bahama is simply delicious. Finish your meal with a slice of triple layer chocolate cake, and you'll likely leave with a smile.

Tommy Bahama Restaurant & Bar
9595 Six Pines Drive
The Woodlands, TX 77380
(281) 292-8669
www.tommybahama.com/TBG/Stores_Restaurants/Woodlands.jsp
www.yelp.com/biz/tommy-bahama-restaurant-and-bar-the-woodlands-the-woodlands

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