At one point, Chron.com had posted the following as part of a Ken Hoffman column, but then it just inexplicably disappeared in that annoying manner that is all too familiar at Chron.com:
You know, I kind of like Houston this way. It was easy getting around. I had the place to myself. It was like sitting in a movie theater showing a Jennifer Lopez movie.
Hard to believe a hurricane was on its way. In fact, it was so pretty outside, I put the top down on my car and drove around Houston for a few hours.
I stopped by the venerable West Alabama Ice House, which was holding on to its “OPEN” sign for dear life.
“We have no idea when we’ll have to close, but we know it’s coming soon,” a bartender said.
The beer joint may have been open, but Free Hot Dog Friday was suspended. That’s worse than the end of the world.
That was a fine bit of writing. It’s too bad that it just disappeared. *poof*
For the record, Pete Markantonis tells us that hot dog night was suspended because all of the grocery stores were closed, and he couldn’t get buns for the hot dogs.
The Icehouse also got a little attention from national media, and I can even link to it since the New York Times didn’t obliterate any mention of the place from its web operation:
Michael Marchand, an offshore oil-rig worker, sat at the outdoor bar at the West Alabama Ice House late Thursday afternoon, putting away a string of Budweiser longnecks. He looked incredulous when asked if he intended to flee.
“To go where?” Mr. Marchand said. “Have you been watching the highways on television?”
Still, he said, he will probably stick close to home when Hurricane Rita hits rather than wandering over to the Ice House, his habit in previous storms (“They always stay open”). This storm did not look like one to mess with, he said.
They DO always stay open, which is one of many reasons that they’re named Best Icehouse in Houston on most such lists (except of course if we’re talking about the Chronicle’s sad little “best of” collection).
