Dan Sudduth: 1941 - 2011

Dan Sudduth

Dannie DeWitt Sudduth, devoted husband of Dianne Hybarger Sudduth and father of Britt, Drew, and Cade Sudduth, passed away on the 23rd of September 2011.

Dan is preceded in death by his beloved wife, Dianne; and his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Hollie Daniel Sudduth. He is survived by his three sons, Britton Daniel Sudduth, Andrew Gary Sudduth, and Cade Carmichael Sudduth; his daughters-in-law, Jennifer Adair Sudduth and Julia Young Sudduth; and his grandchildren, MyKala Ernee Cude, Daniel Adair Sudduth, Mary Caroline Sudduth, and John Andrew Sudduth.

Born on the 21st of September 1941 in Port Arthur, Texas, Dan graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in 1959; served in the United States Army; and graduated from Lamar State College of Technology in 1964 - where he was a charter member of Sigma Chi Fraternity. Dan married Dianne Hybarger Sudduth on the 5th of June 1964 in Beaumont, Texas, where they lived until moving to Houston in 1969. Dan's career spanned banking, real estate, and finance - always guided by an entrepreneurial spirit that characterized his life and informed his personal and professional relationships. Dan Sudduth will be remembered as a dear friend and devoted father who was always kind, always positive, and always there. His spirit was a reflection of God's love for us all. Dan is gone but his spirit will live on as it is reflected by the hearts of the living.

Friends are cordially invited to gather and share remembrances of Dan from half-past five o'clock until half-past eight o'clock in the evening on Monday, the 26th of September, at Geo. H. Lewis & Sons, 1010 Bering Drive in Houston.

The memorial service is to be conducted at noon on Tuesday, the 27th of September, in the Sanctuary of St. Luke's United Methodist Church, 3471 Westheimer Road in Houston, where Dr. Tom Pace, Senior Pastor, is to officiate.

In lieu of customary remembrances, the family requests with gratitude that donations in Dan's memory be directed to Justice for Children, 2600 Southwest Freeway, Ste. 806, Houston, TX, 77098.

I'm almost back...

Dear Readers - Sorry I have not had an apportunity to provide more gabble for you to take in lately.  My Father passed away last Friday and I'm just now coming up for air.  I'll be back soon!

Britt

Restaurant Review: DownHouse in The Heights

Something very strange happened to me at lunch last week...someone decided to illustrate the lost art of great customer service!  As happens on occasion, I found myself without a lunch partner so I set out with my trusty newspaper to find something new in the area.  I remembered several folks mentioning the new DownHouse spot on Yale St./18th in the Heights, so I headed that way.

The building has housed several business over that past few years including a Compass Bank and Grateful Images.  The current owners have gutted the whole building to create a cozy, roomy cool lounge-like restaurant complete with leather couches and bench seating against the wall.  I was immediately at ease upon entering and greeted warmly.

I found a nice empty table with good lighting so I could catch up on the current SEC/A&M situation and how Baylor seems to be ruining the Aggies leap to projected stardom and often defeat in their new conference.  All was well until I looked at the menu...nothing but farm fresh, granola type healthy food with little choice for a meat and potatoes man like myself.  And I'm sure it's good stuff and clearly something my lovely wife would devour in a heartbeat with much gratitude to the owners.

Then came the "Customer Service" expert in the form of my waiter, whom I believe may have also been the owner.  I had just ordered my Diet Coke and was about to head out to find another eatery when Mr. Customer Service came to my rescue.  He pleasantly asked what I'd like and when I informed him there was really nothing that looked orderable, he simply said, "What would you like?  I'll make you anything you want."  How damn refreshing is that!!! 

The only thing that looked remotely good to me was the Longhorn Burger, but not being in the burger mood I inquired about the free-range lemon-chicken sandwich with olive tapenade, feta cream, sauteed spinach on a challah roll.  Now I know what chicken is but all the other stuff held me at a loss.   He said again, "How do you want it?"  I said with just cheese, and he gave me 8 different choices.  I chose a nice white cheese with an Italian name and off he went.  My sandwich arrived and it was perfect!  Delicious and hot!  The bread was a sweet roll which complimented the melted cheese nicely.  When the bill came it was housed inside an old book, a nice touch of class and unique.

So although I was clearly challenged by the menu, I walked away stuffed and very pleased with my entire dining experience.  In these days of hurry up meals and waiters that have no idea how the food is prepared or how to suggest something their guest would enjoy, these guys have it got it licked!  So next time you want to try something new, scamper over to the DownHouse and feel free to just tell them what you want.  I'm sure they'll be happy to help!

Labor Day 2011...On last summer Galveston Trip

With the onset of Fall and a few more hot days left, the Sudduth's decided to make one more break for Galveston to enjoy the Labor Day Holiday.  I was somehow able to procure a hotel room at the Hilton Seawall for $179.00...thank you Priceline!!!  Everything else in town was $200 plus and required a 2-nights stay.  I'd never stayed at the Hilton before and was pleasantly surprised to find a very nice hotel, complete with swim up pool bar, clearly a bonus for those of us who enjoy taking a cocktail in our swim trunks.

The Sudduth Family

Now as most of you know, the whole South Texas area is in a serious drought, but as soon as I made the reservation for Galveston the skies turned gloomy, the temperatures dropped and the rain started.  My dear Mother would say that Sudduth Law has struck once again.  She always said that Murphy's Law was mis-named and that Sudduth Law would have been more appropriate.  Well we didn't let the bad weather stop us and still spent some Sunday quality time on the beach and in the pool.  Daniel swam like a fish whilst freezing his backside off as the rest of us sat and watched.

You can't tell, but my feet are buried about a foot!

Surfer Dude looking for a cool wave...there wasn't much to ride!

My Dad came down Sunday afternoon and we all enjoyed a nice afternoon cruising The Strand.  We then put on our finest evening summer clothes on for one last time and ventured back to the The Strand for dinner at Luigi's, not only the best Italian food on the island but clearly the nicest restaurant in town.

Heavy D gettin' his sugar high!

MyKala taking down some cream

I do love me some Banana taffy!

Daniel taking one of his several sample bites

Luigi's

Pop giving some unsolicited advice to his Granddaughter

Proud Pop & his grand kids!

Monday the skies cleared and the sun came back out so we got several hours of beach time enjoyment and then took a luncheon poolside before heading back to Houston.  Another fun and memorable journey for the Sudduth family.

Restaurant Review: Lucio's BYOB & Grill...

So last Friday night we ventured out for another date night with our dear friends Scott & Ruth.  We decided to choose somewhere new and came up with Lucio's BYOB & Grill located on Taft near W. Dallas in the Montrose area of Houston.  Needless to say we were very excited about trying something different and especially favored the BYOB aspect of the evening. 

Our Guest Food Critics for the Evening in front of their lovely Heights Bungalow

First we had a drink on the veranda at Tony Mandola's new place on Waugh Drive.  There was a nice breeze coming in from some early Tropical Storm outer strands and the drinks were made perfectly.  Then on to Lucio's for supper.  We were seated near the rear of the restaurant in a nice 4-top.  Nice warm bread was delivered and the waiter came by for introductions and to remedy our cork issue for a very reasonable $5/bottle fee.

Tony Mandola's Veranda...yes, I wore those pants one more time before Labor Day!

Then came appetizers of crab cakes, tuna tartar and spinach dip served with fried pita chips.  We though it was all good but certainly not over the top.  The web reviews raved over the crab cakes which did not hold up true in my opinion.  The best part were the thick, golden brown, hot fried pita chips!

The Critic Crew

This is where the service part of the review slowed way down.  As suggested in the web reviews, the service, although very congenial and talkative, is very slow at times.  They obviously don't mean to turn your table, giving you ample time to visit and enjoy your wine.  If you're trying to get a bite and then get home to catch the end of the football game, you're in the wrong place.  The menu is somewhat all over the place with very odd, lengthy names for each dish.  Jen had something bacon wrapped, Scott had some ravioli type pasta that looked more like dumplings, Ruthie took on the U10 Scallops and I had "The Duck" with a side of vermicelli.  All was good, but the food was nothing to write home about and certainly does not rank as something I would order again.  The shining star though was Ruthie proclaiming the Scallops as "Delish!"

Extreme Scotty made a funny!

Our delightfully nice and complimentary Creme Brulee

Although dessert was not ordered, our very nice, but slow, attendant brought us a complimentary Creme Brulee, which was excellent and a really nice gesture.  After downing our last sips of BYOB wine, we took our leave.  As for the finality of this review, I have to say that the best part of the evening was our dear friends, who make anywhere we go and anything we eat fun and memorable.  The restaurant was alright, located centrally with a very nice and cozy atmosphere.  But with all the truly fantastic restaurants in Houston, Lucio's in not high on our list.  If Lucio's were in Brenham, Texas, it would be the best place in town.  But stuck in the middle of Houston's restaurant mecca at about $93/couple after gratuity, it's probably not going to get our return business.

Put away the Seersucker & Daniel's Lego Zone...

First and foremost, this is a friendly reminder that Labor Day has come and gone.  This means it's time to put your seersucker, linen, white bucks and all other bright cotton remnants of summer clothing away for the Fall/Winter Season.  Now I know that it's still going to be hot in Houston, but I'm a purist, so that means I follow the Official Rules of Fashion, better known as ORF.  As my lovely bride will attest, these are really the only rules I follow explicitly.  Hence one of her recent quotes, "Are you going to glide through every stop sign today?"  And I know even our beloved Houston Chronicle had an article on Sunday about how there is no need to follow the ORF any longer.  Damn them!  So put the summer stuff away and get ready for some awesome Fall options!

Since I can only rant so long about seersucker storage activities, I've also added some really cool pictures from Daniel and his Lego's.  Sometimes he takes the camera and just goes crazy around the house.  Then when I go to upload pics for this blog I also find his fun pictures.  This day he decided to capture some Lego scenes he had staged.  Quite interesting angles!

Mother Nature is certainly active today.  It's 64 degrees in Houston with wildfires throughout Central Texas and tropical storms still blowing through.  Please be safe out there and enjoy the cool weather, the heat will probably resume soon.

Taking in a (L)Astros Game...

This summer has been a blast, although very hot, and it wouldn't be complete without taking in an Astros game.  So my good friend Lars and I took our boys Daniel and Athan to a weekday afternoon game against the Cubs.  I was able to secure some very good FREE tickets about 12 rows up from the Astros dugout as well as a parking pass so we didn't have to walk to far in the heat.

We hit the playground, unsuccessfully tried to catch some home run balls during batting practice and whipped through the food stand for hot dogs, peanuts and even a batch of cotton candy, which was really Daniel's whole purpose for going!  The boys tried on several occasions to get a ball from the players as they came in to the dugout each inning and did end up with one ball courtesy of a kid that sat in front of us that was able to snag 3 balls during the course of the game.

The Astros even managed to win the game, a rare occurrence this season!  Another great Father/Son outing that Daniel will hopefully remember for awhile.