Road Map

Need direction? Houstonian Mandy Zuniga shares her map of favorite local places& spaces

Mandy Zuniga
Hugo's is a favorite spot to take family and friends.
Photo by Paula Murphy
Memorial Park is a spot that make you feel like you're not in Houston.
Favorite hotel: The Alden
Photo by Jordan Chan
Favorite 2 a.m. food: Whataburger
Courtesy photo

Editors Note: Newcomers to Houston sometimes find it a hard place to navigate. But most people who have lived here a while have a ton of recommendations. In a new series, called Road Map, Allie N. Fields gets Houstonians-in-the-know to reveal their favorite haunts.

In our Road Map feature, we are showcasing a sample of home- grown locals and letting them grab the wheel for a journey across Houston to confess their own personal geography of beloved jaunts and tried-and-true corners… From where to get lost or where to be found, just blast the A/C and enjoy the ride….

Meet Mandy Zungia. Status? Sassy, bright and a raw talent for taming tresses.

Rocking a 100-watt smile and a bevy of colorful tattoos, she spends her days perched above Highland Village as artistic director of the penthouse-style Michael Kemper Salon & Day Spa, servicing a client list that reads like a Who’s Who of Houston.

Having two marathons under her belt and a penchant for all things fashion, hair or music, you can find her off the clock with tattoo artist Mark Anthony of Studio 8 or cheering on her professional fighting girlfriend, Monica “PunisHer” Earghs.

1. Alma Mater? Deer Park High School

2. Favorite Kolaches? Central Market makes fresh ones till 10 a.m.

3. Where you take out-of-towners? Without question Hugo’s is my favorite spot to bring family and friends. The ambiance is fantastic for catching up and the food and wine (or margaritas) are even better.

4. Favorite mid-week dinner spot? I do not really cook during the week so Barnaby's on Shepherd is my home away from home.

5. Where you can guarantee yourself a food coma? Walking away from Hickory Hollow hurts (so good) every time.

6. Guiltiest pleasure? Blue Moon and hot wings at Buffalo Wild Wings on Weslayan

7. Favorite place for take out? Palazzos has the best pizza and quickest delivery

8. Where to check out art? Inside the loop on feeder walls or depressing broken-down warehouses you can find the works of a street stencil artist named Coolidge. My favorite one was Ralphie from A Christmas Story in his bunny suit. If you are not lucky enough to see in person his work the website is Coolidgevandal.com, but its not the same.

9. Best place to find a last minute outfit? My closet

10. Sunday hangover food? The Spanish Flower's menudo

11. Where I feel inspired? I can get really amazing visuals or inspiration during Bikram Hot Yoga. Something about that heat makes you crazy and break through.

12. Favorite hotel? The Alden

13. Favorite Street? Sunset Boulevard

14. Best place to get your groove on? Shadow Bar on Sunday nights

15. Your dry cleaner? The most expensive but the absolute best cleaners in the world is Coronet.

16. Best 2 a.m. food run? Whataburger!

17. A place that makes you feel as if you are not in Houston? Memorial Park

18. Where you work out? 24 Hour Fitness on Richmond

19. Carwash? Mister Carwash

20. Best place to impress clients? ...In my chair at work!

21. Your playground? My friend DJ MAKE SOME NOISE (Holden Allen) is the best host and has the most comfortable pad equipped with hot tub, music, and beverages!

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Unhappy holidays

Porch pirates swipe nearly $2B in packages from Texas homes this year

Porch Pirate Person in Glasses Steals Packages

Getty Images

The Grinch isn't the only one stealing Christmas these days.

’Tis the season for porch pirates. If past trends are an indicator, the Grinch will swipe close to $2 billion worth of packages delivered to Texas households this year, with many of those thefts happening ahead of the holiday season.

An analysis of FBI and survey data by ecommerce marketing company Omnisend shows porch pirates stole more than $1.8 billion worth of packages from Texans’ porches last year. Porch pirates hit nearly one-third of the state’s households in 2024, according to the analysis.

Omnisend’s analysis reveals these statistics about porch piracy in Texas:

30.1 million residential package thefts in 2024.
An average household loss of $169 per year.
An annual average of 2.9 package thefts per household.

“Most stolen items are cheap on their own, but add them up, and retailers and consumers are facing an enormous bill,” says Omnisend.

Another data analysis, this one from The Action Network sports betting platform, unwraps different figures regarding porch piracy in Texas.

The platform’s 2025 Porch Pirate Index ranks Texas as the state with the highest volume of residential thefts, based on 2023-24 FBI data.

Researchers at The Action Network uncovered 26,293 reports of personal property thefts at Texas residences during that period. The network’s survey data indicates 5 percent of Texas residents had a package stolen in the three months before the pre-holiday survey.

The Porch Pirate Index calculates a 25.8 percent risk of a Texas household being victimized by porch pirates, putting it in the No. 5 spot among states with the highest risk of porch piracy.

The Action Network included online-search volume for terms like “package stolen” and “porch pirates.” Sustained spikes in these searches suggest that “people are actively looking for guidance after something has happened. Search trends serve as an early warning system, revealing emerging-risk areas well before annual crime statistics are released,” the network says.

Tips to avoid being a victim
So, how do you prevent porch pirates from snatching packages that end up on your porch? Omnisend, The Action Network and Amazon offer these eight tips:

Closely monitor deliveries and quickly retrieve packages.
Schedule deliveries for times when you’ll be home.
Use delivery lockers or in-store pickup when possible.
Ask delivery services to hide packages in out-of-sight spots outside your home.
Install a visible doorbell camera or security camera.
Coordinate deliveries with neighbors or building managers if you’ll be away from your home when packages are supposed to arrive.
Request that delivery services hold your packages if you can’t be home when they’re scheduled to come.
Illuminate the path to your doorstep and keep porch lights on.

holidays porch pirates crime