derby talk

17 Houston hot spots for fun and fancy Kentucky Derby events

Juleps-a-plenty at Julep.

Photo by Julie Soefer

Thought it's known as the "fastest two minutes in sports," Kentucky Derby parties are all-day affairs. We've rounded up a list of Houston hot spots ready to serve up those juleps, cocktails, and more. Don those hats and dresses (seersucker for the gents) for all this runaway fun.

The Rustic on Post Oak will have its annual watch party. Things with Todd will DJ before the race, while live music will kick off after the race. There will also be drink features and a best-dressed contest. 11 am.

Brasserie 19 will have a hat party where the best hat will win a champagne brunch for six. If you don't have a hat, you can still sip on a mint julep and cheer on this year's prize stallions. Noon.

Eureka Heights Brew Co. will pair up with Hop Topic for this watch party. In between races, grab a derby pie/bourbon barrel-aged stout and shop their pop-up, with various vendors selling handmade goods. Noon.

Over at Julep, guests will enjoy house cocktails, mint juleps, champagne, a Topo Chico station, two main bars, a whiskey bar, tacos from Cochinita & co., a live DJ set, and a Vinyl Ranch pop-up shop while the bar live streams the Derby. Noon.

Fullbrook Ale Works in Richmond will have big hats, bougie drinks and the first annual "Run for the Beers" beer jockey races. Gabriel Gonzales Trio takes the stage at 4 pm, while Scholars & Scoundrels will serve up crawfish. 1:30 pm.

Heights & Co. is throwing a party filled with refreshing mint juleps and a large projector screen broadcasting the race. Bar bites and entrees will also be offered, including bruschetta, steak frites and brisket grilled cheese. 1:30 pm.

Brenner's on the Bayou will have Wine Fest Derby Style, where guests are invited to sample the wine collection from exclusive winemakers and stroll around the scenic grounds. Chef-crafted bites will be served from five of Houston’s top restaurants. 2 pm.

Shop Heights 19th Street with have its annual Kentucky Derby block party. Don your biggest hats and southern style for the Mint Julep Throw Down, and also take in the local shops, local eats and 19th Street fun. 2 pm.

Loch Bar is celebrating with a “Big Hat Weekend,” complete with a Kentucky Turtle Derby race, where eight elite turtles will race to be the first to cross the finish line. The festivities continue with a “best hat” contest, raffle prizes, and mouthwatering $12 mint juleps. 3 pm.

Piggy’s Kitchen & Bar will hold the fifth annual Houston Derby Day. Enjoy classic cocktails crafted by Woodford Reserve, the official bourbon of the Kentucky Derby, as guests arrive in their finest southern attire, donning festive hats, floral dresses, and dapper suits. 3 pm.

The Patio on Mercer will have a watch party hosted by the University of Alabama Houston alumni chapter (aka Bama Houston), with mint juleps, wine, beer, soft drinks and, of course, food. Children are welcome and the event is free for all to attend. 3 pm.

Wicklow Heights is teaming up with Sweetens Cove, Peyton Manning and Andy Roddick's bourbon, for a festive afternoon of mint juleps, horse racing and fancy hats. Patrons can get juleps made with Sweetens Cove’s newly-launched Kennessee bourbon, as well as prizes for best-dressed man, woman, and couple. 3 pm.

At William Price Distilling, guests can enjoy juleps and the ponies on the big screen in the warehouse. All ages are welcome to attend, and those who will RSVP will be entered to win a Derby Day bar tab. 3 pm.

Yellow Rose Distilling will have a watch party hosted by nonprofit organization CarePartners. Join them for games, prizes, mint juleps, bourbon tastings, a buffet, the chance to bet on your favorite horse and more. 3 pm.

Federal American Grill will be using the Derby to have its biggest party of the year. There will also be live music from 57 State, which plays — according to their Facebook page — "rock and country mixed with a little heart n' soul." 4 pm.

The Tasting Room will delve into the richness of Kentucky culture with their many Derby-inspired dishes, paired with Kentucky bourbons. Chef Beto Gutierrez has created a decedent menu inspired by the widely-known race. 4 pm.

Bludorn will be celebrating Derby Day festivities with $15 mint juleps all day long. Guests can pull up a chair and sip on this classic Kentucky Derby cocktail while cheering on the races. 5 pm.

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Movie Review

Star-filled pickleball comedy The Dink aces on Apple TV+

Photo courtesy of Apple TV+

Mary Steenburgen and Jake Johnson in The Dink.

While the sport of pickleball was invented way back in the 1960s, it has exploded in popularity in the 2020s. It was only a matter of time before someone figured out a way to make a movie about the craze, and a comedy like the new Apple TV film The Dink provides the best way to honor and make fun of the divisive sport at the same time.

Dusty Boyd (Jake Johnson), aka The Hammer, is a former tennis phenom who’s now working as an instructor at a club owned by his dad, Chuck (Ed Harris). While the two don’t always see eye-to-eye, they have a mutual hatred for pickleball, which they have begrudgingly allowed on the property by giving it the worst court.

Dusty is hoping to stop all future pickleball expansion by winning a one-on-one grudge match, but when he injures his wrist, he’s given a prescription of pickleball as a form of rehab. Older women like Candace (Mary Steenburgen) are the only people he can find to play with, and despite his disdain for the sport, he soon falls prey to its low-key charms.

Directed by Josh Greenbaum (Will & Harper) and written by Sean Clements, the film is probably the best advertisement pickleball will ever have. Dusty’s introduction to the sport serves as a lighthearted tutorial for the uninitiated while still getting in some nice digs at its expense. The other players — Candace, Gail (Cleo King), and Judy (Lynn Marie Stewart) — are equally welcoming and critical of Dusty, who initially has trouble adjusting to the game’s different rules.

The film’s approach to the story is silly but never stupid. Dusty is a blowhard, but he’s also able to admit when he’s wrong, especially when Candace introduces him to multiple things he had never considered before. A long-standing feud between Dusty and Andy Roddick provides more than just a goofy cameo for the real-life tennis star. The film also pushes right to the edge of being over-the-top before pulling back, allowing it to keep a semblance of reality to it.

Clements’ story follows a tried-and-true formula, making the film very predictable but enjoyably so. Where it earns its comedy credentials is in its finer details, like Dusty’s love for his 1999 Buick LeSabre with under 200,000 miles on it, his trunk full of old VHS tapes, or his interactions with his assistant PJ (Aaron Chen), who manages to be the comic relief in an already funny film.

Johnson, probably best known for starring in the sitcom New Girl in the 2010s, has the right amount of smarm and niceness to pull off the role, letting viewers laugh at and root for him at the same time. The film is full of comedy all-stars in small roles like Oswalt, Chris Parnell, and Ben Stiller, but Harris steals everyone’s thunder. The line readings by the four-time Oscar nominee give an extra punch to his character’s jokes, especially one that hints at the sordid history of the tennis club.

It’s a shame that The Dink is only playing on a streaming service as there’s a dearth of good comedies like this in movie theaters. With a solid joke-telling approach, a respect for its subject matter, and a cast who all play off each other well, this is a film that deserves to be seen by more than just those with an Apple TV subscription.

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The Dink is now streaming on Apple TV.

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Movie Review

Star-filled pickleball comedy The Dink aces on Apple TV+