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A BREEZY PERCH Porch Café at Beachtown, 1625 East Beach Dr., Galveston, 409.762.0808; beachtowngalveston.com FRESH SPOTS TO SHOP GAZE AND GRAZE , WE'RE FALLING FOR NEW FURNISHINGS FOR THE ABODE, A TIP-TOP HAIRCUT AND SHAVE, ART BROWSING, BOURBON-GLAZED SALMON AND BREEZING DOWN TO GALVESTON FOR ALFRESCO DINING. A THE MECCA OF MG+BW PILGRIMAGE TO Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams, Highland Village, 4091 Westheimer, 832.397.5130; mgbwhome.com M itchell Gold + Bob Williams returns to town — Highland Village, to be precise — unfurling a freestanding Flagship Signature Store that at 11,000 square feet promises to handsomely impact the Houston home design arena. Approaching its 25th anniversary, the North Carolina-headquartered brand established by namesake founders Mitchell Gold and Bob Williams is known for its timeless take on traditional furnishings, tweaked for the new millennium. With 80 percent of sales coming from American-made furniture and accessories, a focus on environmental practices, curated collections informed by the history of design and fascinating cultural currents and an emphasis on "in stock" so the customer can take home acquisitions on the spot (or custom-order with a lean lead time of approximately six weeks), the public and designers alike will be lining up for the September 26th reveal. The serene and cosseted interiors, designed by New York-based architect James Bartholomew in collaboration with Bob Williams, showcase MG+BW's memorable Fall 2013 collection — a take on the smoldering glamour of the milieu 1968 to 1973, shaped by cool At Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams, the influences from 2001: A Space Claudette Sofa reigns supreme Odyssey to vintage Pierre Cardin and the swinging London fashion haven Biba. You can also take home the upholstered looks that grace the set of CBS's Emmy-winning The Good Wife. And pet fanciers will thrill to know that MG+BW is Fidofriendly, and even offers dog beds to coordinate with your Alicia sofa. Catherine D. Anspon MEETING IN THE BOARDROOM The Boardroom, 2526 Rice Blvd., 713.524.3222; boardroomsalon.com F orgo nicks and razor burn and hand over gentlemanly grooming responsibilities to the skilled crew at The Boardroom Salon. This 2,100-square-foot Rice Village space marks the second franchise of the Dallas-born barbershop for Brandon Elmore and Guy Gonzales, which has the air of a posh turn-of-the-century boys' club groomed with quilted leather barber chairs, dark wood paneling, with noble pursuits such as pool and chess to enjoy pre- or post-shave. Straight-razor shaves with hot lather and warm towels are the tip of the services; there are also manly manicures and pedicures, haircuts, facials, massages and waxing. For maintaining a dignified grooming regimen at home, the barbershop stocks products from Jack Black, Bumble & Bumble and The Art of Shaving, as well as obligatory silvertip badger-hair shave brushes, single-cartridge razors and moustache wax. Seth Vaughan On Galveston's East Beach, the Porch Café has opened in the chic Beachtown development (second floor of the Town Center building), a breezy, island restaurant with a menu fit for foodies. With veteran chef and island favorite Stephen Griffith at the helm (he made 901 Postoffice restaurant an Island favorite), Porch Café offers up fresh coastal American fare focusing on top-notch ingredients such as locally sourced Wagyu beef. Go casual with fruit and vegetable salads, sandwiches, flatbread pizzas and an expansive array of locally caught seafood. But chef Griffith shows his culinary muscle with such standouts as boudin-stuffed jalapeños (crawfish, corn, jicama slaw), Beachtown mixed grill (half-lobster, Gulf shrimp, smoked sausage, petite filet, pasilla chili broth) and enchiladas of barbecue shrimp and Wagyu beef marinated hanger steak. More Hamptons in feel than Texas, the vernacular of the Duany Plater-Zyberk and Company-designed development was inspired by Galveston's architectural heritage, Carolina Low Country and New Orleans courtyards. The breezeinducing wraparound porches and indoor market dining area are crisp and bright with white seating and walls, high exposed ceilings and stunning Gulf views. Open Thursday Porch Café at Beachtown through Sunday. Caroline Starry LeBlanc THE ZEPHYR'S LATEST ART BREEZE Nicole Longnecker Gallery, 2625 Colquitt St., 713.591.4997; longneckergallery.com. A fter crafts pioneer Goldesberry Gallery shuttered last December, we held our breaths for a new arts arrival to bookend the Arquitectonica-designed Zephyr Building that comprises Gallery Row. Enter Nicole Longnecker Gallery. An Iowa native, owner/ director/curator Longnecker brings a collector's eye combined with an Nicole Longnecker and artist Devon English degree and MBA. NLG's Moore at her eponymous gallery debut generated excitement, rolling out metal abstractions by Houstonbased Devon Christopher Moore. Moore's wall sculptures of meticulously honed steel plates evoked geologic time and the lines of water levels banding rivers and lakes. Inaugurating the fall season, it's French sculptress Anne Ferrer's attentionseeking inflatables, opening Saturday, September 7 (through October 19). Catherine D. Anspon OFF TO MARKET WE GO The Fresh Market, 2617 Holcombe Blvd.;12516 Memorial Dr.; 3745 Westheimer; 5016 San Felipe St.; thefreshmarket.com If you haven't noticed, Houston has a new grocer in town: The Fresh Market. This North Carolina-based, three-decadeold market (with 129 stores in 25 states and counting) took up residence in four of the former Rice Epicurean Markets spaces (the Fountainview Rice Epicurean remains open and bustling). The Fresh Market is a smaller, more intimate footprint than its closest competitors, Central Market and Whole Foods, and stocks organic, local growers' produce (within 100 miles of each store's locale) and regional suppliers' wares (no farther than 300 miles away). Fluorescent lighting is banned, and classical music is piped inside and out, where polished produce is stacked on wooden-crate displays and glass cases showcase meat and seafood that isn't suffocated behind plastic shrink-wrap, but prepared, cut and packaged by butchers who can help you pick out bone-in pork chops or bourbon-glazed salmon filets for dinner. The bakery department boasts delicious breads, cookies, cakes and pies, freshly baked and displayed in quaint baskets. I love that while you won't find paper goods or trash bags here, you can uncover the best frozen puff pastry ever made (DuFour); frozen buckwheat blinis; Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream, a Midwest creamery known for alluring flavors such as roasted strawberry buttermilk ($11 a pint); and wonderful retro Charlie's Chips, which were delivered to your door in big tins when I was a kid up East. And for those who can't imagine a trip to the grocery store without visiting the bulk aisle, you'll find coffee beans, candies in glass jars and oodles of dried fruits and nuts. Laurann Claridge SEPTEMBER | PAGE 14 | 2013