Hot, happening Houston
City's eclectic offerings, diverse neighborhoods draw visitors
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Houston. Massive and sprawling, the city excites and confuses. People tend to think of it as a monstrous cow town or a metropolis of energy industry moguls and money. It’s that and much more. During a three-day visit in October, I set out to find the “soul” of Houston.
Anyone who’s ever visited the city knows the traffic is horrendous — a maze of freeways. It doesn’t take long to figure out Houstonians don’t use traffic signals. Drivers just follow the compass in their mind and zoom forward. It’s best if you can avoid rush hour and give yourself plenty of time to reach your destination. Once you get off into streets, there are numerous districts and neighborhoods. No matter what your original purpose is for being in the city, set aside time to explore.
“I hope you brought good walking shoes,” said Susan Borches, founder and director of Houston Greeters. Meeting at the Hilton near the George R. Brown Convention Center, we walked toward the MetroRail on Main Street. She explained we were headed toward Rice University. During the next few hours, she pointed out city highlights and provided an insider’s view of Houston.
Borches started her career in Washington, D.C., as a political consultant and later as director of public affairs for the U.S. Commerce Department. After working with an engineering company in Zurich, Switzerland, she landed in Houston as a vice president of corporate affairs for Shell Oil.
“My experience with Houston is that it’s a hard place to find your way around,” she said. “It really helps if you have somebody to show you around.”
So she started Houston Greeters, a nonprofit association with some 80 volunteers of like-minded people. Each volunteer specializes in an area or a topic he or she is passionate about — art, education, vintage shops, literary Houston, children’s museums, bowling, etc. “The most frequent request we have is Houston’s downtown tunnels,” said Borches.
Each greeter does his own thing and spends a half-day with a visitor, explained Borches. If you want to tour with a greeter on another topic, you have to go back to the Web site and set up a time for another “greet.” Greeters may not accept pay of any type. “One aspect of this program is to show the humanity of Houston. Otherwise, a visitor may only see high rise buildings,” said Borches. “The concept for Houston Greeters was to get people of other nationalities to have conversations. If I can cause that exchange for people to learn about other cultures, I have achieved my purpose.”
We rolled past Midtown passing the Ensemble Theatre, the largest African-American professional theater company in the U.S., and the Houston-Galveston Co-Cathedral. We left the MetroRail at the Museum District and then we walked into the Museum of Fine Art, where we browsed for artsy items in the gift shop, and Borches pointed out steps leading to the museum’s café (good for a coffee break anytime). Then it was on to the Cullen Sculpture Garden, a haven of quiet and world-renowned outdoor sculptures. We briefly stepped inside the Alfred Glassell School of Art, where young artists are encouraged to expand their talents, and into the Contemporary Arts Museum of Houston, which has one of the most imaginative gift shops I’ve seen in a museum. Across the street, the Jung Center is a serene place that offers art exhibits, lectures and workshops.
After a light lunch at the Monarch Restaurant in Zaza Hotel, overlooking the sparkling Mecom Fountain, we headed for Rice University. Visiting the Rice campus, which has no public roads crossing the campus, is a pleasant relief from the dizzying heights of downtown Houston. Architecture buffs can delight in the university’s oldest buildings with red clay tile roofs, rose-hued brick, cloistered passageways and elaborate stonework. Modern buildings blend into the mix, and among our academic stops were the student union, packed with jean-clad students, and the Rice Memorial Chapel, a beautiful non-denominational chapel inviting contemplation.
Catching the MetroRail, we watched students, medical center employees and others board as riders headed back to downtown Houston.
Later, we joined friends to see Midtown come alive at dusk. The new place for Houston’s young, hip professionals, Midtown is a renovated area bordering downtown. The area is filled with stylish loft apartments, running $1,000-plus a month for a one-bedroom abode. Cafes and eateries line landscaped sidewalks. Trendy patrons show up dressed to the hilt, ready for a night on the town.
After a glass of apple-tart Reisling at The Tasting Room, a wine bar at 114 Gray, with cool music by guitarist Andy McWilliams, we walked a bit. Skylar Schawe, a petroleum engineer who lives in one of the nearby lofts said, “The nightlife in the area appeals to me, and there are 20 bars within walking distance of my apartment,” he said. “There’s no problem finding food … Randal’s is three blocks away, and there’s a Kroger’s about three miles from here.”
At the edge of Midtown, you’ll find the Breakfast Klub, an African-American café specializing in eggs, fried chicken, grits and biscuits for breakfast. Other hangouts include The Fish, Tailgate, The Reef, El Patio and Ibizia. Specialty shops are dotted throughout the area. Men can drop in at Gentlemen’s Tonic for a clean razor shave. The only other place like it is in London.
We ended the evening at Max’s Wine Dive, 4720 Washington Ave., sitting at the counter, sipping wine and sampling Nacho Mama’s Oysters on crispy wontons topped with habanero salsa, and a rich Mac and Cheese, pasta with Veldhuizen Farms Texas Gruyere and Grana Padano cheeses. The selection of wines and the menu, including a snazzy Texas Huate Dog and sumptuous Damn Yankee Pot Roast, keep crowds lined up at the front door for hours. “The menu’s all built on comfort food,” said chef Michael Dei Maggi.
“I’ll tell you what … we can really eat well in Houston,” said a fashionable woman executive sitting nearby.
Since Houston is a major convention city, a second day in the city was spent attending tourism meetings of the Society of American Travel Writers in the Hilton Hotel Convention Center, a massive hotel designed to contain conventioneers. Sitting in bleachers, a box lunch was handed out during a session at the state-of-the-art Toyota Center, but we had to get out by 2 p.m. because the ice rink was being prepared for that night’s Houston Aeros game. Later, an interlude at The Galleria, the huge shopping complex on Westheimer, included a haute couture fashion show, with glamorous, models showing off fashions from stores including Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom’s, Sak’s and Macy’s.
That night, I was introduced to a true Tex-Mex experience at Spanish Flowers, 4701 N. Main. The café, popular with Hispanic families, is filled with festive décor from Old Mexico. Pico de papeles (tiny, colored cut-out paper flags), are strung across the ceiling, Multi-colored paper flowers fill terra-cotta sconces on stucco walls and tiny twinkling lights entwine trees on the patio. Our typical Mexican dinner plate featured a cheese enchilada, tamale, rice and beans. The food, cooked with fresh ingredients, was delicious.
Our search for the “real” Houston continued the next day to neighborhoods for some shopping and eateries reflecting Houston’s multicultural mix.
We started at the Farmer’s Market, north of downtown near loop 410. We were met by Hugo Orgeo, owner of Hugo’s Restaurant, who pointed out fresh apples, oranges and cucumbers on display along with bags and bags of pecans stacked up for holiday cooking. We spotted baskets filled with hibiscus flowers and cinnamon. There were prickly pear cactus fruit, marble size tomatillos and pumpkins. Some stalls were filled with dolls for kids, piñatas, blankets, pots and pans. We caught the aroma of sautéed onions and corn tortillas from the taco trucks parked just outside the market. Shoppers were gathered around the trucks at 10 a.m. ordering freshly made breakfast tacos. The market is where Houstonians head for pumpkins at Thanksgiving, poinsettias and trees at Christmas, and fresh farm produce year-round.
Next we headed for a small shopping center at Hillcroft and Harwin, where you can find authentic food and groceries from India. A special stop is Bombay Sweets and Pure Vegetarian Restaurant. Every dish is different here and there are seemingly hundreds of variations. We tried several different chat (little potato puffs filled with a variety of sauces and spices, and a delicious sweet, cashew marzipan topped with thin silver leaf). After shopping in the grocery next door, packed with everything from hot curry powder to lady’s face cream made in India, we headed to the London Sizzler Bar and Grill on Hillcroft. Here we learned how much British influence there is in Indian food. For example, Chicken Marsala was created to provide a bland tomato-based sauce for hot, spicy chicken.
Our search was not over yet. The day ended at Hong Kong City Mall. The size of two or three city blocks, the gigantic mall is shopping central for Houston’s Asian population. This is a Pacific Rim haven, with a huge grocery store, clothing stores, candy shops, beauty shops and jewelry shops. Several friends lined up at the Teahouse Kiosk where they ordered cold drinks, including green tea blended with fresh green apples and a bubble tea made with tapioca. Our Vietnamese guide suggested we try some sugared, dried tamarind, a sweet-bitter treat popular with Vietnamese families.
Before heading home, I reflected on my Houston excursion. I had breakfast with Mexican families, lunch cooked by chefs from India and a late afternoon snack sitting in a food court surrounded by ethnic Asians. There was shopping with the “rich and famous” at the Galleria, and walking downtown amid towering business centers. There’s a tremendous energy and cultural mix in Houston. Residents are always adapting to changes. And the people are the “soul” of Houston.
Information: Contact the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau at http://www.VisitHoustonTexas.com or (800) 4HOUSTON (4-468-7866).
Also contact Houston Greeters, http://www.houstongreeters.org
Anyone who’s ever visited the city knows the traffic is horrendous — a maze of freeways. It doesn’t take long to figure out Houstonians don’t use traffic signals. Drivers just follow the compass in their mind and zoom forward. It’s best if you can avoid rush hour and give yourself plenty of time to reach your destination. Once you get off into streets, there are numerous districts and neighborhoods. No matter what your original purpose is for being in the city, set aside time to explore.
“I hope you brought good walking shoes,” said Susan Borches, founder and director of Houston Greeters. Meeting at the Hilton near the George R. Brown Convention Center, we walked toward the MetroRail on Main Street. She explained we were headed toward Rice University. During the next few hours, she pointed out city highlights and provided an insider’s view of Houston.
Borches started her career in Washington, D.C., as a political consultant and later as director of public affairs for the U.S. Commerce Department. After working with an engineering company in Zurich, Switzerland, she landed in Houston as a vice president of corporate affairs for Shell Oil.
“My experience with Houston is that it’s a hard place to find your way around,” she said. “It really helps if you have somebody to show you around.”
So she started Houston Greeters, a nonprofit association with some 80 volunteers of like-minded people. Each volunteer specializes in an area or a topic he or she is passionate about — art, education, vintage shops, literary Houston, children’s museums, bowling, etc. “The most frequent request we have is Houston’s downtown tunnels,” said Borches.
Each greeter does his own thing and spends a half-day with a visitor, explained Borches. If you want to tour with a greeter on another topic, you have to go back to the Web site and set up a time for another “greet.” Greeters may not accept pay of any type. “One aspect of this program is to show the humanity of Houston. Otherwise, a visitor may only see high rise buildings,” said Borches. “The concept for Houston Greeters was to get people of other nationalities to have conversations. If I can cause that exchange for people to learn about other cultures, I have achieved my purpose.”
We rolled past Midtown passing the Ensemble Theatre, the largest African-American professional theater company in the U.S., and the Houston-Galveston Co-Cathedral. We left the MetroRail at the Museum District and then we walked into the Museum of Fine Art, where we browsed for artsy items in the gift shop, and Borches pointed out steps leading to the museum’s café (good for a coffee break anytime). Then it was on to the Cullen Sculpture Garden, a haven of quiet and world-renowned outdoor sculptures. We briefly stepped inside the Alfred Glassell School of Art, where young artists are encouraged to expand their talents, and into the Contemporary Arts Museum of Houston, which has one of the most imaginative gift shops I’ve seen in a museum. Across the street, the Jung Center is a serene place that offers art exhibits, lectures and workshops.
After a light lunch at the Monarch Restaurant in Zaza Hotel, overlooking the sparkling Mecom Fountain, we headed for Rice University. Visiting the Rice campus, which has no public roads crossing the campus, is a pleasant relief from the dizzying heights of downtown Houston. Architecture buffs can delight in the university’s oldest buildings with red clay tile roofs, rose-hued brick, cloistered passageways and elaborate stonework. Modern buildings blend into the mix, and among our academic stops were the student union, packed with jean-clad students, and the Rice Memorial Chapel, a beautiful non-denominational chapel inviting contemplation.
Catching the MetroRail, we watched students, medical center employees and others board as riders headed back to downtown Houston.
Later, we joined friends to see Midtown come alive at dusk. The new place for Houston’s young, hip professionals, Midtown is a renovated area bordering downtown. The area is filled with stylish loft apartments, running $1,000-plus a month for a one-bedroom abode. Cafes and eateries line landscaped sidewalks. Trendy patrons show up dressed to the hilt, ready for a night on the town.
After a glass of apple-tart Reisling at The Tasting Room, a wine bar at 114 Gray, with cool music by guitarist Andy McWilliams, we walked a bit. Skylar Schawe, a petroleum engineer who lives in one of the nearby lofts said, “The nightlife in the area appeals to me, and there are 20 bars within walking distance of my apartment,” he said. “There’s no problem finding food … Randal’s is three blocks away, and there’s a Kroger’s about three miles from here.”
At the edge of Midtown, you’ll find the Breakfast Klub, an African-American café specializing in eggs, fried chicken, grits and biscuits for breakfast. Other hangouts include The Fish, Tailgate, The Reef, El Patio and Ibizia. Specialty shops are dotted throughout the area. Men can drop in at Gentlemen’s Tonic for a clean razor shave. The only other place like it is in London.
We ended the evening at Max’s Wine Dive, 4720 Washington Ave., sitting at the counter, sipping wine and sampling Nacho Mama’s Oysters on crispy wontons topped with habanero salsa, and a rich Mac and Cheese, pasta with Veldhuizen Farms Texas Gruyere and Grana Padano cheeses. The selection of wines and the menu, including a snazzy Texas Huate Dog and sumptuous Damn Yankee Pot Roast, keep crowds lined up at the front door for hours. “The menu’s all built on comfort food,” said chef Michael Dei Maggi.
“I’ll tell you what … we can really eat well in Houston,” said a fashionable woman executive sitting nearby.
Since Houston is a major convention city, a second day in the city was spent attending tourism meetings of the Society of American Travel Writers in the Hilton Hotel Convention Center, a massive hotel designed to contain conventioneers. Sitting in bleachers, a box lunch was handed out during a session at the state-of-the-art Toyota Center, but we had to get out by 2 p.m. because the ice rink was being prepared for that night’s Houston Aeros game. Later, an interlude at The Galleria, the huge shopping complex on Westheimer, included a haute couture fashion show, with glamorous, models showing off fashions from stores including Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom’s, Sak’s and Macy’s.
That night, I was introduced to a true Tex-Mex experience at Spanish Flowers, 4701 N. Main. The café, popular with Hispanic families, is filled with festive décor from Old Mexico. Pico de papeles (tiny, colored cut-out paper flags), are strung across the ceiling, Multi-colored paper flowers fill terra-cotta sconces on stucco walls and tiny twinkling lights entwine trees on the patio. Our typical Mexican dinner plate featured a cheese enchilada, tamale, rice and beans. The food, cooked with fresh ingredients, was delicious.
Our search for the “real” Houston continued the next day to neighborhoods for some shopping and eateries reflecting Houston’s multicultural mix.
We started at the Farmer’s Market, north of downtown near loop 410. We were met by Hugo Orgeo, owner of Hugo’s Restaurant, who pointed out fresh apples, oranges and cucumbers on display along with bags and bags of pecans stacked up for holiday cooking. We spotted baskets filled with hibiscus flowers and cinnamon. There were prickly pear cactus fruit, marble size tomatillos and pumpkins. Some stalls were filled with dolls for kids, piñatas, blankets, pots and pans. We caught the aroma of sautéed onions and corn tortillas from the taco trucks parked just outside the market. Shoppers were gathered around the trucks at 10 a.m. ordering freshly made breakfast tacos. The market is where Houstonians head for pumpkins at Thanksgiving, poinsettias and trees at Christmas, and fresh farm produce year-round.
Next we headed for a small shopping center at Hillcroft and Harwin, where you can find authentic food and groceries from India. A special stop is Bombay Sweets and Pure Vegetarian Restaurant. Every dish is different here and there are seemingly hundreds of variations. We tried several different chat (little potato puffs filled with a variety of sauces and spices, and a delicious sweet, cashew marzipan topped with thin silver leaf). After shopping in the grocery next door, packed with everything from hot curry powder to lady’s face cream made in India, we headed to the London Sizzler Bar and Grill on Hillcroft. Here we learned how much British influence there is in Indian food. For example, Chicken Marsala was created to provide a bland tomato-based sauce for hot, spicy chicken.
Our search was not over yet. The day ended at Hong Kong City Mall. The size of two or three city blocks, the gigantic mall is shopping central for Houston’s Asian population. This is a Pacific Rim haven, with a huge grocery store, clothing stores, candy shops, beauty shops and jewelry shops. Several friends lined up at the Teahouse Kiosk where they ordered cold drinks, including green tea blended with fresh green apples and a bubble tea made with tapioca. Our Vietnamese guide suggested we try some sugared, dried tamarind, a sweet-bitter treat popular with Vietnamese families.
Before heading home, I reflected on my Houston excursion. I had breakfast with Mexican families, lunch cooked by chefs from India and a late afternoon snack sitting in a food court surrounded by ethnic Asians. There was shopping with the “rich and famous” at the Galleria, and walking downtown amid towering business centers. There’s a tremendous energy and cultural mix in Houston. Residents are always adapting to changes. And the people are the “soul” of Houston.
Information: Contact the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau at http://www.VisitHoustonTexas.com or (800) 4HOUSTON (4-468-7866).
Also contact Houston Greeters, http://www.houstongreeters.org
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