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Welcome to Houston, Texas, the second biggest state in the United States (only Alaska is bigger). Here the average temperature is 68, the average age is 31, and the state motto is, that's right, Friendship. To help you enjoy your stay here, we've provided some information on hotels, restaurants, entertainment, the arts, and shopping. We'll give you the local tour and help you decide where to take yourself, your client, or your family to dinner. Enjoy. Fun FactsThe lightning whelk is the official state shell of Texas
The King Ranch in Texas covers an area larger than the state of Rhode Island
Houston’s George R. Brown Convention Center offers more than a million square feet of rentable space. | Your Itinerary If You Have Two Hours
Explore CraftTexas 2008, the fifth annual juried show of the state’s best contemporary art, featuring works made of clay, fiber, glass, metal, wood, and recycled materials. Based on past history, expect the three artists who receive $1,000 prizes from the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft to land in private and major museum collections. The show runs through August 17. 713.529.4848; crafthouston.org
If You Have Two Days
It’s a veritable rock concert — the natural kind — at Geopalooza! The Houston Museum of Natural Science’s exhibition of mineral wonders, from pinkie-sized fossils to elephant-sized geodes, is on display through August 24. Those who would rather do something than just stare can pan for gold or help choose a geode to be cracked open. Don’t miss the museum’s Cullen Hall of Gems and Minerals, which flaunts 750 additional crystallized minerals. And if you want a big bauble of your own, head to the Houston Galleria, home to 350 stores where you can find gems ranging from the inexpensive (at Zara) to the out-of-orbit (De Beers Diamond Jewelers). 713.639.4629, hmns.org; 713.966.3500, galleriahouston.com
If You Have a Long Weekend
Take a road trip to Brenham, 90 minutes northwest of Houston, and you’ll finds scads of antique shops downtown where you can score everything from quaint kitsch to antique armoires. Satisfy the appetite you’ve built up in nearby Round Top, where Royer’s Café serves great pasta, which you can top off with peach or apple pie à la mode. Stay at Brenham’s Ant Street Inn, where each room has its own decorative style, with beautiful 19th-century American antiques. royersroundtopcafe.com; antstreetinn.com | Convention & Visitor's BureauGreater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau
901 Bagby, Suite 100
Houston, Texas 77002
800.4.HOUSTON
visithoustontexas.com |
Local FlavorLocal Flavor
The poolside bar at the Four Seasons has undergone a $4 million renovation, and it’s made a big splash. The cashew-crusted tofu popsicles are a good way to beat the heat.
1300 Lamar St., 713.650.1300; fourseasons.com/houston
Destiny, a platter of nigiri sushi from Franco-Japanese fusion chef Robert Gadsby at Soma, features sliced raw salmon, tuna, scallop, and yellowtail; it’s a bargain at only $11, especially when you consider Gadsby last dished at one of Houston’s priciest restaurants, Noe.
4820 Washington Ave., 713.861.2726
Nobody makes better fried chicken than Ouisie’s Table, a bastion of Southern gentility, where venison medallions are pan fried till crispy and served with a mess of greens and wild rice risotto.
3939 San Felipe St., 713.528.2264; ouisiestable.com
— Michele Meyer |
