Houston travel guide: the energy capital of the world
Texas is always something of an enigma. Just when you think you've worked it out, it throws you a (generally rather pleasing) curveball. Austin, for example, is a thriving dot of liberal, musical blue in an otherwise deep-red state. Dallas, for all its reputation, once had the biggest single spend on the arts of any US city. San Antonio, site of The Alamo, of Texan independence fame, is also a Unesco World Heritage site, as a "Creative City of Gastronomy".
And Houston, perhaps the energy capital of the world, is bursting at the seams with museums, galleries, great music, great bars, and some genuine curiosities. If you're ever catching a connecting flight here, consider adding a day, and pop over from Bush International Airport to explore.
Where to eat
For breakfast, it's tough to see beyond the genuinely remarkable Koffeteria where chef Vanarin Kuch is serving expertly made viennoiserie and dazzlingly creative flavours, combining the sort of morning pastries you'd expect with local flavours, international twists and, particularly, flashes of his Cambodian heritage. Expect things like a mango sticky rice Danish, Cambodian elote cornbread, beef pho Kolache (brisket stewed in pho, inside a milk roll), laab buns, and if the French onion Danish is on the menu, it's essential. The coffee is also excellent.
You might want to wander back to the neighbourhood later, for a drink at 8th Wonder Brewery, if only to pose with the enormous Beatles statues or the We Heart Houston sign in the garden.
For lunch or dinner, Houston is a genuinely international city, with a range of cuisines to match. If you're like me, however, given the location, you may well lean towards Mexican (or, indeed, Tex Mex), in which case Xochi, from James Beard Award-winning chef Hugo Ortega, is a very solid bet.
Top attractions and things to do
Once fuelled, perhaps a little culture is in order, at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. This sprawling institution houses an extensive collection of artefacts spanning anthropology, paleontology, space science, and more. In short, it has everything from Fabergé treasures to sharks, dinosaurs to Egyptian history, coastal ecology to a periodic table "dancefloor". And there's a planetarium, and the Cockrell Butterfly Center, because, well, why not?
You could very easily lose entire days to the science museum's halls but, if you can tear yourself away, the Museum of Fine Arts is worth a wander. The oldest art museum in Texas (and one of the US's 10 largest art museums) it's packed with good things: over 70,000 of them, in fact.
The Contemporary Arts Museum stages reliably thought-provoking exhibitions from emerging and established artists, while the Menil Collection is a treasure trove of artwork, from the prehistoric to the present day, spread over a serene campus dotted with sculptures and contemplative spaces.
If such calm isn't the order of your day, there is – of course – excellent shopping, from the multiple vintage stores and eclectic shops of the Montrose neighbourhood, or the quirky markets of The Heights, to the considerably more upscale offerings at Houston's premier mall, The Galleria, the spot for luxury brands (and fine dining, should you still be peckish).
Where to spend your evening
For the late afternoon or early evening, POST Houston is an ideal spot. The former Barbara Jordan Post Office Building in Downtown has been converted to a social hub of over 20 food stalls, covering many cuisines and regions. The venue also features a sprawling rooftop with bars, co-working spaces and a live music venue.
While POST offers great views, should you be tempted to extend your stay, Le Meridien Houston Downtown is well located and comfortable, and home to Houston's highest open-air rooftop bar.
You can finish your day from the 23rd floor, cocktail in hand, looking across a city whose surface you've barely scratched, yet have just thoroughly explored.
Neil Davey was a guest of the Houston tourism board (visithoustontexas.com). Rooms at Le Meridien Houston Downtown start at £195 per night, based on two adults sharing a room.
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