Houston Advice

[Gadfly]

"Taste of Texas" steakhouse.
"Luling Market" BBQ
"Rudy's" BBQ (it's a chain, but good)
"Niko Niko's" Greek food
"Lupe Tortillas" fajitas

The Gallaria area, or Downtown "discovery green" area are nice.

AVOID greenspoint, Sharpstown, Denver Harbor, Ailef, Gulfton.... well, it may be easier to tell you the nice parts...

You will miss baseball season, but they may be doing tours of Minute Maid park. NASA is neat. The Zoo is ok (San Antonio zoo is better), but if you've never been, it's nice.

As mentioned, traffic is shit. Always. 1 am to 5am, no traffic. Any other time... traffic.

If you want to look at guns, Collectors Firearms is worth a trip. Their prices are ridiculously high, BUT, they have two of everything you could imagine. A huge selection of everything. Lots of old collectible guns and modern stuff.

If the weather permits, a walk down the sea wall in Galveston is nice. Just be advised, the water looks like chocolate milk, and smells like tar. The sand is brown. When you are used to white sand and blue water in Florida, Galveston is not as nice. But they have Mody Gardens, an amusement park pier, the USS Seawolf submarine/mini museum, and the "Strand" shops and restaurants/bars.

I lived here 30 years. Not much about Houston impresses me, because I have seen it all for decades. I would be curious to hear what a tourist thinks of our town...


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[223AI]

"Taste of Texas" steakhouse.
"Luling Market" BBQ
"Rudy's" BBQ (it's a chain, but good)
"Niko Niko's" Greek food
"Lupe Tortillas" fajitas

The Gallaria area, or Downtown "discovery green" area are nice.

AVOID greenspoint, Sharpstown, Denver Harbor, Ailef, Gulfton.... well, it may be easier to tell you the nice parts...

You will miss baseball season, but they may be doing tours of Minute Maid park. NASA is neat. The Zoo is ok (San Antonio zoo is better), but if you've never been, it's nice.

As mentioned, traffic is shit. Always. 1 am to 5am, no traffic. Any other time... traffic.

If you want to look at guns, Collectors Firearms is worth a trip. Their prices are ridiculously high, BUT, they have two of everything you could imagine. A huge selection of everything. Lots of old collectible guns and modern stuff.

If the weather permits, a walk down the sea wall in Galveston is nice. Just be advised, the water looks like chocolate milk, and smells like tar. The sand is brown. When you are used to white sand and blue water in Florida, Galveston is not as nice. But they have Mody Gardens, an amusement park pier, the USS Seawolf submarine/mini museum, and the "Strand" shops and restaurants/bars.

I lived here 30 years. Not much about Houston impresses me, because I have seen it all for decades. I would be curious to hear what a tourist thinks of our town...


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I misread March as May, so he'll definitely be missing an Astros game. Good list for sure. I love living in Houston, it's a great place to raise a family.

[Rex G]

Do not assume March will be warm. A "norther" hits Texas sooner than it does Florida, so the effects are more pronounced. While we often have spring-like days in January and February, and will have years without a freeze, we can have blasts of freezing weather well into March.

Do not commit to straight-through-drive-based ETAs that involve night and very-early-morning drives, as fog can interrupt your plans through Mississippi, Louisiana and SE Texas, when the humidity is just-so.

The road construction along I-10, between Beaumont and Orange, seems to have been constantly ongoing since the Nineties, and is as bad, if not worse, than anything I have seen in Houston. At night, there will be times I-10 is totally closed.

Baton Rouge, and its western suburbs, have a nasty rush hour, along I-12. If using I-12, rather than dipping southward toward N.O.; plan accordingly.

Mulate's, in Breaux Bridge, LA, is worth the stop, for the food, if passing through at the relevant time of day. Pat's of Henderson, in Lake Charles, on the loop from I-10, is another favorite. Some Houstonians drive to Lake Charles just for the food. (Presumably, in Henderson, LA, there is/was an original Pat's?)

Burglaries of Motor Vehicles (BMV) is a favorite pastime in Houston. It does not matter how briefly you will be away from your vehicle. Unless you hire a very dedicated armed guard, your vehicle may well be burglarized, and it can happen within seconds after you are out of sight. BMV is, unfortunately, a lightly-punished misdemeanor in Texas.

The night security guards at the La Quinta at 1625 West Loop South, near the Galleria, seem to be quite attentive. The new night-time guard, appropriately named Justice, at the La Quinta at 4015 Southwest Freeway (US-59/I-69) seems to be very dedicated, too, though this La Quinta is a step down in quality.

The Hampton Inn on Post Oak Parkway, just inside the West Loop South, responded to the BMV epidemic by erecting an iron fence, with the gates accessed by your room's key card, an effective solution.

The Crowne Plaza, at 2712 Southwest Freeway, seems to have successfully reduced the BMV rate inside their parking garage.

The above-mentioned hotels are in my patrol area.

Mai's is a very good place for Vietnamese food. 3403 Milam is the address, if I remember correctly. Mai, herself, will often be working in the kitchen. Her parents owned a restaurant in Vietnam, and opened the restaurant upon arriving in Houston. The Garlic Beef is wonderful! I was regularly eating their Pho Ga, long before pho was cool. This is real Vietnames food, with some concessions to American demand, such as developing a Garlic Chicken dish, based upon the traditional Vietnamese Garlic Beef.

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Houston Museum of Natural Science might be worth a whirl, it's next to the zoo. I personally really liked the place growing up.

Six Flags Astro-, wait, never mind.

Astrod-, never mind.

NASA, which doesn't even have a shuttle (fuck you, NYC).

Moody Gardens? Never been myself, though.

We have good Viet food, FWIW. Viet-style crawfish is popular, and will be in season in March.

[223AI]

That Vietnamese crawfish is the best thing ever

[Crews]

Baton Rouge, and its western suburbs, have a nasty rush hour, along I-12. If using I-12, rather than dipping southward toward N.O.; plan accordingly.

Mulate's, in Breaux Bridge, LA, is worth the stop, for the food, if passing through at the relevant time of day. Pat's of Henderson, in Lake Charles, on the loop from I-10, is another favorite. Some Houstonians drive to Lake Charles just for the food. (Presumably, in Henderson, LA, there is/was an original? .

I live in Lafayette, and drove to Baton Rouge 3-4x a week while my wife and I were dating. Do not, I repeat, do not find yourself passing through Baton Rouge between 7-9am, or 3-6pm. Hit it in the middle of the day if at all possible.

The worst speed trap on I-10 is when you are coming off the West end of the basin bridge in Henderson, La. take caution.

Speaking of Henderson, the original Pat's on the Levee is indeed there, and is a popular spot. Kinda tourist-y though. Outside of New Orleans, Lafayette is really the epicenter of good food in South Louisiana. You have to get off the interstate for the good stuff though. I'd suggest pulling off in Scott, La at a place called Billy's Boudin. It's right on I10. I've tried every place in town, they're the most delicious thing money can buy. Make sure to try the hot box delicacies: cheese stuffed boudin balls, crawfish pistolettes, and fresh cracklins. Also, grab a couple links of hot SMOKED boudin out of the steamer behind the counter. You won't regret it




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[Palmguy]

Do not assume March will be warm. A "norther" hits Texas sooner than it does Florida, so the effects are more pronounced. While we often have spring-like days in January and February, and will have years without a freeze, we can have blasts of freezing weather well into March.

Do not commit to straight-through-drive-based ETAs that involve night and very-early-morning drives, as fog can interrupt your plans through Mississippi, Louisiana and SE Texas, when the humidity is just-so.

The road construction along I-10, between Beaumont and Orange, seems to have been constantly ongoing since the Nineties, and is as bad, if not worse, than anything I have seen in Houston. At night, there will be times I-10 is totally closed.

Baton Rouge, and its western suburbs, have a nasty rush hour, along I-12. If using I-12, rather than dipping southward toward N.O.; plan accordingly.

Mulate's, in Breaux Bridge, LA, is worth the stop, for the food, if passing through at the relevant time of day. Pat's of Henderson, in Lake Charles, on the loop from I-10, is another favorite. Some Houstonians drive to Lake Charles just for the food. (Presumably, in Henderson, LA, there is/was an original Pat's?)

Burglaries of Motor Vehicles (BMV) is a favorite pastime in Houston. It does not matter how briefly you will be away from your vehicle. Unless you hire a very dedicated armed guard, your vehicle may well be burglarized, and it can happen within seconds after you are out of sight. BMV is, unfortunately, a lightly-punished misdemeanor in Texas.

The night security guards at the La Quinta at 1625 West Loop South, near the Galleria, seem to be quite attentive. The new night-time guard, appropriately named Justice, at the La Quinta at 4015 Southwest Freeway (US-59/I-69) seems to be very dedicated, too, though this La Quinta is a step down in quality.

The Hampton Inn on Post Oak Parkway, just inside the West Loop South, responded to the BMV epidemic by erecting an iron fence, with the gates accessed by your room's key card, an effective solution.

The Crowne Plaza, at 2712 Southwest Freeway, seems to have successfully reduced the BMV rate inside their parking garage.

The above-mentioned hotels are in my patrol area.

Mai's is a very good place for Vietnamese food. 3403 Milam is the address, if I remember correctly. Mai, herself, will often be working in the kitchen. Her parents owned a restaurant in Vietnam, and opened the restaurant upon arriving in Houston. The Garlic Beef is wonderful! I was regularly eating their Pho Ga, long before pho was cool. This is real Vietnames food, with some concessions to American demand, such as developing a Garlic Chicken dish, based upon the traditional Vietnamese Garlic Beef.

Thanks for the info. I'll make sure we don't leave anything in the car at any point in time.

[vcdgrips]

Concur re The Space Center. Note that when I was there 2012ish they had airport style screening before you get on the tram to explore the campus proper.

The Kids Museum and other museums in that same area were worth the visit/

Taco Cabana, though a chain is a solid budget Mexican choice that shoots the gap re larger chain sit down places and family owned style restaurants.

I found GPS Nav indispensable given the size of Houston and the literally overlapping highway system.

The HOV lanes can be a God send for moving about at speed.

Galveston is a nice day at the beach.

Collector's Firearms is worth the trip. As stated, prices can be high, but particularly on used stuff, cash is king and a smart shopper can get a deal.

[WobblyPossum]

My girlfriend and I are staying in The Woodlands for a week since a friend of mine is getting married tomorrow. We're planning on checking out the Museum of Natural Science, the zoo, the aquarium, and possibly the space center. Are any of those places gun free? I don't want to lock a handgun in the rental car with how common everyone is saying BMV is here.

We're both thankful for the food recommendations.

We'd also be interested in going to the range for a few hours. Preferably somewhere that rents guns. There aren't any ranges that rent guns where we live so this would be a great opportunity for my girlfriend to try out handguns I don't own (basically anything but Glock 19s and Berettas). Any range we should consider above others?

Thanks


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My girlfriend and I are staying in The Woodlands for a week since a friend of mine is getting married tomorrow. We're planning on checking out the Museum of Natural Science, the zoo, the aquarium, and possibly the space center. Are any of those places gun free? I don't want to lock a handgun in the rental car with how common everyone is saying BMV is here.

The HMNS has non-compliant 30.06 signs up (that is to say, they put up signs citing the law that allows them to ban CCW, but the sign is not compliant with the legibility requirements of the law); there's even an argument that any signage has no power even if correctly posted, due to the land being owned by the city, which invalidates any 30.06 signs (IIRC, in TX, any governmental owned property cannot bar legal CC, unless covered by other types of bans, e.g., bars, or is Federally owned). No idea on the zoo or aquarium, the space center has a proper 30.06 sign, IIRC.

It is an exception to the application of this section that the property on which the license holder carries a handgun is owned or leased by a governmental entity and is not a premises or other place on which the license holder is prohibited from carrying the handgun under Section 46.03 or 46.035.

We'd also be interested in going to the range for a few hours. Preferably somewhere that rents guns. There aren't any ranges that rent guns where we live so this would be a great opportunity for my girlfriend to try out handguns I don't own (basically anything but Glock 19s and Berettas). Any range we should consider above others?

I go to Shiloh Shooting frequently, as does Gadfly; they have a decent selection of range guns, and some of the guys behind the counter are pretty sharp; they offer LE discounts on range fees, while Friday is Lady's Night, IIRC, which confers discounts to female shooters. It is very much a family operated business kind of deal, though. Athena and Boyert are both very modern, clean and polished ranges, though with prices to match (though I believe Boyert is the cheaper of the two); both have an excellent rental selection, last I checked. Pretty sure active LE get to shoot for free at Boyert.