Houston, the Friendliest City

Texas is the land of the BIG and Houston is definitely that! To drive from the southern part of Houston to the northern part would probably take you an hour and a half and I am talking highway driving. If you like to eat, then this is the place for you. Houstonians are known for dining out more times during the week on average than any other American. Barbeque and Tex-Mex are the rage there but you get any kind of food you want and usually it will be made well. Montrose is the gay area and Rice University is where the yuppies go.

Quick Tips:

Warning: try not to visit during June, July, August, September. It is hot, hot, hot there. The temperatures can go up to 114 degrees with 100% humidity. Houston also gets ozone alerts where everyone is warned not to go outside because of the air pollution. If you need directions or information, don't hesitate to ask somebody. Houstonians love to talk to anybody! If you have been dying to wear your cowboy boots and hat, this is the place. No one will look at you twice for doing so.

Best Way To Get Around:

You must drive, drive, drive! Remember, everything is BIG in Texas and FAR apart because there is so much land. People there do not walk anywhere except to get some food, a beer or go shopping in the Mall.

Great Italian food and the desserts are a must have. The desserts are all creations of the chef! This is the place where all of the well-to-do gay people go to be seen for dinner and on the weekend. Sunday brunch is a must do, especially since the champagne is free and flowing. They will go out of their way to please you at La Strada. Make sure you get a piece of "fruit" from the behind the bar. It has been soaking in alcohol forever.

This is the best place to go if you like cigars, wine and steak. You can order anything off of the menu and it will be great. My favorite is the rib-eye steak and their famous tomato and onion salad.

They have an extensive wine list, everything from Louis LaTour to Mondavi to the most expensive Cognacs. What is nice is that the wait staff is knowledgeable about their products, so if you are unsure what to order with what, they will help you out. If you order a fine bottle of wine (over $100), you can request to have it served in Riedel wine glasses, making your wine experience even better because yes, the glasses do make a difference in how the wine tastes.

If you want to have a cigar with your meal, no problem. They have a separate room especially for cigar smoking where you can either smoke or smoke and eat in there. The room has an air purification system, so you are not dying from the smoke. They do sell a good selection of cigars there if you did not bring your own.

I would definitely make reservations if you want to eat in the cigar room because it fills up fast! There is also valet parking. The dress code is casual dressy. If you wear a pressed pair of jeans (yes, people in Texas have their jeans pressed and starched) with your Lucchese boots and a nicely pressed western shirt, you will be more than welcomed right into the restaurant. Remember, this is Texas where western dress is the norm not the exception.

If you want "real" Mexican food, this is the place. Most places in Houston serve Tex-Mex, which means the food is an American version of Mexican food. This place is Mexican, Mexican, Mexican! If you have ever been to Mexico and eaten real Mexican food you will not be disappointed here, and the food is very reasonable in price. They even have a veranda out front if you want to eat outside.

The decor is Mexican and the waitstaff is also Mexican--in fact, if you can speak to them in Spanish they will love you even more here.

A must try if you love authentic tacos are the "Tacos al Pasteur". The meat in these tacos is pork and the taco is soft like a burrito. If you get some guacamole on the side and put it inside the taco, it is great. They serve you chips and authentic pico de gallo for free as soon as you sit down. They have plenty of beer here and you can buy them by the ice-filled bucket. They also have a section where you can buy Mexican pastries, which are delicious. This place is a must.

Texas should be renamed the "Golfing Capital of the World". Usually when you think of golf you think of Scotland or Florida but you should be thinking Texas. Everyone is Texas likes to play golf. There are more golf course there than anywhere I have ever seen. Texas has produced more golf professionals (men or women) than any other place. In northern Houston, there is "The Woodlands", a mega developed, well thought out suburbia of golf courses designed by Arnold Palmer, the PGA Tournament Players Club and every golf course designer you ever wanted to play on. Most of the golf courses in the suburban part of Houston intermingle among well-to-do peoples' homes. If you go further north into Conroe or south towards Clear Lake you will see the more natural terrain of the area. South of Houston the terrain will be flat and in the northern area it will be much hillier.