Living it up in Houston

My favorite thing about Houston is that there is always something to do. Houston is home to the 2nd Largest Theater District in the US (NYC is 1st). There are thousands of restaurants, all kinds of professional sports to watch in brand new facilities, Astroworld, good shopping, and several nightlife areas all over town!
With the "revitalization" of downtown, there are all kinds of nightlife and restaurants on Main Street. With the new Toyota Center opening in October, 2003, even more new places are opening in East downtown. There's also a lot of great places opening in Midtown (South of downtown). Along with Uptown (by the Galleria), Midtown is the place to see and be seen!
You can also head out to Clear Lake, home of NASA - JSC and Space Center Houston (See my other entry on Clear Lake).

Quick Tips:

For the best shopping, do the Galleria or to Katy Mills (Head West on I-10, exit Mills Ave.).
For home furnishing shopping you can't get anywhere South of Chicago, head to Ikea off of I-10 & Silber. While you're there, check out the new Marquee Center nearby, home to a movie theater, Glow in the dark putt-putt golf, several restaurants, and a nightclub.

Best Way To Get Around:

There are over 4 million people in Houston and every one of us has a car! Traffic is bad, but it usually is moving. Rush hour can be bad, so stay off the freeways during those times.
To visit all over Houston, a car is a MUST. If you're just staying in/near Downtown or the Galleria, taking cabs is usually your best bet. About will get you & your party anywhere you need to go.
Metro Light Rail opened in Jan '03. It's cool and travels from North Downtown to the Reliant Center. It's to ride it all day, and it's convenient and easy.

The Rainforest Cafe is a chain in the fashion of Hard Rock Cafes and Planet Hollywoods with a new twist: It's made to look as though you are dining inside a rainforest. As with HRC's and PH's, you are in it as much for the experience and the atmosphere as for the eating. Being a member of the "Rainforest Club" ($10 to join, or free if they're feeling generous), I don't have to be subjected to what looks like a pretty long waiting list. If you go here often, you might consider joining, you get coupons and whatnot and you get on a walk-up preferred seating list. However, if you do have to wait, you can be entertained by the live performance of a man and his talking parrots outside, mill around the gift shop (which has some cool stuff... you also get a discount on the merchandise with your card!), or kickback at the Magic Mushroom bar sitting on a giraffe or zebra-legged barstool!

The restaurant itself is a little dark (it's a rainforest!) and decorated accordingly complete with realistic-looking wildlife (that come to "life" at random), plants, rainforest sounds, and what no rainforest should be without: many large, well-lit fish tanks containing exotic fish. The tables are covered in animal prints, also. Every ten minutes is a "thunderstorm" with sounds and lightening flashes.

The food: The restaurant has a pretty extensive menu with specialty drinks, appetizers, desserts, and entrees. I've had their quesadillas (different than typical mexican quesadillas and very good), and their grilled chicken sandwich which was also good. One time I also had an Oreo drink of some sort which I would not recommend: it's like $5 and not very big or very good.

At Katy Mills, it's a great way to escape the loud mall and kickback. The waiters are all very nice and the service is good. Overall, it's just a fun experience!

Interesting concept... Mexican food and Hamburgers at one place. However, I have never eaten Mexican there, so I only know about the hamburgers (but supposedly the Mexican food is good... I'll have to try it sometime). Ok, this place is not too clean or nice, but the food is ok. Let me explain since I seem to go here quite a bit. My friends all love their hamburgers. Love them. I am pretty picky about my burgers and find them not to be that great. However, I do really, really like their grilled chicken sandwich. The chicken is grilled just perfectly to keep all the flavor in, and then you have your choice of what to put on it (much like a Fuddrucker's, except cheaper). Their fries are ok... a little over-cooked sometimes. The way this place works... in one room, you stand in a little line contemplating their on-the-wall menu, and when you get to the cash register, you order. You get a number, take a seat and get your food when called. There is also an outdoor patio. The decor is cheap, but they are more known for their food. Good, fairly cheap place to get a burger on a Saturday afternoon.

Ok, I'm not from Philly, and I don't claim to know a "good cheesesteak" by Philly standards, but I do know good food - and this is it.

When you pull into the parking lot at the Houston Texadelphia, you'll know you're there because every car in the parking lot has a UT or Texas A&M sticker on it. Don't worry, it's a good thing.

The restaurant itself is probably one of the last things you'd expect in the Galleria area of Houston - but it's a good, cheap, out-of-the-way place (as is Mama's next door).

The Houston Texadelphia is slightly different from the "original" one in Austin. When you walk up, you come between two wooden buildings - to your left is (what looks to me like) a "private party" or overflow room. It's got some wooden tables and TVs and on nice days, a breeze blowing through it. To your right is an enclosed porch-type area with lots of wooden picnic tables and more TVs - usually a little bit more populated, since it is closer to the kitchen. Keep walking - straight ahead is an outdoors congregating area with a basketball hoop and not much else - looks like a good place to hang out during a BIG game if Texadelphia gets too packed. From there, immediately to your right is the main room. It's got all the sports/beer paraphenelia, more TVs, big screen TVs, and the kitchen/bar area. This is the only part that's air-conditioned too (a great place to be in August in Houston).

Grab a wooden chair and sit down at a table. Grab one of the yellow paper menus on your table (located next to the wooden six-pack case holding salt/pepper/napkins/straws on your table). Order yourself up a cold longneck and start reading the menu. I've heard that some of their other food is also very good - but you've got to try the cheesesteak sandwich. Available with either chicken or beef (I like the beef) and with a wide variety of sauces (ranch, spicy mustard(what they (& I) recommend), BBQ sauce, etc). All that comes on the delicious bread is the meat and onions (grilled together - so be sure to tell them to take them out if you don't want them!). The sandwich comes with chips and their homemade salsa. The chips & queso is a good appetizer.

Basically, Texadelphia is just a sports bar with a fun atmosphere and really good food.

Not wanting to go anyplace too crowded or expensive on New Year's Eve, we happened upon this place after finding our restaurant of choice closed for the holiday!

Located in the corner of a shopping center just across Westheimer from the Galleria, you can spot this place by the fire torches out in front. Valet parking is available, probably because this parking lot gets very crowded on weekends. Before you venture up the stairs to the actual restaurant, you can check out the menu at the foot of the stairs.

Once upstairs, you'll notice that the whole restaurant is decked out in Southwestern fare. The exposed pine interior is covered in antique saddles, ropes, and blankets; all in Santa Fe colors. The restaurant was about two-thirds full and we were quickly seated. Being New Year's Eve, some people were dressed up, but the majority of the patrons (couples & adults) were in more casual clothes.

Looking over the menu, it was hard to steer clear of the large selection of hand-shaken margaritas, but we did (saving ourselves for later in the night). I finally decided on the pasta dish w/ penne pasta, shrimp, and vegetables in a spicy creamy tomato sauce. It was a little spicy for me, but delicious. My friends had the Chile Rubbed House Sirloin with mashed potatoes and a side of vegetables and the Portabella mushroom & Spinach quesadillas with a salad instead of the side of beans & rice, but ended up getting the Chicken quesadillas. She really enjoyed her food and didn't even really notice that it was the wrong meal until she was almost finished.

Before the meal, breadsticks and a spread that looked like reddish butter, but tasted like fire-roasted red peppers and cream cheese, was brought out with our drinks. The breadsticks were soft and warm and the spread was very yummy.

The service was excellent. But, this also brings up the story of my only "downfall" of the meal. I had ordered a glass of water and after drinking more than half of it, my friend noticed that there was a screw in the bottom of it! As my friends joked that "a screw in your water means good luck for the new year," I called the waiter over and he was just as perplexed as we were about the screw. He immediately brought me a new water and at the end of our meal, he brought out a Banana Burrito Desert "on the house." It was delicious: A warmed banana wrapped in a couple soft flour tortillas covered in cinnamon with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and the whole thing drizzled in chocolate. As we finished the desert, the manager came over and apologized profusely claiming he had no idea how a screw even got into their kitchen! Anyways, we had a good laugh about it and didn't hold it against the restaurant - I will definitely be going back!!

Mia Bella has been my Very Favorite Restaurant for a while. There is nothing all that spectacular about it, but it is consistently good. I love their food, the atmosphere, the service, prices, drinks (frozen bellinis - yum!), everything. The place is not big, and adds to the family atmosphere they seem to try to promote.

It's a small place. There is a big main room, and a smaller room to the side that can be reserved for parties, and a bar on one side. The kitchen can be seen in the back as you walk in the front door. The whole place is dim, and has an "Italian" feel to it: from the dark wood, simple black furniture, white tablecloths, and all the black and white pictures of friends and families that adorn the walls. Try to get a table near the windows; it's fun to people watch.

The menu is extensive and features what I call "Italian with a twist." It's not traditional Italian, and one of my favorite dishes is the grilled calamari. It's hard to find non-fried calamari anywhere, and here, it's fantastic. It comes on a bed of their house salad, covered in their delicious roasted garlic balsamic vinaigrette. (They do also have the fried kind, if you like it fried.) I also love the Insalata Mia Bella, which also comes with their house dressing. Their pasta dishes are good, reasonably priced, and are a good size. Their calzones are very cheesy and one of my favorites. I've been told by my friends that their filet is also wonderful. There is also a goat cheese and mushroom streudel appetizer that I have been known to crave until we go there. It is so good!!

My favorite night is Wednesday, which is $2 night. They have $2 frozen Bellinis, margaritas, draft beer, and well drinks and certain menu items. You have to actually ask for the $2 menu, otherwise they won't bring it to the table. All the items on the $2 menu are scaled down versions of most of their appetizers, including the grilled calamari salad and the streudel. It's a good way to try out new things on the cheap!

Even with all the construction, Mia Bella's survived and is thriving in the new revitalized downtown. The owners are also responsible for Mi Luna in Rice Village (a great tapas restaurant) and Cava Bistro (more upscale than Mia Bella, IMO).

Uptown Sushi seems to be the hottest new sushi place in Houston. It's packed every night of the week since opening a couple of months ago.

I went on a Wednesday night and there was a half-hour wait for a table. However, there was plenty of seating at tables in the bar area. The crowd is the seen-and-be-seen types, and the decor matches: white curtains, low lighting, and high ceilings - really impressive and beautiful.

The food (especially the sushi) was very good. I had the house salad with chicken, a sushi roll and several pieces of sushi. It was all very good. However, the service was not that great. Our sushi came out just fine, but then they brought my friend's appetizer and not my salad. After 15 minutes, I asked the waiter about it. He rushed off, and still did not come back with it for 15 minutes. There was a brief apology, but I did not feel like that was enough for having waited half an hour for a salad.

Parking is very difficult in Uptown Park in general, but there is $3 valet parking at Uptown Sushi.

From the outside, Meson del Sol doesn't look like much. It is, after all, an old house that's been converted into a banquet hall and restaurant.

There is plenty of parking, and it's never crowded inside. It's BYOB, and a bottle of wine is a nice complement to your meal. They will happily keep your wine glass filled, with no corkage fee.

The fairly priced menu is primarily South American fare, and everything I've tried has been delicious. The complementary chips and warmly served salsa are some of my favorite in all of Houston. From the appetizer menu, I always start with the Peruvian ceviche ($8), pieces of tilapia soaked in lime juice. It comes with crackers but is much better served on the chips. It is so good, I crave it at times! I have also tried the patacones (fried cheese and potato cakes) and the onion soup (rivals La Madeleine). Both very good!

From the entrees, you must try something with their creamy Creole sauce - it is out-of-this-world! The best thing to try it on is their Colombian Creole Sobrebarriga ($15). It is a unique cut of beef that pulls apart in strings and is so good. To stay on the healthy side, I sometimes get the Mayan-style tilapia ($16), grilled. Delicious! All of their entrees come with a vegetable medley that is wonderfully flavored, rice, and maduros (sweet fried bananas). The maduros are so good, our table sometimes orders them as a side dish. For only $2, you can get a huge plate of them! Yum! The only thing I haven't been a fan of was the house salad I got one time.

If the crowd is light (it usually is), you will be seated by the window, with a gorgeous view of downtown. Try not to notice the banquet hall chair or folding tables covered in white linen. Remember, this place doubles as a banquet hall!

Despite the "cheesy" decor, this restaurant is one of my favorites because their food is so good!

Complete menu: Meson del Sol

The Galleria is a HUGE shopping center with 4 floors. On the ground level is an ice-skating rink where you can pay to skate. Situated around the rink is the main food "court" consisting of everything from Taco Bell to a Chili's. There are also a few stores down there.

On the first through third floors there are more stores including Versace, the Gap, Express, Limited, Guess, Bath & Body Works, Coach, Nine West, Armani Exchange, Banana Republic, Wet Seal, Betsey Johnson, Ann Taylor, Tiffany, Sam & Libby, Victoria's Secret, Origins, Gucci, J. Crew, Abercrombie & Fitch, and many others (over 300). There are four major department stores in the Galleria: Saks Fifth Ave, Neiman Marcus, Lord & Taylor, and Macy's and a Dillard's across the street. If you go through the Saks, you will find a few more (less crowded) stores in "Galleria III" including Crate and Barrel, Ralph Lauren, Sharper Image, and another small food court. There are 43 restaurants in the Galleria, including the Cheesecake Factory with its extensive dessert menu.

Attached to the Galleria are some office buildings and two hotels: The Westin Galleria and the Westin Oaks.

Beginning in the summer of 2001, work will begin to add a huge Foley's, a Nordstrom, and a bunch of retail stores. It's going to be across the street from the original Galleria, and a sky bridge is going to connect them.

Dean's is a fairly "new" bar, located in the heart of the downtown club/bar district. During the day it's a clothing store (used to be Dean's Credit Clothing and was supposedly one of the first places in Houston to offer credit to black people). Now, it's a small place with a bouncer that only lets in a few people at a time when it's crowded (something about fire codes)... unless you know him. Otherwise, you'll wait in line until he feels like carding you and letting you in. Be nice and maybe he'll remember you next time.

Once inside, you'll be in a small wooden-floored room with wall to wall urbanites. On your left is the bar and everywhere else there are booths on the walls with tables. The booths look to me as if they are situated in what used to be closets... maybe that's the impression I get because of all the clothes hanging in and around the bar. They are clothes designed by local designers and there's a dressing room in the back (I think this is more for during the day shopping). :)

On Friday and Saturday nights after 11 the bar is usually packed with good looking people in good looking clothes and leather jackets. The drinks are good and a little on the expensive side, but you are here for the atmosphere, and you're probably not staying long, so you don't care.

Swank Lounge is located above the restaurant Solero, across from Cabo's. It's not a big bar, but I've never seen it too crowded. They call it a "lounge" I guess because it's dimly lit and they serve up different signature martinis. Not that I've had one, but they are supposed to be good. I go there to dance after hitting all the bars downtown and wanting to dance but not pay a $20 cover and I'm not a big techno fan (The Hub and Prague are the other two places to dance... for $20 a pop). I've only been there on Friday and Saturday nights which (according a website) are the "Ultralounge" nights with DJs Dean Chechere and B.P. who serve up "anything from Sly and the Family Stone to CCR to the theme from "Sesame Street."" I tend to disagree with that, considering I've never heard any of that. I've heard lots of rap and disco and 80s pop. Good dancing music to have fun to! The dance floor is not all that big, and there's a small stage, but the crowd is upbeat and fun. The bar is in the back, covered in colored glass which looks super-cool.

[This place closed in 2002 and is now called Czar Bar]

Growing up in Houston, I go to the Rodeo usually once every time it comes to town, sometimes more. It starts around mid-February every year and goes until mid-March. I go mainly for the concerts, but if you are into Rodeo events, they are there too.

A week before the Rodeo is the Annual Chili cookoff on the premises. I have never been to it, but I hear it's pretty good also.

During the rodeo, the outside of the Dome is a carnival and in the Astrohall is the Livestock show. Entrance is free with your Rodeo ticket. The carnival has rides and midway games including a ferris wheel, spinning rides, and rollercoasters. Once inside the Dome, you will find your seats. The Rodeo events are from 7 to 9 pm, with the concert following. The Rodeo events consist of calf-roping, barrel racing, bull riding, wagon racing, and some others. Most of it is cool to watch, but my favorite part is the concert (sometimes I don't even show up till 9).

Performers that play at the Rodeo usually love doing so and some return year after year (Brooks & Dunn). The biggest problem with seeing a concert at the Dome is that the stage is in the center of "arena" area (where all the rodeo stuff takes place) and so it is far away from all of the seats. Some performers will play this up and ride around the arena arena on a horse or in a truck as they perform. Past performers include everyone from Hank Williams Jr., Reba, Robert Earl Keen, Garth, Clint Black, B&D to Boys 2 Men and Selena. This year Destiny's Child is performing!!

Binoculars are always a good idea, even for just the rodeo events. Parking is usually not too big of a problem, the Dome's parking lot is huge. But, if it's a popular concert event, it could be crowded.

Overall, it's a fun evening for the whole family, a date, or with a group.

A better Pollyesther's. Better people, better drinks, better atmosphere, better music.

This place just opened (Jan 2001) in Bayou Place in the Theater District. Bayou Place in itself is pretty cool... It's a big building that houses a movie theater, a few restaurants (Mingalone's, a sushi place, and they moved the Hard Rock Cafe here), a Slick Willie's, and now a Have a Nice Day Cafe!

I went there on a Saturday night around 10 pm. We got there "early" to avoid the line. To get in, you have to climb several flights of stairs, climbing past Slick Willie's. Once inside, you enter a medium-sized room with a small dance floor, a bar, and a DJ booth. The entire room is covered in day-glo yellows, oranges, and greens, and all kinds of 70s and 80s paraphenelia and TVs playing 70s/80s movies (HE-MAN movie!?!). Also there are quite a few people there in 70s clothes... another fun thing to watch!

The dance floor is lighted from underneath with colored lights ("Saturday Night Fever" anyone?) and the DJ is spinning good 70s and 80s party tunes. In my opinion, they play way better music than Pollyesther's... it's all totally danceable. The dance floor never got too crowded, but it was crowded enough to have fun! It's definitely a place to have a good time.

As for the bar... the $2 drinks, shots, and beers when we got there were very nice. I was not aware that the prices went up, but apparently sometime around 11, they doubled to $4. One complaint: NO BUD LIGHT? They only offered Miller light, Corona, and Coors Light. Very strange for Texas. Their mixed drinks were good (and strong). One of the best Midori Sours I've ever had. However, the specialty drink here are their Fish Bowls (a fish bowl filled with the drink and ice and 4 straws). I'm not sure how much they cost, because throughout the night they GIVE THEM AWAY from the DJ booth to any GIRL that gets there fast enough! They are good... taste like KoolAid, but they have lots of alcohol in them.

The only problem with the club being in this area is the parking. Parking downtown is never very fun, so you may have to block a few blocks away and walk if you're not up for having your car valeted. Not too bad when the weather's good, especially since the area it's in is not bad at all, but still semi-annoying.

Overall, it's a very fun club with a great crowd!

[This place closed in Summer 2003, was remodeled, and is now called Whiskey Chicks (and they still don't have Bud Light)]

I call it "Bar Houston" but I think the chain is more widely known as "BAR".

This place seems like a place I would love: loud 70s-80s-90s-now music, people (girls) dancing on the bars, the "seen and be seen" crowd, but I really wasn't too impressed. First of all, if you get there after 10:30, you have to wait in a huge line. Lucky for us, we missed that, and got there at 10. Walked up the 3 flights of stairs, paid the $5 cover, and walked in. It's impressively hip inside, with black & white photos painted on the walls and all kinds of "BAR"-themed top ten lists ("Top Ten reasons to go to BAR", "Top Ten things celebrities have said about BAR", etc.). The BAR itself is in the center of the room, with a bar going all the way around it with all kinds of women dancing on it (the just-got-off-work-and-had-too-many-martinis-so-now-i'm-dancing-on-a-bar-with-my-suit-on types, the young 20s dressed to impress types (the ones you'd expect), and even the occasional woman that should just NOT be up on any bar dancing). On one side is a few tables with people standing around, and on the other side is a rather small packed dance floor with the DJ booth (more dancing girls) and another small bar.

Now, the music was ok... Madonna, disco, and a couple N*Sync songs, and it seemed like it could be a lot of fun. However, there are all kinds of icky guys standing around ogling the girls on the bars! Some guys are just there, hanging out, having a good time, but mostly it's older men and other perverts! And the other bad thing about this place is the DRINKS. $4 for a domestic BEER??? $5 for a well drink?? Ridiculous! And the bartenders aren't nice about it either.

The night I went, we left after an hour and went somewhere else. Overall, it seems like a cool place, and I could probably have fun there, but it would take bringing the right group of people and having a few drinks before I got there.

Enron Field is the first of the 3 new stadiums coming to Houston. It's located in downtown Houston at Union Station, and is part of the renovation of downtown. For many years, the Astrodome was home to the Houston Astros, but since the opening of Enron Field in 2000, baseball in Houston has made a comeback. From what I hear, the numbers of people going to the games now is a lot more than the Dome was getting in it's last few years, even though Enron Field is smaller. And once you see the field you'll know why. The field just looks "fun." From the outside, it's all shiny, colorful, and inviting. Once you walk in, you are greeted to the breezes running under the seat decks, all the vendors, and stores. There's even an "open air" Ruggles restaurant & bar that overlooks the field. Everything at Enron Field is themed around the railroad, since it's located in the old Union Station. There's even a vintage, full size train that runs, with steam and all, along one of the walls when an Astro hits a homerun! The mascot has even followed suit: Union Jack, a jack rabbit dressed like a train engineer. But, my favorite feature is the retractable roof that they open when the weather is nice. It's awesome watching a great baseball game, with the downtown skyline in the background, and even better when the sun sets. Also, before & during the game, the Astros Field Patrol also periodically takes to the field to get the crowd riled up and distribute t-shirts and other fun stuff.

I've been to a few games, and I've always had fun. There are many different prices for the seats. There's even $1 Mondays, where all the $5 seats in the tip-top of the field are $1. My favorite seats (price & location-wise) are the Crawford Boxes. $17. However, I try not to use ticketmaster to get the tickets, I go directly to the field and avoid the $3.25 per ticket fee. And of course, food is at ballpark prices... $4 sodas, $6 nachos, $4 beers etc.

As for the 2001 season, it looks like the Astros might do pretty well this season. Keep your fingers crossed!

Named after a Caribbean island known for good fishing, Saba is not just a hip bar, but a restaurant. The decor alone makes it one of my favorite downtown bars. It's open for lunch and dinner (their food is Carribean fusion), but about 10 o'clock, the hostess stand is pushed out of the way and it "officially" becomes an awesome bar. The crowd is mostly young professionals dressed to impress for a night on the town.

Walking into Saba, it's almost as if you're going underwater. The lighting is dim, but you can see. Even when it's packed with people, it seems quiet. There is a 500-gallon tropical-fish aquarium in the middle of the bar, dividing the "restaurant" tables from the bar tables. Late at night, the whole place becomes the bar, and most of the restaurant tables are filled with people drinking. However, they do still serve food late into the night. The red brick and polished wood walls are adorned by large colorful paintings of naked couples swimming in tropical seascapes. In the rear of the place, there a huge illuminated blue wall that adds to the underwater atmosphere.

There's a little bit of standing room if you can't find a table or place to sit, there's even a little ledge in the standing area. Saba is a great place to start your night with a few drinks. It's also a prime date spot with lots of couples (lots of groups of singles too!).

My very favorite drink here is the $6.00 frozen lemongrass margarita. The menu claims it's made with Sauza Gold Tequila, fresh limes, and lemon grass, but it tastes like a combination of orange juice, lemons, and margarita, but not too sweet or sour. They also have several other Caribbean-themed specialty drinks, the $7.00 Blue Water Martini that tastes like "Ocean Water" from Sonic Drive-In! :) Also, be careful what you ask for... My friend and I asked the bartender for a "strong shot that tastes good." I've done this at other bars and discovered some pretty good drinks, but in this case, we got a Barcardi 151 shot with a little Raspberry Liquor on top. Wow - very strong!

Anyway, if nothing else, go there and try their lemongrass margarita - yum!!

For the first time since we were "of age", my friends and I found ourselves in Houston (hometown for most of us) for New Year's. We were kinda skeptical, thinking that everyone goes out of town, what is there to do in Houston? Well, about a month in advance, I started looking on the internet. I found Houston citysearch, vinylpimp.com, and 77002.com to be the most helpful. However, citysearch only had listings of places that paid to be on there (Mercury Room, various hotels). Vinylpimp had flyers from almost every downtown club with helpful prices and the ability to buy the tickets online.

Cover charges varied from club to club. Most clubs were charging $25-$40 to get in w/ champagne toasts at midnight (Prague($25), Tonic($25), Spy($25), Toc($40), Lotus Lounge ($35), Mercury Room/Boaka Bar($25)), some had special privileges (VIP access, free drinks) if you paid more to get in ($35 at Prague got you VIP access, $90 got you free drinks; $100 at Lotus Lounge got you upstairs access & free drinks). Some other clubs charged only $15 to get in (Hyperia), some were free for ladies/$10 for guys (Rehab) w/ $2 drinks till midnight. Many had food & free party favors.

In the end, we chose to pay $100 Lotus Lounge. We know the bartenders (they make good drinks, and there's no such thing as "well" liquors there - it's all premium), we like their mix of techno/rap, we like the crowd, and we like the scene. When we got there, since we didn't buy our tickets in advance, we had to wait outside for like 5 minutes. The bouncer was really nice, so we just chatted w/ him. He told us to look across the street at Mercury Room - the line to get in was wrapped around the corner!! We couldn't believe it! He said that they were getting a lot of people from there because it was only $25 to get in, but all the drinks were $10 and it was really crowded.

Once we get inside we get a wristband and some party favors (masks, beads, leis, glow sticks, etc). There weren't too many people downstairs, and a bouncer on the stairs let people w/ wristbands upstairs. Upstairs there were more people. The whole place was decorated with the Mardi Gras theme, complete with big showgirl-esque headpieces on the bartenders. Drinks were good, and free, and soon the whole upstairs (and downstairs) was packed with people! Not too many people, but just enough. It was a good crowd. At midnight, we had our champagne toast and a $1000 balloon drop on the dance floor. We danced the rest of the night away, snacking on the quesadillas & chips provided at the bar.

It was an awesome New Year's Eve - one of my best ever - and totally worth the $100 to get in.

"You saw Britney Spears?!" Yes, I'm 20-something years old and I'm a Britney Spears fan. I just figure that someday, Britney may very well be the next Madonna: She causes controversy, parents are upset about their little girls listening to her, she's got an awesome body, and she's got great PR. She's everywhere. So, yes, I saw Britney in concert. If she is destined to be the next Madonna, at least I can say I saw her when.

Arriving at Houston's Compaq Center, the main thing we noticed was the crowd: there were lots of screaming little girls and their moms, but there were lots of 20-somethings, and guys too. SO much different than the N'Sync crowd (yes, I saw them too - cheap tickets!). We weren't deafened by the constant pre-teen screaming before the concert even started, and we were able to sit down and enjoy the show.

Opening for Britney was the Sheryl Crow-wannabe, Nikka Costa. She played about 8 songs, and then we waited an hour and a half for Miss Spears to get on the stage! An HOUR AND A HALF.

Anyways, Britney opened in a black fitted pants outfit, covered by a trenchcoat, singing "Oops!... I Did It Again." The show covered all of her hits, some in different styles than we've heard Britney do before, in the 80-minute set. She changed into 9 different outfits over the course of the evening, with many different sets. She appeared from inside a life-size music box, danced with her onscreen "self" in perfect unison, and danced to perfectly choreographed routines with all of her dancers. It was quite a show.

The stage was set up so that there was a wide catwalk that extended all the way through the audience and allowed Britney to be closer to her fans. The stage also had a "floating" stage that she used during "I Love Rock & Roll" to "ride" over her audience. But the most intriguing part of the stage appeared at the end. After the first encore, Britney disappeared and this large cylinder, of what appeared to be a 50-foot column of light, that looked like water (but surely it's NOT water) was in the center of the main stage. Britney appeared in the center of this column with her dancers, who danced through the walls of WATER... it was water! Britney and her dancers were all wet and used the water as part of their dancing. It was amazing.

Like she said at the beginning of the show "Anything, I mean anything, can happen."

The concert was good, and Britney put on a good show, but with her lip-syncing to most of the songs, she is not anywhere near Madonna. Yet.

Blanco's is located inside the 610 Loop, near the Compaq Center, amongst apartment complexes and small businesses. It's a little old house with a gravel parking lot and a sign posted out front with "Blanco's" and the name of the band playing the next night. Walking inside, you are in a small town country dancin' bar. It's got several little open well-lit "rooms" surrounding the tiniest dance floor I have ever seen! On the dance floor, there is a small stage where (as far as I can tell) there is always a band playing. The night I went (a Friday), The Hollisters were playing, and they seem to be regulars. They played mostly fast stuff that was fun to dance to. The dance floor doesn't get too packed, and everyone is nice and just looking to have a good time. There's a couple of pool tables in one room and many tables and bar stools. It's a pretty neat little old bar and you can tell it's been there for a while... the decor consists of beer memorbilia, dead deer, and various other junk. If you like country music, it's definitely a place you should check out... very interesting and fun. Small town country bar feel in a big city.

As my friend said as we walked in the door "If you had told me there was a place like this inside the Loop, I would have called you a liar."

Not sure what to do on a rainy Friday night? Don't want to spend a lot? Try City Streets. Yes, it’s corny, but it can be fun. My advice is to go with a positive attitude and a group of similarly-minded friends and you'll have fun.

If it’s after 11, there will be a line. Inside, you're in a hallway, next to a kiosk selling tacos - keep walking.

Immediately to your right is the Blue Monkey, a karaoke/blues bar that's only open sometimes. It's usually filled with an older, tamer crowd, and a few groups of young people. To your left is Stray Cats. It's very cool always-crowded "dualing" piano bar. It’s a lot of fun – many unique versions of songs involving new lyrics and props. Hand them a song & name written on a napkin and a few dollars ($5 is sufficient, but I've seen people give $100 or more) they'll play a song for you, and embarrass your bachelorette/birthday boy/drunk friend.

Keep walking, and straight ahead, is the main room: The Rose. The Rose is a (mostly) country music scene with a life-size Alamo replica in the background (and a shot bar in the "doorway") and a large dance floor. The Rose may be considered "country," and you may even notice lots of cowboys walking around and the barbed wire decorations on the wall, but they do play some rap/pop/techno in between the country sets. This is where many people hang out. It's easy to get a big table here and use it as "base" for your group. In addition to the cowboys, the crowd consists of everyone from older couples, 40-something women, old men, yuppies, 20-somethings, tons of bachelorette parties, and everything in between.

On either side of The Rose's dance floor are two staircases, both leading to the same upstairs. On your way up the stairs are a couple of sparsely-populated landings with more tables and chairs. One staircase leads directly to the Midway (pool tables and arcade games). The other staircase allows you to cross over to the Midway once you get to this "second" floor. Up the stairs in front of you is Atlantis, the 80s/new wave club with an blue tinted underwater theme and a medium-sized dance floor and three bars. Walking through Atlantis and down some stairs, you reach Cages - the very dark rap-slash-techno club with a tiny dance floor (and two "cages" to dance in) and no room for a bar (Atlantis is only a staircase away). If you go out the "front" door of Cages, you'll end up back at one of the staircases that leads down to the Rose, and if you go out the side door of Cages, you'll be at the Midway.

Confused? Well, it's not that hard to figure out once you're inside. There are stairs everywhere leading to all the different clubs. Not a stair climber? There's an elevator on the far side of Stray Cats.

Having visited the Chocolate Bar next door (worth a visit also), I had tried to visit Candylicious, but its hours are more limited (Chocolate Bar is open later till 10pm, since it serves ice cream). I finally made a point of visiting on a dreary Sunday afternoon. What better to cheer me up than candy and a trip back to my childhood?

For the trip, it's best that you do things as you would have done in your childhood: Bring your best friend, don't be in a rush, and bring a craving for CANDY. The one big difference between this trip and a trip to a candy store as a kid: You have more money. And you better bring it, too - the prices here are not cheap.

With all the brightly colored candy wrappers, Candylicious looks enticing even from the outside. Once inside, the staff will give you a friendly greeting, but pretty much leave you alone to wander around and look at everything unless you have a question, then they are ready to help. With so much to look at, you can spend quite some time here. There is the entire wall of pez dispensers (including the foot tall "giant" pez dispensers), the racks of sour candy, holiday candy, gummy candy, sugar-free candy, "adult" candy, novelty gum, cotton candy, old-fashioned candy and gum, etc. Good thing you brought your friend because you will be reminiscing and saying "Ohmigod, remember these?" "They used to sell these [Astropops] at the Astrodome!" "Oh, these are so cute!" "I didn't know they made these!" constantly.

Mixed in with all the standard candy (Fun Dip, wax bottle candy, Willy Wonka bars, sour straws, candy & gum cigarettes, giant jawbreakers, etc.), are some new spins on some old favorites: Giant Smarties, string-your-own-candy necklace, unique flavors of Bonkers (chocolate peanut butter?), giant Pez dispensers (16" high!), "New" Garbage Pail Kids, mix-your-own-candy kit, etc. In addition to the "old" candy, they also had a wide selection of the newer cartoon-themed candy (Cat in the Hat, Nemo, Powerpuff Girls, Hello Kitty). They also carry all 55 flavors of Jelly Belly Jellybeans (of course, so does Super Target), and will order any kind of candy they don't have.

Prices are slightly higher here than you'd find at a regular store. Most items are about $2 (candy-filled pens, Pez dispensers, small bags of candy).

I think the most unique thing about this candy store are the "candy cakes" they make. Give them a theme (color, cartoon, etc.) and they will design a "cake" using wrapped candies. They also make "trees" of tootsie rolls. These cakes and trees start at about $45, so it might be cheaper (and more fun) to make your own. They sure are cool to look at!