A good time to say ‘howdy’ to Houston
Party town, arts hub and foodie favourite: The Bayou City has it all, including a livestock show and rodeo
If you’ve never said howdy to Houston, there’s no better time than right now, pardner.
There is a palpable frisson in this city, still exuberant over its success as host city of Super Bowl LI. The Big Game helped to spotlight Houston’s diversity: More than just Big Oil, it is also a party town, arts and culture hub, and culinary destination.
On a recent visit to the Bayou City, my husband and I discovered Houston was in party mode yet again. This time the city was celebrating its signature event, the 20-day Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, where twang is optional but Stetsons and cowboy boots are de rigueur.
There’s a trade show and carnival but it’s the rodeo that’s the main event and, naturally, it’s behemoth in Texas. At the 72,000-seat NRG Stadium, we watched broncobusting by the pros, calf scrambles by teens vying for scholarship funds, even an adorable mutton bustin’ event featuring helmet-clad youngsters determinedly clinging to lambs just as determined to shake them off. A concert followed — Alicia Keys the night we attended — on a giant stage rolled out over the stadium’s dirt floor.
If barrel racing isn’t your thing, head to the Houston Museum District, with 19 museums and galleries in a beautifully designed walkable area.
With our CityPasses, we made the Houston Museum of Natural Science our first stop. From the striking dinosaur hall to the thousands of gentle butterflies whirring about in the Cockrell Butterfly Center, the museum has something for all interests.
At the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 13 works of hyperrealist sculptor Ron Mueck were on exhibit. We saw sculptures of an older couple at the beach, two old women gossiping, a woman giving birth.
To take in Houston’s top attraction, NASA’s Johnson Space Center and its official visitor facility, Space Center Houston, we set aside a full day. Top marks to this brilliant attraction, especially Historic Mission Control, from where NASA’s brilliant minds sent astronauts to the moon and back. Their capabilities at the time comprised five IBM computers that collectively had nine megabytes of power — the equivalent of about five digital photos today. Especially cool: Seeing the speaker from which those famous words were heard: “Houston, we’ve had a problem.”
Houston’s proximity to Mexico and Louisiana, not to mention its ethnic diversity, means its cuisine has a unique blend that draws food lovers from all across North America.
Caracol, an authentic Mexican restaurant helmed by five-time James Beard-nominated chef Hugo Ortega, is set incongruously within a cluster of office highrises. Make sure you try the Gulf oysters roasted in chipotle butter.
Another evening we devoured Louisiana-style crawfish at Ragin’ Cajun restaurant. It was scrumptious, and totally worth the mess.
Houston is sprawling and it can be exhausting, but we found respite at two attractions right in the centre of the city: The Downtown Aquarium is a soothing oasis in a sea of concrete. And if you want to find your bliss outdoors, you can cycle, kayak or just people-watch at Bayou Buffalo Park, 160 acres of tranquillity with the skyline as your backdrop.
At the end of our day, we were always glad to return to the decadent comforts of the St. Regis Hotel. From the Bose sound system and the illy espresso maker, the St. Regis Houston is luxury writ large.
Much obliged, Houston … we hope to see y’all again real soon.