Everything's bigger in Texas, & Houston is no exception: it's the biggest city of them all. Begin a tour of this cosmopolitan metropolis at Space Center Houston, where interactive displays recreate the challenges of space exploration. A thriving Museum District preserves Houston's rich cultural treasures, while an abundance of parks preserve the city's green spaces. The cow-wrestling days may be over in Houston, but you don't have to look far to find traditional Texas culture: its remnants can be found at Gilley's honky-tonk & barbecue joints everywhere.
"Houston, we have a problem." Space Center Houston brings to life this & other memorable moments in space exploration with lunar simulators & anti-gravity environments. More earthly subjects fill the exhibits at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, including a recreated rainforest & glittering geodes. The attraction forms part of the extensive Museum District, which also includes the Czech Center Museum, the Health Museum, & the Children's Museum of Houston.
The quintessential Texas honky-tonk, Gilley's packs its dance floor with more cowboy hats & oversize belt buckles than you can possibly count. Although the club is large & famous, you'll find a more authentic vibe at Blanco's, including many of the state's best bands. Classical music fans will find plenty to love in Houston, too. The city's thriving cultural scene is centered in the Theater District, including symphony, opera, ballet & theater.
Sauce-laden barbecue, fresh seafood & spicy Tex-Mex enchiladas fill traditional restaurant menus across Houston. Order up an icy glass of sweet tea or beer & you'll be eating like a local. Houston's favorite local burgers, enormous & served with milkshakes, are beloved at Beck's Prime. The city's landmark restaurant is elegant Brennan's, with Creole redfish, flame-roasted Gulf shrimp & grilled Angus beef steaks.
Houston sizzles in the summer, when much of the city finds a way to swim at the beaches of Galveston. Buffalo Bayou draws hundreds of outdoor enthusiasts to its watery banks, lined with bicycle & walking paths. The 3-mile loop takes in views of the gleaming Houston skyline & is dotted with outdoor sculptures. A longer (10 miles) but no less pleasant pedestrian path lies southwest of town, at Brays Bayou.
Honoring Independence at the San Jacinto Monument: Here on the battlefield of San Jacinto, a small army of Texans led by General Sam Houston charged the much larger, better equipped Mexican army & dealt them a crushing blow. The victory gave Texas its independence. A monument & museum occupy the battlefield to honor & explain the history of the battle & its significance.
Experiencing the Menil Collection: One of the great private collections of the world, it could very well have ended up in Paris or New York, but was graciously bestowed by the collectors on their adopted city. To experience the Menil is pure delight; very little comes between the viewer & the art, which includes works by many of the 20th-century masters, classical works from the ancients, & tribal art from around the world.
Discovering NASA's Secrets at the Space Center Houston: Always the most popular attraction in the city, NASA's Space Center Houston is a joint effort powered by NASA technology & Disney know-how. It is the epitome of interactive display & simulation that manages to fascinate both kids & parents. During your visit, check out what's going on at the Johnson Space Center through a tram ride & video feeds.
Visiting the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston: With the addition of the Audrey Jones Beck Building, this museum has doubled its exhibition space & has put its collection of Impressionist & baroque art in the best possible light. The museum has several satellite facilities & attracts major touring exhibitions.
Because Houston isn't a major tourist destination, there isn't much in the way of tourism infrastructure except for the downtown visitor center. Most of the available resources are geared toward conventions & large groups, not independent travelers. From the visitor center, there is often a visitors' tour of downtown that looks at architecture, public sculpture, the tunnel system, & the view from the observation deck from the JP Morgan Chase Tower, the tallest building in Houston.
Especially for Kids -- Houston is kid-friendly. Easily half of the attractions in our listings are geared toward kids or have a large component especially suitable for them.
A tour of southeast Houston will take you to the Orange Show, with which young kids display an almost instinctual connection; the boat trip on the Ship Channel; a visit to the Battleship Texas; & the wonders of Space Center Houston. After that there's a visit to the boardwalk in Kemah or a trip to the beach or to Moody Gardens in Galveston.
South of downtown you have the Museum District, which includes the Children's Museum, the Houston Museum of Natural Science, & the Museum of Health & Medical Science. And, of course, there's Houston Zoological Gardens, which has a special children's zoo that explores the different ecological zones of Texas. To the north is SplashTown, a water park, & to the southwest is the George Ranch Historical Park for kids interested in cowboys & the Old West.
Space Center Houston: 1601 NASA Rd. 1, Clear Lake, TX, USA Neighborhood: Clear Lake
Hours: June-July daily 10am-7pm; Aug-May Mon-Fri 10am-5pm, Sat-Sun 10am-6pm
Transportation: The Space Center is about 25 miles from downtown Houston. Take the Gulf Fwy. to NASA Rd. 1, turn left, & go 3 miles
Phone: 281/244-2100
Prices Admission (including tours & IMAX theater) $20 adults, $19 seniors, $16 children 4-11. Parking $5
Space Center Houston is the visitor center for NASA's Johnson Space Center. It's the product of the joint efforts of NASA & Disney Imagineering. Easily the most popular attraction in the Houston area, there's nothing like it anywhere else in the world. You'll find plenty of exhibits & activities to interest both adults & children, & they do a great job of introducing the visitor to different aspects of space exploration. The center banks heavily on interactive displays & simulations on the one hand & actual access to the real thing on the other. For instance, the Feel of Space gallery simulates working in the frictionless environment of space by using an air-bearing floor (something like a giant air-hockey table). Another simulator shows what it's like to land the lunar orbiter. For a direct experience of NASA, you can take the 1 1/2-hour tram tour that takes you to, among other places, the International Space Station Assembly Building & NASA control center. You get to see things as they happen, especially interesting if there's a shuttle mission in progress. You might also see astronauts in training. And, on top of all this, Space Center Houston has the largest IMAX in Texas. Plan on staying here 3 to 4 hours.
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH): 1001 Bissonnet St. Neighborhood Museum District
Hours: Tues–Wed 10am–5pm; Thurs 10am–9pm; Fri, Sat 10am–7pm; Sun 12:15–7pm
Phone: 713/639-7300
Prices: $15 adults, $10 seniors & military, $7.50 students & children 13-18, ages 12 & younger free, free on Thursdays
This is the big daddy of Houston's art scene. With 65,000 pieces spanning ancient times to the present, these collections cover a lot of ground & include antiquities from Rome, Greece, & Egypt; gold objects from African royal courts; bronze vessels from 11th-century China; American landscapes from the 19th century; & European paintings, including Renaissance, Impressionist & post-Impressionist works. The modern & contemporary holdings are particularly popular, with works by Picasso, Matisse, & Pollock. One of the most striking displays is James Turrell's "The Light Inside," a mesmerizing tunnel of light that connects the museum's two main buildings. A film department screens a diverse lineup of hard-to-find or overlooked movies; recent programs include Hitchcock silents, a Turkish festival, & jazz on film. There's also a serene sculpture garden designed by sculptor Isamu Noguchi, which integrates concrete walls with natural elements & contains works by Rodin, Calder, & Ellsworth Kelly. The MFAH has two outposts, Bayou Bend & Rienzi, mansions in River Oaks which showcase American & European decorative arts respectively.
Menil Collection: 1515 Sul Ross St. Neighborhood Montrose
Hours Wed-Sun 11am–7pm
Phone 713/525-9400
Prices Free admission, donations welcome
John & Dominique de Menil's private collection of fine art is a must-stop for culture hounds in Houston. A total of 17,000 pieces (only a portion is on display at any one time) highlight four major areas: antiquities, Byzantine & Medieval, tribal, & modern art. The main building, designed by acclaimed architect Renzo Piano, is spacious, straightforward, & filled with natural light, fostering an immediate connection between visitors & the works on display. Next door, the Cy Twombly Gallery, also designed by Piano, is particularly captivating. Consider a visit to the nearby Rothko Chapel, an artsy, non-denomination spiritual sanctuary founded by the Menils.
The Orange Show: 2401 Munger St.
Hours: Sat, Sun noon–5pm
Phone: 713/926-6368
Prices: $1-$2
In a nondescript, somewhat down-on-its-heels neighborhood, you'll find this extraordinary display of outsider art, the work of a single man, a Houston postal worker named Jeff McKissack. Wishing to extol the health benefits of his favorite fruit—and hard work—McKissack labored for 25 years, constructing an elaborate, rambling, whimsical structure out of materials & objects (wagon wheels, tiles, flagpoles, tractor seats) that he scrapped from junkyards & abandoned buildings. Academics might refer to the creation as a "folk art environment" or a "self-made world," like the Watts Towers in Los Angeles, but for McKissack it was a way of life & a gift that he wanted to share with the entire world.
When he died in 1980, the colorful 3,000-square-foot complex languished until a group of local art patrons, including members of ZZ Top, started a foundation to preserve the Orange Show & promote like-minded endeavors. Today the foundation also hosts tours of the Beer Can House, spearheads the wildly popular Art Car Parade, & is currently working on Smither Park, a family-friendly, folk art-inspired park & playground on the half-acre next to the Orange Show.
The Health Museum: 1515 Hermann Drive Neighborhood Museum District
Hours: Tues–Sat 9am–5pm (open Mon in summer), Sun noon–5pm
Phone: 713/521-1515
Prices: $8 adults, $6 seniors, $6 children 3-12, free admission Thurs 2–5pm
It's only fitting that the city of Houston, home to the Texas Medical Center (the world's largest medical complex), boasts this family friendly, health-focused museum that illuminates the inner workings of the human body. The museum's standout exhibit, the Amazing Body Pavilion, is a grand-scale, hands-on environment where visitors can learn about the body's major organs; walking through the gigantic brain model will get you thinking. You: The Exhibit is all about humans, offering a body scanner, a Mirror of Hereditary, & an Age-O-Matic machine which offers users a glimpse of themselves 40 years into the future. (Warning: it can be a bit sobering for some mortality-fearing adults). The venue also features temporary exhibits, a 4D theater, & a gift shop with the kind of toys that parents needn't feel guilty about buying for their kids.
Houston Museum of Natural Science: 1 Hermann Circle Drive Neighborhood Museum District
Hours: Mon–Sun 9am–5pm
Phone: 713/639-4629
Prices: Museum $20 adults, $15 students/seniors/ages 3-11, Butterfly Center, movies, planetarium & special exhibits priced separately
This diverse, crowd-pleasing museum has only gotten better in recent years. Among its permanent exhibits are a hall of paleontology featuring ancient skeletons, including a mummified Triceratops, posed mid-action; a dazzling array of gems & minerals; a state-of-the-art, interactive display on the production of energy (a big deal here in Houston); & the latest addition, an immersive, 10,000-square-foot space detailing ancient Egyptian culture. One of the museum's biggest draws is the Cockrell Butterfly Center, where visitors can stroll among the fluttering creatures in a simulated rainforest with a 50-foot waterfall. There's also a giant screen movie theater with 4K digital projection & 3D capability, plus a planetarium with shows on black holes, asteroids & Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon." Temporary exhibitions may include a peek at an original edition of the Magna Carta, or a collection of objets d’art from the House of Fabergé.
Children's Museum of Houston: 1500 Binz Neighborhood Museum District
Hours: Tues–Sat 10am–6pm, Sun noon–6pm
Phone: 713/522-1138 Prices $8–$9, free for children under 1, free family night Thurs 5–8pm
The hugely popular children's destination hits the sweet spot between fun & learning, with tons of hands-on activities packed into a colorful, 90,000 square-foot facility designed by noted architect Robert Venturi. "Invention Convention" prompts kids to build all sorts of gizmos using magnets, gears, batteries, & Legos; they can even learn the building blocks of robotics. The Dragons & Fairies exhibits examines Vietnamese culture through five interactive fairytales. "PowerPlay" challenges kids physically with a 40-foot climbing tower. "Got Gas?" is a new exhibit where tykes can shoot rockets or make their own windmills. For little ones younger than 3, "TotSpot" finds creative ways to encourage their emerging motor skills. Thursday nights are a big hit; from 5pm to 8pm, all families get in free. For beleaguered parents, this place is truly a godsend.
Bayou Bend Collection & Gardens: 1 Westcott St. Neighborhood River Oaks
Hours: Tues–Sat 10am–5pm, Sun 1–5pm
Phone: 713/639-7750
Prices: Tours $6.25-$12.50, gardens $5, ages 9 & younger free
An oil heiress & philanthropist named Ima Hogg, sometimes called the First Lady of Texas, gave the Museum of Fine Arts Houston quite a gift in 1966—her elegant, 28-room River Oaks mansion filled with one of the country's finest collections of American antiques, including furniture, paintings, silver, ceramics, & other decorative objects, some dating back to the Colonial era. The residence sits on 14 lush acres with formal, manicured gardens surrounded by native woodlands & trails; be sure to take time for a leisurely stroll through the peaceful grounds, especially if you're visiting during the spring.
Two guided tours are offered: an hour-long "Highlights" tour & a more intensive "Study" tour that lasts 90 minutes; tours begin every 15 minutes, & reservations are recommended. There's also a self-guided tour which does not require reservations.
SplashTown Theme Park
Rienzi Historic Site
National Museum of Funeral History Museum
Kemah Boardwalk Neighborhood
Jones Hall The Performing Arts
Houston Zoo Zoo/Aquarium
Houston Ship Channel Tour
Holocaust Museum Houston Museum
Hermann Park Park/Garden
Heritage Society at Sam Houston Park Park/Garden
George Ranch Historical Park Museum
Downtown tunnel system Landmark
Downtown Aquarium Zoo/Aquarium
Battleship Texas & San Jacinto Monument & Museum Museum
Art Car Museum Museum
Alley Theatre The Performing Arts
ASIA SOCIETY TEXAS CENTER
CONTEMPORARY ARTS MUSEUM HOUSTON
DIVERSEWORKS
HOUSTON CENTER FOR CONTEMPORARY CRAFT
HOUSTON CENTER FOR PHOTOGRAPHY
THE JUNG CENTER
LAWNDALE ART CENTER
THE MENIL COLLECTION
RICE GALLERY
ROTHKO CHAPEL
Asia Society Texas Center – Grand Hall (downstairs) FREE access during museum hours
Buffalo Soldiers National Museum – FREE Thursday 1-5 pm
Children’s Museum of Houston – FREE Thursday 5-8 pm
Czech Center Museum Houston – FREE last Monday of the month noon-4 pm
The Health Museum – FREE Thursday 2-7 pm
Holocaust Museum Houston – FREE Sunday
Houston Museum of African American Culture – FREE Thursday 6-8 pm
Houston Museum of Natural Science – Permanent Exhibit Halls FREE Thursday 2-5 pm
The Houston Zoo offers free admission to guests on the first Tuesday of each month, September through May, from noon until closing. June, July, and August do not have Free Afternoons.
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston – FREE Thursday 10 am–9 pm
The Houston restaurant scene, like the city itself, is cosmopolitan. The primary influences come from Louisiana, Mexico, & Southeast Asia, but you can find restaurants serving just about any cuisine you can think of. What constitutes Houston's native cooking would be steaks, chili, barbecue, soul food, & Tex-Mex. For locals, the proper accompaniment for any of these would be beer or ice tea. The extralarge glass of ice tea is a cultural fixture in this town, as it is in the rest of the state. It is the perfect palate cleanser after a bite of something dense & spicy such as enchiladas in chili gravy.
When you need to find a meal that can be had quickly & cheaply, you don't have to suffer at the hands of the national fast-food chains, where the fare tastes the same whether you're in Houston or Honolulu. A number of local chains do a good job of cooking up fast food with character. Here are four worth considering:
James Coney Island Hot Dogs started up in Houston in the 1930s. It's famous for its Texas-style chili dogs. (Most Houstonians consider hot dogs without chili as either unfulfilled potential or foreign novelty.) You can also order the chili with or without beans or as a chili pie. For hot dogs, I recommend the Texas chili dog. There are 24 locations around Houston, including downtown (815 Dallas St.), in the Kirby District (3607 Shepherd at the corner of Richmond), in the Galleria area (1600 S. Post Oak), & out along the Gulf Freeway (6955 Gulf Fwy. & 10600 Gulf Fwy.).
In 1962, the Antone family, originally from Lebanon, opened an exotic import grocery store on Taft Street near Allen Parkway called Antone's. There they introduced Houston to their now-famous po' boy (sub) sandwiches, which caught on in a big way. For lunch, you can't go wrong with one of these, which come already prepared. Get the original green label or the super red label, both of which are a combination of ham, salami, cheese, pickles, & special chowchow on fresh baked bread. Antone's locations include 2424 Dunstan (in the Village), 8110 Kirby (near Reliant Stadium), & 3823 Bellaire (at Stella Link, just west of the Medical Center). You can also find these po' boys for sale at some of the small grocery stores in town.
Beck's Prime is a local chain of upscale burger joints that are known for big juicy burgers & great shakes. Locations include 2902 Kirby Dr. (near Westheimer), 1001 E. Memorial Loop (in Memorial Park by the golf course), & 910 Travis (in the downtown tunnel system below Bank One Center).
Café Express operates under the guiding principle that fast food can be nutritious, fresh, & cooked with at least some artistry. The owner of the chain is the chef at Cafe Annie's. Specialties at Café Express include a variety of salads, lively pasta dishes, juicy roast chicken, & various sandwiches. There are several items for children, including small burgers, which are sure to please. One location is in the basement of the Fine Arts Museum (the new building); other locations include 3200 Kirby Dr. (near the Village), 1422 W. Gray (in the River Oaks Shopping Center), 650 Main St. (downtown), & 1101 Uptown Park (just off Post Oak in the Galleria area).
Café Express -- These restaurants offer miniature burgers that kids just love, while the parents can enjoy salads, roast chicken, or a pasta.
James Coney Island Hot Dogs -- What hot dog place isn't popular with kids? But most of these restaurants are decorated in bright colors that make them especially attractive to the young, & they offer kid specials.
Lupe Tortilla -- This is a great place to go when the kids don't feel like sitting still, & the parents want something more in the way of real food than what kiddie places can offer. The fajitas are excellent. When the weather is cooperating, the patio is perfect for a relaxing meal.
Brennan's of Houston, 3300 Smith (tel. 713/522-9711), caught fire just as Hurricane Ike began battering the city. It was an electrical fire, probably produced by the storm winds when they crossed some power lines & exploded a transformer. The same winds then fanned the flames & burned much of the building before the fire department could bring it under control. Three people who were in the building at the time, including a manager & his young daughter, suffered serious burns. The restaurant's upstairs is entirely gone, & the ground floor will need a complete renovation. The owner, Alex Brennan-Martin, has plans to rebuild. You can follow the reconstruction at www.brennanshouston.com.
Many in Houston miss this restaurant. It was a perennial favorite on most local "Top Restaurant" lists. Though founded in 1967 as a sister restaurant to the famous Brennan's of New Orleans, it became independent when the family divided the properties. It offered many of the same wonderful dishes that the other Brennan's is known for, including such Creole specialties as rouxless seafood gumbo & turtle soup, and, of course, bananas Foster. It also offered several dishes not found in the original. Before the fire, the various dining rooms were strikingly elegant. I don't think you could find a lovelier table in all of Houston. If Brennan's is back in operation by the time you visit Houston, you might want to look into making a reservation
$$$ Oxheart New American Downtown
$$$ Kata Robata Sushi/Japanese Kirby District
$$ Hugo’s Mexican Montrose
$$$ Brennan's of Houston Creole/Southern Midtown
$$$ Pappas Bros. Steakhouse Steakhouse Uptown
$ Moon Tower Inn Hot dogs East Side/Second Ward
$$ Indika Contemporary Indian Montrose
$ Goode Company Texas Barbecue Barbecue Kirby District
$$$ Churrascos South American Kirby District
$ Local Foods American/Deli West University
$$ Kenny & Ziggy's Deli Uptown
$ Hubcap Grill Burgers Downtown
$$ Down House American The Heights
$ Crawfish & Noodles Cajun/Vietnamese Chinatown
$$$ Backstreet Cafe New American Montrose
For fans of the performing arts, Houston is fertile ground. Few cities in the country can equal it in the quality of its resident orchestra, opera, ballet, & theater companies. In addition, there are several organizations that bring talented artists & companies here from around the country & the world, presenting everything from Broadway shows to Argentine tango groups to string quartets. Tickets aren't usually discounted for the opera, ballet, or symphony, but you should ask anyway. For information about performances, visit www.houston-guide.com or the websites of the various organizations listed below.
The symphony, the ballet, the opera, & the Alley Theatre (the city's largest & oldest theater company) all hold their performances in the theater district downtown. The opera & the ballet share the Wortham Center, 500 Texas Ave. (tel. 713/237-1439); the symphony plays a block away at Jones Hall, 615 Louisiana St. (tel. 713/227-3974); & the Alley Theatre is one of those rare companies that actually owns its own theater, located at 615 Texas Ave. (tel. 713/228-8421), cater-cornered from the symphony. Also in the theater district is Hobby Center for the Performing Arts, 800 Bagby (tel. 713/315-2400), which is shared by the Society for Performing Arts & Theater Under the Stars.
The Society for the Performing Arts (SPA), 615 Louisiana St. (box office tel. 713/227-4772; www.spahouston.org), is a nonprofit organization that brings to Houston distinguished dance companies, jazz bands, theater productions, & soloists. Within SPA, there's a program called the Broadway Series, which brings popular productions from Broadway & London's West End. The organization uses Jones Hall, the Wortham Center, & the Hobby Center.
Following are brief descriptions of the principal organizations; there are many more, especially independent theater companies that present several plays a year.
Classical Music, Opera & Ballet -- The Houston Symphony (tel. 713/224-7575; www.houstonsymphony.org) is the city's oldest performing arts organization. Its season is from September to May, during which it holds about 100 concerts in Jones Hall. The classical series usually contains a number of newer compositions with visits by several guest conductors & soloists from around the world. There is also a pops series & a chamber music series, which often holds its performances at Rice University.
Da Camera of Houston (tel. 713/524-5050; www.dacamera.com) brings classical & jazz chamber music orchestras to the city & holds concerts either at the Wortham or in the lobby of the Menil Collection. You can buy tickets from the box office at 1427 Branard St. in the Montrose area.
The nationally acclaimed Houston Grand Opera is the fifth-largest opera company in the United States. Known for being innovative & premiering new operas such as Nixon in China, its productions of classical works are brilliant visual affairs. The opera season is from October to May. For tickets & information go to the Wortham Center box office at 550 Prairie St. during regular business hours, or buy online at www.houstongrandopera.org.
The Houston Ballet (tel. 713/227-2787; www.houstonballet.org) has garnered enormous critical acclaim from across the country. A lot of the credit belongs to director Ben Stevenson, who came to Houston more than 25 years ago under the condition that the company create its own school to teach dance as Stevenson believed it should be taught. This school, the Houston Ballet Academy, now supplies the company with 90% of its dancers, & its graduates dance in many other top ballet companies. The company tours a great deal but manages around 80 performances a year at the Wortham Center in Houston. You can buy tickets over the phone or at their website.
Theater -- The Alley Theatre, 615 Texas Ave. (tel. 713/228-8421; www.alleytheatre.org), has won many awards for its productions. Its home holds a large theater & an arena theater, & during the year the company uses both to stage about 10 different productions, ranging from Shakespeare to Stoppard & even a musical or two. Ask about half-price tickets for sale the day of the show for weekday & Sunday performances. Pay-what-you-can days are sometimes offered, but you have to show up in person to buy the tickets. Box office hours are Monday through Saturday from 10am to 6:30pm & Sunday from noon to 6:30pm.
Theatre Under The Stars, 800 Bagby (tel. 713/558-8887; www.tuts.org), specializes in musicals that it either brings to town or produces itself, averaging 200 performances annually. The organization got its name from having first worked at Miller Outdoor Theater in Hermann Park. It uses the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts.
The Ensemble Theatre, 3335 Main St. (tel. 713/520-0055; www.ensemblehouston.com), is the city's largest black theater company. Founded in 1976, the Ensemble has grown from a band of strolling players into a resident professional company of 40 actors & eight directors. Their specialty is African-American & experimental theater.
Having a night on the town in Houston doesn't require a lot of planning, but pick up a copy of the Houston Press, the free weekly that you can find at many restaurants & shops. It provides a good rundown of what musical & comedy acts are in town, & it includes a lot of advertising from the clubs. There's also the daily paper, the Chronicle, which has a well-organized entertainment section, & a pullout published on Thursdays. If you want to know what's going on in the clubs before you get to Houston, try their websites, www.houstonpress.com & www.chron.com.
In general, the most popular locations for nightspots are the following: downtown, around the theater district & Old Market Square; in the Montrose area; & south of the Galleria along Richmond Avenue (called the Richmond Strip). There are enough clubs in these places that you can move from one to another quickly & easily until you find something you like.
Megaclubs -- In the theater district in downtown Houston, a developer has converted the old convention center into a complex of restaurants, clubs, bars, & a movie theater. It's called Bayou Place (tel. 713/227-0957) & is located at 500 Texas Ave. It houses the Verizon Wireless Theater, which usually has live rock or jazz acts or comedy (tel. 713/230-1666; www.verizonwirelesstheater.com); the Hard Rock Cafe (tel. 713/227-1392), with some live acts on the weekends; & Slick Willie's (tel. 713/225-1277), a billiards club. Also, there are a few video & dance bars with canned music that are very popular with a younger crowd. The movie theater is called Angelika Film Center & Café (tel. 713/225-5232), which is a popular place to hang out in the evening before going clubbing or to a concert.
Rock -- One of the best venues for catching live rock acts is the old Houston institution known as Fitzgerald's, 2706 White Oak (tel. 713/862-3838). It occupies an old Polish dance hall near the Heights neighborhood & gets talented local & touring bands. Look for their advertisement in the Houston Press to see who's playing while you're in town & to check ticket prices.
For alternative rock acts in a suitably grungy place, go to the Engine Room (tel. 713/654-7846). It's in the southeast part of downtown at 1515 Pease near the intersection with La Branch. This club gets a mostly 20-something clientele, which comes to hear bands that are as far away from pop as they can get.
Jazz -- To hear some jazz, your best bet is one of two club/restaurants downtown that are fairly similar & close by each other. If you're not wild about the band at one, you can walk over to the other. The more formal & expensive one is in the old Rice Hotel & is called Sambuca Jazz Café, 909 Texas Ave. (tel. 713/224-5299). It gets a dressed-up crowd & lines up some talented bands. The Red Cat Jazz Café is at 924 Congress (tel. 713/226-7870), 3 blocks away. I heard a great band here playing interesting arrangements of bebop standards. Both cafes require a minimum consumption depending on the night of the week & which band is playing.
Another option is to check out some swing band music at Scott Gertner's Skybar (tel. 713/520-9688) in the Montrose area. It's on the top floor of a 10-story building at the corner of Montrose & Hawthorne at 3400 Montrose Blvd. There are often guest bands playing other varieties of jazz. The club has a dance floor & a rooftop terrace with a great view.
Blues -- Try the Big Easy Social & Pleasure Club, 5731 Kirby Dr. (tel. 713/523-9999), in the Rice Village. This club lines up a lot of local blues talent that is uncommonly good, as well as touring zydeco acts. The clientele is a real mix of everything from yuppies to bikers. Admission can be anywhere between $5 & $15, depending upon the act.
Folk & Acoustic -- Anderson Fair, 2007 Grant (tel. 713/528-8576), is the place to play if you're a folk singer. The club is a survivor from the 1960s, & looks every bit the product of its age. In its many years it has nurtured several folk artists who went on to become big names in folk, including Nancy Griffith. That it opens only Fridays & Saturdays only adds to its aura of counterculture. People of all ages hang out here, though there are a lot of former hippies. It's located a block off Montrose, behind the Montrose Art Supply building.
Another folk & bluegrass institution in Houston is McGonigel's Mucky Duck (tel. 713/528-5999). It offers pub grub & burgers, wine & beer, & live music every night (except Sun, when it's closed). Wednesday Irish jam sessions are free, as are Mondays. The club is at 2425 Norfolk, near Kirby Drive where it intersects the Southwest Freeway.
Country & Western -- Blanco's (tel. 713/439-0072) is a Texas-style honky-tonk that packs 'em in Mondays through Fridays, attracting all sorts, from River Oaks types to tool pushers. Lots of good Texas bands like to play here, so it's a good opportunity to see a well-known band in a small venue. There's a midsize dance floor. Monday through Wednesday is open-mic night, usually with one or another local band. Thursday & Friday offer live music, & the club is closed on Saturdays for private parties. It's located at 3406 W. Alabama, between Kirby Drive & Buffalo Speedway. When there's live music, the cover ranges from $5 to $15.
La Carafe, 813 Congress (tel. 713/229-9399), has been around for ages, & the small two-story brick building it occupies, even longer. In fact, it is the oldest commercial building in the city & sits slightly askew on a tiny lot facing Old Market Square. Its jukebox is something of a relic, too, with the most eclectic mix possible & some obscure choices. The clientele is mostly older downtowners who were here before the resurgence, office types, in-line skaters, & reporters from the Chronicle. For sheer character, no place can beat it.
Another bar with a unique flavor is Marfreless, 2006 Peden (tel. 713/528-0083). This is the darkest bar I've ever been in. The background music is always classical, & the ambience is understated. Little alcoves here & there are considered romantic. The only trouble is finding the bar itself. It's in the River Oaks Shopping Center on West Gray. If you stand facing the River Oaks Theater, walk left & then make a right into the parking lot. Look for an unmarked door under a metal stairway.
*** Anvil Bar & Refuge Bars & Pubs
** The Ginger Man Bars & Pubs
** Fitzgerald's Nightlife
* West Alabama Ice House Bars & Pubs
* La Carafe Bars & Pubs