Weekend in Houston, TX
What this foodstroll is
Our take on some of the best things to do and eat in Houston, TX.
Why this foodstroll works
Houston is massive. It’s the fourth largest city in the USA, soon to be third, and covers an area twice the size of New York City (all five boroughs)! It’s also one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the world, which along with its size, makes it tough to tackle in a weekend. There are loads of name brand tourist attractions, like the Space Center Houston and Galleria, but as usual we choose to focus on local experiences and the outdoors. With regard to cuisine, we had to grossly oversimplify and break it down into four categories - Bayou (Cajun, Creole, Southern), Tex Mex, Asian (Vietnamese), and BBQ. We did our best.
Strolling
Houston is notoriously bad for walking, even downtown. But if there were places best explored on foot, they would be Sabine Street Bridge and Eleanor Tinsley Park.
Eleanor Tinsley Park is your best bet if you want both green space and views of the skyline. There are plenty of walking trails, playgrounds, and a skatepark.
The Downtown Aquarium doubles as an amusement park, and is right next to Eleanor Tinsley Park and Sabine Street Bridge.
If you visit the Museum District, be sure to check out Hermann Park. In addition to a zoo and aquarium, a quick walk to the top of McGovern Centennial Gardens gets you great views of the area.
Houston has a ton of great street art, much of it near downtown. Our favorite was the Ballerinas and Roses mural by Fallen Rose. 2112 Leeland St, Houston, TX 77003
Houston’s grandest residences date back to the 1920s and can be found in River Oaks. We enjoyed driving through the neighborhood gazing at all the mansions.
If you’re driving around River Oaks, you’ll be next door to Houston’s largest green space, Memorial Park, home to the Houston Arboretum & Nature Center. Signs all over warn of alligators, but on our visit we didn’t see any.
The closest thing we found to an all in one, walkable neighborhood with shops, beautiful homes, and things to see was The Heights. Here a row of townhomes can be seen from the Houston Heights Bike Trail, which intersects the neighborhood.
Many shops, breweries, and restaurants can be seen along Heights Blvd. Our kids appreciated this very lovely playground. P.S. the presence of signs reminding us not to carry open firearms in the park alarmed us New Yorkers, but trust us, it’s normal around here.
If you do make it to Ninfa’s (more in the next section), the Navigation Esplanade is right outside. It’s small and unassuming aside from this amazing mural, but on Sundays there’s a lively farmers market from 10am-2pm.
Food Spots
1. Ninfa’s Original
Ninfa’s is said to have the best Mexican food in Texas since Texas was in Mexico. We certainly won’t disagree! The Tacos al Carbon comes with two tacos and one original fajita.
While much of the menu is Tex Mex, the Pork Tamales struck us as decidedly Mexican, being wrapped in Banana Leaves and served with Beef Gravy. They’re a good place to start.
Fajitas are as Tex Mex as it gets, and the most classic versions come with beef, like the Marinated and Grilled Beef Skirt Steak Fajita.
Aside from Chile con Queso, which may as well be crack to our kids, we were told not to visit Houston without trying Texas Red Fish. We found that odd, but after ordering the Red Fish Tacos at Ninfa’s, we understood completely.
If you can’t decide on surf vs turf, the Mixta Ninfa has both beef and chicken fajitas, along with Tampico Shrimp, Mexico’s answer to shrimp scampi.
We couldn’t write about Ninfa’s without mentioning the Ninfaritas, which come in both glasses and pitchers.
2. La Lucha
La Lucha is a well known Houston spot specializing in Gulf seafood and fried chicken. It’s a lively dining room equally fun for brunch or dinner.
Gulf Gems, aka oysters, are all local, assuming you consider Alabama and Louisiana local. Happy Hour is until 6pm daily and you can get select Gulf Gems for $1.50 each, and Lone Star beers for $2. It’s worth the trip to Houston for this alone!
If you prefer your Gulf gems cooked, the Wood Roasted Gulf Oysters come in both smoked jalapeño or parmesan garlic. We recommend ordering a few of each.
We don’t usually include anything about cocktails, but they were so good at La Lucha that we had to mention it.
The Blue Crab Chowder Fries include two of our kids’ favorite things - fries and chowder. Our server told us the traditional way to eat this is to pour the soup over the potatoes. Whatever the method, there’s no wrong way.
The main event here is Fried Chicken. The half bird with biscuits and pickles looks like this, and we’ve never tasted crispier poultry.
3. Les Baget
Houston has the third largest Vietnamese community in the USA, and choosing a restaurant is tough. The locally and nationally acclaimed Les Baget lived up to its reputation. Start with Royal Eggrolls to get a taste of the excellent house made nước mắm, or fish sauce.
Any of their Spring Rolls provide more opportunities to try the fish sauce. We ordered the Texas Smoked Brisket and Floppy Beef Belly rolls.
Pho is the main event, and all are made with Les Baget’s signature 24 hour beef broth. We doubt you could go wrong with any protein choice, but we ordered fatty brisket and short rib.
The Lemongrass Grilled Bone Marrow comes with house made pate brushed baguette, and after speaking to some regulars, the pro move is to scrape the marrow into your Pho.
The cold noodle section of the menu allows you to choose vermicelli or zucchini noodles, a nice option if you’re looking to lower the carb load. We went with Coconut Basil Prawn zucchini noodles.
Our kids know a thing or two about big bowls of noodles, and they fully approved of Les Baget.
Transportation
Houston is large and you can fly direct from anywhere in the country (or world probably). Once there you will need a car. Parking is easy everywhere in the city.