There’s no better time to explore your inner astronaut—and to explore Space City, as Houston has been designated for decades.
It’s a big year for space, which means it’s a big year for Houston, where a Lunar Jubilee Celebration is underway at Space Center Houston, home of NASA’s historic Mission Control. Now through July 2019, special programs, exhibits, films and a space art show are just some of the highlights commemorating NASA’s 60th and the Apollo 11 mission’s 50th anniversaries. On July 20, the day Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin set foot on the moon, there will be much fanfare, complete with a countdown at the actual time of the moon landing. Aside from these milestone celebrations, space exploration has been front and center lately, with all sorts of exciting news coming out of NASA Johnson Space Center, such as the first all-female spacewalk, a two-year space mission to study the origins of the universe, a new “hidden” planet and more. There’s no better time to explore your inner astronaut—and to explore Space City, as Houston has been designated for decades.
Houston, America’s fourth-largest city, has a Southern cosmopolitan feel, with a thriving arts landscape, an intense dining scene, and a fervent base of sports fans (basketball, baseball, football, you name it). It’s not far from the coast, either, so you get some casual, coastal vibes, and plenty of fresh seafood, to boot!
STAY:
LE MÉRIDIEN
Le Méridien is housed in the former Melrose building, developed as Houston’s first international-style skyscraper in the early 1950s. These days, it oozes a certain contemporary chic, with its sleek, green-lit linear design staking its claim in the cityscape.
Within walking distance of restaurants, shops, Minute Maid Park and Toyota Center, and with the METRORail station just one block away, the hotel is in an enviable spot for downtown exploration.
One of Le Méridien’s best features is its lobby. Taking up almost an entire floor, the expansive space has plenty of areas to work or just unwind on one of the plushest hotel sofas around. Another plus? The Illy Coffee Bar is just steps away, should you desire to snuggle up with some hot coffee or tea on said sofa.
When the sun goes down, make your way to Z on 23 Rooftop to grab a drink and to drink in a breathtaking view of the Houston skyline. lemeridienhoustondowntown.com
SAVOR:
BLACKSMITH
It’s always a good sign when the neighborhood coffee house has a solid, steady stream of people, and at Blacksmith, it’s easy to see why. Located in the city’s vibrant Montrose neighborhood, Blacksmith has a no-frills, industrial vibe to it—so, no, you don’t get a chaise lounge nor soft jazz. Instead, the focus is on the coffee and the food. First, the coffee: Whatever they do to it, they’re doing it right. From the Daily Black to the Cortado, the coffee is perfectly balanced, low in acidity and full on flavor. As for the food, where else can you find a Kentucky Hot Brown Sandwich, Silver Platter Chilaquiles and Vietnamese Steak & Eggs—all good—all on the same menu? blacksmithhouston.com
HUGO’S
There’s no other way to feel but festive when dining at Hugo’s. You can sense the feel-good fiesta vibes in everything from the atmosphere, to the service, the food and the people. Its namesake, chef Hugo Ortega, has garnered every accolade imaginable, including the prestigious James Beard award in 2017. His emphasis is on traditional dishes from many regions of Mexico, all from scratch—even the chocolate used for their Mexican hot chocolate.
The drink menu alone is substantial, and to get your priorities in order, we suggest getting yourself settled with one of Hugo’s specialty Agua Frescas (we liked the melon with cucumber), while you peruse the rest of the options. Speaking of options, there are so many ways to go for dinner or lunch. During our visit, we opted for a sampling, which included: Ceviche Tradicional (lime-cured red snapper with olives, jalapeño and other bright, refreshing flavors), Pulpo al Carbón (grilled octopus with peppers and chipotle-tomatillo salsa), Lechón (braised pork with habanero salsa) and Barbacoa (marinated lamb). If you’re lucky enough to be there when it’s in season, you must try Chef Hugo’s visually stunning—and delectably satisfying—Chiles en Nogada: two walnut-crusted poblano peppers stuffed with pork, brisket or vegetables, and mixed with apples, pear, peach, plantain, sweet potato and more, and topped with walnut cream sauce and pomegranate. hugosrestaurant.net
MKT BAR
We’d have to say MKT Bar and its adjacent gourmet market, Phoenicia, was our ultimate find in downtown Houston—so much so that we made several stops there, just because. Easy to get to (and there’s free garage parking!), MKT Bar is perfect for a quick bite to eat, late-night munchies or weekend brunch.
The menu is American with a fresh, Mediterranean twist. We particularly enjoyed the Artisanal Meats and Cheeses platter with drunken goat cheese, house-made Armenian string cheese, cured beef basterma, prosciutto and more. There’s also the Bayou City Sliders with Turkish coffee barbeque sauce; MKT Fish and Chips with chickpea fries; and Braised Lamb Tacos with fresh fennel, cucumber and orange salsa, and yogurt-mint sauce. As for Phoenicia, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that you could spend hours exploring the store. What started as a deli 30 years ago by a couple of Lebanese and Armenian descent is now a foodie destination. The display cases are enough to make your mouth water, with rows and rows of salads, hummus, pastas, charcuterie, roasted and skewered meats, sandwiches and wraps, and homemade pita bread, as well as cakes and pastries, and a gelato, coffee and espresso bar. mktbar.com
NINFA’S ON NAVIGATION
When it comes to Tex-Mex cuisine, many consider the original Ninfa’s to be the Holy Grail—and they may be right. It was here that in 1973, “Mama” Ninfa Laurenzo first stuffed grilled skirt steak into a flour tortilla, resulting in tacos al carbon, which later became known as fajitas. So, if you’re limited to just one item on the menu, you must get the Fajitas, which comes with tortillas, rice and beans and all the fixings. But see, Mama Ninfa must have perfectly calibrated the recipe all those years ago that we could have been perfectly content eating just the steak all night long. However, you’d be missing out if you don’t try Ninfa’s equally excellent Tacos, with options such as Grilled Texas Redfish, Diablo Shrimp and Al Pastor. If it’s in season, complete your indulgence and order the Pumpkin Flan for dessert. We recommend an accompanying Navigation Margarita with Código 1530 Blanco Tequila, Combier, lime and agave nectar. ninfas.com
SEE:
SPACE CENTER HOUSTON
If there’s one thing to learn from all those space movies like “Apollo 13,” “Armageddon,” and “The Martian,” it’s you best be prepared. Like a mission to outer space, planning ahead—looking at the website, inquiring about advance tickets, etc—is essential to visiting Space Center Houston, or you’ll miss some really cool, out-of-this-world (literally) stuff. In the Starship Gallery, you get touch a moon rock and see the world’s largest collection of moon rocks on display. Nearby sits the original Skylab Trainer from the 1970s, where you can step inside and see how the astronauts managed to eat, bathe, work and exercise and basically survive in such close quarters. In Independence Plaza, you come face-to-face with a high-fidelity shuttle replica mounted atop the historic shuttle carrier aircraft NASA 905 (you can even go inside)!
Board a tram to the NASA Johnson Space Center, where on-site, you’ll find mockups of the International Space Station, where astronauts train, as well as Orion, a craft currently under development and designed to carry four people to the moon and maybe to Mars. A personal highlight at NASA: seeing historic Mission Control, including the original panel that helped land man on the moon, and viewing the current working facility staffed by flight controllers. spacecenter.org
BUFFALO BAYOU PARK
If you’re staying in downtown Houston, this 160-acre green oasis is a wonderland of hiking and bike trails, picnic areas, a groovy underground cistern and even a dog park—you know, to find a dog to pet, if you miss yours. While you can walk to Buffalo Bayou from your downtown Houston hotel, the park feels a world away, with its serene, open spaces. One really cool spot is the cistern, the city’s former drinking-water reservoir, which now hosts unique art and light exhibitions that play off the rows of tall concrete Romanesque columns hovering over water on the reservoir floor. Reservations are required for cistern tours and exhibits. Make a day of it: Pack a picnic lunch from Phoenicia before heading out to the park, and stay until dusk to watch more than 250,000 Mexican free-tailed bats emerge from the park’s Waugh Drive Bridge every evening at sunset—it’s a sight to see! buffalobayou.org.
For ideas on how to plan your own “mission” to Houston, check out visithoustontexas.com.
