Texas Medical Center
by H-TownJourneyman
If you are in Houston and you ever get sick, you are in luck! Houston is home to the Texas Medical Center, the largest medical center in the world. The medical center is located about 4 miles south of downtown, and is almost a city unto itself. A giant hospital city! :) With over 60,000 employees and 5 million patients visiting it annually from all corners of the globe, the Med Center is a vital part of the city. It has a long history dating back to the 1920's when Hermann Hospital was first built. Other important institutions have followed over the years, including Baylor College of Medicine, Methodist Hospital, St. Luke's Hospital, and M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, one of the world's leading cancer treatment institutes. With all these employees and patients here, many hotels and businesses have also been built in the Med Center to accommodate them. And the city's Metrorail train has 3 stops here for easy access to the Houston Museum District and Downtown. 4 star hotels, fine dining restaurants, and thousands of people. Really does sound like a city all it's own. Heck, all that and world-class heathcare. Go figure!
cutest shops in town
by John_P_LSU about Rice Village Shopping District
The area took shape in 1937 with the construction of Rice Food Market. Situated next to Rice University and the Texas Medical Center in one of Houston's most affluent neighborhoods, the district attracts an intriguing mix of West U yuppies, college students and Montrose bohos. More than 450 retailers reside in this longstanding, but repeatedly refreshed shopping center. In the Village, you can buy clothes, get a manicure, shop for furniture, browse for books, dine delightfully and even catch a play. Shops range from national favorites Banana Republic and Urban Outfitters to local boutiques like the Blue Hand. Main Street Theater and the music venue Ovations add some class. Whether you like Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Cuban or Italian food, count on an interesting dining experience. You can go the restaurant chain route or try spots unique to Houston, like Shiva's, Nit Noi, Istanbul and Kahn's Deli.
More Mexican Food? Yes, please.
by topmarmot about Cascadas Cantina y Restaurante
A bit more up market than our usual hole-in-the-wall Mexican, but it's so close to home we had to check it out.
Margaritas: I had the Gold which was very smooth, and fairly effective.
Food: I use Carnitas as my test dish. Verdict: excellent. Good Charro beans, too. And it was all even better the next day for lunch.
The situation on Westheimer would normally be unattractive, but the ambience is helped by the outside patio with its big fountains and pools which screen the restaurant from the street. For non-smokers, additional entertainment is provided by the smokers aquarium, which used to be the listening room when this was a hi-fi store.
Crappy Pizza but Heck of a Good Time
by msbrandysue about Rigia's Pizza
Although this pizza is quite North of downtown it's the perfect journey to a fun night. So Myspace Local has really got me trying other places around town and I have to say it's quite the adventure! I found Rigia's on ML and checked out their website. They said they were famous for their 30'' pizza. For some reason I thought a large pizza was like 24''...boy was I wrong! When we went to pick it up...thank god I was in my mom's truck because the thing wouldn't fit in a car! We had to put it in the BED of the truck! That's right, it was bigger than the stove. You truly have to see it, so check out the website and/or hit me up on Myspace to send personal pictures. The thing is supposed to feed 12-16 people. We hardly made a dent in it and I've eaten it two days.
The positive side? They serve green olives, which is rare nowadays. Usually you can only find black olives.
The pizza itself is not very good. The sauce is different, true, but it's not good. Now, I'm sure that it's hard to spread 30'' of sauce but still it was in clumps. The crust is nothing special (but I like crust so it's kind of important for me).
And there is no dine-in. It's all take-out which wasn't as fun but I don't know if the pizza would have fit on a table anyway...it's THAT big!
The only other hint I would give you is make sure you know exactly where to turn. The map on the website shows it's just right on 2920 from Kuyhendahl but it's actually behind a gas station on the back corner of Rhodes and 2920. (We had a hard time finding it.
Definitely would recommend it for the entertainment value, though. Especially for a birthday party, house party, etc. I think we laughed about it days later even and the box is absolutely hilarious to keep as a momento.
Trust me, you haven't seen anything like it!
But just ordering a regular pizza? Pass on this place. They have green olives but other than that.....yucky.
***PS The MONSTER pizza was almost $40 so that's why I'm putting the pricing guide. If you're not getting this monster pizza than pass on this place.
Worth the trip
by Segolily
We were staying way out in Richmond. But it was worth the trip into town to see what it was all about. We went early on a Saturday so there were few crowds, and the buildings were closed so we couldn't get up to the the top viewing floors. But I felt it was a very intimate and walkable town with lots to recommend it. We saw the Sam Houston park and Heritage park (which was free and open when we were there- though the homes were closed), the City Hall, the Sesquicentennial Park, the monument to the first George Bush, Tranquility Plaza, and shopped at Macy's. We parked near Herman Park and took the Metrorail in and it was very efficient and clean. It took us most of the morning to ride in, walk around and head back out. It was a good idea to have my bottle of water though as the August heat index was about 109 degrees.
Inside The Grove restaurant, Houston, TX
The Port
Cotton Exchange
Rice Stadium
