LOCAL POLL II #4 -- HOUSTON, TAY-HAS!

What's yer name/nickname yer going with here: Elizabeth

Where do you live?: Houston, TX - yes, I know it doesn't have the best rep, but it's actually a pretty cool city if you know what to do and where to go.

What neighborhoods or areas around where you live you do you recommend exploring? I live in Montrose - the city's gay/artsy neighborhood. It's definitely the coolest spot as far as I'm concerned. There are good restaurants, coffee shops, and arty spots. The Museum District, as its name suggests, is where all the city's (excellent) museums are concentrated. Downtown is good for arts, culture, and nice bars. The Heights has good antique shops, delis, and a few restaurants and bars. And the Village, near Rice University, is one of the few places in the city where you can walk around and shop, eat, etc. Basically as long as you stay inside the inner loop (literally, beltway 610 that encircles the inner part of the city) you're fine. I only venture outside of the inner loop to eat ethnic food - there are cool ethnic neighborhoods primarily in the southwest and northwest.

Any good parks round you for sitting in or wandering through? There's Memorial Park, a 1500 acre lovely wooded spot with walking/biking/jogging trails, tennis courts, etc. And in the Museum District there's Hermann Park, which has a botanical gardens and an outdoor theatre that does free performances most of the year (including the Houston Shakespeare Festival in July and August).

Other local features or beautiful natural spots to take in? Houston, unfortunately, isn't big on nature - and it's too hot most of the year to be outside for extended periods. But there is quite a nice walkway along the bayou downtown, with waterfalls, etc. It's a nice place for a stroll before or after a movie, play, concert, or opera. There's also Bayou Bend, a lovely house and gardens that once belonged to wealthy arts patroness Ima Hogg (yes, her real name). And about an hour south of the city is Brazos Bend Park, where you can stroll or bike around and check out the 'gators.

Any good festivals? When? The Art Car Parade in May is the best - hundreds of bizarrely-decorated cars that parade down Allen Parkway (quite close to my apartment). There's a definite weirdo vibe about the whole thing, and a lot of politically-inspired cars, as well - my fave this year had Dubya sitting on top of a bomb emblazoned with "LIAR." There is also a huge gay pride parade in late June. The International Festival is also in May - or late April - and features a different country each year. Fotofest - huge photography exhibit - is held here every two years. Next one is in March/April 2006.

Best on-line/print source(s) for local entertainment info: The Houston Press is the alternative weekly and is a much preferable alternative to the Houston Chronicle, the "big" paper, which sucks, in my opinion. The Press has dining, arts, music listings on its website: http://www.houstonpress.com - also make sure to check out their "Best of" issues online, which have tons of recommendations for places to go, things to do, etc.

Best place(s) to stop in to see inexpensive local music (particularly those that regularly book bands with females): My favorite local pub is also a great local
music venue - Rudyard's on Waugh in Montrose. Downstairs is a great bar usually with good beers on tap (Texas brews are cheap on Tuesdays) and upstairs is a music venue where mostly local bands play. I am also fond of the Mucky Duck, which is a folk/alt-country venue.

Best place(s) to stop in to dance: Houston is unfortunately really dominated by a crappy techno club scene, so I'm not that familiar with places to dance. I keep meaning to check out 80s night at Numbers, which is also a music venue, on Westheimer in Montrose - but I've clearly been slacking.

Best place(s) to stop in to get a beer without pretention or hoo-haw: Rudyard's - mentioned above - is the best. They also have good burgers - both meat and veggie. McElroy's (off of Richmond and Shepherd) is a good Irish pub with big leather seating requisitioned from the old Rice Hotel. The Ginger Man in Rice Village has an amazing number of beers on tap - around 60, I think. Brasil, on Dunlavy just off Westheimer, is a very cool coffeehouse/bar that also serves great food. Onion Creek, in the Heights on White Oak, is also a great coffeehouse/bar with a lot of outside seating.

Best place(s) to stop in to get a drink (ideally also without pretention or hoo-haw): Downtown has a lot of nice bars - La Carafe (on Market Square) is the oldest bar in the city; it's tiny with lots of drippy candles and a great jukebox. They only serve beer and wine, but the atmosphere makes it worth it. Twelve Spot and the Cotton Exchange (both on Travis) are more swanky, with beautiful interiors. The Cotton Exchange makes a mean mint julep. Absinthe, on Richmond in Montrose, also has a cool interior, and nice bartenders. Poison Girl, on Westheimer, is a haven for local artists and musicians.

Best place(s) to stop in just to stop in while visiting: The aforementioned Brasil is a must- definitely the coolest spot in Montrose to hang out, have a good coffee, beer, or glass of wine, and eat some tasty food. The couple that own Brasil also own the gallery next door (Mixture) and the clothing store Raye. Other places to check out: the cinemas (the Angelika Film Center downtown, the Museum of Fine Arts and Rice Cinema's excellent repertory programs, and two Landmark Art theatres); the theatre scene (the Alley Theatre, Stages Rep, and especially the coolest company in town, Infernal Bridegroom Productions); the dance scene (Suchu Dance, FLY, Houston Ballet, Sandra Organ Company); Houston Center for Contemporary Craft; the Art Car Museum.

Best secret deals: The Contemporary Arts Museum and the Menil Collection are always free - as is the Art Car Museum. The Museum of Fine Arts is always free on Thursdays. Cheap beers can be found at the Flying Saucer downtown ($2.50 pints on Monday nights) and the Stag's Head ($2.75 pints on Sunday nights). Both have very good selections - so you can end up getting an $8 Belgian beer for cheap.

Best jukeboxes: Rudyard's has a great jukebox, as does La Carafe. They're probably my faves.

Where can you find Galaga in your town? Any batting cages? Any other favorite play spots to share?: There's a sit-down Galaga/Ms. PacMan machine in Onion Creek, and a stand-up one in the Edwards Cinema, downstairs near theatre #1. There's also a place downtown called Joysticks that sells video games, but apparently doesn't mind if you go in and play with their machines.

Best bets for lodging: There are some nice B&Bs in Montrose - especially the Lovett Inn. Hotels are cheaper on the weekends, especially in the summer, because Houston is primarily a business travel destination during the week.

Is public transport available? Do you recommend it? If so, how much is it? If not, how should a visitor get around? This is something of a problem in Houston - our public transport system isn't the best. There is a bus system that's not bad - $2 will get you a day pass that you can use an unlimited number of times. There is also a light rail that travels a grand total of 7 miles between downtown and the medical center - so if you're staying downtown you can see the Museum District by rail. The city is enormous, so walking around (especially in the heat) doesn't work all that well.

Local book store(s)/music shop(s)/co-ops/other shops to check out: Brazos Bookstore on Bissonnet is the best local bookstore - they do an excellent reading series that features local and national authors. Their selection is small but very well-chosen. Cactus Music on Alabama and Shepherd is the best independent music store and also the best for video rentals. Half Price Books has several local branches that are great - one in Montrose on Westheimer and one in Rice Village on University. Quarter Price Books on Shepherd is also a good used bookstore. There's a couple of farmer's markets and co-ops around town - one at T'afia restaurant in Midtown, Saturdays 8 AM - noon. One at Onion Creek in the Heights, same time. And there's a food co-op run out of Taft Street Coffee in Montrose - also a very good non-profit coffeehouse. The Menil Collection has a great bookstore - mostly art books but also has cool little gifty things made by local artists.

Locally-run cheap restaurant(s) you dig (yay to veg friendly and regional flair ones!):
Mexican: where do I start? Chuy's on Westheimer is best for Tex-Mex; Berryhill Tamales on Revere is best for fish tacos and tamales (fish tacos are $2 on Mondays and Fridays); Otilia's on Long Point is best for interior Mexican; and Hugo's on Westheimer is best for hugely inventive, albeit not cheap, authentic Mexican.
Fish/seafood: Goode Company Seafood, on Westpark - fresh Gulf seafood, and a local institution.
Breakfast: Barnaby's, a local chain with a couple of branches around town. The original, a Montrose institution, is on Fairview.
Diner: Katz's deli, on Westheimer, is open 24 hours - good, authentic Jewish food.
Comfort food: check out the chicken pot pie at Daily Review Cafe on Dunlavy.
Good salad / salad bar: I get the salads at Brasil, Daily Review, and Empire Cafe on Westheimer.
Vegan food?: IN HOUSTON? ha ha - they're all meat eaters down here. Nonetheless... Taft Street Coffee has vegan desserts. A good place to take vegetarians is the Hobbit Cafe, which is Tolkien-themed and has lots of good veggie sandwiches, salads, and burgers. There's also Madras Pavilion, a south Indian vegetarian place, which is excellent. Jenni's Noodle House, a cute pan-Asian place, also has lots of vegan/vegetarian food.
Pizza: Romano's, on Gray in Montrose, does authentic New York-style pizza, great pastas, and calzones. Our oasis of NYC cuisine in the South.
Coffee shop with character: Brasil, Onion Creek, Taft Street (see above).
Regional fare: any of the Mexican places I mentioned, Goode Company Barbecue.
Yer fav fancier place: Hugo's (Mexican), Backstreet Cafe (fusion), Da Marco (Italian), Cafe Rabelais (French), Ouisie's Table (Southern).
Others to recommend: Good family-run Italian place in the Heights: Patrenella's. Late-night Vietnamese/Chinese food: Mai's. Fabulous tapas in the Village: Mi Luna. Yummy Cuban food: Cafe Piquet. Cheap, good Middle Eastern/Greek food in Montrose (love the falafel): Niko Niko's.

Cool local activism to look out for: Houston Peace and Justice sponsors protests against the Iraq war, among other stuff; the Artery is a neat venue for political and progressive lectures, films, and other events (arteryhouston.org).

One road trip outta town you like: Austin is 2 1/2 hours away - kind of far for a day trip, but worth an overnight. And New Orleans is 5 1/2 hours - but so nice, we've been there twice.

Best/worst time of year to come. Why: Houston is in the 90s and extremely humid from June through October. It's hard to do anything outside during those times. The spring - March, April, May - is usually lovely, as is November.

Shoes you recommend bringing for a good visit: Nobody walks here, unfortunately, so it kinda doesn't matter. Comfy sandals, I'd say, especially if it's hot.

Quirks of yer town we should know about: Politically, Houston is a weird bird: it's primarily Democratic (the center of the city, anyway) - we have a Democratic mayor, an African-American woman representative (Sheila Jackson Lee) from our district, and there's a lot of counter-cultural stuff going on here. But yet it's also the petroleum capitol of the world, the home of Enron and other evil corps, and Tom DeLay is the rep for the southern burbs. And of course it's home to former prez Bush Sr. I guess because it's such a conflicted place, I have conflicting feelings about it. I'm not fond of the traffic, the air pollution, the heat, the giant cockroaches, or the oil money assholes. And yet I am fond of my neighborhood, the great bars and restaurants, the culture, the amazing diversity (Anglos are not in the majority here), and the people I've met here.

A bit about who you are: I'm 31, and I'm from the east coast (Jersey) originally, so this whole Southern thing is still kinda new to me, even though I've lived in Houston for nearly three years. I teach English lit. (mostly Shakespeare) and Women's Studies at two of the University of Houston campuses. I used to do a lot of artsy stuff - acting, directing, writing, even singing in a band (briefly) while I was in grad school at University of Illinois. Now I'm focusing on my teaching so I'm sublimating my artistic impulses into crafting - knitting, primarily. I have a knitblog where I talk about my crafty stuff, and sometimes about my teaching and reading: A Mingled Yarn - http://www.elizabethklett.com/knit.html. I read novels and feminist mags voraciously, listen to indie rock and alt-country, go to the movies, and hang out in bars.