Three Perfect Days: Houston

200 years ago, Houston was born on the edge of the American frontier. So, it’s only fitting that now it’s the official headquarters for our exploration of “the final frontier.” Established in 1961, The Johnson Space Center is a sprawling 2,000-acre site containing key NASA facilities like its famous mission control center. From this room came the clips of U.S. astronauts walking on the moon (or the infamous “Houston, we have a problem” transmission from the movie “Apollo 13”). The mission control center is just one of the many sites at Space Center Houston, JSC’s public museum.

Everything is bigger in Texas, and never do those words ring truer than when touring Rocket Park. This park is home to one of the last remaining Saturn V rockets, the only vehicle to ever carry people beyond Earth’s orbit. Inside the main Space Center facility, you can gaze at moon rocks, visit NASA’s astronaut training facility and learn the history of U.S. space exploration, among much more.

After a full day at the Space Center, you deserve a treat – and a chance to see what makes Houston a multicultural hub. Chef Christine Ha, who rose to fame after winning “MasterChef” in 2012, went on to open The Blind Goat in an unassuming strip mall in Houston’s Spring Branch.

After MasterChef, the praise for Ha’s mastery of Vietnamese comfort food continued. She won a James Beard award in 2020 for family-style dishes like those on the menu here, including: velvety crawfish and garlic noodles, “Duck Duck noodles” with pan-seared duck and her signature (MasterChef award-winning) dish Cá Kho (caramelized salmon braised in a clay pot). Even the cocktails are showstoppers, like the old-fashioned imbued with campfire flavors and a roasted marshmallow rim (roasted before your eyes, for real smoke flavor).

If her story wasn’t incredible enough, Chef Ha did all of this after losing her eyesight in her late 20s due to an autoimmune disease. Despite it all, Ha and her team have built something unique in Houston’s culinary scene that shouldn’t be missed.

Ready to dance those noodles off? Neon Boots Dancehall and Saloon is just a short drive away. Previously called the Esquire Ballroom, it was here where country talents like Willie Nelson, Patsy Cline, Kenny Rogers and many more were nurtured. Legend even says that Elvis Presley graced the hall when he stormed into the back phone booth and fired his manager for not booking him to play there. The phone booth still remains inside Neon Boots today.

However, the main draw these days is the dance floor and the DJs, drawing Houston’s best line-dancing talent. But if you’re a newcomer to the art of line dancing, don’t be deterred: Neon Boots hosts free lessons every Thursday night, with additional classes and events throughout the week. The convivial atmosphere of Neon Boots – with two full bars plus another “no-buzz bar” just for nonalcoholic cocktails – makes it a fun, judgment-free zone for all. Just remember, no drinks on the dance floor.

Houston’s city center is a sprawling metropolis, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the outdoors.

Spend some time at Hermann Park, located just south of downtown near Rice University. Strolling through over 400 acres of parkland, admire the sprawling reflecting pool, the grand Sam Houston monument and several gardens.

Hermann Park is also conveniently located within walking distance of many of Houston’s top museums. A highlight is the Houston Museum of Natural Science, which features exhibits on Texas’s natural habitats, massive dinosaur fossils, ancient Egyptian artifacts and more.

But one of the most notable exhibits is the museum’s Cockrell Butterfly Center, home to over 1,500 butterflies and moths from around the world. Functioning as a rainforest conservatory, the dome also houses several other animals, including birds, turtles and a big green iguana named Smeagol (don’t worry, he mostly chills under his heat lamp eating fruit).

Once out of this tropical oasis, you’ll likely be craving the sun, and in Houston, you don’t have to go far to get a resort-like experience – just take a trip downtown and visit Altitude Rooftop & Pool.

Though this rooftop pool deck – complete with a Texas-shaped lazy river, multiple bars, cabanas and a stage for live music – is atop a hotel, anyone can come to enjoy it for the day. Most come to Altitude for the pool, but they end up staying for the food and drink too.

Executive Chef Corbin Webb and his culinary team whip up signature dishes that go far beyond your typical hotel bar fare. The rotating menu features locally sourced, organic ingredients, including vegetables and herbs grown in an on-site garden. Whether you’re biting into steamed pork belly bao buns, loaded “tot-chos” (tater tot nachos) or the steak sandwich with grass-fed, Texas-raised beef, you can instantly taste the care that goes into every bite. To really nail that bougie resort vibe, order a signature cocktail in a coconut, because why not?

Leaving Altitude may have you feeling wistful, but the pampering doesn’t have to end. If you want to reawaken your senses and experience award-winning, “unapologetically Thai” food, visit Street to Kitchen in the Second Ward.

Inspired by her childhood and grandmother’s cooking, Chef Benchawan Jabthong Painter (“Chef G”) opened Street to Kitchen when she moved to Houston with her husband, Graham. Her goal was to use locally available ingredients to recreate authentic Thai dishes without compromising flavor or experience. And that’s exactly what she did.

Thai meals are traditionally eaten family style and loaded with a blend of spices. However, Chef G designed the menu keeping balance top of mind. Follow her recommended courses (substitutions are not available) and experience Thailand’s many flavors, from “royal” Massaman curries to street food favorites like pad see ew. As Chef G dishes out the food, Graham curates a perfect wine pairing, treating each glass like a meal unto itself.

Houston’s many neighborhoods brim with decades of history, even the most unassuming ones.

Project Row Houses is a monument to the resilience of one community in particular: the Third Ward, one of Houston’s oldest Black neighborhoods. In the early 90s, local Black artists pooled their resources to purchase a block and a half of “shotgun houses” in the Third Ward. For many, these quaint homes stood as symbols of hope and prosperity: The shotgun house style was common throughout historically Black communities of the South. As the Third Ward suffered from the effects of urban decay, Project Row Houses upheld a vision that the area would soon see revitalization.

Today, the homes function as individual art galleries by a rotating group of artists. While some homes feature immersive installations, using sound and video footage evoking the lost memories of past Third Ward residents, others are covered in elaborate handmade garments. Project Row Houses also works tirelessly to support Third Ward entrepreneurs, architects of affordable housing and many more programs.

To keep exploring the cultural tapestry of Houston, stop for lunch at one of the many Vietnamese restaurants around the city. Following the Vietnam War, thousands of Vietnamese refugees resettled here, and today, the community is a fixture of the city’s modern culture. Midtown, just southwest of the city center, is known as “Little Saigon,” where dozens of authentic restaurants and shops reside.

Hungry? Try Cali Sandwich & Pho, where you can choose from a dozen classic options for bahn mi toppings, or opt for a hot bowl of pho, noodles, spring rolls and much more.

Once you’re nice and warmed up from a cozy Vietnamese meal, get ready for another history lesson by way of Houston’s bayous.

There’s no better way to explore Houston’s waterways than with Buffalo Bayou Kayak Tours. Lead guide David Urias is an expert on local history and the transformation of these important feats of engineering. Over the years, these channels functioned as a food source for Indigenous people, a passage for early explorers and settlers and a source for economic growth. Paddling along the bayou around sunset, watch the orange sky deepen behind downtown Houston’s skyline.

Your visit to Houston would be remiss without some Tex-Mex. While many of the city’s Mexican restaurants have reached “institution” status, longtime residents will almost unanimously agree that The Original Ninfa’s on Navigation is the top Tex-Mex stop. And it all began in 1973 on Navigation Blvd.

If you’ve ever enjoyed a steaming hot pan of grilled fajitas, you have Ninfa’s to thank. It was their signature steak fajitas that put Ninfa’s on the map, and this original location remains a lively spot to enjoy the expansive menu. Add in the house margaritas and, of course, a complimentary bowl of tortilla chips and salsa to get the full Tex-Mex experience.

You can’t end your last day without witnessing the ultimate staple of Texas culture and a regular sight around much of the western U.S.: the rodeo, and bull riding in particular. The sport of bull riding is centuries old, born of bored cowboys and farmhands on the range looking for entertainment. It just so happened these daring displays of animal husbandry also improved their ranching skills.

Today, the rodeo business is booming, with major leagues like the U.S. Professional Bull Riders (PBR) touring the country and world. PBR riders come from all over the globe, and many of its top competitors now hail from Brazil, Canada or Australia.

The shows are elaborate spectacles: Riders spend hours prepping behind the scenes, and about a dozen ranch hands and judges take up positions around the ring for the riders’ safety and scoring. But it all comes down to eight seconds, the length a rider must stay on his bull to score any points. Once released from the pen, witness the bull go wild, thrashing and bucking as the rider holds on for dear life (with just one hand). Riders are scored on a scale of one to 100 based on style and technique; even the bull receives a score. But don’t worry; you don’t need to know any of this to be amazed.

Everything is indeed bigger in Texas, but it’s easy to overlook the little details that make this place truly unique. The tight-knit community and culture of Houston make this big city feel pleasantly cozy. Get to know it better, and you’ll be richly rewarded.