bellhouse

We're staying at the Rotary hotel on-site, thanks to all of you. Now, is there a grocery nearby to pick up some things for breakfast/lunch? What about places to eat outside of the the medical complex? We will have a car. I saw something about a shopping/specialty district near Rice - would that be a good place to check out?

DebitNM

The Rotary House has a van that will take you to many places, including Rice Village, a shopping center that has a variety of stores and a supermarket and even some restaurants. They will drive you over, and you call them to pick you up. The service [and it's a great one - especially when you are staying at Rotary House for 3 weeks as we did] is free, we usually tipped the driver a dollar or 2 for each ride.

No hassle with finding your way, or parking or anything else.

Did you get a room with a kitchenette? They are a few dollars more, but it was very worth it to us on our long stay. When I went for follow-ups, we just got a regular room.

DebitNM

Sorry, that didn't come out right - the shopping center with the supermarket isn't at Rice Village, it is elsewhere. You can ask as the concierge desk, they know where everything is that you could possibly want or need. And they are so nice.

Van goes a 2 mile radius, that includes lots of places; the supermarket is Fiesta, it is on 8130 Kirby Dr,
http://fiestamart.com/html/

maryanntex

There is a Rice Epicurean Market that is way nicer than the Fiesta mentioned in the previous post. It has just been remodeled and has a great deli/take out section and is easy to get in and out of quickly. It's at 2617 W. Holcombe just west of Kirby. A few blocks down on the same side of the street is a Randall's (= Safeway) if you're needing a huge supermarket. In the Randall's shopping center is a good pizza place, Candelari's, and a sit-down or take-out casual Italian restaurant, Pronto. There are lots of good places to eat in Rice Village, as well as plenty of stores. Here are some suggestions: for nicer, sit-down dinners, you have Prego, Benji's, Miss Saigon, and Cafe Rabelais; for breakfast and/or lunch and/or a quick dinner, there are La Madeleine, Brown Bag Deli, LePeep, and Salento Coffee House. And The Chocolate Bar for dessert. Not far from The Village is Raven Grill, which is one of my favorites. Their sweet potato and spinach enchiladas are fabulous. You can check out reviews and exact locations on www.b4-u-eat.com

DebitNM

I think the OP is only going to be at Anderson 1 night; I agree that there are fancier places to eat and shop than Fiesta area, but to pick up food for breakfast and lunch for 1 day, Fiesta is perfectly ok.

maryanntex

It seems to me that the Rice Epicurean is closer to MDA than the Fiesta, and it's way easier to get in and out quickly.

follow_your_bliss

We usually head to Rice Village. Rotary House should have some brochures on Rice Village (ask for one with a map of RV).

If the patient is having a bunch of tests, and can't eat until late, I'll pick up something mild from Jason's Deli. We like breakfast at Le Peep. Once we ate at D'Amico's and it was good.

con_brio

I have no knowledge of MDA ( except that it is excellent) but have dealt as a patient with non local hospitals. They all have a staff member to help with things like hpusing and food. I wish you the very best of luck

bellhouse

Thanks all. Unfortunately the Rotary House was full, so we are staying at a Courtyard by Marriott that is fairly close by and has a shuttle every 30 minutes. Turns out we might be there as long as a week and renting a car, so we'll check all this out. What about things to do on the weekend? I saw the zoo is right there, we're not much for shopping, a movie might be a nice diversion. We went to the Dali Museum in St. Pete (FL) last weekend - something we had always thought would be fun, but never got around to. I found out I'm good for about 30 - 45 minutes at a museum, but then need about a 20 minute rest. What a pain - but it could be worse! Lots of suggestions - thanks - so I will print this out before we leave (Monday).

follow_your_bliss

The museum district is just a few minutes away, there's the aquarium, we like just driving the area around Rice Village looking at houses.

maryanntex

The places to for you to go to movies are the River Oaks Theater (mainly indie and foreign films) and the Edwards Greenway. You can check out times and shows at www.imdb.com--put in 77005 for the zip. Across the street from the River Oaks is a large (free) parking garage, and just down the street is Tony Mandola's Seafood, which is good--but often crowded. The only restaurant that is really near the Edwards Greenway is Collina's at 3835 Richmond. It's Italian, and pretty good but not great. The Edwards has a parking garage, too. For movies, I would suggest, if possible, going to an eariler show (if you're thinking about Friday or Saturday), and then eating afterwards.

There is also an IMAX at the Museum of Natural Science. IMAX shows and times are on imdb, too.

The Museum of Fine Arts also has movies several times a week. Check out their website www.mfah.org for the schedule of exhibitions and movies. The MFA has a Cafe Express in the building, which is good place for a quick bite to eat or just to get a drink and relax.

http://www.artshound.com/ This website has everything that's going on in the visual and performing arts. Stages Theater is not far from where you'll be and has some good shows.

BigRuss

I'd not shop at Fiesta, by and large. Has a terrible reputation for food quality and shop maintenance. There was a big bust a couple of years ago of the chain for meat storage practices.

Good luck to whoever's receiving the treatments.

bellhouse

Ah - we are taking a computer, so I don't have to print things out. Thanks for all posts - and I'll be able to continue to retrieve things once we get to Houston (Monday). Really appreciate it!

bellhouse

Sorry to be so slow getting back with this - the computer we were going to take was so slow that we didn't take it - just relied on the hotel computers. That was fine for communiating with friends/family, but I didn't want to tie them up for a report. We stayed at the Courtyard by Marriott, Medical Center. It was $89 with MD Anderson rate, very nice, big room, computers in the lobby, small exercise room so I could do my 20-30 minutes walking every day,small pool (not particularly scenic, but it was so nice just to sit outside after having been inside so much). It had a small frig in the room, so we could bring back leftovers - plus we could use the microwave downstairs to warm things up. A Kroger was right next door, so we got yogurt, cheese, crackers, etc. from there. We saw the Fiesta and other groceries, but didn't go in - I imagine it's a bit like here: I go to Save A Lot for inexpensive staples, Albertsons for a little more upscale stuff and meat, and Publix for nice deli things. Oh, the hotel also had a shuttle - it went to the medical center on the 1/2 hour and picked you up when you called. We didn't end up using it, since the first day of parking was free, the second day my CT scan was scheduled until 8:20 (actually happened closer to 10) and I was worried about the shuttle service ending before I got out (and it did), and the last day was just a meeting to go over results - not long enough to worry about parking costs. However, if I had things spread out all day we would definitely have done the shuttle. Food - yum! I just wish my appetite had been better, but at least I did provide lunches for DH! The first night we set out after my appointment for an early-ish dinner and I didn't have my printout about Rice Village. We just happened upon a Sicilian restaurant, Buon Appetito, in an old house near the Medical Center. It was a great find - DH and I shared nice salad, I had the calamari stuffed with crab appetizer (excellent flavor, but chewy - not overly so for calamari), and he had stuffed veal. More later - doctor appointment!

bellhouse

To continue - our other two dinners were at Cafe Rabelais and Miss Saigon. I got a salad at Cafe R, thinking it would be small - it was HUGE! Smoked duck, mango, macadamia nuts, avocado and greens with a maybe-raspberry vinaigrette. DH and I both ate leftovers from that one! DH had a lamb chop with asparagus and potato gratin - a much more reasonable size and equally good. At Miss Saigon we shared summer rolls - which would have been enough for me. By the time I got to my main course (glazed shrimp) I was too full to eat any of it except the shrimp. Our non-leftover lunch was at the Turkish place in Rice Village - stuffed grape leaves appetizer (liked much better than Greek version) for me, and a kabob special (lots of meat!) for DH. All of our meals were delicious - and we really enjoyed Rice Village. For our outings, we went to Bayou Bend (who would name their poor child "Ima Hogg"?) and the zoo, then a short trip out to San Jacinto.

follow_your_bliss

Thanks for reporting back. Was the parking free at Courtyard? $89 is a good rate.

bellhouse

Yes, parking was free. $89 was a special rate for MD Anderson (probably whole Medical Center?).