Christmas Trip to Houston with Teens
 

Will have about 36 hours in Houston the weekend before Christmas. Plan to see NASA and stay at the Westin Galleria. Have read this boards for hints but need a few suggestions for local restaurants near NASA<BR>and the Galleria. Want to experience what Houston is known for-steaks, seafood and barbeque. A fun, good-value place locals share with their own out-of-town guests. Will have a car but want to stay within these 2 areas since traffic will be a concern. Lunch &lt;$15 per person, no alcohol.<BR>Dinner&lt;$25 per person, no alcohol. Also, is there a better place to stay near/at the Galleria. Would love an indoor/heated pool.<BR>Headed to San Antonio after this so don't need Tex-Mex suggestions. Thanks in advance.

Hi, Sonya.<BR><BR>The Galleria area is really one of the better places to stay in Houston, and the Westin is attached to the Galleria, which will be convenient for you. There's construction going on near the Galleria and a lot of road construction on the nearby freeways, which will be a hassle. (But then, it seems as if every road throughout Houston is undergoing some roadwork right now.) <BR><BR>If you plan to visit the Galleria, the Westin is an easy choice. There are a number of nearby hotels that might be a little nicer, but not necessarily cheaper or more convenient. I would not recommend staying near NASA, as it's not as interesting in the area. As to hotels with a pool, there's a new Embassy Suites around the corner from the Galleria. They usually have pools and are good with teens, because they include a hot breakfast, etc.<BR><BR>As to restaurants, I would recommend Goode Company on Kirby for barbeque. Most of the seafood restaurants are expensive, but if you like a good dive, I would recommend Ragin' Cajun. It's located on Richmond (which is fairly close to the Galleria), and it's seafood with a Cajun twist. If the crawfish is in season, order it! We don't usually go out for steaks, so nothing to recommend for that. Most of the steak places I know about are for expense account dining. If you change your mind and are looking for Mexican, my teens love Chuy's. (There's also a Chuy's in San Antonio.) An off the menu item to order is their jalapeno dip for the chips. (Kind of like ranch dressing with a kick!)<BR><BR>A good Texas-style restaurant about a mile from the Galleria is Mama's Cafe. It's good for breakfast, lunch, or dinner and has good down-home style meals.<BR><BR>Have fun.

Thanks. Anyone out there with any suggestions around NASA? Would love a good local seafood place for lunch. I saw a post about a place called Pier 8<BR>but it only seems to have been recommended by 1 person. I know it's hard to find good local places around large malls but we don't want to spend all of our time stuck in holiday traffic.

I'm sorry Sonya but you're out of luck. You can get around in Houston by car only and so the highways are like a parking lot. The only advice I can offer is to be off the roads around rush hour when it's the worst.

I used to live in the Clear Lake Area. Caution: this information is about 5 years old.<BR><BR>For seafood, we'd usually go to Kemah, just along the channel where Clear Lake empties into the bay. There are several good seafood restaurants clustered together there. I tended to like the Flying Dutchman, but everyone has a different favorite. (Pappas Seafood, between Houston and Clear Lake on I-45, was another place we really liked.)<BR><BR>You can always get seafood at places that don't serve seafood exclusively. We rarely went out to "seafood places", but I ate a lot of really fresh fish and shrimp at other restaurants.<BR><BR>Frenchie's was a popular restaurant for the NASA lunch crowd. Frenchie's Villa Capri was the same owner's other restaurant on Clear Lake. It was a romantic place. I think both Frenchie's actually had Italian food. Enzo's was probably our favorite restaurant, also Italian.

Sonya, http://www.kemahboardwalk.com/ will give you more info about the Kemah Boardwalk which is not far from The Space Center (http://www.spacecenter.org/). The website even gives directions on how to get there. Lots of great seafood restaurants to choose from as well as shops, etc.<BR><BR>You might also consider a visit to Moody Gardens in Galveston(http://www.moodygardens.com/cgi-bin/home.cfm). It has a rainforest, aquarium and an IMAX theater. Great way to spend some time.<BR><BR>Since the above attractions are near the Space Center, you might want to think about staying somewhere around Galveston -- maybe even at the Moody Gardens hotel. It certainly would mean less hassle with traffic.

If you only have a day and a half in the Houston area and you are only going to NASA, I would not suggest staying in the City. NASA is quite far from the City and from what I understand the traffic is horrendous within the City.<BR><BR>I had the same amount of time in Houston recently and we also only went to Space Center. We were originally booked at the Galleria also, but stayed in Webster/Clear Lake to be 4 blocks from NASA (Space Center).

Thanks for all of the wonderful suggestions. Since we are traveling with 3 teens, they all want to visit the Galleria. Because this is a "fun" shopping trip we are willing to put up with some traffic. I think we have narrowed down the dining choices and have a list of several possibilities. Is there a native out there who could venture a guess as to whether there are extended shopping hours on the Sunday before Christmas at the Galleria? We'd like to shop a little and then leave for San Antonio just after lunch. Might this be possible? I've checked the Galleria site but this information isn't available yet.

Since no one has suggested steak places, the following are the usual suspects: Morton's, the Palm, Pappas Brother's, Ruth's Chris, Capitol Grill and Vallone's (Vallone's also has very good seafood). However, to meet your $25 maximum you would probably have to drink water and skip dessert!

Oddly enough, Houston does not have great reasonably priced seafood, steak or barbecue.<BR><BR>Since you will be at NASA, seafood for lunch is probably a good choice. The Kemah area is pretty neat, although food quality is marginal. According to friends in the area, best place to eat seafood is probably Tommy's Patio Caf&eacute;, maybe The Flying Dutchman. If you like Asian food, Bay Thai is supposed to be very good. Pass on Pappadeaux's and Pappas Seafood, local chain with too much food for too high a price.<BR><BR>Most of the steakhouses in the Galleria area are expense account places (Morton's, Capital Grille, Ruth's Chris). Americ&aacute;'s or Churrasco's might be a slightly out of your price range ($30 per person, no drinks) but are very good. I have read good things about a place called Chimichurri's on Bellaire, but have not been there. Taste of Texas is overpriced for the quality of food. Hofbrau and Salt Grass provide the same quality meat at half the price.<BR><BR>For barbecue, I think Goode Company is overrated. Close to the Galleria, I prefer Luling City Market. Former Pres. George H.W. Bush is a big fan of Otto's on Memorial. If you're having barbecue for dinner, I would make the drive to the Swinging Door in Richmond. It's much more interesting and fun.<BR><BR>Galleria usually extends shopping hours starting the week of thanksgiving.

I'd second the idea of the Swinging Door in Richmond for barbecue. I also like that place better than Goode Company. You'll get a pretty realistc Texas "cowboy" experience there. Make reservations or you'll wait a couple of hours. It's pretty far from NASA and the middle of town, but worth the trip. From NASA, you can take the beltway over to the Southwest Freeway (Hwy 59).

Per the comments above on Pappas Seafood: we used to order one entree for every two people and it worked out just right.

A big thank you to all who responded with helpful suggestions for our trip to Houston. Now to narrow down the choices to 2 lunches and 1 dinner!

Since no one metioned my favorite restaurant near NASA - here we go: The Crazy Cajun Food Factory, 2825 Nasa Rd 1, Seabrook, Tx. I am from Louisiana and am used to eating good cajun food, but I am yet to find a restaurant in Louisiana that I prefer to the Crazy Cajun. If you go, try the off the menu "Bubba Gump Shrimp Special". If I remember, it's 13 shrimp cooked 13 different way. Very delicious!

Sonya: if you're still checking this board for responses, I thought you might like to see the results of the "Best of Houston" from the citysearch website. Check out: http://houston.citysearch.com/best/categories/2002

Grotto Italian Restuarant at Loop 610 and Westheimer is wonderful. If you go to Galvestlon try Guido's Seafood. It's a family owned restuarant that's been around since early 1900's. Wonderful view of the Gulf of Mexico! For barbeque, I'd try Joes Barbeque on Highway 6 in Alvin, Texas-About 20 minutes from Clear Lake area. It's the best barbeque that I have ever tasted! Lupi Tortillas on Southwest Freeway near Kirby nest to Academy Sports Store has great Mexican food!

Check out the Museum of Natural Science in Houston! Carrabba's Italian Grill on Kirby!

If you go to NASA, travel to KEMAH and see the boardwalk on the bay. DO NOT EAT there. Drive about 5 miles south to Clifton's By the Bay. A little hard to find but 1/10 the noise, 1/2 the price, and much better food than anything on the boardwalk. Try the whole broiled fresh Flounder. Wonderful.<BR>Near the Galleria, Pesce is the best for seafood but it is expensive. Ousie's Table on San Felipe east of 610 is also very good. Very near the Westin is a small Captain Bill's (looks like a shrimp boat) and others have recommended their raw oysters at a cheap price.<BR><BR>A final note. The Art Institute has a culinary school and the restaurant is open only on weekends. Great prices and good food. Master chef trains students who help prepare the food and serve it. Wine is very reasonable. Lunch is &lt;$10 and dinner &lt;$25. We had a six course meal last evening with wine for $40/person. Located on Yorktown off San Felipe west of the Galleria a few blocks. <BR><BR>Summary try the restaurant at the Art Institure for lunch or dinner one day, then tour NASA another day, and afterwards go to KEMAH for fun on the boardwalk ending with dinner at Clifton's on the Bay.<BR><BR>

If you go to NASA, travel to KEMAH and see the boardwalk on the bay. DO NOT EAT there. Drive about 5 miles south to Clifton's By the Bay. A little hard to find but 1/10 the noise, 1/2 the price, and much better food than anything on the boardwalk. Try the whole broiled fresh Flounder. Wonderful.<BR>Near the Galleria, Pesce is the best for seafood but it is expensive. Ousie's Table on San Felipe east of 610 is also very good. Very near the Westin is a small Captain Bill's (looks like a shrimp boat) and others have recommended their raw oysters at a cheap price.<BR><BR>A final note. The Art Institute has a culinary school and the restaurant is open only on weekends. Great prices and good food. Master chef trains students who help prepare the food and serve it. Wine is very reasonable. Lunch is &lt;$10 and dinner &lt;$25. We had a six course meal last evening with wine for $40/person. Located on Yorktown off San Felipe west of the Galleria a few blocks. <BR><BR>Summary try the restaurant at the Art Institute for lunch or dinner one day, then tour NASA another day, and afterwards go to KEMAH for fun on the boardwalk ending with dinner at Clifton's on the Bay.<BR><BR>