maria, I got a giggle out of that one! These post have proven to me another great thing about Houstonians - witty people with a great sense of humor.

MacPrague, I am so glad you're settling in and are happy! I was just reading another woman's post; she had asked about a place to stay in Houston and ended up staying at the Lovett Inn and had a blast. She said "I never realized a stay in Houston could be that wonderful." It's kind of fun to make discoveries in a new city.

Just found this, too.

Has anyone had experience with Bayou City Outdoors? They have a fantastic website--very informative even without a membership. Funny about the name, though, since no one ever does anything outside....

www.guestlife.com/Houston looks relatively useful also.

I figure someone else might find this stuff interesting. If not, at least I can find them again later!

Oh! and volcanogirl, I appreciate the book suggestions! Will definitely check B&N when I'm there next....

Oh MP, you have such a great attitude, just great. We are so happy you are here.

I want to mention one other thing because you reminded me.

There's a restaurant called T'afia. The chef is Monica Pope. She's been in the top 10 chef's in the wine spectator magazine. She's fabulous and I've been a foodie fan of hers for years. Anyway, that restaurant of hers in midtown is pretty spectacular (food wise). The decor itself is very clean and minimalistic. She only serves texas wines there and although your first impression is "hmmmmm...", you get the advice of the great waiters there and think, "oh my, not bad at all indeed!". On top of that, on Fridays, she has pre fixed lunches (soup/salad, entre, and desert) for an even $22/person. And on top of that, on Saturdays she has a mini farmer's market at the restaurant. Very cool. Great baked good, organic meats (local), fresh veggies from local growers, and other items like jewelry and such. You should try it out. Here's a link: http://www.tafia.com/

sorry, I meant food and wine magazine not wine spectator....

Thanks for the tip about t'afia. I heard about it from some folks when we first arrived, but I haven't made it yet. Am definitely going to find a babysitter and request a date night, though!

Did you know that the farm that provides some of the meat she serves has a booth at the Rice Village Farmers' Market? They also do home delivery. All this gushing and I haven't eaten anything from them yet--but I have some selection in my freezer we'll be savoring this weekend! www.jolievuefarm.com

Another great discovery I've made--Canino's market on Airline. Great produce.

It pays to have good neighbors. Evidently, there's also a great pie place just outside the loop near Shepherd, but I've forgotten the name (this is probably better for me anyway!)

Do Houston Fodor-ites ever have coffees or happy hours? How delightful that would be. Then, if I passed you walking down the street (!) I'd know you! I might call you by your screen name, but that's all the better, right?

maria, funny - we are having a lunch meeting at work on Friday and ordering in box lunches from t'afia. I haven't had it before but am really looking forward to trying it.

volacogirl, tell me how their box lunches are. I am doing a tam building thing for my group in January and was thinking of doing their box lunches but hadn't really looked into it yet. In any case, lucky you!

MP, there are get togethers. Actually, I think rrkwan is organizing one, I belive very soon too. If you click on his name, you'll see the GTG (get together) that's planned. I heard it's fun but I wasn't available on their scheduled time.

Is that the one with the lambs and muttons? We have some of those at the freezer downstairs.

I've only been once at the market on airline and can't remember how to get back there (and been too lazy to research that). Let me know if you don't mind. Would love to come visit that again.

Oh, and how can I forget. If you love seafood, The Wall, right at your neighborhood at the Heights is such a cool place too. Some people say it can get loud there but to me, it's tolerable (i LOVE seafood). Their wine selection is also delish. I ordered a glass of iwne at the bar waiting for our table and I ordered the house. It was incredible (something from south africa - can't remember the name) but I was impressed their house wine is THAT good.

Hi maria! Canino's is on Airline between North Main and 610 on the right as you drive north. Great prices and selection!

Thanks, too, for the restaurant suggestion. DH is not a seafood fan, but if they have a steak, then we're set!

Enjoy your day!
MP

maria, will do - I have the menu right in front of me - you get a choice of a sandwich, big salad, or quiche and then a soup or sweet to go with it. They have a lot of vegan options too like shitake mushroom/heirloom bean soup, red miso with organic carrot, or chicken wheatberry; the sweets are ginger chewy cookie, cheesecake bar with walnut crust, or triple threat chocolate cookie. My office is crazy; almost everyone picked the soup - LOL! I will let you know how it goes.

MP, I forgot to mention a couple of spots for Greek food - we really like Yia Yia Mary's, and Niko Nikos is really popular too. Also, if you like gardening at all, Buchanan's in your neighborhood is great, also Another Place in Time is smaller but you can get some good finds there too. I haven't been to the farmer's market in years, but you've put the idea in my head, and I think we'll head over one of these weekends. Enjoy!

MP - the pie place is probably the Flying Saucer Pie Company on W Crosstimbers. It's been there for a long time and has great pies.

"BK, I guess this is what rrkwan and volcanogirl (and I) are saying is that if you had nothing nice to say to someone who just moved to Houston, why ruin it for them? MP was asking for some "good" things to do, not what's so wrong about Houston - that wasn't her post at all. For you to turn it to something like this, not only have you offended some Houstonians, you have send a very negative vibe for the poster too. My mom always used to say (and I suspect most mom's have said this) if you have nothing nice to say, don't say it - especially when what you have to say isn't what is asked."

For someone moving to Houston from another part of the country, knowing what the people and climate are like are very important. The only reason I responded to this post is because rkkwan mentioned originally that it is too hot in Houston for walking. Now, if you are a Houston lover, why didn't you take offense to that statement, as it's not a "good" thing? Well, I did, because it's false.

Houston has its good and bad points, but a blanket statement like "It's too hot to walk around Houston" isn't really going to help the original poster either, and is just as negative as anything I said.

I take it that you do want the truth told, not just lies? Because if you just want to tell lies, then why don't you say it's 72 degrees and sunny all year and there's never any humidity in Houston.

Your mother's saying is great when talking to a 3 year old, but on an internet forum where people are seeking honest assessments of cities, that statement has no meaning. On an internet forum, you must be prepared to hear viewpoints that are different from yours.

It's gotten pointless for me to reply, so I won't.

bk, you have some very strong opinions for someone who doesn't live here. I hope this doesn't offend you - truly I do, but you sound really angry when you post. It honestly makes it hard to follow any advice you may offer. When you say things like how Houston was denied the Olympics, it just comes across as bashing - Houston has hosted a lot of big athletic events recently, including the Super Bowl, The World Series, the All-Star Game, etc., but is any of that relevant to the poster's question? Honestly, Houston has changed a lot recently - the train system is in development and the downtown area is vibrant and full of restaurants, clubs, live concerts, movie theaters, bars, live theater performances, etc. Most of that development has taken place in the last 10 years. I believe in full disclosure too - if someone asks if Houston, gets hot - well, it does. If someone asks if there's traffic in Houston, yes there is. The poster specifically asked about cool cultural activities, museums, festivals, and restaurants - how is it helpful to her that you say you shun Houston, that it's an oversized hick town, and that it is not like Cairo? It almost seems like it upsets you that people are happy here. Her question is not, "I'm thinking of moving to either Houston or Cairo - which one has better outdoor markets?" Her question addresses all the things addressed above - festivals, museums, restaurants, etc. and as you can see from all the posts here from Houstononians, she can find all those things here, and I hope that we have helped her to do it. Perhaps the experiences of someone who visited here as a child and someone who lives here today are vastly different.

Hi, maria - bad news on the t'afia forefront, it turns out you have to put your lunch order in a day in advance, and they didn't get our order in on time, so we ended up getting lunch from another spot. We have frequent meetings like this, so I will be sure to let you know when I do get a taste of t'afia. At least you'll know that for when you guys put your order in.

MP, I thought of a few more holiday things that might interest you. The Alley Theatre does A Christmas Carol each year. Also the Nutcracker is performed during the holidays and is really popular. Also Sam Houston Park downtown is the site for the Heritage Society's candlelight tour of old, historic homes each December. It's a pretty neat event - you get to tour the preserved homes which are all decorated for the holidays, drink cider, they have people singing carols, etc. It's a good way to get in the holiday spirit.

bkluvsNola:
While it may be that rkkwan is right--meaning that a discussion with you is pointless--I'm to a point that I'm intrigued with WHY you feels like you do. So, bk, why? You are so adamant about expressing your dislike for Houston, and I'm curious as to what your direct, first-hand experience has been with Houston, and when? Have you been back here for any length of time--if at all--since 30 years ago and your growing-up days in Lake Charles when you used to visit Houston? Maybe if you would give us specifics to back up your generalizations, then we'd be more receptive to what you have to say. Without clarification from you, the "oversized hick town," "poor quality of life," and "people don't jog in the park, even in good weather months" comments have me stymied.

I completely agree with Maryann. We've taken a lot of trips and visited a number of places, but if someone is asking advice on what it's like to actually live somewhere, I wouldn't feel that I could give them a true representation of living in the city unless I had actually done so and had done so recently. Cities change and develop and visiting vs. living there are entirely different experiences.

you guys, seriously, follow rrkwan's lead. bk is not worth the effort getting to figure out why he/she does this. Even MP, the original poster has ignored her/his advice.

Thanks for letting me know about lunch boxes at T'afia. Do respond whenever you do get their boxed lunches. I am really thinking that would be a good place to order lunch for my next event at work.

LOL - maria, I will put the frustrated psychologist inside myself to rest and will definitely let you know regarding T'afia - hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.