What to do when you're in downtown Houston for a convention

(Editor's note: My husband Adam wrote this guest post as a guide for people visiting this weekend for a large Magic: the Gathering tournament downtown, but it's good advice for any gathering centered around the George R Brown Convention Center. If you don't know what Magic: the Gathering is then just ignore his silly inside jokes)

So you’re coming to Houston for the GP. Great choice! Houston is the 4^th biggest city in the States, with a sprawling size that’s intimidating for most visitors. But since you’re here presumably to play magic in a convention center downtown for hours on end, you don’t have to worry about that much. I’ll try to tailor my advice to stuff you can do within a 10 minute walk or uber/taxi ride. Houston gets a bad rap sometimes, and while large portions of downtown are going to be completely dead after 6pm, the trick to Houston has always been knowing where to look. By some metrics Houston is the most diverse city in the US, and the inner loop skews much younger than the suburbs and is packed with great places to go. So what do you want to do?

I want to get some Tex-Mex

            Another great choice. I imagine every city in Texas claims they have the best Tex-Mex food, so what kinda Texan would I be if I didn’t say they’re all wrong and Houston is actually the champion. Most of these places are going to be particularly proud of their fajitas which I would recommend, but it’s hard to go to wrong with Tex-Mex. In walking distance of the GRB you have:

• Pappasitos (in the Hilton building)- I haven’t been to this location, but Pappasitos is Houston’s nicest local chain and is very solid.
• Irma’s Southwest Grill – Made a name for itself serving lunch to downtown, it now serves dinner on the weekend and is very well regarded.

If you’re ok with calling an Uber, or really want to get out of downtown you have a few more options:

• The Original Ninfa’s on Navigation- Probably the most authentic Tex-Mex restaurant on this list, you may recognize the name from the Ninfa’s chain that has started to stretch across the south. The Original Ninfa’s uses different recipes than the franchise locations and is much better than the others. Just across 59, you can also ride the Metrorail to get here.
• El Real- My favorite place in town, their fajitas are the best.
• Torchy’s Tacos- If you want a bit more Tex than Mex, this is a great fun taco chain that started in Austin and has two locations in Houston.
• Cuchara- If you want more Mex than Tex, Cuchara is an excellent Mexico City style restaurant with a great brunch to boot.

I want some Texas BBQ

            Texas is very proud of its BBQ. Houston’s best two places are Killen’s and Corkscrew, which are both 20-30 minute drives from downtown followed by upwards of an hour wait in line for your meat. They will run out by dinnertime. If you’re here for the GP I don’t imagine you have time for that, but luckily you’ve got some good places in walking distance:

• Jackson Street Barbecue- A relatively new addition to Houston’s BBQ scene, this is a partnership by some other big BBQ guys put right next to the Astro’s ballpark to capitalize on the downtown traffic. It’s a short walk and pretty good.
• Pappa Charlie's Barbeque- Pappa Charlie finally upgraded from a cooker behind his truck to a brick and mortar store last year and it’s great. Try the brisket.

I want something fancy and expensive

            While not quite my area of expertise, quite a few of Houston’s fanciest restaurants are in the downtown area, including Pappa Bros. Steakhouse which is the best steak you can get in town. I’ll also plug the Houston Chronicle’s top 100 restaurant list here, which can also help you decide if this is what you’re into. You’ll also recognize a few places I’ve already mentioned. 

Houston’s diverse huh? Tell me more about that

            Houston has one of the largest Vietnamese-American populations in America, and if you’re into that there are two great restaurants in walking distance, Café TH and Hunyh Restaurant. There’s some good Vietnamese and Japanese food in midtown which is a short metro or Uber ride away, but other than that there’s not too much close to downtown unfortunately. If you want to venture out though Bellaire is Houston’s form of Chinatown, about 20 minutes away on the Southwest side of town.

Enough about food though, you’re probably gonna be taking down the whole GP so who has time for a nice dinner? Maybe what you really want to know is where to go Saturday night to celebrate making day 2 (or not). What are you looking for?

I need a beer

           

• Flying Saucer- Flying Saucer is a great beer bar that has a ton of great Houston beers about 8 blocks from the GRB. Hard to go wrong here.
• Hay Merchant- I can’t not mention Hay Merchant, it’s the best beer bar in town but is a short uber ride away to the Montrose area. Flying Saucer is a good substitute though and will also be easier to find a seat at.
• Little Woodrow’s- An atmosphere that feels very Houston, Little Woodrow’s is a great example of the Icehouse, a laid back bar with large porches and cheap beer. There are multiple locations around town, you can walk to the one in EaDo (next to Pappa Charlies) or take the Metrorail to Midtown to see that side of Houston. Or come pay me a visit at my local one in the Heights.

I want to see the nightlife

            Downtown is in a great hub for this, so let’s walk through your options. There’s Midtown which is just south of downtown and a short Uber ride away. It’s gonna skew a bit more preppy and you will get turned away from most places if your shirt doesn’t have a collar and you’re wearing tennis shoes. The exception to that rule is Barbarella, the best club in town (or at least my favorite) which is very laid back and a lot of fun. West of Midtown is Montrose, which has some the most diverse offerings. You can go dancing at Numbers, Etro, or Boondocks. You can get a beer at Hay Merchant or a cocktail at Poison Girl or Anvil. There’s also a large concentration of gay bars in this part of town, but I’m gonna recognize my limits and apologize that I can’t give good advice in that area. Two blocks east of the GRB is EaDo, which doesn’t have a ton of choices but is great if you just wanna walk somewhere and get cheap drinks. Last but not least is Market Square, the heart of downtown at night. This is my favorite place to go out and there’s tons to do. Pastry War is a world class tequila/mescal bar (they don’t serve pastries though). Captain Foxheart’s Bad News Bar is a speakeasy style bar that’s not too hard to find and makes great cocktails. After that head to Nightingale Room for some great music, then end up at OKRA Charity Saloon and get some milk and cookies, or Frank’s Pizza for late night pizza by the slice.

That all sounds nice, but is there anything nerdier?

            I’m glad you asked! If you’re getting in Friday night you can check out Joystix which is 5 or 6 blocks to the North. It’s an arcade store/bar that turns on free play from 9pm to 2am (Friday only) if you pay $15 at the door. There also Neil’s Bahr in EaDo, a bar that embraces its inner nerd with a large comic book rack and TVs set up with N64s. If you just haven’t magicked hard enough this place is likely your best bet to playtest a bit more while you have a beer too.

I could go on and on (and will if you want to ask questions in the comments), but this about sums it up. If you’ve got a hotel out of town and want to know a good or cheap place to eat feel free to ask, but you can’t go wrong with Whataburger. Also if you’re not from town and planning to drive, prepare yourself. Houston drivers are fast and aggressive. Also stay off 290 if you can help it, there’s always construction. But most of all, have fun and enjoy this wonderful city!