A few years ago, the man seated next to me on a plane asked where I was from. “But you don’t sound like you’re from Houston,” he said when I told him. I laughed a little—one of those genuine, but somewhat forced laughs of someone who’s heard this before. Then I told him what seems so obvious to me: Houston’s a big city and people here don’t have the thick, drawn-out accents that you might find in smaller towns around Texas. “Well, everyone I know from Houston has an accent,” he said. I wondered how many people from Houston he’d actually met.
Looking back, there’s some truth to what each of us said. Houston is a big city filled with people who buck every stereotype that outsiders might have about Texans and Houstonians. In fact, for someone visiting from a more homogenous area, we Houstonians might bear a slight resemblance to a United Nations assembly with our many different accents, beliefs, rituals, and skin tones. Of course, Houston also has its share of people like my companion in row 12 had met—those with deep Southern twangs, as well as ranchers who ride horses and breed livestock.
It’s this kind of diversity that makes this city so rich with culture. You’ll see this at annual events like the International Festival, the Art Car Parade, the Livestock Show and Rodeo, and the Shakespeare Festival, as well as at our first-class museums and in our performing arts companies’ unparalleled performances. You’ll taste this diversity in our cuisine, which spans from the requisite barbecue and Tex-Mex to chic new American options that have landed our chefs James Beard Award nominations and praise in foodie bibles like Gourmet, Bon Appetit, and Wine Spectator. You’ll see it at our pro football, basketball, and baseball games, where fans paint their faces and wear their pride on their chests and heads. You’ll see it in the faces of the families who flock to our parks on sunny days. And if you’re a shopper, prepare yourself: You’ll see it in our stores that sell everything from Prada and Tiffany to rare antiques and vinyl records to one-of-a-kind handbags. You’ll even see it in our hospitality, which many discovered when Houston opened its arms to thousands of people displaced by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. These are just a few of the thousands of reasons so many of us call Houston home, even when our current addresses lie elsewhere.
Having been born and raised in Houston, I thought I knew most of what there is to know about this city. But in the course of writing the first edition of this book and speaking to other Houstonians, I discovered there’s so much more to love: A bat colony. An art car parade. A funeral museum. A velodrome. A house made of beer cans. A taco joint that makes s’mores tacos. A bookstore that only sells murder mysteries.
Then, I wrote the second edition of this book. And guess what? A lot had changed in just 3 years, and during that time I’d discovered even more new restaurants, shops, bars, farmers’ markets, and events—some new, some just new to me.
That’s the beauty of Houston. With so many new places and activities popping up and older ones just waiting to be found, it’s tough to get bored here.
Of course, if you’ve spent a lot of time in Houston (or anyplace for that matter), it’s easy to forget about or overlook some true gems. That’s what happens when we fall into the routine of everyday life.
But as I tell friends who’ve moved away and wonder why I returned to Houston, this city is filled with treasures and quirks just waiting to be discovered. So whether you’re a longtime Houstonian, a new resident, or just passing through, cast aside what you think you know about Houston and prepare to be pleasantly surprised.