Why does the spotlight not shine brightest on Houston in Texas? (life, downtown)
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Location: Baghdad by the Bay (San Francisco, California)
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From the article:
"Reducing the geographic size of the Southwest region will give chefs and restaurants in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Texas, and Oklahoma a demographically appropriate chance to compete for a Beard award," added Cicero. "Similarly, Nevada, California and Hawaii, each with metro areas that enjoy a high degree of culinary tourism, are well-matched to compete in the West."
I hate to say it, but it sounds a bit like when Jordan "retired" and Houston won two NBA championships. Does that mean Houston doesn't have great restaurants? Absolutely not! The food scene in Houston is very very good. But, it doesn't really run with national leaders on a consistent basis. So, it's not a place people will travel to experience, nor is it a place that can garner much spotlight. Regional acclaim? Sure! But it's not in the spotlight realm yet.
NYC, Chicago, SF, LA, New Orleans...these are places where the spotlight shines.
Houston is NOT ok with it I can assure you. It's at the top of every municipal administrative body to lure visitors. Tourism dollars are more significant than you think. Houston is a big city but if it ever wants to elevate itself to world class status it must have a tourism base set in place, otherwise Houston will be just another large city with no unique identity.
I guess it is a philosophical question does one need the approval of others to know what his identity is? The answer is of course no. I don't think it is at the top of any city agenda except for conventions and meetings, if for no other reason than it is not expected that any efforts to increase tourism outside of conventions and events will be fruitful.
Last edited by Jack Lance; 05-07-2014 at 12:06 AM..
So basically they are saying Houston and other cities in the division is at a disadvantage when going up against the likes of Las Vegas, so let's make it easier for them by moving Vegas in a more competitive division? Kind of a slap in the face to the other regions remaining in the Southwestern division if you ask me.
Back on topic, Nevada's realignment does not affect whether Houston is the brightest light in Texas or not. Whether Houston stacks up against New York or Paris is not relevant to the OP. If this thread continues tomorrow or later today please keep that in mind.
Location: Baghdad by the Bay (San Francisco, California)
3,530 posts, read 5,149,032 times
Reputation: 3145
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jack Lance
Back on topic, Nevada's realignment does not affect whether Houston is the brightest light in Texas or not. Whether Houston stacks up against New York or Paris is not relevant to the OP. If this thread continues tomorrow or later today please keep that in mind.
You brought up the James Beard Foundation, right?
The realignment of Nevada will absolutely have a bearing on whether Houston is recognized as a culinary leader in Texas. With Nevada in there, nobody got to see Houston or much of the rest of Texas besides Austin. You didn't even know what the JBF Awards were--they are the most coveted awards in the industry--and you are someone who touts Houston as a major culinary center. No JBF awards in over 20 years and now, With reduced competition, it is getting some recognition. I think that's a good thing and is wholly appropriate.
Last edited by dalparadise; 05-07-2014 at 01:05 AM..
Probably because Houston's warts--dirty, polluted, no zoning, poor road conditions, ghetto/redneck culture, high humidity, hurricanes, etc.--are more highly visible than those of the other TX cities.
The realignment of Nevada will absolutely have a bearing on whether Houston is recognized as a culinary leader in Texas. With Nevada in there, nobody got to see Houston or much of the rest of Texas besides Austin. You didn't even know what the JBF Awards were--they are the most coveted awards in the industry--and you are someone who touts Houston as a major culinary center. No JBF awards in over 20 years and now, With reduced competition, it is getting some recognition. I think that's a good thing and is wholly appropriate.
I didn't post that link to tout the JBF awards. I posted it because it was a convenient way to identify the name of 3 highly regarded restaurants in Houston which another poster asked me to do.
I did know what the foundation was as I heard the story of the award on local TV earlier today. Admittedly if you had asked me a week ago what the JBF award was it would not have come immediately to mind. OTOH You weren't exactly up on the JBF award yourself guy. First you agreed with me that Nevada was a part of the Southwest division then you said it wasn't without realizing that a realignment had recently taken place, you only realized your mistake when another poster informed you of your error. So don't act like you are an expert in JBF history or relevance. One can only wonder how much searching you did before you weighed in on the subject in the first place.
Again the question is "why does the spotlight not shine brightest on Houston in Texas" Is it because Los Vegas was in our division in the JBF awards? You cannot say Chris Shepard would not have won this award if Vegas restaurants were still his competitors, but you can say that no other Texas chefs would have won this year.
I guess it is a philosophical question does one need the approval of others to know what his identity is? The answer is of course no. I don't think it is at the top of any city agenda except for conventions and meetings, if for no other reason than it is not expected that any efforts to increase tourism outside of conventions and events will be fruitful.
You have strong civic pride and I respect that. But remember this thread is in a forum with the majority of posters who are outsiders. What is important to you as a resident (Job growth, expansion, construction of new talls, COL) is not important to a prospective visitor who the majority of people on this board are.
If Houston was a city ranked in size below the top 10 you wouldn't have this negative outlook from many people. But Houston is ranked 3rd or 4th largest city in the most powerful country on earth and has trouble attracting visitors from around the country let alone the world there is something wrong with that.
I think the problem with Houston is the city grew too fast and the powers that be didn't adequately plan in advance for a "Selling Point" worthy of a city it's size for the traveling public.
You have strong civic pride and I respect that. But remember this thread is in a forum with the majority of posters who are outsiders. What is important to you as a resident (Job growth, expansion, construction of new talls, COL) is not important to a prospective visitor who the majority of people on this board are.
If Houston was a city ranked in size below the top 10 you wouldn't have this negative outlook from many people. But Houston is ranked 3rd or 4th largest city in the most powerful country on earth and has trouble attracting visitors from around the country let alone the world there is something wrong with that.
I think the problem with Houston is the city grew too fast and the powers that be didn't adequately plan in advance for a "Selling Point" worthy of a city it's size for the traveling public.
This thread belongs in the Texas forums.
This thread was initially posted in the Houston forum but was moved. I agree it should not have been.
To me your attitude toward Houston is like a Berra-ism, "nobody goes to that restaurant anymore, it's too crowded". Houston has done fine providing economic opportunity to a growing population which is the first and foremost function of any city. Houston has been a big part of the rise of American power with its industrial expertise, unfortunately that is a way of life people are becoming increasingly hostile towards, and that is reflected in peoples attitudes toward Houston. Houston is not really a service oriented city, and to really develop a secular tourist sector Houston would have to leave its current business model behind, which it is not ready to do. It wouldn't make sense to do so at this time.
I live in Dallas and really enjoy the area since I moved to TX. I visit Houston at least once a year and love the nightlife n have great attractions along with a world-class natural history Museum.
It seems it's a world outside of Texas give more publicly to Dallas area or even the Austin area. I always wondered why the was the case...
A few thoughts.....
First, background. I've been traveling to all the major Texas cities for years on business so very familiar with them. Recently (within the last year) moved myself and several employees to Texas to be closer to important businesses for my company. Could have been any of the major cities....chose Dallas. Have since watched and listened at the intense rivalry between Houston and Dallas. Am starting to see it as a bit of insecurity on Houston's part.
With that said......random thoughts on Houston......
Houston needs to create a strong brand......the current brand message seems muddled. Looks like years of questionable choices have not helped. Houston seems to want to be all things and in the end comes out average on most.
- Houston says it is the "space city" due to NASA. Then, play that up better. "Astro" should be plastered everywhere if Houston is really a space city...the Astrodome was/is iconic, but it now sits underutilized.
- Astroworld (Six Flags) was closed and torn down. The land is still vacant. Astroworld was iconic. Mind boggling to me that a city the size of Houston had no investors who wanted to buy the park when Six Flags was going through financial troubles and closed it.
- Houston says it is a foodie city, but much of it's cuisine is coastal / Cajun and borrowed from Louisiana. New Orleans has a lock on the food scene for the Gulf Coast, so Houston will always be overshadowed in that respect.
- Houston says it is a shopping mecca, but really the Galleria is about the only claim to fame. No high end retailer is based in Houston. Neiman Marcus is based in Dallas, Saks in New York, Nordstrom in Seattle. Shockingly, for a metro the size of Houston, it only has one NM and one Nordtsrom, while DFW has 4 of each.
Yes Houston has the Galleria, but it is not a fashion centered city.
- Funky vibe / design driven.....Austin lays claim to that spot in Texas......Houston can't compete on that level.
- Transportation. Houston was horribly late to the game on transit and it's Metro line is very small. In addition it has no commuter rail that I am aware of. By contrast, DFW has two commuter rails (TRE to Ft. Worth and A-Train to Denton). Both commuter rails connect at stations with the 90 mile DART rail in Dallas. In addition to DART, Dallas has the McKinney Avenue trolley and the new streetcar line to OakCliff.
- Also on transportation, the buyout of Continental by United, with corporate headquarters move to Chicago was a serious blow to Houston. United has cut some IAH service. IAH serves fewer total passengers now than Charlotte, NC. DFW by contrast has two airlines headquartered there.....American and Southwest. DFW is the nations 4th busiest airport and the American hub is the second largest single airline hub in the US, just behind Delta in Atlanta. Transportation is imperative....it brings the flow of people.....
- Sports. I remember being younger and Texas had the Dallas Cowboys and the Houston Oilers. BOTH were iconic. The Oilers left Houston and now Houston has the generic Texans. Cowboys are still iconic and seem to be the team of Texas, while the Texans are sort of there. WHY, if Houston is the oil capital, does the team not take back the Oilers name? Talk about GREAT branding.....the Oilers were GREAT branding. Houston had it and lost it.
- On name recognition, silly as it may sound, the TV show "Dallas" cemented a strong brand image in the minds of Americans outside of Texas. I remember watching "Dallas" start every week and thinking "those two gold reflective buildings are awesome" (I now know those buildings are Campbell Center). The "Reunion Tower" shot.....as a kid I wanted to go up in that tower. All this to say, Houston never had the luxury of such an iconic TV show.
- Houston did a poor job protecting historic downtown architecture. While Houston may win the skyline battle for height in the Southeast, it's downtown is somewhat bland and sterile. It lacks street level excitement.
- The beach. Galveston, while sort of cute, is also sort of trashy. The beaches are not attractive and the water is not clear. South Padre wins the Texas beach contest. Houston metro can't compete on that.
- Maybe due to the lack of Houston zoning laws or the numerous refineries you can see in the distance, the city feels less polished than other Southern similar size peers. You can be in a good neighborhood, go one block too far and bam....you're in a not so nice area.
- Lastly, the humidity. Most people can deal with hot. But mix hot and humid and it can be dreadful. The Houston weather does nothing to help with tourism or city image.
Those are some of my thoughts. I'm sure I'll get blasted by Houston homers, but hey, opinions are opinions and they are formed based on what one sees and feels. Houston has the responsibility to work on those touch points of what outsiders see and feel. Houston is huge, has many great qualities, but is rough around the edges and lags in the branding department compared to peers like Atlanta and Dallas, IMO.
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