Houston

I just returned home after a surprise visit to Houston, Texas to join my grandparents, uncles, and parents for a week. I have a soft spot for Texas, and I suspect anyone who has been there shares it with me. There is something grand about the enormous state, filled with all kinds of people. Houston alone boasts over 90 spoken languages (according to my uncle), and more importantly it is the childhood home of Beyonce.
So I apologize for only posting pictures of food, but really all I did on this trip was eat, drive, walk around a bit, and play boardgames. Although highly enjoyable, these latter activities are not so amusing in photographs...

Here are my recommendations if you happen to have a day or so in Houston:

*Go to the Museum of Fine Arts (it's free on Thursdays). It has a nice little collection of impressionists and lots of shiny gold primitive artifacts.

*Go to the Galleria, the ENORMOUS shopping mall complete with ice rink. It's a an ode to consumerism and mustn't be missed.

*Walk around Montrose, then counteract the exercise with a slice of French chocolate cake from Empire Cafe. Wash that down with hibiscus iced tea!

*Buy weird things such as miniature octopus, dried cuttlefish, or mung bean cakes at the Korean grocery store 99 Ranch Market. Also, eat all the free samples of fresh cooked dumplings, spring roles, etc.

*If you decide to partake in the nightlife, soak up the booze afterwards with a bowl of pork vermicelli at Mais in Montrose, open until 4am on weekends.

As always, explore, nose around, and eat EVERYTHING.

And if you're lucky, have wonderful hosts like mine. Thank you again George, Larry, David, and Thang!