From hot dogs to ghosts
Houston is quickly shedding its bad tourist town rap: National pub touts it as a top destination city
The Wall Street Journal doled out the Space City love in its regular "Take Monday Off" weekend travel guide, giving credence to Houston's ever-growing status as a destination city.
Long a tourist's nightmare with its sprawling highways, lack of public transportation and sweltering summer heat, H-Town has been known to scare away a visitor or two.
As the Inner Loop continues to fill in with award-winning restaurants and (cross your fingers) light rail lines, the Bayou City's anti-tourist reputation appears to be fading.
But as the Inner Loop continues to fill in with award-winning restaurants and (cross your fingers) light rail lines, the Bayou City's anti-tourist label reputation appears to be fading . . . enough so, that even the BBC got onboard in recent months.
While the Journal's full-page travel agenda is likely to offer few surprises to Houstonians — dinner at Oxheart, drinks at Anvil — writer Matthew Kronsberg offers a solid rundown of the city's bustling food scene, right down to the gourmet hot dogs (Moon Tower Inn) and the plenitude of Asian culinary options along Bellaire Boulevard.
The Menil and the Lawndale both get shout-outs, as do Kuhl-Linscomb, Billy Reid and Reeves Antiques. La Carafe makes its usual appearance, although Kronberg scores bonus points for mentioning the ghost of Carl the bartender.
Chime in with your own tourist suggestions below in the comments section and click here to see the Wall Street Journal's full Houston travel agenda.