Guide to Diverse Houston

Corny to say, but eating at Mark's can be a religious experience, and although it occupies an early 1920's brick church complete with sanctuary, side

In a town of many fine Tex-Mex restaurants, La Tapatia is the standout. Located on a busy block of Richmond Avenue, this glorified diner offers nothin

This little bit of Paris, charmingly set in an unassuming brick house at the edge of the Museum District, is the labor of love of two young Frenchmen,

Given its unlikely shopping-center-storefront location and the fact that it's known chiefly as a wine bar, So Vino is an unexpected find for dinner. T

Nestled within the city's newest park, Discovery Green, the Grove seems on track to be Houston's 21st-century answer to Tavern on the Green, except he

Housed in a 1925 structure built by well-known Houston architect Joseph Finger, Hugo's brings regional Mexican cuisine to the Montrose area. As a Mexi

Just a few blocks east of Montrose, Indika blends traditional Indian ingredients with fresh, local ingredients to create a progressive take on Indian

Texas is known for its barbecue, and as locals will tell you, Goode Company Texas Bar-B-Q is the place to go in Houston for authentic Texas barbecue.

An overnight success when it opened in 2006, Dolce Vita, which occupies a rambling two-story Victorian house, feels like a private—but very welcoming—

This is Houston's version of the sort of rural compound you might find in Tuscany or Provence, an enchanting oasis that includes a nursery, home and g

Sloan/Hall far exceeds expectations for what might seem to be, at first glance, another candle and card shop. Marcus Sloan and Shannon Hall, who bring

Evolving from the city's thriving hip-hop music scene, The Tipping Point is something more than a store for the sneaker connoisseur. The three owners,

There's nothing to do in this converted icehouse but enjoy a cold one, strike up conversations with the friendly bartenders and fellow customers, and

This limestone warehouse, a mid-century beauty that was once a steel-fan factory, blasted back to life in 1980 as a dance club, with owners promoting

Found, unexpectedly, in a rambling ivy-covered brick building that houses a homey-looking branch of the Houston Public Library, the Kraftsmen Bakery,

The Houston outpost of the Austin music-and-dance club had a rocking opening in 2000, and the tin-ceilinged joint hasn't quieted down since. Expect to

One of the best of a new crop of wine bars around town that includes Max's Wine Dive and So Vino, this place has the best name of the bunch (13 Celsiu

It's hard to say what's most compelling about Installations: the array of merchandise (a 200-plus-year range described by owners Becki and Jur Van der

This tiny hole-in-the-wall's namesake, Sig Byrd, was the coolest cat in town in the 1950's and 60's, covering the local music and club scene for two d

Possessing not an ounce of retro-chic sensibility, this true time warp is a classic five-and-dime, a jumble of toys and games, school supplies, kitche

Success has not spoiled Chloe Dao, winner of Project Runway's second season. Located on the edge of Rice

Established in 1883, when two brothers opened a dry-goods store downtown and began outfitting Houston's emerging upper class of cattlemen and cotton m

Crystal chandeliers hang from ceiling grids of hog panel (heavy metal agricultural fencing); statuesque 19th-century gilded candlesticks are clustered

Willie Wonka has apparently found a new home in Houston at this eye-popping, all-American candy store. Everywhere you look in this chockablock room, t

Rising improbably from a 22-acre plain in a far-flung and otherwise bleak Houston suburb on the flat Gulf Coast landscape, this is the first tradition

What exactly is an art car?It's a fair question, more easily answered by showing rather than telling, and that's not the only reason the Art Car Parad

With the city skyline in the background, Houston’s skateboarders show off their skills inside this 30,000-square-foot complex. Designed by Grindline S

Museums aren't Houston's only art venue. The city's gallery scene is one of the hottest in the country, with Thursday and Friday preview parties, open

In a city whose pleasures and treasures are not always evident, the internationally renowned Menil Collection is perhaps the ultimate hidden jewel, wi

A shimmering oddity on a quiet residential street near Memorial Park, this marvel of folk art may strike some as merely a wacky recycling project. The

When unveiled in 1993, this rehabilitated row of 1920's one-room-wide shotgun cottages in Houston's historically African-American Third Ward pioneered

Worship film? This micro-cinema, housed in a little white 1924 church, gives literal meaning to the phrase and passion. Congregations of moviegoers s

Dedicated in 2001, this gray-clapboard Quaker Meeting House is as spectacular as a place of determined simplicity can be. Designed by architect Leslie

Rearing up at the main gateway, an equestrian statue of Sam Houston keeps watch over the 445 acres of Hermann Park, which is nearing completion of a m