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Why Casual Visitors To Houston Area Skip Downtown

pineda

By pineda
in General Houston Discussions

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MidtownCoog

MidtownCoog

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Cool. My current lunch rut here at 1100 Louisana:

Wall Street Deli in Allen Center has some good paninis.

Treebeards - highly overated, but for people who don't know how to cook, it's great.

Subway - just shoot me. why do I eat here?

Some salad place in Allen Center.

Droobis! The best in downtown!

Whatever you do, DO NOT eat at The Twisted Fork in Houston Center. That's low grade dog food!

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RedScare

RedScare

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Napoli was actually pretty good. Lunch was $10. I like the food and people at Mkt Sq also. I am sick and tired of Chipotle. Pete's is good, but a little pricey. El Centro was good the one time I've been in there.

As was mentioned on another thread, Droubi's is great Lebanese. For cajun, I like the food and people at Zydeco.

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MidtownCoog

MidtownCoog

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You got it!

Al Czervik: Hey, doll. Could you scare up another round for our table over here? And tell the cook this is low grade dogfood. I've had better food at the ballgame, you know? This steak still has marks from where the jockey was hitting it.

This is 100% accurate for Twisted Fork! You are better off flushing $16.00 down the toilet.

"Are you going to eat your fat?"

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Kirzania

Kirzania

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Cool.  My current lunch rut here at 1100 Louisana:

God, I miss working in that location... Yeah, get on B4-U-Eat.com. I love this site and I used it religiously last summer. I can't believe Twisted Fork is still in business with the crap they pass as food. It's the only place that B4-U-Eat reviewers let me down. 75% said it was great - should've listened to that other 25%.

Walk over to the LightRail and go up to Texas. Eat at Cava Bistro. That place is one of my preferred eateries.

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skwatra

skwatra

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so out of all the places you guys mentioned, what's open evenings/weekends?

the only places i've ever eaten are frank's, F2's, flying saucer, homeplate, and formerly at firehouse phillies.

i know there are nicer places like mia bella, but there aren't even very many of those...

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H-Town Man

H-Town Man

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I asked one of the servers at the restaurant why they had no public facilities for us to wash up in since we had just come from outside, and that it didn't seem very sanitary to not have facilities available to do so. He said it had to do with the high cost of real estate (!?) in downtown Houston, which made me wonder how many other restaurants are using this excuse not to include bathrooms. I then asked the server where the staff went to use the bathroom, and he said there was a sink for them in the kitchen to wash their hands in, but for restrooms, they too had to first leave the restaurant, which to me would seem odd to leave while you're carrying large amounts of money on you to walk around downtown Houston in search of a bathroom. What happens to your customers while you're off in search of a bathroom? How do managers deal with disappearing waitstaff? The whole situation seemed pretty ludicrous to me...

On a side note, as a juxtaposition to this situation, the Woodlands Mall is like night and day as far as friendliness and helpfullness of its' staff. The Woodlands has tourist-helpers, for lack of a better word, just like the San Antonio Riverwalk does. If these uniformed "helpers" notice someone looking lost, they walk up to them and ask if they need help finding something. It's a small thing, but when you're in an unfamiliar place, it's a very helpful thing to have. It also has a very visible security force in place with the cops on horseback patrolling the mall. Besides having my own personal HPD officer to help me get on my way (HA!) I didn't notice a lot of security, but I did notice lots of homeless people laying on sidewalks. One poor woman we saw at the fountains near the train was in a soiled hospital gown and dirty socks just walking into the water and then stepping back as the train approached. I wanted to call 9-1-1 before she killed herself, but didn't have a cellphone and didn't ever see any cops in the vicinity. All in all, a very strange day in downtown Houston...

Overall, I would say that downtown Houston has its' act together as far as being a "place of business" and that regular downtown office workers understand and probably like the way things run downtown, but as far as a tourism destination, I would say downtown still has a way to go before it's tourist friendly, which is probably just fine with the people who work there on a regular basis. No streets clogged with clueless tourists, wandering around, taking photo after photo, asking stupid questions like "Where are the public restroom facilities located?", taking all the tables in downtown eateries and all the parking spaces. So, that's probably just as well, I guess, but if Houston aims to be a tourist destination, I hate to say this, but it could take some tips from places like the Woodlands and San Antonio. Make it "visibly" safer with uniformed officers on horseback, bikes or just walking around. Have paid city staffers (who are friendly, not hostile or intimidating) to help clueless visitors find their way around. Maybe that's already happening, I wouldn't know, but where I was, there was none of that. Just my two cents, FWIW......

Actually, the Downtown District did have greeters on the streets to help you around, at least not too long ago. They wear yellow and green outfits, and look kind of silly. Maybe they cancelled the program.

I think the place you went to had a restroom. The experience you described sounds like one of many similar experiences I had in Chicago. Basically in certain neighborhoods in certain cities, usually urban neighborhoods, when somebody sees someone (like a newcomer) they think they can take advantage of, they will. I got screwed around for about a year living up there until I finally developed the thick-skinned mentality. And then I would have conversations like:

"Can I use your restroom?"

"Sorry man, we don't have one."

"Yeah you do."

"Umm, no we don't, sir."

"If you don't let me use the restroom, I will leave my food on the table and walk out of here right now."

(Scowls.) "It's in the back, second door."

Most of the time it just amounts to a bluff game, and you have to trust your instincts and not show any trace of doubt. 9 times out of 10 you'll be right, and when you actually are wrong, say you're sorry but don't feel too bad, they're probably used to it. Sorry if you already knew all this, I don't mean to sound like I'm educating you or anything. The sad thing is, you get in the habit of doing it and assuming that everyone is trying to take advantage of you, and then a day will come when you're in the suburbs or in some small town out in the country, and someone really will be honest with you, and you'll end up making a jerk of yourself. That's happened to me once or twice...

I have a standard downtown mini-tour that I do with friends who are new to the city. I park on Capitol near Main where there are always good spots and take them to the Gulf Building, 712 Main. It has lobbies that are more beautiful than any New York building I have seen, including the Empire State Building. Then I walk out the back and cut across the intersection to 600 Travis, the JP Morgan Chase tower, and go up to the 60th floor where there is an observation deck. Incredible view, and totally free. Then I cut through the lobbies of Pennzoil Place and Bank of America tower, both very nice, and head over to City Hall and the old library building, for their beautiful interiors. After that I maybe take them for a short stroll along the bayou, and anywhere else they want to go.

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MidtownCoog

MidtownCoog

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Most of the time it just amounts to a bluff game, and you have to trust your instincts and not show any trace of doubt.

That's all good and well in Yankee land, but this is Texas.

We don't play like that down here. And those who do are out of line.

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RedScare

RedScare

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Sorry to burst your bubble but HPD does give out parking tickets. I have two that I need to pay.

Not downtown, they don't. Those are Parking Officers, who are not cops. The cops don't care, unless you are blocking traffic, such as from 4-6 pm. Then, they write a ticket and tow you away. In fact, one of my cop clients tells a story where a parking ofcr gave him a ticket in his patrol car. Totally p'd him off. So, as she walked across the street, he called her back and wrote her up for jaywalking.

Occasionally, some cops in the neighborhoods will write tickets for parking wrong direction, etc. But, downtown, they all leave it to the Parking Nazis.

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tierwestah

tierwestah

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I don't know about Downtown, i'm beginning to lose all hope for downtown by its slow progress. In the past few months, i've visited New York, Chicago, (NO COMPARISON), Milwaukee, and Denver.

I last visited Denver 9 years ago right before they built the Pavilions but even downtown Denver is doing better than Houston's right now. I was there a month ago. It's prettier, cleaner, and way more vibrant. I think that's a shame that as big as Houston is, we don't really have that many amentities in its city center.

I don't understand why HOUSTON has such a problem getting projects off the ground or why HOUSTON can't seem to afford things and get funding for things or why we can't just do the "build and they will come" method.

For years Central Houston has been trying to bring life back downtown and more residences living in and around Downtown. I wouldn't want to live there. It's dark. has crumby lighting (exept Main St), and just not enough to do. And everything that there is to do is so spread out, it makes a person wonder exactly what downtown has to offer. I would love for downtown to continue to take off but if Houston continues to be afraid of taking risks, it will sadly remain stagnant and even our friendly neighbor to the north will continue to get all the hype and recognition. (Sorry for the rant- i just get frustrated sometimes) :angry:

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LTAWACS

LTAWACS

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Not downtown, they don't.  Those are Parking Officers, who are not cops.  The cops don't care, unless you are blocking traffic, such as from 4-6 pm.  Then, they write a ticket and tow you away.  In fact, one of my cop clients tells a story where a parking ofcr gave him a ticket in his patrol car.  Totally p'd him off.  So, as she walked across the street, he called her back and wrote her up for jaywalking.

Occasionally, some cops in the neighborhoods will write tickets for parking wrong direction, etc.  But, downtown, they all leave it to the Parking Nazis.

Ah... I see now. Thanks for the clarification. :)

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LTAWACS

LTAWACS

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I don't know about Downtown, i'm beginning to lose all hope for downtown by its slow progress. In the past few months, i've visited New York, Chicago, (NO COMPARISON), Milwaukee, and Denver.

I last visited Denver 9 years ago right before they built the Pavilions but even downtown Denver is doing better than Houston's right now. I was there a month ago. It's prettier, cleaner, and way more vibrant. I think that's a shame that as big as Houston is, we don't really have that many amentities in its city center.

I don't understand why HOUSTON has such a problem getting projects off the ground or why HOUSTON can't seem to afford things and get funding for things or why we can't just do the "build and they will come" method.

For years Central Houston has been trying to bring life back downtown and more residences living in and around Downtown. I wouldn't want to live there. It's dark. has crumby lighting (exept Main St), and just not enough to do. And everything that there is to do is so spread out, it makes a person wonder exactly what downtown has to offer. I would love for downtown to continue to take off but if Houston continues to be afraid of taking risks, it will sadly remain stagnant and even our friendly neighbor to the north will continue to get all the hype and recognition. (Sorry for the rant- i just get frustrated sometimes) :angry:

It's all about the "Z" word, dude.

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houstonsemipro

houstonsemipro

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I think that's a shame that as big as Houston is, we don't really have that many amentities in its city center.

I don't understand why HOUSTON has such a problem getting projects off the ground or why HOUSTON can't seem to afford things and get funding for things or why we can't just do the "build and they will come" method.

For years Central Houston has been trying to bring life back downtown and more residences living in and around Downtown. I wouldn't want to live there. It's dark. has crumby lighting (exept Main St), and just not enough to do. And everything that there is to do is so spread out, it makes a person wonder exactly what downtown has to offer. I would love for downtown to continue to take off but if Houston continues to be afraid of taking risks, it will sadly remain stagnant and even our friendly neighbor to the north will continue to get all the hype and recognition. (Sorry for the rant- i just get frustrated sometimes) :angry:

But Houston sure can come up with the funding for stadiums, and bull crap like that. That's why I don't head to downtown. Why for? Not me, no sir.

And it puzzles me also. Why Houston can't get projects off ground either? That's really sad. Dallas and San Antonio can. Why the 4th largest city can't? Houston is very slooooow on getting projects off the ground. I'll be an old man before they get Shamrock Towers off ground, or the Houston Pavillions. That's what I told y'all earlier. Houston is not aggesive, they're just not.

4th largest city? That's a joke to me now. Houston act more like 30th, or 40th largest city to me.

Really, I don't see all the hype about downtown.

I think people will never cater to downtown, cause Houston has too many things to do around the city. Houston is to big for people to just cater downtown. People that caters to downtowns are in smaller cities like, Denver, Miami, New Orleans, etc. You will never catch a great deal of people walking downtown at night, never! If they do build the Pavillions downtown, some people still not going to cater to it. But, don't get me wrong you will see more people on the streets then now.

People can go to Woodlands, Sugarland, Uptown, Galveston, Kemah boardwalk, now I hear people catering more to Pearland now. Why should they only cater to downtown?

Nothing happens in downtown until special events comes. That's the only time downtown is alive. But other then that, it sucks!

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dalparadise

dalparadise

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But Houston sure can come up with the funding for stadiums, and bull crap like that. That's why I don't head to downtown. Why for? Not me, no sir.

And it puzzles me also. Why Houston can't get projects off ground either? That's really sad. Dallas and San Antonio can. Why the 4th largest city can't? Houston is very slooooow on getting projects off the ground. I'll be an old man before they get Shamrock Towers off ground, or the Houston Pavillions. That's what I told y'all earlier. Houston is not aggesive, they're just not.

4th largest city? That's a joke to me now. Houston act more like 30th, or 40th largest city to me.

Really, I don't see all the hype about downtown.

I think people will never cater to downtown, cause Houston has too many things to do around the city. Houston is to big for people to just cater downtown. People that caters to downtowns are in smaller cities like, Denver, Miami, New Orleans, etc. You will never catch a great deal of people walking downtown at night, never! If they do build the Pavillions downtown, some people still not going to cater to it. But, don't get me wrong you will see more people on the streets then now.

People can go to Woodlands, Sugarland, Uptown, Galveston, Kemah boardwalk, now I hear people catering more to Pearland now. Why should they only cater to downtown?

Nothing happens in downtown until special events comes. That's the only time downtown is alive. But other then that, it sucks!

I think Landry's caters to Downtown now.

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H-Town Man

H-Town Man

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That's all good and well in Yankee land, but this is Texas.

We don't play like that down here.  And those who do are out of line.

Don't tell me how it is here, I was born and raised here. I only would act like this if someone was clearly lying to me, as was the case with pineda and the bathroom. Friendliness is probably the main reason I came back to Texas. If anything, Houston is even a little rude for my taste, which is why I like being in small towns. At any rate, I don't think you are in a position to tell me when I'm out of line - you've made some comments on this forum in the past that lead me to doubt whether you are an authority on pleasantness.

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MidtownCoog

MidtownCoog

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Don't tell me how it is here, I was born and raised here.

Seems like you need to work harder to shake your Yankee-attitude. It's contagious.

I am not saying your out of line, but Chicago is no barometer of how to behave in Houston.

You go looking for fights in Houston and you will find them.

What's the point in encouraging people to be a-holes? Especially with children in-tow.

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H-Town Man

H-Town Man

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Seems like you need to work harder to shake your Yankee-attitude.  It's contagious.

I am not saying your out of line, but Chicago is no barometer of how to behave in Houston. 

You go looking for fights in Houston and you will find them.

What's the point in encouraging people to be a-holes?  Especially with children in-tow.

Judging by recent posts, I would say that you are the one who looks for fights and has a "Yankee-attitude." Contagious indeed. And yes, you did say I was out of line.

I grow tired of being told generalizations about Houston vs. Chicago. How long did you live in Chicago, and what street did you live on? I also didn't join this forum to have someone moralize to me, so this will be my last post on the matter. You can have the last word.

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sevfiv

sevfiv

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Nothing happens in downtown until special events comes. That's the only time downtown is alive. But other then that, it sucks!

houston is not a typical tourist city, with a tourist-y downtown. things may not be "happening," but there is always something to do.

and just because there aren't a gazillion people wandering around or stumbling out of minute maid or toyota center doesn't mean it isn't "alive."

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