With 70 posts in 3 1/2 years, I’d definitely say the SDMB community needs to pull you in a little closer. 
As an ex temporary houstonian I second pretty much everything Freudian_Slip mentioned, with extra recomendations for Mo Mong, the River Oaks Theater and Rice Village.
Whilst there is fighting talk on BBQ - why has no one mentioned The Swinging Door?
I went on a band trip to Houston in 10th grade and we went to this pretty badass mall that was three stories I believe, but then also had a sort of basement level with the food court, does anyone know the name?
Oh I just remembered we went to the space center which was pretty fun too, especially to a kid.
Galleria - at Westheimer and 610.
Near Niko Niko’s (if you like German food) is a great place called Alfredo’s.
Spec’s is the local liquor chain store and they have a discount store on Westheimer/Montrose (right next to a Half-Price! Woo!).
I also recommend Chuy’s - best $6 margarita I’ve ever had!
For artsy type films try the Angelika. You might have to pay for parking, but they’ll take the amount off the cost of your ticket.
Chuy’s is OK … I dunno, everyone always raved about it, but I am sorta “meh” on it.
There is also the Vietnamese mall (south of downtown, I’m blanking on which street) that has Pho Cong Ly in it. Pho is a great place to go … and cheap eats too!
Best coffee shop? (that I used to hang at routinely) Cafe Artiste. They make Kenya AA like no other - and it’s made by the mug. Dingy, frequently bad art on the walls. What’s not to like?
I had forgotten all about the Angelika. (which is a shame, since the partner Slip worked across the street at the Alley). Oh, speaking of the Alley, they used to have “pay what you want” nights for their performances. So it might be worth a look.
I hate to say it, but I’m pretty sure that the mall was closed down to make way for new construction. I’m not 100% certain this is the same one, but I think so.
I too forgot about the Angelika, it’s a good theater and they reimburse you for parking in the underground garage.
That’s ok, I’ll forgive ya this time.
I went to a great BBQ place in Taylor, TX near Round Rock a few weeks ago. I can’t remember the name but the place one large interior space, well worn, with a enclosed porch. Great stuff cooked slowly in grease coated grills.
One more thing to do, visit the St. Arnold’s Brewery on Saturday’s at 1p. Have a quick tour, usually by the owner Brock, and three samples. If you bring or buy a St. Arnold’s glass the samples can be quite large. 
It used to be free but they’ve had to start charging $5 to keep the number of people who show up down.
A good idea - somebody should start a thread.
Yep, definitely more of a lurker. I’m bad at following up on posts and usually anything I want to say has already been said by those much better than I could do, especially in Great Debates which I enjoy reading.
Marvin might be a little disappointed in me.
Definitely worthwhile and it’s up in your area. They also rent the place out for as low as $150 during weeknights. Maybe a good locale for a Houston Dopefest? They also sponsor pubcrawls in Rice Village. Check out their website and sign up for the newsletter. Saint Arnold Brewery
Arty cinema? Some good ones have been mentioned, but the Aurora may be the smallest & artiest: www.aurorapictureshow.org/default.asp
The Museum of Fine Arts also shows films. And has other activities. Consider a membership. www.mfah.org/main.asp?target=home
Most of our Museums are located in the same area. So are many art galleries–which often coordinate openings.
Discussions of “Best Mexican Food” & “Best Barbecue” have caused many a fist fight. The Goode Company empire has fine examples of barbecue, Mexican & seafood. Perhaps not “The Best” of each, but impressive scope. Special recommendation: weekend breakfasts at the Taqueria. www.goodecompany.com/goodeRestaurant.aspx
Ninfa’s on Navigation is a landmark & Pico’s Mex-Mex on Bellaire is a personal favorite. But that leaves about 9,999 Mexican/Tex-Mex/Upscale Mexican places to explore on your own. Or with your new co-workers, who will have strong opinions.
The Houston Press is a free weekly with tons of information on food, the arts (high & low) & the city. www.houstonpress.com/
And you might as well check out the Houston Chronicle. www.chron.com/
Most important suggestion: Pick a place to live that minimizes your commute. I live just north of town & work just south of town, so I can actually use public transportation! www.ridemetro.org/Schedules_and_Maps/index.asp
I’ve known far too many people who moved here & bought a house immediately. Then regretted their decision, once they saw what else the city had to offer.
Galveston is a nice day trip–not much of a beach, but it’s an interesting little city. And San Antonio can’t be beat for a slightly longer get-away.
Everyone else seems to have hit the hightlights I would have recommended exept for
the Seoul Garden in Spring Branch area for Korean BBQ http://www.seoulgardenhouston.com/
It’s best to eat here after an event because you will smell funny for a long time due to o the smoke.
I don’t really have much to add to what’s already listed, just notes on living here.
The location you describe is about 20 minutes from downtown, if you’re going against traffic, and about 15 minutes from the FM-1960/SH249 area. The latter is very built up, and has branches for a lot of the stores and restaurants in town. You can get a lot more house there for your money. On the other hand, it doesn’t have the character of Houston inside the loop (to put it mildly). Also, 1960 is horribly congested, although the people who live around there know shortcuts and don’t seem to have much trouble getting around.
Basically what I’m saying is that you could commute in either direction, depending on your tastes. You’re not too near anything good, but your not too far away, either.
One thing to do immediately is get an EZ tag. You do NOT want to be stuck in the line waiting to pay tolls on the Sam Houston Tollway.
This place is a mile from my house. It is freaking delicious, pretty authentic (e.g. the waitress appears to be the only person there who speaks English), and reasonably priced.
I’m sorry to say that it is on hold due to post-production problems. I will definitely repost when the set-in-stone premiere date is set.
In the meantime, Sam, if you like Chinese food, the best kept secret in the city is right across the street from my Taekwondo school: the Three Dragons Cafe , on Wilcrest near Briar Forest, next to McDonald’s. I have to restrain myself when I go in there or I would look like an avocado with arms and legs when I came out. 
Thanks again for the recommendations. All the restaurants sound good, and I’m getting hungry just thinking about them. I just thought of one more thing I’d like recommendations on: good music stores. I buy a lot of my CDs online or at places like Best Buy, but there’s few things I enjoy more than going to a local record store and browsing around the aisles of CDs, and I was wondering if anyone had any good places to go CD shopping in Houston.
I’d thought about getting an EZ Tag. Googling for “houston EZ tag” led me to this website: EZ Tag Store. Perhaps I’m dumb, but I can’t quite understand the billing system for the tag: do I buy it and put a certain amount of money on the tag, and once I’ve gone through the toll a certain number of times and used up the money, I put more money on? Or do I get a monthly bill? Or what?
You put an amount on the EZ Tag to start off with, then whenever you get low, it automatically withdraws $30 or something (not sure of the exact amount) from your checking account to recharge it. This is the only drawback: if you are the type who lives paycheck to paycheck, an unexpected charge may result in some overdraft fees or other inconveniences. Otherwise, it’s a great deal; you save money on the tolls themselves ($1 instead of $1.25) and you don’t have to wait in the ridiculous lines.
I think there are various options, but mine charges my credit card. You can call the EZ Tag Store. People actually answer without too much of a wait, and they’re pretty nice.
The only place I knew of closed, so I’d be interested in this too. has a moment of silence for Cactus