Does that pre-date the electric fence incident?
Well, if you want to go the water park route, bite the bullet and take the extra drive up to Spring to go to Splashtown. It is way better than WaterWorld (the one attached to AstroWorld).
Kemah and Galveston are also nice, and many degrees cooler (nearer the Gulf).
Lots of good restaurants there; I lived there for four years. I moved away seven years ago, so I can’t vouch for the accuracy of any restaurant reporting, but I’ll give it a shot. My favorites at the time:
Américas: Excellent gourmet New World cuisine. Pretty pricey.
Becks Prime: The best hamburgers I’ve ever had.
Berryhill Hot Tamales: Actually, I always went for the fish tacos, although I understand the tamales are splendid also.
Boulevard Bistrot: Mediterranean-style restaurant with a shaded patio. Cool, for outdoor summer Houston dining. Really great food also. Two blocks from my old apartment.
Brennan’s: Quite pricey upscale Creole place. Had my rehearsal dinner there; awesome food. Try the bread pudding souffle.
Buffalo Grille: Best breakfast in town. Mexican-inspired. Yummy.
Cafe Annie: Again, pricey. But I had the best dinner there that I’ve ever had anywhere. Gourmet nuevo-Southwestern. Unbelievable.
Cafe Miami: Great Cuban food. A ways out, but worth it.
Churrascos: South American food. Wonderful.
Chuy’s: Best chile rellenos outside of Mexico (or maybe southern California).
Garson: Persian food. Delicious.
Golden Room: Best Thai food in town. Try the “Shrimp Jackson”. The name notwithstanding.
Green’s Barbecue: Oh. My. God. Best barbecue ever. In a somewhat dicey neighborhood, but lunch is fine.
Kim Son: Gourmet Vietnamese food (who knew)? Unbelievable.
La Strada: Great for Sunday brunch. People-watching guaranteed to shock your in-laws.
Mata Hari: Indonesian food, but quite far from the center of town.
Ninfa’s: Mexican. Only go to the original location, on Navigation Boulevard in the barrio. All others are crap.
Queen Of Sheba: Ethiopian food. Mmmmmm…
Ragin’ Cajun: Best crawfish pie outside of Louisiana.
Ruggles Grill: Probably my favorite Houston restaurant. Hard to describe, but there are Italian-style, Southwestern-style, and just plain gourmet American dishes. Plus, probably, others. Try the white chocolate-macadamia tart for dessert.
Tacqueria La Jaliciense: Down-home Mexican/Tex-Mex at it’s best. And cheap.
Jeez, that was long. Can you tell that the restaurant scene is my favorite part of Houston?
Seriously, Scylla, if you have a specific type/style of restaurant that you want to visit while you’re there, e-mail me. I’ll hook you up. Providing, of course, that said restaurant is still in existence.
Yes, of course it’ll be hot. And humid. But count your blessings. It could have been August. Which, believe it or not, is worse. Next year, go in January.