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FILLING STATION
English fish
pie and a thick-cut pork chop
at Feast; opposite, La Carafe
Youstroll ablock to the
RothkoChapel (
4
)
,
an art-filled sanctuary founded by the de
Menils. The walls of the octagonal room
are covered with 14 paintings that stand
as the final work of Russian-born painter
MarkRothko, who conceived the chapel as
a sort of pilgrimage site. Staring into the
dark void of the paintings, which are illu-
minated only by the sunlight from above,
you are suddenly overtakenby a profound
sense of peace—alongwith the realization
that while you’ve been feeding your soul,
you’ve forgo en to feed your stomach.
After a quick stop at your hotel to
freshen up, you head for an early dinner
at
Feast (
5
)
, a place that wastes no part of
the animal as it dishes up things like pick-
led lamb’s tongue and beef heart tartare.
You play it somewhat safe with the crispy
roasted pork belly, which you attack as
though it had insulted your ancestors. The
skin is peanut bri le–crunchy; beneath is
meat with the texture of bu er.
You followup this indulgentmeal witha
visit to
Anvil (
6
)
, a low-lit bar where skinny
kids in skinny jeans drink alongside men
oldenough tobe their fathers. Youconsider
an oatmeal stout from the beer board but
opt for an elaborate cocktail instead. Sip-
pingyourPliny’sTonic,madewithgin, lime,
cucumber, mint and a dash of habanero
tincture, youknowyou’ll sleepwell tonight.
DAYTWO
| Once youfinally roll out of bed,
you hail a cab and hightail it for
Hugo’s (
1
)
.
Chef Hugo Ortega’s eponymous eatery
presents a vast brunch buffet that you
wade into like a nervous swimmer. But
after a few bites of red snapper ceviche
and duck carnitas tacos, you’re navigating
the spread like a pro. Soon you’re in such a
zone that youfind yourself chewing to the
rhythmof the restaurant’s housemariachi
band, Viento.
Wrappingupapost-brunch calorie burn
at the massive
Memorial Park (
2
)
, you aim
farther west and venture into one of the
largest Chinatowns in the country. You
explore for a while, but the real reason
you’re here is a Vietnamese hole-in-the-
wall called
S
aigon Pagolac (
3
)
. The
Houston
Press
named it the best Vietnamese res-
taurant of 2011, which is quite an honor in
the city with the second largest number
of Vietnamese-Americans in the U.S. As
ingredients arrive in individual bowls, it
becomes clear you’re going to have to push
up your sleeves and assemble your own
spring rolls. Your first a empt is as ugly as
it is delicious, as are the ones that follow.
Stomach full, you cab it downtown
for an a ernoon show. Houston’s theater
district is formidable, with permanent
SHADES OF GREEN
With Houston’s oil rigs, medical centers and, more recently, its cultural
centers getting top billing, it’s easy to overlook the city’s outdoor offer-
ings. That would be a mistake. For starters, there are 50,000 acres of
parkland within city limits, and just 30 miles away there’s the 25,000-
acre Armand Bayou Nature Center, which shows off the Gulf Coast’s
varied terrain and provides haven for 220 migratory bird species.
Perhaps most important, though, the city has a government, led by
Mayor Annise Parker (winner of last year’s Mayors’ Climate Protection
Award from the U.S. Conference of Mayors), that seems to recognize
that what’s on and above the ground matters as much as what’s under
it. Houston is the largest municipal purchaser of wind energy in the
U.S.; ranks eighth in the nation in number of LEED-certified buildings;
and has plans for a rapid-transit bus system, a bike trail network and a
single-stream recycling program.
Of course, if the kind of green that you can sink a putt into is at the top
of your list, the city has championship golf courses as well as gorgeous
municipal ones, too.
HEMISPHERESMAGAZINE.COM
•
APRIL 2012
93
H O U S TO N
THREEPERFECTDAYS