Go Big Or Go Home: 48 Hours in Houston
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the country and packed with LGBT happenings that will heat up your winter blues. EDGE celebrates the launch of our latest city-specific site, www.houston.edgemedianetwork.com. Take a peek at how much you can pack into a weekend getaway to "Space City."
DAY 1
Big Bites
Lankford Grocery & Market - Tucked in Montrose, Houston's self-identified "gayborhood," this low-key diner has a retro feel with a menu overflowing with 20 different burger options including the Firehouse, which is loaded with habanero sauce, cayenne butter and jalape�os. A friendly place to meet the locals, the only shade you'll be thrown is from the outside seating area.
Get Happy
There are plenty of nightlife options - many within walking distance - to keep you two-stepping all night long, but one of the best places to kick off your gay pub crawl is at F Bar. The sprawling 4,200-square-foot space offers a packed happy hour from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. before things go renegade with go-go boys and live entertainment later in the evening. To kick up your country two-step, add Neon Boots Dancehall & Saloon to your night on the town - claimed by the owners to be the largest LGBT country concept in Texas and the largest gay bar in Houston.
A Room for Every Season
Sleep in luxury at The Four Seasons Hotel - Houston located downtown and steps away from Discovery Green, a 12-acre urban park that is packed with special events and other unique installations, like Bruce Munro's Field of Light, a site-specific art installation on display until February 21.
DAY 2
Culture Shock
Houston's museum district welcomes upwards of seven million annual visitors to its 19 cultural institutions. And the best part? Eleven of them are free! Our top picks include:
The Menil Collection - What began as a private donation from John and Dominique de Menil, this stunning collection now consists of nearly 15, 000 works from various periods, including a substantial concentration on 20th century Surrealism. Don't miss "The Secret of the Hanging Egg: Salvador Dal� at the Menil," on display through June 19, 2016.
The Houston Zoo - Enjoy some outdoor time at one of the nation's top-rated zoos. Its $35 million African Forest recreates native habitats for a range of inhabitants, including chimpanzees, the white rhino, and Masai giraffes. And be sure to help welcome the zoo's latest arrival: seven western lowland gorillas that are now calling Houston home in a brand new habitat that features an outdoor habitat and multi-tiered night house with private bedrooms. Sounds like five-star treatment in the Lone Star State!
Click Your Heels Three Times
Step into your own pair of authentic cowboy boots after a visit to Cavender's Boot City, where you'll find plenty of western wear to give your wardrobe a Texas twist. The family-run business has been outfitting all types for more than 50 years.
Weights + Measures is a restaurant, bakery and bar all wrapped up in one. Located in an industrial warehouse in Midtown, enjoy fresh-baked goods until 2 p.m. or swing by for dinner and share innovative small plates such as ribeye meatballs in Calabrian pepper rag� or glazed 24-hour pork belly. It's subtitled lounge, Love and Squalor, serves up more than two dozen craft cocktails along with a rotating selection of six locally sourced draft beers.
Last Call
We may need to steal New York City's moniker and rename Houston as "The City That Never Sleeps." Head to South Beach - in Houston, that is - for a night of revelry that includes sexy bar staff, dancing, and other antics such as the weekly Stripper Circus, described as "a fully interactive experience that combines music, entertainment, sexuality, games and the kind of wild and crazy fun you would expect from a traveling circus!" The venue is open on Thursdays from 9 to 2 a.m. and Friday and Saturdays until 4 a.m.
Sponsored content.