—————————————————— Best Sports Bar 2013 | Lucky's | Best of Houston® | Best Restaurants, Bars, Clubs, Music and Stores in Houston | Houston Press
Navigation
Support Us

Houston's independent source of
local news and culture

I support

Houston Press
Houston Press
Local
Community
Journalism
Support the independent voice of Houston and help keep the future of the Houston Press free.
Support Us

Best Sports Bar

Lucky's

Multiple screens tuned to all the games you don't want to miss? Check. Pool tables for if you want to "exercise" while watching said games? Check. Killer beer selection at great prices? Affirmative. Friendly staff? That'd be a yes. Wings, fried pickles, burgers and quesadillas? You bet your bippy. Really, there's no shortage of sports bars in Houston, but we've got a special place in our heart for Lucky's. We've also made plenty of room in our stomach for them as well. Now, excuse us while we get back to the game — halftime's almost over!

Best Meeting of Art and Music

Mixed Media

A few times a year — not often enough, in our opinion — the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, becomes one of the city's top music venues, pairing gorgeous architecture and one of the nation's finest permanent collections of art with cutting-edge music. Officially named MFAH Mixed Media Designed by IKEA, the event decks out MFAH's luxe interior with the Swedish design trendsetter's finest gear (so you know it's hip) as partygoers roam freely throughout the galleries, and bands and DJs — often local — perform in the spacious, live-oak-shaded backyard. In just a couple of all-too-short seasons, Mixed Media has quickly become one of the top can't-miss events on Houston's under-35 social calendar.

Best Place to People-Watch

Discovery Green

Photo by Katya Horner

One of the best parts of living in the fourth-largest city in the country is that it's a people-watching paradise, and no spot better represents that than Discovery Green. No two trips to Discovery Green are ever exactly the same, and that's a good thing. It's a location that brings in all sorts of folks, including but not limited to families looking to spend a day in the sun; people killing time before a concert; and couples in all stages of relationships, from first date to engagement photos. Add a dog park, a seasonal skating rink, the Gateway Fountain, special events and more, and you get a space where there's always something going on and always someone to watch.

Best Local Label

Swishahouse

Swishahouse was a local institution even long before many of its priceless mementos were cataloged into the Special Collections at Rice University's Fondren Library in October 2012. By helping commercialize the late DJ Screw's slow and low rap style, the label helped the careers of artists like Chamillionaire, Paul Wall, Slim Thug and Mike Jones bloom and became one of the most successful independent record labels in music business history. Steered to this day by cofounders G Dash and Michael "5000" Watts — who showcases the latest Swisha wares on his long-running Sunday night 97.9 The Box show — the label keeps right on cranking out a steady supply of albums from artists such as Southside stalwart Lil Keke da Don and often updated mixtape series like The Day Hell Broke Loose, which gather top rap names both local and national into the fold. For a record label that became both a brand name and an enduring culture unto itself, calling Swishahouse the Motown of the South doesn't seem like much of a stretch. As its motto says, "You don't grind, you don't shine."

Best Bathroom Graffiti

Rudyard's British Pub

How could a bar with a Flickr Hive Mind page devoted to photos of the awesome potty-wall scribbles not be the recipient of a "Best of" award? No matter what kind of bathroom graffiti you're into, Rudyard's bathroom walls have it covered. Be it your old-school "For a good time, call 555-5555" type of scrawling, a multi-person debate on feminism or some deep thoughts with Jack Handey kind of stuff, there are plenty of Sharpie musings to gaze at while you wait in line or, of course, hover above the seat.

Best Place to Bring Out-of-Towners

Either Airport

Directing out-of-towners to the area's two major airports might be seen as a hostile gesture, but we're not hating at all. For months, Houston has been all over this national magazine or that Web site as one of the country's best places to visit, eat, do business, buy a house or find a job. As many as 100 people a day are already moving to Houston, according to some estimates, so the only reason we recommend visitors visit Bush or Hobby is so they can fly back home and rent a U-Haul. Honest.

Best Bar Food

The Queen Vic

The Queen Vic redefines "pub grub" with unexpected twists on bar food favorites, both British and American, thanks to chef/owner Shiva Patel's Indian influence. Bar bites during happy hour are only $4 and feature such diverse dishes as ground lamb and potato croquettes with cilantro chutney, or try the deviled eggs with pili pili sauce. For a few bucks more, you can indulge in spicy lamb keema or gravy-soaked poutine, sausage rolls or vada pav sliders.

Best Microcinema

KUHF's Silent Film Series at Discovery Green

Now in its fifth year, the KUHF Silent Film Series is one of the best free events in town. The series pairs a silent movie from the early 1900s with a Texas-based musical act that creates a score for the film and then performs it live during the screening. The films are shown on the lawn at Discovery Green, where large crowds bring blankets and pack picnic baskets to take in unique productions you won't see on the big screen anywhere else. Get there early to get a good spot, and hide your wine in a paper bag — everybody does it.

  • 1500 McKinney St., Houston, 77010 Map

Best New Effort to Inject Culture into Houston

Homes & Histories Documentary; Voices Breaking Boundaries

In order to inject culture, one must first observe, collect and acknowledge the culture that is already in place. "What does it mean to have a home?" is the question posed to us by this Voices Breaking Boundaries production that digs deep into the history of Freedman's Town and its current residents, who are dealing with an elimination of history through gentrification. For comparison, the filmmakers also look at the Baloch and Sheedi community of Karachi, Pakistan, whose roots are also in Africa. Music and visual artists also provided their talents during the community events that were held on and near several streets within the neighborhood west of downtown between West Gray and West Dallas. Near the end of the film, director Sehba Sarwar says: "It's clear that neither community is gone, histories are not lost and struggles are not over."

Best Place for a Kid's Birthday Party

Wonderwild

Whether your child wants to be a princess, a superhero, a pirate or simply a Nerf-sharpshooter, Wonderwild can assist with making that happen. They're the go-to guys for birthday magic, and they've got a menu a mile long of add-ons to customize little Mikey's pirate extravaganza. Want a sweet treats candy bar to sugar up the little monsters before you send 'em home with Mom and Dad? Check. Need a balloon artist to provide less deadly pirate swords? They've got it covered. There's Bubble Magic, face painting and inflatables to make planning your kid's birthday party as seamless as possible, and you don't even have to clean up the mess when it's over and done with. See? Life does have its little miracles.

Best Of Houston®

Best Of

California Privacy Policy California Collection Notice
Do Not Sell My Info
Use of this website constitutes acceptance of our terms of use, our cookies policy, and our privacy policy The Houston Press may earn a portion of sales from products & services purchased through links on our site from our affiliate partners. ©2024 Houston Press, LP. All rights reserved.
Powered By Foundation