Houstonians are a diverse group, but we're united by a few things. We all hate traffic. We all sweat in the summer. Our hearts are broken time and time again by our sports teams. And we all shop at Ikea. Next time you go there, take a break from your own hunt for build-it-yourself home furnishings and really look around you. Ikea is a microcosm of Houston, bad traffic and all. We're all looking to save some money on furniture, which means we all end up at Ikea, no matter where we're from, what language we speak or who we love. Ikea is massive and there's no such thing as an in-and-out trip, so slow down and do some people-watching while you're there.

Walter's Downtown is the best kind of family business. Owner Zack Palmer inherited the warehouse-like venue north of downtown after his mother, beloved Houston nightlife matriarch Pam Robinson, passed away in late 2014, and he has carried over the anything-goes booking policy that makes Walter's one of the most accessible and artist-friendly clubs in town. Many acts who pass through Walter's do so without much commercial attention or outside financial support, and its DIY hospitality props up a broad spectrum of underground music, from indie-pop to hardcore punk and all sorts of laptop-beats alchemists. Walter's got even cooler when the vinyl-only Deep End Records, run by local musician and Walter's primary booking agent John Baldwin, opened last fall in what used to be the club's lobby.

You probably know somebody who is a walking encyclopedia of music, but rarely do those people share their knowledge with a wide audience on a regular basis. Houston is lucky to have Clint Broussard's radio program, Blues In Hi-Fi, on KPFT, but neither the length nor formatting restrictions of his FM slot could really do justice to the depth or breadth of his musical brain. Enter A Day In the Life, the podcast Broussard started in January. With 80 minutes at his disposal each time — not wanting to exceed the amount of content a typical CD-R can hold — Broussard presides over a meticulously curated, deeply personal journey through music's back pages.

A French restaurant and wine bar serving up $20 appetizers and $30 entrées isn't exactly the first place you'd think to go for cheap drinks and eats after work. But when chef John Sheely gives you a taste of his menu for literally one-fourth the usual price and serves drinks for $5 and under, you take advantage. Mockingbird has what it calls a 5-5-5 deal: You can order bar bites, such as the daily ceviche special, mango-barbecue meatballs and pork sausage with braised red cabbage, for $5; wines by the glass from Italy and Spain for $5; and cocktails, including mojitos and margaritas, for, yep, $5. Select craft brews are just $3.50.

New public art has been sprouting up all over Houston, and this past spring one such piece flashed back to when one of our true musical icons could pull off a four-night stand at one of the city's prime concert halls. Created by native Houstonian Jamal Cyrus, Lightnin' Field recreated a vintage block-style poster of Lightnin' Hopkins's January 1975 appearances at Liberty Hall — once located just a few blocks from the mural — on a 40'-by-60' patch of wall above the Just A Dollar store on Main. Erected as part of the Downtown District's Art Blocks initiative, the mural has since been replaced, but for a few months it stood as a fittingly larger-than-life tribute to a musician and a venue who both helped put Houston music on the map.

Located in the more relaxed portion of Midtown, Double Trouble is aptly named. On most days, this spot opens at 7 a.m. and doesn't shut down until 2 a.m. During those hours, the relaxed staff is either slinging some of the best coffee and espresso drinks in town or pouring cocktails inside the comfortable, tiki-like space. Because the staff is totally chill with you bringing in your own food — Tacos A Go Go across the street is a bulletproof option — there's really no reason to leave once you're seated at the bar, high tables or cozy patio drinking a frozen Suffering Bastard (Kentucky bourbon, London dry gin, lemon, angostura and spicy ginger beer) or Captain's Orders (old overholt, dry vermouth, allspice dram, orange bitters and absinthe).

If your walls are looking a little bare, the semi-annual Bayou City Art Festival has you covered, with more than a dozen different mediums represented among roughly 300 artists. Spread out in downtown's Hermann Square and Sam Houston Park, the festival offers up artistic gems for a vast array of tastes. You can find everything here from woodworking and ceramic sculptures to acrylic paintings and fashion design. While many artists are local, handfuls come from as far as Africa and Europe to set up shop in downtown Houston. On top of that, food trucks and live music abound.

When Rich's abruptly shut its doors in 2013, Houston's gay community lost its wild, sweaty living room. Rich's had been around 30 years, offering countless Houstonians their first taste of LGBT nightlife. But now Rich's is back, baby, under new ownership and thumping away once again. Rich's reopened this summer during Houston Pride, and attendees marveled at how their old friend had cleaned up since they last met. The new owners promise even more upgrades soon. We can't wait to see what's next.

READERS' CHOICE: F Bar

When trying to lay out the reasons why someone should visit Houston, it is not uncommon to come face to face with the reasons not to come here. The heat, the sprawl, the traffic — we've heard it all before. This is why a trip to the Museum District should be a requirement for all tourists. Not only does it boast some of the finest works of art you'll find anywhere, but it's situated on lush, oak-tree-lined streets that are the antithesis of what most people think of when they hear the word "Houston." And if the heat is a problem, all the stops are air-conditioned.

The explosive jazz at Cezanne overwhelms the packed, intimate room. Bands play everything from crescendo-heavy originals to nearly unrecognizable Nirvana covers, often so loud you can feel the floor shake. The wood-paneled walls and nature paintings that decorate them make you feel like you are perhaps in a rich relative's living room — if that relative had great taste in whiskey and unparalleled passion for the best jazz in Houston. Enjoy two jazz bands for $10 every Friday and Saturday night.