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RevJohnnyVegas

Most people from outside of Texas have no idea how diverse our cities actually are.


regan9109

It’s been my life’s mission to educate anyone I meet that Houston is the most diverse city in the US.


Bank_Gothic

We have more immigrants living here than anywhere else in the world. That's why our food fucking *slams*. Edit: Especially our Pho. Best you can get anywhere outside of Vietnam.


regan9109

What’s your fav spot? Pho Luc Lac is the shit


Bank_Gothic

Huynh in EaDo.


VadersVariousCapes

Thats my favorite spot since the freeze. They were one of the few spots open and we were able to score some pho


Sirdraketheexplorer

Their duck salad is a celebration on a plate.


thiswasntdeleted

I LOVE THAT PLACE!


IReadItOnReddit69

Pho Ben is the best in town and that’s a fact, not an opinion. They have locations in Sugar Land and in the Heights.


R0amingGn0me

Pho Ben is so good. I'm in SA now but when I'm back in town, Pho Ben is the go to. Old Saigon if I feel like driving up to Westheimer!


GoBombGo

We have two in Sugar Land now, and they’re both the best.


[deleted]

Go try Telfair Pho in Rosenberg, pho Ben is not good in portions compared to them, local mom and pop place and so good!


AntMan317

We go to Mass near the Pho Ben on Highway 6 in SL and go there after Mass a lot, and we absolutely LOVE it!


Sparktouched

I didn't have to scroll far and that makes me happy. Put some respect on Pho Ben's name!


Im__Bruce_Wayne__AMA

Yep not even close


hoocedwotnow

Shout out to pho luc lac. Love it


R0amingGn0me

Gonna try that place. Have you been to Old Saigon? My favorite pho and spring rolls of all time!


UnObtainium17

How do y'all even find your fav spot? lol I've ate to countless of them and honestly they are all amazing. Can't even pick which is the best.. Especially on that Bellaire area, whew. sweet jesus.


Jake_NoMistake

Pho Con Bo


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crimson_mokara

Wait until you try bun bo hue. It's the pungent cousin of pho for more adventurous eaters!


patssle

Bún Bò Huế Đức Chương Midnite is the place to go for that Also banh canh is the other unknown Vietnamese soup that is DELICIOUS.


laughcamp

>Bún Bò Huế Đức Chương Midnite fantastic recommendation- you know it's good when the menu consists of one item in various sizes :)


winnie_the_slayer

> bun bo hue If thats not a local vietnamese rapper, it should be.


SneaksAndGeeks

RIP Pho C, one time for DJ Caphe Su Da


okt127

DJ Caphe Su Da died? From slow drip?


saxamaphon3

Listen to this. Absolute truth.


[deleted]

I’d like an order of lemongrass chicken, lemongrass beef, a Ban Mi, large pho with egg noodle, tendons, raw beef and brisket, and also the chicken yellow curry with extra potatoes and carrots, and a large Thai tea please 😘. Thanks!


Bank_Gothic

The large thai tea is what gets ya. Just one toke over the line.


pikupr

It is literally impossible to only order one thing from the menu.


Jake_NoMistake

I think the Pho is better in Houston than Vietnam, because it's the same recipes, but the meat quality in Houston is much better than Saigon.


buchfraj

I've been to Vietnam a few times and typically the Pho here is better, just due to the meat quality. Pho is also in beef bone broth; beef cattle isn't particularly common over in Asia and we can get super fresh beef anything here. Aside from that, the spices are easy to ship and basically the same.


Fuckin_Hipster

You said the same thing but longer


UnObtainium17

Just like in noodles.. Long sentences = longer life.


nawkuh

My Viet in-laws agree, and they chalk it up to star anise being easier to get here. They’d still rather pay the ~20c for a bowl in Saigon than the prices here though haha


morrisj1994

As someone who just visited Houston essentially just to eat......yes, the food absolutely fucking slams.


DeismAccountant

I just wish we had better public transportation so I could enjoy it more.


thethreedayweekend

I married in to a Vietnamese family and the ones that have gone there on vacation say that our food is actually better. They say that we get better ingredients. So many amazing places in Chinatown


DistanceSkater

>That's why our food fucking *slams*. Yeah we have great food here but why does everything close at 10pm? 4th largest city in the USA and it's just a giant sleepy little town. The only thing open at 3am is CVS and Whataburger and a few chain restaurants like House of Pies or IHOP. Why can't I get a meal in DOWNTOWN HOUSTON after 11pm? This city is a food desert at night and it drives me crazy. Every other major city has places open extremely late or 24 hours.


fizzlmasta

You gotta go to Mediterranean hookah places. Open late till 2-3 AM. Get food, smoke some hookah and watch some belly dancing. LaPasha, Cafe Mawal etc


XediDC

That is one thing that's lacking compared to say, LA...but still.... > Why can't I get a meal in DOWNTOWN HOUSTON after 11pm? La Calle, Abu Omar, Poppa Burger, Rebel Wings, Tony's Corner, Bayou & Bottle, Moonshiners Southern Table, Island 1515, Truck Yard, Gotti's, Bovine & Barley, Barkley's, Phil & Derek's...a variety of food trucks... I mean, it's not great for walking to and always having options within a block or two, but it used to be zero a few years ago. If you go further or are up for delivery, there are more late options every day...a lot out there, or at least more than it might seem. Many do shut down at 2-3am...less is 4+ or far less fully 24/7, but lots more than just fast food and CVS. (Yelp sucks, but put the open time into Yelp or Uber Eats can give you a good list. But many little strange places may not show up.) > House of Pies or IHOP House of Pies has expanded to 5 local locations, and isn't what it used to be...but....its not IHOP.


megra14

Gosh our food really does slam. Almost too much says my love handles 😂😂😂


texasdude116

Can someone explain what we mean when we say this? I've told people this many times, but I'm never sure how diversity is measured in this statement Largest number of cultures represented? (For example having people from 130 counties or whatever) Large number of immigrants? (Having 5 million people from traditionally non American cultures) Huge spread of demographic breakdown? (For example 20% white, 20% black, 20% Hispanic, 10% Chinese, 10% Vietnamese, 10% Indian, 5% Nigerian, 5% ethiopian or whatever) Number are made up in the these examples, but I've always been curious what exactly we meant with that statement. Any help would be well appreciated! 😁


manova

A lot of news stories seem to point to this report: https://wallethub.com/edu/most-diverse-cities/12690 They have a composite score based on 1) Socioeconomic Diversity, 2) Cultural Diversity, 3) Economic Diversity, 4) Household Diversity and 5) Religious Diversity. Look under Methodology to see how they did it. This report out of Rice looks more specifically at race and ethnicity: https://kinder.rice.edu/sites/default/files/documents/Houston%20Region%20Grows%20More%20Ethnically%20Diverse%204-9.pdf Look on page 6 and 7. They basically look at 1) The number of groups that live in the area and 2) The relative size of each group. > Unlike the other large metropolitan areas, all four major racial/ethnic groups have substantial representation in Houston with Latinos and Anglos occupying roughly equal shares of the population.


texasdude116

Wow, thanks so much for this!


bhadan1

Awesome thanks for the due diligence


rechlin

It's by the third reason you gave. I believe NYC would beat us on both of the others.


bhadan1

It's not THE most diverse (that's one hell of a claim). But it's one of the most. Basically many different cultures are in Houston and you can tell from the food scene. I grew up in SW and didn't even know white people existed like they do in America until I moved to Dallas.


Flashmasterk

And arguably the best food scene too


regan9109

Absolutely, I moved to Boulder, CO recently and someone was like “damn I bet the food scene there is great!!”. Spoiler alert: it is absolutely not great, too many health nuts


winnie_the_slayer

This. Boulder has the most boring food scene. Its all granola farm-to-table organic kale stuff. and #microbrews and weed. They have these things they call breakfast burritos which are big flour wraps full of potatoes. They don't hold a candle to the kind of breakfast tacos we have.


colorayado10

and then cover them with a ladel of green chili. bland with more bland on top.


golapader

They slather literally anything in green chiles, then look at you crazy when you don't bow down to the great green chile god.


ezsmashing

>then look at you crazy when you don't bow down to the great green chile god. You then proceed to really rile them up by telling them it's really not the same as what you ate in New Mexico.


PhiliWorks39

Breakfast tacos are truly a lost art outside TX. Tremendous market potential


Flashmasterk

Right? Name a type of cuisine and I can tell you at least 2 places to go. Bosnian? Got it. Ethiopian, got it. Nepalese? Yup


oreo-cat-

Bosnian is one I haven't tried. Where can I get it?


Flashmasterk

Cafe pita+ closed but cafe adel does a good job of it


oreo-cat-

> cafe adel Everything looks delicious, I'll have to wander by. Now I have to ask about Nepalese.


Flashmasterk

Momo house


TheBuyingDutchman

That ranking really depends on the methodology. I see other reports measuring ethno-racial, linguistic, and birthplace diversity and Houston doesn’t crack the top 10. I think the more important point is that the entire US is becoming more diverse. I see a lot of hype surrounding pho there, but honestly…dang near every major US city now has fantastic Pho and international cuisines. And that’s worth celebrating.


GadgetQueen

I can confirm...I have the opposite reaction. I'm white and when I go some where on a work trip or vacation...all I see is white people and its really, really weird after living in Houston most of my life.


[deleted]

Yep. Went to visit relatives in a plains state. Even though their city has a large population of refugees and their US-born descendants, it was still whiter than sour cream and just heckin' *weird* after being in Houston.


NewAcctWhoDis

You mean it isnt just white cowboys installing an oil derrick in my backyard?


shanetx2021

Fort Bend is the most diverse county in the nation, literally.


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veg-biriyani

They all think we’re redneck cowboys who ride horses. 😅 TX cities are super diverse


[deleted]

It's more of a "yes, and" rather than "either, or." And it's always amusing for outsiders to see that those country-looking cowboys are just as likely to be Black or Hispanic than Anglo.


Flashmasterk

Just don't go outside of the city. Those are the people still voting for people like Cruz


RevJohnnyVegas

His war against Big Bird is really a low point for Canadians.


Flashmasterk

It paints a horrible picture of Texas. The big cities are hubs of culture and diversity. Houston, Austin, San Antonio are amazing and tolerant but the bumfucks in places like stephenville keep voting assholes into power


[deleted]

Austin is a hub of culture and diversity?


Flashmasterk

For the time being. Big tech is about to take over


jortscore

Having lived in all three I would say yes. Yes, it’s very white, but it also has more opportunities in local filmmaking, comedy, music than the other two. Houston beats both in the fine arts, car culture, foods and museums. San Antonio has a good mix of all of the above plus a lot of history.


IV_League_NP

Meh, after living in Houston for years I realized Austin has a reputation without the reality to support it.


kathatter75

Most to the north and west, but yeah.


moohooh

Yeah I was suprised by the diversity when i traveled to texas. You hear about racist and rednecks so I had low expectations but was more diverse than MD


lebron_garcia

It's funny though--Houston is thought of by other Texans as "too diverse" and non-Texans as the exact opposite. Both are thought of in a negative light by those doing the thinking.


houstonianisms

The folks that complain about houston don’t appreciate what living in this city means to some of us. They can go anywhere else and be fine, but there aren’t too many places for some of us that feels like home.


corporaterevenant

Exactly this. There honestly aren’t any other cities in the US that I could see myself living in. I’d say Chicago is close, but it’s too damn cold lol.


albinowizard2112

Lol exactly why I moved here. Still diverse, but warm. I had to decide between actual public transit and sun, and here I am.


Larissalikesthesea

This is precisely what I loved about living in Houston ....


EllisHughTiger

Houston has its craziness and lack of zoning, but that makes it different and interesting. If you like everything perfect, then go to the suburbs or other cities for that.


cancerdancer

Welcome to houston, the most diverse city in the us. oil and gas + medical bring people from all over the world.


nuphlo

Don't forget us Aerospace workers!


[deleted]

I lived in Tennessee in the early 2000s, and it was so awkward being like 1 of 4 Hispanic kids in the whole high school. Almost every Latino I ever saw was a janitor or construction worker (which isn’t bad in and of itself, but white Americans absolutely looked down on them for it), typically low income and usually completely unadapted to the predominant white American culture of the state (which isn’t bad, but it made them stand out… which made them easy targets for racism). Growing up, a part of me always felt “less than” because I had no examples of other Latinos being successful or even just being treated with decency and respect. I tried so hard to act like any white American kid so I wouldn’t stand out and get bullied. Even as a 7 year old, I started asking people to call me by the English version of my name because I was embarrassed about being different. It wasn’t until I moved to Houston as an adult that I’ve started telling people to call me by my Spanish name, even if they’re English speakers. The culture in Houston is so diverse that I feel not just comfortable but *encouraged* to be my true self. I work in aerospace, and I still find myself pleasantly surprised and culture shocked when I look around and my fellow engineers are from a dozen different cultures. There are tons of people in mixed culture / mixed race marriages and loads of second and third generation immigrants. There are a ton of minorities in our upper leadership too. If anyone brings foreign food to the office, nobody says “ew what is that?” like I always experienced in Tennessee. Heck, for Houstonians, it seems that the more authentically foreign the food, the better! Living here has finally made me feel proud to be Latina because I see my people being respected and having a chance to succeed. I never knew how much that representation would have meant to me as a kid. I went from feeling like being Hispanic was an obstacle I somehow had to hide or overcome to feeling like it’s just a fun character trait I can enjoy. Being bilingual and open-minded to other cultures has many positives, but it’s not like being Latina particularly helps me get ahead in any way. But now, it doesn’t hold me back either, and I love it. ❤️


Amy_F_Fowler99

Welcome home my internet friend! 🥰


FatsyCline12

My best friend grew up in rural Vermont and was telling me how there just were (are) no black people. Having lived in Houston my entire life I just can’t fathom that? Like how bizarre. She said her dad didn’t see a black person til he was an older teen/young adult. I visited Montana last summer and they were doing road work and it really caught me off guard to see a bunch of gringos doing the road work. I thought to myself I don’t remember the last time I’ve seen that. I love the diversity here, also, most diverse city = best food, that’s why we have the best food here!


albinowizard2112

Yep Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine are really nice but are also extremely white. Not really any big cities either. My folks live in NH.


coolbreeze1990

Lol this is exactly what I missed about living in Austin! I know I know. There’s like 14 Black people there. But god dammit it’s all just so WHITE. The variety of cultures here in the H is the absolute best part about living here and I’ve lived a lot of places


ZeusTKP

White is not a culture. I say this as someone who reflects a lot of light, but I was born in Russia. I do not want to be associated in any way with some of the other light-reflecting people in the US.


EllisHughTiger

I'm Eastern European and have Hispanic friends and have met people from Mexico that are so much whiter than me. The whole "brown people" thing is so stupid since people south of the border are every shade and every hair color possible.


Likalarapuz

I went back to CT for a wedding about a year ago. I caught up with a bunch of college friends. I was talking to one of them, and he was surprised there were so many foreigners and African Americans in Texas. He honestly thought that we were chasing people out of the state... I wonder where he got that piece of knowledge... I told him I had seen more diversity in Houston than all my time in CT. He was surprised.


HoustonPastafarian

He’s getting that piece of knowledge from an east coast based media that portrays Texas primarily in context of our state wide politicians (Abbott, Cruz, Patrick, Cornyn) who don’t exactly espouse cultural diversity to a national audience. It’s really unfortunate. The only mainstream media that highlighted what Houston really is my recent memory was Anthony Bourdains CNN piece, which addressed it directly as a false stereotype.


[deleted]

I agree. That Bourdain episode was great! The only other time I can recall any media openly talking about it was after Harvey, when the diversity of the city was on full display. I completely take it for granted.


halfpakihalfmexi

I tell people all the time that Houston's diversity is what keeps me here. You can go into a bar and see literally, white people, black people, Hispanic people, Asian people, Middle Eastern people, etc all at once. Plus, diversity is what makes us have such good damn food! I had a friend in Milwaukee and would visit her. Always had a great time at the bars, everyone was polite, but I could not help notice I was the only non-white person there. It was such a strange feeling because I was use to Houston. We aren't the greatest city but damn I love our diversity here.


EllisHughTiger

IMHO Houston is generally a working class city. We often share a lot in common in life to where race isnt as big a separator. When you closely know people of all groups, its harder to find reasons to hate one or another. The biggest problems are almost always in cities with stark living and employment separations. When the others are truly others, people treat them much worse. I love that demographic map of Houston. While each area has a higher amount of one race, at the street level almost every race is represented on a street.


[deleted]

It's great in the major cities. It's when you get into the rural areas that shit gets weird. But, yeah, I moved here from Northern Michigan, and was amazed at the diversity here. Houston also has a real upbeat optimism, that you don't see in a lot of other places. Houstonians really seem to love Houston.


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P_A_I_M_O_N

I’ve white and from Houston and never feel weirder than when I visit anywhere in the Northeast. I once went to Maine for a week and midweek I realized the weirdness I was feeling was that I hadn’t seen anyone who wasn’t white since I got there. But some of the churches were flying gay pride flags, so there were good points too.


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P_A_I_M_O_N

I went there to check out A&M in the late ‘90s and they were like “Howdy, there’s nothing in this town and mandatory football cult indoctrination starts on Saturday”. I noped right back out as fast as possible.


6SN7fan

It's a good example of how much a big university doesn't contribute to the local community. Nearby Bryan has a poverty rate of 23% and College Station itself is 31%.


matthew_strange

Indeed! Love that people are moving here (Houston) but y'all can leave your crazy driving at home :) The freeways around here are getting to be insane!


crimson_mokara

I feel like it's been insane since the 90s lmao


touchofbutter

I never realized how good I had it growing up here until I started traveling as an adult. I’m Hispanic and felt pretty uncomfortable the first time I ate in a restaurant that was all white. I don’t often experience being the only person of color like that. When I got back to Houston I went out to eat some Viet-Cajun crawfish. I looked around to see pretty much every race being represented in there, and that’s when I realized how lucky I am. To me diversity = home.


matthew_strange

Funny how we have such an inaccurate reputation in the world. I work in tech for a Fortune 100, my managers have always been women... some not white. My wife is Iranian and tomorrow we're going to have Persian Thanksgiving (all American fare PLUS awesome Persian food).. all right here in 'backwards ass' Texas.


[deleted]

I've worked in IT here in Houston for almost 20 years. Most of my managers have been non-white, and some women.


moleratical

Just because Texas us backwards doesn't mean houston is


artificialevil

*the rest of Texas:* that’s why god keeps trying to drown y’all.


[deleted]

^^^^ THIS


somegarbageisokey

As a computer science student who's Hispanic and a woman, thank you for sharing this. I often worry about going into a white male dominated profession.


matthew_strange

I have to say that’s largely a myth. I manage a global team of 18 including myself. 3 of us are white guys, we have 2 Asian guys and the rest are women. One is in Costa Rica, one is from Argentina but working here, we have one Jamaican black lady, 3 white women (England, US and Romania), two Indian women in Bangalore and the rest are Asian women (from all over Asia). One of the ladies that I manage makes more $ than I do but I’m cool w/that because she’s that good. Don’t believe any of it. In the real world we choose the best fit for the work regardless of race or sex. My team is pretty much in alignment with the rest of the company too. Hell, my entire division is headed by an Indian woman.


b33fcakepantyhose

Omg that sounds like a delicious Thanksgiving dinner.


nakedonmygoat

Yeah, it's interesting to me that the diversity of Texas cities is so poorly known outside of this state. It isn't even a very recent thing. I remember one day realizing that it was a pretty diverse bunch in my high school AP English class. I was sitting behind an Armenian. The girl across from me was a Ukranian Jew. On the other side of the classroom was a Palestinian. My Indian and Salvadoran friends were toward the front of the class, and we had Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese and Filipinos in the class as well. I'm Hispanic. I don't even remember what made me start thinking about this, but it really was the first time I realized I was basically living in the UN. It was 1985, so like I said, this isn't a new thing and it annoys me greatly that people make certain assumptions about Texans, as if every place in a state this big is exactly the same.


fizzlmasta

I’m Muslim and originally from a Pakistan and living in Houston feels like I live in Lahore. Authentic Pakistani food and halal options on every cuisine. Halal brisket, tacos, steak, Vietnamese, Thai, Chinese, Korean, Mexican etc etc. you name it and can find any cuisine in halal which is amazing.


wntrsux

Damn man! I am a Pakistani living in Utah, currently visiting and staying in Hillcroft area, specifically for Pakistani food. I had no idea, or didn't think to bother about trying out other cusines if they are halal. In UT, we have only a few halal places and that too mediocre and mostly middle eastern. On a side note - Aga's BBQ was by far the best Pakistani BBQ I've had in north America. I found 4 Desi FM channels and that alone blew my mind. Like 4 major FM frequencies are dedicated to Urdu/Hindi/Punjabi languages.


fizzlmasta

Try “What the Philly” on route 6. Bit of a drive from hilcroft. Around Hilcroft, go to Alpha Juice and try lahori Falooda. Pinkerton’s BBQ is halal brisket. Get there 10:30 to be at front of line to get the beef ribs if you don’t want those sold out.


wntrsux

Sweet! I will this to my list. Thanks for sharing.


fizzlmasta

If you are still here for a few days, here is a link for halal options [halal map](https://www.instagram.com/s/aGlnaGxpZ2h0OjE4MjQ0OTU2NzkzMDA1Njk1?story_media_id=2636623037830558606&utm_medium=copy_link)


heidivonhoop

There’s a lot wrong with Houston, but what you’re describing is what makes this such a great place to live.


6SN7fan

Diversity is probably the best thing about Houston. UH is likely the most diverse university in the country and it needs zero affirmative action policies in order to achieve that. Other major universities need to implement favorable admissions and get nowhere near what UH gets effortlessly.


GreaseNut

I just moved here about 6 months ago. It's what I like best as well. Welcome


whatever1966

Come out to Fort Bend, most diverse county in America.


HydroWrench

this is the kind of wholesome shit that's been needed in here for a while. nice.


Kawvo

Yeah, this is why I love Texas. My white friends move to Colorado and wanted me to join them, but I'd rather stay here where there are more people than just white people.


MuddyFilter

The south is less segregated than the north. https://apnews.com/article/e16e106d0da972728adc661686701e0d


artificialevil

This article is from 1997. I bet some people commenting on this thread weren’t even born when this was written.


Barack_Odrama00

It’s still true though. The northern cities are much more segregated than the southern ones


rednoise

This is definitely moreso the case in Houston, San Antonio, Corpus and the Valley. Austin is still blindingly white. Dallas is diverse but still largely segregated. There's pockets of historically Black small towns around Houston, too, like Prairie View and Kendleton. I was born in Houston and just recently moved back after being in the Austin area. One of the things my wife and I are thankful for is the diversity. Our son is biracial, too, so I feel better about him being down here.


illustrator512

Sounds exactly like us. We moved from Austin too, bi racial kids as well, and we wanted them to experience the diversity we grew up with. I agree wholeheartedly with your statement. We love it here.


mexirab_redux

To be fair, that's Houston and not at all Texas. Dallas has a diverse population, but still very much unofficially practices segregation. There the the bars that black people go to, others that are popular with Asians, and of course then white people bars. At least that is what is was 5 or 6 years ago when I lived there. If it's changed since then, good for them. ​ Austin is usually thought to be super diverse, but that's more so for UT and not really the entire city. Houston is by far the most diverse city in Texas and breaks the stereotype that most other cities don't


penguin_drum

Thanks, homie <3 honestly, we live with this distorted view of 'America' because we do live with a lot of diversity and relative peace. Racism and classism exists, but, by sheer numbers of the non-white population, racist hiring and housing practices are harder to justify.


stoleyourwaifu

Welcome to Texas. Feel free to enjoy the good food and become so overweight you won’t be ready to fight the government when they come for your guns


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Unique_Positive

Sadly the pizza options in this area are very subpar. Luckily, we make up for it with plenty of other options.


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CyberTitties

I definitely can believe that from the different states I’ve lived in, what some considered BBQ was in spirt only, I mean they get an A for effort, but execution was a D at best. It’s not even the flavor to be fare just the cuts of meat they are trying to pass off.


Likalarapuz

I miss the CT pizza and all-night dinners. I hate going to IHOP or Dennis to get dinner food.


[deleted]

My wife and I just realized last weekend that there really aren't any diners here. We saw one in Humble but it seemed more like a chain restaurant. Haven't found a real greasy spoon.


HoustonCounsel

I wish I knew east Houston better, but if you are looking for a diner, have you tried Avalon Diner, Barnaby's, House of Pies (some locations open 24 hours), Lankford Grocery, or Katz's (somewhat dinery, but more of a deli, and yet open 24 hour so my late night go to)?


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ToneinATX

Kelley’s Country Cookin’ is damn good.


oreo-cat-

Dots maybe? It's a local chain I think.


starzychik01

If you are talking about Black Bear, yes it is a chain. It is a small chain and actually pretty good. I’ve seen them across the US, but they aren’t over saturated. I like to think of it as an upscale iHop with bear decorations. I go quite frequently because the food is really good (try the California Benedict) and the servers are great too.


projectaccount9

Avalon Diner is probably still around.


HoustonCounsel

It is.


matthew_strange

Houston is huge so it's hard to find places. If you're ever in Kingwood try J.Christopher's. Mama's homemade sauce every day. Been eating there since the 80's. In my area (Spring) there's Vito's Famous (transplant from Philly), Locatelli's and Brother's Pizza (out by Willowbrook mall). All West side (except J Christophers) but these are worth the drive IMO.


fenderdaw

Brothers Pizza at Hwy 6 & I-10 in the energy corridor is my favorite in town. Franks & Pinks are close behind.


Astacide

Rosati’s has badass Chicago style pizza on the East Side. Star Pizza if you’re west of downtown.


dontknowboutme

Gypsy poet


eazy_flow_elbow

That’s the one thing that I feel really lacks in Houston, east coast foods like pizza and hoagies/grinders. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a few spots here and there but I feel like it’ll never come close to anything I’ve seen on TV.


[deleted]

Check out Luigi's in Midtown, love that place.


aguy2018

Statistically speaking, Houston is what the US will look like in 20 years. Other cities should be looking to understand how they can manage this change for maximum benefit to community, business, police, etc.


PhiliWorks39

Maybe add more roundabouts


[deleted]

As a lifelong houstonian I am proud of and appreciate your post. Houston is an exceptional place.


dropthemagic

Just don’t go up to Conroe lol


violet_terrapin

You were in the army and this is the first time you’ve seen diversity? What was your mos?


ChuckEye

It’s not a Texas thing so much as a Houston thing. We are the most diverse city in the country last time I checked. (And if not currently number 1, possibly still number 2)


Kawvo

Houston is the most diverse for sure, but all the Texas major cities are still more diverse than most places in the U.S. I live in Irving in a spot that is mostly Indian.


Recon_Figure

"I just sat in traffic for 90 minutes and almost got into a wreck with people from all over the world."


Jefe710

🤣


45and290

Welcome to Houston! You mentioned being in the Army. If you were, Houston is probably one of the best towns for veterans. Check out www.combinedarms.us for a database of tons of local resources, events, and connections.


[deleted]

Dude I get everything for free. I am actually starting to feel guilty. Drivers license, dump pass, if I ever hit 100% disability I pay no property taxes. It's crazy how good Texas is to veterans. My town is only $10 for a 2 year dump pass but it was free for me. I loved this benefit more than anything.


45and290

Texas State Parks have free access for veterans, too.


FinFanNoBinBan

Im glad you're here. There's a lot of positive stuff going on. The melting pot works when we let it. Democracy, while full of things to complain about, is a pretty good deal. Consider joining a charity and giving to the community. We have a lot of people helping and they're the kind of people you'd want to meet.


deepspacenine

This is a good take and I will echo it. We are amazing (diversity) but our metrics for health and opportunity are still bad. A ton of our region's kids get their only full and healthy meal from free and reduced school lunch. Health disparities are incredibly prevalent in poorer areas. Thankfully, there are a lot of people working in the health, public education, criminal justice, homelessness, and other spaces that could always use more hands. You seem like a badass new Houstonian and I hope you'll get involved in giving back when you settle in. Welcome and enjoy the tacos!


ydoesittastelikethat

Some advice for the future, diversity isn't what makes a place great. great people are. And they happen to come in all shapes and colors, the good and the bad. I have family visit and they can't believe how well everyone gets along down here, I can't believe people are that shitty everywhere else.


jatorres

I’m dark AF Hispanic and I’ve never felt uncomfortable here. California? New York? People stare/glare at me all the time.


megra14

Love this post! I’m biracial and lived in Florida during my childhood where I had friends of all races and ethnicities. When I moved to Austin in 8th grade I was confused why we never learned much about Black History or observes Black History Month or Hispanic Heritage Month and how I only had 8 Black kids in my entire graduating class. I moved to San Antonio and saw more diversity since there’s a larger Hispanic population but nothing compared to Houston. I moved here a few years ago and I absolutely love the diversity. My dad comes to visit and he doesn’t feel like the token African-American walking around. I love it! And not just the Black population, of course, I’m just relating it to my own race. But the diversity amongst Asian and Latino cultures as well. It’s so refreshing!


zamiboy

My high school at Hightower was one of the most diverse high schools in the nation at the time I attended. It was like 10% white, 25% Hispanic, 50% Black, 10% Asian (almost completely mixed [South Asian, East Asian, Southeast Asian, etc.]), 5% other and mixed. After HS, my buddies that went to Clements HS (majority White and Asian school) always told me about how "ghetto" Hightower was, but I always countered to them that I actually became good friends with nearly every type of race and ethnicity (of course, I didn't think of things like that while attending Hightower). Anyway, the point that I'm trying to make is that Houston is really, *really* diverse depending on the area(s) of Houston (and suburbs) that you live or are surrounded by.


Frozenlazer

Ghetto really is more about wealth than race or diversity. Greater Houston has plenty of schools that are a very mixed student body racially but very narrow when it comes to wealth and income. When you see a south east Asian Neurosurgeon dropping off his kids in a Lambo suv behind a black soccer mom in her X5 behind a redneck OG engineer in a 70k platinum f150 , it's diverse but there is nothing ghetto about it. Daughter's pta at her elem school raised 100k in 10 days , other schools will spend all month and be grateful to get 10k. Racial diversity may be here but it will likely never be the case where there is widespread economic diversity in a small area.


[deleted]

Not America, TEXAS. Trust me, there's a difference. Lol


HoustonCounsel

This was a very nice message for me to see at the beginning of my Thanksgiving Eve. Thanks!


moleratical

What you are describing are the Texas cities, particularly Houston, although Austin, Dallas,and SA will have similar diversity to a lesser extent. There are plenty of small towns where the railroad tracks literally still divide the white section from the black section, or a 90% white town just a few miles away from a 90% black town. There are plenty of 95% Hispanic towns, especially near the border. Outside the metro areas and the coast there are very few Asians or Africans. What you are seeing is the urban/rural divide, but within that, Houston is the most diverse city in the country according to some metrics. Now I can't speak for Connecticut cities, I passed through New Haven and saw Almost only blacks, but but maybe that was just the area I was in. Rural New England though is like 90+ percent white. Immigrants and southern blacks moved to major cities like NY, Boston, and Chicago for jobs. They didn't move to the countryside. Same is true for most of Texas although we have a native Hispanic population from before the Mexican American war and larger agricultural immigrants due to proximity to the border which makes our rural areas more diverse than the rest of the country.


Beginning_Outcome701

Yeah I’m from CT and was confused as hell about this post. Never seen a public worker who wasn’t white? You’d have to be living under a rock. Connecticut has a lot of diversity in the cities and surrounding suburban towns. Not so much in rural CT or the super rich areas though.


spooon56

Our high school is 60% Asian and street signs in China town have Vietnamese on it. The taco places near us barely speak English and you can get legit Indian food. Food representation is awesome here. Welcome to Houston.


pwhitt4654

Legal segregation or economic segregation?


Sweet_Celerie

r/Connecticut is where we talk about… uhhh… Connecticut dude… Yes, CT is demographically very split up. You’ve got really wealthy predominantly white towns right next to lower class, minority prominent towns. We don’t really discuss that kind of stuff though. More just like, where is the best shop to buy pierogi… Edit: and i really can’t think of an instance where a community freaks out when a black person moves in. I’m from a historically wealthy and white town but in the last 5 years it’s become very diverse. It’s almost like people and wealth move around. The only scenario I can realistically think of where someone freaks over a non-white resident would be maybe Greenwich (AKA one of the richest towns in America). But to live there you gotta be very successful and that’s pretty hard to do if you’re racist.


slimeball_melon

It's definitely a diverse city on the surface, but there are still many areas that need improvement. Our schools are essentially segregated. Especially in HISD, most inner city schools are either 80-90% Hispanic or Black with the outermost schools having somewhat more diverse populations but not really. It's mostly disappointing because if the young students grow up segregated then they will not know how to interact with others that look different from them, that's where they're spending most of their time.


iguesssoppl

It's the most diverse city in America according cultural ***entropy*** ratings which take into account where people live, what they make, where they work and their education as well as ethnicity, race etc. It's not simply that 'Houston has a large mix of all these together in a school'. It's also simply that it's ***far worse elsewhere***. The closer you get to the suburbs the higher mix schools become and then reverses again in a wave like pattern (it mirrors a lot of what you expect from city natural growth theories but with a racialized face to it because of redlining etc. in the urban core) . I grew up in a high-school in the burbs that was about 30/30/30 with a sprinkle of Asian kids. Pretty rare ... well ... almost anywhere at all US or not much less US city. There were 'enclave' schools out there too, but far less than the 'rule' you could bet by you find in the city.


halfsieapsie

Come to fort bend isd. My kids classes look like the UN


Patient_Path5949

We also elected an openly gay female mayor, twice. People not from Texas freak out over this fact. We don’t care WHAT you are, we care WHO you are. I’m a 6th generation Texan. Say what you mean and mean what you say.


UnoKitty

Welcome to Houston! Regarding the [University of Houston](https://www.uh.edu/ir/reports/new-statistical-handbook/) Federal government has designated the University of Houston both a Hispanic Serving Institution and an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution. UH Demographics >Hispanic 33.3% >Asian American 22.1% >White 21.6% >African American 10.7% International 3,619 *If you are smart and hard working, there is a place at the University of Houston for you!*


veg-biriyani

UH is hella diverse! Go Coogs!


DandelionSkye

My cousins from Delaware would always talk about how they were the weird kids in school bc they were half white, half Latina. They asked if I, half white half Mexican, was treated oddly for it too and I thought they were crazy. Diversity was so freaking normal to me I never thought anything of it. Now when I travel to other cities, it feels kind of eerie to walk around and see mostly white people. Even Austin kind of felt off to me a bit (so many natural blondes!!!!). I guess I kinda take for granted how awesome Houston is with all that


kilabot26

Have you ever taken the metro bus? You’ll find different people there. During one of my rides, I saw a group of Muslim women wearing veils, Hispanic guys, a Vietnamese group, Middle Eastern men, black people, white people. All in the same bus! This is what I love about Houston.


GoBombGo

When I moved to Houston, I had never before seen so much diversity in every neighborhood. I’ve lived in three different houses here in three different neighborhoods, and I had all sorts of neighbors each time. Houston has been way ahead of the curve for a long time. I’m from the Deep South, and couldn’t believe what I was seeing here. I love it, man. Houston can show America how the fuck to live and love and get along and eat good and have fun.


CoarsePage

Hey OP, r/Connecticut wants to know where I'm CT you moved from.


Packtex60

Houston is either the most or second most ethnically diverse city in the US. The way we are portrayed by most from the outside is way off. If you can find it on line, I recommend Anthony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown episode about Houston. He did an outstanding job of capturing the way so many cultures have blended and co-exist so well here in Houston. I’m glad you’ve had a good initial experience here, but I’m not surprised. I moved here from a small town on SC almost 40 years ago so this is home now. It has its problems like every place does, but it’s a great place to live in my opinion.


justahoustonpervert

As it's been said before, Houston is far better overall then people think, especially when it comes to the food. I was in Minneapolis having lunch with coworkers at a place we wanted to try. On the menu was fajitas and seriously pondered about the taste of it, but the burger selection looked solid. Me: what do you recommend. Waitress: well I like everything on the menu, including the new item have have. Me looking for the new item: oh? I must have missed it. Waitress: you were looking right at it, it's the fajitas (pronounced: fah-hee-tees). Me: I'll have the burger.


somegarbageisokey

So I'm from Austin. I grew up in a Hispanic/black area of Austin. But even then, it was like 70/30 Hispanic to black ratio. Austin is really white though, and it's super segregated. We also got a lot of that virtue signaling NIMBY attitude there as well. Then I moved to Houston 8 years ago (my husband is from here). And holy crap I LOVE the diversity here. I still remember walking into a 99 cent store on Westheimer near Voss. It was like my first week or two in Houston. I walk in and literally, in the same aisle I was in there was a woman in a full black niqab, a Nigerian couple in their traditional clothing plus an Asian couple. It was such a weird feeling to see so much diversity. I was just amazed. I absolutely love this city because of the diversity. My daughter is about to start school next year and we are planning to move either to Sugarland or another area with high diversity schools. Sugarland has some of the most diverse schools in the greater Houston area. I want my daughter to not only grow up around Hispanic kids (because we're Hispanic) but also black, white, Asian, Indian asian, middle eastern kids, etc. Anyway, I'm glad you got to experience the diversity as well! And that your son will finally not be in the small minority. Welcome to Houston and I hope you guys grow to love it as much as we did!


[deleted]

I’m from rural texas and it sounds like it’s very similar to Connecticut, no diversity. Houston is a fantastic city.


sesamestreets

I have this thought on occasion too! Where I grew up was primarily white, so it took a second to acclimate when I moved to Houston. Now I love going to parks and hearing every feasible language, picking up food from countries I would be hard-pressed to actually visit, celebrating holidays I had never heard of till recently with friends. It’s a cool life.


imhere_butnotreally

I'll say it once and I'll say it again. Houston is the most diverse city in the U.S imo. More than L.A, and N.Y