Houston, Texas recommendations

I am going to Houston Next week for business and need some eating recommendations. I will be in the NASA area.

A friend who lives in Houston just sent me these articles a few days ago in an attempt to convince me to come for a visit.

NYT reviews of Oxheart and Underbelly: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/10/dinin ... d=all&_r=0

GQ dining guide to Houston: http://www.gq.com/food-travel/restauran ... hort-order

I'm from Houston! I lived there my whole life aside from 4 yrs in Austin for college and the last 3 yrs that I've been here. So, I'm happy to help.

Anyway, one thing I'll point out is that NASA is NO WHERE near "Houston" proper. And, given weekday traffic, driving the 40+ minutes (without traffic) to into Houston might not be feasible until at least 8pm or you're looking at about a 1.5 hr drive. Just FYI.

To give you suggestions, I'll need to know what types of food you like and price ranges. Houston has a huge mix of cultures so you'll pretty much be set regardless.

Off the bat, I highly recommend a Vietnamese place called Mai's. It's located downtown in a great new space (their original bldg burned down a few years back) and it's always the first place we go straight from the airport. Their "Vietnamese Fajitas" are stellar.