The next morning one of my sisters flew back to CA and we went with my other sister and her son (along with some of my cousins and their kids) to visit NASA Johnson Space Center. We don’t know when/if we’re going to back in the area so figured why not. Unfortunately I think the target demo for this was more for children. Nevertheless it was neat to see – though it was quite crowded.
We were getting pretty hungry so headed out to find lunch. After this, we headed back into the city to hit up #2 on my list of must-eat foods (BBQ). I had a list of some of the hottest BBQ spots but also was factoring in that we weren’t able to show up before opening (which you have to do at some of the more popular spots) so picked a place we hoped wasn’t too busy. We wound up at The Pit Room, a Central Texas-style BBQ. While we did end up waiting in line for about 30 minutes, it turned out to be worth it. We had some brisket, sausage (venison and tried my sister’s beef one), chicharrones, Frito Pie, and some bbq tacos. It was all great – I think the Frito Pie and chicharrones were my favorite.
We then stopped by my uncle’s Chinese bakery (where some other relatives were hanging out as well). I have been eating his baked goods for many years (my grandma who travels back and forth between CA and TX will bring back suitcases full of bread and other treats). He also ships us a box of mooncakes during the fall. It was neat to see the bakery.
For dinner, my uncle wanted to treat all the family and we gathered at another Tex-Mex place (El Tiempo). We were still stuffed from our late BBQ lunch so just had small amount of food for dinner.
On Monday my mom picked us up from the hotel and we went to my uncle’s house. Here we borrowed a car and went to pick up my other cousin Eddy (since he was still there and most others had already left). we then met up with my cousin (who got married) and his brother and their significant others for lunch, hitting up spot #3 of what I wanted to try (Viet-Cajun). We ate at South X Saigon. I’ve had crawfish before but not this kind and it was good. My cousin also ordered some Hush Puppies and Chicken wings for the table and these were good as well. D had a pasta dish since she doesn’t like shellfish.
After lunch, we checked out the Cloud Column, a sculpture by Anish Kapoor who created the famous Cloud Gate (aka “The Bean”) in Chicago. This was attached to the Cullen Sculpture Garden outside the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
After this we drove back to my uncle’s house to spend some time with mine and my cousin’s parents. We decided to have dinner at Pho Sapa, which is my cousin’s (the one that lives in Houston) favorite spot. It was overall pretty good.
My parents then drove my other cousin to the airport for his flight back to SF, while they dropped us off at the airport. I hit up the gym that night.
My other cousin was kind enough to come pick us up and take us to the airport early the next morning. Quick trip to Houston but great to see my cousin get married and see lots of family.
-StewsCat
P.S. Unfortunately both D and I had our first bout of COVID after getting back from this trip.
StewsCat 