"I love the cultural life in this town--the Menil Collection, the Symphony, the live oaks in Memorial Park--but after a few visits, I have to admit to myself that the real reason I go to Houston is to get fed."

"[Houston] imbues the same independent Texas spirit that first put it on the map."

"From food to fine art, the biggest city in Texas is humming."

"America's fourth largest city is chockablock with delicious and varied dining."

"Houston has an appetite for high style that is understandably insatiable, and the city has long been a stop on the luxury trade winds."

A round-up of ten not-to-miss hotspots in H-Town. 

"Houston [is] a town that specializes in the manliest meat, beef."

"Is Houston's multicultural dining scene the country's best-kept food secret?"

"Reinvention, innovation and cultivation make Houston our City of the Year for 2011."

"I love the city I grew up in, and I chose to live here as an adult"

"America's fourth largest city is a recession-busting powerhouse with arts and dining accolades to match."

"A growing number of creative types are striving to make H-Town the cultural hub it was when...first injected with modernity."

"[Maren's] new look straddles the line between Southern girl next door and street-smart style maven.  Shopping in her hometown allows her to flirt with both these sides."

"The city is flexing its cultural muscle and encouraging tourists to explore to their heart's content with the Houston CityPASS"

"With a diverse music and culinary scene—and a great quality of life—Houston bursts with energy."

"Bold and brash, Texas's largest city is a lively mix of high culture and down-home hospitality, charming neighborhoods and standout shopping"

"Your stomach will never think of Houston the same way again."

"One of the last U.S. cities to slip into recession and one of the first to emerge, Houston has a firm grip on its super-sized economy."

"As befits America's fourth largest city, Houston's museum scene represents an embarrassment of riches."

"Montrose is intimate, historic and defiantly eclectic."

"Few urban food tours are as insightful and focused on hidden spots as Houston's pioneering chef-led excursions."

"Yes, oil money still reigns supreme, but it now competes with culture."

"Houston can seem like a city you can't escape fast enough. That's because you don't really know it."

"Big, bold and bustling, Houston offers travelers variety and adventure. It's also a great place for a family getaway."

"This is a city's city: standing proud, happy and bright at the center with a rugged ring around the middle. Houston literally hums."

"Houston is undergoing a culinary renaissance, with a new generation of local chefs celebrating the best their region has to offer."

"Houston Heights now flourishes as a destination for foodies, architecture buffs and creative types."

"Houston's...a place with aworld-class food scene and a rising generation of culinary stars."

"It's easy to conclude that Houston has one of the most satisfying food scenes in the country right now."

"Dining, club-hopping and an urban park are three new reasons to visit Houston."

"Not far from the predictable business centers of Houston lies a more hip and eclectic emerging neighborhood."

"Houston's Washington Avenue...has gone from dodgy to dining destination in three short years."

"Beyond the city's gleaming office towers lies a landscape of astoundingly fine restaurants and shops, and a robust arts- and science-driven museum scene that's among the world's most esteemed."

"Texas ain't Tokyo—and as one Museum of Fine Arts photography curator (and Tokyo expat) tells us, that's not bad at all."

"The [Museum of Fine Arts, Houston] is the centerpiece of an oak-shaded Museum District that would do any major metropolitan city proud."

"That's just another facet of the New Houston—a seemingly random tapestry of traditional and modern, upscale and down-home, ultra-country and ultra-urban—all presented with a warm Southern smile."

"You don't need to fly for hours to experience a taste of Asia."

"Houston, we have a problem! There's just too much to do in this huge Southwestern city."

"The truth is, Houston is one of the great international cities, with some of the most entertaining people on the planet."

"Washington Avenue has been transformed into one of Houston's most popular nightspots."

"No one's quite mastered the art of self expression like freewheeling Houston."

"Houston's steel and glass frame is animated by a multi-district culinary, artistic and cultural heart, with green breathing space galore."

"In this city sans zoning, in a residential enclave of cozy bungalows and children's play parks, sits one of the world's finest private art collections open to the public."

"This city of 5.4 million people has its share of quirkiness, but make no mistake—it's a major league city."

"Here the city's splendid tradition of patronage is on its best display, so the great old live oaks thrust their bowing branches out beside the Cy Twombly Gallery and the Rothko Chapel."

"If you want to find greater cosmopolitan excitement with a side of chic, in fact, you'd have to visit the Big Apple."

"Houston—It's the new Miami. Creative types with more ideas than cash are fleeing to second cities, where it's possible to paint, play, cook, build—and still eat."

"It's the city of big plans and no rules,...world-class museums...and the biggest damn liquor store on the planet. How could you not love Houston?"

"Houston is experiencing a 21st-century boom fueled by a weak dollar and global growth."

"If you want to find greater cosmopolitan excitement with a side of chic, in fact, you'd have to visit the Big Apple."

"Houston is ready for the big leagues."

"[Houston's] image as an energy, medical and financial hub belies a city with a thriving arts community; charming, tree-filled neighborhoods; and sophisticated shopping and dining."

"Imagine that. Downtown Houston has become a place to stay and play."

"[People] don't know that [the park] is right out of the funky, outrageous heart of Houston's soul."

"Once you learn to read [Houston], it's an incredibly beautiful city."

"Inside the loop, you'll find a boom in new dining, shopping and lodging on par with Manhattan."

"Keeping up to speed about where to stay in Houston is no easy task."

"Eight ways to go contemporary in this Texas powerhouse."

"Houston has emerged as the Gulf Coast's cultural capital, with a world-class art scene—and a slew of hotels, restaurants and shops to match."

"The USA's fourth-largest city is morphing into a mouth-watering destination for foodies."

"The pet-friendly city makes it easy for road warriors to take along their pooch."

"...Houston is...a rich city with a very well endowed cultural scene."

"The GHCVB is positioning Houston as a perfect destination for multicultural markets."

"Is Houston...fun? I vote yes. There's so much to do in Houston, andthe city'salways adding more."

"Houston's the place to be, as long as you know where to go."

"The city has lots of great parks with bike trails, beautiful old oak trees and awesome skyline views."

"Houston's 'can-do' attitude and open-door policy make for a warm welcome."

"The city has lots of great parks with bike trails, beautiful old oak trees and awesome skyline views."

"If I were to suggest a dish that symbolizes Houston, it would probably involve a gulf fish served Mexican style."

"Entrancing, beautific, spirited...There's the dazzling greenery, near-perfect weather and the largest oak trees I've ever seen, all amid an array of worthy attractions."

"Maybe that's what makes Houston such an unusual and wonderful place—there are so many different Houstons to see."

"The temperature isn't all that sizzles in Houston."

"The Zoo, 'The Nutcracker,' Museums, NASA...Prime Pickings in 'New Orleans West."

"Thanks to the new 7½-mile METRORail, a 16-station light rail line, people can easily navigate the streets of Houston."

"As the home of the 43-institution Texas Medical Center (the world's largest), planners can find local medical experts from the center...to speak at their meetings."

"Leave your car behind, and discover a new Houston by light rail."

"Leave the rental car behind and explore Houston by public transit. Seriously."

"From four-star cuisine to bargain shopping, this Texas city beckons visitors who want to have fun."

"Among other surprises, first-time visitors are often shocked to learn that Houston is one of the country's most important port cities."

"Houston is the Lone Star State's most cosmopolitan city. It is Houston, both cutting-edge and artsy, that has a hip factor reminiscent of New York's."

"Houston's sophisticated food and friendly wine pricing put the oil capital in the top rank."

"Houston hits home run with bold attractions."