Westheimer Road is a long, thriving, paved snake of potholed infrastructure. It guides you into town from the Grand Parkway through Beltway 8 and Loop 610 until it brings you all the way into a cozy, little enclave of town we lovingly refer to as The Montrose.
Not really the heart of Houston, because that would probably be the Medical Center, but more like the liver or one of the kidneys of Houston as it filters all kinds of people on their way to all kinds of places. From condo loving and SUV driving urbanites off to dine in fancy restaurants to kids from the suburbs in town to spend money at the resale shops to locals, work-a-day types, students, artists and musicians frequenting neighborhood restaurants, coffee shops and bars to street kids, homeless people and transvestite prostitutes hanging out at convenience stores, bus stops and sidewalks - all types of people filter through this neighborhood. All this activity proves that The Montrose does have a heart and that heart is where Westheimer intersects Montrose.
How do we know that the intersection of Westheimer and Montrose is the heart of Montrose? Because every year, Pride Houston installs a giant lighted chandelier in the center of the intersection for the annual Pride Parade. If that doesn't signify heart then what does?
The general consensus is that Lower Westheimer stretches from Shepherd to Bagby but in this installment of Urbanist, we are only going to focus on the one-third mile stretch of Westheimer between Montrose and Taft. We guess we could call it Lower Lower Westheimer, but we won't.
The first few establishments one encounters upon entering this part of Westheimer are two restaurants and a bar. Namely, Aladdin, Privé, and Felix on the north side of Westheimer at the 900 block. Aladdin [912 Westheimer] is a Middle Eastern restaurant with a Moroccan feel that serves up shawarmas on fresh, baked in-house bread, kabobs, tabouli and hummus, all of which are on the menu as well as many other Middle Eastern delicacies. The only thing missing is a dude in a fez and sunglasses with a lit hookah and that will remain missing due to local smoking ordinances.
Next door is Privé [910 Westheimer]. It is a quaint little two-story bar that offers a large selection of vodkas for the numerous martinis on the menu. There is also a second floor bar with a patio and balcony overlooking Westheimer making for superb people watching. Privé serves a mixed, casual crowd and is open seven days a week.
Felix Mexican Restaurant [904 Westheimer] is a Houston institution that has been in the same location since 1948. Some say the owner, Felix Tijerina, introduced Tex-Mex to Houston after working up through the ranks in a traditional Mexican restaurant downtown. All this happening prior to the term Tex-Mex actually being coined. With encouragement of his former boss, Tijerina opened his own restaurant in the same place that it sits today. In recent years, slow business threatened to close their doors but patrons came to the aid of their beloved restaurant and ate heartily allowing the restaurant to keep its doors open. Today, they are still in business serving up the Tex-Mex combination plates that make them famous.
Across the street from Felix, is an American bistro that was once listed in Zagat's as the second most popular restaurant in Houston. That bistro is known as Ruggles Grill [903 Westheimer] and serves everything from sandwiches and salads to grilled fish and meats in a casual, moderately priced, noisy atmosphere. Sundays are set aside for their Smooth Jazz Brunch which is usually advertised with a van from a local smooth jazz station blocking the sidewalk. We know, we've had to walk around it on numerous occasions.
Just up the road near Crocker is the neighborhood HPD substation. Known as the Neartown (Montrose) Substation [802 Westheimer - (713) 284-8604] it is open 24 hours and you can usually find several police cars parked out front. While it may be open 24 hours, we're not sure it's manned 24 hours after a graffiti tagging incident occurred right on their front doors as well as on police vehicles.
Next door to the HPD substation is the famed, Austin based deli, Katz's [616 Westheimer]. Their motto is "Katz's Never Kloses" - that is, unless a hurricane is imminent. This was the case in 2005 during hurricane Rita. The restaurant shut down, boarded up the windows and bugged out like Russian dressing rushing from the side of a Reuben. Like the HPD substation, Katz's is also open 24 hours serving up breakfast, lunch and dinner with a full bar and desserts to die for. Save room for the cheesecake shake! The sandwiches are huge, so bring along an appetite or a friend. Don't be afraid to ask for a to go box.
Across the street is The Women's Home of Houston [607 Westheimer] whose mission is "to help women in crisis regain their self-esteem and dignity, empowering them to return to society as productive, self-sufficient individuals." Founded in 1957 and part of the United Way, this organization boasts nearly an 80% success rate for women who participate in their program for six months or longer. Those that successfully complete the program leave the facility with their own income and housing. This success rate is almost double the rehabilitation industry standard.
About half a block up the street is Indika [516 Westheimer] where Chef Anita Jaisinghani serves up modern Indian cooking with local flair. We understand the chef doesn't like the term 'fusion' so don't go throwing it around when writing a review or pretending to be a food critic. Although it would seem that when you combine Indian food with fresh Texas produce and Gulf seafood, that is what you get but we digress. The reviews for this establishment are glowing and if modern Indian cooking is what you desire then this is your place.
If you're not in the mood for Indian, head next door to Dolce Vita Pizzeria Enoteca [500 Westheimer], a casual extension of local chef, Marco Wiles's popular DaMarco's restaurant. Described as a tribute to authentic Italian pizzerias (and possibly famed TV chef Mario Batali), Dolce Vita serves up over 20 different pizzas in the traditional style. Forget the buffet and animatronic characters, this is the real deal. The pizzas are made in a wood fired oven of unknown temperature as some reviews say 700° while others claim 800°. Either way, it's a hot oven. They also offer an extensive wine list (hence the term enoteca). If you're looking for a splendid bite to eat at a "see and be seen" kind of place, then you've found your next meal.
Our final stop on this one-third mile journey is for drinks and entertainment at AvantGarden [411 Westheimer]. Previously known as Helios, and before that The Mausoleum, this Montrose stalwart of the local scene is now a newly renovated, casual, relaxed place to hear DJ Sun on Wednesdays or Two Star Symphony on Thursdays while enjoying a tasty beverage. Even battles with transplanted suburbanites who love their condos, can't shut this place down.
We hope you enjoyed this short jaunt down Lower Westheimer. While this is only a small sampling of the establishments on this stretch of road, we encourage you to explore Houston and soak up all that our wonderful city has to offer.
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