Houston: They Love Us! They Really... sorry.

More love for Houston: this month's Smithsonian Magazine features a beautifully written article by poet Mark Doty, in which the writer, who teaches part of the year at U of H, extols our fair city's "humid charms."

"Imagine a hybrid of New Orleans and Los Angeles, with a dash of Mexico City thrown in. True, it doesn't have the regional feel it once did, but you can still find it in my neighborhood, Montrose, an arts/alternative/liberal district near the center of town. 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."

It's not just the town Doty loves either. It's Houstonians themselves, who provide a stark contrast to the brusqueness of his native New Yorkers.

"When I first arrived, I went to a Whole Foods store in my new neighborhood to order some dinner from the deli there, and after I'd asked for some grilled chicken breasts the server said, "Would you like some green beans with that?" in a warm East Texas inflection, and I found myself tearing up then and there, almost unable to say yes. Hers was a version of the voice of my grandmother, who was from Tennessee and spent her life pleasing people with food. Would you like some green beans with that? meant I love you with all my heart, and what can I do to make you happy?"

Now Houstonist cringes at the stereotyping of our citizens as good old simple Southern folk, but we're happy to make him happy, and we're also glad Doty has addressed some of the sadder aspects of Houston — the constant evolution to the detriment of historically important neighborhoods such as Freedman's Town, and the overall gentrification that has, for example, led to the loss of parts of the River Oaks Shopping Center.

Overall, though, it's a lovingly written article that serves to show people in those other cities exactly what it is we love about this town. Combined with a recent New York Times article which called Houston "the new Miami" and name-dropped local icons including Domy, Cafe Brasil, Continental Club and Knitta Please, it seems like everyone is finding to something to love about Houston.

Photo: flickr user telwink