♪♪ -Travelers are always on the lookout for the little-known haunts and hidden gems.
But what if that hidden gem was an entire city -- a city that has evolved into having one of the most ethnically diverse populations in the United States?
And with great diversity comes great change.
And that's a change you can taste, a change you can see, and a change you can hear.
-♪ Oh, babe ♪ ♪ Oh, babe ♪ ♪ You and me ♪ -A hidden gem that's Texas-sized.
This is Houston.
I'm Samantha Brown, and I've traveled all over this world.
And I'm always looking to find the destinations, the experiences, and most importantly, the people who make us feel like we're really a part of a place.
That's why I have a love of travel and why these are my "Places to Love."
-"Samantha Brown's Places to Love" is made possible by... -Europe is a treasure trove of fascinating history, rich culture, and renowned cities.
AmaWaterways River Cruises offers a way to see all this wonder in person.
You can discover more at amawaterways.com.
-Away... is the smell of fresh pine.
It's a place where giants still live.
Away is where the farther down the road you go, the closer you get to the ones you love.
Find your away -- gorving.com.
-The city named after Sam Houston has an unexpectedly vibrant museum culture.
The museum district includes 19 of them within a mile and a half radius.
You can easily walk to most of them.
They range from the expansive and renowned Museum of Fine Arts to the peaceful and meditative Rothko Chapel to activist art that speaks of a community-wide effort, like Project Row Houses.
Houston is, indeed, a city of art, and nowhere is that more evident than in its local, home-grown scene.
-I'm GONZO247.
I'm a mural artist, and here I am.
I guess you could say that graffiti was my gateway drug to the arts.
I got into graffiti art as a kid, and then, that led me to pop art.
Pop art led me to surrealism.
Surrealism led me to dada, and so on and so on.
So, if it wasn't for graffiti, really, kind of, taking me in, I don't think I would have ever done what I'm doing today.
-GONZO247 gives mural art tours of the city, and I met him for one at a place where a few of Houston's most important contributions to the local arts surprisingly converge.
[ Chatter ] So, you designed the art on the beer can.
-Yes.
-Your mural is right there when you walk through the door.
-Yes.
-What connection do you have to St. Arnold Brewery?
I hope you get all the free beer you can drink when you come here.
-You know, first of all, I mean, it's Texas' oldest craft brewery.
It's located here in Houston, and it's one of the best things about Houston.
It really gives, literally, Houston, that flavor.
-Mm-hmm.
-It worked really well hand-in-hand because you can compare the street-art culture and the craft-beer culture, and they're basically -- They live the same history of craft beer, when it first started in America, here, it was something a few people were doing that no one really understood.
They're like, "Why would I pay more money for a beer when I can just buy this cheap stuff?"
-Mm-hmm.
-People didn't understand the flavor of it or why you put so much work into it.
And little by little, the craft-beer scene really started taking over -- especially here in Houston -- and now, people, they love it.
They want it.
It's in-demand.
And now, breweries like this can really help just promote the craft beer.
Well, the same thing with street art.
Street art was misunderstood.
No one really knew what to do with it.
And little by little, not only is it no longer feared, it's in-demand.
People want it.
And so, this was a great kind of connection.
It's a great crossing of the roads between two subcultures.
And now, we have art wrapping art, right?
So, it's art inside of art.
And so, I've been really fortunate that Brock -- He's a great patron of the arts here in the city.
-And Brock owns St. Arnold's.
-Brock is the owner of St. Arnold's, and he actually commissions a lot of artists.
When you look around the brewery, you see art from all different types of artists, all different mediums, all different styles.
And it really brings a really great environment of really bright, colorful, and inviting atmosphere here at the brewery.
So, this is how I kind of came to be here.
-That's amazing.
I would have never put those two together, but you're right.
When a city wants to establish itself as a place to come to, as a place to be talked about, it really is its art scene -- its local art scene... -Correct.
-...and good beer.
-Yeah.
And what I love about this is, you can come to St. Arnold's and get the best of both worlds 'cause you can have great beer and check out all of the art.
-Mm-hmm.
So, you have the oldest craft brewery in Texas.
-Yes.
-How old is it?
-Gonna be 23 years now.
We weren't the first craft brewery.
We are the oldest.
We outlived all the others.
-Ah.
-We survived.
That's what I love about brewing.
It's a combination of art and science.
It's like cooking, except you have to wait a couple weeks to eat your food.
To me, that's the great thing about breweries is, breweries have personalities.
-And you have chosen your personality to really represent the local art scene.
You have GONZO.
You have art all around this building.
You have it on your silos -- your malt silos.
-But it's not just us.
I mean, you see it in many different parts of the community where people are getting involved and support the arts.
So, I think that's what makes the whole town work.
-So, this is the Art Car IPA.
-Right.
-I don't know what an art car is.
-Well, I think I might know someone who has one.
♪♪ -Oh, my gosh!
Are we really riding in this, Brock?
-This is the one.
-Ohh!
-I am your chauffeur today.
-Oh, this is awesome!
Wow!
-Climb on in.
-This is the kind of car you jump into, right?
-Here you go.
-The patterns on St. Arnold's 1959 Cadillac depict different aspects of brewing beer -- malt, hops, water with yeast, and fire.
♪♪ I had no idea that this whole art-car thing existed in Houston.
-It's everybody's art.
I mean, Houston is a driving town, and the whole idea of turning what you drive into a piece of rolling art -- I mean, it's folk art.
You know, people do it to make something that's beautiful.
People do it to make political statements.
People see how creative they can be.
-Yeah.
You have to get used to people staring at you.
You have to realize, they're not staring at you.
They're staring at your car.
That's the craziest part, when you drive around.
-Everybody smiles.
-Uh-huh.
-It is the best source of smiles.
-Hey!
[ Laughter ] -As if on cue.
[ Laughter ] -Brock, is this where we're saying goodbye?
-This is it.
-Thank you for the ride.
-All right, brother.
-Absolutely.
-I appreciate it.
-I enjoyed it.
-How do we get out of this car?
[ Laughs ] -Yeah, and these stairs -- safety hazard.
Oh, my God.
You don't even want to be on them.
-GONZO is taking me to Graffiti Park -- sort of an open-air gallery that showcases the surge of street art that you can see all over Houston.
-So, this is one of my Houston tribute pieces that I painted.
-This is yours.
-This is mine.
This is mine.
-I love it.
-Bright and colorful.
-Is that your style?
Bright and colorful?
-You know, I was once asked, "What's your palate?"
and I just said, "Bright."
-Bright.
-You know, I think I'm a colorful person to begin with, and so, I think my art reflects the brightness and the colorfulness of that -- my positive energy, I guess.
-What does the mural arts do for Houston?
-I think for me -- -It's important, right?
-Definitely, definitely.
You know, Houston can't say that it competes with any other major city in the world if it doesn't accept or doesn't really show and promote and showcase the local artists.
I think it's really cool that Houston has a space like this, where the community is invited to come in.
It's very safe.
When I was a kid, there was one mural in my neighborhood, and that was it.
And that mural really impressed me.
It really had an impression on me, and it really inspired me to become an artist.
So, I figured, if one mural did that for me, what would 100 murals do for another kid?
-Right.
And now they have this whole area to come to.
-And now we have this area.
Let's go check it out.
-This is incredible.
-Awesome.
-So, is all the art here -- Is it done by Houston artists?
Local artists?
-No, actually, we pride ourselves on having a good international feel.
Actually, like, this one in particular -- Two brothers -- Iranian -- Ayse and Saat.
-That's fantastic.
-And they actually came to the United States seeking political asylum, if you want to think about the idea that they were being persecuted for their art.
-Huh.
-So, they came to the United States -- political asylum.
They were granted.
And all of a sudden, they went on this national tour and just putting art up everywhere.
Street art -- Really, that's the flavor now.
People go to the city specifically to hunt down these animals.
It's like an urban safari.
-If the mural arts give Houston an international look and feel, there's a place that gives this city its international flavor.
So, one thing that I love to do when I travel abroad is go to a supermarket.
Food hauls and farmer's markets are great, but that's all fresh food.
I can't take that back home.
And I want to load up my suitcase with products I've never seen before.
Ohh!
Now, I know I'm not abroad.
I'm here in the United States.
But when I found out about this supermarket, I thought, "Oh, I'm gonna need a bigger suitcase."
How many items do you have here?
-Over 15,000.
-From how many countries?
I'm trying to keep the countries in my head -- how many I see, in terms of the labels.
-I don't think you're gonna be able to do that.
-Yeah?
-Over 50.
-Over 50?
-Yeah.
-Are most of the countries from the Middle East?
-From all over -- Europe, Eastern Europe, Russia, South America, Asia, Mediterranean.
So, we have a little bit of everything.
-How old is this market?
-We opened this market in 2006.
-Okay.
-Originally, it was across the street, and that had opened in '92.
But the grandfather of them all was a sandwich shop that my parents started in '83 across the street.
-In '83.
So, it all started with a sandwich shop.
-Yeah.
-In 1983.
-With a few grocery shelves in it, yeah.
-And now -- This is incredible.
Is there one food group that all 50 countries enjoy?
Is there one staple here that, no matter where you're from in the world, you like?
-Probably, rice is pretty -- -Rice.
-Grains and rice are on the top of that list.
-Oh, my gosh, and you have an entire aisle of just rice!
-It's a basketball court of rice.
A few bags -- just a few.
-Do we get to eat now?
-Yes.
-Okay.
Look at all those feta cheeses -- Bulgarian, French, creamy Greek, Shanklish cheese, the marinated string cheese.
I've never seen that.
-I'll get you a sample.
-I thought that hint was pretty good.
-[ Laughs ] -Can we have a sample of this?
-Just a little traveler's tip -- When you really want to try something, you just say, "Oh, I've never seen or tasted that before."
And then, you get whatever you want.
-In a cup, yeah.
-That's great.
-I'll give you a spoon, but... -I could just do it with my finger.
-...a finger is probably gonna be easier.
-Mmm!
That's great.
So, right here -- This has to be the main event.
-It is.
It is.
-I've never seen anything like this.
-We call it the "Willy Wonka" of pita bread.
-[Laughing] Yes!
-It's hot.
Let me get you a sample.
Let me get you one.
-Can we walk in?
-Yes.
I'll take this one.
-Whoa, right off the presses!
[ Gasps ] It's a warm pillow.
Look at that.
I've -- I've never had pita like this.
This is beautiful.
Usually, I have pita that comes in that package of, like, three, and it's been in the supermarket for about a year and a half.
-I think this is slightly better than that.
-How much pita comes down these conveyer belts?
-Oh, my goodness.
-Every day.
-Probably around 15,000 loaves.
-15,000 of these coming down.
And so, why did you have this conveyer belt constructed?
Is this out of necessity, or is it just really fun to see?
-It's a lot of fun.
-Mm-hmm.
-It's actually my father's idea.
A lot of places you go to that have these kinds of machines around the world -- They'll have them tucked away in a back room.
-Yeah.
-He was like, "The people should see it coming down and see how fresh it is and excite them."
We thought he was a little crazy, but it's worked out.
-He came with an idea at the top.
-You want to bring the bread down and pack it down.
-My daughter, Anne Marie, she's calling me, "Mama?
Mama?
They are putting from the top.
I don't know if it's going to fall down."
[ Laughter ] And it's worked.
And now, even tourists -- They come and see all around and watch the bread, how it's coming down.
-Everybody knows Arpi at the Phoenicia.
You'll usually find her behind the counter at Arpi's Deli right next door.
And Zorab has a long history in the food business.
That's him at his father's store in his native home of Lebanon -- a country that was, at the time, much too volatile to raise a family.
-We come '78 -- 1978.
-1978.
-The worst days of Lebanon -- the war -- civil war.
-And all of a sudden, surprise, I got... -Pregnant.
-...pregnant.
-I came in.
-You're the reason.
-It was almost... -It was you.
-It was him.
-All of this is because of you.
-Yes, yes.
-Good job.
-He brought charm and luck to us -- to the family.
-So, she had a cousin here.
We decided to come here temporarily -- a few months -- and then go back.
-And that was just to be here while the war was going on.
-Yes.
-We missed Lebanon.
-I would imagine.
-We had very good life.
I used to work in American university at the hospital as a level-two technician.
He had -- He used to build buildings.
-So, you had careers.
-Yes.
Yes.
From back home, my family, which was against separating our family while you are living this -- they are calling there saying, "Stay where you are.
Don't come."
-What does that feel like?
-It -- It was very difficult at the beginning.
-Mm-hmm.
-But we are tough.
We are strong.
We handled it right.
So, we are proud to live in Houston.
We feel like home.
So... that's all I can say.
-That's beautiful.
And now, you feel like you're home.
-The Phoenicia is a tangible symbol of just how incredibly diverse the city of Houston has become.
And now, I've come to visit one of the city's most inspiring endeavors.
-My name is Roxanne Paiva, and I'm co-founder of The Community Cloth.
We are a micro-enterprise initiative to empower refugee women right here in Houston, Texas.
-These are refugees.
-Yes.
-Which is different from an immigrant.
-Very much so.
-Very much so.
-Yes.
-They've left countries that were war-torn... -That's right.
-...civil war, religious persecution, and now, they have asylum here in the United States.
-Mm-hmm.
Easier said than done, right?
-Yeah.
-Okay, you're here.
You're in the land of opportunity.
Now, what?
-Yes.
-Right?
-You've lost your country.
-Yeah.
-You've lost, maybe, some family members.
-Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
-You've lost your identity.
-Mm-hmm.
-Here you are.
-There are thousands of these refugees -- these families that are incredible.
They live down the street, and so, I just jumped in and started volunteering.
-Is that when Community Cloth was born?
You thought, "Okay, we've got this group of women."
They're weavers?
-They weave, they knit, they crochet, they make jewelry.
By volunteering within the community, we identified that they have this skill set, and we brought them together in a community meeting.
So, the women were at the planning table.
-They were right there.
-Telling us what they wanted and what they needed.
That's how we created The Community Cloth.
-The difficult part is the zipper.
-I hate the zipper.
[ Laughter ] -It's very much about friends.
It's very much about getting out of their apartment complex and getting into the community.
-Hello.
-Hi.
-Is this yours?
-We invest in the economic capital.
The artisans are able to sell their products, sometimes for the first time in their lives.
-What does that do for their sense of place and their sense of self, when they're actually making something and someone wants to buy it?
-Yeah.
I mean, think about that.
That's something that, you know, if you knit something by your hands or you weave something with your own two hands and seeing somebody coming up and purchasing it and putting it on and wearing it with pride -- I mean, that's a big deal.
I feel like this changes the trajectory of the lives of the women, but also, their families.
-Mm-hmm.
-Their kids, their husbands, their friends are seeing them making something from scratch, and then selling it.
-My name is Khatra.
-Khatra?
Khatra?
-Mm-hmm.
-Where are you from?
-I'm from Afghanistan.
-Afghanistan.
My goodness.
-I wish Afghanistan become safe, and you can go there.
-Me, too.
Me, too.
I would love to go there.
-Yes.
-What really surprised you when you moved from Afghanistan to Houston, Texas?
-The people is nice, friendly.
I love them.
-How is it working with the other women?
Because you work with women from all around the world here.
It's not just Afghanistan, but Bhutan, Congo.
-Yes.
-Is it nice meeting other women from other countries, as well?
-Yeah, sometime -- If we cannot see each other for a few weeks and few days, we miss each other.
-I am gonna take this one, please.
-Thank you!
-I love this one.
-Thank you so much!
-I travel a lot.
It'll be my bag from now on.
Khatra, thank you so much.
Thank you.
Nothing says the hype of a city is justified more than its food scene.
With food writers proclaiming Houston as the next big eating capital in the United States, this city's multicultural food scene is not just up-and-coming.
It's firmly arrived.
-I'm Chef Hugo Ortega.
What is great about being a chef is to express my knowledge about the Mexican cuisine, my memories, and most of all, the bounty of what Mexico have to offer.
-Hugo Ortega came to the United States from his native Mexico at the age of 17 and literally worked his way up the food chain, from dishwasher to food prep, from line cook to internationally renowned chef.
You've been nominated for a James Beard Award how many times?
-Half a dozen.
-Half a dozen.
Congratulations.
-It's very expensive to work in Chicago.
-[ Laughs ] And then, the tuxedo that I fit.
And several years ago, I don't fit anymore, so we have to spend it on a new tuxedo.
Real expensive.
-So, last year, you got a new tuxedo.
So, you're ready for this year, right?
-So, I ready for this year.
-Okay.
Four weeks later, Chef Hugo Ortega won the James Beard Award for Best Chef Southwest.
Now, he and his wife, Tracy, own four restaurants in Houston, but he has a special fondness for this one -- Xochi.
Its focus is on the unique flavors and recipes of the state of Oaxaca in Southern Mexico.
So, all of these dishes are Oaxacan.
-They all are.
It can be easily another country inside of Mexico.
-Mm-hmm.
-I mean, that unique it is.
-Yes.
I've always thought of Oaxacan cuisine as being very sophisticated and very complex.
And maybe I'm just basing that on its signature dish, the mole.
-Yeah.
-And the mole negro is the king of the sauces.
-It is, in many ways.
-It's a very difficult sauce to make, right?
-This particular mole have 21 ingredients.
-21 ingredients.
And is it chocolate?
Is chocolate one of the ingredients?
-Chocolate is the last ingredient to enrich and give character.
-How long does it take?
-About three days from start to finish.
But you know, once you master the way of making the sauce... it's part of your DNA.
-[ Laughs ] -And my grandmother born in Oaxaca, and I had the great opportunity to live with her for six years, from 7 to 12 or 13.
-So, it was your grandmother who gave you the passion and also the discipline to be who you are right now?
-My grandmother was my mentor.
You know, she gave me so much instruction, my love, at a young age.
And she had so much discipline, so much to learn, when you have the opportunity to live with your grandmother, right?
And your grandmother have a way to dance with life, you know?
-Very obvious that you have a very strong affection for Mexico.
-Oh, yes, indeed.
-Do you also feel like you have a responsibility to it?
-To me, life is about discipline and responsibility.
Yes, it is.
You've got to be responsible, in this case, for the wonderful people that are my co-workers, the wonderful people of this city, the entire state, and entire country.
I carry that responsibility on my shoulders.
And from time to time, I feel the responsibility square sitting on my shoulders.
-And you feel that weight.
-And my responsibility is about making people create memories that make them feel happy about coming to Xochi.
-♪ Please, let's go back to that bar on McGowan ♪ ♪ We used to love ♪ ♪ Those deep red painted walls ♪ -And now, for a little night music and a little nightcap, I head to a Texas music institution -- The Continental Club.
-I'm Kam Franklin, and I'm the lead singer for The Suffers.
-You weren't always a part of The Suffers.
-No.
So, the band started in 2011.
It was supposed to just be this weekend, fun kind of thing.
-This was a hobby, a way to vent your creative energy.
-I worked at the investment bank.
We had teachers in the band.
My guitar player worked at NASA as a consumables engineer for the International Space Station.
This wasn't -- This wasn't supposed to be what it is.
-You had good jobs.
-We had good jobs, yes.
-And then, you all left your jobs.
-Yes.
♪♪ -The Suffers got their first national exposure on "The David Letterman Show," blowing everybody away with their signature sound, which they call "Gulf Coast Soul."
-Gulf Coast Soul is a mash-up of many different genres brought together that have been influenced by, for us, the city of Houston.
-Does Houston have a sound?
-Houston -- It's very hard to have one sound.
And the reason I say that is because of how culturally diverse it is.
I do think that we have one collective energy, which is that, we come from a city that has been discredited for so long that we are almost like that middle kid that's fighting for their parents' attention.
Like, you know, we might not be as clean as Dallas, and we might not be as laid-back as Austin, but you know, we have a lot to offer.
And there are so many beautiful people here and artists that have come from so far away to start life here without going broke, but still being able to raise a family and buy a house and stuff like that.
But like, I think you can be a starving artist in Houston but still eat good, if that makes any sense.
-Yes.
-♪ Hey, yeah ♪ -People think Houston is flat, swampy, cowboys, and oil and gas and good ol' boys.
But Houston is incredible.
-Houston used to be, like, this ugly caterpillar that you would see in your garden and not really pay much attention to.
"Yeah, it's there.
Whatever."
But now, Houston has broken out of the cocoon.
It's a beautiful butterfly now.
It's flying all over.
The wings and the colors are really starting to attract eyes, and everyone sees Houston on their radar.
-We don't have the landscape, we don't have the climate, but we have the people and we have the food.
[ Laughs ] -I think, by the end of the day, that is the number-one thing that brings people to Houston -- opportunity.
♪♪ -When you move to the sound of what it takes to make it, when you share in someone's personal story and achievements, when you can taste years of wisdom and experience, that is when we share a love of travel.
And that's why Houston, Texas, is a place to love.
For more information about this and other episodes, extra scenes, or links to follow me on social media, log on to placestolove.com.
"Samantha Brown's Places to Love" was made possible by... -Away... is the smell of fresh pine.
It's a place where giants still live.
Away is where the farther down the road you go, the closer you get to the ones you love.
Find your away.
gorving.com.
-Europe is a treasure trove of fascinating history, rich culture, and renowned cities.
AmaWaterways River Cruises offers a way to see all this wonder in person.
You can discover more at amawaterways.com.
♪♪
