Searching for Houston Souvenirs?

Here's a link to this month's Southern Journal issue that features an article by yours truly.

Click here for July/2011 Southern Journal issue

Update: the site might be defunct in the future, so I'll just post the whole thing here for convenience sake.


Assorted Ideas for Houston お土産
6-26-11

It might seem like a bit of a knock at the first that there needs to be a article about finding that perfect, oh-so-elusive gift that captures the quintessence of H-town, but actually that’s kind of the way Houston is anyway, right?  Most Americans tend to underestimate and undervalue what a cool place Houston can be, tending to simply focus its humidity, cowboy/oilman image, and hearsay, leaving the true Houston experience largely untried and undiscovered.  Then for the native Houstonian (the supposed all-knowing insider) it’s always a nagging feeling to be asked by our international friends for suggestions about what they should buy for their family back home.  No matter how many times I’m asked, I know I’m often left awkwardly scratching my head, muttering, “Um… how about belt buckles?”

So here’s a go at how you can honor Houston, and the great state of Texas while you’re at it, whether you’re buying or merely suggesting something meaningful for your out-going friend.

First of all, snow-globes, refrigerator magnets, and cheesy knick-knacks aside, I think belt buckles are pretty practical, and they can work for guys and girls alike.  They’re not that expensive and don’t take up too much space.  You can find them at Cavender’s Boot City or most any souvenir shop in the malls or at City Hall.  Cowboy hats might play better to the stereotype, but then they don’t fit so well in suitcases – though I suppose each member of the family could wear one on the plane flight back.  Speaking of the flight back, why not grab one of those mini-pillows with the Texas flag on it at the City Hall visitor’s center?  Then there’s patterned bandanas that are good for wrapping up other gifts like bottles of salsa or Goode Co. BBQ sauce, 風呂敷-like.  As for bolo ties and spurs, I would imagine they would be more of a curiosity than anything else, never to be worn.

T-shirts and jerseys boasting local sports teams like the Rockets or Astros might be fine for the true-blue fans, if a little on the generic side for most.  I’ll leave it up to one’s individual taste if they think a “Don’t Mess With Texas” shirt or shot glass would be appreciated by their bewildered friend back home, though personally I would.

You can find that sort of fare at your basic souvenir shops like Y’alls (three locations or save a drive and order off their website.) or even Wal-Mart and Hobby Lobby (like their cell phone straps or little Texas-shaped cookie-cutters).

And if you haven't yet discovered The Gift Store across from Daido, where every nook and cranny of Bob's shop is another treasure trove, oh goodness, you're in for a treat.  Seriously, go check this place out. Westheimer and Wilcrest.

If you want to go country, there’s Texas cookbooks (can you say Tex-Mex?), jars of preserves (rhubarb, jalapeno, and other varieties), or Old West-style sepia posters where your family dresses up in old-timey garb (there's a shop down in Galveston on the Strand).  If you want to go even more rustic, wood Texas flags at the Cool Texas Stuff website are a nice touch.  While you’re on the highway, you might as well stop by the Cracker Barrel in Pearland or Buc-ee’s, the closest one with a gift shop being in Wharton, League City, and Pearland.  Beef jerky, pecan pralines, and pecan pie (too sweet?) are always in abundance, and you might as well pick up a packet of Bluebonnet seeds so they can see firsthand the beauty of Texas flowers, though I think it's a little illegal to transport seed overseas.  In the case of overly expensive gift baskets, you could buy one at Lone Star Gift Baskets online, Rice Epicurean Market (Killer Brownie gift tins), Goode Company, or the Boardwalk Fudge Factory in Kemah and just dole the whole thing out to all your friends.

If you want to go for local color, why not get a few 2011 Japan Festival T-shirts with their super-rad design and benefit the relief efforts?  I believe some are still available from the Japan-America Society of Houston.

He's already 16% more Japanese.

A case of Shiner Bock should be a crowd-pleaser; I personally heard the mayor of Chiba brag a lot about them.  Arnolds Brewery might be closer to home, but Shiner’s better known (not to mention tastes better).  At least, a six-pack should make up for not being able to ship a carton of Blue Bell ice cream over there.  When you’re done drooling at Spec’s, Bering’s has some nice coffee blends wafting across the store from some Texas red clay T-shirts.  Duncan Coffee is always a nice discovery, or if you want to mix it up, you can customize your own wine at Water 2 Wine.

Still the questions remains, what’s distinctively Houstonian?  Of course besides Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo gear, it’s inevitable that we mention NASA on our tour.  Certainly it’s the most well known landmark we have.  (To outsiders, that is; to us it’s the beloved Transco).  And while it might get pricey down there at the Space Center gift shop, astronaut ice cream, mission patches, and other memorabilia we take for granted are still a pretty nice treat for those that can’t visit here themselves.  Though I guess the way things are going with this administration it’ll for closed down for everybody before too long. 

When it comes down to it, it’s up to the individual what means the most to them, but if you really what to say ‘Houston’ to your friends, my top pick would be the world-famous hospitality.  If you can pay forward some of the down home neighborliness you found here, what can compete with that?  Like they said of my grandpa, “He never met a stranger.”

What’s that?  You just have to have something to throw in the suitcase, do you?  In that case, let’s take NASA and the Rodeo, re-brand them together and what do you have?  Space cowboys.  In the grand tradition of BraveStarr, Cowboy Bebop, and Firefly, by a freak convergence Houston is the only place with a legacy for the space western genre.  Of the distinctly American genres of the cowboy, detective, superhero, and astronaut, Houston has two of the four (the others going to New York City and L.A.).  Imagine the delighted smiles on your friends' faces as they get to wear around a T-shirt picturing a space shuttle launching from Reliant stadium, or futuristic Texas Rangers setting up a Astrodome-styled moonbase.  Stay tuned!