City Cast Houston logo

Meet the City Cast Houston Team

There’s a lot to love about Houston. The crazy place sneaks up on you. You begin to understand it, and you start to care. Other places seem boring — homogenous, clichéd, set in their smug ways. “Houston gets in your blood,” the old joke goes, “like malaria.” Every day, you’ll hear from the team highlighting what makes this beautiful, complex city we call home just a little bit better. Get in touch with us at houston@citycast.fm.

Where I’d take you to eat in Houston:

Aga's Restaurant! My go-to order would be the paneer makhani, chicken kabab white karahi, and the halwa puri breakfast on the weekends!


Someone from Houston you should know about:

Everyone should know about the group Khruangbin! Laura Lee, Mark Speer, and Donald "DJ" Johnson Jr. have created a sound that is so unique yet so Texas. I listen to their songs 'So We Wont' Forget' and 'Mariella' at least once a day!

The tourist trap that's actually great:

Not many Houstonians head out to Johnson Space Center, but it truly is great and inspirational. I think every Houstonian should have to take a tour every four years just to remind ourselves why we're called Space City.

Houston hidden gems:

Houston actually has some very fun green spaces, like the Eastern Glades at Memorial Park and the McGovern Centennial Gardens at Hermann Park. Let's go outside more! (Just not in the middle of the day in August.)


Someone from Houston you should know about

Chef Hugo Ortega is kind of an icon in Houston, and if you don't know him, there's a good chance you've been to one of his restaurants. He immigrated to Houston as a teenager and has an amazing personal story. And the food he and his teams create is delicious!

The tourist trap that's actually great:

I don't think it's a tourist trap, but the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is very unique. It's a whole pop-up city in some ways, and supported by hundreds of volunteers.

Carlignon Jones

Producer

Where I’d take you to eat in Houston:

Grace’s restaurant and I would order the chicken fried chicken with mac and cheese and mashed potatoes

Someone from Houston you should know about:

Trae tha Truth is a former rapper who does a ton of things for our city and other cities. I picked him because he’s constantly organizing events to help out people in our city. 

Brooke Lewis

Newsletter editor

Where I’d take you to eat in Houston:

Escalante’s is my go to Tex-Mex in Houston. My mouth waters just thinking about their guacamole and quesadillas. 

Something we do better in Houston than anywhere else:

Help each other out. I have seen it time and time again–whether it’s Hurricane Harvey, a global pandemic, a freeze. Our city comes together when tragedy strikes and it always brings out the best in us.

The tourist trap that’s actually great:

You have to go to the Breakfast Klub and get their chicken and waffles. Even though there’s always a line (even on Monday!), it’s so worth it once you taste the first bite. 

Stephanie Rice

Senior Account Executive

Something we do better in Houston than anywhere else:

Tex-Mex and maybe potholes, ha!

Houstonian you should know:

Alden Clark, owner of SoK Salon. He uses his salon as a platform for raising awareness for his philanthropic efforts centering around women and at-risk teens. He educates and advocates by creatively bolstering donations for organizations with which he is involved. He volunteers as a mentor to at-risk teens and is on the Board of the Women’s Home of Houston. He believes in giving back and everyone is deserving of a hand.