One of My Favorites
I spent this last weekend in Houston, TX, one of my favorite cities. I had some work to do, but I also got to spend time with my nephew, Matt, and brother-in-law, Scott, who made the trip with me.
We stayed at the Embassy Suites near the Galleria. It was an outstanding hotel. The room was spacious and featured two 42-inch flat-screen TVs. The beds were comfortable. The pillows were just right. The shower had excellent water pressure and temperature control. There was an unbelievable complimentary breakfast, which featured made-to-order omelets. As an added bonus, they even had a fountain Coke machine!
On Sunday, our first stop was at Kenny & Ziggy’s Delicatessen, a definite pre-game staple for us. We got an extra treat this time when we met Ziggy himself! The softball-sized sandwiches were unbelievably good as usual. I absolutely love this place.
After devouring our sandwiches, we watched the Houston Texans crush the Seattle Seahawks 34-7 at Reliant Stadium. The fans are rabid and the stadium is top-notch (much better than anything I see in Chicago).
After the game, we stopped at Barry’s for pizza. Barry’s came highly recommended from my sister (who previously ate there with Scott). We are pizza connoisseurs, and we were not disappointed. We ordered the deep dish, which was among the best I have eaten. It was the perfect way to end the trip.
One oddity of the trip occurred on the plane. The flight on Continental was otherwise excellent, but I had an issue with the Coke that was served. It was a can of Coke from the Caribbean plant. It was 11.27 ounces (instead of the usual 12). More importantly, it didn’t taste right. It could have been the water they used or the sugar (instead of high fructose corn syrup), but something just wasn’t right.
It was a great trip. It’s always better on business trips to go to somewhere familiar with friends. Houston is usually one of the places where I can have it all.
– John Wroblewski, distribution specialist
December 16th, 2009 at 2:45 pm
Only you would notice or care about the different Coke on a flight.
December 16th, 2009 at 5:23 pm
That particular Embassy Suites is excellent. The location near the Galleria is great. The breakfast is incredible. Omelets, sausage, pancakes and the regular cold items like cereal and yogurt make this one of the best breakfasts I have ever had at a hotel.
December 16th, 2009 at 11:32 pm
Dave - Some might think John odd for noticing/caring about the fact that his coke tasted weird; however, I would say it’s much more odd that the coke was different.
When you buy a coke, you’re buying a product that exists purely because it is not unique. Each coke
should taste the same as the next. It’s exactly this product homogeneity that turned the Coca Cola
company into the corporate titan that it is. Drinking coke is like eating McDonalds (especially when traveling) - you do it because it’s always there, always the same, and even if it’s not really what you were looking for, you
know what to expect from it.
John, you received a misfit soda. Haha awh, now that I put it that way, I almost feel bad. It couldn’t help that it was different!
December 17th, 2009 at 10:03 am
Kate,
Well put and thank you for understanding. I don’t blame the poor Coke can, but I blame the system.