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