Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown

Rise and shine, it's a beautiful day in Houston.

But it's gonna be a hot one.

Close minded, prejudicial, quick to make assumptions

about places different than where we grew up.

I'm not talking about Texas.

I'm talking about, well, me and people like me,

who are way too comfortable thinking of Texas

as a big space filled with intolerant,

invariably right-wing white people.

Waddling between the fast-food outlet and the gun store.

That, of course, is wrong.

But then I'm used to being wrong.

Texas, Houston in particular, is a very different place

than you might imagine from the stereotypes

and the sound bytes of its national political figures.

Immigrants, refugees, and non-white Americans

have, in fact, been transforming the city,

the food and culture of Houston, for years.

Welcome to America people.

Just another day at the supermarket, a sleepy strip mall on

Houston's Hillcroft Avenue.

Keemat Grocers, serving the community since 1994.

Today they're hosting a quiet, low-key affair.

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen,

how are we doing today?

We're here in Little India in Keemat Grocers,

and I think this is the best Little India

in all of USA, right?

DJ Zee, I wanna throw a party right now.

Everybody, let's start this party!

Put your hands up, everybody!

How large is the community here?

Two hundred thousand people.

Two hundred thousand?

And that's India and Pakistan?

Yeah, Indians, Pakistanis.

Some Bangladeshis, very few Nepalis.

So 200,000 and rising quick?

Yeah.

Sunil Thakkar is an owner of Masala Radio 1320

on your AM dial.

Himalaya is a beloved Indian-Pakistani restaurant

run by Karachi native Kaiser Lashkari.

So the food here is amazing.

It's like Indian and Pakistani mixed together.

Right.

Now, how's that work?

Because over there, the relation's not so friendly.

Here, does everybody... is it all peace and love?

Yeah, you know, there's no boundaries here.

I see so many homes, new homes, new subdivisions

and people just buying them up.

And on my street, 18 homes, 12 out of them are from

other countries.

India, Pakistan, Malaysia, Indonesia.

And once you live together, it

just sort of you become family.

How many brown people here?

- Any non-Indians? - I want to see non-Indians.

You're the non-Indians?

What I'm gonna do is I'm gonna see how good this Asian guy

can do a Bollywood step.

Move like this.

Move like this.

Yeah, good. Good.

So how old were you when you moved here?

I was 17 when I came here.

And growing up, I wanted to be a Bollywood star.

I wanna be a movie star.

But my mom didn't want to do anything

- -with this whole movie business. - Right.

When I came here, and something about

this country, something about the openness

got me just kind of doing what I wanted to do.

And I said, "I always wanted to be an entertainer."

I always wanted to be a comedian."

And radio was perfect for me to bring Bollywood

in people's cars.

Houston's got the biggest drive time... So people listen

to the radio here.

I couldn't do this back home.

But here, you get a chance to just be a new you.

You can just be a new person.

You know, they say, "Oh, Hindus reincarnate

thousands of times."

I feel like I reincarnated live when I came here.

An intensely aromatic biryani, goat marinated in yogurt,

garlic, and ginger, then slow-cooked with cumin,

cardamom, and star anise.

Green curry chicken done Texas-Desi style

with a blend of tomatillos and green chilies,

cilantro, and cumin.

Steak tikka and hunter's beef, sort of an Indian-inflected

pastrami, an invention of the chefs, brined for 10 days,

cooked and served with homemade mustard sauce.

What about your kids?

Do they feel American, or do they feel Indian, or do

they feel Indian-American?

So they're definitely Indian-American.

- You know, they eat Indian food. - Right.

But if you give my son an option,

he wants to go to Taco Bell.

They speak Gujarati.

- They like Bollywood dancing. - Uh-huh.

But yet they're not as Indian as I am.

I want my kids and I want all of the kids to come in

and feel that these are our traditions

that we got to continue.

We got a panipuri-eating contest coming up.

Who can tell me what a panipuri is?

Like a little dumpling, and it has a hole in it

and filled with potatoes and chickpeas.

And then it has a spicy filling in it.

All right, on the count of three, what I'm gonna do is,

I'm gonna give you 30 seconds, and I want to see who can eat

the most panipuris.

DJ Zee, you got some music ready?

On the count of three.

One, two.

One, two, three, four!

Thirty seconds.

Most panipuris in 30 seconds.

Come on. Eat the puris.

I'm gonna give you thirty more seconds 'cause I think

you guys are little slow.

Ten! Nine!

Eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two... One.

Out of 20, you got one, two, three, four, five, six, seven.

Twenty minus seven.

Thirteen.

She is the winner!

I find Houston to be probably the most accepting

place for me.

- Why? - I love it here.

I love... I love... I love being Indian in Houston.

It's not one of those towns that you say,

"Oh, I want to live in Houston."

But once you come here, once you live here,

you don't want to move out of here.

You know, I always consider India as my motherland,

but Houston's my home.

It's Saturday night in Houston.

And at the Acapulco Ballroom, in the city's Pasadena

neighborhood, tonight is all about

15-year-old Evelyn Araña.

If you're Mexican or Mexican-American

or anywhere in between and you've got a daughter

turning 15, you better be throwing her a quince,

or a quinceañera, to be precise.

Quinceañera, what is it?

It's the becoming of a young lady and whenever they turn

15-years-old.

If you're of Mexican heritage in Houston, I gather you kind

of have to have one if you've got a daughter, right?

In Houston, yes.

In Houston, yes.

It is an honor to have a quinceañera and for your parents

to be able to give you one.

The quinceañera business is a multi-million dollar a year

industry around here.

The competition is fierce, it is a big deal

is what I'm saying.

And the style and budget can vary enormously,

depending on means and ambition.

Friends, relatives, and neighbors gather

to eat, drink, dance.

And Acapulco owners Elizabeth and Ezequiel Ortuño

are keeping a close eye on the action,

making sure everything goes according to plan.

Who gets invited to these things?

I mean, this is a lot of people.

- I don't have this many friends. - Friends and family.

Friends and families and from the school too.

Right. Oh, so you got to invite all the girl's friends

from school.

You have kids?

Yes.

You have family?

Any girls?

Four girls.

Four girls.

So they all had these.

All of them have had their quinceañeras,

and a couple of them have had their sweet 16s.

You get a quinceañera and a sweet 16?

Yes.

Oh, my God.

I was really happy about having a girl, but it's expensive.

What... what do boys get?

A soccer ball.

That's cost-effective.