Main St, Braeswood Place

Main Street. Sounds like something out of a movie. When in doubt, go to Main Street. Well, in this case, you would hit the jackpot.
Main Street has everything you would want in a downtown spot: food, entertainment, transportation. The commuter rail will drop you off right at Main and Preston or Main and Congress, exactly where I want to be. There is a local taco stand nearby who the locals understand to have the best breakfast tacos around. It is run by an Asian lady who doesn't mind telling you what she thinks on a variety of subjects, but businessmen and construction workers stand side by side to eat her tacos.
There are several food joints in the area that are small and dive-y but who serve amazing grub.
Lots of local bars and clubs including one of my favorites, Clarks. A friend of mine used to run his recording studio out of Clarks by day, and it would be a full fledged dance club by night.
And if you are a baseball fan, the Astros play at Minute Maid Park only blocks from here.
Yes, Main street here is just that: the MAIN street in downtown Houston. The downtown here isn't small so you have to start somewhere. Mains street is about the best starting point you will find. Truly my favorite spot amongst the concrete and skyscrapers.

Every city's Main Street is supposed to be a key street and the center of commerce and travel, and Houston's Main Street lives up to this. The shuttle train runs down this street, cutting downtown perfectly in half and connecting lower and upper Houston.

This street is wide, bright, and clean (like most of Houston's downtown) and the train is fascinating because instead of just tracks in the middle of the road, parts of the route are actually tracks running through shallow pools and fountains. I have no idea how this isn't dangerous, with all that electricity and water, but it look amazing, both while you're walking past and when the train makes it all ripple and shimmer.

The street has many late night and 24 hour grocery stores and drug stores and such, and seemed very safe to me even at midnight.