Trip to Houston in July

[traderumor]

It looks like I am going to be in Houston the weekend of July 8-9 on business and the Astros and Cardinals play at the Juicebox on Sunday night. I will be staying in the Hilton just down the road, it looks like and will be within walking distance of the park, so I gotta go. What kind of baseball fan would I be not to?

So, I'm looking for any information on tickets and the area if anyone out there has anything to offer.

[LincolnparkRed]

It'll be hot, you won't want to walk around much if you don't have too.

[pedro]

Cabo downtown has good fish tacos and other food.. It is down the street aways from the stadium but still walking distance. The hilton is probably close to it.

[danforsman]

Mia Bella = Italian worth eating within walking distance of MMP. I also highly recommend taking in a game from the Crawford Boxes. Be sure you're in the front seven rows, though, so that your view is not impaired.

[Unassisted]

I stayed in that Hilton last year during my first and only trip to Minute Maid. It's a nice hotel and about 2 easy blocks from the ballpark. There's a walkway in the convention center section of the hotel from which you can take a really nice picture of ballpark... much better than the view from the guest rooms on that side.

I can second the notion that it will defintely be hot there compared to Ohio.

Downtown Houston is deadly quiet on the weekends, at least compared to San Antonio. Among the few non-quiet areas is the aquarium, just a few blocks from the hotel. It's about 3 years old and run by the Landry's Restaurant corporation. (Joe's Crab Shack, Rainforest Cafe, etc.) I haven't been there, but have heard it's nice.

[traderumor]

I was able to go to Sunday night's game, thanks to my boss. I called down to the Consierge the day of the game, who landed us a pair in the third deck even with first base. So, we got to see a great game, although the tickets set him back, but they were nice seats with a view of everything in the park.

The roof was closed, so it was very loud with the sellout crowd. The sound of the bat was very loud as a result also. Pettite pitched a gem, but got pulled after the first two men reached in the eighth, IIRC. Then Wheeler came in and made me think I was at a Reds' game, gave up a three run bomb to Rolen, who smashed it into the Crawford Boxes. LaRussa puzzled me by sending Carpenter back out in the ninth even though he had gotten hit hard in both the 7th and 8th. Sure enough, he put the tying run on base that eventually came around to score.

One of the things that I did not appreciate (old fogy alert) is that it seemed that I went to a rock concert and a baseball game broke out. The music was loud and very younger generation oriented. But then, the dancing usherette didn't seem to mind ( a grandma who was trying really hard to be hip, amusing at first, but annoying as the night went on).

My boss and I finally gave up after 11, then saw on Sportscenter that Lidge coughed it up again in the 12th. We left right after Oswalt missed first base. I tell ya, between the pickoff of Munson from first with a runner ahead of him and the Oswalt play, it was really a sloppy loss for the Astros.

I noticed that the outfield grass was very thin and patchy in places, so obviously the roof that can open hasn't done much to improve growing grass indoors.

I will say the crowd gets very raucous on a rally by the home team. They were handing out white towels at the gate that said "Believe the Buzz" and whenever ever one of the "Killer B's" did something, this stupid buzzing bee sound played over the sound system and a graphic of a bee swarm was on the message board. Really corny, but not as much as the "Lambo" graphic for Mike Lamb. Lame-O seems to be more appropriate.

I did not try any food, just wasn't hungry, so only had a coke. Overall, the park was unique and the game was the focus and there were no cheesy sideshows in between innings, so that gets a thumbs up.

Monday night, I had a unique dining experience at the Fogo De Chow, which is an Argentinian steakhouse with a unique twist. These "gauchos" go from table to table with various slow cooked steak cuts, lamb, chicken, and pork and it is a meat fest until you tell them to stop. Also, a very interesting salad bar. But some of the best steak I have ever tasted, especially what they called the gaucho cut. It was incredible, and thank goodness the boss was calling the shots as it was very expensive. But otherwise, I did not have much in the way of good eats. I had hoped to try a Mexican restaurant, but it didn't happen. Too many meals in the hotel, but being downtown and not having a car, we were limited on venturing out. But, the Fogo de Chow is a must visit if you are ever in Houston.