ASTRONOMICAL DEALS

Let's celebrate the return of the Astros with loads of food & drink specials

Astros home runs earn free milkshakes this weekend. Photo by Becca Wright

The Houston Astros will begin their entirely controversy-free quest to earn another American League pennant in Seattle of Friday, July 24. Even though no one will be taking anyone out to the ballgame in 2020, Astros fans can still root, root, root for the team either at home or at a number of local bars and restaurants.

We've rounded up over a dozen specials. Some are only available on either Opening Day or this week but others will be offered every time the Astros take the field.

Be More Pacific

The Filipino restaurant in the Heights celebrates Opening Day with happy hour specials from open until close. Get $3 draft or packaged beers, $4 wines by-the-glass and well cocktails, $5 San Miguel beers, and $6 signature cocktail. On the food side, take $1 off all orders of lumpia and tikim, $2 off pulutan, and feast on $2 tacos.

The Burger Joint

Both locations of the casual burger restaurant will be giving away free milkshakes to dine-in customers for every Astros home run hit this weekend. In addition, get a special Crush City Dreamsicle shake.

Eight Row Flint

Over in the Heights, this ice house's Astros Party Pack offers a lot of value for $50. Get a 6-pack of Karbach Crawford Bock (plus koozies, an ice-filled beer bucket with the Astros logo, and other Karbach swag), an order of ballpark nachos, two hot dogs, and three mini bottle of Balcones Texas whiskey.

The Flying Saucer

The downtown craft beer bar is raffling off the last three of its infamous Mike Fiers "Snitches Get Stiches" glasses with a drawing on opening day. To enter, buy a 4-pack of 512 Brewing's pecan porter.

Hay Merchant

Chris Shepherd's pub offers half-off Houston beers when the Astros are winning.

King's Bierhaus and King's Biergarten

All three locations of the German restaurant will celebrate Opening Day with $5 Texas draft beers and $5 Astros dogs — a grilled kasewurst topped ketchup, mustard, chopped onions, and relish on a soft brioche bun.

La Calle

The downtown taqueria's companion cantina will offer happy hour pricing on Opening Day and during all Astros games this season. The offers include 50-percent off the cantina food menu and select cocktails, plus $2.99 draft beers and Tecate cans, $3.99 frozen margaritas and boozy aguas frescas, and $5.99 caguamas (32-ounce bottles of select beers).

Continue on CultureMap to see the rest of the list.

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Nick Caserio's history of drafting injury prone players has become a problem. Composite Getty Image.

Nick Caserio was hired to serve as the general manager (GM) of the Texans on January 7, 2021. Some saw it as another nod to the organization's obsession with the Patriots. Others saw it as the team finally getting their guy after pursuing him previously. They were even hit with a tampering charge while trying to talk to him about the job. Since he's been on the job, there have been highs and lows.

Recently, the news about Kenyon Green and Derek Stingley Jr put a stain on his tenure. Green was placed on season-ending injured reserve (IR) and Stingley Jr is expected to be placed on IR, likely missing six to eight weeks, per Aaron Wilson. Both guys were Caserio's 2022 first rounders. Both guys are starting to look like busts and have fans a little more than just upset.

Green's case was curious because he was said to have needed surgery before he tore his labrum during the Saints preseason game. He had knee surgery this past offseason. There were knee injury concerns when he was coming out of A&M. Adding to his injuries, Green has played poorly. To make matters worse, the Chargers drafted fellow guard Zion Johnson two picks later. Johnson played all 17 games last season as a rookie at right guard and has moved to left guard this season. The pick used to draft Green was part of a trade back with the Eagles. They used the 13th overall pick to take Georgia defensive tackle Jordan Davis, a guy at a position this team could desperately use.

Stingley Jr was a highly touted recruit coming into LSU as a freshman. He played as well as any corner in the country that year. Oh, and they won a national title with arguably one of the best teams in college football history. His net two years in Baton Rouge were marred with injuries. Some believed his junior year was more him holding back to stay healthy for the draft. It worked because he was taken third overall, one spot ahead of Sauce Gardner. Gardner went on to be an All Pro as a rookie. While he's surrounded by more talent on the Jets' defense, people will forever link them because Stingley Jr hasn't lived up to expectations. He missed six games last season and is set to miss at least that many this season. When he has played, he's looked okay. “Okay” isn't what you want from a guy drafted third overall ahead of the other guy who was widely considered better than him.

For the 2021 draft, Caserio was handcuffed. He had no first or second rounders, and made a few trades that lessened his draft pool from eight to five picks. Of the five guys drafted that year, only Nico Collins seems to be a player. The 2022 draft was more productive. Although Green and Stingley Jr were the headliners and haven't played up to the hype, the others are carrying the load. Jalen Pitre and Dameon PIerce alone make that draft class dope. This past draft was seen as the one to save the franchise so to speak. Getting C.J. Stroud and Will Anderson Jr got the team a franchise quarterback and edge rusher with picks two and three overall. The price paid to move back up to three was hefty and puts more scrutiny on Anderson Jr. They appear, so far, to have also found a couple other nice players. Tank Dell being the hidden gem of this class.

While people can't, and shouldn't, base Caserio's performance strictly off of the guys he's drafted, one must call it into question. The '21 draft was a wash. The '22 draft looks suspect, but has some redeeming qualities. The '23 draft will most likely be his saving grace. But should it? Former Texans GM Rick Smith nailed almost every first rounder he drafted. Even he was almost run out of town because folks didn't like what he did. Why should Caserio be any different? So what if he cleaned up the mess by the previous regime! That's what he was hired to do!

“Keep that same energy!” That phrase is used when people try to hold others to different standards. Where's that energy everyone had for Bill O'Brien, Jack Easterby, Rick Smith, Gary Kubiak, David Culley, and Lovie Smith? When others weren't performing well, their heads were called for. I see some people holding Caserio accountable. For the most part, it appears as if he's getting a bit of a pass. I'll be interested to see if this continues should the team has another subpar season. If that pick they traded to the Cardinals is another top 10 pick and the Browns pick the Texans own isn't...if Green can't come back and/or Stingley Jr doesn't show any signs of being a lockdown corner...then what? Let's hope none of this comes to fruition. If it does, we'll have to revisit this conversation.

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