Where to drink right now

Raise a glass to this month-long drink fest that benefits the Astrodome

There are fewer things in Houston as beloved as the Astrodome. And while Houstonians may disagree on what should become of the 8th Wonder of the World, there's no doubt about the iconic structure's place in history.

That's why the Astrodome Conservancy has made it its mission to save the Dome and ensure its bright future as one of Houston’s indelible landmarks.

Dome enthusiasts can help the cause. October launched the conservancy's month-long fundraiser, Drink Out the Dome. Houstonians can purchase an Astrodome-themed libation from one of 12 bars across the city, with $1 going to the Astrodome Conservancy and its efforts.

Here's a list of participating bars and their drinks:

8th Wonder Brewery
Cosmic Dome, made with with vodka, Blue Curaçao, coconut syrup, and lemonade.
Space Spritz mocktail, a blend of Ocho Verde THC, cranberry, and sparking water.

Ale & Ivy
The Biggio Buck, made with Tito’s Vodka, blood orange, orange juice, ginger beer, and blueberries.

Drift
Luv Ya Blue! made with Deep Eddy lemon vodka, coconut, and Red Bull.

Home Run Dugout
Yordan Mojito, a combination of Cruzan Rum, scratch-made blackberry syrup, lime, mint.

Kanpai Club
The Astrodomo, made wih Shōchū, Falernum, miso orgeat, passion fruit, and lemon.

Patterson Park
Wonder Dome, a blend of Empress cucumber gin, lemon juice, rosemary infused simple syrup, cucumber, and Angostura bitters.

The Railyard
#34 Old Fashioned crafted with Skrewball peanut butter whiskey, The Railyard Bar single barrel Buffalo Trace, caramel simple syrup, and chocolate bitters, and garnished with a toy.

Senate Avenue Brewing Company 16
Golden Dome, an English-style golden ale.

The Pit Room
Faux’m Party with blanco tequila, triple sec, lemon juice, lime juice, light agave, Dome Faux’m cream ale and TPR smoked salt.

Walking Stick Brewing Co.
Golden Dome, an English-style golden ale.

Wicklow Heights
AstroTurf cocktail made with Blue Chair Bay Rum, lime juice, Ancho Reyes Chile Poblano Liqueur, mint leaves, and melon liqueur.

Woodland Social
Clutch City Marg crafted from Milagro Silver Tequila, mango, lime, and hibiscus.

The Cosmic Dome cocktail 8th Wonder's Cosmic Dome cocktail is made from vodka, Blue Curaçao, coconut syrup, and lemonade. Alex Montoya

Patterson & Park

Patterson & Park's Drink Out the Dome selection is the Wonder Dome, a blend of Empress cucumber gin, lemon juice, rosemary infused simple syrup, cucumber, and Angostura bitters

To kick off the fundraiser, 8th Wonder Brewery hosted a community event on September 21. Festivities included a market organized by KDA Markets featuring vendors with Astros and other Houston-themed apparel and merchandise, as well as additional vendors with confectionery and food items, home goods, and other fun finds. Additionally, attendees had the first opportunity to purchase 8th Wonder’s Drink Out for the Dome beverages, the Cosmic Dome cocktail and the Space Spritz mocktail.

Astrodome Conservancy Executive Director Beth Jackson and several Conservancy board members were in attendance, as was event sponsor Propel Air Fans founder Joseph Kho, who brought out the company’s new Model 2 standing fan to keep attendees cool outside.

Come back to Tailgate
Fans of local sports, food, and cocktails can plan to return to 8th Wonder on Monday, November 11 for The Tailgate, CultureMap's all-out party devoted to everyone’s favorite way to get in the gameday spirit.

The event, presented by Verizon, goes down from 6-9 pm, and tickets are already on sale.

Attendees can look forward to sports-inspired bites from some of their favorite Houston restaurants, premium cocktails, memorabilia from Texas legends, and plenty more game-day fun.

Popular Houston restaurants and chefs will create tailgate-inspired dishes for attendees to sample and vote for their favorite. The event will also shine a spotlight on local sports organizations, including the Astros, who will show off their Shooting Stars dancers as well as the 2017 and 2022 World Series Trophies.

A limited number of Early Bird tickets are on sale now at discounted rates of $35 for general admission (regularly $50) and $60 for VIP (regularly $75).

For more information about the event, check out this story.

astrodome conservancy astros cocktails fundraisers

eyes on the road

5 Houston highways rank among deadliest roads in America, per report

Photo courtesy of TXDOT

I-45 is in the hotseat again.

Heads up to Houstonians commuting on the city's freeways: Five busy Harris County highways were just deemed among the deadliest roads in the country, with I-45 in Houston ranking as the deadliest road in Texas. That's according to a new study based on the latest National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) data.

The study, commissioned by Santa Ana, California-based company Future Bail Bonds, compared fatal crash data across 96,000 U.S. roads from 2019-2023. The top 150 "deadliest" roads were ranked by the total number of fatal crashes that occurred during the five-year period.

The No. 1 deadliest road in America is I-15 in San Bernardino County, California, the study found. The interstate, which runs from Southern California to Las Vegas, experienced the highest rate of deadly car crashes from 2019-2023 with 196 crashes.

For comparison, I-45 in Houston had 88 fatal vehicle wrecks during the same time period to rank as the 16th deadliest U.S. road and No. 1 deadliest in Texas. Considering that tens of thousands of people drive the road every day, a fatal crash is relatively unlikely, but the data underscores the need for drivers to remain aware of their surroundings at all times.

The crowded highway stretches from Dallas to Galveston, and the I-45 North Freeway earned its own spot on the list as the 124th deadliest U.S. road. I-45N experienced 44 deadly crashes between 2019 and 2023, the report said. I-45's controversial expansion project between downtown Houston and the north Sam Houston Tollway (and portions of connecting freeways) also earned it a new reputation as a "freeway without a future" by the activist group Congress for the New Urbanism.

Elsewhere in Harris County, I-10 ranked as the 22nd deadliest U.S. highway on the list with 76 fatal crashes during the five-year span. It was dubbed the third most fatal Texas highway, with I-35 in Austin splitting up the two Houston roads as the second deadliest statewide.

"From 2019 to 2023, motor vehicle crashes claimed 186,284 lives across 96,257 roads in the United States, underscoring the persistent danger on American roadways," the report said.

Two more Houston highways ranked much farther down the report, but still remained among the top 150 deadliest U.S. roads: FM 1960 ranked 114th on the list with 45 fatal crashes, and I-610 ranked No. 131 with 43 fatal crashes.

Nine other Texas roads that were deemed the deadliest in America with the highest rates of fatal vehicle crashes from 2019-2023 include:

No. 23 – I-30 in Dallas County (76 crashes)
No. 27 – I-410 in Bexar County (73 crashes)
No. 32 – I-10 in El Paso County (69 crashes)
No. 63 – I-20 in Tarrant County (56 crashes)
No. 66 – I-820 in Tarrant County (55 crashes)
No. 115 – SR-12 in Dallas County (45 crashes)
No. 130 – I-35 in Bexar County (43 crashes)
No. 132 – I-635 in Dallas County (43 crashes)
No. 141 – I-10 in Jefferson County (42 crashes)

highways freeways houston reports traffic