Game time

Party and eat like an MVP at CultureMap's 2024 sports bash The Tailgate

Texans legend Johnathan Joseph, CultureMap Tailgate

CultureMap's signature event The Tailgate (shown here in 2023) is coming back for 2024.

Photo by Marco Torres / @MarcoFromHouston

CultureMap is gearing up for the exciting return of The Tailgate, our all-out party devoted to everyone’s favorite way to get in the gameday spirit.

For the event’s third year, we’re partying in EaDo at 8th Wonder. The event, presented by Verizon, goes down from 6-9 pm November 11, 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. Participants include:

1891 American Eatery & Bar
Big City Wings
Comfort Foodies
The Halal Guys
J Bar M
Josephine's Gulf Coast Tradition
Kokoro
Layne's Chicken Fingers
Loro
Mainely Sandwiches
Pizaro's Pizza
Ramen Tatsu-Ya
Saint Arnold Brewing Company
Southern Jerks
Stuff'd Wings
Taste Kitchen + Bar
Thai Tail
The Waffle Bus
Uchi
Uchiko Houston

Tailgate 2023 Attendees can look forward to food from favorite Houston restaurants and premium cocktails. Photo by Marco Torres / @MarcoFromHouston

Following up on the success of last year’s Ultimate Sports Bar Showdown, we’ll soon be asking readers to vote for their favorite wing joint of 2024. Our editors have put together a list of 16 candidates that will go head-to-head in a bracket-style tournament we're calling the Ultimate Wing Showdown. Your winner will be revealed at the party.

The event will also shine a spotlight on local sports organizations, including the Texans, which will raffle off a CJ Stroud-signed White Panel Football. The Astros will show off their Shooting Stars dancers as well as the 2017 and 2022 World Series Trophies, and their Shuttle Crew team will bring prizes. Houston soccer stars the Dynamo and Dash will raffle team-signed jerseys.

Attendees can expect more fun, games, and prizes courtesy of our event sponsors and local vendors, including Verizon, HOWDY, Jameson Irish Whiskey, Houston Powder Coaters, Holey Moley Golf Club, Mizzen+Main, Shipley Do-nuts, and more.

Fan favorite Astros broadcaster Julia Morales will be there with her cult favorite apparel line, Shop Baseball, Y'all.

We'll keep you up to date on all things Tailgate-related in a special editorial series of stories leading up to the event.

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).

All tickets include bites by participating restaurants, complimentary premium beverages, and access to fun activities throughout the event. VIP tickets come with one-hour early entry, access to a dedicated VIP bar, an exclusive meet-and-greet with one of Houston's top athletes, and more perks for an elevated experience.

Head here to buy your tickets now.

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The Tailgate is sponsored by Verizon, HOWDY, Jameson Irish Whiskey, Houston Powder Coaters, Holey Moley Golf Club, Mizzen+Main, Shipley Do-nuts and more to be announced.

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all that jazz

San Antonio jazz club claims historic Houston theater for new location

Acme Oyster House Houston/Facebook

Acme Oyster House has closed its Houston location.

The iconic Tower Theatre space in the heart of Montrose will soon be home to a jazz and dinner club run by the mind behind San Antonio's Jazz, TX.

Doc Watkins founded Jazz, TX in 2016, and it instantly became a must-stop destination for the modern masters of Jazz, hosting the likes of Kenny Garrett, Bill Charlap, and John Pizzarelli. The still-unnamed Houston location will be his first expansion outside the Alamo City.

Watkins brings serious jazz bonafides to the project. He has played Carnegie Hall with his own jazz trio and performs over 100 shows annually in addition to his management of Jazz, TX.

Jazz, TX San Antonio music venue Jazz, TX draws some of the genre's top performers. Jazz, TX Facebook

“I’m thrilled to bring this club to life in Houston, especially in a venue as iconic as the Tower Theatre,” Watkins said in a statement. “We look forward to creating a space where live music, great food, and Houston’s vibrant culture come together.”

Located one block from the intersection of Westheimer and Montrose, the Tower Theatre is one of the last pieces of the old neighborhood’s architecture that's still standing. Originally a movie theater, longtime residents will recall its tenure as a disco called Clubland. Its large size made it perfect to host touring acts as well as dance nights. Both John Lennon and the Beastie Boys played there.

After that, it was home to Hollywood Video, a Montrose location of the movie rental chain that closed in 2009. More recently, it housed both El Real Tex-Mex Cafe and a short-lived outpost of New Orleans-based seafood restaurant Acme Oyster Co.

Houston-based Radom Capital revealed plans to revitalize the property earlier this year. Tenants like Copy.com and Adam & Eve were phased out for a more upscale collection of eateries, boutiques, and fitness centers. One of these will be Nando’s Peri-Peri, the South Africa-based grilled chicken restaurant. The Tower Theatre’s distinctive art deco marquee will be preserved as part of the renovations.

The property, now known as 1111 Westheimer, joins Radom Capital's other projects, which include the Montrose Collective and M-K-T, a mixed-use development in the Heights.

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