While the Astros' fortunes may be on a roller coaster ride so far this season, the Astros Wives and their annual fundraiser for the Houston Area Women's Center is right on track as witnessed by the wildly successful underwriter party held recently at Mo's . . . A Place for Steaks.

Joining gala chairs Morgan and Jeff Keppinger and Heather and Tim Byrdak were 16 other Astros, most of them with their wives. Close to 150 joined the party that included live music featuring '80s tunes that had the players and their gals on their feet.

Coincidentally, it was relief pitcher Chris Sampson's 32nd birthday. Mo's owner Johnny V presented Sampson with a cake that, of course, elicited a Happy Birthday chorus from the partying throng.

Joining the festivities were 2009 Black Ties & Baseball Caps gala chairs Pamela and Jason Michaels and Michelle and Humberto Quintero. Players and wives in the mix included Cara and Lance Berkman, Mary and Carlos Lee, Heather Sampson, Kerri and Jeff Fulchino, Paola and Felipe Paulino. Astro honchos Johnny and Tal Smith, Milo Hamilton, Marian Harper and Marisa Lopez rounded out the team family.

Others included Nancy McGregor and Neal Manne, Beverly Wren, Theresa and Johnny Zumo, Aimee and Roy Marsh and Patricia and Russell Swearingen.

Mark your calendars for Aug. 12, the date of the dinner evening that lets you get up close and personal with the players.

Rocking at ZaZa

Houston Dynamo defender Michael Chabala celebrated his 26th birthday Sunday poolside at Hotel ZaZa where more than 200 movers and shakers gathered to help blow out the candles and to celebrate the second annual "Bald Is Beautiful" fundraiser, co-sponsored by the Houston Dynamo Foundation and Texas Children's Hospital.

They juked and jived in and around the pool to the sounds of DJ Jason, supped on light bites from Monarch Restaurant and sipped mojitos as well as lesser libations.

In the mix were fellow Dynamos Bobby Boswell and Danny Cruz plus partygoers Marcy de Luna, Diana Lopez, Stuart Rosenberg, Jennifer LeGrand, Sarah Tucker, Todd Ramos and Hasti Taghi.

Feast for kings

When Patsy Fourticq chaired last winter's benefit evening for St. Anne's Catholic Church, she stacked the deck when it came to one live auction item in particular. She lined up a classy group of friends to plunk down serious change for the progressive dinner party that Tony Vallone and neighbors had donated to the church.

Patsy and Greg Fourticq and Tony and Donna Vallone belong to the parish where the church is located, practically in the Vallones' backyard.

Sunday night, the restaurateur and wife plus DeAnn and Mike Englert and Kathy and Joe Fenninger delivered on the dinner with the help of Tony's restaurant catering arm, manager Bruce McMillian on the scene. Gathering first at the Englerts' for cocktails and hors d'oeuvres and then later at the Vallones for a scrumptious dinner were the Fourticqs along with Janet Gurwitch and Ron Franklin, Karen Johnson, Diane Lokey Farb, Karen and Mike Mayell and Sheridan and John Eddie Williams.

They feasted on so many bountiful courses that they fairly waddled out of the door. Included on the lavish menu created by Tony Vallone — a pasta trio, fresh burrata with balsamic and honey, beef steak tomatoes with mountains of lump crabmeat, veal chops and shrimp and a divine Italian cream cake for dessert.

New York star gazing

Marketing and PR specialist Cindy Clifford and Jason Fuller, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison's regional director, are still pinching themselves after a week of sightings in New York. There for the BookExpo America convention, they received numerous swell invitations, but none more exciting for Clifford than the invite to an intimate cocktail gathering in the Fifth Avenue penthouse apartment of Marlo Thomas (Clifford's childhood idol) and Phil Donahue.

Clifford reports he is still as handsome as during his TV talk show heydays.

Later, at an arts fundraiser in swank digs at Central Park West, the Houston duo rubbed shoulders with artists, choreographers, producers and chairs Colleen Keegan and Robby Browne, a top Manhattan Realtor. There they visited with Dorris Roberts of Everybody Loves Raymond fame. And while lunching at chi Asian restaurant Shum Lee, they were seated next to actress Suzanne Somers.