re: Astros College Classic Check-In

A couple of thoughts from a Houston native:

Pitch 25 has been mentioned a lot and it is a great spot relatively close to Minute Maid. The parking in and around isn't great so go early or just consider ubering.

For food

One of Houston's hidden gems is its ethnic food scene and Huynh may be one of the best Vietnamese restaurants in the country. And it's a relatively cheap hole in the wall in a crappy strip mall very close to Pitch 25. The Chen Hoanh Thanh soup is amazing (get spicy broth), all of the Vermicelli Noole dishes are fantastic, The Com Bo Luc Lac is an amazing beef dish and the mi hoac hu tieu xao noodle dishes are all awesome (especially if you ask for spicy).

There are two (related) Irma's restaurants, both walking distance to MMP. Original Irma's and Irma's Southwest. Pretty good mexican food. I'm partial to the original because it's got more character (Southwest seems corporate to me). But Southwest is on Texas Avenue just down the street from MMP whereas the original is a few more blocks north (it does have parking). Best dishes are their mole offerings, their fajitas and their fish tacos.

Potente is the best restaurant by MMP. It's elevated but for game day it's totally fine coming in dressed in purple and gold. This was our spot before the World Series. You can valet park and leave the car there for the game. The chef is Danny Trace who used to be at Brennan's. The Astros owner, Jim Crain, is one of the owners. The bar is great, the service is great and they are used to making sure folks are out in time for the game. The Spaghetti Al Tartufo Nero is the bomb.

Another elevated place is Vic & Anthony's. It's a traditional steak house with all of the traditional steakhouse stuff. It's also walking distance to MMP.

Close by, and technically walkable if you are relatively fit is Xochi which is Chef Hugo Ortega's more casual offering (Hugo's on Westheimer being the other). It's not really Tex-Mex. It's food from the Oaxaca area in Mexico. So take out the Tex and it's all Mex.

If you want Tex/Mex, try the aforementioned Irma's or head down to Navigation Avenue (less than a mile from MMP) and try the Original Ninfa's on Navigation. This is where it all started and one of only two Ninfa's owned by Mama Ninfa's family. Traditional Tex/Mex, great margaritas. What you'd expect from a cantina but really, really good.

Next door is another great Tex/Mex spot, El Tiempo. I go back and forth between Ninfa's and El T as to which I prefer, but they are very similar.

Lastly, if you are staying in the main street area of downtown (i.e., the JW Marriott) then Moonshiners is a decent pre-game place for southern style food.I love the Alex Bregman brisket grilled cheese.

Hope this is helpful.