Deep in the Heart
Get Ready for Game Dey
The Cincinnati Bengals take on the Houston Texans on Sunday, Sept. 20, at NRG Stadium. Kickoff is an noon CT / 1 p.m. ET.
Cincinnati People: Top 10 To Do in Houston
Watch Burrow and the Bengals at NRG Stadium
Visit Space Center Houston
Eat Texas brisket
Order fajitas at Ninfa’s
Ride METRORail to the game
Explore the Museum District
Walk or bike around Buffalo Bayou
Find a Houston ice house
Have one drink in a genuine dive bar
Sample Houston's incredible international food culture
Where to Stay for:
Best overall: Museum District
Best for nightlife + rail: Midtown
Best for getting to the game: Medical Center/NRG area
The Museum District is particularly appealing because it's walkable, served by METRORail and home to Hermann Park, the Houston Zoo and 19 museums.
For more information, head to www.visithoustontexas.com.
The Bengals’ September trip to Houston is a chance to experience a city that does a lot of things really well: football, space, barbecue, Tex-Mex, art and unpretentious neighborhood bars.
Visit Houston calls the city a mix of Southern hospitality”and urban culture, with everything from NASA and 19 arts and culture institutions to thousands of restaurants representing cuisines from around the world.
Here’s our game plan for before and after the game.
Friday: Get To Know the City Through Food
Check into a hotel in the Museum District, Medical Center or Midtown, preferably with easy access to METRORail. You'll be able to explore Houston while keeping your game-day trip to NRG Stadium simple.
Start at The Original Ninfa's on Navigation, the Houston institution associated with popularizing the sizzling skirt-steak dish we now know as fajitas. Order those and a margarita.
Then go somewhere with absolutely no interest in impressing you. Try Grand Prize, a two-story neighborhood bar where Montrose meets the Museum District, or go full dive at Lola’s Depot.
Saturday: Houston, We Have A Who Dey
Morning: Do the Houston thing you can’t do anywhere else
Go to Space Center Houston. It’s the visitor center for NASA’s Johnson Space Center, with Mission Control, spacecraft, astronaut experiences, and an enormous Saturn V rockets. Even if you don’t think you’re a space person, go. Houston has plenty of attractions, but NASA is the one you’ll regret skipping.
Lunch: Time for brisket
Houston’s famous barbecue scene deserves its own trip. Visit Houston highlights everything from traditional brisket, ribs and sausage to neighborhood pitmasters across the city.
Our Bengals-weekend pick is The Patio at The Pit Room in Montrose. Order brisket, ribs, sausage and sides for the table. Another classic is Goode Company BBQ on Kirby, an old-school Houston barbecue institution.
Afternoon: Pick your Houston
This is where Bengals fans can choose their own adventure!
Art Lovers: Explore the Museum District, with 19 cultural institutions clustered in the area, including the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston Museum of Natural Science, and several museums with free admission.
Outdoorsy Types: Walk or bike Houston’s green spaces and Buffalo Bayou. Houston has parks, with running and biking trails, plus outdoor experiences as a major part of the city.
Foodies: Keep eating. Houston has more than 8,000 restaurants, and its food culture stretches far beyond barbecue and Tex-Mex.
BAR PEOPLE: You’re our people. Find an ice house (Houston's version of an open-air beer joint) or dive and settle in for some day drinking.
Evening: Go where Houston goes
Want something unusual? Neil’s Bahr in EaDo is a wonderfully nerdy Houston dive with retro games, comics and an unpretentious neighborhood feel.
Want an old-fashioned downtown dive? Sunny’s is cheap, casual and close to METRORail.
Want rock ‘n’ roll? The Dirt Bar is dark, loud and proudly unpolished.
Sunday: Who Dey
Here’s the most important piece of information in this story: The game starts at NOON in Houston. Time zones are funny, so Cincinnati's 1 p.m. kickoff is Houston's noon start.
How to get to NRG Stadium
Our recommendation is simple: Take METRORail.
If you’re staying Downtown, Midtown, the Museum District or Medical Center, staying near the Red Line gives you an easy path to NRG Park without dealing with stadium parking and postgame traffic.
Pro tip: If you drive, arrange stadium parking in advance!
Want to pregame?
For the full Texas experience, look for the neighborhood ice house. Red River Ice House sits near NRG Stadium and delivers cold beer, TVs and a low-key neighborhood sports-bar atmosphere.
Sunday Afternoon: One More Houston Meal
Don’t rush to the airport.
Houston's defining foods tell the story of the city itself: Texas barbecue, Gulf seafood, Tex-Mex, Southern food, Vietnamese, Mexican and an extraordinary collection of international cuisines. Visit Houston's own list of iconic meals ranges from chicken and waffles and dim sum to pho, fajitas and barbecue.
So pick something you haven't eaten yet.
For a classic Houston comfort-food experience, try Cleburne Cafeteria. For a fascinating Houston cultural mashup, Connie's Seafood Market & Restaurant combines Gulf seafood with Mexican and Chinese influences.
Plus the best way trick to falling asleep on the plane ride home is a fully belly, Texas-style.