Convenience Big Store: Katy's 10 bars and restaurants with the highest alcohol sales

These large rodents are all over Katy, and it's becoming a problem.

One of my all-time favorite movies is "The Princess Bride." If you're a fan of the book or movie, you'll remember the scene with the R.O.U.S.es- Rodents of Unusual Size, very clearly.

And while S. Morgenstern's classic tale of true love is a work of fiction, the R.O.U.S.es, or at least a smaller, less deadly cousin, are very much a real thing and they live in Katy.

Nutria, are medium-sized, grayish-brown rodents with long, round tails, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife, my coworker Octavia Johnson writes, and they're an invasive species that causes quite a bit of chaos for our ecosystems.

"Nutria can cause damage by burrowing and eating vegetation which can lead to erosion, road damage and more, according to Texas Parks and Wildlife," Octavia writes. "Other species also could lose their homes to erosion as a result of erosion caused by nutria."

No offense to the Texas Parks and Wildlife, but those things are not "medium-sized." They are enormous. I have absolutely no credentials for making that claim, but I've seen them, and nutria are real-life R.O.U.S.es.

If you've read this newsletter for any length of time, you'll know that I'm a big fan of critters, but I'm less enthusiastic about nutria than other animals we discuss. It's not because they look like massively oversized rats to me — although that doesn't help — it's that they destroy the natural habitat of our indigenous species that are already threatened by the development in the area, and that's never a good thing.

Let's chat about nutria. Have you ever seen one in Katy? What are your thoughts on the giant rodents? Or just send me your favorite "The Princess Bride" quote. I'd love to chat about that, too.

Claire Goodman, Katy reporter

claire.goodman@houstonchronicle.com

Need to Know

Vida Mariscos is one of the top 10 Katy establishments for alcohol sales.

Photo by: Courtesy/Vida Mariscos

These 10 bars and restaurants were Katy's top alcohol sellers in August.

While there are numerous spots for grabbing a drink in Katy, these 10 restaurants and bars reported the highest alcohol sales in the city in August.

Education

Photo by: Google Maps

The Katy ISD school board has approved a lower tax rate for local homeowners

The lower rate is the result of newly passed Senate Bill 2 that allocates part of Texas' budget surplus to reducing school district property tax rates, said Christopher Smith, chief financial officer for the district..

Growing Katy

Photo by: Greystar

A large new single-family rental home community is planned in Katy

Apartment giant Greystar is diving into the build-to-rent sector in Houston for the first time with a 156-home single-family rental project in Sunterra, Katy.

Openings and Closings

Tiffany's Tiny Flower Truck in Fulshear is officially open.

Shout out

For this week's reader poll, I want to know where you can find the best steak in Katy.

Whether you like it rare, medium or well-done, there's no shortage of steak offerings in Katy. I want to put together a list of reader submitted suggestions for the best steak in the city.

One last thing ...

Last week we talked about how the best spot for viewing the solar eclipse is in a Home Depot parking lot. This week let's discuss solar eclipse safety.

Apparently there's a myth that's been circulated for decades that you can safely view an eclipse through a green soda bottle.

Do not do that.

The nonprofit Prevent Blindness Texas is trying to educate the public ahead of the Oct. 14 solar eclipse about proper eye protection and the dangers of looking at the sun during an eclipse, my colleague Ryan Nickerson reports.

Ryan's story details how you can safely stare at the sun without searing your retinae, so if you plan on viewing the heliacal phenomenon, be sure to check out his important information.