There’s an old joke that goes like this: A girl is out milking the family cow one morning when a stranger rolls up and asks if her parents are at home. The girl yells out, “Mama, there’s a man here to see you!” Her mother peers out the door and,
All-American Burger Festival, Urban Cowboy Musical, Offshore Fishing, Bill Callahan, Christmas in July, and seven-on-seven football . . .
Grab your swimsuit, hop in the car, and drive to one of these four coastal getaways to beat the heat.
The founding editor of TEXAS MONTHLY on the magazine’s first Best & Worst Legislators list.
Robert Ellis's new album, Photographs, is influenced by both his folk and country roots.
Parker County Peach Festival, History on Tap, Heroes Celebrity Baseball Game, and the Buddy Holly musical . . .
Little Joe's Picnic, Fireworks on the Brazos, Steve Earle, Star-Spangled Spectacular, Dock Dogs and Josiah Media Fest . . .
Larry Swearingen has ten scientists and doctors who say he isn't a killer. He also has a new execution date.
The largest gay pride parade in Texas celebrates its 33rd year.
Should the Astros join the Rangers in the American League West?
Willie Nelson's Country Throwdown, the Texas Shakespeare Festival, Blue Lapis Light, and Lyle Lovett . . .
Spousal adjustments, fly abatement, soccer parenting, and the truth about creased jeans.
Contigo and Alto Pizzeria.
Many things can be learned by butting heads with other chefs in a reality-TV cooking show. But the biggest lesson is this: If the judges ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy. And what does that translate to in real life? Substitute “clients” for “judges” and you’ve got it. Which is why
Spoiled SportsI have yet to open my May issue because every time I see that cover, it shocks me. America’s Team?! How can you call any team that has never won a championship “America’s Team”? Please keep in mind that the firing of Wade Phillips was a bigger news story
How architecture changed the balance of power at the Legislature and other observations from my three decades covering Texas politics.
A new box set from Mickey Newbury.
As a kid I was the pickiest eater you have ever seen, and family meals gave new meaning to the words “food fight.” But I gritted my teeth and overcame it.
In an excerpt from Sarah Bird's new novel The Gap Year, a single mom prepares to send her only daughter off to college. Guess which one is a wreck.
Richard Poland on giving tours of the Capitol.
Macias has served as a patrolman with the San Antonio Police Department for the past seven years. He works the shift that runs from 10:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. (known as the “dog watch”) and is based out of the Central Substation, which oversees downtown and its surrounding area.A police
When Sam Graves and his 22-year-old bay gelding, Old Hub, beat ten other cowboys to win $150 in the first advertised cutting competition, in Haskell in 1898, he could not have imagined how the sport would evolve. Today the National Cutting Horse Association, which hosts the World Championship Futurity, in
T. Boone Pickens’s office cabinet.
The two-year-old extension of the famed promenade offers Roman antiquities, Roman delicacies, and plenty of opportunities for roamin’.
A new album by Jolie Holland.
Courtney Bond, Sarah Bird, and Jan Jarboe Russell.
On producing a Buddy Holly tribute album and more.
Babe Didrikson’s pioneering career as a woman golfer.
Terrence Malick: Brilliant or pretentious? Discuss.
My hometown of Cleveland has become the most disgraced community in America because of a brutal, unspeakable crime that has set everyone against one another.
Composite photograph by Randal Ford. Styling by Lauren Smith Ford. Hair and makeup by Franchiska Bryant. Wardrobe courtesy of Allens Boots, Julian Gold, Neiman Marcus, and Sheplers.
The Fourth of July may be all about American patriotism. But Texas chauvinism—and Texas barbecue—will be the order of the day on the Second of July. So fire up the TV at 8 a.m. Central and tune in to the CBS Early Show to watch Wayne Mueller, co-owner of
Picture this: It’s one of those brutally hot days, when the Texas air is as still and thick as homespun cream. Far in a South Austin field, behind a row of trailers, there’s a girl. She’s standing in a tiny patch of shade, holding something in each hand. Closer, closer
From our BBQ app and BBQ web site partner, Daniel Vaughn of Full Custom Gospel BBQ: There’s a BBQ Hunt going on across the state, and Texas Monthly is behind it. As part of the promotion for the badass BBQ app, they are giving away large amounts
After Governor Perry blamed Senator Robert Duncan, R-Lubbock, for the failure of the sanctuary cities bill, the Senate Republican caucus issued a statement of solidarity dated June 28 (yesterday). The text of the statement follows: On Saturday, June 25, the Senate Republican Caucus convened to discuss the issue of possibly
Michael Quinn Sullivan has a bone to pick with me. I am the subject of a blog post by Sullivan published on the Empower Texans web site yesterday under the headline, “Texas Monthly: Disclosure-Free Zone.” Sullivan objects to the fact that in an April column about
<!––>For the last several weeks, Aaron Franklin (he of the massive overnight success Franklin Barbecue, in Austin) has been building an additional smoker in his backyard, to increase the capacity of his perpetually sold-out joint at 900 E. 11th. Yesterday he and his wife/biz partner Stacy were in
I was surprised to read in Saturday’s Houston Chronicle that the state Department of Motor Vehicles needed one more vote to authorize a license plate celebrating the Confederacy and displaying the image of a Confederate battle flag. Is this a good idea? I am a history major, and I
How else to characterize Susan Combs’ statement today detailing senior staff changes in the comptroller’s office? She so doesn’t get it. The problem in the comptroller’s is lack of competence. So what does she do to fix it? She hires a political operative. His name is David White. Here are
Two weeks ago, to celebrate the launch of our BBQ app and web site, we bought three Austinites a Franklin brisket. And we aren’t stopping there. Follow @TMFood or @Texasmonthly on Twitter to keep tabs on the #tmbbqhunt. From here on out, three lucky winners will still
Readers may recall that a lawsuit brought by a California-based “public interest” law firm resulted in a ruling by the Texas Supreme Court that sudden (the technical legal term is “avulsive”) changes in the profile of the beach due to storms could erase public rights of access that have been
This is the first poll taken this year by Iowa’s leading newspaper. It was published tonight (Saturday). Mitt Romney 23% Michele Bachmann 22% Herman Cain 10% Newt Gingrich 7% Ron Paul 7% Tim Pawlenty 6% Rick Santorum 4% John Huntsman 2% Neither Sarah Palin nor Rick Perry was included in
If you’ve been to half as many trailers as I have, you know one sad little fact: Many of them are never open. Oh, all right—maybe “never” is an exaggeration. But many times, finding a truck that sticks faithfully to its hours is almost as tricky as gracefully eating
Not Tom. His daughter Christi. Rick Perry has a vacancy to fill, following the resignation of Michael Williams in April. (Williams, through his consultant, had previously insisted to me that he was unequivocally running for the U.S. Senate; he now has his sights set on one of the 17 or
It’s hard to entertain a serious discussion of this bill. It is hard to contemplate that 112 members of the House would sign on to this bill as co-sponsors. I’m almost at a loss for words, except that by now we ought to be used to the idea that this
Last Thursday Nate Blakeslee and I sat down with Evan Smith to discuss our picks for this session’s Best & Worst Legislators. Here’s the video of our conversation.
Could the insanity over Franklin Barbecue spin more out of control than it already has? Totally. For one thing, we’re piling on. Yesterday, Texas Monthly named the riotously popular eighteen-month-old Austin joint as the designated “newcomer” at the second annual Texas Monthly BBQ Festival, coming up October 30.
La Tasca may not be the most original name for a Spanish tapas locale, but the Texas-inspired, absolutely decadent, and beautifully presented food at this Central Austin station is a refreshing surprise. No longer do you have to travel to a certain odd spot
I have been involved in nineteen of the twenty previous articles, and I cannot recall a more difficult year when it came to selecting the members on both lists.
Today TEXAS MONTHLY tweeted this year’s list of best and worst legislators. Here it is all in one place. The Best Dan Branch, R-Dallas. Senator Robert Duncan, R-Lubbock. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth. Will Hartnett, R-Dallas. Jim Keffer, R-Eastland. Senator Steve Ogden, R-Bryan. Mike Villarreal, D-San Antonio. Senator John Whitmire,
