Barbecue south of San Antonio generally means indirectly smoked meats done with mesquite. As we walked up to Mumphord’s the smell coming from the screened in pit room at the back of the joint was unmistakably from direct heat BBQ. We started our visit right there with
Renowned photographer Mario Sorrenti visited Cadillac Ranch with a band of models in December for a spread that ran in the magazine's March issue.
The first fleet of Lockheed Martin’s F-35 fighter jets, which are produced in Fort Worth, are roughly $1 billion more expensive than anticipated.
The Elgin BBQ joint recalled three types of fully-cooked sausages it sells online and in grocery stores, but not the fresh sausage it smokes for restaurant customers.
The press shy billionaire calls Karl Rove his "personal political muse" and reveals why he's bent on defeating President Barack Obama.
The Asthma and Allergy Foundation just released its "Spring Allergy Capitals" survey, which put McAllen at number two and San Antonio at number nine.
It's official: James Franco will not be getting his creative writing PhD from the University of Houston.
I’m probably guilty of overusing the word “crazy” these days, but sometimes there is no other word to describe what is going on in Republican circles. FreedomWorks, a Washington-based group chaired by former U.S. House Majority Leader Dick Armey, has set its sights on defeating Dewhurst and Straus, the
UPDATE: 9:16 p.m. The margin currently stands at 50%-32% (9:16 p.m.), down slightly from 54%-27%. Some commenters posted last week, after the vote in Alabama, that much of the Republican vote in Illinois was downstate. I didn’t buy that at the time, and I don’t buy it now. Illinois is
The University of Texas women's basketball coach, who won big while at Duke, ends her time in Austin with only one NCAA tournament win in five years.
Well, finally! For once, Texas didn’t get skunked by Las Vegas in the finals for the James Beard Awards. Our chefs captured four of the six finalist slots in the category Best Chef: Southwest. And in addition, Houston Chronicle columnist and blogger Alison Cook, who writes Cook’s Tour, made the
A new book, Flagrant Conduct: The Story of Lawrence v. Texas, explores the history of the men behind the landmark Supreme Court case and questions the conventional wisdom of the story.
I can’t recall an occasion in which a statewide official endorsed legislators. Usually it’s the other way around. Susan Combs has endorsed Wayne Christian, David Simpson, and Bryan Hughes (who doesn’t really fit in with the extremist crowd). Who’s next? Leo Berman? You have to hand it to Combs. She
This is how the two hundred or so conservatives who met in Houston last week spun the results of the Deep South primaries in Alabama and Mississippi on Tuesday. Santorum won Alabama comfortably with 35% to 29% each for Gingrich and Romney. But if you look closely at the numbers,
Texas Pays Out Big for Workers’ Unused Vacation Time. This was the headline for the Star-Telegram story about payments to state employees for unused vacation time. Critics were quoted as saying that the payments, amounting to $500 million, are “ridiculous.” But the story is missing some crucial context.
The controversial marketing and charity campaign caught the attention of the Daily Show host, who said it used “vulnerable members of society as objects.”
Richard Garriott, the video game pioneer and tireless proselytizer of private space flight, posits that old-fashioned entrepreneurialism will drive space exploration in the coming decades.
The new television show, which satirizes church-going Dallas socialites, draws ire from Newt Gingrich and a score of others.
Governor Perry has vowed to keep the Women’s Health Program alive. The cost of the now-defunct program is $35 million, so that shouldn’t be a problem. In fact, finding the money is the easy part. The hard part is putting together a program that works. Start with the obvious problem: Where
Whole Foods Market is wading into the publishing business and expanding its food-lifestyle empire to include a new digital monthly magazine called Dark Rye.
Front Steps' Mitchell Gibbs says that the controversial SXSW marketing and charity campaign raised homelessness awareness.
Mississippi Santorum 33% Gingrich 31.53% Romney 30.04% You could throw a blanket over the three contenders. (Paul won 9%). This is an inconclusive result. Santorum held serve, Gingrich missed an opportunity, and Romney got what he wanted, a number that began with a “3.” Alabama CNN is calling the race
Enjoying his fifteen minutes (hours, days, whatever) of fame, self-declared “BBQ Snob” Daniel Vaughn is in Austin today hanging out with the big dog, Anthony Bourdain, of the Travel Channel’s “No Reservations.” They’re seen here at Franklin Barbecue, along with Vaughn’s photographer Nicholas McWhirter, Vaughn’s book agent David
Robert De Niro stars in "Being Flynn," a new movie about the life of Nick Flynn, a part-time U of H writing teacher.
The Justice Department slapped the hand of the Texas legislature by blocking the state's new voter ID law, saying it would likely disenfranchise Hispanic voters.
I’m not going to spend a lot of time on this. I’ve already said my piece. Voter ID is intentional voter suppression. Is it unconstitutional? Probably not. I admit to being uncomfortable that a state statute can be voided by the executive branch. That’s not separation of powers as I
The conservatives might be able to organize a draft and take over the convention, but the question of electability is going to be the paramount concern. Gingrich has not been successful in the primaries. Another problem for him is that he has the worst gender gap vs. Obama of all
Planned Parenthood has been providing an estimated 44% of the services in the women’s health care program. Now that the state is establishing its own program, the question is, Who will provide these services? There are two basic problems: (1) How does the state recruit physicians into the program? Reimbursement
The Republican presidential rumor mill is abuzz with whispers that Newt Gingrich may tap Rick Perry to be his vice president in a rare, pre-convention ticket.
The owner of Chris Madrid's, the San Antonio restaurant famous for its burgers, died Sunday morning.
She told the Texas Tribune that he is the only real conservative left in the race. Does this accolade stand up to scrutiny, or is she pandering to the social conservatives who have never fully embraced her? Mitt Romney criticized Santorum for voting to raise the debt ceiling on five
Mary Lookadoo will face Hughes in the Republican primary. One of the underlying themes of this election cycle will be how candidates from the education community fare. This is one of a number of test cases.
Yesterday, I posted a story about Raul Torres’ decision to challenge Juan Hinojosa in SD-20. To quote the former president of the United States, I completely misunderestimated what was going on. Republicans have opened an offensive on a broad front against incumbent Hispanic senators. Uresti, Lucio, Hinojosa, and Zaffirini all
Here is one scenario: Torres defeats Hinojosa; Davis loses her Senate race; Democrats lose two seats; Republicans have 21 votes in the Senate. Another scenario: Torres’s candidacy raises Democratic enthusiasm, swells Democratic turnout, helping Abel Herrero defeat Connie Scott and turnout helps D’s in other key local races. The main
“Well done” for Governor Perry: Apple brings the promise of $304 million in future investment and 3,600 jobs to Austin. Do those newly arriving families know that Texas may not have the money to educate their kids?
This is a swing district, one of the few in the state. I thought it presented the Democrats with a good opportunity to pick up a seat, but the report I get from El Paso is that Moody has been almost invisible in the community since he lost the seat
TxDoT announced today that it has “found” $2 billion for new roads in the form of “unexpected federal funds” and underbidding of some contracts. Far be it from me to look a gift horse in the mouth, but it does make me wonder what’s going on at the agency; after
The state pays big bucks to bring Apple (and 3,600 jobs) to Austin, Texans eat out more often than residents of any other state, and the Capitol City will bring in $264 million this month.
A combination of steep cuts to women’s health care and an impasse over federal Title X funds threatens to leave some 400,000 low income Texas women without access to cancer screenings and contraceptives.
The strange case of Jeffrey and Yvonne Stern gets stranger. Yvonne filed a lawsuit against her husband's ex-mistress, Michelle Gaiser, who is expected to testify that Jeffrey helped plot his wife's murder.
Houston hand doctor Michael Brown files two new lawsuits, state Democrats lose another member to the GOP, and Texas chefs are having a moment.
From the Morning News: Austin — Gov. Rick Perry dismissed concerns that 130,000 Texas women will lose cancer screenings and contraceptive services, saying Thursday that the Women’s Health Program — caught in a political crossfire between his administration and the federal government — will live on. The governor suggested
A study conducted by Texas State University researchers involving vultures and human remains could have big implications for homicide investigators.
“The single most restrictive voter eligibility law in the United States.” So said Dane County Circuit Judge David Flanagan of the Wisconsin law, although his comment makes me wonder if the good judge has seen Texas’s law. If ours isn’t worse than Wisconsin’s, it isn’t for lack of trying.
The Wall Street Journal had an interesting story earlier this week about the gender gaps faced by both parties. The piece, by Gerald Seib, notes that Obama tied McCain among men in 08 but led McCain among women by 13 points. Some other comparisons, more contemporary: Obama vs. R0mney: +6
Our definitive guide on where to grab a hangover taco, a soul-satisfying plate of ’cue, a beautiful piece of sushi, a see-and-be-seen table, a killer margarita, and more.
Robert Andrew Powell, the author of This Love is Not for Cowards: Salvation and Soccer in Ciudad Juárez, criticizes the "femicide business" and claims that activists, academics, and journalists profit from furthering the narrative.
Demographic change takes its toll. Or was he pushed out in redistricting? Legler is the first, but will not be the last, to face the inevitable. If redistricting had historical markers, this transition would deserve one. District 144 was represented by Robert Talton from 1993 to 2009; Pasadena is a
Naveen Selvadurai, co-founder of social networking site Foursquare, announced that he was leaving the company on his personal blog. But why?
Expectant mother Jessica Simpson bares all on the April cover of Elle.
