Patricia McConnico

Home, Sweet Home

Senior editor Gary Cartwright on Austin and what he likes best about the liberal city he calls home.

Eating Out

Senior editor Patricia Sharpe on the state’s top restaurants.

Mr. Not-So-Nice Guy

Executive editor Skip Hollandsworth on his most difficult interview, actor Tommy Lee Jones

Murder, She Wrote

Senior editor Pamela Colloff on researching a 45-year-old murder case, tracking down sources, and using a ghost story to show how the crime still haunts Odessa.

Game Highlights

Editor Evan Smith talks about watching the Rose Bowl, text-messaging University of Texas athletics director DeLoss Dodds, and putting Vince Young on the cover.

Books That Cook

A review of Simply Serving: Recipes From the Heart of Texas.

Made in China

Brook Larmer, Newsweek’s Shanghai bureau chief and the author of Operation Yao Ming, on basketball sensation Yao Ming, sports in China, and writing his first book.

Welcome to the Dome

Associate editor John Spong talks about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, its survivors living in the Astrodome, and new beginnings.

Books That Cook

A review of The Low-Fat, Low-Carb Southwest Cookbook.

Eating Around

Senior editor Patricia Sharpe on how she picked this year’s best new restaurants.

Split Personality

Executive editor S. C. Gwynne, who wrote this month’s cover story, talks about Speaker of the House Tom Craddick, his seemingly average-guy life in Midland, and his powerful persona in Austin.

Mrs. Feelgood

Executive editor Skip Hollandsworth on getting Burleson's Joanne Webb to talk about her sex-toy business.

Sleeping Around

Writer-at-large Suzy Banks on what she likes best about staying in a hotel.

Love Thy Neighbor

Writer-at-large Cecilia Balli on U.S. ambassador to Mexico Tony Garza and the two countries' post-9/11 relationship.

Family Fun

An old-fashioned carousel, an authentic pioneer village—and starry, starry nights.

Keep on Truckin’

Associate editor John Spong on Toyota trucks, the SUV craze, and hybrid pickups.

Smooth Operator

Associate editor Katy Vine on Houston businessman Tilman Fertitta and his impact on Galveston's tourism revival.

Nice Ice, Baby

Forget sorbetto, gelato, and ice cream. Our new favorite summer cool-me-down is the paleta, Mexico’s answer to the Popsicle. It’s frosty and fruity and comes in dozens of flavors both familiar and exotic. Little known north of the border until fairly recently, the paleta was invented—according to legend—sometime in the

Albany

For the past seventeen years, polo players from throughout the United States have been making the pilgrimage to the Musselman Brothers Lazy 3 Ranch, just outside the tiny West Texas town of Albany, to play Polo on the Prairie, a fundraiser for the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. This year,

COMEDY

LAUGH TRACK Why is it that Lucille Ball is still hilarious and Andrew Dice Clay isn’t? We’re willing to take a big leap and say it has something to do with personal style, delivery, and content. This month you can see for yourself (if you’re lucky enough to score a

Bookshelf

Red, White, and TrueEven non-Texans know that chili enjoys near-mythic status in the Lone Star State. What they may not know is that biscuits are mighty important too. Two new cookbooks have the last word on these staples. In Strictly Chili A. D. Livingston lauds the classic Texas bowl of

GET OUT

GREEN DAYS Austin is known for its music scene and for its slackers (offset a little by the Internet start-up entrepreneurs in the late nineties), but the state capital is also famous for being green—in more ways than one. And this month—the first break from cedar fever since December—is the

Bon Vivant

Senior editor Patricia Sharpe on crème brûlée, eating out, and the best new restaurant in the state.

True Crime

Journalists around the nation wanted access to Todd Becker, the all-American dad who also ran a safe-stealing ring, but only executive editor Skip Hollandsworth got him to talk.

SPORTS

HOT TIME IN THE CITY It takes a lot of planning to get ready for the nation’s biggest party. Just ask Houston city officials, who have been preparing for Super Bowl XXXVIII for the past three years. Those who want to revel in the hoopla can attend any (or all)

A GREAT WEEKEND IN FORT WORTH

WOW TOWN It isn’t often that you find world-famous museums down the street from a high school football stadium. But that’s Fort Worth—it has something for everyone. And from January 22 through 25, the offerings are especially fine, beginning Thursday night with a concert by progressive-country rocker Jerry Jeff Walker

POP CULTURE

LIVE LONG AND PROSPER Before the Empire struck back, there was the Federation and the USS Enterprise. Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek, which first aired on the small screen from 1966 to 1969, ingeniously used science fiction to address real-life issues like race and gender relations, gaining a cultlike following of

BEST FESTS

FOREIGN AFFAIRS Forgo October’s usual rowdy beer-drinking and bratwurst-eating festivities and instead treat yourself to souvlaki and spanakopita at Houston’s thirty-seventh annual Original Greek Festival. To be held October 2-5 at the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral, the event features—what else?—all things Greek: music, dancing, crafts, jewelry, and of course, food

EXTRAORDINARY WOMEN

DEAR ABBY: I’m a working mother trying to balance my family life with my career. Like so many millions of other women, I’ve discovered that encouragement is a huge motivator, whether it comes from someone I know or someone I don’t. I’m writing to you because this month there are

Museums

FAIR PLAY A little town to the west of Dallas gets a lot of ink in the national press for its stellar museums—and rightfully so. But Big D has its share of institutions that deserve recognition too. And this month you’ll discover there’s a lot to look at. Begin at

Primary Flavors

LEAN AND GREEN You can find the slim, distinctive chiles called long greens or Anaheims growing in areas throughout the Southwest United States, but by almost universal assent, the ones cultivated around Hatch, New Mexico, are the best. Supposedly the local soil, altitude, and rainfall provide conditions that make these

Nostalgia

BACK TO THE FUTURE For those of you mid-thirtysomethings and early-fortysomethings who think you’re still cool, I’ve got news: Not. But this month, you can relive your glory days—the eighties. First, rent a few flicks (Sixteen Candles, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, and Valley Girl) to set the mood. Then,

Restaurant Guide

Around the State

Restaurant Guide

Around the State

A Great Weekend in Brownsville

SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY Around this time of year, when the heat index hovers in the hundreds, folks start dreaming of cooler temperatures and places north, as in the Pole. But on the weekend of July 25—27, we recommend you travel south, to the tip of Texas. Yeah, it will be hot—just

Tough Call

Senior editor Pamela Colloff discusses abortion, access, and what it's like to work on an emotionally charged story.

The Dude Is In

Associate editor John Spong talks about Owen Wilson and "The Story of O."

A Peach of a Story

Writer-at-large Suzy Banks talks about fuzz, a parade, and where to find the best Texas peaches.

Speech Lessons

Senior editor Pamela Colloff discusses accents and how her own has changed since she moved to Texas.

Restaurant Guide

Around the State

Restaurant Guide

Around the State

Best Fests

THE MEAT OF THE MATTER Everyone has an opinion on what makes the best barbecue, and nowhere is this argument more intense than at a barbecue cookoff. In Texas there are more than 100 cookoffs a year, some 25 in May alone. Two of the more unusual ones focus on

Country Reporter

Writer-at-large Suzy Banks talks about her feature story, "Head for the Hills."

Restaurant Guide

Around the State

Primary Flavors

GREEN WITH ENVY Thanks to a memorable movie, just about everyone has heard of fried green tomatoes. But how many people have ever tasted one? Supposedly, green tomatoes are tart—not sweet, like red ones. So why would anyone want to eat the fruit when it isn’t ripe yet? “For starters,