March 1990 Issue

Boom and Bust

When oil and real estate boomed, a lot of Texans rode the tiger. But the beast turned, and those who weren’t devoured faced the prospect of limping back. It has been a long but not uninteresting trip.

Family and Friendship

Our search for identity is really a search for familial bonds. By our children and our parents, by our forebears and our closest friends, by the reflections of those with whom we surround ourselves, so shall you know us.

Passion and Adventure

Texas was founded by risk-takers, place-makers, and folks on the run, and their spiritual descendants are our common stock. Our heritage is not a concert for the fainthearted, but if you hear the music, you’ll want to dance.

Work and Reward

For some, work is its own reward. For others it is a compromise, a trade-off to some ulterior purpose. And yet it is the work that defines us. There is something in the doing that gives us stature and makes us whole.

The Land, the Roots, the Myth

Whether it wells from the high pine walls of East Texas, the haunted valleys of the Hill Country, the violent uplifts of the Trans-Pecos, or the salty, low-relief vistas of the coastal plains, the Texas myth shapes and claims us all.

Hope and Despair

Face it, life isn’t fair. The cards fall in random patterns, and for every winner there is an uncomfortable number of losers. But what goes around comes around, and in the seeds of calamity we often find new beginnings. Mary Margaret Adams. To Russia With Love. Letty Banda. Be It

Talking machines.

Lemon-Garlic Potatoes With Spinach

Preparation Time: 10 minutes Cooking Time: 15 minutes1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil 1 pound unpeeled small new potatoes, cut into eighths 3 large cloves garlic, mashed 1 cup water 1/2 lemon 6 to 8 ounces fresh spinach (or chopped Swiss chard), washed and steamed Kosher salt and freshly ground black

Hot-and-Sour Soup

2 teaspoons instant tamarind Salt and sugar, to taste 2 serrano peppers 2 small new potatoes, cut into chunks 1/2 pound catfish, deboned and cut into chunks 2 tablespoons each of chopped pineapple, bean sprouts, and celery 2 teaspoons chopped garlic 1 tablespoon vegetable oil Nuoc mamIn large saucepan, bring

Skewered Rosemary Lamb

Preparation Time: 10 minutesCooking Time: 8 minutesMake Ahead: 24 hours1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil1/4 cup red wine vinegar1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard1 1/2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, crumbled, or 1 teaspoon dried2 cloves garlic, mashed1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper3/4 teaspoon salt (preferably kosher)1 1/2 pounds boneless lamb (leg or shoulder),

Quick Cuisine: Light Bites

Great grilling: marinated spring lamb.

Light Strawberry Cream

Recipe from Light Bites.

French Mushroom Salad

Preparation Time: 15 minutes Cooking Time: 10 minutes Make Ahead: 24 hours1/2 cup dry white wine 2 shallots, finely minced 1 bay leaf 1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme Dash Hungarian paprika or cayenne 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1 pound mushrooms with

Vietnamese Restaurants

AustinSaigon Kitchen, 9200 N. Lamar, 512-837-9910. This modest-looking restaurant’s bracing hot-and-sour soup was filled with shrimp, pineapple, celery, tomato, okra, noodles, and anise. Vermicelli with rice-paper pancakes that were more like omelettes came with grilled pork, fish sauce, and a platter frilly lettuce, cilantro, cucumbers, and mint. Tender frogs’ legs

Vietnamese Grocery Stores

Most of the specialty items needed to prepare Vietnamese recipes can be found at the following Asian and Vietnamese groceries.AustinLien, Huong Oriental Market, 8610 N. Lamar, 512-835-9618. My Thanh Oriental Market, 7435 N. Lamar, 454-4804. Say Hi, 5249 Burnet Road, 453-1411.DallasAsian Grocery, 9191 Forest Lane, 214-235-3038. Laos Store, 4536 Bryan,

Charcoal-Broiled Pork With Rice Vermicelli

1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar 1/2 cup nuoc mam 4 shallots, thinly sliced Freshly ground black pepper, to taste 8 ounces thin rice vermicelli 1 pound boneless pork loin 1 pound ground beef (chuck) 8 garlic cloves, minced 24 bamboo skewers, soaked in water for 30 minutes (use metal

Spring Rolls With Peanut Sauce

Spring Rolls2 ounces thin rice vermicelli 8 uncooked medium shrimp 12 ounces boneless pork loin, in 1 piece 1 large carrot, shredded 1 teaspoon sugar 8 rounds rice paper (banh trang), each 8 1/2 inches in diameter 4 large leaves leaf lettuce with thick stem ends removed, cut in half

Shrimp Salad

8 medium shrimp, peeled and deveined 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 3 ounces uncooked chicken breast, cut into chunks 1/4 small head each of red and green cabbage, chopped 2 teaspoons chopped fresh mint leaves 2 tablespoons chopped bean sprouts 3 garlic gloves, chopped Green tops of 2 green onions, chopped

Cultural Exchange

Vietnamese cuisine is a multiethnic parade of Chinese techniques, French flavors, and spices from India. New ingredients, such as catfish and serrano peppers, add a Texas twang.

Buttermilk Pie

Drew Allen, a co-owner of San Antonio’s Liberty Bar, came across this custardy buttermilk pie recipe in an out-of-print forties cookbook. The pie was powerfully sweet for modern taste buds, so Allen halved the sugar to come up with his restaurant’s most popular dessert.4 ounces frozen butter 1 ounce cold

Muckraker of The Big Bend

An Alpine weekly digs up all the news that’s fit to print—and then some.

Kimbell Conundrum

Architects are up in arms over plans for the Kimbell.

Update: Stubb Moves Again

Stubb’s barbecue, with a side order of blues, hits the road again. Destination: Lower Greenville.

Strike Up the Bands

The bands play on and on and on in Austin.

Smart Parties

Entertainer John Armstrong applies the scientific method to children’s birthday parties.

Roar of the Crowd

Steering clear; bucking the system; finding themselves.

State Secrets

Touching bases at the Pentagon; the next lawsuit after school finance; the hidden battle for control of the Legislature.