November 1985 Issue

Texas Primer: The Petroleum Club

People who have watched a certain prime-time soap opera think they know what goes on at the Petroleum Club. They don’t.

The Hustlers

The genteel practice of law is dead. Nowadays lawyers fight for clients, raid each other’s firms, and bill, bill, bill.

Preacher’s Kids

My father had to have an answer for everything—adultery, spiritual crises, the pigeons defecating in the church gutter. No wonder I didn’t become a preacher. The miracle is that my sister did.

The Art-by-the-Truckload School

They’re cheesy, they’re tasteless. But each black velvet painting is a one-of-a-kind work of art.

We Wanted a Test Tube Baby

The odds for having a child of our own were slim to none. We took a chance on slim.

The Neo Black Velvetists

A new chapter in art history? Five artists dabble in a medium you’ll never see at the Met.

Western Art

This story is from Texas Monthly’s archives. We have left the text as it was originally published to maintain a clear historical record. Read more here about our archive digitization project. From 1983 to 1986, Texas Monthly’s regular feature, “Western Art,” highlighted artists’ takes on the classic

Have I Got a Collection for You

With one bold acquisition the Dallas Museum of Art could double the value of its holdings. But there were a few strings attached.

Dense as a Clootie Dumpling

It had to happen. Novelist James Michener has finally trained his macroscope on Texas, and the result is, well, long.

Behind the Lines

Winners of Dallas, at ease!

Is It Live Or Is It a CD?

Compact discs: coasters? Frisbees? or the best sound you’ll ever hear?

Eat and Run

Graze on the street corners of Texas for fast, tasty, and inexpensive meals.

Missing the Pointe

White Nights is too much cold war, not enough Baryshnikov; After Hours is overwrought Scorcese; Mishima is a mishmash.

Texas Monthly Reporter

A turf battle over shrimp on the coast; a nominee for the meanest man in Houston; a former Cowboy’s reflections on why athletes go broke.

On the Menu: Johnny B’s Old Fashioned Soda Fountain

IT WASN’T BECAUSE I was touring West Texas that I ate a cheeseburger for breakfast. It was after stumbling upon Johnny B’s for lunch the day before. Never mind the open sky and distant mesas, the cheeseburger at this inviting luncheonette was all I could envision.Open only since November (and

Johnny B’s Lime Rickey

Fast becoming a master soda jerk, Marilyn Shackelford, manager of Johnny B’s Old-Fashioned Soda Fountain, showed us how to make a fresh Lime Rickey at home.1 juicy lime Crushed ice 1 1/2 oz. cherry syrup (Jubilee brand is good)Fill a pint glass with crushed ice. Squeeze in juice of one

Back Roads

They said it couldn’t be done, but Larry Brumfield built Texas’ largest indoor bass aquarium.

Downtown

You have to wonder if guys like San Antonio’s C. A. Stubbs aren’t the future of urban politics.

Post-Modern Times

NorthPark Mall inaugurated an epoch twenty years ago. It’s still the standard for upscale shopping.

Puzzle

Roar of the Crowd

State Secrets

Fundamentalists lose ground in textbook war; White maneuvers to keep Hispanic support; round two for Crystal City.

Touts

The sincerest form of plattery; imaginative new serving pieces for the holiday season.