Food & Drink
December 19, 2023
Where to Eat in Lubbock
Whether you’re attending a Red Raiders game, or passing through on your way to New Mexico, this Panhandle town offers more in the way of impressive dining than you may think.
Panhandle
BBQ
July 7, 2023
For $40, You Can Get an Excellent Steak Dinner Off a Dirt Road in the Panhandle
The XXL Ranch and Steak House might be hard to find, but once you get there and try the ribeye, baked potato, and sopapilla cheesecake, you're sure to be back again.
Texas Country Reporter
February 28, 2023
On the Wide Plains West of Lubbock, a Chainsaw Carver Works From an Old Cotton Gin
From small woodland creatures to life-size figures, Cam Dockery has used chainsaws to carve more than 10,000 sculptures in his hometown of Whitharral.
Texas Country Reporter
February 9, 2023
Orlando’s Italian Restaurant Is a True Lubbock Original
David Cea of Orlando’s Italian Restaurant reflects on the restaurant’s legacy and growth.
Texas Country Reporter
January 31, 2023
Just Off Highway 84, Pitforks & Smokerings BBQ Is a Family Legacy
Inside his father’s old service station, Isaac Arellano puts in long hours at his restaurant, Pitforks and Smokerings, to keep the flame alive.
Texas Country Reporter
September 19, 2022
Wildorado Cattle Company Is Not Your Average High School Gig
Far in the Panhandle, an upstart ag program at a small-town school has become a start-up business run by the students.
Texas Country Reporter
July 6, 2022
The Lone Locksmith Serving 14,000 Square Miles of West Texas
No matter the time of day or night, Victor Laramore will make keys, rebuild locks, and open doors for a desperate Texan who is having a bad day.
Tacos
June 22, 2022
No Beef? No Problem. The Panhandle Embraces Vegan Tacos.
Amarillo may be famous for its steak-eating contest, but Yellow City Street Food is drawing hype for tacos stuffed with mushrooms and seitan.
Music
May 20, 2022
A Trip to Turkey, Texas, Where Western Swing Is Still King
Bob Wills fans flock each spring to the tiny Panhandle town to “dance all night, dance a little longer.”
Books
March 2, 2021
How Hank the Cowdog Made John R. Erickson the King of the Canine Canon
He wanted to become a serious literary novelist, like Faulkner or Hemingway. Fortunately for millions of Hank the Cowdog fans, he failed.
Politics & Policy
June 24, 2020
Ronny Jackson Was Trump’s Doctor. Now He Wants to Be the President’s Best Friend in Congress.
It’s an unusual and risky campaign strategy: Jackson is trying to appeal primarily to Trump, in the hopes that the voters will follow.
Travel & Outdoors
June 24, 2020
The Surprising Story of How Salt Has Helped Shape Texas
From the Estelline spring in the Panhandle and the foot of the Guadalupe Mountains to the hypersaline lakes in the Rio Grande Valley, the common mineral is all around us.
Books
June 23, 2020
In Her Poetry, Mónica Teresa Ortiz Immortalizes the Act of Remembering
The queer Texan writer's verses speak to the idea that because there is violence and injustice there is also beauty, love, and living to be done.
News
May 28, 2020
The West Texas Basketball Tournament at the Center of a Coronavirus Outbreak
A high school competition in Levelland brought fans from across the Panhandle and South Plains in March. Seven would come down with COVID-19.
Being Texan
January 30, 2019
From East Texas to El Paso, Four Texans Reflect on Where They’re From
Over the years, Texas Monthly’s most celebrated voices have written about the places that shaped them, from the Panhandle to the border. We revisit some of the classics.
The Culture
May 15, 2018
Last Week’s Supercell Thunderstorm Over the Panhandle May Have Been Caused by Wildfires
Science is amazing.
Business
April 17, 2018
A Farewell to Dairy Queens
A recent spate of closures of the iconic restaurant chain has left many communities in the lurch.
Being Texan
July 21, 2017
Love and Loss on the Great Plains
The day the fire came to the Franklin Ranch.
Science
August 24, 2016
When the Dust Settles
After Texas Tech researchers discovered that windstorms may be spreading antibiotic-resistant bacteria from local feedlots, public health experts stood up and took notice. So did the Texas Cattle Feeders Association.
Arts & Entertainment
December 23, 2015
Extreme Tenacity
X Games medalist Colten Moore isn’t giving up on the sport that killed his brother.
Texas Trip Guides
June 24, 2015
Trip Guide: Canadian
A small town that has just enough of everything but not too much of anything, which makes it an ideal place to while away an unhurried weekend.
The Daily Post
March 6, 2015
A Cattle Heist of Epic Proportions
More than 1,100 calves have vanished into thin Panhandle air. Poof, gone. Looking at the numbers of this landmark cattle theft.
The Culture
January 9, 2015
Cadillac Dreams
When an oil well on Joe Bowers’s Panhandle property came in, he knew just what he wanted to buy.
Texas Trip Guides
May 1, 2014
Trip Guide: Palo Duro Canyon
Plan a summertime weekend of hiking and horseback riding using this guide with tips on what to do, where to eat, and where to stay.
The Wanderer
September 6, 2012
Choose Your Own Texas Adventure
The first column I wrote for Texas Monthly appeared in the March 2000 issue. The article was titled “Voting Rites,” and I argued that the Voting Rights Act, which Lyndon Johnson had proposed to a joint session of Congress 35 years earlier, was the greatest accomplishment of his
The Culture
March 31, 2009
How to Chase a Tornado
The RationaleTexas soil is arguably Mother Nature’s favorite dance floor: More twisters touch down here annually than in any other state (132 on average). As a result, storm chasers consider the Panhandle and Red River Valley requisite destinations during tornado season (April through June). This activity won’t suit the lily-livered
Feature
August 31, 2004
Reversal of Fortune
Eight years ago, 42 people in the West Texas town of Roby—7 percent of the population—pooled their money, bought lottery tickets, and won $46 million. And that's when their luck ran out.
Politics & Policy
May 31, 1999
Not So Great in ‘78
How his one and only loss shaped his view of politics.
Business
July 31, 1998
Shrinking Giant
Once more than a million acres, the Matador Ranch is today a fraction of that size. How it got from there to here is the story of Texas ranching.
Film & TV
June 30, 1998
Ernest Goes to Texas
Borgnine: The word itself is barrel-chested, glaring, grotesque. And has a name ever been so suggestive of a face? Known for cinematic classics like From Here to Eternity and Marty (for which he won an Academy award in 1955), Ernest Borgnine last worked in Texas in the mid-fifties, when he
Business
December 1, 1997
Hog-tied
The Panhandle goes hog wild.
Travel & Outdoors
July 31, 1997
Grand Canyons
Hiking, biking, and nighttime weather to your liking make the Palo Duro and Caprock canyons a cool summer getaway.
Being Texan
January 1, 1988
This Land Is My Land
Growing up, I took the Panhandle’s plain nature for granted. Only after years away and a sentimental journey home did I take it to heart.