2003 – Page 4 of 10

Tex-Mex 101

Nachos, tomatillo sauce, chile con queso——will the real Mexican food please stand up? A crash course in Texans’ favorite fusion fare.

New Orleans, Louisiana

WHEN IT COMES TO CONDITIONED responses, Pavlov’s dog has nothing on me. All you have to do is whisper the names of New Orleans’ fabled restaurants—Brennan’s, Galatoire’s, Commander’s Palace, K Paul’s, Bayona, Antoine’s, Emeril’s—and I’ll be salivating at the thought of snowy white crabmeat simmering in an ocean of butter

Colorado Destination Information

Getting ThereFirst, reserve a site for the weekend at the West Chicago Creek Campground (877-444-6777, reserveusa.com; toilets, no showers; each site $11 a night); sites 5, 7, and 9 have the most privacy and the best views. There are nonstop or direct (one stop) flights to Denver from

Mount Evans Wilderness Area, Colorado

A FRIEND OF MINE FROM Colorado gives the following instructions for choosing a weekend camping destination in his nature-rich home state: Place a map of Colorado on a bulletin board, close your eyes, and throw a dart. Wherever it lands, he says, is bound to offer some of the best

New Mexico Destination Information

Getting ThereThere are nonstop or direct (one stop) flights to Albuquerque from Austin (Southwest), Dallas’ Love Field (Southwest), DFW (American, Delta), El Paso (Frontier, Southwest), Houston Bush Intercontinental (Continental), Houston Hobby (Southwest), and San Antonio (Delta, Southwest). Ojo Caliente is a two-and-a-half-hour drive from the airport via Interstate 25

About a Girl

Audra Thomas can't read these words and, in a few months, wouldn't remember them anyway. Nevertheless, she has an extraordinary sense of the world around her—and of herself.

Little Shop of Horrors

If you've ever thought of donating your body to science, read what happened at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston—and then ask yourself if a good, old-fashioned burial might not be a better idea.

Making Waves

Photographer Kenny Braun has been surfing the Gulf Coast for about thirty years. So naturally, when the water's just right, he grabs his . . . camera.

Running for His Life

Ten years ago, on a mountaintop in Africa, about to be burned alive by tribal warriors, a teenager saved himself the only way he knew how. Even today, he wonders why he survived.

Ojo Caliente, New Mexico

I THINK MY AIRLINE CONSPIRED TO heighten my appreciation of Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs, a venerable resort between Taos and Santa Fe. After a roller-coaster flight through turbulence east of Albuquerque, the loss of my baggage, and the always-ego-boosting search for an emergency swimsuit, I was more than ready to

Las Vegas Destination Information

Getting ThereThere are nonstop or direct (one stop) flights to Las Vegas from Austin (Southwest), DFW (America West, American, Delta), El Paso (Southwest), Houston Bush Intercontinental (Continental), Houston Hobby (Southwest), and San Antonio (Southwest).Eating and SleepingHUGO’S CELLAR202 Fremont (in the Four Queens Casino) 702-385-4011 It’s so Old Vegas.

Las Vegas, Nevada

GOLF IS NOT NORMALLY THE first thing that comes to mind when you think of Las Vegas. Casino owners have invested billions of dollars to keep you playing indoor games; they want you thinking about slots, not shots. Despite these odds, Las Vegas is becoming one of the top golfing

San Diego Destination Information

Getting ThereThere are nonstop or direct (one stop) flights to San Diego from Austin (American, Southwest), DFW (American, Delta, Frontier), El Paso (Southwest), Houston Bush Intercontinental (Continental), and Houston Hobby (Southwest).Eating and SleepingAL’S IN-THE-VILLAGE CAFE795 Carlsbad Village Dr., Carlsbad 760-729-5448 entrées $4.95-$8.95COLD STONE CREAMERY2967 Carlsbad Blvd., Carlsbad

San Diego, California

AFTER WHAT MY DAUGHTER STERNLY reminds me are almost but not quite six and a half years of parenting, I have a few rules for taking the family away for the weekend: First, fly direct (because, these days, having to make a connection is an agita-inducing proposition). Second, spend no

New Orleans Destination Information

Getting ThereThere are nonstop or direct (one stop) flights to New Orleans from Austin (American, Southwest), Dallas’ Love Field (Southwest), DFW (American, Delta), Houston Bush Intercontinental (Continental), Houston Hobby (Southwest), and San Antonio (Southwest).Eating and SleepingBRIGTSEN’S723 Dante 504-861-7610 dinner entrées $17-$26CAFE DU MONDE800 Decatur 504-525-4544 café au

Get Outta Here!

It's August in Texas. The dog days of summer are barking which means it's time to grab your loved ones and hop the first plane out of state. And you shouldn't go just anyplace. We're thinking of five weekend destinations in particular. Bag packed already?

Rice and Shine

Rice guys finish first.

Killing Time

Stephen Graham Jones's All the Beautiful Sinners is a wild-eyed thriller; Amanda Eyre Ward's Sleep Toward Heaven is a tale of grief, forgiveness, and the death penalty.

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,

Festivals

SHAKE, RATTLE, AND ROLL When summertime playlists begin to sound like good elevator music and Paradise Hotel seems like quality TV programming, you know it’s time for a change. And there’s no better way to get rid of a funk than with some live tunes—rocking or otherwise. Check out the

Straight Talk

FOR THE GOOD TIMES Singer-songwriter Kris Kristofferson will be inducted by Willie Nelson into the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame in Carthage on August 16. I’ve always thought that Hawaii has a lot in common with Texas. My old friends always say I’ve gone back home. Oh, yeah?

Western

COWBOY JUNKIESIf you’re anything like the city slicker I am, then the closest you’ve come to experiencing the West is through books and movies —not all of us have that urge to visit a working ranch à la Billy Crystal. But this month we can get even closer to rough-ridin’

Restaurant Guide

Around the State

Scout’s Honor

The toughest cookies I know.

Fresh Cherry Pie With Whipped Cream and Black Currant Sauce

Recipe from The Roaring Fork, AustinPie Dough8 ounces butter (2 sticks), cold and cut in small squares 4 ounces vegetable shortening (8 tablespoons) 3 cups unbleached all purpose flour 1 teaspoon sugar 1 teaspoon salt 1/3 cup iced water 4 four-inch pie shellsCut the butter and shortening into the dry

Happy Trails

I had only 24 hours in Galveston, but that was plenty of time to see the famous Strand, eat some good seafood, and play a little bingo.

The Grudge Report

Some people carry a chip on their shoulder. Yvonne Davis carries the whole tree. So frequently does her participation in debate turn sour that the Capitol crowd refers to her as Whyvonne, as in, “Why is she acting like this?” Never was that question on more lips than in the

Do The Wrong Thing

Two sessions ago Troy Fraser made the Worst list because of his propensity for snatching bills from other senators. We noted then that his ambition to handle major legislation exceeded his colleagues’ faith in his competence. Could this raucous kindergartner handle the difficult first-grade requirements: Wait your turn, don’t shove,

Pest

Would someone please give Tom DeLay a map? No, not a redistricting map. He has plenty of those. A road map. He’s a member of the House of Representatives, all right, but it’s the one in Congress, not the one on Congress Avenue. That didn’t stop him from trying to

Dishonorable Mention

The Best and the Worst Legislators story has always been about process—the sausage-making rather than the sausage. Ends are important, but what really matters are the means. Are members treated fairly by the leadership? Can they vote their conscience? Is the lobby in the driver’s seat? By these standards, Tom

Have Mercy

He was the point man for the good guys on the most important issue of the session. He spent his days and nights fighting the bad guys, and it almost did him in. With the Legislature facing a $9.9 billion shortfall, it fell to Teel Bivins, the chairman of the

The Player

Steve Wolens isn’t much of a sports fan, so he isn’t likely to appreciate a baseball metaphor, but he seemed this session like a Hall of Fame­bound pitcher who has lost a little of his zest for the game. He still throws his fastball as hard as ever, but the

Pulpit Bully

Robert Talton’s legislative program consists primarily of trying to enact his prejudices into law. He is far from the first to come to the House for such a purpose, but what sets him apart are the fury of his biases and the extremity of his remedies. Take, for example, his

A Friend In Deed

Like the Good Samaritan who assisted the injured stranger, Robert Duncan couldn’t resist the call of friendless but worthy causes. If there was a difficult job that absolutely had to be performed, senators could always count on him to do the right thing (or, as he says in his West

Rookie Of The Year

Operating under enormous pressure all session, with Republicans and Democrats gearing up to run against him in his swing district, the 24-year-old UT law student amended the House tort-reform bill to require a medical-malpractice insurance-rate rollback and added a provision to the tuition-deregulation bill raising the amount to be set

Roadkill

“For Texans who’ve wondered whether there’s a politician walking the halls of the state Capitol who actually votes his or her conscience without first taking an opinion poll,” began a January 16 editorial in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, “wonder no longer.” And who might that rare fellow be? Why, it’s

Steady As He Goes

The lofty title Dean of the Texas Senate is bestowed each session on the senator with the longest tenure and carries with it the unspoken responsibility of protecting the chamber’s dignity and traditions. As with English kings, however, the line of succession does not always produce someone suited to the

Honorable Mention

Nobody bumped into more obstacles on his way to passing an important bill than the balding, bespectacled, Mr. Magoo­like chairman of the House Insurance Committee, whose charge was to bring down homeowners’ rates without driving insurance companies out of Texas. It wasn’t going to be easy. First, a group of

Law And Disorder

In the different fates of Joe Nixon and Bill Ratliff lies a message about how politics works. Each is a Republican. Each worked hard on tort reform. Each guided a version of the bill through his chamber pretty much intact, without unwanted amendments. Yet Nixon is on the Worst list

A Terrible Disappointment

As chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, Jim Dunnam had the most difficult role in politics: leader of the opposition. You have to decide whether to work within the system, which was the course Republicans generally followed for the past quarter century, or whether to challenge, obstruct, delay, call out

In Memoriam

If she had been nothing more than the first Hispanic woman elected to the Legislature, Irma Rangel would deserve her place in our political pantheon. But she was so much more. She was a mentor, a role model, and a lawmaker who in 1997 passed a bill that changed Texas:

Crass Action

What a dismal story this is. A young lawyer gets elected to the House, and even before she is sworn in, she cashes in, using a legal but long-discredited stratagem available only to legislator-lawyers: the legislative continuance. State law provides that lawmakers with pending cases can ask for a delay

Furniture

The term “furniture” describes members who, by virtue of their indifference or inactivity, were indistinguishable from their desks, chairs, and spittoons. Herewith, a tasteful display of the state’s Stickleys and Chippendales. EMPTY FURNITURE Senator Gonzalo Barrientos (Democrat, Austin) won a plum seat on the Senate Finance Committee, and he might

Unfaithfully Yours

Your cheatin’ heart will make you weep. You’ll cry and cry and try to sleep. But sleep won’t come the whole night through. Your cheatin’ heart will tell on you.Some might argue that all’s fair in love and politics. But in the Senate, fidelity is the essential virtue. A margin

She Cares

Dianne Delisi has a peculiar idea about politics: She thinks that you can succeed just by coming up with good ideas, working hard, and being nice. Well, that might work for the president of the PTA back home, but everybody knows that the way to get ahead in the Capitol

The Joseph McCarthy “Have You No Sense Of Decency?” Award

Following testimony before a House committee about health problems along the border, she told the El Paso Times, “Where did this idea come from that everybody deserves free education, free medical care, free whatever? It comes from Moscow, from Russia. It comes straight out of the pit of hell.”

Leader

For thirty years our policy has been that presiding officers are not eligible for the Best or the Worst list except in exceptional circumstances. These are exceptional circumstances. David Dewhurst began with the lowest of expectations and ended with the highest of praise. The former land commissioner’s election as lieutenant

No Man Is An. . .

Think of the change in leadership in the House, from Democrat to Republican, as a geological cataclysm akin to the meteor crash in the Yucatán Peninsula 65 million years ago that led to the extinction of the dinosaurs. Now imagine that, as the dust settles, one lone Tyrannosaurus rex survives

The Bobby Riggs Award

Referring to California’s budgetary woes, Governor Rick Perry said, “I get up every day and thank God I don’t live in California.” To which Hilary McLean, the chief deputy press secretary to California governor Gray Davis, replied, “I’m sure there are millions of Californians who wake up every day and