ENTER LAUGHING On May 19 actor-director Carl Reiner, who created the Emmy award-winning series The Dick Van Dyke Show, will interview Neil Simon for the debut of the Brinker International Lecture Series, in Dallas. What’s the difference between the comedy of your day and the comedy of today? The
STEP OUT James Brown once said that any problem in the world can be solved by dancing. So this seems like a particularly good time to slip on the footwear of your choice and start practicing those fancy steps—whether they be of the boot-scootin’, foot-stomping, or smooth-sashaying variety. In addition
Capitol hell.
REVELATIONS For more than thirty years the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center has stood on a corner of the UT-Austin campus like a colossal intellectual tease. You could go into the center and ask to see a specific item—say, Charles Baudelaire’s original proof sheets of Les Litanies de Satan (with
Thomas Austin Preston, Jr.—a.k.a. Amarillo Slim—has cut cards with LBJ and hustled all manner of sharpies at pool and Ping-Pong. But at 74, his greatest success continues to be at the poker table, as my $100 and I found out.
With the record business in the doldrums, what's a talented, ambitious band to do? If you're Austin's Grupo Fantasma, you make it on your own.
My siblings and I had plenty of pets growing up, but they were never quite as exciting as those we caught ourselves, such as tarantulas. And garden snakes. And of course, horny toads.
The name on everyone's lips this legislative session is unknown to most people outside Austininside Austin too. But Mike Toomey, the governor's chief of staff, is the most powerful political operative at the Capitoland the most feared. Just ask his fellow Republicans.
ORIENT EXCESS What a piece of work: towering walls draped in burgundy velvet, colossal silver candelabra, track lighting worthy of The Phantom of the Opera—I fully expected the servers to burst into song. Its name an amalgam of “dragon” and “lion,” The Drálion is exploiting Dallas’ culinary trend du jour,
2 cups sliced fresh strawberries 1/4-1/2 cup sugar 2 cups flour 4 teaspoons baking powder 1/4 cup sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 3/4 cup milk 1/2 cup butter, melted whipped cream (optional) 8 whole strawberriesIn a small bowl, combine sliced strawberries and 1/4-1/2 cup sugar (amount depending on the sweetness of
Marinara1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil 1 cup shallots, chopped 1 1/2 cups garlic purée 3 cups white wine 4 pounds whole tomatoes, peeled salt and pepper to taste 1/4 cup fresh thyme, chopped 1/4 cup fresh rosemary, choppedHeat a medium stainless steel pot and add olive oil, shallots, and
Texas Monthly staffer Brandi Nance tested the recipe from Hoover’s Cooking. She likes fried green tomatoes so much that she wanted to share her family’s own recipe.Marinade2 cups vinegar (we recommend red-wine vinegar)Breading1 cup cornmeal 1 cup flour salt and pepper to tasteCut 5 green tomatoes into 1/4-inch slices. Marinade
A Southern staple, from Hoover’s Cooking, in Austin.
Roasted Oakhill Farms Juliette Tomato Soup With Fried Green Tomatoes, Lemon Basil, Cumin, and EpazoteJuliette Tomato Soup1/2 pound butter 1 small onion, diced 2 small leeks, diced (washed, whites only) 4 small stalks celery, diced 2 small carrots, diced salt and pepper to taste 30 small very ripe juliette tomatoes,
People like to call Waco "Wacko" because it just goes with the name. But we think we may have found some truth to "Wacko" after all.
Not sure where to stay when you go to the Hill Country? Don't worry. I've found the best places, from a historic hotel to a caboose.
Most of Mason's history is as quiet and agreeable as the modern-day town, but the late nineteenthcentury Hoodoo War was the exception to the rule.
Senior editor Michael Hall revisits Waco's Branch Davidians and describes the challenges and nuances of writing about the remaining followers and the controversies of their tragic history.
The little Hill Country town of Luckenbach is more than a tourist stop; it's a place to make new friends and hear some music.
Photographer O. Rufus Lovett discusses the three days he spent documenting the haunting wreckage of Columbia in East Texas.
Fresh: Healthy Cooking and Living From Lake Austin Spa Resort
Misty Keasler talks about her young photography career and the intense images she captures, including this month's photos of the present-day Branch Davidian compound.
Writer-at-large Suzy Banks talks about her feature story, "Head for the Hills."
Five great fried-green tomato recipes from Ocotillo Restaurant, Lajitas; Suze, Dallas; La Mansión del Rio Hotel, San Antonio; Hoover’s Cooking, Austin; and Texas Monthly staffer Brandi Nance.
A recipe from Helen Corbitt, who reigned as Neiman Marcus's head chef for seventeen years.
A tale of greed and lawlessness in the Chihuahuan Desert.
The Austin American-Statesman versus Barton Springs.
Ten years after eighty Davidians died in a government-led siege, a few surviving members of the sect have returned to the plains east of Waco, looking for something. And, in some cases, waiting for David Koresh to return.
The break-up of the space shuttle Columbia was a chilling reminder that the astronauts who dare to dream and risk their lives for the benefit of all mankind are, at the end of the day, mere mortals.
What has Sherron Watkins' life been like since she exposed the financial shenanigans of her colleagues at Enron? Well, she may be one of Time's "Persons of the Year," but she's not necessarily one of Houston's.
A friendly bar in Johnson City, a grand old opry in Mason, a cabin with a view of the Sabinal Canyon, and 22 other things I love about the Hill Country.
BERRY BLISS Sweet on strawberries? Join the club. Legend has it that an eighteenth-century French socialite was so fond of the luscious fruit that she would have twenty pounds of berries crushed just to bathe in their fragrant juices. (Do you suppose she rinsed off with cream?) In the Bavarian
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,
MAKING WAVESWhen the Oceanaire Seafood Room steamed into port in Dallas last November, I felt like standing on the dock and waving hello—the only things missing were a sea breeze, paper streamers, and a brass band. Although the place is the third national location of a high-end Minneapolis chain, Texas
Free the Hill Country!
Are the toxic fungi that launched a thousand lawsuits really as dangerous as everyone says? Don't believe the hype.
To the long list of reasons to visit Fort Worth these days, add this: outstanding bike trails.
My solution for the school-finance mess.
EASY RIDERS Bulletin: Lance Armstrong’s Ride for the Roses has been moved from April to October (the Sports Illustrated 2002 sportsman of the year wanted more time to train for the Tour de France). But don’t think that means you have a license to lounge around for a little while
ALL THE WAY WITH LBJ Author Robert Caro, whose tome on Lyndon Johnson’s legislative years, Master of the Senate, won the 2002 National Book Award, will be speaking at Arts and Letters Live, in Dallas, on April 4. Rumor has it that you and your wife will be moving to
CALL OF THE WILD You might like to think of yourself as the rugged outdoorsy type, more interested in a challenging hike than in remaining incredibly still for long periods of time just to catch a glimpse of a flickering feathered mass—but just wait. This could happen to you: While
TOUR OF DUTY With two must-see blockbuster touring shows and several one-artist exhibitions in Houston this month, going museum-hopping could prove as tiring as barhopping. Rather than tackle at the outset the dauntingly huge three-hundred-plus-piece “Saint Peter and the Vatican: The Legacy of the Popes” show at the Houston Museum
The real revelation of Donald Judd's early work is how far ahead of its time it looksnot simply its own time, but our time as well.
Writer Skip Bayless talks about the Dallas Cowboys, Bill Parcells, and his pick for next year's Super Bowl winner.
Invite a few friends over for a good ol' fashioned crawfish boil!
1/2 pound dark chocolate chips or pieces (Café Modern uses Valrhona brand) 5 cups milk, divided 1 cup cornstarch 1/4 pound butter, diced 4 eggs 4 egg yolks 1/2 tablespoon salt 3/4 cup chocolate powder, such as Valrhona or the European-style chocolate powder 1 cup heavy cream 2 cups sugar
Executive editor S. C. Gwynne talks about Karl Rove and this month's cover story, "Genius."
Senior editor Anne Dingus sweet-talks about sugar, Elsie the Cow, and peanut patties.
