The Star-Telegram is reporting today that Forth Worth officials asked Governor Perry to set the runoff for the race to fill Anna Mowery’s unexpired term on December 11, the same day as a city council runoff election, to avoid the expense of holding two elections. Instead, Perry set
How can it be turkey time again? I got all nostalgic for the deep-fried turkey recipe we published a few years ago, courtesy of Fort Worth chef Grady Spears. It was fabuloso, with a cinnamon-chile-brown sugar rub on the outside. And it cooked fast, too. I remember it all too
Yes, I was biased last night, when Symon appeared at his first battle against Ricky Moore, Washington D.C. chef. I wanted Symon to lose. I wanted him to be embarrassed. I wanted to do a little happy dance that Food Network screwed up. But no–Food Network got the last laugh,
You need to know this the next time you’re in Houston: You can have a smaller, selected edition of Marco Wiles’ fantastic food for a little more than half the price he charges at Da Marco. All you have to do is sashay down to 500 Westheimer Road to
I have wondered whether the low standing of Congress in the polls reflected disapproval with how the Democrats are running things, or general dissatisfaction with Congress as an institution. Personally, I think it’s both.Perhaps that is how the country sees things too. This is a possible explanation of the findings
I’m publishing separately this comment by a reader (“anonymous”) to my post, “Hullabaloo,” because it puts a name to the rumor that is rampant on the A&M campus that Rick Perry wants a general to be the next president of the university. It is not that Perry did not want
I am quite amazed by the deluge of readers’ comments about my post concerning the dispute over governance and the choice of the next president at Texas A&M. Well, maybe I’m not so amazed. Aggies love that school, and they have strong opinions about everything of import that happens there.
I drove to Houston on Tuesday to attend a presentation at Rice on the demographic and economic future of Houston. The two speakers were Stephen L. Klineberg, professor of sociology, who has overseen a “Houston Area Survey,” tracking economic and demographic changes in the region for 26 years
I first found this pizza place for a photo assignment for a past job. The family-owned restaurant wowed me with its Neapolitan style pizza (thin crust is the only way to go). Salvation Pizza is a fitting name for the red house on 34th street in
… at Newsweek, of all places, the magazine that first gave rise to George W.’s dislike of the national media by portraying his father on the cover as a wimp during the 1988 presidential race. This report comes from the conservative Web site newsmax:Less than three months after he left
This is breaking news. AP will have the story shortly.There’s a simmering dispute between the Faculty Senate’s Search Advisory Committee and the A&M Board of Regents over selection of the university’s next president. The position has been vacant for more than a year. A terse exchange of letters between Angie
The Texas Association of Business has posted its voting records for the House and Senate online. TAB represents employers, but the organization’s choice of issues to rank was not limited to strictly business issues. To its credit, TAB included several education bills in its evaluation of
When Speaker Craddick asserted at the end of the 2007 legislative session that (1) the House did not have the power to remove him as speaker because he was an officer of the state and could only be removed by impeachment; and (2) in any event, he was empowered under
Too funny! I may be the last person in the world to hear about the cheese cam documenting the aging of Wedginald, a 44-pound cheddar (see picture). Really. You log on and there he (she? it?) is, sitting there, getting imperceptibly older by the millisecond. Watching grass grow is
Oh I almost cried, John Besh (Food and Wine’s Best New Chef 1999) wasn’t named the next Iron Chef! Instead I screamed, I threw a fit, I showed a whole new side of myself to my boyfriend.I followed most of the shows since the beginning, always hoping Besh would win.
You gotta love those small Texas towns. But so often, after you hit the candle shops on the town square, you’re in the mood for a decent cuppa, and guess what: There is none. Well, things just got better in Dripping Springs, southwest of Austin. I stopped at the Rockin’
Democrat Diane Trautman will challenge incumbent Republican Joe Crabb in the 127th House district, the core of which is Kingwood. “This district has changed vastly in the last 15 years and requires a leader who is in touch with current community needs,” Trautman said in her release. She and her
State Rep. Betty Brown circulated a letter last week lamenting the erosion of the property tax cut. It appeared on the Web site TexasISD.com, which bills itself as the “Homepage for Texas School Officials.” Brown’s letter is all too indicative of the mindset of many House members: that
Redstate.com answered my post about its less than inspiring podcast with congressional candidate Pete Olson, whom it endorsed for the Republican nomination in the 22nd congressional district (Phil Gramm Engineers Key Endorsement for Former Aide in DeLay’s Old District, 11/2). I have to confess that Eileen sent me
I’m a big fan of Peggy Noonan, the Republican speechwriter and author. Even when I don’t agree with what she says, I love the way she says it. In the case of an opinion piece she wrote in Friday’s Wall Street Journal, I agree with every word. Its
If buzz counted for everything instead of nearly everything, Torchy’s Tacos would be Austin’s top-rated restaurant. Of course, it’s not a restaurant: It’s a trailer parked in a vacant lot across from El Mercado at the intersection of South First and Gibson. You’d be forgiven for missing it, or for
The conventional wisdom sure looks dumb when it is wrong. The Republican frontrunners in the race to fill Anna Mowery’s unexpended term were supposed to be Craig Goldman, whose brother Adam had worked in the Bush White House, and former lawmaker Bob Leonard. (The sole Democratic candidate was attorney Dan
A new Zogby telephone poll shows Obama moving within 3 points of Clinton:Clinton 28%Obama 25%Edwards 21%My impression is that Hillary has hit some bumps lately, but you never know whether this is just the media talking to each other or whether some of the chatter has actually embedded itself in
I’ve got to hand it to my pal Bud Kennedy, popular columnist for the Fort Worth Star Telegram. Bud specializes in ferreting out fascinating stuff about his home city and Texas, and now he has tracked down the name of the unsung hero who might be called the stepfather of
Prop 1. Angelo State University. The Legislature moved Angelo State from the Texas State University System to the Texas Tech System. The amendment makes sure that Angelo State will be able to receive funds from the same fund it had previously been authorized to receive funds from. I’m FOR.Prop 2.
The Chronicle carried a story yesterday in which Sen. Patrick and Rep. Paxton, in separate letters to their presiding officers, questioned TxDOT’s spending of some $7 to $9 million on advertising in support of its roadbuilding policies is a “proper” use of state funds to favor unpopular policies
Much recent speculation has centered on the possibility that Governor Perry is seeking to appoint former legislator Ron Wilson to, depending upon who you believe, the UT Board of Regents or the board that oversees the Department of Public Safety. The powers that be at UT apparently voiced their objections
No, not of the United States. President of Texas A&M. Honest. That story is making the rounds at A&M and has found its way to Austin.A&M has been without a president for a year, since Robert Gates left to become Secretary of Defense. The Battalion, the A&M student newspaper, carried
I was so disgusted by the way Texas was playing this afternoon against Oklahoma State that I turned off the television and went to the computer to blog. I wrote about a press release I saw in the Quorum Report concerning Allen Fletcher’s announcement that he was running in the
This is all explained in the Umami post, below. It was just getting too long, so here is Bin 555′s chocolate torte recipe. “White Truffle” Chocolate Truffle TorteServes 20 (4 oz
Who knew that cacao (which comes from trees, left) and truffles (the kind that grow in the ground) were so beautiful together?The best dessert that I tasted at the cool Arts and Eats fest in San Antonio last night was Bin 555’s Chocolate Torte (think flourless dark-chocolate cake) topped
Redstate.com, an influential conservative Web site, has endorsed Pete Olson, a former aide to Phil Gramm and onetime chief of staff for John Cornyn, for the Republican nomination in the 22nd congressional district. Seven Republicans are vying for the right to challenge Democrat Nick Lampson. Most prominent among these are
A recent trip to Rush Patisserie in Dallas’ Deep Ellum district reminded me how much croissants are shortchanged on the breakfast breads list. They are a true breakfast treat; they’re not just for sandwiches, contrary to current trends. And bagels, really, are they that good? My mother notes that
Texas Monthly Intern Kyle Adams talks to A&M Coach Mark Turgeon and UT Coach Rick Barnes about what fans can expect in the upcoming season.
No Country for Old Men is Tommy Lee Jones’s new movie. I don’t think he’ll be granting me an interview anytime soon.
Tennis great and celebrity Anna Kournikova talks about retirement, working with kids, and coming to Texas.
Inspired by the popularity of a panel on Texas crime literature hosted by the Southwestern Writers Collection in 2004, editors Bill Cunningham, Steven L. Davis, and Rollo K. Newsom have compiled Lone Star Sleuths: An Anthology of Texas Crime Fiction, with thirty excerpts from the likes of Rick Riordan, David
Executive editor S. C. Gwynne talks about running the Brazos River just as legendary author John Graves did fifty years ago.
Tosh Brown will be the first to admit that he has no business writing a cookbook.“We were very careful to put ‘photography and commentary by Tosh Brown,’” he said with a smile. “These are not my recipes. There are a lot of people out there that know me that know
Exit George W. Bush. Enter . . . change.
The pall over Dallas City Hall.
Taxidermist.
Can you park in your friend’s front yard?
How to field-dress a deer.
So you’ve downed your first twelve-point buck of the season. But don’t break out the brewskis just yet: You’ve got some dirty work to do. “The minute the animal dies, it’s starting to decay,” says James C. Kroll, a.k.a. Dr. Deer from the Outdoor Channel (and whose formal job is
Bill Geddie, co-executive producer of The View.
Why Norm Hitzges matters.
“I have got something that God has entrusted me with, and I have to make the most of it in helping other people.”
Texas lost one of its true legends with the passing of Lady Bird Johnson [“A Lady First,” September 2007]. It is all the more disappointing when you look around at today’s landscape and find it lacking in those larger-than-life personalities who shaped the mystique of this great state. Today’s
It was the long-ago winter when my family’s two superannuated cats expired right before the holidays that Mother issued a surprising edict: “We’re having Christmas dinner at the Four Seasons this year.” It took three days to pry the reason out of her: She couldn’t bear the thought of
