Alison Cook

Jan 20, 2013 — By Alison Cook

From El Paso’s ingenious taco trays to Austin’s uplifting breakfast tacos, each Texas city celebrates this noble creation in its own way.

Jan 20, 2013 — By Alison Cook

Even your mother can’t top Rex Hale’s light-as-a-cloud shortcake.

Feb 1, 1989 — By Alison Cook

Looking forward to Jerry Jeff Walker’s second Luckenbach, looking into a new way to settle feuds, and looking back over the career of Texas’ most prolific unknown author.

Jan 1, 1989 — By Alison Cook

An East Texas librarian learns the perils of shushing the wrong guy; Houston and Dallas put on the ritz for couture; and Citizen Butt picks the Texas Supreme Court.

Dec 1, 1988 — By Alison Cook

San Antonio media indulge in self-flagellation over Henry; Dallas goes gaga over Tom Cruise; Hoston thrills to a Pearl of a blues singer.

Nov 1, 1988 — By Alison Cook

Hieromania, the burning curiosity of glyphies; Post time in the race for Houston’s new gossip columnist; an unlikely car and an unlikelier trailer; the parking garage from hell.

Sep 30, 1988 — By Alison Cook

Corpus Christi learns to grow through adversity; Houston gives Percy Foreman a rousing send-off; Austin ponders the mystery of the misappearing shoes.

Sep 30, 1988 — By Alison Cook

Thanks to adventurous chef Michel Bernard Platz, the flowers at Dallas’ L’Entrecôte are as likely to be on the menu as in a vase.

Jul 31, 1988 — By Alison Cook

The case of the purloined painting; how to tell the Surf Club from the Yacht Club; cream of the ice-cream crop; people who live in pink houses.

May 31, 1988 — By Alison Cook

The bash of the century in Austin; new heights for an Alamo author; slouching toward Jerusalem, Texas; plus designer tomatoes, East Texas ingenuity, and Amazing Car #8.

Apr 30, 1988 — By Alison Cook

The prairie chickens in Texas’ vanishing grasslands are booming and boyish.

Apr 30, 1988 — By Alison Cook

The issues in El Paso’s colonias are watery and grave.

Apr 1, 1988 — By Alison Cook

Downtown San Antonio get a makeover; two for T-shirts; a spine-tingling story of a racehorse; the real winners at the Miss U.S.A. pageant; the Brownies go to marketing.

Mar 1, 1988 — By Alison Cook

Grazing cheap and chic in Houston, Austin, and Dallas; tire-kicking at the Fizzlick liquidation boutique; returning a piece of Janis’ heart to Port Arthur.

Feb 1, 1988 — By Alison Cook

The Mansion chef’s most redolent recipe came from Sunday suppers at his grandmother’s house.

Feb 1, 1988 — By Jim Atkinson, Al Reinert, Liz Carpenter and Alison Cook

Time-honored Texas rituals by Paul Burka,

Jan 1, 1988 — By Alison Cook

Down but not out in Bent Tree; dishes only the devil could love; hello, Wal-Mart; stupid napkin tricks; gossip boys and Gorilla girls.

Dec 1, 1987 — By Alison Cook

A black and gamy Monday; Wick Allison as low-profile Buckley; heartthrobs Quaid and Swayze; fine food for feedlots; Augie’s Gringo Lingo.

Sep 30, 1987 — By Alison Cook

Cities in search of salvation; the new White House (as in Mark); the art of double-Daryled potshots; chile time in El Paso; chile relleno time in Houston.

Sep 30, 1987 — By Alison Cook

Where there’s smoke, there’s chef Robert McGrath’s smokebox that works wonders on Southwestern dishes.

Aug 31, 1987 — By Alison Cook

On the cutting edge with Ollie North; Donna Rice on the cutting room floor; cutting corners to find good Vietnamese restaurants; and the gig ‘em gourmet cookbook, the Aggies’ unkindest cut of all.

Jul 31, 1987 — By Alison Cook

Meet Bruce Auden of San Antonio, the fairest of the Fairmount.

Jul 31, 1987 — By Alison Cook

Maybe as much as $20,000, if Lee Ballard of Dallas has anything to do with it.

Jul 31, 1987 — By Alison Cook

Let’s play pretend by swapping out Houstonians for Dallasites. Plus: Battling books, good Mex-Mex where you’d least expect it, and our guide to the latest legislative phrases (use ‘em three times and they’re yours!)

Jun 30, 1987 — By Alison Cook

Not much happened at the Legislature, but that doesn’t mean they left no traces. Plus: Houston’s I’m OK, We’re OK Wortham bash, unlikely Texas TV stars, and Frank Lorenzo’s flight to cushier climes.

May 31, 1987 — By Alison Cook

Texas oil patchers bounce back; Houston artist Staley paints the art crowd; goat-gland genius Brinkley’s mansion casts its quirky spell. Plus: Caroline Schoellkopf’s marital woes, Tammy Faye Bakker’s impersonators, and Nancy Negley Wellin’s prodigal daughter.

Apr 30, 1987 — By Alison Cook

Houston ignores its AIDS crisis, Dallas restaurant gossips chew over hard times, San Antonio headline writers get their due. Plus: Chuck Robb’s blooper, Larry McMurtry’s sniffles, and Shearn Moody’s new taste in nightlife.

Apr 1, 1987 — By Alison Cook

Marty Wender can’t do anything wrong—and San Antonio loves him for it. Joe Russo can’t do anything right—and Houston loves him for it. Plus: pop paraphernalia, naming Henry’s baby, Poppin’ Pigskins, and Who Killed Mark White?

Mar 1, 1987 — By Alison Cook

Sneak a glance at our inaugural notebook to find out why Clements’ speech didn’t fly, which city had the most imperial ball, and who triumphed in the guv’s snub. Plus: Mad Maxian Car #3, space tombs in the sky, and ZZ Top’s song scuffle.

Feb 1, 1987 — By Alison Cook

The City That Works isn’t working like it used to. Plus Amazing Cars of Texas #2, revolutionary folk art, and Topic A—what everybody can’t stop talking about.

Jan 1, 1987 — By Alison Cook

Admit it. The first courses always seem more interesting than the entrées. Why not make a meal of them?

Aug 31, 1986 — By Alison Cook

Mix election time, South Texas, and barbeque, and you get the pachanga circuit, where politics and barbeque are served with equal reverence.

Jun 30, 1986 — By Alison Cook

Proprietors of some of Texas’ priciest restaurants are spinning off more-economical eateries that are giving the originals a run for their money.

Apr 1, 1986 — By Alison Cook

You want tacos with carnitas or cactus pads? Beef barbecue or bacon and eggs Come to San Antonio, where tacos aren’t just an afterthought on a Tex-Mex munue—they’re a way of life.

Feb 1, 1986 — By Alison Cook

A splendid state park; snacks you shouldn’t feed to a dog; a wild and crazy Republican.

Dec 1, 1985 — By Alison Cook

Robert Sakowitz set out to be a retail Renaissance man. Like his hero Leonardo da Vinci, he was going to do everything. And he did—including something he never imagined: fail.

Aug 31, 1985 — By Alison Cook

Hot, hot, hot! Here’s why grills have become the trendiest of the trendy restaurants in Texas.

Jun 30, 1985 — By Paul Burka and Alison Cook

We just rate them. You voted for them.

May 31, 1985 — By Alison Cook

By her dedication, her rigor, her almost overwhelming enthusiasm, Diana Kennedy forced a generation of cooks to take Mexican food seriously and jolted Texans into realizing that there is life beyond the combination dinner.

Apr 30, 1985 — By Alison Cook

Like the killer bees, Montezuma's revenge is moving north.

Apr 1, 1985 — By Alison Cook

Can there be too much of a good thing? Five of Texas’ favorite restaurants have duplicated themselves in other cities, and now they’re finding out.

Jan 1, 1985 — By Alison Cook

Law and order in Colorado City; winning and losing with the Dallas Diamonds; bargains and hassles on People Express; broiling and sweating in pursuit of mesquite chic.

Dec 1, 1984 — By Peter Elkind and Alison Cook

Tales of Houston as it faces life after the boom.

Nov 1, 1984 — By Alison Cook

When Houston’s rich and powerful join forces with environmentalists to battle big corporations, they can be fighting over only one thing. Garbarge.

May 31, 1984 — By Alison Cook

Up for sale in Dallas, the Shanbaum house boasts a whopping 28,000 square feet and what may be Texas’ most comprehensive collection of sixties and seventies kitsch—along with a $2.75 million price tag.

Apr 30, 1984 — By Alison Cook

A nuclear quandary in West Texas; the fine art of political feuding in San Antonio; the redfish ranching business in Monahans; the education of a power broker in training in Houston.

Apr 30, 1984 — By Alison Cook

Bearing Gallic sophistication and outrageously delicious desserts, the Lenotre family has taken Dallas and Houston by storm.

Mar 1, 1984 — By Alison Cook

In which a group of society ladies samples the thrills and chills of an essentially masculine pastime.

Dec 1, 1983 — By Alison Cook

Fie on the cilantro fad, greaseless barbecue, and indiscriminate mesquite-grilling. Let’s hear it for Frito pie, catfish plates, and other gems of Texas’ true cuisine

Jun 30, 1983 — By Paul Burka, Kaye Northcott and Alison Cook

We just rate them. You voted for them.