Griffin Smith Jr.

The Highway Establishment and How it Grew and Grew and Grew

All roads have to go somewhere; but it could be that roads in Texas are going the wrong way.

By Griffin Smith Jr.

The World’s Best Barbecue Is in Taylor, Texas. Or Is It Lockhart?

A Cityslicker's Guide to the Pits.

By Griffin Smith Jr.

On Assignment: On the Lege

We started out bashing the worst Texas legislators. We ended up critiquing both the best and the worst.

By Griffin Smith Jr.

Secret Places

In the hidden corners of Texas’ outback—in foresty swamp and shimmering desert—there are a few places that are still primeval.

By Griffin Smith Jr.

Big Wheels and the Silver Spike

It wasn’t business that drew the state’s top politicians to a Trans-Pecos ranch. Their mission: to mark the centennial of the train that linked Texas to the West.

By Griffin Smith Jr.

Forgotten Places

Of canyons, creeks, and craters: the Big Bend as few have seen it.

By Griffin Smith Jr.

Little Big Man

Is it worth being a United States senator when you’­re on the losing side all the time? Ask John Tower.

By Griffin Smith Jr.

Weirdo Paper Plagues S.A.

In San Antonio, some people feel that no News is good news.

By Griffin Smith Jr.

A Penny Saved is a Penny Earned

Did you know there’s more difference between Fudgsicles and Popsicles than the taste? The taxman does.

By Griffin Smith Jr.

Making Tracks

The great Canadian railway bizarre.

By Griffin Smith Jr.

Where’s My Line?

Is one man one vote just another numbers racket?

By Griffin Smith Jr.

The Best, the Worst, and the Fair-To-Middlin’

Rating the Texas Congressmen from number one to, sigh, number twenty-two.

By Paul Burka and Griffin Smith Jr.

What Ever Happened to Fresh Cream?

In which our author goes sour on new-fangled cream.

By Griffin Smith Jr.

The Strange Case of the Missing Parks

Why Texans don‘t get the parks they pay for.

By Griffin Smith Jr.

European Passage

Will there always be a Europe?

By Griffin Smith Jr.

Eat Your Heart Out

The perfect European restaurant and some that come close.

By Griffin Smith Jr.

Forgotten Places

What Texas once was, so these wilderness areas still remain.

By Griffin Smith Jr.

Don’t Think It Won’t Happen Just Because It Hasn’t Happened Yet

Killer bees, acid from the sky, and exploding railroad cars may all be in your future.

By Griffin Smith Jr.

Behind the Lines

By Griffin Smith Jr.

What Your Mother Never Told You About Rice

A grain of truth about the high cost of food.

By Griffin Smith Jr.

The Most Dangerous Airports in Texas

Pray now, fly later.

By Griffin Smith Jr.

Off with Their Heads

Is the new Congress out to strip the Texas delegation of its power?

By Griffin Smith Jr.

Divide and Conquer

Five states are better than one, when they’re all named Texas.

By Griffin Smith Jr.

The Naked and the D.A.

The war against pornography can get dirty.

By Griffin Smith Jr.

Open and Shut

This is a free country. Isn’t it?

By Griffin Smith Jr.

The Perfect Speed Trap

The sign that says “Welcome to Selma” may mean more than you think.

By Griffin Smith Jr.

Bursting the Bubble

Examining the Supreme Court’s decision on Nixon’s tapes.

By Griffin Smith Jr.

Visit Beautiful Austin (Quick)

Austin is trading old houses for new offices. The City Council calls it progress.

By Griffin Smith Jr.

Why I Like to Ride the Train

Enthusiastic railway passengers maintain that fast is not necessarily the same as best.

By Griffin Smith Jr.

Waiting for the Train

While you’re waiting at the depot, Amtrak bickers with Washington, railway moguls, and itself.

By Griffin Smith Jr.

Off, Off Damned Coat

Since our wearables often become unbearable, here’­s a bold alternative.

By Griffin Smith Jr.

Forgotten Places

Four seldom visited areas of Texas prove to be proudly beautiful and almost inaccessible.

By Griffin Smith Jr.

Deadline in Dallas

One Dallas paper clings tightly to tradition while the other, with a new editor, looks for something to cling to of its own.

By Griffin Smith Jr.

The Best Food In Austin

There are some restaurants in Austin that could coax wary gourmets out of their kitchens.

By Griffin Smith Jr.

We the People…

When we write a constitution for the first time in almost 100 years, everyone wants a piece of the pie. In spite of it all, the new draft turned out to be an improvement. Now it's the legislature's turn.

By Griffin Smith Jr.

Empires of Paper

A law firm of almost 200 attorneys becomes an institution with massive power and life of its own. Three such firms are in Texas, including two of the four largest in the U.S. We open them, for the first time, to the public.

By Griffin Smith Jr.

How the New Drug Law Was Made

In which Texas comes into the 20th century, barely.

By Griffin Smith Jr.

Pass the Chop Sticks, Por Favor

At last, two superb Chinese restaraunts in Texas.

By Griffin Smith Jr.

Scene Change, Please

Try one of these extended weekend trips. You'll know you've left home.

By Richard West and Griffin Smith Jr.

Touts

Cute Toot-TootAmtrak notwithstanding, countless unfulfilled railroad buffs still reside in Texas.For these unsatiated appetites, a genuine “little railroad that could” still makes daily runs in East Texas. The Moscow, Camden & San Augustine Railroad was begun in 1927 as passenger service between the sawmill town of Camden and the railroad

By Griffin Smith Jr.

The Best Texas Wine Stores

It's not easy these days to find a good wine selection at reasonable prices, but it can be done.

By Griffin Smith Jr.

Touts

 Comic Relief The 1970’s have Peanuts, the 1860’s had Dickens’ latest novel, but in the 1920’s and ’30’s nothing could quite match the goings-on in Krazy Kat, George Herriman’s celebrated comic strip. Millions of inveterate fans (including President Woodrow Wilson) followed the daily adventures of the noble-minded, simple-minded Kat, his cynical,

By Griffin Smith Jr.

Touts

Hello, ColumbusTWO EGGS. A PATTIE OF HOMEMADE sausage as big as a hamburger. Three large homemade biscuits. Grits. All the butter and jelly you want. Coffee. Add up the bill for that breakfast, if you could even order it, at The Holiday Inn, Nickerson Farms or any of a hundred

By Griffin Smith Jr.

Touts

Revolting FilmsIf you liked Che Guevara, you’ll love the Third World Film Series being shown at the University of Texas in Austin. There is nothing Hollywood about these films, and their technique leaves something to be desired; but if you want to know what filmmakers from the Third World are

By Griffin Smith Jr.

Briar Patch

THANKS FOR THE MEMORIESPERSONALS—SEVEN-STORY BUILDING ON well-traveled Dallas corner. Within easy walking distance of County Courthouse, John F. Kennedy Memorial, Dealey Plaza. Once used to store books; now empty. Has potential for use as historical museum, or can be torn down and land converted to other use. Need advice on

By Griffin Smith Jr., Dave McNeely and Beverly Lowry