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Jordan Breal

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A Fort Worth native, Jordan Breal is a graduate of Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism and joined Texas Monthly in February 2005. As the magazine’s resident travel writer, she spends most of her time on the road in search of Texas’s most interesting sights, best hotels, and notable eats.
Jordan chronicles her adventures in her monthly column, The Wanderer, as well as a blog of the same name. She has also written about her home state for Fast Company, National Geographic Traveler, and Whole Living, among other publications.

269 Articles

Travel & Outdoors|
April 17, 2014

13 Summer Weekend Getaways

That's what summer boils down to: Thirteen opportunities to rip up your Friday-to-Sunday routine and go in search of adventure on the high plains. Or utter Relaxation along a languid East Texas river. Or cooler climes inthe historic heart of santa fe. Or the tastiest red enchiladas in El Paso.

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Travel & Outdoors|
November 16, 2013

Bar None

Houston’s Market Square is one of the state’s most historical spots. Lately it’s also one of the hippest places in the country to get a drink.

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The Wanderer|
July 19, 2013

Ask the Wanderer: South Congress And Beyond

  Jordan, Hey. I’m heading to Austin at the end of July and—having worked at Philadelphia magazine for a few years—I figured reaching out to you would be the best way to figure out what to do. A few college friends and I will be visiting a buddy

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Travel & Outdoors|
July 15, 2013

Come Padre

Whether man-made or natural, the charms of South Padre Island are pretty much impossible to resist (especially after a couple of turbo piña coladas).

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Travel & Outdoors|
March 11, 2013

Treasure This

Every spring and fall, thousands of buyers head to Round Top Antiques Week, looking for the object of their dreams—or just a cheap doodad to hang from the rearview mirror. A field guide to separating the corny dogs from the nineteenth-century armoires.

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The Wanderer|
February 19, 2013

Sneak Peek: In March, The Wanderer Goes To . . .

Sometimes the best vacations are staycations. Though I didn’t have to travel very far to get to my March destination—East Austin—it was a welcome change of scenery. There are far too many shops, restaurants, bars, and other discoveries in the neighborhood to hit them all in a three-day

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The Wanderer|
January 30, 2013

Calling All Weekend Wanderers

In Texas Monthly’s inaugural issue (forty years ago this month, in February 1973), writer Richard West exhorted “weekend wanderers” to pack up and embrace the three-day vacation. “With a little imagination, planning, and a basic Texas road map,” he wrote, “a very real quality of leisure and

By jordanbreal and Jordan Breal

Travel & Outdoors|
January 21, 2013

Travaasa Austin, Austin

A mere fifteen minutes after being buzzed into this secluded wellness resort about thirty miles northwest of downtown, I was floating in an infinity-edge pool with a margarita in hand. As I looked out over the wooded hills surrounding scenic (if drought-depleted) Lake Travis, I struck up a conversation with

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Where to Stay Now|
January 21, 2013

The Inn at Dos Brisas, Washington

This secluded country escape roughly halfway between Austin and Houston should have a warning posted at its entrance: “Caution: Guests may become incurably spoiled. Stay at your own risk.” Once inside its gates, you’ll wend your way along a narrow road through acres of bucolic farmland, passing organic gardens, pastures

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Travel & Outdoors|
January 21, 2013

Hotel Zaza, Houston

Every square inch of this 315-room hotel in the Museum District exudes the look-at-me personality of a Kardashian sister. Formerly the famed Warwick Hotel (which opened in the twenties), the twelve-story building was transformed into the glitzy ZaZa in 2007 (a sister property of the same name opened in Dallas

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Travel & Outdoors|
January 21, 2013

Hotel Galvez, Galveston

Opened in 1911 as a triumphant symbol of Galveston’s rebirth after the devastating 1900 hurricane, the coast’s premier beachfront hotel unveiled an $11 million face-lift last year on the occasion of its hundredth anniversary. So while you’ll find much-needed upgrades throughout, the Queen of the Gulf still radiates the same

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Travel & Outdoors|
January 21, 2013

Rancho Loma Restaurant + Rest, Talpa

The first thing I noticed as I pulled into this middle-of-nowhere retreat an hour south of Abilene was that I had no cell service (though Sprint customers should have better luck). The second thing I noticed was the achingly pastoral scene surrounding me: an organic garden verdant with heirloom tomatoes

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Travel & Outdoors|
January 21, 2013

Riven Rock Ranch

The most strenuous task you’ll have to accomplish during your stay at this 210-acre working ranch may be uncorking the bottle of Texas wine that’s been set out for your arrival. Unless you consider strolling through a garden or floating the Guadalupe River (bring your own tube) to be unnecessarily

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Travel & Outdoors|
January 21, 2013

The Joule, Dallas

Housed in a twenties-era downtown high-rise, this boutique hotel boasts the only underwater bird’s-eye view of the city. That’s right: if you’re daring enough to swim to the glassed-in edge of the Joule’s heated rooftop pool, which juts out a dramatic eight feet beyond the building’s facade, you can peer

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Travel & Outdoors|
January 21, 2013

El Cosmico, Marfa

The first time I drove by hotelier Liz Lambert’s high-desert “kibbutz,” which sits on a large, flat plot of dusty land just off U.S. 67, I mistook it for a trailer park. Which it basically is, except instead of dumpy double-wides, it’s strewn with seven sleekly restored vintage trailers, from

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Travel & Outdoors|
January 21, 2013

Hotel Saint Cecilia, Austin

Is that Mick Jagger taking an evening swim? It’s hard to tell in the glow of the neon “SOUL” sign that illuminates the tree-lined pool at this coolly decadent boutique hotel, but spotting rock royalty here is about as surprising as encountering a lion while on safari in the Serengeti.

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Art|
January 21, 2013

Straight From the Art

From Fort Worth’s Kimbell to Houston’s Menil, Texas’s museums are home to some of the world's most important paintings and sculptures. To devise a list of our ten greatest works on view, we asked more than sixty curators, gallery owners, critics, and other insiders for their favorites.

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