April 1986 Issue
Features
Eighteen Minutes
Unlike the Alamo, which can seem as remote and mysterious as Stonehenge, the San Jacinto battlefield has few secrets. Its history lies close at hand.
Solace in the Desert
With dogged independence, amazing endurance, and a rugged romantic vision, photographer Laura Gilpin helped create the way we see the West today.
Swamp Gas
When Jimmy Lee, an unrepentant troublemaker, felt he had taken one insult too many from the powerful Fredeman family, he called in the law. The results of that action have exposed decades of larceny and corruption in Port Arthur and threaten a Gulf Coast empire.
Taco Capital, U.S.A.
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.
Texas Primer: The Rig Count
At first, Hughes Tool used the count to plan its own future. Now an entire industry uses it to plan theirs.
The Great Texas Taco Tour
From El Paso’s ingenious taco trays to Austin’s uplifting breakfast tacos, each Texas city celebrates this noble creation in its own way.
Web
On the Menu: Rosario’s
Rosario’s has always been a colorful spot to dine, and not just because the food is an energetic and enthusiastic version of authentic Mexican cuisine. This neighborhood bar on the edge of the historic King William district is bright with vivid shades of the rainbow—purple ceilings and purple ceiling…
Columns
Hot Springs Eternal
Going to Hot Springs was once a Texas rite of passage steeped in the ways of old sin. Today this Arkansas resort is still worth the trip.
Of Things Miraculous and Marvelous
Three unknown Texas writers tackle three different genres and prove the novel is alive and well.
Manchild in Musicland
Charlie Sexton. Austin’s guitar-playing boy wonder, is now dream fodder for the masses; Eric Johnson is our latest contender for guitar hero.
Upper West Side Story
Hannah and Her Sisters is Woody gone schmaltzy; F/X is implausible but entertaining; 9 1/2 Weeks is an eternity; Power is oppressively didactic.
Calling His Own Tune
On San Antonio’s Riverwalk the Jim Cullum Jazz Band plays jazz the way it was meant to be played.
Miscellany
State Secrets
Southwest and Continental make war, knot Love; make way for natural gas on the commodities market; a taxing situation for Speaker Gib.
Downtown
The DA in El Paso may do a lot of things, but there’s one thing he doesn’t do—plea-bargain.
Post-Modern Times
Want to unload your business? With Stan Hazelwood, it’s not much harder than getting a date.
Reporter
Texas Monthly Reporter
Will Shelby Coffey lead the Dallas Times-Herald to victory? Will Muse aficionados ever find happiness aloft again? Will Tommy Pierce keep real-estating and a-rocking?…