More Stories

Puzzle

The pick of the flicks.

Texas Primer: The Grand Champion Steer

Tastes in livestock are as whimsical as tastes in fashion. This year petite is in.

Post-Modern Times

In a Twilight Zone-like pocket near UT there are some kids who aren’t ready to grow up.

Me Redford, You Streep

Out of Africa is lavishly done up but emotionally dehumidified; Young Sherlock Holmes is more Hardy Boys than Conan Doyle; Revolution is nothing but a megabucks disaster.

The 1986 Bum Steer Awards

A year of altered antlers, bunkum bars, cloddish coaches, defoliant diets, enervated elephants, filched flamingos, gunshot guitarists, haywire holidays, intoxicants’ incentives, jejune judges, kissing K-9’s, lousy lobster, and misdirected Michener.

Invasion of the Killer Beetles

When southern pine beetles attack a Texas forest, there are only two cures: cut the trees down or let nature take its course.

Downtown

The Dallas Citizens Council has a new look, but it’s singing the same old tune.

No-shows and Great Shows

The only excitement of the Dallas Opera season came from a couple of fortunate gambles, while the Houston Grand Opera triumphed by bringing Faust alive for contemporary audiences.

Behind the Lines

A monument to everything money can buy.

Back Roads

For a singing telegram with a little something extra, just call the Hip-O-Gram Girls.

Rauschenberg Relics

In the current Rauschenberg exhibit at Houston’s Contemporary Arts Museum the artist finds his first thirty years a tough act to follow.

Jim Goode’s BBQ Beef Rub

Jim’s rub, one of many being used all over the country today, enriches not only beef but also pork and lamb.

BBQ Brisket with Goode’s Mop

Although Jim Goode uses his BBQ Mop for basting smoked meat, it’s flavorful enough to use as a sauce for cooking brisket, and you’ll barely miss the smoky flavor.

Jim Goode’s BBQ Mop

This could be the most sensational baste ever.

On the Menu: Goode Company Barbeque

Houston restaurateur Jim Goode took the three Texas food groups—barbecue, Tex-Mex, and burgers—and built an empire.

Lone Star Shtick

Part of it was my fault. But I insist on sharing the blame with Tommy Tune, Judi Buie, Dan Jenkins, Mort Cooperman, Dandy Don Meredith, New York Daily News gossip columnist Liz Smith, a terrible—and now mercifully defunct—restaurant called the Dallas Cowboy, numerous Texas-based kicker-pickers like Willie Nelson, Jerry

Friday Night Ringers

Why do the towns that have oil also have the best football players?

Our Lady of the Taco

Blessed art thou, who hath created Tex-Mex.

River of Blood

The race war on the range.

Every Traveler’s Nightmare

Ever worry that your trip overseas could turn into a disaster? We certainly didn’t—until a speeding bakery truck collided with our Italian vacation.

Professor of Football

Okay, now, listen up. This story is about Bill Yeoman, a really good football coach. Read it or run three laps after practice.

The Week of the Virgin

A doll-like statue of sugar-cane fiber and clay came to San Antonio from a village in Mexico. Twenty-four hours a day, residents of the West Side visited Our Lady of San Juan de los Lagos.

The Fraying Empire of Bobby Sakowitz

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.

Portraits in Power

Helmut Newton, world famous for his bizarre, sometimes shocking erotic photographs, turns his lens on another exotic subject—Texas tycoons.

Spaghetti Rivaldo

Recipe from La Griglia, Houston4 oz. extra virgin Italian olive oil 3 large cloves garlic, minced 1 small yellow onion, finely chopped 4 Tbs. capers, rinsed 1/3 cup black pitted olives, rinsed 1/3 cup green pitted olives, rinsed 1 35 oz. can Vallone* tomatoes 1 tsp. sugar pinch dried oregano

Crab and Shrimp Cheesecake

Recipe from La Griglia, Houston1 stick butter, melted 1 stack pack saltine crackers (about 40) 16 ounces cream cheese, softened 2 17.5-ounce cartons mascarpone cheese (soft Italian double cream cheese—four 8 ounce cartons can be used) 6 eggs 2 Tbs. flour 4 Tbs. each chives and green onions finely minced

On the Menu: La Griglia

EVEN IF LA GRIGLIA were completely empty—which is highly unlikely—the enormous bawdy murals, busy mosaics, and bustling wait staff would give the impression of great activity. This popular eatery, located in the River Oaks Shopping Center, is a place to see and be seen—inevitable, since the restaurant is one of

Touts

State Secrets

Mexico’s bureaucracy thwarts Texas land heirs; a new poll has bad news for the guv; taxing times for the state budget; ending a boondoggle for colleges.

Roar of the Crowd

Texas Monthly Reporter

What evil lurks at the San Antonio Convention Center? How does a would-be Kenedy Ranch heir make a buck? Who helps keep the space shuttle aloft?

Puzzle

Texas Primer: The His and Her Gift

Once upon a time the His and Her Gift reflected a Texas that was extravagant and maybe a little gauche. Now the gift is no less extravagant, but it’s a lot less, well, innocent.

Post-Modern Times

Christian recording mogul Chris Christian knows what the Rock of Ages really means.

Better Than Ever and More of It

New records from Texas bands have only one thing in common—stubborn individuality.

Queen of the Rodeo

In Sweet Dreams, Jessica Lange is a dynamo of female gumption; Hail Mary makes the Immaculate Conception an inconsequential miracle; Joshua Then and Now is entertainingly busy and uncouth; Twice in a Lifetime is twice too often.

I Want to Be Alone

When the wife goes back to work and the husband takes on chores and children, the real problem is not laundry or lunch boxes. It’s the battle between love and ambition.

Downtown

A dog’s best friend?

A Heaping Mess

One man’s answer to nouvelle cuisine.

Desire and Memory

The Ups and Downs of Theophilus Maitland had more ups than downs in Dallas, but Memorial Candles didn’t have much memorable melody.

Behind the Lines

Nights of Figs and Other Mysteries

Charles Portis’ Masters of Atlantis is anything but believable and nothing if not enjoyable. A Small Town, Shelby Hearon’s ninth novel, is a hit-and-miss proposition.

Back Roads

Next time you want to go from Wichita Falls to Paris, take the Red River Bus Line.

Texas Primer: The Petroleum Club

People who have watched a certain prime-time soap opera think they know what goes on at the Petroleum Club. They don’t.

The Art-by-the-Truckload School

They’re cheesy, they’re tasteless. But each black velvet painting is a one-of-a-kind work of art.

Preacher’s Kids

My father had to have an answer for everything—adultery, spiritual crises, the pigeons defecating in the church gutter. No wonder I didn’t become a preacher. The miracle is that my sister did.

The Hustlers

The genteel practice of law is dead. Nowadays lawyers fight for clients, raid each other’s firms, and bill, bill, bill.

Johnny B’s Lime Rickey

Fast becoming a master soda jerk, Marilyn Shackelford, manager of Johnny B’s Old-Fashioned Soda Fountain, showed us how to make a fresh Lime Rickey at home.1 juicy lime Crushed ice 1 1/2 oz. cherry syrup (Jubilee brand is good)Fill a pint glass with crushed ice. Squeeze in juice of one

On the Menu: Johnny B’s Old Fashioned Soda Fountain

IT WASN’T BECAUSE I was touring West Texas that I ate a cheeseburger for breakfast. It was after stumbling upon Johnny B’s for lunch the day before. Never mind the open sky and distant mesas, the cheeseburger at this inviting luncheonette was all I could envision.Open only since November (and

Touts

The sincerest form of plattery; imaginative new serving pieces for the holiday season.