Sports
January 20, 2013
Sweetheart of the Rodeo
Ty Murray is the last pure American cowboy, a throwback to the mythic West. And if you visit him on his Stephenville ranch, you’d better be ready to ride.
Cover Story
Food & Drink
January 20, 2013
Let’s Have Mex-Tex
Where’s the best place to get a perfect plate of enchiladas? A chile relleno to die for? A salsa you’ll never forget? Come along on our tour of the fifty greatest Mexican restaurants in Texas, from Hugo’s, in Houston, to Tacos Santa Cecilia, in El Paso. This is not your
Travel & Outdoors
January 20, 2013
The Joy of Mex
From La Valentina in Dallas to Casa del Sol in Juárez, 75 Mexican restaurants that will leave your taste buds begging for more, plus seven great recipes.
Politics & Policy
January 20, 2013
Right Place, Right Time
A year ago Rick Perry’s political future seemed to be in peril. Now he’s looking past the 2010 elections—and all the way to the White House. Think I’m kidding? How about a cup of tea?
Politics & Policy
January 20, 2013
Can Rick Perry Stand On His Own?
And just how long are his coattails? Texas politics is always interesting, but the 2002 election—with two formidable tickets, four big races, and a healthy debate over whether this is still a two-party state—promises to be one for the books.
Politics & Policy
January 20, 2013
Born to Run
In the campaign for governor, the Republican nominee is out to prove to voters—and himself—that he’s his own George Bush.
Film & TV
January 20, 2013
Big State, Small Screen
Is Friday Night Lights the best TV show ever made about Texas? Or just the first one (sorry, J.R.! Sorry, Hank!) that’s tried so hard to get the details right?
Books
January 20, 2013
True West
Twenty-five years ago, Larry McMurtry published a novel called Lonesome Dove—and Texas hasn’t looked the same since. Listen in as more than thirty writers, critics, producers, and actors, from Peter Bogdonavich and Dave Hickey to Tommy Lee Jones, Robert Duvall, and Anjelica Huston, tell the stories behind the book (and
Health
January 20, 2013
35 People Who Will Shape Our Future
Lance Armstrong tops our list of the dreamers and doers leading the way in science, sports, politics, music, art, food, education, and, of course, Dallas shopping.
Bum Steers
January 20, 2013
1999 Bum Steer Awards
A year of asking-for-it Aggies, badass broccoli, contraband coffee, Death Row decor, extrapolating elephants, faux feet, god-awful gimmickry, humongous heavyweights, incomparable ironers, judicial jimjams, kaput kowtowers, lame-brained liberals, moping millionaires, NASA ninnies, off-putting officials, prize-winning pignappers, quasi-comic quipsters, red-handed rapscallions, scarfable sod, theoretical thongs, ungodly ungulates, vomiting vegetation, wild-eyed window-breakers,
Politics & Policy
January 20, 2013
The Bloody Billion
Oh, how our legislators are moaning and groaning as they try to cut the state budget. But we’ve slashed, chopped, trimmed, pared, and whittles our way through it—and save $1 billion. It wasn’t that hard. Really.
Sports
January 20, 2013
Arms Race
We used to be known for running backs, but all of a sudden, we’re famous for producing some of the country’s best passers, from Drew Brees to Colt McCoy. What turned our high school football programs into quarterback factories?
Health
January 20, 2013
“Nothing to It”
Bolstered by his favorite phrase, my son Mark faced life with grace, dignity, and good humor. I knew he’d face death the same way.
Sports
January 20, 2013
Come Early. Be Loud. Cash In.
How did the University of Texas build the most successful college sports program in history? One visionary coach at a time. One world-class athlete at a time. One state-of-the-art stadium at a time. And with an ambitious, aggressive business model that’s the envy of its rivals everywhere.
Travel & Outdoors
January 20, 2013
Breaking Away
Quick! You still have time to get in a great vacation before school starts and summer ends. And with this handy—and extremely thorough—guide to five perfect trips, all you need to do is fill up the tank, buckle up the kids, and go.
Books
January 20, 2013
Lady Bird
In this excerpt from Means of Ascent, the shy, withdrawn young wife of Lyndon Johnson reveals a presence and command that took everyone by surprise—including her husband.
Being Texan
January 20, 2013
The National Car of Texas
It’s big, it’s fast, it’s powerful, it eats gas, it’s the Suburban.
Travel & Outdoors
January 20, 2013
River Deep, Mountain High
There are any number of fun, adventurous, and unexpected things to do in the Big Bend region of far West Texas. Here are fifteen of my favorites, including scuba diving in Balmorhea, gliding over Marfa, drinking a microbrew in Alpine, horseback riding in Fort Davis, and floating through the Lower
Film & TV
January 20, 2013
The Making of Lonesome Dove
You can lead a herd to water, but can you make a miniseries faithful to Larry McMurtry’s Texas classic?
Bum Steers
January 20, 2013
The 2007 Bum Steer Awards
It was a year of aggrieved actors, banned boobs, Cuban commodes, DeLay denial, errant Elmo, frisky floaters, grouchy governors, hung hoopsters, immigration insensitivity, job-seeking judges, klobbered Karl, Longhorn lushes, miffed musicians, nude no-no’s, ousted Osteens, peeved passers, quarreling queens, riled Rangers, subpar sheriffs, tiny “terrorists,” unseemly URLs, vice presidential violence,
Texas History
January 20, 2013
Styles and Styles of Texas
The thirty Texans with the most iconic, unforgettable, eye-popping looks, from Davy Crockett to Beyoncé.
Politics & Policy
January 20, 2013
The Good Wife
Is she a “saccharine phony”? A closet liberal? A foot soldier—or a rebel—in the culture wars? The truth about Laura Bush is that her ambiguity makes her a model first lady: a blank screen upon which the public can project its own ideas about womanhood.
Politics & Policy
January 20, 2013
The Education of Laura Bush
A first read on the Midland librarian in the White House: what she has learned so far and how her life has changed.
Politics & Policy
January 20, 2013
The Man Who Isn’t There
In word and deed, the George W. Bush now residing in the White House bears little resemblance to the Texas governor I gladly sent to Washington. That's why I'm so ambivalent about reelecting him.
Travel & Outdoors
January 20, 2013
Great Escapes
From a boutique hotel in hip South Austin to a bed-and-breakfast across the Mexican border, from fly fishing on the Llano River to bathing in the Chinati Hot Springs, 33 getaways the guidebooks don’t tell you about, courtesy of our intrepid staff of weekend warriors.
Music
January 20, 2013
The Queen Is Dead
When Selena Quintanilla Perez was killed on March 31, Texas mourned—and around the world, the veneration began.
Politics & Policy
January 20, 2013
The Thrilla in Vanilla
The looming clash between Republican gubernatorial candidates Rick Perry and Kay Bailey Hutchison may not be as fearsome as the storied Ali-Frazier bout, but it’s the heavyweight showdown every Texas political junkie has been waiting for.
Feature
January 20, 2013
Peace Be With You. And Also With You. Unless You’re Gay.
The battle for the soul of the Episcopal Church, being waged aggressively in this state, is not only about the ordination of homosexuals. It's also about the future of the denomination.
Bum Steers
January 20, 2013
The 2010 Bum Steer Awards
It was a year of accomplice apes, bedraggled Bugattis, Christlike Cheetos, dim-witted deli-owning Democrats, egregious errata, fatal foreplay, gun-toting golfers, heartless high school hoopsters, ignoble implants, jackass judges, killer Kims, laughingstock legislators, miniature museum mummies, nincompoop ne’er-do-wells, overwhelming odors, pandering Perry, quazy Quaids, reassuring Riddle, shameless Stanford, territorial T. Boone,
Business
January 20, 2013
Wheels of Fortune
For automakers in the U.S. and overseas, Texas is the very best market for the pickup truck. And for Texans, the pickup truck is the very best vehicle—if only for what it says about who we are. Or who we'd like to be.
Texas History
January 20, 2013
The Aggie Bonfire Tragedy
What’s so important about a stack of wood? Every Aggie knows that the answer is tradition—which is why, after a catastrophe that took the lives of twelve young men and women, the decision of whether to continue, change, or call a halt to the bonfire looms so large at Texas
Bum Steers
January 20, 2013
The 2000 Bum Steer Awards
A year of asinine actresses, bare-bottomed bongos, curious car washes, dunderheaded deejays, elongated enchiladas, furious filmgoers, Gore goofs, huge hydrants, ice in demand, jettisoned Jagger, kooky Kansans, lecherous legislators, misinformed McDonald's, newsmaker nuts, odorous ocelots, promiscuous passengers, questionable quizzes, ridiculous recipes, speedy sports-team owners, traveling toilets, ubiquitous underwear, vapid vegetarians,
Business
January 20, 2013
The Texas 100: Introduction
The one hundred richest people in Texas.
Food & Drink
January 20, 2013
Dining Out is Fun
If mother doesn’t make food like she used to, there are still a few great cafes in Texas that will.
Bum Steers
January 20, 2013
The 1998 Bum Steer Awards
A year of altered antlers, bawdy broadcasters, comedian corrections, dining detectives, emancipated emus, fossilized felines, gullible Gore, hemline harassment, insatiable igniters, jazzed-up jewelry, Kay’s kennelwear, lottery loonies, metric madness, numerous nudes, 007 oenophiles, poultry protesters, questionable quizzes, revengeful revenuers, Spam slingers, tie tirades, unallowed uniforms, variant videotapers, warning! water, x-humed
News & Politics
January 20, 2013
Why Teachers Can’t Teach
Our system of training teachers is a crime that robs taxpayers of millions of dollars, robs potential teachers of competence and self-respect, and robs our kids of a decent education.
Travel & Outdoors
January 20, 2013
Climb Every Mountain
Whether you want to ride a horse, bomb down a mountain-bike trail, hike up a hill, relax in a hot springs, scale the face of a giant granite boulder, or just sit on your tailgate and look at a pretty sunset, there’s a lot to do on and around the
Food & Drink
January 20, 2013
The 50 Greatest Hamburgers In Texas
On our first-ever quest for the state’s best burgers, we covered more than 12,000 miles, ate at more than 250 restaurants, and gained, collectively, more than 40 pounds. Our dauntless determination (and fearless fat intake) was rewarded with a list of 50 transcendent burgers—and you’ll never guess which one ended
Sports
January 20, 2013
The Devil and Mr. Jones
How about those Cowboys? Ever since the team's egotistical owner, Jerry Jones, fired coach Jimmy Johnson in a fit of pique, the 'Boys have never been on a slippery slope to perdition. But it's die-hard fans like me who are in hell.
True Crime
January 20, 2013
Lust in Space
The lovesick antics of diapered astronaut Lisa Nowak are some combination of funny and sad but seemingly not revealing of anything larger, until you realize that her tragic, tabloidy breakdown says everything you need to know about NASA’s many troubles.
Travel & Outdoors
January 20, 2013
Endless Summer
There are plenty of unpleasant reasons to take a staycation this summer, from the collapse of your 401(k) to the global outbreak of swine flu, but there are plenty of pleasant ones too. For the thirteen weekends between the first day of summer (June 21) and the first day of
Feature
January 20, 2013
Texas Monthly Brainstorm
Build more schools, clone Willie Nelson, get everyone high-speed Internet, raise chickens, hold nonpartisan primaries, curb sprawl, and 76 other serious, inspiring, far-fetched, and provocative ideas about how to make Texas an even better place from some of the brightest bulbs we know.
Politics & Policy
January 20, 2013
Girl Gone Mild
After spending her adolescence largely out of view (except for a few scrapes with restaurant and bar employees), presidential spawn Jenna Bush is emerging as a public person in her own right. But her return to private life can’t come soon enough.
Business
January 20, 2013
The Next Frontier
How has the state’s most storied ranch managed to survive and thrive in the twenty-first century? By operating in a way that its founder, Captain Richard King, would scarcely recognize.
Bum Steers
January 20, 2013
The 2008 Bum Steer Awards
It was a year of angry Aggies, Baptist bravado, confused Cheney, death row drollery, enemas in evidence, fetid feet, ghetto gobbledygook, helicopter hunts, insurance idiocy, jerk judges, kin kidnappers, lawbreaking Longhorns, meshuggener misfires, NASA nimrods, Oswald online, pooped-on presidents, quick quarrels, requested roaches, scrotum-scarring Sooners, taped teenagers, unhinged urinators, visible
Sports
January 20, 2013
EEEEEEAAAAOOOOWWW!!!
On November 5, 181,500 people crowded into a former cow pasture north of Fort Worth to watch 43 race cars drive really, really fast for five hundred miles. That day, the Texas Motor Speedway would be, measured by population, one of the largest cities in the state. Welcome to NASCAR,
Travel & Outdoors
January 20, 2013
Shore ’Nuff
The best beaches in Texas for—among other summertime pursuits—shelling, strolling, birding, fishing, treasure hunting, turtle herding, solitude, and surfing, dude.
BBQ
January 20, 2013
The World’s Best Barbecue Is in Taylor, Texas. Or Is It Lockhart?
A Cityslicker's Guide to the Pits.
Bum Steers
January 20, 2013
The 2009 Bum Steer Awards
It was a year of abbreviated Aggies, bamboozling boxers, charged Cuban, dumb district attorneys, estrogen-packed elevators, famished firemen, graveyard ganja, half-wit husbands, imaginary illegal immigrants, Jessica jests, koncert kayos, lawn-watering Lance, muddled Moron, next-of-kin-offending newspapers, oblivious operators, pornographic prom dresses, questionable quiz takers, repulsive Roger, stolen shih tzus, tasteless team
Travel & Outdoors
January 20, 2013
The Best of Small-Town Texas
Where to stay. Where to play. Where to eat. Where to shop. What to see. From Abram to Yoakum, a special report on our favorite down-home destinations.