Food & Drink
February 1, 2012
Notable Openings and Closings
What you need to know about dining in Texas this week.
Austin
Music
February 1, 2012
Ben Kweller Makes Some Noise
The Austin-based musician talks about his new album, his record label, and making viral videos with Jason Schwartzman.
Food & Drink
February 1, 2012
Preview: Of Meat and Men
An early look at the cover—and the cover story—of our February issue.
Music
February 1, 2012
Ben Kweller
The musician and former front man for Radish on moving to Austin, pretending to be a label mogul, and getting his electric guitars out again.
Music
February 1, 2012
Animal Joy
A new album by Shearwater.
Music
February 1, 2012
Arrow
A new album by Heartless Bastards.
Style & Design
February 1, 2012
Melanie Steele, Wig Master
Steele, a Colorado native, moved eleven years ago to Austin, where she is now the wig master for the Austin Lyric Opera. She has toured the U.S. and Mexico with the Broadway production of The Lion King and served on the beauty crew of the world premiere of Elton John’s
The Culture
February 1, 2012
Performing Sketch Comedy
Shannon Sedwick on using the F-word, playing Ann Richards, and pulling things out of her dress like pipe wrenches and saws.
Food & Drink
February 1, 2012
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes
For all the stories that we publish in TEXAS MONTHLY, there are always more that we don’t publish, usually because we run out of space and time. In a state that spans 261,232 square miles and contains 25,145,561 people, it’s a safe bet that the things we could cover
Contributors
February 1, 2012
Contributors
Wyatt McSpadden, John Phillip Santos, and Skip Hollandsworth.
The Texanist
February 1, 2012
The Texanist: When Can Non-Native Texans Start Saying Y’all?
Learning to speak Texan, postprandial bed-sharing, how to start a fire, and a barber shop conundrum.
Eat My Words
January 27, 2012
More Proof That Austin Is Smoking Hot!
There’s nothing like a bandwagon. No sooner did Food & Wine and Bon Appétit fall all over themselves to give Austin a whole lotta love than StarChefs.com (an online magazine for chefs and culinary insiders) decided to hold one of its four national awards ceremonies in Austin
January 27, 2012
Win the Weekend: What Texas is Talking About
Dublin Dr Pepper is still in business, Rick Perry has been less popular before, and other news you need to know.
Health
January 11, 2012
Ironically, Obese Texas is a Leader in Weight Loss Research
Two new studies from Texas researchers focus on shedding the pounds and keeping them off.
January 4, 2012
Iowa Caucuses on the State’s Front Pages
How the Iowa caucases played out on the front pages of the big Texas papers after Ron Paul had a strong showing and Rick Perry, well, did not.
Web Exclusive
January 1, 2012
Did It Their Way
Austin filmmakers David and Nathan Zellner prove that Sundance still embraces their type of idiosyncratic, shoestring-budgeted work.
News & Politics
January 1, 2012
Why We Chose Rick Perry as Our 2012 Bum Steer of the Year
We only need 53 seconds to explain.
Books
January 1, 2012
The Man Who Knows Too Much
Cyberpunk pioneer Bruce Sterling speculates that the worst is yet to come.
Music
January 1, 2012
Craig Finn
The lyricist and lead singer for the Hold Steady on recording his first solo album in Austin, working with producer Mike McCarthy, and writing a song a day.
The Culture
January 1, 2012
Lyman Hardy’s Editing Bay
The composer and sound-maker shows us some of his tools.
Politics & Policy
December 15, 2011
Are You a Whole Foods Voter or a Cracker Barrel Voter?
The Washington Post tries to put a fresh spin on the old red vs. blue divide by studying the voting habits of people who live close to one of the two retail chains.
Sports
December 4, 2011
The Texas Football Coaching Carousel
Texas A&M head coach Mike Sherman marches on as gossip swirls about University of Texas’s Mack Brown’s departure and University of Houston’s Kevin Sumlin’s future.
Art
December 1, 2011
Six Must-See Museums and Collections
Six members from Women for the Arts share which museums, collections, and venues travelers should not miss.
Web Exclusive
December 1, 2011
From Screening Movies to Releasing Them
Alamo Drafthouse founder Tim League starts an independent film distribution company, but can he make it work?
Web Exclusive
December 1, 2011
Unsolved Mystery
It has been twenty years since four teenage girls were murdered in a north Austin yogurt shop—and still no answers.
Music
December 1, 2011
Need Some Gift Ideas?
We got you covered. Representatives from three independent record stores in Texas recommend recent releases from local artists to give as gifts to music fans.
Art
December 1, 2011
Magda Sayeg’s Bedside Table
The yarn bomber shows us some of her personal possessions.
Food & Drink
December 1, 2011
Building a Gingerbread Capitol
Amanda Naim on baking her first batch of cookies, molding each piece of the dome, and having a steady head.
Feature
December 1, 2011
Up in the Air
No state has defied the federal government’s environmental regulations more fiercely than Texas, and no governor has been more outspoken about the “job-killing” policies of the EPA than Rick Perry. But does that mean we can all breathe easy?
Business
November 30, 2011
The State Made Sure Its Portrayal in “Top Chef: Texas” Was Appetizing
The state forked over $600,000 to lure the Bravo show to Texas, but placed some restrictions on the show for accepting the cash.
November 29, 2011
Rick Perry Wages a “Spiritual” War on Abortion
A 5,000-word piece in Religious Dispatches details the “spiritual” war on abortion in Texas under Rick Perry’s watch.
November 15, 2011
Is Austin’s Formula One future already out of gas?
Construction halts on track outside of Austin after state treasurer Susan Combs withdraws previously promised Major Events Trust Fund bucks.
Eat My Words
November 10, 2011
Trailer Thursday: Hoover Alexander’s Soular Food Garden
For the grand opening of his new “veggie-centric” food trailer, Soular Food Garden, Hoover Alexander invited attendees to take a celebratory stroll with him around his childhood stomping grounds. The small group began their walk at the trailer’s East 12th street plot, continued to his church’s community garden, and finished
Eat My Words
November 3, 2011
Trailer Thursday: Japanese Love at Love Balls
I first saw Japanese takoyaki - a delectably ambrosial octopus dumpling that has graced the shops and street corners of Japan for centuries - on an episode of Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations. Immediately I hopped to my computer and conducted a frantic search for takoyaki restaurants in Texas. There had
Eat My Words
November 2, 2011
Remember the Alamo, It’s “Top Chef: Texas” Time, Y’all!
We heard the rumors that the show was coming (and that producers tried to shut down tweets about it). We've read about the state tax breaks and the lawsuit and the omission of our biggest (and completely food-rich) city,
The Culture
November 1, 2011
Top Chef Doesn’t Skimp on the Texas Cliches
Bravo's cooking competition reality show, which premieres tonight, spends its ninth season in Austin, Dallas, and San Antonio.
Food & Drink
October 31, 2011
Diffee Does the Texas Monthly BBQ Fest
What one man overheard at this year’s celebration of the best pitmasters in the state, righteous smoked meats, and passionate ’cue lovers.
Web Exclusive
October 31, 2011
Narrating the Night Sky
San Antonio's Sandy Wood has been the voice of StarDate for twenty years.
Sports
October 31, 2011
Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes
Later this month, one of the great long-standing traditions in college athletics—the annual Thanksgiving game between the University of Texas and Texas A&M—will come to an end. The rivalry between these two schools has lasted so long, and fostered such ferocious passion on both sides, that most people probably
Contributors
October 31, 2011
Contributors
Annette Gordon-Reed, Jason Sheeler, and Dagoberto Gilb.
Politics & Policy
October 31, 2011
Left Behind
Rick Perry’s stumbles on the national stage have inadvertently highlighted the weakness of his opposition back home—Texas Democrats.
Music
October 31, 2011
The Strange Boys
Singer-songwriter Ryan Sambol on the band's new album, Live Music, and more.
The Horse's Mouth
October 31, 2011
Being a Hollywood Extra
Jesse Heiman on signing up at Central Casting, working with Leonardo DiCaprio, and still not paying his own phone bill.
Eat My Words
October 29, 2011
TMBBQFest, “23 Pitmasters in 23 Days”: Bertram’s Closing Puts Us One Man Down
Make that 22 pitmasters. Since Bertram Smoke Haus made our Top 50 in 2008, a lot has happened with the joint northwest of Austin. Pitmaster and owner Jim Wallace moved out of his original location, a 100-plus year-old former mercantile and lumber store, for a bigger
Eat My Words
October 25, 2011
TMBBQFest, “23 Pitmasters in 23 Days:” Lamberts Downtown Barbecue
Editor's Note: The Texas Monthly BBQ Festival is almost here! Each day until then, we'll be talking to one of the featured pitmasters, with questions from TM staffers, esteemed BBQ experts, Twitter followers and you, the readers of this blog.Today we're featuring Lou Lambert of
Eat My Words
October 21, 2011
TMBBQFest, “23 Pitmasters in 23 Days:” Franklin Barbecue
Editor's Note: The Texas Monthly BBQ Festival is almost here! Each day until then, we'll be talking to one of the featured pitmasters, with questions from TM staffers, esteemed BBQ experts, Twitter followers and you, the readers of this blog.Today we bring you Aaron Franklin, 33, of
Eat My Words
October 6, 2011
Trailer Thursday: Fryin’ It Old School at Austin’s Izzoz Tacos
When you think "BBQ in Lockhart," you think Kreuz & Smitty's - but a lot of people swear by Black's. And when you think "taco trailer on South 1st St.," you think Torchy's - but there's also Izzoz Tacos, which opened in December of 2008 in the same parking
Travel & Outdoors
September 30, 2011
Bed, Breakfast, and Beyond
From tranquil lodging in the middle of bustling Houston to candle-lit breakfasts near the beach, these five B&Bs are guaranteed to please.
Music
September 30, 2011
The Big Bend Theory
Tiny and remote Marfa is poised to be a rock-star magnet.
Politics & Policy
September 30, 2011
Pioneer Up
The roots of Rick Perry’s frontier style.