Film & TV
March 23, 2021
Alan Tudyk Is Ready to Be Taken Seriously
After decades of playing goofy sidekicks, the El Paso–born, Plano-bred actor finally has a leading role.
Plano
Film & TV
September 20, 2019
How a Former Karaoke Video Outpost in Plano Became a Hollywood Mainstay
Well Go USA has become one of the leading distributors of Asian action films in the U.S.
Food & Drink
August 21, 2019
Waving Farewell to the Dine-In Pizza Hut
The long-standing suburban staple has finally caught up with the times.
Food & Drink
July 20, 2016
Patty Shack
My all-time favorite hamburger came from the Country Burger, my family's beloved neighborhood restaurant in Plano.
BBQ Joint Reviews
October 26, 2015
Winners BBQ
De’Andre Jackson never thought he’d be cooking barbecue for a living. As a football star out of Garland, he started for the Big 12’s Iowa State. Entering his senior year, some had him graded as the third best cornerback in college. An ACL-tear toward the end of the season kept…
The Culture
October 21, 2015
Homes Sweet Homes
Buyers today are seeing tremendous change, just as my parents did, but they all still want the same thing: the chance to own a piece of the Texas dream.
The Daily Post
June 11, 2015
Texas City Flags: The Good, the Blah, and the Fugly
Our state flag kicks ass seven ways from Sunday. Maybe that’s why the vast majority of our city flags are terrible.
The Daily Post
May 19, 2015
What You Should Know About Elementary School “Calm” and “Focus” Rooms
Time-out is an age-old punishment. But do the controversial “calm rooms” and “focus rooms” employed in Plano and New Braunfels go too far? …
Music
May 7, 2015
Gangsta Rap Progenitor The D.O.C. Will Reclaim His Platinum Records From a Plano Pawn Shop
No one can do it better, including getting plaques that were stolen from him back from a pawn shop in North Texas. …
The Daily Post
October 23, 2013
How J.C. Penney Is Distancing Itself From the Ron Johnson Era
J.C. Penney is trying desperately to revive its brand after a disastrous stint by former CEO Ron Johnson. Let's revisit some of his biggest missteps.
Food & Drink
January 21, 2013
America’s Flamin’ Cheetos Crisis: Five Things You Need to Know
The Frito-Lay snack has been targeted for banning by some school districts, even in home-packed lunches. Also, it's not just your fingers that the stuff turns red.
Business
January 21, 2013
Dr Pepper “Progress of Man” Parody Becomes Silly Facebook Controversy
There's another Dr Pepper boycott in the works, and this one has nothing to do with real cane sugar. …
Business
January 21, 2013
Will JC Penney Ever Be Successful Again?
Despite shaking up the department store chain's corporate leadership, the Plano-based retail giant continues to suffer.
January 21, 2013
Texas Performs Sixth Execution of 2012
Yokamon Hearn was also the first person in Texas to be executed with the new single-ingredient lethal formula, pentobarbital.
Food & Drink
January 21, 2013
Taco Bell Has Sold 100 Million Doritos Locos Tacos
That's good news for Doritos' parent company, Plano's Frito-Lay, especially since Taco Bell has plans to use Cool Ranch and Hot and Spicy taco shells. …
Business
January 21, 2013
Texas Business Report: Penney’s Performs Poorly
In addition to announcing a $163 million first-quarter loss this week, the ailing retailer, which has recently tried to reinvent itself, will no longer pay quarterly dividends. …
The Culture
January 21, 2013
Five Texas Teens Doing Big Things
An Austin teen will be the first American to graduate from an elite ballet school in Russia this spring. She is just the latest in a string of Texas teens who have accomplished impressive things in the past few years.
January 21, 2013
Plano Model Injured by Propeller Sues Plane Insurer
Lauren Scruggs, the 23-year-old model and fashion blogger who lost an hand and eye in the accident, rejected a $200,000 settlement.
Food & Drink
January 21, 2013
Don’t Mess With Dublin Dr Pepper
The end of Dublin Dr Pepper has Texas social media consumed with grief, outrage, and talk of boycotts.
Texas History
January 20, 2013
Time Will Tell
I saw my first historical marker as a Cub Scout in Pack 291. Nearly thirty years later, I’m still hooked on the story of Texas.
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.
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…
The Culture
June 30, 2012
The “Dublin Dr Pepper” Legacy Lives On
After a disappointing settlement with Dr Pepper Snapple Group, the family that owns Dublin Bottling Works, Inc. continues to thrive using the same ingredient that fans have enjoyed for years—pure cane sugar.
Business
February 10, 2012
Texas Business Report: The Future of the Internet Could be Decided . . . in Tyler?
A Tyler man says he invented the technology that laid the groundwork for the web, Frito sales are on the rise, and Rice could help offer open-source textbooks.
Politics & Policy
February 9, 2012
Rick Santorum Comes to Texas
The presidential candidate visited the Metroplex, attending church in McKinney and stumping at a "faux-rustic farm" in Plano.
December 6, 2011
Plano Model, Blogger Severely Injured By Plane Propeller
Good Morning America interviewed Lauren Scruggs’s parents about the condition of their daughter, who lost a hand after walking into a plane propeller.
Eat My Words
October 12, 2011
TMBBQFest, “23 Pitmasters in 23 Days”: Big Daddy’s Roadhouse BBQ
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 Joe Arriago, 33 of…
Sports
February 1, 2010
Playing the Field
How the state's top two players made their college choices.
Books
March 31, 2008
The Story of Forgetting
Stefan Merrill Block is a talent. Though his debut novel, The Story of Forgetting, sings a bit from the Jonathan Safran Foer hymnal (a precocious teen trying to unravel his family’s tragic history), the Plano native distinguishes himself with inventive plotting and an urbane Texas voice. High Plains…
Letter From Plano
May 31, 2006
Shabby Chic
Will the upscale shoppers of Plano really buy what Wal-Mart is selling?…
Politics & Policy
March 1, 2002
The Craddickal Right
Tom Craddick of Midland wants to be the first Republican Speaker of the House in Texas since 1873. He may already have the votes, but his critics are questioning his tactics.
Business
June 30, 1999
How Many of You Have Heard of Zig Ziglar Before—Or Is This Your First Time-uh?
From Harvard to Hesitation Hill, the nation’s most motivated motivational speaker is much in demand. And he’ll still see you at the top.
Feature
January 1, 1999
Teenage Wasteland
With its optimistically broad streets and oversized cantilevered homes, Plano is the suburban ideal taken to its extreme, and its exaggerated scale often gives rise to exaggerated problems. Heroin addiction is only the latest.
Television
April 30, 1998
A Stand-up Guy
Plano’s Steve Harvey has been a successful comedian for years. Now he’s a sitcom star too.
Health
April 1, 1998
The Needle and the Damage Done
In 1979, as an undercover cop in Tyler, I got hooked on drugs. Nearly two decades later I’m clean, but the consequences of my addiction haunt me still.
Feature
January 1, 1996
For Posterity’s Sake
Coming Soon: Groacho Marx The Cockroach Hall of Fame Museum, Plano. Michael Bohdan, who calls himself Cockroach Dundee, runs the museum at his pest-control business, featuring such exhibits as H. Ross Peroach and Liberoche, a dead roach covered with sequins sitting at a miniature piano topped by a candelabra. If…
Business
January 1, 1996
Hot Potatoes
Is it possible to have a low-fat chip that tastes good? After three years of top-secret tinkering, Frito-Lay thinks it has hit upon the ultimate snacker’s delight.