Texas Gets 27 Nominations for the James Beard Awards
Four Texans are finalists for the Best Chef: Southwest category. After the finalists for the annual James Beard Awards were announced in Houston on Wednesday, the number of Texans in the running for the honors dwindled from 27 to four—all chefs vying for the title Best Chef: Southwest. Representing Austin are Kevin Fink of Emmer & Rye, Michael Fojtasek of Olamaie, and Bryce Gilmore of Barley Swine, and representing San Antonio is Steve McHugh of Cured. Read More »
El Paso’s Poppy Bloom is One of the Most Colorful in Years
It's poppy season in El Paso. The wildflowers are in full bloom throughout the region, accenting the city’s ... Read More »
Photo: Clymer Meadow Preserve
With their characteristically droopy petals, Black Samson coneflowers seem ready to turn down for the night as the sun sets on the Clymer Meadow Preserve northwest of Greenville. The preserve protects remnants of the Blackland Prairie, a tallgrass prairie that once stretched from the Texas coast to Canada. Prairies and pastures in North Texas and the plains of the Panhandle provide native habitats for this perennial, which blooms April through July and can also be propagated in gardens. Read More »
My Hometown: Artist Lindy Chambers Finds Inspiration Along the Backroads of Bellville
When Lindy Chambers drives along the backroads of her hometown of Bellville, she often pulls over to take photos of dilapidated trailer homes or to collect the detritus that many people would pass off as junk—later to be resurrected in her artwork. A self-taught oil painter and sculptor known for colorful depictions of country life, Chambers moved from Hockley to this historic seat of Austin County about 20 years ago. Read More »
Fire Street Pizza Brings Neapolitan Fare to Belton
The road to Fire Street Pizza seems more likely to lead to nowhere. As you wind around cedar trees and open, mostly empty ranch land on FM 439 near Belton, you might think you’ve gotten lost. But the red laser-cut sign hanging over the restaurant’s driveway will put hungry travelers at ease: “There’s no place, quite like this place, anywhere near this place, so, this must be the place.” Read More »
Ben Milam Whiskey Honors a Texas Revolutionary
Texian revolutionary Ben Milam may not be as famous today as James Bowie, Davy Crockett, and William Barret Travis, but he should be. After all, Milam led the Siege of Bexar in late 1835 that drove Mexican forces out of San Antonio and the Alamo and set the stage for the Republic of Texas to win its independence the following spring. Felled by a sniper, Milam gave his life to the cause. Read More »
Bourbon Smash Recipe
Marsha Milam describes her Bourbon Smash (see photo, left) cocktail recipe as “delicious, flexible, and forgiving.” Mix one up at home to celebrate Texas Independence Day on March 2—or head to the distillery for its second anniversary bash—and toast to the spirit of Ben Milam and other brave Texas revolutionaries. Read More »
Watch Out for Tiny ‘Fairy Shrimp’ on Your Next Hike Up Enchanted Rock
Shallow pools that form after rains on the massive granite dome north of Fredericksburg are among the few places where fairy shrimp are found in Texas. Growing about a centimeter long, the translucent freshwater crustaceans exist on the constant edge of survival, laying eggs that endure the dry season only to hatch when the pools refill with rainwater. Read More »
Texas Highways Magazine Celebrates 45 Years of Traveling Texas
If there’s one thing Texans can agree on, it’s their love of wildflowers. A field of native blooms graced the second-ever cover of Texas Highways, and readers’ enthusiasm for the bluebonnet and its springtime companions hasn’t dampened since. Read More »
Small Town Spring Break in Gainesville
Not every spring break needs to be spent on a beach or skiing down a mountain—just relaxing on an easy road trip rewards you for making it through the first third of the year. The Cooke County seat of Gainesville, sitting just a stone’s throw below the Red River and in quick reach of Dallas and Fort Worth, has recently grown into a delightful burg ideal for whiling away a couple of days. Good shopping, a romp on a lavender farm, and a relaxing stay at a pretty new bed-and-breakfast makes it just the place for a small family reunion, girlfriends trip, or romantic escape—with or without the kids. Read More »
Adults Only Spring Break on Distillery Row
“It’s called Dripping Springs for a reason,” says Meryl Sager, the sparkly-eyed bartender at the Desert Door tasting room as she spoons a glob of honeycomb into the Yaupon Palmer, a sotol-based version of an Arnold Palmer made with yaupon tea. “Everything here is dripping.” Sager’s right. When you drive the back roads around Dripping Springs and Driftwood, you are meandering through Central Texas’ distillery motherland. Although not visible from these pretty, tree-lined roads, barnfulls of stills are near at hand, all bubbling away to create small-batch spirits— from gin to sotol to whiskey—ready for you to swill, preferably while sitting outdoors on a breezy day with friends. These springs drip the good stuff. Read More »
Balmorhea State Park Reopens to the Public
Balmorhea State Park has reopened its famed spring-fed swimming pool with time to spare before Spring Break and the arrival of the West Texas summer heat. The Texas Parks & Wildlife Department announced Friday that it had completed a project to repair the concrete apron under the diving board, a problem that resulted in the pool’s closure throughout last summer.The project, estimated to cost $2 million, received a boost from Apache Corporation, an oil and gas company, which contributed $1 million to the project in the form of a matching grant. Read More »
Find Texas Events
[gravityform id="1" title="true" description="true"]