Stanley’s Famous Pit BBQ
Though it’s been around for decades, Stanley’s Famous Pit BBQ (525 S. Beckham Ave.) keeps pulling in new customers with its progressive barbecue scene approach. There’s old-fashioned, pecan-smoked beef brisket, ribs, chicken, turkey, and sausage, as well as stuffed potatoes and Frito pie. Read More »
An Unplugged Travel Challenge Through the Rio Grande Valley Leads to Unexpected Detours and Rewards
After U-turns on the edges of grapefruit groves, repeated pullovers to study our Rio Grande Valley street guide, and a precarious three-point turn on the narrow levee road where a border patrol truck blocks our path, we are really lost. Like so many wanderers before us, we are searching for La Lomita Mission, which a local history buff named Frank told me about at an Edinburg bar the night before. “Just travel the Old Military Highway that goes along the Rio Grande,” Frank said. What Frank didn’t say was that Military Highway, much like the river it runs along, is a trickster that stops, starts, and twists in unexpected ways. Read More »
The Stockyard Cafe in Amarillo
Most stockyard cafés open only on sale days, typically once a week, but a handful around the state open daily ... Read More »
Where to Eat in Amarillo
Worldwide, Amarillo is probably most famous for The Big Texan Steak Ranch and its free 72-ounce steak (“if eaten ... Read More »
Scale Five Peaks in One Week on This Epic West Texas Road Trip
A mile or two into my hike to the top of Mount Livermore in the Davis Mountains, I stepped to the side of the trail as two speedsters overtook me on the uphill slope. “I guess that’s where we’re headed,” I said, nodding to a rocky outcrop on the horizon far above. “Nope,” one of them responded. “Baldy Peak is beyond that—you can’t see it yet.” Read More »
The Daytripper’s Top 5 Things to Do in Bellville
There’s something special about small towns and the folks who live there. You can do things in the country that aren’t possible in the big city, like build castles, throw fireballs, and hang out in jail (on purpose). All of these things and more lured me to Bellville for a day trip unlike any other. Read More »
Former First Lady Laura Bush Takes Us on a Tour of Her Prairie Chapel Flower Garden
On a warm summer morning, former First Lady Laura Bush walked among the butterflies in the garden behind her dogtrot-style vacation house on Prairie Chapel Ranch in Crawford. The likes of former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and U2 singer Bono have ventured on these grounds before, but on this July day viceroys and queens were the VIPs. They flitted about as Bush interpreted the landscape. There’s antelope horns milkweed, she said. There’s gaillardia. There’s basket-flower, and there’s a gourd. “This one’s called purple mist, or blue mist,” she said. “If you want butterflies, then plant this.” Read More »
How Oprah Helped This Smoked Turkey Company Become Famous
Sam Greenberg, the third-generation owner of Greenberg Smoked Turkeys, can pinpoint the day his bird became the word: Nov. 11, 2003. Oprah Winfrey’s people had called. The famed talk show host wanted to feature Greenberg turkeys on her annual—and very influential—gift-giving episode, “Oprah’s Favorite Things.” Read More »
Executive Chef Gerard Thompson Embraces Biscuits and Frito Pie at the Lauded Rough Creek Lodge
Gerard Thompson wields a large, sharp knife with one hand and carries a wooden stand holding a cured hog’s leg in the other. He moves quickly to greet tables of newcomers and regular guests at Rough Creek Lodge. Thompson, the lodge’s executive chef, shaves off paper-thin slices of prosciutto from the ample pig trotter and hands them out as appetizers. Read More »
Lemon Olive Oil Cake Recipe
Using Sandy Oaks’ olive oil in this simple recipe keeps the cake moist, while the limoncello, an Italian lemon liqueur, gives it a little kick. Serves 10-12 Read More »
This South Texas Olive Orchard Feels Like a Mediterranean Oasis
Visits to Italy in 1994 and Spain in ’99 inspired Winokur to recreate that Mediterranean setting in her home state, just south of San Antonio. After living in Manhattan for 14 years, taking art classes and illustrating children’s books, she had returned to Texas to help take care of family. “I’m a sixth-generation Texan, and most of my folks ranched, so certainly I wanted to have cattle, but I also wanted to do something else,” she says. “It seemed to me that olives could be a good crop for Texas. Read More »
Home on the Texas Range, Where the Longhorns and Bison Play
An up-close visit with a Longhorn or bison can be humbling. The animals’ large chestnut-brown eyes reveal a complex blend of wild animal and domesticated stock. It’s hard to know whether they’re plotting an aggressive charge or happily anticipating a bucket of feed. Read More »
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