At Paisano Ranch, the Spirit of J. Frank Dobie—and the Muses—Abide
My personal slice of Texas paradise lies 14 miles southwest of Austin, tucked into the idyllic canyon that cradles ... Read More »
My Hometown: Explore San Felipe with the Town Mayor, a Descendant of a Slave from the Days of Stephen F. Austin’s First Colony
San Felipe, the hub of Stephen F. Austin’s original colony, may be the most historically significant Texas town you’ve never heard of. But that’s understandable: In 1836, residents burned San Felipe to the ground to keep it from the hands of the advancing Mexican army after the fall of the Alamo. The entire town—homes, taverns, one of the earliest print shops in Texas—was left in ashes, and few of its citizens returned. Read More »
How Phoenix Restaurant and Bar in Port Aransas Got its Caribbean Flair
The Worsham clan’s enthusiasm for Mouttet’s food motivated Worsham to start her culinary apprenticeships as soon as she graduated from high school. It also influenced her preference for piquant dishes and reinforced her choice in hiring Omar Brown, the Phoenix’s current sous chef who grew up in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. Read More »
Beaumont R&B Legend Barbara Lynn Named a National Heritage Fellow
The National Heritage Fellowships are the United States’ highest honor in the folk and traditional arts. Lynn earned the recognition for her pioneering rhythm and blues career, which has garnered acclaim with her distinctive guitar play, soulful singing, and songwriting. From nightclubs in her native Beaumont—where her mother chaperoned her gigs when she was a teenager—Lynn’s career has taken her to the Apollo Theater in Harlem, American Bandstand, and other venues around the world. Read More »
Ray Wylie Hubbard Revisits the Snake Farm That Inspired His Famous Song
Any good songwriter knows when the muse strikes, write it down. For Ray Wylie Hubbard, it was maybe the 10,000th time he was driving southbound on Interstate 35 from New Braunfels toward San Antonio, passing Exit 182 at Engel Road and the so-big-you-can’t-miss-it sign that screamed “SNAKE FARM” in red and black letters. The words, meant to entice drivers to stop at the long-running roadside attraction, conjured the image of a farm full of snakes, and Hubbard physically shuddered. Read More »
Passionate Chefs Make Boxed Sandwiches A Thing of the Past at These Fort Worth Museums
When chef Denise Shavandy walks into the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, she often wonders if she’s dreaming. Before she found her way to cooking, Shavandy considered other career paths that might have landed her in a place like this. Fortuitously, her job as executive chef of Café Modern, the museum’s restaurant, involves crafting beautiful food next to some of the most important art anywhere, inside a building created by one of the world’s foremost design talents. Read More »
After Tackling Topics like Al Qaeda and Scientology, Texas Writer Lawrence Wright Is Now onto Examining the Lone Star State
Wright, 71, welcomed 2018 with the Hulu miniseries The Looming Tower, based on his 2007 Pulitzer Prize-winning book about Al-Qaeda and 9/11. Then came the world premiere of his play Cleo, about the love affair between Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton during filming of the 1963 epic Cleopatra. Most recently, Wright played a key role in the acclaimed documentary Three Identical Strangers, which is informed by a study he unearthed in his 1997 book, Twins. Read More »
Frank X. Tolbert 2 Interprets ‘Incredible Creations of Nature’ in the Texas Bird Project
The art aficionados at the opening of Frank X. Tolbert 2’s Texas Bird Project exhibition in Austin were clearly enamored with the artist’s prints, paintings, and drawings of the state’s winged and feathered beings. But the birdwatchers who came to meet the Houston artist were absolutely rapt. Read More »
Before There Were Mavericks, There Was Texas Legend Sam Maverick
Deep down, every true Texan wants to be a maverick. Whether your folks have been here for centuries or you just ... Read More »
Houston Astros Reflect on Their Success and Why They Love Their City
After several tough seasons of rebuilding and an unpopular move from the National League to the American League, the team capped its recovery last fall with its first World Series title. They did it with a roster of charismatic young players who breathed new life into fans across Houston and beyond. But as they were coalescing into a contender last summer, Hurricane Harvey flooded Houston, leaving the city desperate for a break in the clouds. Read More »
How Houston’s First Ward Industrial Yard Transformed into an Artistic Epicenter
Just northwest of downtown Houston, a sprawling complex of factories and warehouses that once churned with heavy ... Read More »
New Photography Book by Michael Cirlos Showcases the Diversity of the Alamo City
Humans of San Antonio features images of people from all walks of life—including street dancers, homeless men and women, and artists—and includes quotes that tell deeply personal stories. Michael Cirlos, the photographer behind the project as well as the book’s author, writes in the introduction that he always started the conversation with a simple question: “What is one memory you never want to forget?” Read More »
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