February 2005 Issue
Features
1. Tom Craddick
The House Speaker didn’t get to be the most powerful man in Texas by selling mud.
2. Ronnie Earle
The long arm of the law is getting longer every day—and reaching into the Capitol.
3.—25.
Twenty-three other people with more clout than they know what to do with. (Well, they know exactly what to do with it.)
Feature
The Best of the Rest
• Tell me if this idea is not totally Dallas: a restaurant with a conjoined clothing boutique. At Cretia’s on McKinney, both sexes can peruse trendy garb while the kitchen whips up their food. To be honest, I prefer lunches here because the damage to my pocketbook is less if
Where to Eat Now 2005
What’s on the menu this year? Not the best new restaurants of all time, perhaps—but you’ll still love the veal shank at 17, the Texas quail at T’afia, the Guinness stout cake at George, and the fusion of French and Mexican cooking at Lanny’s Alta Cocina Mexicana. And don’t forget
Feature
Directory
• Beso, – Closed• Cretia’s on McKinney, 4438 McKinney Avenue, Dallas, 214-252-9300• El Chile Cafe y Cantina, 1809 Manor Road, Austin, 512-457-9900• Fireside Pies, 2820 N. Henderson Avenue, Dallas, 214-370-3916• George, – Closed• Hector’s on Henderson, 2929 N. Henderson Avenue, Dallas, 214-821-0432• Julia’s Bistro, 3722 Main, Houston, 713-807-0090• Lanny’s Alta
Who’s Not On The List
• Rick Perry, 54, Austin He’s one of the best campaigners Texas has ever seen, but that’s all that can be said. Beyond the inherent powers of the office, the assets that earn a governor extra clout are an uplifting vision for the future, broad-based popular support, and the respect
Who Might Make It Next Time
• Matthew Dowd, 43, and Mark McKinnon, 49, Austin The two Bush campaign veterans have returned to Texas, consultant Dowd to set up his own firm and media guru McKinnon to return to Public Strategies, his old stomping ground. Their political talent and impeccable credentials will have an impact here.•
He’s Daniel Johnston, and He Was Gonna Be Famous
He was, for a while, and look what happened: Today one of the great songwriters in the alternative-rock universe is a 44-year-old manic-depressive living with his parents in Waller. And the worst thing about it is that he’s about to be famous again.
Columns
Patricia Kilday Hart
(Much) Higher Education
Who thinks tuition deregulation stinks? Middle-class kids—and me.
Fallen Heroes
One riot, one Ranger, one much-maligned historian: rereading Walter Prescott Webb.
Reporter
Music Review
Send Me Home
Like the singer Gillian Welch, Austinite DAO STROM’s stark and lonesome music seems to hail from the Appalachians, though both she and Welch were raised in California. The similarities end there, however. Strom was born in Saigon (she fled the country in her mother’s arms) and is a graduate of
Music Review
Delirium Tremolos
When word arrived that Dallas-reared Redneck Mother RAY WYLIE HUBBARD was releasing an album made up almost entirely of covers, anticipation set in. Hearing artists break from their modus operandi to creatively interpret the works of others can be an unexpected treat. But to paraphrase Groucho Marx: I had a
Music Review
15 More Original hits
Texas lost a founding father of tejano when Bishop native ISIDRO LOPEZ passed away last August. López, whose half-Apache blood earned him the nickname El Indio, was a born star; his chiseled good looks, seductively warm sax sound, and impossibly mellifluous voice destined him for fame. Starting on the saxophone
Book Review
The White League
In THOMAS ZIGAL’s sophisticated thriller THE WHITE LEAGUE (Toby Press), New Orleans coffee magnate Paul Blanchard peeks beneath the Mardi Gras masks of his fellow captains of industry and discovers a secret society still fighting for segregation long after its antecedent—the real-life White League—was believed disbanded in 1877. Blanchard, cut
Book Review
As Hot As It Was You Ought To Thank Me
Secrets are hard to keep in a small town like Pinetta, Florida, and a devastating hurricane further lays bare the private lives of Pinetta’s families in AS HOT AS IT WAS YOU OUGHT TO THANK ME (Back Bay Books), a jewel of a novel by Austinite NANCI KINCAID. Blossoming
Book Review
One Ranger
As a memoir, ONE RANGER (UT Press) is all over the map, but, oh, the places you’ll go in this collection of anecdotes from retired Texas Ranger H. JOAQUIN JACKSON, with DAVID MARION WILKINSON. Jackson serves as a folksy but savvy tour guide to a career that stretched from 1966
Reporter
Little Las Vegas
Gambling, in case you were wondering, is still illegal in Texas. But for the past decade, elusive entrepreneurs from around the country have been slipping into towns like Kingsville and quietly setting up small-time casinos that combine the slots of Atlantic City with the decor of an OfficeMax and the
Web
Texas Tidbits
Texas Tidbits
For the past thirty years, Lady Raiders basketball has taken Lubbock by storm.
Texas History 101
Texas History 101
The story of the Texas Rangers begins with a familiar name—Stephen F. Austin.
Books That Cook
Books That Cook
Some women depend on their little black book to cook up something spicy, but in Dallas another color takes the cake. The “Blue Book,” as resident chefs term The Dallas Junior League Cookbook, is now in its sixth printing, and its red-hot recipes are tastier than ever.First created in 1976
Almost Famous
Senior editor Michael Hall on musician Daniel Johnston and writing about mental illness.
Eating Around
Senior editor Patricia Sharpe on how she picked this year’s best new restaurants.
Split Personality
Executive editor S. C. Gwynne, who wrote this month’s cover story, talks about Speaker of the House Tom Craddick, his seemingly average-guy life in Midland, and his powerful persona in Austin.
Happy Trails
Happy Trails
A recent excursion to Dripping Springs ended up being the perfect way to spend a day with friends.
Pat's Pick
Liquid Assests
The Beat Goes OnSteaming, cinnamony, sweet as your darling’s kiss, MEXICAN HOT CHOCOLATE might be the perfect twist on the traditional box of candy this Valentine’s. For each serving, heat a cup of water, milk, cream, or any combination thereof along with about a third of a tablet of Mexican
Pat's Pick
Strip House
Innuendo is definitely on the menu at the Strip House, a New York import that is Houston’s latest purveyor of prime beef. The red flocked wallpaper evokes a classy bordello, languorous French burlesque dancers gaze from vintage photos, and at least once a night, the sound system can be counted
Miscellany
Marsha Sharp
“A lot of people are perfect fits for universities. I’m a perfect fit for Texas Tech. I understand West Texas. I am West Texas.”
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