Frank X. Tolbert

The 30 Essential Texas Restaurants: Plus Some That Nearly Made It

If you've read this week's feature -- The 30 Essential Texas Restaurants to Visit Before You Die -- by food critic Katharine Shilcutt at our sister paper the Houston Press, then you've no doubt already asked why X, Y or Z restaurant didn't make the list. Maybe you've asked this question angrily to ... More >>

Mind-Bending Light-Benders

The Tragic Tale of That Giant Santa Who Once Sat Upon Porter Chevrolet on Mockingbird

ViaSeveral Friends of Unfair Park also found this photo taken around the same time in 1953.​End of the day Friday I posted that photo of the enormous Santa Claus sitting atop Porter Chevrolet, taken some time in December 1953 and for sale, for one more day, on eBay. It was, I thought at the time, ... More >>

Chili Challenge: Tolbert's Restaurant vs. Chili's

Photo by Steven DoyleHold the baby backs; give us a bowl of red.​Sitting in traffic when it is 105 degrees outside takes a toll on a person's spirit. The heat in Dallas seems worse each year, but we are Texans, and we can handle a little weather. August was just as hot in the 19th century whe ... More >>

Dedication: Riding From Downtown Dallas to Grapevine for a Bowl of Red

​I've eaten Tex-Mex and Texas barbecue at least a half-dozen times each since moving here last month, but as my ate-that list was still short a traditional bowl of chili, I set out this morning for lunch at Tolbert's in Grapevine. Tolbert's, of course, is a legendary chili parlor, first launc ... More >>

Springtime for Dallas and Plano with Tequila and Chili at Red's Patio Grill

Photos by Chris MeeseyRed's fire-roasted chicken quesadillas.​Spring's awakening. The city returns to life after winter's long slumber. Of course, March means college basketball and St. Patrick's Day, but it also means the start of patio season, the all-too-brief time when we can dine alfresco be ... More >>

On The Range: Chili Con Carne

Given the popularity of chili, this was probably inevitable.Chili con carne, better known as chili for short, was named Official State Dish of Texas back in the late 1970s. Why chili and not barbecue or steak? According to Paul Burka, political writer, food guru, and all-around reside ... More >>

Give Peace and Peppers a Chance

Chili cooks score one for multilateralism

This Week's Day-By-Day Picks

Grudge Match

If Gerald Peters, Talley Dunn, and Ted Pillsbury are all smiling, why go to court?

High Spoons

Bare breasts, a bowl of red, and bad blood among the chili brethren in the Big Bend. Texas doesn't get any better.

Lofty pursuit

The man confronting you in the lobby of your apartment building just may be an artist

The intentional tourist

Texas artist Frank X. Tolbert2 gives us a new look at the Old World

Night & Day

April 29 - May 5,1999