Fredericksburg

Tomorrow is National Peach Cobbler Day for -- If You're a Big Dummy

According to a questionable food holiday website, tomorrow is National Peach Cobbler Day. In Texas, America, this is a special occasion as the scent of peach cobbler is capable of taking most of us back to birthday parties around the pool (even if your birthday is in December) and barbecues every we ... More >>

First Round of SXSW 2013 Acts Announced, Including Blackstone Rangers and The Relatives

With the announcement of 35 Denton's initial lineup, it was only a matter of time before you felt that tightening in your chest, aka the first round of SXSW acts. North Texas' Blackstone Rangers, Ronnie Fauss, the Relatives, Somebody's Darling, Sarah Jaffe and Tedashii are all represented. Thurston ... More >>

Meet the Woman Who Was Evicted to Make Way For Bikinis, Texas

There was never much to Bankersmith, Texas -- little more than a post office and general store at its peak -- but it wasn't a ghost town. Maggie Montgomery made sure of that. Maggie -- she promptly disabused me of the notion that I would call her Mrs. Montgomery when we spoke on the phone -- moved ... More >>

Welcome to Bikinis, Texas: Austin Businessman Wants to Turn Entire Hill Country Town Into a Giant Breastaurant

Temple Smith was a farsighted man. In 1913, the president of Fredericksburg's first bank had sense enough to help finance the construction of a rail line between Fredericksburg and Comfort. A small town, Bankersmith, was settled there, but Smith saw beyond the relative boom that brought a post offic ... More >>

Texas Craft Liquor Makers Belly Up to the Bar to Challenge Kentucky Bourbon.

Restaurant Journey Deep in the Heart of You Know Where

​Before you click the comment box, I know, I know: I missed some phenomenal eating opportunities this week. I was on the road reporting a feature story, which meant interviews and transcription sessions took precedence over meals. Had I structured my itinerary around restaurant visits, I surel ... More >>

Hey, Whole Foods! We're Growling for Growlers Over Here.

This is a growler. Notice that it's empty. That's a hint.​Dear Park Lane Whole Foods Market: It's the Christmas season, a time when all good boys are brimful of dreams for presents. Seeing as I have been good this year -- as far as you know, anyway -- I'm hoping you will grant me one heartfe ... More >>

Growler Program Confusion: Whole Foods Wants It, Gordon Biersch Has It and the TABC Is Playing the Waiting Game

​A local specialty market is one bag of feed away from a cash cow. Unfortunately, it doesn't know which end to feed. The wine bar at the Park Lane Whole Foods Market, the Dallas flagship store, has been a boon to the location's bottom line. Beginning at about 3 p.m. on weekdays, the bar, with ... More >>

MasterMinds: Matthew Posey, Joel Hester and Karen Blessen Are Winners in Our Inaugural Creativity Awards

Go Texan Winery Passport Program: Drink and Be Rewarded--But with What?

​The other day on City of Ate, my colleague, Hanna Raskin, bemoaned the state of the Go Texan Restaurant Week, one of the numerous programs designed by the Texas Department of Agriculture to spur interest and business in our state's food industry. She noted that only seven restaurants in Big D sig ... More >>

What Wine Does One Pair with a Corny Dog?

Photo by Chris Meesey​The State Fair of Texas makes it easy to find your way around Fair Park if you know how to use one of the handy free maps handed out at the entrance gate. If you wish to find the Go Texan Wine Garden, for example, merely mosey a ways down the Esplanade, turn left at Inter ... More >>

Dry Comal Creek Bottles Up
Something Really Dry

​Once known for making inconsistent, if not downright weedy wines, Texas winemakers have been slowly but surely improving quality as the vineyards become established, the vines get older, and the winemakers themselves receive better education, training, and practice in their craft. Also, learn ... More >>

Remember the Alamo: Mission San Antonio De Valero Sauvignon Blanc

​In 2008, Fall Creek Vineyards in tiny Tow, Texas, released a couple of wines with a mission. They dedicated their 2007 Sauvignon Blanc and 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon harvests to help raise money and awareness for much-needed restoration of the Mission San Antonio de Valero (aka The Alamo). Spec ... More >>

100 Favorite Dishes: Double Cheese Potato Cakes At Red's Patio Grill

​As a countdown to the Dallas Observer's "Best of Dallas" 2010, City of Ate is serving up 100 of the favorite dishes we crave, savor and hope to scarf down again soon. These dishes are in no particular order. Some are little known, others celebrated. Some are pricey, others can be eaten on the che ... More >>

Pairing a Pleasant Wine with the Big Honkin' Celebrity Cheeseburger at The Grape

Colleen MeeseyTwo meatballs walk into a gourmet restaurant...​There are certain peaks in life that must be surmounted, simply because when Mount Everest shows up in your backyard, you must climb it sooner or later if for no other reason than it's there. The Grape has been the standard-bearer of Da ... More >>

Sauce on the Square in McKinney is not about getting sauced on the square in McKinney--necessarily

Colleen Meesey​At first glance, downtown McKinney and its approaching streets seem bucolic, picturesque, quaint even. Wooden frame houses line Louisiana street, giving a small-town feel to the place. When you reach the courthouse square, you will swear that you've entered Fredericksburg or some ... More >>

Short Orders: Agave Tapas

​Agave Tapas2067 Summer Lee Dr.Rockwall214-771-0423Actually, the name includes "grill," "restaurant" and--I think--"bar" in addition to "tapas." And the name says it all.In some ways it reminds me of the time I stopped in a place called Carlos O'Kelly's, a Tex-Mex establishment that may or may not ... More >>

Calexico Takes Its Music South of the States and Across the Pond

Beer Is Good

Texas law stifles state's craft brewers

Shoe Strung

A Place To Bury Strangers isn't shoegaze. Or is it?

Q&A: Texas Legend Joe Ely

Ain't Life Grand? It Is, At Least According to Preservation Texas.

The Gourds

Heavy Ornamentals (Eleven Thirty)

Seriously Kinky

This Texas Jewboy wants to be the next governor of Texas, and if you think he's kidding, the joke may be on you

Letters

How Now Mad Cow?

For Texas cattle ranchers, "What's for dinner?" is a touchy question

This Week's Day-By-Day Picks

Killing in the Name of...

These Generals frequently speak the name of the Lord, but is it in vain?

Month, Week, Daze

Mark your calendar. October is the month for wining and dining.

Dead On

Come November, you might discover JFK's real (fake) Assassin

Bed & Boast

Hotel ZaZa promises to bring a new feel to the Dallas atmosphere

Novel Idea

A tiny publisher in the Big Bend lands a whopper—the sequel to The Bridges of Madison County

Tortured Souls

Horribly abused children of the Hare Krishna movement seek justice--and peace--through a multimillion-dollar lawsuit

Cow chips and dip

If you can get past the Texas kitsch, the grub at Texana Grill makes for some good eatin'

The Case of the Headless, Handless Corpse

A reporter's tip helped detectives identify a mutilated body dumped along the Trinity, but finding the man's name led to a deeper mystery -- the disappearance of atheist gadfly Madalyn Murray O'Hair

To every season

The times they are a-changin' at the Sons of Hermann

The art of implication

Vince Bell's been dead once, and he's got the record to prove it

Cattle call

Looking for a good, reasonably priced steak? Texas Land &Cattle Co. has your beef