Get in-depth coverage of news, reviews and conversations about Texas barbecue. It's basically Christmas every day for barbecue-lovers.

On Friday, the United States Department of Justice—along with the attorneys general of eight states—announced a civil antitrust lawsuit against the Richardson-based company RealPage. The firm’s software allows the owners of rental properties to anonymously share the details of their rates, lease terms, vacancies, and other information previously regarded as trade secrets, and to receive suggested rent prices based on an algorithm that aggregates that data. The lawsuit alleges that this violates the Sherman Act, the famous antitrust law, that has been in place since the late 1800s. The implications of the case could be significant. Rent prices nationally have increased an average of 33 percent over their prepandemic rates. The problem is particularly acute in Texas: according to research from Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing…

The post What to Know About the Federal Lawsuit Against the Texas Company Your Landlord Might Use to Set Your Rent appeared first on Texas Monthly.

Thank you for reading!

Get in-depth coverage of news, reviews and conversations about Texas barbecue. It's basically Christmas every day for barbecue-lovers.

Earlier this week, tech giant Meta—the parent company of Facebook and Instagram—unveiled plans to buy a lot of electricity from an innovative power plant to be built by geothermal energy start-up Sage Geosystems. The location of the new-fangled facility remains sketchy. Somewhere east of the Rockies was all the companies said.But there’s another, even more important, location worth noting: Sage Geosystems is based in northern Houston, not far from Greenspoint Mall. Hop on Interstate 45 and head about fifteen miles south, to the downtown skyscrapers, and you’ll find the headquarters of Fervo Energy, another geothermal start-up, which recently announced an even larger power deal with Southern California’s largest utility.Arguably the two most promising companies in what is arguably the most promising new source of energy…

The post Houston’s Geothermal Energy Sector Is Hot—and Steamy appeared first on Texas Monthly.

Thank you for reading!

Get in-depth coverage of news, reviews and conversations about Texas barbecue. It's basically Christmas every day for barbecue-lovers.

One of the many hazards of being a politics reporter in Texas is that when I’m talking to potential dates, I am usually asked my party affiliation or what “type” of outlet I write for. (Do I lean left or right? Does my outlet have a slant?) When I was an active Hinge user, I never shied away from the fact of my job. That said, the political discussions I’ve been roped into have typically centered around events that happened after 1963. Until now. At my editor’s behest, I reluctantly descended back into Hinge’s sordid world. On the app, in addition to required photos, users are asked to showcase their personalities through their answers to three written prompts. My experience on dating apps suggests that most…

The post Bachelors Have Embraced a New Conspiracy Theory: JFK Wasn’t Assassinated  appeared first on Texas Monthly.

Thank you for reading!

Get in-depth coverage of news, reviews and conversations about Texas barbecue. It's basically Christmas every day for barbecue-lovers.

As a key member of the editorial team that puts together Texas Monthly’s quadrennial Top 50 BBQ list, Daniel Vaughn has spent the last decade traveling to thousands of restaurants across Texas. Now, with Texas barbecue culture spreading across social media and influencing pitmasters nationwide, our BBQ editor has embarked on a new challenge: creating a national list of the best Texas-style BBQ joints outside of the Lone Star State. Today, Vaughn released the United States of Texas Barbecue, his first-ever list of 53 national barbecue joints that excel in the time-honored craft of slow-cooked meats smoked with the full flavors of hardwoods like hickory and oak. It’s a craft in which the meat, especially beef, shines and brisket is king. To compile the list, Vaughn…

The post Texas Monthly Releases List of Top Texas-Style BBQ Joints Outside the Lone Star State appeared first on Texas Monthly.

Thank you for reading!

Get in-depth coverage of news, reviews and conversations about Texas barbecue. It's basically Christmas every day for barbecue-lovers.

Barbecue is our country’s greatest contribution to the food world. What began as whole animals being basted with flavorful sauce while slowly roasting over coals outdoors eventually became known as Southern barbecue. From there, regional styles developed, and they became more rigid as restaurants gained popularity in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Then barbecue came indoors with help from offset smokers and enclosed rotisseries. The last decade has seen a surge of barbecue joints opening across the United States. Some places serve Carolina whole hogs, Kansas City burnt ends, or Memphis dry-rub ribs, but the majority don’t bother to open without Texas smoked brisket. What’s more, we’re also seeing trays full of beef ribs, sausages, spareribs, and pinto beans. It’s clear that Texas…

The post The United States of Texas Barbecue appeared first on Texas Monthly.

Thank you for reading!