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

Pecos cantaloupes Mandujano BrothersAs far back as I can remember, Pecos cantaloupe was a family affair.Growing up, my siblings and I spent part of the summer with our grandparents in El Paso. The halcyon desert days would end when we piled in the car for the ten-hour drive home to Fort Worth. As we made our way eastward, we’d detour off the interstate in Pecos, my grandfather’s hometown. After driving around streets as bare as the surrounding Permian Basin, we’d manage to find a grower selling cantaloupe out of the bed of his truck. For a few minutes, my grandfather would get out of the car, talk to the grower, and deposit a box of the region’s fruit in the trunk. When we got home, my siblings and…

The post One of the Last Growers of Pecos Cantaloupe Presses On appeared first on Texas Monthly.

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

'Amor Eterno': History of a Mournful Mariachi BalladUnder a soaring canopy of old pecan trees, Anthony Medrano gave the signal, igniting the mariachi ensemble to perform a searing rendition of a song that many recognize by its first few notes.Violins led the way, though their warm tones were quickly echoed by the brassy hum from a set of trumpets, the steady plunk of guitarróns, and crisp guitar strums. It was June 2022, and an audience of mourners had gathered in Uvalde’s town square. Medrano, a longtime violinist, had traveled there from San Antonio with nearly fifty fellow mariachis who had answered the call to console the shattered community with music after the shooting at Robb Elementary that ended the lives of nineteen students and two teachers. “Amor Eterno,” a heartbreaking ballad and perhaps the most famous song by Mexican icon…

The post How a Mariachi Ballad Became a Soothing Touchstone for Texans Grieving After Gun Violence appeared first on Texas Monthly.

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

Ten Folksy Ways to Say it's Hotter Than Hell in TexasIn Talking Texan, we explore the diverse dialects, interesting idioms, and unique linguistics of the Lone Star State. One aspect of life in the Lone Star State that Texans tend to talk about a lot—’til our tongues are plumb tuckered, you might even say—is the weather. If matters of a meteorological nature were removed as a possible topic of conversation here, the silence would likely be deafening. Small-town hardware stores would suddenly run eerily silent. Hayseeds and old-timers hanging around the feed and seed would be left just standing there scratching their chins, slack-jawed. Crickets! Because whether it happens to be excessively wet, excessively dry, excessively cold, or just really, really hot, Texans will, as sure as sunup, have something to say about it.   Read…

The post Ten Colorful Ways to Say It’s Hotter Than Hades in Texas appeared first on Texas Monthly.

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

TM BBQ Club “Pit Perks” are exclusive perks and discounts that Texas Monthly’s network of barbecue joints generously offer to members like you each month. Proof of membership is required to redeem. AUGUST PERKS BrisketU | Get $15 off any BrisketU Class with code TXMNEWS24scTW Juan and Allie’s BBQ | 20% discount on order*; Address: 114 Texas Spur 511 Sunset Texas 76270 Eaker Barbecue | 10% off all merch and free sticker* Smokey John’s Bar-B-Que & Home Cooking | See Calendar for specials! We are celebrating 48 years of business this August. The week of August 26th we will feature discounted specials as a small “thank you” for the continued support from our loyal customers. In addition to the daily specials, we will offer a chance to win Smokey John’s for…

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

Thomas Walkup Paris OlympicsWhen Thomas Walkup’s European teammates find out he’s from Texas, they have one of two reactions. If they speak English well, they barrage him with questions: Did you grow up on a farm? Did you ride a horse to school? Do people really wear cowboy boots?If they don’t speak much English, they simply shape their hands into finger guns and fire. “I disappoint them when I tell them it’s actually pretty normal in Texas,” Walkup said. “Everyone is really nice. People are super welcoming. It’s not the Wild West anymore.”Walkup understands what it’s like to have a skewed perception of other places. Before he began his basketball career in Europe, he’d left the United States only once—to visit an all-inclusive resort in the Dominican Republic.…

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

Golden Hour BarbecueA year ago, Flor and Fletcher Sheridan looked down at a historic building for sale in downtown Alliance, Nebraska, from atop the Ferris wheel set up for the community’s annual Heritage Days. The small town in the picturesque Sand Hill region of western Nebraska is Flor’s hometown. The couple lived in Houston at the time, and hadn’t seriously considered leaving until they saw how little it would cost to buy their own barbecue joint in Alliance. The deal on the 110-year-old building was too good to pass up, so they sold their house in Houston, became Nebraskans again last September, and opened the doors to Golden Hour Barbecue in March.Coincidentally, I visited Alliance during this year’s Heritage Days, but I was there for barbecue rather…

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

Team USA Skeet ShootingVincent Hancock was twelve years old when he first stepped foot on an Olympic shooting range. He’d grown up watching his brother and dad compete locally and started hitting targets himself when he was ten. Still, the Georgia native didn’t know skeet shooting was an Olympic sport until someone invited them to the range where the shooting competition was held at the 1996 Atlanta Games and said the Olympics happened there five years before.Hancock wasn’t even old enough to participate in 4-H competitions, but he could practice in the place built specifically for the Olympics. He pointed a shotgun toward the sky in front of him, pulled the trigger, and hit a flying piece of clay. The next day, he returned to shoot again, but…

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Objects Simone Biles Could Have Cleared in Her Floor RoutineThis week, in one of the most anticipated moments of the 2024 Paris Olympics, Simone Biles proved yet again why she’s not just the greatest gymnast of all time but is, like, maybe the greatest human being who’s ever done anything a human being can do. That statement has the ring of hyperbole, but let’s consider: Biles, the 27-year-old gymnastics champion from Spring, just outside of Houston, hasn’t been considered an underdog in the gym since she was a young teenager. She has reached heights that were previously considered impossible in her sport. She took two years off from competition after her decision to withdraw from part of the competition at the Tokyo Olympics and then went on to become the oldest female gymnast to…

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Country singer Crystal Gayle is twirling around on her cowboy boot–clad feet when the two young sisters spot her. She’s a flurry of sparkles and kicked-up dust at the Houston Rodeo, and the starry-eyed sisters can’t look away. “That’s when it imprinted on us,” said Sarah Caruth, who owns Fraulein Boot Company with her sister, Margaret Walker. “We thought, ‘Oh my gosh, what is this Western wonderment?’ ”Legacy cowboy boot companies such as Tony Lama and Justin Boots have always catered to both men and women, but women-owned boot companies such as Fraulein are prioritizing unapologetically feminine styles. With daring bright colors and girly patterns, a rising class of female boot designers is shaping soles for the cowgirls of the future. The elder stateswoman of the group…

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Senza Maeso BarTrundling down Farm-to-Market Road 32 between San Marcos and Wimberley, a sign shaped like an inverted triangle may grab your attention. In the center, a stylized blue eye surrounds an orb ringed by a disco ball–like band. The image falls somewhere between space age and Masonic. The name on top, “Senza Maeso,” also offers little clue as to what you’ll find inside. Look more closely, and you’ll see the information you are seeking: a single word—“bar”—nestled deep in the center of the design.As you approach the building with an emerald exterior, you’ll start to get the full sense of Ryan and Jay Gitman’s “space deco” fantasy—a sumptuous Bondian aesthetic that feels like it’s been beamed in from another time, or another planet. Behind the triangular…

The post A Cosmic Roadhouse in Wimberley Spotlights a New Texas-Made Liqueur appeared first on Texas Monthly.

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