Texas Monthly January 2020

I’m writing this letter over the Thanksgiving weekend and feeling grateful for my talented colleagues, including one I want to call out here. Deputy editor Jeff Salamon oversees our print magazine and provides sage advice on much of what we present on our website and other storytelling platforms. He has been working here for ten years and commands the respect of a marvelously fractious staff. And though he grew up in and around New York City, he is today very much a Texan. You can feel Jeff’s affection—and gimlet eye—for his adopted state in this issue’s cover package, which he supervised, along with senior editor David Courtney. It features our annual look back at the most outrageous Bum Steers of the past twelve months as well as, for the first time,…

“I LICKED THE COVER OF THIS MAGAZINE. IS THAT WRONG?” Whiskey Business “The Wild West of Whiskey,” by Eric Benson [November 2019], made me look forward to visiting these neophyte distillers in Texas when I move to the Hill Country next year. But I think it should be noted that Texas is full of residents from the oil industry, some who spent years working in Saudi Arabia (where alcohol is illegal), operating their own small stills, producing just enough for their own use and possibly a friend or two. The fact that there is an abundance of distilling skill in the state is no surprise to me. BILL HUSTON, TYLER Great read. I’m a longtime fan of Balcones. There’s some pretty darned good whiskey coming out of Texas these days. KYLE HOLMES, VIA FACEBOOK I licked…

On a hot fall morning, four archaeologists bushwhack through vines of shin-shredding catclaw and scramble up a rocky ridgeline at Devils River State Natural Area, in West Texas. There, high above a valley, a few miles from the river, they unload packs of camera gear and laptops, ready to spend the day focusing their attention on a series of dark red lines and shapes painted along the cliff wall, behind a narrow ledge. A cluster of four humanlike figures covers one small area, and depictions of what look to be spears are a few feet away. Unidentifiable patches of paint are scattered across this section of rock, and in a few places the stone is scored with fine lines, as if someone tried to etch a pattern. The limestone under…

1. The White Shaman mural stretches 26 feet across a rocky overhang within view of the U.S. 90 bridge northwest of Del Rio. Vibrant images of a white-robed figure with arms stretched wide, humans, animals, and otherworldly creatures, along with lines and dots in black, yellow, red, and white, brighten the stony recess above the Pecos River. The Witte Museum, in San Antonio, owns the site and offers public tours of the White Shaman Preserve at 12:30 p.m. every Saturday from September through May. Tours are limited to groups of twenty, age twelve and up. Cost is $15 ($10 for museum members). The Witte also offers occasional tours of other rock art sites, including Halo Shelter, Curly Tail Panther, and Meyers Springs. 2. Visitors to Seminole Canyon State Park, in Val…

SALARYMAN 287 N. Bishop Ave, Dallas 512-953-0092 D Tue–Sat. $$$ Opened September 19, 2019 There are two kinds of people in the world: those who can take it or leave it and those who can’t leave it alone. The latter, also known as perfectionists, are a proud tribe who can count among their members Dallas chef Justin Holt. As friends and admirers of the 36-year-old can attest, his quest for perfection borders on obsession, maybe even possession, particularly regarding the two Japanese dishes that have haunted his dreams for the better part of a decade: ramen and yakitori. The man’s a maniac when it comes to crafting ramen’s springy wheat noodles. He’s infatuated with its long-simmered broths and porky chashu slices. He’s fixated on its ajitama, those lush soy-and-mirin-marinated soft-boiled eggs.…

1. LA VIBRA TACOS, HOUSTON Popular in Mexico City, the costra taco typically has a shell of griddled cheese in place of a tortilla (“costra” can mean “crust”), but stylistic interpretations have spread across Texas over the past few years. At La Vibra, which a group of local investors with Mexico City ties opened last January in the Heights, the costra de rajas (pictured) features charred and sliced poblanos rolled up in a crunchy Gouda casing and served on a house-made flour tortilla that can be wrapped around the whole thing. Top it all with a drizzle of tart tamarind salsa. 506 Yale, 713-389-5783; lavibratacos.com 2. MARIACHI’S DINE-IN, FORT WORTH Located in a gas station in the Near Riverside district, Mariachi’s is as dedicated to its plant-based offerings as it is to the…