Texas Monthly November 2020

HOW DANNY TREJO BUILT A DECADES-LONG FILM CAREER AFTER PRISON Stuck in solitary confinement in a California prison in 1968, Danny Trejo (above) made a deal with God. “Just let me die with dignity, and I’ll say your name every day,” he recalls praying. Cat Cardenas charts his journey from incarceration to Hollywood stardom, including his leading role in the Machete series, directed by San Antonio–born Robert Rodriguez. THE ROAD TO BECOMING A FIRST-GENERATION BULL RIDER A riding school in Tomball aims to train the next crop of rodeo cowboys and cowgirls. Three of its pint-size students have big dreams of riding bucking bulls. In the first installment of Texas Monthly’s new “Being Texan” video series, director Chris Beier follows JJ Hunter, eight (left), as well as Jamarion and Jayden Henderson, nine and…

Whenever we publish a cover package on politics, we can count on some of our readers to urge that we stick to stories on barbecue and boots, “the way Texas Monthly used to do.” We get that suggestion from Democrats when we put Beto O’Rourke or Wendy Davis on the cover of our annual Bum Steers issue. We get the same suggestion from some Republicans when we cast a critical eye on Governor Greg Abbott or House Speaker Dennis Bonnen. Most of our longtime readers know that we have, in fact, held public officials and political candidates accountable since our founding, in 1973. If Republicans attract the lion’s share of our attention these days, that’s because in recent decades they’ve dominated state politics. Whether they can continue that dominance is one…

We’ll Pass The article “The Quest for Better Beef” [September 2020] is a war against Texas, written by a native New Yorker on your staff. Texas Monthly should be renamed Manhattan Monthly. Some of the largest, oldest, and most famous ranches in the world are in Texas. I raise cattle, and their flatulence is nothing compared to farting horses. Why don’t the Texas Monthlys of the world want to rid the planet of horses and eliminate all the nasty equine gas? SAM PARSONS, FOREST, VIRGINIA End of the Line I read your article about Luby’s [“Luby’s, LuAnn Platters, and Me,” September 2020]. I have lived in Texas longer than I have lived anywhere else. Long enough to have loved Luby’s for three decades. I am saddened beyond belief that it’s possible I will no…

How lucky are we?” I can’t count how many times my park pal and I, enchanted by yet another of Texas’s wonderful, wild places, have said that to each other. Alas, this year, this annus horribilis, we have had fewer opportunities to do so, since we, like everyone else, have spent most of our days within the slightly-less-wonderful confines of our respective four walls. ¶ But we were certainly feeling fortunate around this time last year, when we hit the road for Lost Maples State Natural Area, outside of Vanderpool, a little less than two hours northwest of San Antonio. There’s a pleasant surprise around just about every bend of a windy road through the Hill Country, and Emily and I had barely gotten out of Austin before deciding that…

Lost Maples closes when the parking lots are full, so be sure to have a camping reservation or a day pass during leaf-peeping season; the Texas Parks and Wildlife website posts a Fall Foliage Color Report every week from early October through November. About four miles outside the entrance to the park, Lost Maples Country Store has wine, fuel, ice, firewood, barbecue on the weekends, and everything else you might need. No visit to this area is complete without a stop at Lost Maples Cafe (1), in Utopia, about fifteen miles to the south. From morning till evening, friendly folks serve up home-style favorites like burgers, chicken-fried steak, and cheese enchiladas, as well as justly legendary pies in flavors like coconut meringue, pecan, and buttermilk. If you require a cold…

Japanese restaurant Edoko Omakase opened in Irving’s upscale Las Colinas suburb just days before the statewide shutdown of dining rooms in March and remained closed until pandemic restrictions loosened in May. As soon as I safely could, I reserved a patio table at the eatery, which offers a seven-course omakase tasting (meaning the chef chooses the menu) as well as à la carte selections. But I wasn’t there for the sushi and sashimi combos. I was there for the tacos. ¶ I ordered four, each starring a different main filling on a lightly grilled corn tortilla: pink-and-white-striped Scottish salmon belly sashimi, Hawaiian bigeye tuna, unagi (freshwater eel), and a medley of vegetables such as microgreens and radishes. Garnishes included squiggles of chile-infused crema and thinly sliced serranos; the salmon belly…