Joe Nick Patoski
Before Joe Nick Patoski joined TEXAS MONTHLY, he worked as a radio broadcaster in El Paso, Arlington, and Austin, and served as a stringer for Rolling Stone, drove a taxi cab, managed rock and roll bands, and was a reporter and a columnist for the Austin American-Statesman.
He's written articles for Men's Journal, Spin, and Conde Nast Traveler and he also contributed a chapter in The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock and Roll.
He is co-author of Stevie Ray Vaughan: Caught in the Crossfire, published in 1993 by Little Brown, and Selena: Como la Flor about the life and death of the entertainer Selena, also published by Little Brown.
Patoski grew up in Fort Worth and attended the University of Texas at El Paso, the University of Minnesota, Tarrant County Junior College, and the University of Texas at Austin.
Features
Top Fifty
The Best of the Best
Pit Stops
Where are the best places to eat barbecue in Texas? Six years ago we published a highly subjective—and hotly debated— list of our fifty favorite joints, and now we’ve gone back for seconds. Ten intrepid souls drove more than 21,000 miles in search of 2003’s worthiest ‘cue. Here’s what they came back with: the top 5 and the next 45, plus honorable mentions, great chains, and meat by mail.
Water Foul
When the City of Marshall wanted to pump millions of gallons of water out of Caddo Lake and sell them to the highest bidder, the state said, "Sure." Residents of Karnack, Uncertain, and other tiny northeast Texas towns said, "Hell, no." Guess who prevailed (for now)?
Yelapa
25 Top Custom Bootmakers
Alive and Kicking
Nothing advertises your Texas bona fides more these days than a pair of handmade cowboy boots. Here's everything you need to know about them - how to tell a vamp from a pull, which toe style is right with a suit - and where to buy the best.
Boot Anatomy
Driving Music
Alternate Routes
Pretty Drives
Big Bend 2002
Whether you want to hike it, raft it, drive it, or all of the above, here's everything you need to know to get the most out of a trip to Texas' greatest treasure.
Which Side of the Fence Are You On?
All over Texas, ranchers are putting up eight-foot fences to keep their deer from roaming so they can charge more for hunting leases. Purists say shooting such deer doesn't amount to "fair chase." Biologists say penning them in causes disease. I say it's the best thing that could happen to the land.
Texas Ranges
In an excerpt from their forthcoming book, Texas Mountains, senior editor Joe Nick Patoski and freelance photographer Laurence Parent celebrate the wild beauty of the state's sierras.
Old-Fashioned Texas
Texas is changing before our eyes, but fried pies, drive-in movie theaters, and other vestiges of earlier days are all around. To find these treasures, we risked life, limb, and cholesterol count-and had a blast from the past.
Boone Pickens Wants To Sell You His Water
And you’re going to need it, eventually, since Texas’ most precious natural resource is being depleted at an alarming rate. His plan is to pump vast amounts from his land in the Panhandle and pipe it to parched cities like El Paso and San Antonio—for a hefty price, of course. But other powerful interests have the same idea. Let the battle begin.
On the Water Front
Summer’s blast furnace is firing up. Luckily, Texas is a paradise of spring-fed pools, sparkling beaches, and more. Here are our picks for the best places to chill out, get wet, and go off the deep end. Plus extra web-only information!
50 Things Every Texan Should Do
Have you gotten lost in the Big Thicket? Attended a South Texas pachanga? Whether you’re a newcomer or a native, following these suggestions will give you a crash course in all things Texas—and one heck of a good time.
The Widow’s Pique
In Lubbock they call her the "Spanish Yoko Ono," and María Elena Holly, Buddy Holly’s widow, has always had a troubled relationship with his conservative hometown. Some folks rave on that it’s her greed that has killed the city’s Buddy Holly Music Festival. But it’s more complicated than that.
Airport 2000
These days, a plane trip can entail more time in the terminal than in the air. But why get stressed when you can have a massage, taste Texas wines, go for a jog, check your e-mail—even eat gumbo while watching (other people's) planes take off? A survivor's guide to DFW, Houston Intercontinental, and five other big-city airports.
Splendor in the Grass
Thirty years ago J. David Bamberger bought "the worst piece of land in Blanco County," then cleared the cedar and planted native trees and grasses. Today his ranch is a haven for birders, environmentalists, and students— and he is a revered guru of land stewardship.
Environment • Steve Manning
For the birds.
Musical Marginalia
The places, people and stories behind Texas music.
Tomorrow People
Meet the senior class of what might be called Texas Music U. — four up-and-coming acts that should graduate to the big time.
Y'all in the Family
How did Lloyd Maines get to be a revered guitarist and record producer? How did his daughter Natalie find fame as a Dixie Chick? Chalk it up to musicianship—and kinship.
Play Ball, Y'all
Meet eight Texas teams that are bringing America's pastime—the gimmicky, anything-goes minor league version—to a stadium near you.
Crashed
At heart, Dewey Winburne was an educator, not an entrepreneur; he saw technology as a tool for doing good rather than doing well. Even so, he was able to survive in Austin’s heady new economy—until the pressure got to him.
Land That I Love
City folks with money to burn are driving up the cost of living in the Davis Mountains and the state’s other pretty places. What’s a rancher to do?
Entertainer of the Century—Willie Nelson
“He doesn’t fit the stereotype of a 66-year-old veteran of a profession that eats its young. The goofy grin he flashes conveys the vibe that he really and truly likes what he’s doing. We like it too.”
High-tech • Mark Cuban and Todd Wagner
Net profiteers.
High Plains Drifting
How to get your kicks on Route 66 and other less celebrated roads: three leisurely drives through a part of the state where the sights are cool and the nights are cooler.
Team Player
Why he was a hit running the Texas Rangers.
Let’s Get Lost
Hot springs, steep cliffs, death-defying trails: My six-day trek through Mexico’s Copper Canyon was the adventure of a lifetime.
Our Juan and Only
At home in his native Puerto Rico or at home plate in Arlington, Texas Rangers slugger Juan Gonzalez is a hit.
Radio
Play-by-play coverage of high school baseball in Alpine, polka and Pan-American music in El Campo: More than a dozen reasons not to touch that dial.
Just Say Snow
Breathtaking scenery, tons of runs, and pillowy, powdery white stuff: If you need a lift this winter, New Mexico skiing won’t leave you cold.
The Witnesses
Nellie Connally, Red Duke, and others remember November 22, 1963.
The Two Oswalds
It’s the most intriguing theory of all: two men with the same identity, one a patsy and the other a murderer who got off scot-free.
RADIO • Tom Joyner
The host with the most.
Money in the Making
Houston’s new movers and shakers don’t hang with the Wyatts or Sakowitzes. They’re Eightball, Scarface, Lil’ Keke, and the other power players of the city’s rap music scene.
The Wild Coast
The birds of High Island. The wilderness of Matagorda Island. The untamed beach of Boca Chica. These and other hidden treasures await you-if you know where to look.
The Power Couple—Robert Rodriguez and Elizabeth Avellan
A match made in heaven and blessed by Hollywood.
Wowtown!
The billionaire Basses had a vision—and money, of course. Now, thanks to their efforts, Fort Worth has the hottest downtown in Texas.
The War on Cedar
It’s unpalatable to cattle, an invader of grasslands, and a water hog. So why can’t I just get rid of it? Because it’s a vegetative Vietnam.
Memphis
It’s music to your ears.
Sweating It Out
How I survived a course in desert survival. Chihuahuan Desert.
The Road to Nowhere
A drive that’s unforgettable to the end.
Television • Hank Hill
An animated personality.
Law • Lucius D. Bunton III
Here comes the judge.
Multimedia • Chris Roberts
The name of the gamer.
Grand Canyons
Hiking, biking, and nighttime weather to your liking make the Palo Duro and Caprock canyons a cool summer getaway.
Out There
For seven days Rick McLaren and his armed cohorts were holed up in their Republic of Texas “embassy” while reporters dug for stories, lawmen kept watch, and the residents of nearby Fort Davis wished they’d all go away.
Bill, Due
After more than two decades in the movie business—including star turns in Apollo 13, Twister, and now his own Traveller—Fort Worth’s Bill Paxton is finally getting what’s coming to him.
Underground Round
Speed
This month, more than 150,000 fans will pack an enormous new venue near Fort Worth to watch the state’s first major stock car race. Clearly, NASCAR is on the right track in Texas.
Still ZZ After All These Years
So what if they’re not cranking out hits and selling out concerts the way they used to? After nearly three decades, no one makes better blues rock than ZZ Top.
Advertising • Lionel Sosa
Breadth of a salesman.
Food • John Mackey
Ace in the Whole.
So You Wanna Be a Storm Chaser?
The Candy Man
Mr. Peppermint doffs his skimmer in a fond if bittersweet farewell to all the kids he entertained on TV for so many years.
Riders on the Storm
By the end of May, the weather in the Panhandle finally turned nasty, and two real-life tornado trackers cut to the chase.
Junior Achievement
Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Jerry Jeff Walker—and now Junior Brown? The former community college teacher is the latest outlaw to hijack Texas country music, and he may be the greatest.
Sex, Drugs, and Rock and Roll
When the double life of pioneering record producer Huey Meaux was exposed, it was time to face the music: How well did I really know the legend I once called my friend?
The Ultimate Hill Country Tour
Spend a long weekend this spring meandering through Texas’ fabled heartland, where you can stop and smell the wildflowers, taste country cooking, and take home a trunkful of fine antiques.
The Sweet Song of Justice
The verdict is in, but a complete account of what went on in the Selena murder trial hasn’t come out—until now.
Trip Tips
The Shore Thing
Our complete guide to a great vacation on South Padre Island: the best spot for tanning, who serves the freshest seafood, how to rent scuba gear, where to see the prettiest sunset, and more.
The Queen Is Dead
When Selena Quintanilla Perez was killed on March 31, Texas mourned—and around the world, the veneration began.
Chile Weather
It’s harvest time for the green chile—the mild-mannered pepper that adds zest to almost any dish.
Tex-Mex Treks: Ciudad Acuna, Coahuila
A cool mariachi bar (in Juárez), tasty lake bass (in Cuidad Acuña), terrific shoes and boots (in Reynosa), and other secrets of border travel.
Show Your Colors
You don’t need to travel to Vermont to see fall splendor. Discover it in the Guadalupe Mountains, Texas’ undiscovered national park.
True Fit
Comfort, style, and identity are a few of the reasons why Texans will be forever in blue jeans.
Big Bend Made Easy
It may be more than 800,000 acres, but you can easily cut Big Bend down to size. Here’s how.
Big Bend Made Easy
It may be more than 800,000 acres, but you can easily cut Big Bend down to size. Here’s how.
What a Disc!
From Scott Joplin to ZZ Top, a comprehensive guide to the best Texas music on CD.
All’s Fair in Love and Catfish
Staring down a Mississippi monopoly, one Brazoria County company hopes to become a bigger fish in a big pond.
Judge Roy Scream vs. The Texas Cyclone
How to beat the heat, find the food, and master the coasters at Texas’ four big theme parks.
Big Bird
Getting up close and personal with the endangered whooping crane.
Golden Oldies
Seven legendary Texas musicians who won’t ever let the music stop.
What a Dish!
We cleaned our plate at restaurants across Texas. Here are the results: 66 irresistible specialties of the house.
Wet ‘n’ Wacky
From real river water to its playful German theme, Schlitterbahn’s totally tubular!
Secret Summer Places
Follow us for a great vacation, minus something all tourists can do without crowds.
Texas Primer: The Herkie Jump
Three cheers for Lawrence Herkimer and his leap to fame.
Chip Ahoy
A new gambling-cruise-ship enterprise out of Port Isabel makes it possible to spend an evening in a casino while going nowhere in the Gulf.
The Flash Flood
In a land of contrasts, a few hours can mean the difference between drought and deluge.
Texas Primer: Big Red
Its passionately loyal following may make this drink the last Texan soda pop on the planet.
Columns | Miscellany
Pom-pom and Circumstance
Why you can't spell "cheerleader" without "leader."
Water Hazard
The mayor of San Antonio says a 2,600-acre golf resort on top of the Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone won't ruin the city's sole source of drinking water. Who wants to tee off on that one?
Prairie Dogma
Birders and their allies want to preserve the vanishing grassland of the farm and ranch country west of Houston, but time is running out.
Tune In, Turn On
Why Grand Prarie's Bobby Patterson of KKDA-AM is my favorite deejay in Texas.
Paper Chase
Read all about it: Alpine residents win big during the town's newspaper war.
Guad Is Great
Forget about the Rocky Mountains. For first-class kayaking, fishing, and bird-watching, head to the Lower Guadalupe after Labor Day, when the drunken armada of tubers retreats to shore and nature returns in full strength.
Distress Signal
San Antonio's Clear Channel Communications may dominate Texas' airways, but the way it does business is tuning out to the best things on the radio.
True Story
When one of his reporters turned up missing in Mexico, the editor of the San Antonio Express-News took on one of the most important assignments of his life.
Laura Canales
The Original Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders
David Clyde
Joe Dealey
The New Guy
What's the story on Bob Mong, the new editor of the The Dallas Morning News? He has a newshound's instinct, an insider's touch, and his work cut out for him.
Liberalism Lives!
In a state that's becoming more conservative, two young editors at the Texas Observer are reenergizing a magazine that won't leave the left behind.
Dead On Deadline
Why reporters who cover the border are finding themselves more and more under the gun.
Bigger Bend
Rising high above the floor of the Chihuahuan Desert, Mexico's Museo Maderas del Carmen nature reserve is like a whole other country. Plus: information on how to visit the park.
Angels & Outlaws
What is Texas music?
The King of Clubs
The longtime impresario of the coolest chain of nightlife spots in Texas remembers well what it was like to be a Cellar dweller. Me too.
My Wimberley
Why Wimberley is not Columbine.
What She Deserves
Ten years ago she was the Next Big Thing. She still is. Meet Kelly Willis all over again.
That’s the Ticket
The airlines are locked in a fiercely competitive war. Should you try to benefit? Discount-travel guru Tom Parsons says: All’s fare.
What’s Left?
When you listen to Jim Hightower’s talk radio show, that’s the question you inevitably ask—about him, the medium, and Texas liberalism.
He Writes the Songs
Though Jerry Lynn Williams is practically unheard of outside the industry, stars like Eric Clapton know him as one of the best tunesmiths anywhere.
Habeas Corpus
The rap on Corpus Christi is that there’s no there there—but a case can be made that it’s a great weekend destination.
Latin Beat
Music and dance define Veracruz, the city with the stongest coffee and the freshest seafood in Mexico.
Some Things Never Change: Doug Deep
He’s a little bit country, rock and roll, and everything in between. That’s why Doug Sahm is still going strong.
Chili Relations
Food fight: The most ridiculous, overblown squabble this side of the legislature.
Hidden Valley
Brownsville’s Sabal Palm Grove has it made in the shade.
Roadhouse Warrior
Ely may have a new album, but his best performances have always been live, in person.
With Strings Attached
Willie Nelson’s true love may have a body that’s worse for the wear, but woe to the man who tries to pick it up.
Hot Springs Eternal
Going to Hot Springs was once a Texas rite of passage steeped in the ways of old sin. Today this Arkansas resort is still worth the trip.
A Ballad of the West
Scenes From Nowhere
Doug Sahm
To Sir, with love: Why Doug Sahm was my hero.
Live at the Austin Outhouse
Reporter
Git Along . . .
How Lubbock—epicenter of the prairie dog universe—learned to stop worrying and love the little beasts.
Troubled Water?
The Austin American-Statesman versus Barton Springs.
A Time to Drill
Drilling for answers on Padre Island.
Reliant Stadium
Tackling the ins and outs of Reliant Stadium.
Book Drive
Colleyville's library plot.
Riding High
McAllen's terminal condition.
Talking Ed
Fort Worth's horse play.
The Reformer
The El Paso mayor's race.
Contigo
SRV
Hot Night Tonight
Zoológico Tropical
The Return of Wayne Douglas
Executive Ranch
Life around the town of Crawford sure was slow until George W. Bush bought a ranch there.
Places in Between
San Antonio Rock: The Harlem Recordings, 1957-1961
Tuned Out
Five years after Selena's death, tejano music is struggling to be heard.
Chris Rybak
Superfast
Jacksboro Highway
Most Requested
Quiero Un Camaro
Catfish, Carp, and Diamonds: 35 Years of Texas Blues
Briefly Noted
One Endless Night
Clean Living
How the fight over a toxic waste dump has changed the lives of three West Texas activists.
Score!
One of college basketball’s great coaches finally gets his due.
Take Note
Texas-friendly tips for watching the Grammys
Pit Split
A family feud threatens to close the best barbecue joint in Texas.
Pig Out
A swimming swine’s squeally big show comes to an end.
Branded
McAllen’s mayor is Branded a loser for the first time in twenty years.
Fan Fare
A Texas football magazine that scores.
Dumped On
It’s almost certain that Hudspeth County will soon be the site of a nuclear-waste dump—but officials in neighboring Presidio County think they’re the ones getting dumped on.
Rainpower
A rain windfall in the Hill Country
Big Bend, R.I.P.?
Air pollution from Mexico has descended on Big Bend big time and while officials on both sides of the border dither, our last unspoiled frontier is slipping away.
Bugging Out
Farmers in the Rio Grande Valley are reeling from last year’s crop disaster—and they don’t cotton to agriculture commissioner Rick Perry’s excuses.
Folk Lure
An Austin arts group is exposing the roots of Texas music to a younger audience.
ASKed Out
My third year organizing the JFK assassination conference was one year too many.
Heavy Duty
Houston’s favorite bouncer keeps the peace with style and a smile.
Panhandle Hollywood
Plainview became Rustwater, Kansas, for the shoot.
Narc Central
Agents target the flow of contraband on the border.
Cattle Recall
John L. Guldemann scorns claims that Longhorns damage the natural area.
Too Legit to Quit
Ward and deejays Murphy, Milton, and Love rap about rappers.
Selling Space
Space Center Houston will wow crowds with Disney gimmicks.
Straight Shooter
Gary Bledsoe, the new head of the Texas NAACP, doesn’t dodge the tough questions.
Born to Win
Triumph at the track comes naturally for a man called Bingo.
In Tune
Houston’s Young Turk music producers have cut a new groove in the record industry.
Down Mexico Way
“Mexico Mike” Nelson writes the book on seeing Mexico by automobile.
Bummin’ Around
Water Rites
Trans-Pecos ranchers grapple with El Paso over the West’s most valuable resource.
The Slosh Factor
An aficionado of (gasp!) canned chili accepts an impossible mission.
Serious Fun
Check Magazine.
Web Exclusives
The Rookie
Two and a half years ago, the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum asked me to organize an exhibit about high school football. Did I mention I'm not a curator?
Get Your Groove Back
A new book on dance halls explains why Texans are itching to go boot-scootin'.
The Next 25 Bootmakers
More of the best bootmakers in the state.
Rough Roads
These drives are sure to get your attention.
Survival Guide
Everything you need to know about getting around in Big Bend, from where to stay inside the park to where to get diesel fuel.
It's Simply a Matter of Taste
For some of us, there's nothing better than a cold longneck bottle of Big Red.
Big Adventure
Senior editor Joe Nick Patoski tells the story behind this month's cover story, "Big Bend 2002."
Seeing Red
For some of us, there's nothing better than a cold longneck bottle of Big Red.
Hot Box
Notes on notable musicians.
Tall Tales
Photographer Laurence Parent and senior editor Joe Nick Patoski talk about climbing, the best shot, and their new book, Texas Mountains.
Extra! Extra!
Bob Mong knows he's facing many challenges, and he certainly didn't ask me what I'd do if I were in charge of the Dallas Morning News. I thought I'd offer some nickel advice anyway.
Tropical Paradise
Jeff Henry believes his new Schlitterbahn on South Padre Island will be a success. It just might take a while—but, hey, that's okay.
Nifty Fifty
Senior editors Anne Dingus and Joe Nick Patoski tell the story behind this month's cover story, "50 Things Every Texan Should Do."
Big Bend National Park
Texas Monthly Biz
Sand Dollars
The economics of beach tourism.
My Library
