It's fun to nitpick Texas Monthly: It attempts to mix the fashion consciousness of Vanity Fair with the Texnicity of your cowhand grandpa, often with some weird results.
But two articles in the December edition are definitely worth reading.
One details the rise and fall of the big time resort at Lajitas, as envisioned by big rich guy Steve Smith. Smith made his fortune in Austin, bought Lajitas on a whim, then decided to make a destination spot for the rich and famous. Not that anyone famous ever showed up to pay $33 for a breakfast of coffee, orange juice, fruit and Special K.
The story goes into the amazing stupidity of the entire project on many levels: People not understanding that a brutal desert may not be the best place for championship golf course, resort executives dumb enough to insult a waitress' honor in close-knit Terlingua, turning the local convenience store and gathering place into a knick-knack shop with a coffee bar.
Definitely a good read. The Lajitas story hits a nerve with people. I'll even occasionally get a hit on the post I wrote after hearing of the resort's bankruptcy last year.
Also of interest: Steak.
The magazine lists the best (?) Texas steak restaurants.*
I don't have much of dog in this fight (I wonder how long we'll be able to say that?). Steak is expensive, and I'm happy to eat it once a month off of the Foreman grill, tho I am starting to experiment with marinades.
Still, it's pleasant to see that the Perini Ranch in Buffalo Gap was named No. 3, after a couple of metropolitan-type restaurants I have no interest in going to.
Perini's is easily my favorite steak place: It's basically just a bunch of buildings on an old family ranch converted into a restaurant. The recipes are highly original, yet familiar, and the service is friendly. They aren't putting on airs just because Robert Duvall stops by every chance he gets.
And the story even mentions the Hico Steak Cookoff, via a list of tips from a two-time champion who claims the steak "talks" to him.
*TM does a good job of showing our priorities. The steak article got the cover, the story on the best schools in the state got a small stamp on the cover.
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