Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2019 i Texas Highways Magazine

TEXAS 200 The 12th annual trip is June 10-14 from Port Mansfield to Port Lavaca. texas200.com They say the Texas 200 eats rudders. And if you ask Rachel Doss, who headed into the bay near Port Mansfield on her 13-foot sailboat last year, she’d probably agree. Before the sun set on Day 1 of the five-day floating convoy up the Texas coast, she had to give in to the whims of Mother Nature. Her little boat, named Guppy, was skimming right along on wind gusts of up to 37 mph when its rudder popped out of place. Doss, now 35, dropped the sail, and Guppy lurched wildly before she and her teammate managed to get it under control. That’s when they noticed a hairline fracture where the boat’s tiller connected to…

Redfish, also known as red drum, are one of the most popular Gulf Coast finfish—and for lots of good reasons. They’re plentiful year-round in a variety of marine habitats; they’re not difficult to catch from piers and boats, in the surf, or in deep Gulf waters; and they aren’t fussy about bait. Their firm but flaky mild white flesh is delicious and versatile; it performs beautifully on the grill, in the oven, or in a frying pan. Many coastal restaurants offer redfish on their menus. Topwater Grill in San Leon serves Drunken Redfish with a white wine-and-butter Pontchartrain sauce, and Chili Pepper Redfish Deluxe with tequila lime butter, shrimp, scallops, and crab. They’ll also cook your own fresh catch of redfish. For casting your line, Sylvan Beach Pier in La…

EAT HERE The Schooner, 1507 US 69 Access Road, Nederland. 409-722-2323; theschooner restaurant.com Larry’s French Market, 3701 Pure Atlantic Road, Groves. 409-962-3381; larrysfrench market.com Barbecued crab isn’t like any other Texas barbecue, nor is it akin to the buttery barbecued shrimp from New Orleans. Spicy and deep-fried, the delicacy traces its roots to Sabine Pass in the 1940s, when seaside shacks like Granger’s, Geneva’s, Channel Inn, and Deslattes served up heaping platters. Even in the 1970s and ’80s, you could find a plenitude at cafés all over the Sabine Lake and Lower Neches River areas. No such luck now, though. “I’ll tell you exactly what happened—crawfish happened,” says Joseph Fertitta, CEO and president of the Beaumont-based seasoning company TexJoy. “They’re a lot more affordable than crabs, but we still sell…

Patrons at an oyster bar in Boston typically order Prince Edward Island oysters. In Seattle, the choice variety is the Pacific oyster. Inside their shells, dainty meats await. Connoisseurs in other parts of the country prefer pedigreed oysters bearing names of the places where they grow. We Texans love our burly-by-comparison Gulf oysters, known among their devotees as the biggest and best. The truth is that Gulf oysters come from distinctive saltwater appellations, too: The oysters we’re enjoying from Galveston Bay are pulled from places with names like Ladies Pass, Pepper Grove, and Bull Hill. And though they bear slightly different characteristics from one another, labeling mollusks has never been important to Texans. And guess what? Good ol’ Gulf oysters are enjoyed far beyond our own shoreline, too. “Our oysters…

A traditional Southern seafood boil features Gulf Coast shrimp, crab, sausage, new potatoes, corn-on-the-cob, and spices, all steamed or boiled together in an extra-large stock pot. The mix is dumped, sans dishware, onto a paper table runner alongside plenty of lemon and butter, creating an informal family meal. For my family, who spent years fishing along the Gulf Coast, a seafood boil meant all hands on deck—everyone had their duty, from shucking fresh South Texas corn to catching blue crabs on chicken neck bait and visiting the shrimp boat docks. My father, who made a living as a journalist covering the outdoors for the San Antonio Express-News, knew how to fish. But for a seafood boil, he often left the task of catching shrimp to the professionals who sold directly…

Craft beer fans might be pleasantly surprised by what awaits them in Corpus Christi: A trio of breweries opened within the past five years, and a couple of restaurants have recently started their own brewing operations. The result is adventuresome brews in a city more accustomed to mass-produced, beach-ready 12-packs. These days, when it comes to sipping in style, Corpus has you covered. Lorelei Brewing Company Founded in 2016, Lorelei is arguably the highest-profile craft brewery in the city. Although its canned brews are available in H-E-B and Spec’s stores throughout the region, its beers taste best in the brewery’s speakeasy-like taproom that features a stone bar and local art. There you can taste the popular Khryseis—a bright blonde ale with a complex swirl of citrus and malt flavors—and the…

A bronze sculpture by Adrienne Isom at Jack Johnson Park at Old Central Cultural Center. 2601 Ave. M. A painting of Johnson on the wall of the African American Museum. 3247 Sealy St. Jack Johnson Boulevard, formerly 41st Street, runs from Galveston Harbor to the Seawall. A Jack Johnson tree sculpture inside The Oaks subdivision, accessed at 45th & Broadway. A painting of the boxer at The Bryan Museum. 1315 21st St.…

When the Texas summer starts cooking, my favorite form of relief is to dive into the largest body of water I can find, which is often the Gulf of Mexico. This is where Port A comes in—with its near-endless beaches, historic appeal, and laid-back attitude. Port Aransas is one of my favorite places to hit the Texas coast, and with its ongoing recovery from Hurricane Harvey, it’s got more Texas grit and personality than ever. Texas Surf Camps Anyone can splash in the waves, but can you surf on top of them? If not, the folks at this year-round surfing school will be happy to get you up and hangin’ 10 in no time with private or group lessons. While Texas surfing often gets a bad rap, these beaches are…

At the historic Luther Hotel in Palacios, proprietor Jack Findley often mingles with guests on the front porch overlooking Matagorda Bay. Findley’s path to Palacios was circuitous. A former professional ballroom dancer, he met his wife, Claire Joy, on a dance floor in San Antonio. After she inherited the hotel from her parents, Charles and Elsie Luther, in the 1990s, the couple ran the business remotely until Claire Joy’s death in 2005. In 2010, Findley moved to Palacios to preserve the family legacy, and by extension, a Palacios tradition going back to the early 20th century. The Texas Rice Development Co. built the hotel in 1903 to lure rice farmers and ranchers. Today, Palacios boasts a rich history and a habitat teeming with fish and fowl. As concierge, Findley has…

EAT HERE Tookie’s Seafood, 1106 Bayport Blvd., Seabrook. 281-942-9445; tookies seafood.com On a hot day at the coast, some find refreshment with a chilled dish of super-fresh seafood. In recent years, coastal Texas has enthusiastically adopted the spicy seafood concoction from Mexico called cóctel a la campechana. Here, it’s usually known simply as campechana. Named for Campeche, the ancient Mexican port city on the Gulf, traditional campechana includes combinations of marinated and/or poached seafood: shrimp, crab, oysters, octopus, and occasionally finfish, swimming in tomato sauce with avocado, cilantro, onions, and lime juice. It’s most often served in a large margarita or sundae glass with tostadas or saltines on the side. Some swear by its restorative properties for curing a hangover. In Mexico, campechana indicates mixed seafood, but in Texas it…

Santos Cruz Jr. was born in Galveston in 1948, so he doesn’t have a personal recollection of the events of that year, but he does know one thing: “My father invented the margarita in 1948,” he says emphatically. The conviction in his voice is clear. This is a story he grew up with. It’s one he’s lived and breathed all his life, and he tells it well. It’s the legend of the margarita. The year was 1948. The jazz singer Peggy Lee, who had just released her No. 1 record, “Mañana,” and is best known today for her sultry cover of “Fever,” was one of the celebrities booked to perform at the Balinese Room in Galveston. It was the height of the “open era” on Galveston Island, so named because…

EAT HERE Black Pearl Oyster Bar. 327 23rd St., Galveston. 409-762-7299 An 1851 story in New Orleans’ The Daily Picayune heralded a new creation at Sam’s Saloon: Instead of selling a dozen oysters in the then-standard tin container, the barkeep began dishing up the briny bivalves freshly fried or broiled and stuffed into a hollowed-out French bread loaf. The new format was a hit with his customers, but it wasn’t until 1929, when restaurateur brothers Benny and Clovis Martin handed out free hot sandwiches to streetcar drivers on strike—with the brothers referring to the men on the picket line as those “poor boys”—that this Crescent City staple earned its celebrated moniker. Sometime soon after, po’boys crossed the Sabine River into Texas, clutched in the hands of our Cajun brothers and sisters.…

Arts & Culture CENTRAL TEXAS Austin Kambui Olujimi: Zulu Time Through July 14 This new solo exhibition is named for “Zulu Time,” a shorthand term for the world’s standardized mode of tracking time. Through two-dimensional and sculptural work, the artist invites visitors to consider this empirical system of reference and the invisible hierarchies that impact daily life. Blanton Museum of Art, 200 E. MLK Jr. Blvd. 512-471-5482; blantonmuseum.org Kerrville Southwest Gourd Fine Arts Show May 23-July 6 The nation’s finest gourd artists compete in this popular annual show. Kerr Arts & Cultural Center, 228 Earl Garrett St. 830-895-2911; kacckerrville.com Kerrville Shakespeare in the Park June 7-8 Bring a chair, blanket, and food, and watch a free play under the stars: Shakespeare’s “The Merry Wives of Windsor.” Louise Hays Park, 202…

Amanda Eyre Ward The Austin-based author wrote about her husband’s family’s journey from Germany to the Hill Country in “Indianola, Onward” (Page 16). “I spent a year interviewing unaccompanied minor children arriving at the Texas/Mexico border for my novel The Same Sky, and it got me thinking about the courage it takes to leave your home to seek a better future,” she says. “Researching the Meckels’ journey left me feeling grateful and awestruck.” Ward’s new novel, The Jetsetters, will be published by Random House next spring. Joe Nick Patoski The author and journalist who’s chronicled iconic Texas subjects like Selena and the Dallas Cowboys throughout his career takes on the coast for the feature story “The Laguna Madre” (Page 64). Patoski first set eyes on the Mother Lagoon in 1962…

My three children are sixth-generation Texans, and if you had told me, a roller-skating suburban New York girl, that I would ever type that sentence, I would have said you were insane. But here I am, married for 19 years to a man who says “pin” for “pen” and has three pairs of cowboy boots and a Stetson. The first time my husband-to-be visited my mom’s place in Rye, New York, he came downstairs in jeans and dress shoes, and she pulled me aside. “I told all my friends he was a Texan,” she whispered. “Doesn’t he have any boots?” Amused, my fiancé—Timothy “Tip” Meckel—went upstairs and changed his footwear. All evening, my mother’s friends pointed at his feet and giggled. Imagine Amanda marrying a Texan! And not just a…

The Sargasso Sea, a vast region of the Northern Atlantic Ocean, is the only sea in the world that does not have a land boundary. If you ever arrive at the state’s cinnamon shoreline only to discover the entire beach knee-deep in seaweed, congratulations: You’re witnessing the results of one of the world’s extraordinary journeys. Small quantities of a seaweed called sargassum wash ashore all year long. But every few years, beginning in April, the sargassum arrives en masse—a deluge of amber-colored stems, leaves, and tiny gas bladders that help the plants stay afloat (and pop when squeezed). This relatively unpredictable event seems to occur after huge blooms of sargassum in the Atlantic Ocean, some 2,000 or more miles away. While piles of sargassum might hinder swimming and sunbathing, they…

TIN CAN TRAVEL COMPANY Austin. Tincantravel.com SEA RIM STATE PARK 19335 S. Gulfway Drive, Sabine Pass. 409-971-2559; tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/sea-rim STINGAREE RESTAURANT & MARINA 1295 N. Stingaree Road, Crystal Beach. 409-684-2731; stingaree.com PAULA’S VINEYARD RV PARK AND RESORT 1250 N. Crystal Beach Road, Crystal Beach. 409-684-9970; paulasvineyard.com THE PEACEFUL PELICAN WATERFRONT BED AND BREAKFAST 317 East Bay Blvd., Palacios. 361-972-0317; thepeacefulpelican.com STEVE RUSSELL Rockport. 361-205-0118; steverussellart.com ROCKPORT CENTER FOR THE ARTS 106 S. Austin St., Rockport. 361-729-5519; rockportartcenter.com PADRE ISLAND NATIONAL SEASHORE 20420 Park Road 22, Corpus Christi 361-949-8068; nps.gov/pais SOUTH PADRE SURF CO. 956-772-7272; southpadresurfcompany.com MANUEL’S 313 E. Maxan St., Port Isabel. 956-943-1655…

EAT HERE Kahuna Joe’s Hawaiian Shave Ice, 604 Bradford Ave., Kemah. 832-735-5004; kahunajoes.com Head to downtown Kemah for some “Kemah therapy” at Kahuna Joe’s Hawaiian Shave Ice—arguably Texas’ best shave ice stand. “We spend a lot of time testing and prepping our handmade flavors,” owner Joe Serrano says. “We make all of our syrups in-house with fruit extracts that we fly in from Hawaii. Our most popular flavor is the ‘Shark Attack,’ a blend of Tiger’s Blood [a mix of watermelon and strawberry syrups with a hint of coconut] and blue coconut over vanilla ice cream, finished with a cream topping.” Originally called kakigōri, shave ice dates to the 11thcentury as a summer treat for Japanese aristocracy. Servants would save blocks of winter ice, shave off a snowy mound, and…

Fishing is one of the many joys of spending time in coastal Texas. But what happens after you’ve caught your bounty? If you love the sport but not spending all your time in the kitchen, these five restaurants are ready and willing to cook your catch for you. LAGUNA REEF Located on the water with patio seating and an upper deck, this family-owned restaurant’s motto is, “A good day of fishing deserves a great deal of frying.” Patrons with their own boat can pull up and dock right in front of the restaurant, then order their fresh catch fried, grilled, seasoned with lemon pepper, or blackened, and served with a side of hush puppies and bread. 4242 Laguna Shores Road, Corpus Christi. 361-947-2600; bluffslanding.com/restaurant.php OLYMPIA GRILL While most people visit…

For more information about AGAVE FESTIVAL MARFA, visit agavemarfa.com. When founding Agave Festival Marfa in 2017, Tim Johnson’s vision was to host a moveable feast serving high-quality liquors with a heaping side of history, art, and culture. “We are bringing aspects of our regional history into consciousness again,” says Johnson, who’s also the owner of Marfa’s community bookstore and literary incubator, Marfa Book Co. Johnson’s vision realized, an estimated 500 people will gather June 1-9 to celebrate the many uses and rich history of agave tequilana. Now in its third year, the mostly free event features panel discussions, tequila tastings, art exhibits, live music, and reservation-only pairing dinners—all celebrating the plant that has contributed so much to the region’s culture. Food and drink make up the primary focus of the…

When Galveston County historical preservationist Samuel Collins III gives presentations about local boxing legend Jack Johnson, he likes to offer a modern day reference: the 2018 blockbuster movie Black Panther. Set in the fantasyland of Wakanda, Black Panther struck a chord with audiences seeking superheroes of African descent. It’s great to champion fictional heroes, Collins says, but everyday heroes also command attention. And Jack Johnson, who in 1908 became the first African American heavyweight champion of the world, transcended Jim Crow discrimination by living life on his own terms, paving the way for activists like Rosa Parks and Muhammad Ali to live more freely. “Jack Johnson was a real person from a real place called Galveston,” Collins says while standing in his church clothes outside Old Central Cultural Center, formerly…

Revered for its honey for more than 100 years, the town of Uvalde attracts beekeepers from all over—bringing their hives to benefit from the huajillo plant of South Texas. This summer, the town premieres a sweet idea that has earned plenty of buzz: the inaugural Honey Festival. The festivities kick off with The Hive Jive—a street dance in the town plaza—and continue with lawn games, a poker run, “bee in your bonnet” hat competition, and more. Kids can enjoy fanfare along with informative aspects featuring a bee education and microscope station set up by Texas A&M AgriLife. The pollinator party culminates when one lucky essay competition winner is crowned Honey Ambassador. UVALDE HONEY FESTIVAL June 14-15 Historic Main Street, Uvalde. 830-275-8680; uvaldehoneyfestival.com…