There are hundreds of restaurants in our state that have been around for more than twenty years. Some boast lots of atmosphere and a few gimmicks, like the Big Texan Steak Ranch in Amarillo. Others are more refined and elegant, like the Green Pastures Restaurant in Austin. Many double as a community watering hole, where locals gather to drink coffee and discuss what’s happening around town. The Blue Bonnet in Marble Falls fits that bill. Large or small, fancy or plain, these restaurants share three things in common: long histories, established reputations, and loyal customers. Author Sheryl Smith-Rodgers scoured the state to find the best of these old-time restaurants and cafes, and then collected some of their tried-and-true Texas recipes, making this an excellent gift book, recipe source, and weekend travel guide.

Austin has staked its claim as the seat of innovative culinary movements, and its food culture mirrors the transformations taking place across the city. The evolution of the east side is reflected in joints like Franklin Barbecue, while landmarks like Scholz Garten, the oldest restaurant in the capital, testify to the contributions of the town's college presence and a healthy German influence. Joe's Bakery isn't just one of the town's most beloved Tex-Mex spots; it's the place where the real wheeling and dealing in Texas politics happens. Food writer Melanie Haupt samples Austin's iconic restaurants and the rich heritage that produced them.

Tired of the boring chain restaurant scene? Recipes from Historic Texas will please your palate and nourish your mind. Enjoy a unique bit of Texas history by visiting a wide variety of restaurants located in unusual historic settings-a gritsmill, a Dr. Pepper bottling plant, a church, and a funeral home, to name a few. Two recipes from each establishment are offered to form a well balanced selection of Texas cuisine. A brief history of each of the 70 restaurants is included, followed by basic information such as hours of operation, location, and other important details. The recipes themselves are an eclectic mix of the simple and the exotic, from the Cowboy Omelet at Beaumont's The Pig Stand to the Jicama Salad at Dallas's famous Mansion on Turtle Creek. Two indexes, one to restaurants and the other to recipes, make the book equally useful as both a travel guide and a cook book.

Presents a collection of fascinating remembrances of those who were there. Sometimes humorous and sometimes heart breaking, the experiences of the Texas War Veterans.

“Stories of immigration, culture-clash . . . and old-fashioned hard work are told through the history of Houston’s long-gone, but still-beloved restaurants.” —Yesterday’s America With more than fourteen thousand eating establishments covering seventy different ethnic cuisines, Houston is a foodie town. But even in a place where eating out is a way of life and restaurants come and go, there were some iconic spots that earned a special place in the hearts and stomachs of locals. Maxim’s taught overnight millionaires how to handle meals that came with three forks. The Trader Vic’s at the Shamrock offered dedicated homebodies a chance for the exotic, and Sonny Look’s Sirloin Inn maintained the reputation of a city of steakhouses. From Alfred’s Delicatessen to Youngblood’s Fried Chicken, Paul and Christiane Galvani celebrate the stories and recipes of Houston’s fondly remembered tastemakers. “In the book, the Galvanis share Houston’s history and love of food. They take the reader on the banks of the bayou when the city received its first inhabitants before time hopping from the Original Mexican Restaurant to The Original Kelley’s Steakhouse. Other stops include Alfred’s Delicatessen and the San Jacinto Inn.” —Houston Business Journal

Tom Dodge is at his best when he talks about Texas. This collection of writings over the past decade includes his most poignant and provocative National Public Radio vignettes as well as longer pieces from newspapers and magazines. Here are the wry, sometimes ironic, observations on all things Texas his listeners are used to. His insights include a unique analysis of junkyards, railroads, bookstores, horned toads, sandy-land farms, and his grandmother's homemade grape jelly.

Old buildings have many stories to tell. On his way from his Texas home to a dairy farmers' convention in North Carolina in 1917, Paul Trowbridge passed through Florence. He liked the place so much, he returned and built Trowbridge's Creamery, where local farmers brought their milk and cream to be processed. Today, Paul's recipe for Orange-Pineapple Ice Cream is still popular, as is the homemade chili introduced by current owner Don Trowbridge's mother Martha, who ran the business when her husband went to war in 1944. Gay N. Martin heard many entertaining stories while researching Alabama's Historic Restaurants and Their Recipes for the first edition in 1998. From the mountains in the north to the beaches on the Gulf of Mexico, she dined in white-columned mansions, rustic log cabins, and former schoolhouses, banks, drugstores, and gas stations. From these, she culled a list of fifty of the state's most memorable restaurants-all places of character, where the food is as distinguished as the surroundings. In this second edition, she offers 22 new restaurants and dozens of new recipes.