HIT THE ROAD CAN’T-MISS GETAWAYS

DESTINATION: OAK CLIFF The Brooklyn of Texas Experience another side of Dallas in Oak Cliff story by Michael Corcoran

T’S NOT A SUBURB, BUT A BOROUGH. NOT AN the Dallas-Fort Worth area. But Oak Cliff has also extension, but a separate township, at least spir- been drawing visitors from all over the state in re- Iitually. Although Dallas annexed Oak Cliff in cent years. 1903, the 87-square-mile area southwest of down- They drive for hours to see musicians Michael town has maintained its own identity. If Dallas is Nesmith or St. Vincent in the intimately restored, Fort Worth the packed dance floor under a disco ball, then 35 minutes art deco Kessler Theater. Or, they visit to catch a Oak Cliff is the mysterious couple at the dark end Wichita Falls comedy revue or offbeat film at the notorious Texas of the bar playing footsie. 2.25 hours Theatre, now known more for its adventurous arts Framed by beautiful rolling hills, Oak Cliff cel- Austin programming than as the site of JFK assassin Lee ebrates independence, diversity, and creativity. It’s 3 hours Harvey Oswald’s arrest. It used to be that folks Houston Berkeley without the big college, Brooklyn sans sub- 4 hours only came to the edgy Cliff to visit the Dallas Zoo way. Just a 10-minute drive from downtown Dallas, or to chase Oswald’s ghost, but now the curious are Oak Cliff offers a convenient day trip for residents of lured by chic eateries, interesting shopping, and

Illustration by Mike Lowery FEBRUARY 2017 59 HIT THE ROAD

craft coffee and cocktail hangouts. musician who opened Spinster, a at C. Señor, Korean fried chicken at remains scented with grilled peppers out of your room to open space. It’s a OAK CLIFF Maybe visitors will want to follow “vinyl record lifestyle store,” on West bbbop Seoul Kitchen, gourmet flat- and onions, girded by the rumbling campus with room to roam.” is southwest of downtown Dallas. in the footsteps of Beyoncé and Jay-Z Davis Street in 2014. “Oak Cliff is spe- breads and steaks at Bolsa, fancy bass lines of hip hop and salsa. The artist-in-residence at the Bel- Visitor info is available from the to upscale coastal Mexican restaurant cial. It’s a mom n’ pop vibe in a big city.” home-cooking at Pink Magnolia, Oak Cliff likes it funky and original. mont is tough-and-tender songsmith Dallas CVB, www.visitdallas.com, Mesa on West Jefferson Boulevard, El Salvadoran cuisine at Gloria’s, or “If you’re not into the malls and the Alejandro Escovedo, who curates a the Bishop Arts District Merchant where the music moguls ordered “Where else but the best $1.35 tacos in the world at chain stores, Oak Cliff is for you,” says series of music performances in the Association, www.bishoparts lobster enchiladas and chicken mole; Oak Cliff can you find Taqueria El Si Hay. Go farther west Grover, who hosts live music at Spinster lobby and is developing a podcast from district.com, and the Oak try the upscale barbecue of Smoke, a fine dining restaurant on Davis, just past the Kessler, and two to three times per week. Instead the Belmont consisting of interviews Cliff Chamber of Commerce, with dishes like beer-can chicken and next to a car wash?” you’ll find Nova, a neighborhood of Barnes & Noble, there’s The Wild with songwriters. “I loved my time in www.oakcliffchamber.org. coffee-cured brisket; or brunch on restaurant and bar set in an old Dairy Detectives, a bookstore that serves food Austin, but there’s no place like Oak chicken and waffles with coffee or a Queen building that busts hunger and drinks, shows art films, and hosts Cliff,” says Escovedo, who lives in the mimosa at Oddfellows. It’s possible to Oak Cliff’s restaurant scene is espe- with a chicken-fried pork loin ($18) live music. And why go to Starbucks Belmont when he’s not on the road. the Kessler since its 2010 rebirth, says spend a few days in Oak Cliff without cially fluent in entrepreneurship. “Oak covered in spicy sausage gravy and when you can get fresh-roasted coffee “People come here to get things done. the Cliff is “hipster proof.” Yes, there ever going into Dallas proper, whose Cliff is a place where you can test a served with mashed potatoes. at Davis Street Espresso, which serves It’s not all talk.” are tourists, many of whom have skyline provides a spectacular view business concept or buy your first home “Where else but Oak Cliff can you an amazing “house toast” with avocado, The 2012 opening of the soaring beards and every Bon Iver record, but to the north. To paraphrase a lyric at very little risk,” adds Paul Wilkes, find a fine dining restaurant next to a tomato, and ricotta? Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge, whose Liles argues that the neighborhood from Jimmie Dale Gilmore, have you who owns the Glass Optical eyewear car wash?” Wilkes poses, referencing Another Oak Cliff original is the Bel- span resembles the world’s largest but- maintains “a large ethnic influence ever seen Dallas from the pool of the boutique, while his wife, Megan, co- the dual character of the historic neigh- mont Hotel, which was the first non- terfly net, helped spur the Oak Cliff re- that inspires its creative class.” Grover Belmont Hotel? owns Emporium Pies. borhood. Rare is the trendy area that Californian motor court motel west of naissance, providing a new gateway to notes the high stroller count and says, “You just get this good feeling when In just a five-block stretch of West has so many working-class residents. the Mississippi when it opened in 1946. the area. Running parallel is the Ron- “Our hipsters have kids. It’s an older you’re crossing the Trinity River,” says Davis Street, the main drag, your din- The gentry have arrived and real estate Restored in 2005, the Belmont is more ald Kirk Bridge (formerly the Conti- crowd.” You turn in your hipster David Grover, a longtime Los Angeles ing options include Cuban sandwiches costs have risen, but the cultural air like Oak Cliff’s Chateau Marmont be- nental Bridge), which was built for cars card the first time you buy diapers cause like that Hollywood hotel, the but recently converted into a pedes- at midnight. Belmont is a place to start the night. trian walkway. Hike-and-bike trails Oak Cliff has only recently become Bar Belmont, off the lobby and outside, continue along the banks of the Trinity. hip, but it’s always been cool. These are overlooks the sparkling promises of a If Oak Cliff had a chip on its shoul- the old stomping grounds of Bonnie city in wait. der for not being on the ritzier side of and Clyde, and the home of both the “We’ve kept the motor court aes- the Trinity, it’s been whittled by arti- nation’s first drive-in restaurant (Pig thetic, but we’ve modernized it for the sans and now sits in a storefront win- Stand in 1921) and convenience store new type of traveler,” says Jordan dow of a trendy shop on Bishop Avenue. (Tote’m, later renamed 7-11, in 1927). Ford, part of an investment group that Oak Cliff’s revitalization in the early Before he became the first person to bought the Belmont in 2015. “You walk 2000s originated in the Bishop Arts play blues on an electric guitar, T-Bone District, a four-square-block area that’s Walker recorded as Oak Cliff T-Bone CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: now home to more than 50 small busi- in 1929, when he was still shining David Grover of Spinster Records, Texas nesses. The district fills on the week- shoes at Stevens Park Golf Course. Theatre’s neon sign, Davis Street Espresso, C. ends with North Dallasites, who come Two of his disciples, Jimmie and Ste- Señor, The Wild Detectives bookshop, stroll- for brunch at classic French bistro vie Ray Vaughan, also grew up in the ing Bishop Avenue in the Bishop Arts District. Boulevardier or, if they’ve made res- Cliff, though a couple of decades later. ervations a month earlier, at the tiny Adamson High, where country leg- Lucia, regarded by foodies as the best end Ray Price began singing, later Italian restaurant in North Texas. spawned “outlaw country” forbear- Eno’s Pizza Tavern and Hunky’s ers B.W. Stevenson, Michael Martin Hamburgers are more casual faves. Murphey, and Ray Wylie Hubbard. A friend from Dallas derides Oak New Bohemians singer Edie Brickell Cliff as “the new Disneyland for hip- named her 1990 song “Oak Cliff Bra,” sters,” but Jeff Liles, the longtime Dal- after her hometown. las music scenester who has booked Oak Cliff is still a bit like a Tex-Mex Chinatown; nothing would really shock you here. Not even seeing the future MARDI GRAS Mrs. Paul Simon sitting on the front Oak Cliff hosts DFW’s biggest porch in her bra, watching the world Mardi Gras parade Feb. 26. Learn more go by. You can be yourself in the Cliff. at www.mardigrasoakcliff.com. Maybe that’s what her song is about.

Photos: © Robert Hart FEBRUARY 2017 61 LONGTIME AUSTIN CLUBS STORY BY MICHAEL CORCORAN NURTURE THE CITY’S PHOTOGRAPHS BY Ballast of the Beat LIVE MUSIC CULTURE TIFFANY HOFELDT

46 texashighways.com MARCH 2017 47 he Old Austin crowd loves to reminisce about all-night jam sessions with Stevie Ray Vaughan and the lost progressive-country paradise of the CACTUS CAFE Armadillo World Headquarters. Listening to opened 1979 “Austalgists,” it might sound like all the great clubs Some folks like their music loud or closed long ago. danceable, but the Cactus serves But on any night of the week, venues across Austin keep the those who want to hear words Tbeat going with bands playing the best of Texas music of all elevated by melody. Located in the Texas Union building at the genres—from country to jazz and conjunto to punk. At least 16 University of Texas—in the same of these clubs have been open for 16 years or more. Few cities in space where Janis Joplin got her the world can match that claim. In club years, 16 is about 87. start, then a café called the Chuck It’s true that such beloved clubs as Liberty Lunch and Flipnotics Wagon—the Cactus sets the have fallen victim to soaring real-estate values, but new ones take “listening room” standard in town. up the slack, praying to break even. And hot new acts like A Giant Legendary songwriters like Townes Van Zandt, Lyle Lovett, and Nanci Dog, Walker Lukens, Tameca Jones, and Moving Panoramas Griffith favored the Cactus when reinforce the “Live Music Capital of the World’s” independent- they were starting out. Now the music prominence. club hosts younger artists who look It makes no financial sense to open a venue for live original up to that group, along with inti- music, considering the overhead of installing a stage and sound mate shows by influential veterans. equipment, then hiring a band, soundman, and bouncers each 2247 Guadalupe St. www.cactuscafe.org night. The rock-and-roll crowd is getting old, and the kids want to watch Netflix or roll to laptop disco. A smarter investment would FLAMINGO CANTINA » be a cocktail lounge. Or an emu farm. opened 1991 Nevertheless, the energy of regularly hosting mini-concerts This Sixth Street club is known TOP, THE FLAMINGO hooks certain people. The plot changes every night. “On a good for Jah-dropping reggae, ska, CANTINA ON EAST SIXTH night, when the band’s great and the folks are totally into it, you feel worldbeat, and Latin music. It’s STREET HOSTS REGGAE, all for the love of irie, so it’s where WORLD MUSIC, HIP HOP, like, ‘Wow, I’m the nerd from high school and I did this,’” said Ran- Jamaican dub legend Lee Scratch AND MORE. BOTTOM, dall Stockton, who opened Beerland on Red River Street in 2001. Perry plays, even though he could STUBB’S HAS AN As Austin is becoming more like Dallas and Houston, one fill bigger rooms. The Cantina is OUTDOOR STAGE FOR thing that distinguishes the Texas capital’s quality of life is the a tiny place, but tiered benches BIG TOURING ACTS live-music scene. The almighty South by Southwest conference, provide good sightlines, and there’s AND AN INDOOR STAGE which makes Austin the capital of the new world each mid-March, a rooftop deck. FOR SMALLER SHOWS. 515 E. Sixth St. was built on the backs of Austin clubs. They are to Austin what www.flamingocantina.com the missions are to San Antonio, though these venues are not physically impressive. In fact, most are dumps. But you don’t go STUBB’S » to a music venue because of how it looks from the street. And opened 1996 when the band’s really great, it doesn’t matter that the wall you’re The Fugees played the weekend leaning against is painted plywood. You pay your cover (which is this barbecue restaurant opened its 2,100-capacity stage along Waller usually low in Austin) because you’re chasing magic. It doesn’t Creek. And Stubb’s has continued always happen, but you don’t want to be home watching Big Bang to draw staggering talent. Iggy Theory when it does. and the Stooges, the Pixies, Merle The only true motivation for opening a live music venue is a Haggard, White Stripes, Loretta passion for the music and community around it. That’s the char- Lynn—you get the idea. There’s acteristic that ties these clubs together, as well as newer clubs also an inside stage mostly for local bands and the very popular that will someday be legends, such as the Mohawk, Hotel Vegas, Sunday Gospel Brunch. White Horse Saloon, Parish, and C-Boy’s. Live music clubs are 801 Red River St. the heart and soul of Austin. www.stubbsaustin.com

48 texashighways.com MARCH 2017 49 CAROUSEL LOUNGE « wrecking ball, kept the live music, ANTONE’S opened 1963 and installed a beer garden for opened 1975 It’s hard not to think about the folks who’d rather talk than rock. Can you name all six locations of “Pink Elephants On Parade” scene More recently, a ramen shop Austin’s “Home of the Blues”? An- from Dumbo when you’re at this occupied a restaurant space in tone’s feels like it’s home again with ultra-campy, circus-themed dive the back. The Hole has adapted its 2015 move to East Fifth Street, bar. With an old wooden phone without losing its edginess. about four blocks from where the booth inside and crazy clown and 2538 Guadalupe St. late Clifford Antone opened the elephant art, the Carousel is always www.holeinthewallaustin.com original club so he could hear the the headliner, no matter who’s on likes of Muddy Waters and Jimmy stage—usually four-piece rock THE LITTLE Reed. Now co-owned by guitar bands on the weekends. LONGHORN SALOON « great Gary Clark Jr., who got his 1110 E. 52nd St. opened circa 1950s start at the club’s fourth location www.carousellounge.net This tiny stone-and-mortar build- when he was 15, Antone’s nurtures ing on Burnet Road is thought to a mystique that lives on in a new HOLE IN THE WALL be over 100 years old and once club that’s nicer inside but just as opened 1974 housed a grocery store and a filling gritty onstage as ever before. It was front-page news when the station. But for the past 50-some 305 E. 5th St. only consistent live music venue years, The Little Longhorn—called www.antonesnightclub.com on Guadalupe Street adjacent to Ginny’s Little Longhorn under the UT campus closed in 2002. A previous ownership—has been a SAXON PUB parade of great talent played on bastion of true honky-tonk music. opened 1990 the tiny stage in the front window Not to mention Sunday’s “Chicken Booking as many as six acts a TOP, CAMPY DECOR overlooking “The Drag”—from Sh*t Bingo,” an Austin tradition. night, from happy hour to last call, GIVES THE CAROUSEL Steve Earle to Timbuk 3, Spoon, Don’t miss one of the regular per- the small club with the giant knight LOUNGE A TRAVELING and Alejandro Escovedo’s garage formances by James Hand, an in armor out front has hosted an CIRCUS VIBE. BOTTOM band Buick MacKane. It was sad original Texas honky-tonk trouba- estimated 24,000 sets. Richard LEFT, ANTONE’S IS to lose all that. But a trio of entre- dour who isn’t a nostalgia act. Vannoy, the Saxon’s soundman BEST KNOWN FOR THE preneurs saved the club from the 5434 Burnet Road for 25 years, has likely heard more BLUES. BOTTOM RIGHT, www.thelittlelonghornsaloon.com live music than anyone in town. TWO-STEPPING IS A There were some lean years early FINE TRADITION AT THE BROKEN SPOKE on, but the Saxon eventually found LITTLE LONGHORN. opened 1964 its crowd—older live-music lovers Built on the edge of town, this who have to work in the morning two-steppers’ roadhouse is now and don’t want to deal with Sixth smack dab in the middle of trendy Street, Red River, or the Ware- South Lamar Boulevard. But when house District. The Saxon was a you’re inside, it’s still the ’60s. One launching pad for Los Lonely Boys, of owner James White’s first tour- Hayes Carll, Carolyn Wonderland, ing acts was Bob Wills in 1966. Monte Montgomery, and many From 1975 to 1982, George Strait more. Bob Schneider’s Monday played here monthly. The Spoke’s night residency is his favorite gig got history—and a damn fine every week. chicken-fried steak! 1320 S. Lamar Blvd. 3201 S. Lamar Blvd. www.thesaxonpub.com www.brokenspokeaustintx.net

SXSW 2017 Austin music venues are gearing up for the city’s busiest week of live music during the annual South by Southwest Music Festival (March 13-19), when more than 2,200 bands come to town. 50 texashighways.com www.sxsw.com. MARCH 2017 51 hippie venue Armadillo World Headquarters (owner Eddie Wil- CONTINENTAL CLUB » son’s first club) was located, so opened 1955 there had to be a live-music com- BEERLAND Taking over a former laundromat, ponent. This 600-capacity, open- opened 2001 the Continental began as a pri- air venue is a great place to see Garage rock heaven! Former vate club featuring jazz combos. Shinyribs, Carolyn Wonderland, Bates Motel punk club employees It was a sad haven for day-drinkers and other acts that infuse roots Randall and Donya Stockton took for most of the ’60s and ’70s but music with new ideas and energy. two years and put everything they found its identity in the ’80s as a 301 Riverside Drive had into opening their own club. club that booked the best in rock www.threadgills.com And the crowd from the shuttered music, from punk to roots. And the Bates followed them from Sixth bands get an instant review: If bar- SAHARA LOUNGE Street to Red River. Beerland likes tender Clara “Que Si” Reed jumps opened 1978 its bands loud. Three chords are onstage to go-go dance during When the authentic juke joint preferred, but two will do if your your set, that’s four stars! If you T.C.’s Lounge closed in 2011, Old singer screams like his hair’s on fire. want to see what Austin used to be Austin sighed. Beloved clubs are 711 1/2 Red River St. like, there’s the Toni Price “Hippie almost always replaced by cleaner, www.beerlandtexas.com Hour” love-fest every Tuesday. fancier establishments with no soul. Upstairs, a show at the separate But the new owners, mother and ELEPHANT ROOM » Continental Gallery’s intimate son Eileen Bristol and Topaz Mc- opened 1991 room is like having a jazz combo Garrigle, both musicians, renamed If jazz is your thing, then you want or singer-songwriter James it the Sahara, kept the lounge’s old to check yourself into this E.R. McMurtry in your home. wooden building intact, added a The best musicians in town play 1315 S. Congress Ave. beer garden, and carried on T.C.’s this basement club, which often TOP, THE CONTINENTAL www.continentalclub.com community tradition. Saturday is doesn’t charge a cover (it’s $5 on CLUB ON SOUTH Africa Night, with music by Zou- Fridays and Saturdays), and you CONGRESS THRIVES EMO’S mountchi or the Sahara House never know which Marsalis is going ON ROOTS AND ROCK- opened 1992 Band, and the rest of the week to pop in for a jam. You can’t miss AND-ROLL. BOTTOM, Only the name is the same. The you’ll find Latin music, rock-and- with trumpeter Ephraim Owens, THE ELEPHANT ROOM, Emo’s at Sixth and Red River was roll, neo soul, blues, psych, and an E-Room regular when he’s not A BASEMENT CLUB, IS the coolest punk dive in the coun- more. Robert Plant was a regular on tour with Mumford & Sons or AUSTIN’S JAZZ HAVEN. try, “a home away from home for when he lived in Austin circa 2012. the Tedeschi Trucks Band. misfits,” says original manager 1413 Webberville Road 315 Congress Ave. David L. Thomson III. The glorious www.saharalounge.com www.elephantroom.com dive closed in 2011 and relocated into a state-of-the-art rock box. SCOOT INN Michael Corcoran has been covering Now owned by Austin-based pro- opened 1955 Austin music since 1984, including moters C3 Presents, Emo’s current For decades this was a neighbor- for the Austin Chronicle and Austin incarnation has more in common hood bar, but live music became American-Statesman. Austin free- with a House of Blues than its dive the draw about 10 years ago. The lance photographer Tiffany Hofeldt roots. But Emo’s still books great club’s 1,100-capacity, outdoor has seen most of the city’s music shows with top club talent. stage often hosts touring rock acts, venues through the excursions of 2015 E. Riverside Drive while the newly renovated indoor her guitar-playing husband. She em- www.emosaustin.com Ivy Room has a piano for cocktail braces any opportunity to photograph jazz and blues. There’s also a small all things Texas and music related. THREADGILL’S SOUTH room of old photos that chronicle opened 1996 the venue’s history, starting when Known more for its home-cooking freed slaves opened a grocery store than its house rocking, Threadgill’s on this corner after the Civil War. South Austin location was built 1308 E. Fourth St. LIVE MUSIC CAPITAL next door to where the legendary www.scootinnaustin.com For upcoming shows at music clubs, along with Austin travel information, call the Austin Convention & Visitors Bureau at 512/474-5171; 52 texashighways.com www.austintexas.org. MARCH 2017 53 COOK EAT

straight from a day at Fossil Rim with- Desserts change seasonally. My RECIPE out having to change clothes. favorite remains the gooey chocolate- Despite the Olejniks’ Czech heritage, chip bread pudding with caramel RIVERHOUSE GRILL the food is mostly upscale American sauce; the serving is large enough for ORANGE VINAIGRETTE without being fussy. Milan says he two to share. Key lime pie and flour- Makes 2 cups tries to buy vegetables and fruits lo- less chocolate cake with raspberry F 2 teaspoons salt cally, and an herb garden behind the sauce also make a fine ending. F 1 teaspoon black pepper restaurant provides rosemary, mint, The Riverhouse Grill brings gour- F 2 minced garlic cloves basil, and cilantro. met flair to Glen Rose. I hear many F 1/2 teaspoon mustard powder Dinner specials often feature fish, visitors comment on their surprise F 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger such as blackened catfish with shrimp to find a restaurant of such high F 1 teaspoon horseradish étouffée, or seasonal dishes such as caliber in town, and one they feel so F 1 cup orange marmalade seared maple-leaf duck breast with welcome at. That is Mary’s legacy— F 1/2 cup white balsamic vinegar black cherry sauce. Steak-lovers can’t extending the kind of warmth that F 3/4 cup olive oil go wrong with the grilled cowboy rib- goes way beyond food. eye seasoned with a house-made rub. Whisk ingredients together, and serve. We love the steak, but we keep going RIVERHOUSE GRILL back for the baked salmon ($22). Milan is at 210 S.W. Barnard St. in speared with a glowing candle. dresses it up with a white butter sauce Glen Rose. Call 254/898-8514; Although the space feels elegant, and serves it on a bed of garlic-lime www.theriverhousegrill.net. you don’t have to dress up to dine at rice. The lightly sautéed vegetables Hours: Wed-Sat 11 a.m.-2 p.m. the Riverhouse Grill. Tourists often that accompany it—yellow squash, and 5-9 p.m.; Sun 11 a.m.-2 p.m. show up in hiking or biking clothes, carrots, and zucchini—arrive sprin- Reservations encouraged and families with children can come kled with garden herbs. on weekends.

days as the university is just down the road. Off-N-On Cupp’s is home of the classic Texas Step back in time at Waco’s Cupp’s Drive Inn diner cheeseburger. Back in the 1950s, Cupp’s had car service, and a young story by Michael Corcoran soldier from Fort Hood named Elvis Presley would occasionally sneak a OW THAT IN-N-OUT BURGER HAS OPENED double cheeseburger with bacon in dozens of locations in Texas, there have been the back seat of family friend Eddie raves—as well as scattered “mehs”—for the Califor- You get Fadal’s Cadillac. During his six nia chain. But as a frequent highway traveler, with your old- months of Army training in 1959, Nboth a non-chain mindset and a “make good time” mantra, I pre- fashioned Elvis retreated on weekends to Waco, fer the burgers served at independent joints near freeway exits. cheeseburger where Fadal, a former DJ whom Elvis These are the stops you relish on the road, places like Willy fix, and met on one of his earliest tours of Burger in Beaumont, off I-10, and Carpenter Hamburgers in then you’re Texas, built an addition on his house Corsicana, less than a mile from I-45. You get your old-fashioned back on the for Presley and filled it with records cheeseburger fix, and then you’re back on the freeway in three freeway in and TVs. Willie Nelson, from nearby minutes or less. three minutes Abbott, has been eating at Cupp’s since One of my favorites of these “Off-N-On” burger joints is or less. the late ’40s. Cupp’s Drive Inn of Waco, just a Hail Mary pass from the 18th Cupp’s is Happy Days without the Street exit off I-35. Opened in 1929 as Heaton’s and bought by jukebox and the Fonz, where Richie the Cupp family in 1947, this small white building has room Cunningham is now a professor at for eight stools at the counter and four booths, plus five tables Baylor who stops in at least once a outside for overflow. They fill up on Baylor home football game week to taste his childhood. “Some

Co-owner Freddie Johnson mans the counter and the grill at Cupp’s Drive Inn, a Waco staple since 1947.

38 texashighways.com Photo: Will van Overbeek APRIL 2017 39 EAT

They still use only fresh ingredients, hand-peeling potatoes for french fries, making their own onion rings, and hand-breading the chicken- fried steak. “It’s very labor intensive work,” said Freddie, who turns 50 this year. He’s been working at Cupp’s since 1988, when his mother, Betty, who started working at Cupp’s in 1957 as a carhop, bought the diner from a former waitress named—what else?—Flo. Sherry started working at Cupp’s when she was 13. That was 29 years ago. Though Baylor students and pro- fessors, plus blue-collar Wacoans, make up most of the clientele, Johnson said there’s a new phenomenon bring- ing folks from all over. In May 2014, Chip and Joanna Gaines of HGTV’s popular Fixer Upper opened Mag- nolia Market at the Silos, a distinc- tive shopping experience for fans of the Waco-based home improvement show. “They’re bringing a lot of peo- ple to Waco,” said Freddie, adding that he hasn’t seen so many new faces at burger places run their buns through burgers gives a little love tap on the top Cupp’s since the standoff at the Branch a conveyor belt to heat them,” said of each bun. Davidian compound in 1993, when Freddie Johnson, who owns Cupp’s This is how they’ve always done it members of the international press with younger sister Sherry Caughen- at Cupp’s, where change is about as stayed in motels within walking dis- baugh. “But there’s nothing like toast- welcome as a tax audit. “Our clientele tance to Cupp’s. ing them on the grill.” really hates updates. We used to flat- Where Fixer Upper is about re- ten our meat on the grill,” Freddie modeling your surroundings, Cupp’s said, cupping his hand as if it held a remains resistant to change. They And most things remain ball of hamburger meat, then mim- co-exist beautifully, because while the same. They still use only ing a slap of the spatula. “Thwack! Magnolia Market has trendy food fresh ingredients, hand- People loved that sound.” But after trucks and a health-conscious res- peeling potatoes for french a few years of doing that 100 times taurant, sometimes you just gotta fries, making their own onion a day or more, it put such a strain on have a greasy cheeseburger in an rings, and hand-breading Johnson’s shoulder that he started old-timey joint right off the freeway. Hunt County Fair - April 21-30 the chicken-fried steak. buying meat in patties. At the midpoint between Dallas “I told Sherry the other day, ‘I’m not and Austin, this is a stop that makes Unless you have a scintillating lunch a customer, I’m a fixture,” said David you happy you decided to drive in- partner, you’ll want to sit at the counter Ray, 70, who’s been coming to Cupp’s stead of fly. and watch Freddie and Sherry work at least twice a week for 33 years. “I the grill, one side of which is filled with love the old-style atmosphere. Some face-down buns, while the other side of us weren’t sure when they started CUPP’S DRIVE INN, © City of Gonzales sizzles with quarter-pound patties. using beef patties instead of balling at 1424 Speight Ave. Lettuce, tomatoes, onions, pickles— up the meat and poppin’ it on the grill. in Waco, opens Mon-Sat Landon Winery Barrel Room Tour Every Saturday the usual—go on your cheeseburger at But it tastes just as good, so we came 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. the build station, but for extra flavor, around on it.” Call 254/753-9364; the spatula that’s been flipping those And most things remain the same. www.cuppsburgers.com.

40 texashighways.com Photo: Will van Overbeek APRIL 2017 41 TEXAS TICKET

with the swagger of a punk rocker. work by himself at his home studio. That Dirty Ol’ With the February release of his “I guess band politics didn’t sit 10th solo album, The Bad Testament, with me too well,” he said of his earlier One-Man Band the 43-year-old Biram is back on the career as guitarist for such San Mar- road, including shows across the cos bands as the Thangs and Bluegrass Rollin’ and Tumblin’ With Scott H. Biram United States and Europe, after tak- Drive-By. “But I never wanted to be story by Michael Corcoran ing his first extended break from that guy in a coffeehouse, singing his touring in 20 years. “Usually when songs. I always had the rock-and-roll I come home from a tour, the guitars club in mind.” COTT H. BIRAM IS A ONE-MAN BAND WHO HAS After 13 stay in the van. I don’t want to touch blown five-piece rock groups off the stage. But the San surgeries, a guitar,” he said. “But with six months SCOTT H. BIRAM Marcos native is just as at home picking country blues Biram was off, I got back into practicing the gui- Scott H. Biram’s next Texas show When it comes to entertainment, on his back porch, with his chickens running around the man tar five hours a day. I started loving is July 23 at 3TEN ACL Live in is a Sthe yard, as he is in a nightclub. tough enough to play the guitar again.” Austin. Keep up with Biram’s Miller Outdoor Theatre Artists such as Lightnin’ Hopkins, Bill Monroe, and Woody to take Biram is a student of traditional touring schedule and other news at real breath of fresh air. Guthrie led the way for Biram’s supercharged roots music. But whatever blues and country who also loves punk, scottbiram.com. The best music, dance, theater and more. wearing a faded Black Flag T-shirt and stomping out rhythms life threw early Metallica, AC/DC, and Slayer. EVERY PERFORMANCE IS FREE. with his left foot on a rectangle of electrified wood, Biram plays his way. But he doesn’t go through musical “Hiram,” as Biram often refers to phases—he piles his influences on himself, comes to those venues with VISIT WWW.MILLEROUTDOORTHEATRE.COM top of each other like a musical junk- an economical advantage. “Scott FOR A COMPLETE CALENDAR OF EVENTS. man and sets out in the world with says he’s never lost money on a show,” 281-FREE-FUN (281-373-3386) his sonic wares. His songs celebrate said Jesse Dayton, an Austin musician the road life and the redemption of who has toured the country with rivers, which wash away the grit of Biram four times. “It helps when you HOUSTON, TEXAS the road. just have to pay yourself.” “The highway and the river are Another great thing about being the two places I feel most at home,” a one-man boogie machine is that said Biram, who now lives in Austin. you can play off the crowd without “Growing up, the San Marcos River any filters. During a recent show at was just a part of life.” Cheatham Street Warehouse in San Biram’s musical mind was set as a Marcos, Biram started his set with a 6-year-old when his parents took him mix of blues, folk, gospel, and metal to see the legendary folk/bluegrass gui- before ending with a flurry of songs tarist Doc Watson at Austin’s Arma- that roared off the stage and down the dillo World Headquarters. Even as he highway. “I guess you guys want to played in loud, fast garage bands while hear some truck-driving songs,” Biram attending San Marcos High School said after the first one ended in whoops and Texas State University (South- and hollers. “All right then, let’s just west Texas State at the time), Biram haul on down that road.” returned to the music of the mountains Four more trucker songs followed, and the Mississippi Delta. and even the stray metalhead in the His affinity for lo-fi studio produc- crowd was banging his head to the tion was sealed at age 14, when his rhythm of Biram’s hard-worn 1959 parents bought him a four-track tape Gibson hollow-body electric guitar. recorder for Christmas. Biram found “I’ve been to Detroit, L.A., New York, it hidden in the closet a week earlier Mississsip-eye-aye/ Grand Canyon, and recorded his first original tunes Hoover Dam, East Texas, and Viet- before putting the recorder back nam,” the crowd sang along on “Truck in the box and acting surprised on Driver,” a Biram classic. Dec. 25. Forgotten in the moment was the Billing himself “The Dirty Old One- afternoon in March 2003 when an out- Man Band,” Biram is a self-contained of-control truck driver almost ended unit, also doing most of his production Biram’s life. Biram was driving from

20 texashighways.com Photo: Will van Overbeek JULY 2017 21 TEXAS TICKET

BIRAM’S FAVORITE VENUES, DIVES, AND BBQ Scott H. Biram has played just about everywhere in his 20-plus years as a traveling one-man band. Along the way, he’s found some favorite stages across Texas, among them The Continental Club in Austin and Houston, Riley’s Tavern in Hunter, the Gas Monkey in Dallas, and the now-defunct Triple Crown in San Marcos. When he’s off the road, Biram likes to revisit his Central Texas dive bars of choice, including Fuzzy’s Corner near Buchanan Dam and Riley’s Tavern. And he can’t get enough of smoked meats. “I consider myself a barbecue connoisseur,” Biram said, listing City Market in Luling, Smitty’s in Lockhart, and Opie’s in Spicewood as his top three. “Barbecue is hit-or-miss on the road, so when I’m home I go to the old standbys.”

San Marcos to Kingsbury on Texas 123 that his tale of survival is hard to top. “I nominated film Hell or High Water. when an 18-wheeler crossed the cen- wouldn’t do it again,” Biram said with That’s made for some nice mailbox terline and collided head-on with his a big laugh. “But that wreck helped give money, but this guy in a mesh-back pickup. Photos of the wreck make it me a legendary story.” trucker hat makes most of his living hard to believe anyone could have sur- After 13 surgeries, Biram was the on the road. vived. “They didn’t think I was going man tough enough to take whatever The life of a touring musician, espe- to make it to the hospital because of life threw his way. The experience cially one who has metal rods in his internal bleeding,” said Biram, who reinforced Biram’s reputation as a legs, is not an easy one. But when you was trapped in his mangled car for heroic outlaw whose music is shot can rock the house like Biram does, 25 minutes. through with real life drama. His you have a lot of nice memories for “Everybody still wants to talk about songs have been used in several TV those long drives. it,” Biram said of the accident, “but I’ve shows, including Sons of Anarchy and “It’s not a bad life,” Biram said. moved on.” He acknowledged, however, Dog the Bounty Hunter, plus the Oscar- “My music is built for the road.”

Immerse Yourself: Aquarium Pyramid Journey to Now Open! New Depths

moodygardens.org

22 texashighways.com Photo: Courtesy Bloodshot Records THE FLICKERING EXCITEMENT OF RESTORED MOVIEHOUSES STORY BY MICHAEL CORCORAN TAKE 2 PHOTOGRAPHS BY JEFF WILSON

Photo by Kevin Stillman Photo by Kevin Stillman 58 texashighways.com SEPTEMBER 2017 59 s Hollywood blossomed in the early 20th century, movie houses became the social and entertainment hubs of both small towns and big cities across Texas. GRAND THEATER But the advent of television’s free programming in YOAKUM the 1950s, a residential exodus to the suburbs, and the popularity of drive-in cinemas caused downtown marquees to go dark, one by one. As the movie industry outh of Interstate 10 in the cattle shifted to multiscreen cineplexes in the 1960s, most S country of south-central Texas, schoolteacher Tammy Steinmann downtown theaters were torn down or repurposed had been talking about bringing back as hardware or clothing stores, storage buildings, day Yoakum’s 1922 Grand Theater “since cares, non-denominational churches, and the like. I started dating my husband 15 years But in recent years, flickering excitement has ago.” A 1994 graduate of Yoakum High returned to many of the historic downtown theaters School, she knew from experience that across Texas. Some have been fabulously refurbished the town needed “something for the kids into world-class music venues, like The Kessler to do.” Steinmann bought the building Theater in Dallas and The Heights Theater in from a church, and with the aid of a Houston. In Greenville, the Texan Theater has been renovated as a classy $150,000 economic development grant dinner theater. Still other abandoned movie houses have been resurrected from the city, restored the theater and for their original purposes as first-run movie theaters, places where the reopened the Grand in September 2016. town once again follows plotlines together in the dark. From the sidewalk, the Grand’s lit-up art deco marquee makes it feel like we Whether presenting bands, movies, or dramatic plays, these restored just got our boys back from Korea. But theaters not only provide entertainment for locals and visiting audiences. the reclaimed movie theater, which op- They also serve as anchors of local pride and community engagement. But erates Thursday through Sunday, has such projects don’t come together without enough vision and hard work to a modern interior with high-back gray resurrect an old building into something new again. chairs and red-and-black theater cur- tains lining the walls to enhance the room’s acoustics. Steinmann uses the GLOBE THEATRE same Barco digital projector found at BERTRAM multiplexes. The Grand screens free movies on Wednesdays in the summer, and in February, it will host its first he Globe Theatre injected new life into downtown Bertram when it reopened in theatrical production—the Main Street Tlate 2015 after decades of dormancy. “When we started, we thought live music Theater of Houston’s Junie B. Jones is would be our thing, and we’d show movies on the side,” said Globe co-owner Lance not a Crook. Regier, who grew up in nearby Leander and played in high school bands with his “There’s a lot of history being brought business partner Zach Hamilton. “But the town really comes out for the movies, so we back,” Steinmann said. “We’re always had to flip it around.” The Globe, which was built in 1935 from the same type of “sun- having couples tell us they had their set red” granite used to build the Texas Capitol in Austin, shows about four movies first date at the Grand 40 or 50-some- a month, while booking at least one concert and various private events each month. thing years ago. They bring their Restoring the original marquee is usually a priority, so Regier and Hamilton were grandchildren now.” a little perplexed when they learned that the Globe’s vintage sign had disappeared in the ’90s. “We thought we’d have to build a new one,” said Regier, “but we got lucky.” After a tip, they found the Globe marquee on a goat farm outside of Bertram, buried under a mountain of junk. With a $10,000 grant from the Bertram Economic De- THE INSIDE SCOOP velopment Fund, the Globe Theater’s original plumage was beautifully restored. Opening spread: J.R. Thomasson’s Some of these restoration projects have taken years to complete, without much fi- mural at the Cactus Theater in nancial return. The Globe took six years. Hamilton and Regier did much of the fin- Lubbock. Opposite page, clockwise ish-out work themselves, and they took their time to do it right, finding recovered from top left: Kessler in Dallas; vintage theater seats in Tennessee and rescuing wood flooring from a 1930s Sears Grand in Yoakum; Heights in store in San Angelo for the stage. “It’s more than a hobby, but not a fulltime job,” said Houston; Heights in Houston; Texan Regier, who works a desk job by day. in Greenville; Cactus in Lubbock.

60 texashighways.com SEPTEMBER 2017 61 HEIGHTS THEATER KESSLER THEATER HOUSTON DALLAS

62 texashighways.com SEPTEMBER 2017 63 CACTUS THEATER GRAND THEATER LUBBOCK YOAKUM

64 texashighways.com SEPTEMBER 2017 65 GLOBE THEATRE TEXAN THEATER BERTRAM GREENVILLE

66 texashighways.com SEPTEMBER 2017 67 ESSENTIALS

Heights, Cabaniss shook hands and an- Weeks said, “so the Texan is a godsend.” Holland enhanced the Cactus marquee THE KESSLER swered questions from customers, who Horan was so keen on restoring every with new lighting and upgraded the Dallas welcomed the infusion of energy that original detail of the Texan, includ- Cactus’ sound system and expanded its THE GLOBE THEATRE the Heights has brought to 19th Street. ing the terrazzo floors, that she bought cinema capability. “With a flick of a but- is at 132 W. Vaughan St. in Bertram. As with the Kessler, no vantage point the building next door to add new re- ton, we can go from a live band onstage

Call 512-627-3962; globetheatretx.com. THE HEIGHTS in the rectangle-shaped Heights The- strooms. She also opened the Texan to a classic film on the screen,” he said. Houston Upcoming concerts ater is more than 30 yards from the Lobby Café, a coffee shop stage. “We knew from the Kessler what open seven days a week Bruce Robison with Aaron McDonnell on Aug. 25. n this new revival of old theaters, the an old theater can mean to a commu- serving soups, salads, and I great stories aren’t just on the screen nity,” Cabaniss said. sandwiches. In Mason, the 1928 Odeon Theater or in song. There’s the one about Edwin Horan said the project shows first-run movies and hosts THE GRAND THEATER Cabaniss, who left his position as a Dal- stemmed from her desire to concerts in the same building where is at 212 W. May St. in Yoakum. Call 361-427-4002; las investment banker to bring quality save the Texan’s neon mar- Walt Disney attended the 1957 yoakumgrandtheater.com. live music to the long-dormant Kessler TEXAN THEATER quee, the only one remain- premier of Old Yeller. Read more Movie times Theater in the Dallas neighborhood of Greenville ing of six old theaters in about the Odeon Theater online downtown Greenville. “So EXTRAWEB at texashighways.com. 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 4 and 7 p.m. Oak Cliff in 2010. Six years later, he did I saved the neon, and ev- Saturday, and 1, 4, and 7 p.m. Sunday. the same thing with the Heights The- reenville native Barbara Horan ater in Houston. G sought to provide “entertainment erything else snowballed,” Both the Kessler and the Heights were as it should be” with her renovation of she said. rebuilt as live music venues for national Greenville’s Texan Theater, which was The entrepreneurs behind all of these THE KESSLER THEATER and regional touring acts. The Kessler’s built as an opera house in the 1890s. theaters took them on mostly as passion is at 1230 W. Davis St. in Dallas. renovation included leveling the sloped (Houdini played here!) Sick of going to projects, intent on resurrecting classic Call 214-272-8346; thekessler.org. floors—in part because Edwin’s wife, shows where she was jostled by crowds, CACTUS THEATER movie house structures for modern Upcoming concerts Lisa Cabaniss, runs a dance studio for stuck in lines, and obstructed from the Lubbock times. But they’re not immune from fea- Spyro Gyra on Sept. 8 and Sarah Jarosz on Nov. 4. kids in the building during the day. And stage, Horan designed the Texan as a sibility. “It’s all about knowing your cli- when Cabaniss had $60,000 left in his VIP experience in a beautiful build- p in the Panhandle, record pro- entele and programming accordingly,” budget to open the doors, he decided to ing with pristine sound. Such treat- U ducer Don Caldwell intended to Cabaniss said. “My background is in an- spend it on a powerful sound system. ment isn’t cheap. Most tickets cost $100 create a new music venue for local tal- alytics, so I did a lot of research. I had THE HEIGHTS THEATER “You know that story about how Cor- to $200, which includes a four-course ent and touring acts like the Flatland- to balance my creative side, which was is at 339 W. 19th St. in Houston. tez burned his boats so he couldn’t go dinner with table service. Drinks are ers (originally from Lubbock) when he telling me to go for it, with the financial Call 214-272-8346; theheightstheater.com. back? I had that moment of no retreat also available. brought the 1937 Cactus Theater back side, which was asking, ‘Is this business Upcoming concerts about two years in,” said Cabaniss, who It may take time for the Texan’s ap- to life in 1994. After the Cactus closed model going to work?’” So far, so good. In 2016 and the first Delbert McClinton Sept. 1 and Deer Tick Nov. 17. traded his business suit for a black cow- proach to catch on in a town of only in 1958, it was gutted and used to store boy shirt with pearl buttons. 26,000, but the marquee’s neon lights, scrap iron. While restoration was out half of 2017, more than 100,000 music The show that helped convince which shine all night, even when there’s of the question, Caldwell rejuvenated fans attended shows at the Kessler and Cabaniss he had something special not a show, announce a rejuvenation of the theater, including hiring John the Heights. THE TEXAN THEATER with the Kessler was the Dallas re- the entire community. The Texan’s ar- Russell Thomasson to paint a wrap- “I went from thinking I was just going is at 2712 Lee St. in Greenville. Call 903-259-6360; turn of Annie Clark, better known as rival complements Greenville’s grow- around mural of caprock canyons be- to do something nice for the neighbor- texantheatergreenville.com. St. Vincent, in October 2011. The two ing list of downtown draws, including neath blue skies. hood,” said Cabaniss, “to wondering if Upcoming concerts wildly received sellouts got the atten- the Corner Street Pub next door and “The Cactus is one of the coolest places this was what I was destined to do with my life.” Bruce Robison and Kelly Willis on Sept. 8 tion of not only Dallas music fans, but Landon Winery & Bistro nearby. we’ve ever played,” said former Joe Ely and Gary Morris on Oct. 15. also national booking agents. Suddenly, “Greenville has come alive,” said drummer Davis McLarty, now an Aus- the Kessler was the hot room in Texas Francis Bouknight, who attends many tin-based booking agent. “The crowd is The author of All Over the Map: because of its intimacy and attentive shows at the Texan. Whether it’s country right up there with you, so there’s a lot of True Heroes of Texas Music, Michael audiences. After you’ve seen an act at music (Tracy Byrd, Jason Boland), old- energy to go with the intimacy. And that Corcoran says his favorite show in a THE CACTUS THEATER the Kessler or the Heights—which are ies acts (Village People, Shirley Jones), mural is out of this world.” restored theater may have been John is at 1812 Buddy Holly Ave. in Lubbock. nearly identical inside—it’s hard to see folk/blues (Ruthie Foster, Guy Forsyth) Lubbock entrepreneur Darryl Hol- Prine at Austin’s Paramount Theatre Call 806-762-3233; cactustheater.com. them at a nightclub or a festival. or a theater production, Bouknight land, owner of Holly Hop Ice Cream in 1985. The opening act—an unknown Upcoming shows “Everybody kept telling me, ‘you’ve has been there. She even came out the Shop, bought the 400-capacity Cac- named Lyle Lovett—pretty much stole gotta bring the Kessler concept to Hous- the show. Austin photographer Jeff Baby Boomer Comedy Show on Sept. 16 night Donny Most (Ralph Malph from tus in 2016. Holland’s all-star house ton,’” said Cabaniss, who likes to greet Happy Days Wilson has worked photo jobs as diverse and Ray Wylie Hubbard on Oct. 5. ) crooned Sinatra and Dean band, the Rhythm Machine, does spe- his customers when he’s in town. Be- Martin. “We can’t drive into Dallas to cial themed nights, covering soul/R&B as the Texas House of Representatives fore a recent Bob Schneider show at the see a show,” Bouknight’s friend Ann one night and ’50s rock’n’roll the next. and the Texas DPS Crime Lab.

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