This Texas Wetland Appears in the Middle of a Dry Landscape and Hides a 1.4-Mile Wildlife Boardwalk
Green herons hunt beside a raised boardwalk while Texas horned lizards dart beneath it. That's the scene at a wetland tucked into a landscape better known for dry ground.
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9 Texas Restaurants That Locals Say Deserve Michelin-Star-Level Recognition
Brisket shawarma is on the menu at a Texas barbecue restaurant, pairing slow-smoked beef with the flavors of the Middle East. That unexpected combination says plenty about how...
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From Locals’ Favorites to Tourists’ Must-Tries: 10 Kosher Restaurants Across Texas
A blooming onion and a tomahawk steak both appear on kosher restaurant menus in Texas. That's quite a range, especially if your idea of kosher dining begins and ends with bagels...
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This Texas Thrift Shop Sells Secondhand Treasures to Help Fund Community Support Programs
Some donated furniture at this Texas thrift shop never makes it onto the sales floor. It goes directly to families starting over after escaping abuse.
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This Massive Texas Thrift Store Puts Out 4,000 New Items Every Day And Is Also Helping Families Facing Leukemia
More than 4,000 new items reach the sales floors of this Texas thrift business every day. With two stores and racks that keep changing, a jacket you passed over yesterday might...
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9 Humble Restaurants in Texas Where Locals Say the Steaks Rival the Famous Spots
A 35-ounce porterhouse sits on the menu at one unpretentious Texas steakhouse. There's also a 30-ounce sirloin and a thick bone-in ribeye, so the portions clearly aren't shy.
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Texas Locals Say These Are Some of the Best Mexican Restaurants in the State
A taco shell that balloons in hot oil and turns crisp enough to crack at the first bite? That's an actual specialty served at a Texas Mexican restaurant.
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A German Immigrant Helped Build a Texas Family Business That Survived Generations
Raspberries and smoky chipotle peppers share a jar of sauce that won a national specialty food award. That's quite a leap from peach preserves, but this Texas family business has...
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Texas Residents Are Pushing Back Against Plans for Large Data Centers Near Their Communities
A proposed data center could draw as much electricity as 100,000 Texas homes use on a peak summer day. Another nearby proposal covers 520 acres, and both have residents asking...
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A Texas Restaurant Where the Entire Menu Is Gluten-Free and Dairy-Free
A sweet potato chocolate brownie topped with avocado mousse and berries is on the dessert menu at this Texas restaurant. And every dish skips both gluten and dairy.
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A Texas Man Built a 190-Foot Cross Beside the Highway and Turned It Into an Unexpected Roadside Landmark
A giant white cross rises above the Texas plains, tall enough to catch your eye long before the exit. Up close, it stands 190 feet high, with life-size bronze sculptures spread...
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This Texas Factory Store Is Filled With Old-Fashioned Preserves, Jams, and Pantry Favorites
The entire building housing this Texas country store was moved from its original spot beside railroad tracks to a family peach orchard. A historic warehouse becoming a home for...
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A Texas Cafeteria Serves Smothered Pork Chops, Mac And Cheese, And A Whole Lot Of Southern Nostalgia
The brown gravy at this Texas cafeteria is nicknamed “40-weight,” and it pours over smothered pork chops, beef tips, and chicken. That's a pretty memorable name for something...
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This Texas Italian Restaurant Serves Family Style Feasts With Enough Food To Fill The Entire Table
At this Texas restaurant, finishing the platter doesn't mean the food stops coming. Parties of four or more can ask for another round of their family-style favorites, including...
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This Texas Wildlife Preserve Lets You Meet Rescued Elephants, Feed Giraffes, And Get Up Close With Exotic Animals
An elephant pedicure is part of the experience at this Texas wildlife preserve. Visitors can learn about foot care and help bathe an Asian elephant, which is more memorable than...
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This Texas Christmas Shop Has Been a Family Business Since 1996 and Every Room Feels Like a Holiday Wonderland
An Eggo waffle, a Venus flytrap, and cheese balls can all become Christmas ornaments here. Somebody decided those belonged on a holiday tree, and this Texas shop happily agrees.
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This Texas Bakery Still Makes Italian Pastries the Old-School Way, From Cannoli to Freshly Baked Focaccia
A pastry shaped like a seashell hides sweet ricotta flavored with orange and lemon zest. It's called sfogliatella, and this Texas bakery makes it alongside Sicilian cannoli finished...
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A Texas Candy Store Has More Than 3,000 Mexican Treats and Just Opened Another Location
More than 3,000 kinds of Mexican candy and snacks fill one store. That number made me stop and read it twice. The shelves hold...
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A Texas Art Gallery Has a Restaurant Inside Where Dinner Is Served Surrounded by Contemporary Paintings
Your dinner table sits inside a working art gallery, where contemporary paintings change with the seasons. This Texas restaurant has even served roasted cabbage with pear slices,...
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This Texas Shopping Mall Hides a Surreal House With Secret Passages and More Than 70 Strange Art Installations
The refrigerator in this Texas house leads to an intergalactic travel agency. The washing machine hides another passage, and a fireplace offers yet another way out.
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This Texas Halloween Trail Glows With More Than 10,000 Carved Pumpkins Across Nine Different Worlds
More than 10,000 hand-carved pumpkins light up a half-mile trail at this Texas Halloween event. Not a patch, not a hayride, and definitely not a quiet little fall outing.
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This Texas Bookshop Has a Secret Narnia-Inspired Wardrobe That Leads Into a Magical Children’s Reading Area
A small wooden wardrobe in this Texas bookshop opens into the children's section. Not a display. Not a joke. You actually push...
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A Texas Bookstore Closed After Its Famous Owner Passed Away, Then Reopened With Hundreds of Thousands of Books He Personally Collected
A Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist got married inside this bookstore, surrounded by books he spent decades collecting. He even directed that his ashes be kept there.
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8 Texas Food Spots Where One Family Recipe Became the Reason People Drive for Hours
One barbecue joint in this lineup opens for just a few hours on Saturday mornings, starting at 8 AM. Brisket for breakfast, if you can beat the line.
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A Texas Family Turned an Old Airport Terminal Into a Restaurant Where Dinner Comes With a Runway View
White runway markings stretch across the dining room floor, while real planes taxi past the windows. No boarding pass required. This...
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A Texas Baker Invented a Pineapple Treat Made From Squash, Then Took the Secret Recipe to His Grave
A Texas baker once made squash taste like pineapple, then kept the recipe so secret that even his own family couldn't have it. The filling became a local favorite in cakes and...
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This Texas Ranch Lets You Sit With Mini Highland Cows, Brush Their Fluffy Coats, and Feed Them by Hand
Somewhere in Texas, you can sit down in a pasture while a mini Highland cow leans in for a snack. You get a brush, too, so that shaggy coat can get the spa treatment it clearly...
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This Little Texas Store Is Full of Vintage Records, Forgotten Toys, and Quirky Home Decor
There's a whole "man cave" section in this Texas shop, surrounded by vintage glassware, old toys, records, and collectibles. That is an ambitious amount of nostalgia under one...
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This Texas Restaurant Brings Grandma’s Sunday Dinner Back With Family Recipes and Homemade Comfort Food
Sunday supper happens every day at this Texas restaurant. The inspiration comes from a grandmother who once fed family and friends fried chicken, smothered pork chops, mashed potatoes,...
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This Texas Restaurant Once Welcomed Bonnie And Clyde And Still Serves Giant Chicken Fried Steaks
The chicken fried steak here comes in three sizes, and the biggest one goes by "hoss." That name alone tells you the kitchen isn't kidding around.
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A Texas Family Worked The Same Farm For Generations And Their Original Buildings Still Stand
Dinner still cooks on a wood-burning stove at this Texas farm, with original stone buildings standing nearby. Rangers churn butter, gather eggs, and care for animals as part of...
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This Texas Farm Market Sells Fresh Eggs, Local Produce, And Goods Straight From The Countryside
Sam Houston once ate a wedding supper at this farmhouse in 1841. He reportedly declared that the eating doings were first rate. That...
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A Texas Restaurant Brings The Flavors Of Istanbul To Life With Authentic Turkish Food And Generous Portions
One platter on this menu is built for two people and carries chicken kebab, beef kebab, gyro, and Turkish meatballs all at once. That's not dinner.
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A Giant Texas Fabric Store Has So Much To Explore That One Visit Might Not Be Enough
Some fabric stores can be browsed in ten minutes, but this Texas spot requires an entire afternoon and probably a return trip, because the selection is so extensive that one visit...
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This Texas Fabric Store Is a Hidden Paradise for Anyone Who Loves Sewing on a Budget
Sewing can get expensive fast, which is why a fabric store that keeps prices low without sacrificing selection feels like a genuine find, and this Texas spot has built a following...
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This Old-School Texas Sausage Factory Is Keeping a Nearly Forgotten Food Tradition Alive
Most sausage these days comes off a factory line without anyone thinking twice about how it got there, but this Texas spot still does things the slow way, using traditional methods...
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This Texas Museum Is Filled With Retro Signs, Forgotten Mascots, and Strange Pieces of American Nostalgia
Nostalgia has a way of making even the strangest objects feel important, and this Texas museum leans into that feeling with a collection of retro signs, forgotten mascots, and...
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8 Texas Restaurants So Good and Affordable They Feel Like Pricing Mistakes
Some restaurants charge premium prices and deliver forgettable food, but these eight Texas spots do the opposite, serving generous portions of genuinely good cooking at prices...
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8 Texas Attractions Built By People Who Took Their Obsessions Way Too Far
Most hobbies stay contained to a garage or a spare room, but the people behind these eight Texas attractions took their passions and let them grow into something far bigger than...
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This Texas Restaurant Combines Historic Architecture, Live Music, And A Riverside Dining Experience
Finding a restaurant that gets one thing right is easy, but finding one that nails historic architecture, live music, and a riverside setting all at once is rare, and this Texas...
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This Texas Restaurant Serves Philly Cheesesteaks That Taste Straight Out Of Pennsylvania
Finding a real Philly cheesesteak outside of Philadelphia is harder than it should be, but this Texas restaurant has managed to nail the formula with thinly sliced steak, properly...
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A Scenic Texas Dam Walk With Surprisingly Beautiful Views
Walking across a dam is not usually the first thing that comes to mind when planning a scenic outing, but this Texas spot has a way of surprising people who give it a chance, offering...
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The Donuts at This Tiny Texas Bakery Are the Most Unforgettable Thing You’ll Ever Taste
Most donuts are forgettable, gone from memory before the last bite is even finished, but this tiny Texas bakery has figured out how to make ones that stick with you long after...
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What A Texas Couple Created After Carefully Studying A Classic TV Show Is Almost Too Wild To Believe
Some people watch a favorite TV show and buy a t-shirt, but a Texas couple took their obsession several steps further by studying every detail of a classic series and turning that...
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This Texas Farm Sells Pasture-Raised Meat Directly To Shoppers Looking To Stock Up
Buying meat directly from a farm has become a real option for Texas shoppers who want to know exactly where their food comes from, and this operation makes the process simple by...
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This Texas Bakery Brings A Taste Of Sicily To One Seriously Tempting Pastry Counter
Sicilian pastries are not something you stumble across every day in Texas, but this bakery has made them its specialty, filling its pastry counter with cannoli, cassata, and other...
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Texas Has A Farmers Market Where Local Vendors Bring Fresh Finds And Plenty Of Variety
A farmers market only works when the vendors show up with something worth buying, and the one this Texas community has built delivers on that promise week after week with fresh...
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The Texas Restaurant Where Vietnamese Food Has Become Part Of The Local Food Scene
Vietnamese food has become a familiar part of the Texas dining landscape over the years, and this restaurant has played a real role in making that happen by serving pho, banh mi,...
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This Texas Filipino Food Shop Started In A Garage And Grew Into A 30-Year Family Business
Starting a food business in a garage takes nerve, and turning that garage operation into a thirty year family business takes something even harder to define, which is exactly what...
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A Texas Town Was Burned During The Revolution, But You Can Still Explore What It Looked Like Nearly 200 Years Later
Nearly 200 years ago, a Texas town was burned during the revolution, leaving behind little more than ash and memory, yet today you can still walk the grounds and get a sense of...
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Deep In Texas Lies A Forgotten Park Frozen In Time
Some places feel like they have been waiting for someone to notice them, and this forgotten Texas park is one of those spots, sitting quietly off the beaten path while the rest...
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These 10 Blue-Collar Texas Restaurants Serve Massive Portions at Low Prices
There is a certain kind of Texas restaurant that does not care about trends, does not fuss over presentation, and does not charge you extra for the privilege of eating there, and...
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This Unassuming Texas Taqueria Made The New York Times’ 50 Best Restaurants In The US
When the New York Times puts a taqueria on its list of the fifty best restaurants in the country, people pay attention, and when that taqueria turns out to be a small, unassuming...
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Texas Has A Historic Trail Where You Can Walk, Bike, And See Five San Antonio’s Missions In One Trip
Most people who visit San Antonio never make it past the Alamo, which is a shame because just a few miles south sits a chain of four more Spanish missions that together form one...
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This Texas Soul Food Spot Serves Fried Chicken with a Side of Serious Comfort
Fried chicken that crackles when you bite into it. Mac and cheese that is creamy and rich. Collard greens with just the right...
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This Texas Pottery Warehouse Is Packed With Cheap Pots and Surprising Garden Treasures
Pots. Planters. Garden decor. And prices that make you do a double take. This Texas pottery warehouse is the kind of place...
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This Compact Texas Airport Is Becoming a Haven For Affordable Flights
Big airports have their perks. But they also have long lines, expensive parking, and the kind of chaos that makes you question your life choices. This compact Texas airport offers...
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This Underrated Texas Town Has Historic Storefronts, A Classic Downtown Square, And Barely Any Tourist Chaos
A classic downtown square. Historic storefronts. And not a tour bus in sight. This Texas town is the kind of place that makes...
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Locals Pack This Beloved Texas Farmers Market Every Saturday For Sourdough, Baked Goods, And More
Saturday morning has a rhythm in this Texas town. The market opens, the vendors set up, and the locals start lining up. This...
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