Hill Country Updates

Hill Country is my unique guide to Central Texas and the Hill Country. It was first published by Texas Monthly Press in 1983.

I am currently in the middle of another major revision, which should appear in bookstores sometime next year. This revision will be Hill Country's sixth edition.

The trips follow the same routes, but as usual, I have been finding new stories, places, and characters along the way. Some places and people, unfortunately, have disappeared.

Here's some of what's changed:

• In Bastrop, Bastrop BBQ and Meat Market has moved from Main Street out to Highway 71 and is now called Cartwright's BBQ. Same good BBQ. Click here to see my list of recommended BBQ joints and old-time meat markets.

• In Columbus, the Odd Fellows Rest Cemetery has been designated a Texas historic site. Several participants of the Stafford-Townsend feud are buried here, along with some other interesting characters. Click here to read about Columbus' colorful past.

• Dime Box has a new community museum and a local antique bridge with an interesting history that has been moved into town, next to the SPJST Hall and Grounds.

• Visitors to Elgin have several great places to eat barbecue. Cross Town ranks right up there with the best, and I say that as having been a member of Texas Monthly's May 1997 BBQ SWAT team. Brisket, pork and beef ribs, chicken and sausage are all first class.

• In Flatonia, railroad enthusiasts now enjoy easy access to Southern Pacific Tower No. 3, which has been moved to downtown from its original location on Flatonia's outskirts. Next to the tower stands the old Flatonia City Jail. Train buffs will also note the old San Antonio & Aransas Pass depot on Penn (SH 95) across the alley from the Arnim Museum.

• Out in Junction, the BBQ's fine, now that Cooper's BBQ has opened for business. Run by cousins of the Llano Coopers, the inch-thick pork chops and cabrito make the long drive between Austin and Sanderson a little easier. The cabrito is cooked in limited quantities and sells fast, so get there by noon, or call ahead to reserve some, 915-446-8661. Open daily, lunch and dinner. Cr. W+

• In La Grange, the Texas Czech Heritage and Cultural Center (adjacent to the La Grange Fair Grounds) says that the restored Kalich family home will open as an office and visitors center on May 1. More than 100 years old, it was built as a one-room house and enlarged several times over the years. The house was moved here from far southwest Fayette County. The Bon Ton Restaurant on SH 71 closed again, but reopened on New Years Day 2001 with a different name and eclectic menu that includes Italianesque pasta dishes. I haven't Czeched it out yet.

• In Llano, the Holtzer House is now Eva's Holtzer House Cafe with a Swiss menu that includes German, French, and Italian dishes, plus all-American, hand-cut Black Angus steaks. The part of the house with the gingerbread woodwork and ornate fireplace mentioned in the book are now private residential quarters.

• In Lockhart, Kreuz Market is still the king, but Smitty's is giving Kreuz, Black's, and Chisholm Trail a run for the money with credible food in the hallowed atmosphere of the original Kreuz Market downtown. Read Field Notes for the not-so-bloody details. A sign of the times: Kreuz Market is now serving beans, but if you want slaw or potato salad, bring your own.

• Aquarena Springs in San Marcos is still busy reinventing itself; Texas Parks and Wildlife has recently become involved, as this venerable resort continues to recover from its diving-pig days. The area around the ancient wooden dam that forms Spring Lake has been closed off to the public because of deterioration and a solution to the problem hasn't been reached.

• Schulenburg has a nifty new museum: the Stanzel Model Aircraft Musem, honoring the work of Victor and Joe Stanzel, whose nearby factory still cranks out flying model aircraft and toys. While I'm sad to say that the "Myrna Loy Apts." sign has disappeared during a recent remodelling of the building, the 112-year-old Hermis Road bridge over Mulberry Creek (about 3 miles southwest of Schulenburg) will not be destroyed, just replaced. It will move to Wolters Park downtown as a pedestrian bridge.

Field Notes

I regularly travel through Central Texas in search of new stories and sites. Click here to read my field notes from recent forays.

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