Welcome to
The Texas Porch
Pull up a chair, y’all. We’re your front-porch guide to small towns, good eating, weekend road trips and the everyday stories that make Texas feel like home.
Fresh Off the Porch
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Mary’s Cafe in Strawn: The Small-Town Chicken-Fried Steak Worth the Drive West of Fort Worth
In tiny Strawn, Mary’s Cafe serves a chicken-fried steak so big the small gets shared. Here’s how to plan the drive west…
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Dr Pepper Museum in Waco: Tour the 1906 Bottling Plant Where the Texas Soda Grew Up
Waco’s Dr Pepper Museum fills a 1906 bottling plant with soda history, a retro fountain and a 23-foot bottle. Hours, prices and…
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Kincaid’s Hamburgers in Fort Worth: The Old Grocery Store Burger Joint on Camp Bowie
Kincaid’s began as a 1946 Fort Worth grocery store. Here’s the story behind the Camp Bowie original and what to know before…
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Longhorn Cavern State Park Tours: Which One to Pick, What It Costs and What to Expect
Longhorn Cavern near Burnet offers a 90-minute walking tour, a 3-hour crawling Wild Cave tour and a blacklight tour. Here’s how to…
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Dublin Bottling Works and Dublin, Texas: What to Know Before You Go for Cane-Sugar Sodas
Dublin has bottled soda since 1891. The tours and soda shop have closed, but the store is open. Here’s how to plan…
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Gainesville, Texas: A Grand Courthouse Square and the Zoo Named for “Bring ’Em Back Alive” Frank Buck
Gainesville pairs a Beaux-Arts courthouse square with a small, friendly zoo named for a hometown adventurer. Here’s how to plan a Cooke…
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Joe T. Garcia’s in Fort Worth: How the Cash-Only Tex-Mex Landmark Works Before You Go
Fort Worth’s family-run Tex-Mex landmark has served since 1935. Here’s how its cash-only, two-choice dinner and garden patio work.
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City Market in Luling: How to Order at This 1958 Barbecue Joint and What Else to See in Town
Luling’s City Market has served brisket and sausage on butcher paper since 1958. How ordering works, plus pump jacks and more in…
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Lampasas, Texas: The Old Spring Resort Town With an 1884 Courthouse Square
Mineral springs once made Lampasas a resort town. Here’s how to see the springs, the 1884 courthouse square and downtown murals today.
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San Saba, Texas: A Fall Visit to the Self-Proclaimed Pecan Capital of the World
San Saba has called itself the Pecan Capital of the World for generations. Here’s the history, where to buy pecans and what…
Plan Your Texas Weekend
Day Trips
Scenic drives, hidden swimming holes and getaways within a tank of gas.
Events
Festivals, rodeos, fairs and what is happening around Texas this weekend.
Texas Life
News, history and everyday living for folks who call the Lone Star State home.