Beauty and Pain in Arizona

Beauty and Pain in Arizona

I’m spending a couple days with my friend Anna, and even though we haven’t seen each other since high school it’s like we were never apart. When I got to her house in Green Valley after a long day’s drive, she had a delicious, healthy dinner and glass of wine waiting...
How to Stand Out in Five Easy Steps

How to Stand Out in Five Easy Steps

We’ve established Texas had its challenges for me, one of which was finding a meal not involving a dead cow or deep fryer, and about halfway in I was desperately seeking tofu. (I realize “desperate” and “tofu” are two words that naturally go together for many of you,...
Looking for Happiness in Lubbock

Looking for Happiness in Lubbock

One of my favorite bands is Thrift Store Cowboys from Lubbock. Listening to their songs I pictured a quaint Texas town with serious but sweet cowboys, rolling tumbleweeds, and sprawling farms. What I got was strip malls, aggressive drivers, and McMansions. Lubbock is...

Scamp Porn 3: Thanksgiving Gluttony Warm-up (video)

What better way to get ready for the biggest food day in the U.S. than to do restaurant reviews? Today I’m covering three: Golden Light Café (Amarillo, Texas), Feldman’s Wrong Way Diner (Canyon, Texas), and Big Vern’s Steakhouse (Shamrock, Texas)....
Why I Love Small Towns

Why I Love Small Towns

Though I now live in Taos, I’ve spent most of my life in big cities – San Diego, San Francisco, Oakland, New York. I love them and their energy, the sense that you can make anything happen. But these days, I seem to only care about exploring small towns.Before I left...