Amanda Albee

Dallas

Texas food & drinks writer @TexasMonthly @TexasHighways @Resy @HoustoniaMag | Loves assignments [email protected] | she/her

Articles

The New Age of the Baked Alaska — Resy | Right This Way

3 weeks ago | blog.resy.com | Amanda Albee

Discover restaurants to love. The Hit List The Hit List For all your restaurant recommendation needs, look no further than the Resy Hit List, our monthly list of 10 spots that should be on your radar right now.
Oprah “Blew the Doors” Off This Texas Coppersmith’s Shop—And That Was Just the Start

3 weeks ago | texasmonthly.com | Amanda Albee

In his Austin warehouse, Jonathan Beall sips water from one of his copper cups, an Ayurvedic practice said to stimulate digestion and increase immunity. He points to a hand-carved solid-copper vase made using traditional techniques, such as melting recycled copper into ingots and repeatedly annealing and forging the mass into shape, a skill he learned in Mexico.
Seltzers Just Might Make It Out of Texas’s THC Takedown Alive

1 month ago | texasmonthly.com | Amanda Albee

Two years ago, I wrote about how THC-infused seltzers were sweeping the state, with pioneers such as Dripping Springs’ Tejas Tonic and Houston’s Bayou City Hemp Company getting into the game. Since the Texas Senate passed a bill seeking a total ban of THC consumables on March 19, the industry is worried about losing its fizz. To catch you up, since 2018, products that contain less than 0.3 percent hemp-derived tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) have been legal in the U.S., thanks to the Farm Bill.
You’re Due a Trip Back to Marfa

Mar 28, 2025 | houstoniamag.com | Amanda Albee

Marfa is constantly reinventing itself with new restaurants and art destinations. Image: Jeffrey M. Frank/Shutterstock.comThe foot-tapping lines about the bigness and brightness of our state’s stars should’ve been penned from Marfa, long known as an artists’ oasis next to one of the darkest places in the US, Big Bend National Park.
There's Magic in the Water at Ishtia in Kemah

Mar 20, 2025 | texashighways.com | Amanda Albee |Tyson Bird

The first physical cue of David Skinner’s playfulness are his silvered eyebrows that curl up in a central zenith. As he sidles up to our table, the Choctaw chef arches them jauntily while pouring dry ice over a circle of stones with a seashell balanced on top, all culinary accents cradling his version of Three Sisters. The Cherokee dish of corn, beans, and squash—crops Indigenous tribes grew together—is typically served as a soup or succotash.
The Top Restaurants in Dallas and Fort Worth Right Now — Resy | Right This Way

Mar 1, 2025 | blog.resy.com | Amanda Albee

Discover restaurants to love. The Hit List The Hit List For all your restaurant recommendation needs, look no further than the Resy Hit List, our monthly list of 10 spots that should be on your radar right now.
Street Dog Cafe in Waco Is On a Heartfelt Mission

Feb 6, 2025 | texashighways.com | Amanda Albee |Danielle Lopez

In a town with 10 colleges and roughly twice as many independent coffee shops, Waco’s Street Dog Cafe is fetching up regulars with its mission: to rescue and rehome stray dogs. “People, especially in Waco, love to have a mission—that includes what they’re eating and drinking,” says owner Danielle Young, who opened the café in 2023 on Waco’s quiet Elm Avenue, where some of the city’s oldest structures are being remodeled into breweries, coffee shops, and restaurants.
Big Red Is Texas Barbecue’s Unofficial Signature Soda

Feb 5, 2025 | texashighways.com | Amanda Albee |Tyson Bird

Sweeter than cotton candy and redder than rubies, Big Red has been Texas barbecue’s unofficial signature soda since its conception in 1937. Born in the Waco lab of Grover C. Thomsen and R.H. Roark, the innovative drink largely consisted of lemon and orange extracts combined with vanilla. Initially called Sun Tang Red Cream Soda, it spread throughout Central and South Texas, as well as Louisville, Kentucky, where Roark owned R.C. Bottling Company.
Wake Up With Yemeni Coffee in North Texas

Nov 13, 2024 | texashighways.com | Amanda Albee |Tyson Bird

At Arwa Yemeni Coffee in Richardson, co-owner Susan Shihab says many of her visitors have never even heard of the country featured on the company’s marquee. But for some, like Athena Abujaber, a vice president at a health care staffing company, Arwa provides a “safe space” and a welcoming environment with Middle Eastern accents, such as Ramadan celebrations with strumming oud players.
Inside the Luxurious New Tequila Tasting Room Hidden in an El Paso Basement

Oct 29, 2024 | texasmonthly.com | Amanda Albee

Like its location among the Franklin Mountains in the Chihuahuan Desert, the Plaza Hotel Pioneer Park, in El Paso, is a dreamy mirage come true. Guests might feel that hazy surreality when waking up in the nineteen-story high-rise, originally constructed in 1930 and designed by late local architect Henry Trost—especially after an evening in the basement’s Agave Room.