Fine Art, Dining, and Wineries—More to Lubbock Than Texas Tech Football!

By Sarah Arksey
Associate Writer

Lubbock, Texas isn’t necessarily somewhere one thinks of when planning a vacation. The city’s main draw— a significant one, to be fair— is college football. Texas Tech has a total enrollment of well over 40,000 students across its undergraduate and graduate programs, such as

 its renowned medical school. Lubbock is also known as the “Capital of West Texas,” and Texans from more rural areas often come into town to shop and utilize local services. 

Out-of-towners often wind up in Lubbock as part of a larger road trip– Texan road trips are a right-of-passage for lovers of the open road!

I was told that it’s rather popular to travel four hours south to Marfa– a notorious art and cultural hub that has obtained something of a cult following– and onward to border towns Lajitas, Terlingua, and Presidio.

The villages along this route are well-respected for their commitment to arts and culture and their status as time capsules of Texan history– Presidio is the oldest European-settled town in Texas,  established in 1683. 

Though it’s somewhat of an underdog, Lubbock deserves the same recognition as a cultural hotspot. Creative arts are the city’s lifeblood– most of us have heard of Buddy Holly, but you may not know that the musical legend hails from Lubbock!

Fans can pay homage at the Buddy Holly Center, which houses an impressive range of memorabilia– including the iconic framed glasses recovered from the plane crash site where Holly died in 1959.

The Buddy Holly Hall was also erected in his honor, a massive performing arts theatre which has seen acts ranging from the touring cast of Hamilton to Bob Dylan (fun fact: Dylan famously refuses to sign anything, but obliged when he played at the Buddy Holly Hall and signed their guestbook, calling it “the best place to perform”).

Art Exhibitions in Lubbock

Lubbock is, at its heart, a college town. In addition to its educational value, Texas Tech is also home to an impressive collection of public art, which can be toured on foot or by booking a free ride on the Art Cart, the school’s 12-seater trolley which makes stops at several of the sprawling campus’s outdoor sculptures.

I deepened my acquaintance with Lubbock’s commitment to the arts with a visit to the Charles Adams Studio Project (CASP), named for the gallerist who founded the arts center in 2009 along with local clothing store owner and philanthropist Margaret Talkington. CASP houses the Helen DeVitt Jones Print Studio, where we were given a detailed rundown of the printmaking process and even had a chance to create our own printed tote bags!

One of the most unique features of CASP is its four Live/Work studios, which accept applications from recent university graduates and professional artists who desire to formally reside at CASP.

The units contain a fully-equipped personal apartment along with 1100 square feet of studio space, and artists-in-residence have many opportunities to exhibit their work as well as engage with the Lubbock community. One such opportunity is the First Fridays Art Trail, which sees many pop-up exhibitions and events form a walkable pathway through the Lubbock Cultural District.

We continued on to the Louise Hopkins Underwood Center for the Arts (LHUCA), which exhibits the work of several artists. One such exhibitor was Melissa Dorn, an artist from Milwaukee who contributed a multi-room display of pieces created from mop material, a textile she focuses on to provide commentary on feminism and labor.       

Introducing West Texan Wine

Prior to making the trip to Lubbock, I actually had no idea that Texas produced wine. In fact, the state ranks fifth in terms of U.S. wine production, after the West Coast and New York. Texas was home to the very first vineyard on U.S. soil, established nearly 400 years ago by Franciscan monks. The High Plains region, where Lubbock is located, grows 90% of Texan wine grapes. The semi-arid region has been compared to Spain and the south of France, and is perfect for growing Tempranillo and Sangiovese.

I visited two wineries during my stay in Lubbock– Llano Estacado and McPherson Cellars– and was able to sample several wines at each.

For the McPhersons, wine is a family affair. Owner Kim McPherson took over the winery from his father, who established it in 1968.

His younger brother is also a respected winemaker, and his daughter is about to earn the title of master sommelier.

She curates the wine list at nearby tapas restaurant La Diosa, which is owned by her mother, Sylvia McPherson.

McPherson emphasizes that successful grape varietals must fit the semi-arid climate of the Texan High Plains– this means no Cabernets or Pinot Noirs! McPherson’s award-winning whites were my favorite– not too sweet, but juicy enough to calm my desert-parched throat!

Llano Estacado was a pioneering force of Texan wine— it was founded by a group of investors roughly 50 years ago, one of whom was a Texas Tech-educated horticulturist who was convinced West Texas soil could produce high-quality wine. History repeats itself— our server, like many others we met, ended up in Lubbock because his partner was studying at Texas Tech.

I left Llano Estacado with a now-treasured souvenir– a t-shirt that reads “Brave Texans didn’t die at the Alamo so we could sip California wine”!

Frat House Coffee Shops and Texas BBQ

We began one sunny day with a stop at Monomyth Coffee, a renovated former fraternity house that students love to frequent for chatting and studying. Monomyth means “one story,” a reference to the Hero’s Journey, a literary trope that brothers Trenton and Randall Jackson— who founded the shop in 2019—believe echoes throughout our lives as we face unique challenges.

The brothers have a goal of ‘placing people at the forefront of their story’ by providing them with a cheerful space to recharge, connect, and indulge in creative lattes and pastries.

No visit to Texas is complete without some southern barbeque, and Lubbock does this right!

We made a stop at Evie Mae’s Pit Barbecue, which began as a happy accident after a celiac diagnosis forced the owners to prepare most of their meals at home. This led to a love affair with grilling and smoking meat, and before they knew it, the Robbins family was going pro— finding themselves en route to Lubbock to open up a permanent barbeque stop.

“BBQ was never our intention, but it became our destiny,” reads the restaurant’s website. With the Robbins’ originally hailing from Eastern New Mexico, Evie Mae’s— named for the family’s daughter— serves up family-style Texas barbeque with out-of-state details, such as green chiles in their grits and sausage instead of the popular Texan staple of jalapenos.

Eclectic and Contemporary Southwest Dining

On our last night, we had the pleasure of visiting the Nicolett. Here, Chef Finn Walter showcases ingredients native to the High Plains region while integrating techniques he’s picked up throughout his multi-faceted career, which has found Walter in Napa Valley, Austin, Paris, and Santa Fe.

Walter was born and raised in Lubbock, but his parents moved there from New England, giving the Walter family the unique perspective of both local and visitor. “I was able to see, from an outside perspective, the beauty of the region, even with its flat land and desertscapes, which influences how I approach food at The Nicolett,” says Walter.

My first course was caviar paired with prosecco, followed by a comforting pozole and— finally— blue rare antelope steak. Like many, I’d never tried antelope, and Lubbock felt like the perfect place to give the unique game meat a go— the High Plains regions across North America, particularly those within Wyoming, Montana, and Texas, are filled with wild antelope.

Of all of his recipes, Walter’s favorite creation is one that his wife and him brainstormed years ago while living in Santa Fe— lamb cooked in the style of Texas brisket.

“The lamb, a staple farm product of New Mexico, is crusted in exotic peppercorns, lavender (local to the area), and slow-roasted just like a traditional Texas brisket. The dish melds the sensibilities of the Texas barbecue tradition with our love of New Mexico/Santa Fe tradition, and global influence.”