On the Texas Chili Trail

Streetlights cast shadows over the dusky, silent buildings on San Antonio’s Military Plaza. It’s a far cry from the nights of yore, when this was one of the rowdiest places in Texas. Trail-hardened cowboys rode in from the range and headed straight for the Plaza, where the “Chili Queens” lit mesquite fires, hung bright lanterns, and dished out fiery ten-cent “bowls o’ red” all night long.