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. By 2005 USA Today referred to Houston as "the dining-out capital of the nation." Houstonians ate out at restaurants more often than residents of other American cities and Houston restaurants have the second lowest average prices of restaurants of major cities. Tex-Mex cuisine and Louisiana Creole cuisine are very popular in Houston Many Mexican cuisine restaurants in Houston have aspects that originate from Texas culture. Language Percentage of population, Car culture In early 2006 the Champ Car auto racing series returned to Houston for a yearly race held on the streets of the Reliant Park complex the city had previously been home to a Champ Car round from 1998 to 2001.[citation needed]. ; Conquest The population of the new state was quite small at first and there was a strong mix between the English-speaking American settlers that dominated in the state's eastern/northeastern portions and the Spanish-speaking former Mexicans that dominated in the state's southern and western portions Statehood brought many new settlers Because of the long Spanish presence in Mexico and various failed colonization efforts by the Spanish and Mexicans in northern Mexico there were large herds of Longhorn cattle that roamed the state Hardy by nature but also suitable for slaughtering and consumption they represented an economic opportunity many entrepreneurs seized upon thus creating the cowboy culture for which Texas is famous While in the early days of the republic cattle and bison were slaughtered for their hides soon a beef industry was established with cattle being shipped all over the U.S and the Caribbean (within a few decades beef had become a staple of the American diet)!

Mexico's attacks on Texas intensified the conflict between the political factions in an incident known as the Texas Archive War in 1842 to "protect" the Texas national archives President Sam Houston ordered them out of Austin Austin residents suspicious of the president's motives because of his avowed disdain of the capital forced the archives back to Austin at gunpoint the Texas Congress admonished Houston for the incident and the incident would solidify Austin as Texas's seat of government for the Republic and the future state. The Sharpstown scandal which concerned government bribes involving real estate developer Frank Sharp (neighborhood of Sharpstown is named after him) occurred in 1970 and 1971. In addition the Chapel of St Basil on the nearby campus of the University of St Thomas is a work of art designed by Philip Johnson that has won many awards for its architecture the Chapel which was built in 1997 contrasts with all of the other buildings on campus as it is made of white stucco and black granite rather than rose-colored brick It is also composed of three geometric forms: the cube the sphere and the plane the cube makes up the majority of the building including the main seating area while a golden semi-sphere dome covered with 23.5 karat gold leaf rises high above the cube the granite plane bisects the cube and opens the chapel to light the cube and plane interplay with the dome creating a sense that the dome is not a cover for the Chapel but rather an opening to the heavens.