Going to Dallas for a week - what to do?

In My Humble Opinion
1

Ok, so I get an all expense paid trip to Dallas for a week for work, I’m bringing the GF and I’m looking for things to do. We’ve got the Lonely Planet chapter on Texas, which recommends (apparently) a good place for BBQ, some kitschy 50s diners, art galleries, etc. We’re staying at the Gaylord (Ha!) Texan and I have to work during the days. The GF is super-ridiculous-excited about the shopping (note where we live, she’s been filling the shopping hole in her soul with ebay which apparently is not the same) and has found some big mall to go to. She’s scared about driving/renting a car; she’s not confident she won’t get lost or freaked out by the traffic. I say she’s fine, she’s driven in Toronto and Mtl.

What am I missing? Any Dallas dopers have any suggestions?

2

The Dallas Museum of Arthas a pretty good collection, and also activities on summer nights.

The Shakespeare Society of Dallas does pretty decent performances in the park–it’s very casual and they usually do a good job.

The Dallas Arboretum is really pretty and might be almost exotic: here, we struggle to keep plants alive despite the heat, not despite the cold!

The light rail system is pretty good:and you can just ride through the downtown parts, see Dallas (you can ride all the way South to the Zoo) and then get out anywhere, wander around, get back on.

The driving here isn’t too bad–right at the moment I don’t think there are any major highway construction nightmares in the city proper, and that’s the first time that has been true in 30 years.

3

Ex-Dallas doper here. My favorite restaurants:

El Fenix

Ojedas

Uncle Julios

Three great Tex-Mex restaurants.

The mall you want to go to is Northpark

Visit Uptown

Oaklawn

Highland Park

Lower Greenville

Deep Ellum

4

These are all good suggestions. I grew up in Dallas; every time I visit, I make a beeline for El Fenix, so I have to second dalej42’s recommendation. Outstanding Tex-Mex, and great margaritas. Also, check out the West End. There are lots of great restaurants there, and it is also convenient to the Sixth-Floor Museum.

5

Somewhat random thoughts that may prove helpful:

The Gaylord is not far from the Grapevine Mills supermall - that may be the mall your girlfriend has found. Also, “downtown” Grapevine has a bunch of antique-y shops; my wife and my parents seemed to really enjoy that (it’s not my thing, so I merely tolerated that afternoon).

I haven’t lived in the area for 15+ years, but still visit roughly once a year to see my folks. I don’t know Grapevine in particular all that well, but my sense is that it will be hard to get around without a car. Perhaps I’m wrong; I’ve always had a car available to me and have not needed to closely investigate other options.

Downtown Fort Worth is really no farther away from your hotel than downtown Dallas is, and it’s been revitalized in recent years to become what seems like an attractive place to visit and walk around. We visited the Flying Saucer “beer tavern” downtown one evening and had a great time sampling their impressive collection. Joe T. Garcia’s, in the Fort Worth Stockyards, is a highly-though-of Tex-Mex place, but to be honest I was quite disappointed the last time I was there.

If you’re into baseball, the Rangers play in Arlington, which is not that far of a drive from Grapevine.

I grew up in Hurst; it’s (IMO) a very nice place to live, but not exactly a tourist mecca. Last week I was in town on business and caught up with my parents one night for dinner - we ate at the Posado’s in Bedford; kinda kitschy decor, but I rather liked the food.

On that same trip, we ate one dinner at a Texas Land & Cattle Company restaurant. None of us were real happy with the food, given what they charged; my recommendation is to go elsewhere. Salt Grass Steakhouse (I think there’s on in Grapevine) is better, IMO.

6

Rent a car. Since you are staying pretty far from mass transit, it will be indispensible. You can get a ridiculously low price through Hotwire. Driving in Dallas/Fort Worth is no worse than any other large city.

Don’t forget Fort Worth, it’s a little different than Dallas and has a lot to offer as well. The Gaylord is more or less equidistant to both cities.

Things to buy:
Half Price Books, several locations, the one at 5803 NW Highway (Dallas) is the biggest and best. A small regional used book/music chain with great selection and prices, it’s a far cry from the dusty, understocked stores that one
typically sees.

REI, on LBJ Freeway (Dallas/Farmer’s Branch). Not sure if you have any out your way, if not, it may be worth a stop. While not as huge and opulent as some of their locations, the Dallas REI has pretty much anything you’d want for camping/hiking.

The Trinity Antique District (Dallas). Lots of antique stores, if she’s into that. On Industrial Blvd, there a 2 big adjacent ones called Lost and Found. There’s another surprisingly big place that occupies 2 old houses and their outbuildings on (I think) Lemmon, but I don’t know the name.

There should be an outlet mall around the metroplex, but darned if I know where it is.

The Highland Park Mall is smallish, but is full of expensive designer fashion type stores. Bonus-it’s one of the oldest shopping plazas in the US.

Things to see:
The aforementioned Dallas Museum of Art and Arboretum.

Just driving around Highland Park and University Park, looking at the enormous houses is kind of fun, in a ‘see how the other .00001% live’ kind of way.

The Kimbell Museum in Fort Worth has some very nice European and Meso-American stuff and usually has a traveling exhibition going on.

The Museum of Modern Art is across the street from the Kimbell and is also reported to be good. There is no admission fee at either museum.

The Fort Worth Botanic Gardens are beautiful, particularly the Japanese garden.

The Stockyards in Fort Worth are touristy, but fun if you want to see longhorns and cowboys and maybe buy some boots.

The Monning Meteorite Gallery at TCU I Fort Worth is just awesome, if you like meteorites (doesn’t everybody?), otherwise it will probably bore you. As it is inside the Geology building, check the hours ahead of time.

Things to eat:
Arcodoro, on Routh St. (Dallas), fairly expensive, excellent Sardinian/Italian food in an interesting setting.
La Duni, on McKinney Ave. (Dallas), fairly expensive, Latin fusion food, primarily Brasilian and Argentinian influenced, really nice dbaked goods.

Fadi’s, at least 2 locations in Dallas. Cheap to mid-priced. Huge selection of fresh, well done Mediterranean food, and a lot of it. A good bet for vegetarians. Apparently related the Fadi’s places in Houston.

Grimaldi’s, McKinney St. (Dallas). Mid-priced. It’s an outpost of the famous New York coal fired brick oven pizza chain. I’ve not been yet, but many people like it, although it might not be quite as good as the transcendant experience at the original.

Byblos, near the Stockyards in Fort Worth. Mid-priced, very good Lebanese food. Bonus-attached hookah bar, also belly dancing on some nights.

Central Market, Lover’s Lane (Dallas) and somewhere in Fort Worth. Immense supermarket, selling mid- to high-end foods. It’s like Whole Foods with better prices and selection, and without the snobbery. The produce section alone is worth a stop.

7

Rangers Ballpark in Arlington

8

No shopping trip to Dallas would be complete without trip to Neiman Marcus. Make sure the credit card is locked in the hotel safe that day.

After a hard day’s shopping, what better way to relax than with somrthing simple (and cheap) like a burger.

9

This is great! Thanks for all the suggestions!

10

I’ll have to disagree with the folks who like El Fenix and Uncle Julios. They are chains, and not particularly special.

Since you’re staying at the Gaylord, its bar, the Glass Cactus can be fun. Slightly pricey fun in Dallas can be had at http://www.javiers.net/. It’s Mexico City mexican, more than one margarita can be lethal. The filet Cantinflas is great, so is the cabrito.

For steak, http://www.bobs-steakandchop.com/ is great. There is one in Grapevine, but the one in Dallas is better.

If you want cheap food, try these cheap tacos: http://www.yelp.com/biz/fuel-city-2-dallas complete with view of downtown Dallas, longhorns, bikini-clad mexican girls and some of the finest elotes and tacos in the world. For cheap burgers try Keller’s http://www.yelp.com/biz/kellers-drive-in-dallas. Burgers are good, been there since 1947, and they bring beer to your CAR like an old-fashioned drive in.

Northpark can’t be beat for unique shopping, but you will also be by Grapevine Mills which is like an outlet center and is huge! For fun, right near you in Grapevine, if you ever wanted to feel like a cowboy try http://www.marshallcreekranch.com/index.htm. No way you can get in on a weekend ride, but you or just GF could get out there during the week. It is NOT boring nose to tail stuff. It’s good if you’re a rank amateur or even if you’re fairly accomplished.

11

The sixth floor is a must see, but don’t bother with the Conspiracy Museum unless you’re hungry. It’s now a Quizno’s.

12

Hey, don’t forget Six Flags. I haven’t lived in the area for almost 10 years, but I kind of doubt it’s gone.

13

Even if you’re not an “outdoors” type of person, you both might have fun taking a quick walk through The Bass Pro Shops: Outdoor World. It’s basically a gigantic store for all types of outdoors activities, and it has some interesting things to see inside, including some aquariums and small artificial ponds and creeks with large fish swimming in them. It’s very near your hotel, across the street from the giant Grapevine Mills mall mentioned earlier. (There’s also a huge Cabela’s store north of Fort Worth on I-35 that is pretty much the same as the Bass Pro Shops, only newer, bigger, and better–but not as close to your hotel)

I’ll second the recommendation to check out the Fort Worth museums, adding the Amon Carter which is just across from the Kimball and the Modern. It is fairly large and focuses on American art. There’s also the small Sid Richardson Museum downtown at Sundance Square. It focuses on Western art, with many works of Frederic Remington and Charles Russell (both of whom are also well-represented in the Amon Carter).

I’ll also second the recommendation of a Ranger’s game in Arlington, if you’re a baseball fan. The team itself isn’t exactly a draw for non-locals, but their Ballpark in Arlington is a very nice stadium and an evening game is a pleasant experience. And you can gawk at the enormous new Dallas Cowboys stadium that is being built nearby.