I’m going to Dallas Texas at the end of the month and I’ll be there for 6 nights on a training course.
Being a humble visitor from Canada I have a couple of questions.
I’m staying at a Holiday Inn Express on the LBJ highway. I’ll have a rental car. I noticed some of the highways are toll highways. How much are the tolls? Are they done automatically or do you have to carry coins? (The one toll bridge we have in BC takes a picture of your license plate and sends you a bill each month)
I also want to go out for two particular dinners:
A decent steakhouse. Nothing super expensive. I expect to pay between $70-$100 for a meal (including wine and a cocktail). Any recommendations that are close to my hotel?
The other is some Southern Barbecue. I’ve never had it before, but I love pork ribs. Watching shows like Man vs. Food always gets my mouth salivating (Mmmm smoke ring…). So I’d like a place that serves ribs and/or brisket. Again any recommendations close to my hotel?
Also I was planning on checking out the Book Repository Museum. How long do I need to plan to be there to “get” the experience.
Much of my family lives there and I have visited Dallas and Fort Worth my whole life. It is a good thing you are going to have a car. The DFW area is one huge sprawling mega-plex. Keep that in mind if you decide to add in things to do. Just because something is listed as a Dallas area attraction, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it is close by at all. It could be well over an hour’s drive one way even without much traffic.
I don’t know the current best restaurants but I do know the school book repository area. It is really cool and recommended but mainly for the fact that it looks very different in person than most people expect from TV. You will see what I mean when you get there. A couple of hours should be enough to see everything.
Well, you should be able to get anywhere you want without going on a toll road. If you do need to pay a toll they should be pretty cheap, like ~$1.
LBJ is a freeway, part of a ring around the city. Since you don’t specify where you are exactly, recommendations will be tough. However, Del Frisco’s and Bob’s are both great places to get a steak. In Dallas, for BBQ, I would suggest Sonny Bryants.
Do you know the cross street of your hotel? LBJ is a pretty long highway, and I’m sure it has more than one Holiday Inn. If you’re staying at the one in the Galleria area, that’s right at the intersection of LBJ and Dallas North Tollway.
All of the tollways around here (and there have gotten to be a god-awful many of them) have gone to a coinless system. They either use tolltags, or take photos of your license and bill you. How your rental company handles that I don’t know. I’d ask them when you pick up your car. And if you stay on the tollroads for quite a distance, the tolls can be quite a bit more than $1. The tollroads aren’t required to get anywhere, but they sure do make some trips a lot more convenient. It seems like most of the tollroads are in the north Dallas/Plano/Frisco area, so if you ARE at the Galleria Holiday Inn, you might have to negotiate one or two.
The barbeque place mention in the previous post is Sonny Bryan’s. They have several locations now, so check the link for one that’s near you. There are several other bbq chains in the area, plus many single restaurants. I’m not a huge bbq fan, so hopefully someone else will chime in with recommendations. Most (maybe all) should have pork ribs, but a lot of Texas bbq is beef.
The steakhouses mentioned, Del Frisco’s and Bob’s, are both very good and in the price range you mentioned. There’s a Bob’s straight up the Dallas North Tollway from LBJ, maybe 15 miles or so.
The weather’s been pretty nice the last week or so. It was in the mid 60s Saturday, but it’s cooled off a little bit. I think the high today was around 53 or so. No precip forecast that I can see. Prepare for it to be warmer than what you’re used to, but Og help you if it drops below freezing and we get precipitation. (We don’t get snow; we get ice. And NOBODY knows how to drive in it.)
If you’re going to tour the Sixth Floor Museum (formerly known as the Texas Schoolbook Depository), be aware that Dallas has a decent (for Texas) public transportation system. You might want to park the rental and ride around on the trains if you have the time, especially if you’re going to Dealey Plaza (where the Sixth Floor Museum is located). Sonny Bryan’s Smokehouse, a fine barbeque place, is also located in the West End.
You can get full route maps and schedules for DART (Dallas Area Rapid Transit) here.
Bob’s is a good choice for a steak house. Del Friscos is a chain. Bob’s is at least small and regional. Pappas Brothers is fairly amazing and would be my choice.
Don’t rule out Fort Worth. It’s a mostly straight shot and you can grab the best ribs in the DFW area at the Railhead on University. Or you can kill many birds with one stone and hit the stockyards. Riscky’s is always a top contender for steaks and 'que.
If you want something out of this world different, hit Javier’s in Dallas. Mexico City style cuisine at it’s finest; try the filet cantinflas. You will probably need reservations, but they can usually be easily made the day before or even of your visit.
I’ll shoot ya some links when I am not using the phone.
Oops, try not to miss the joy of Keller’s just south of 75 and 635. It’s been there since 1947 and is a true drive-in. Best burgers in Dallas IMO, and they bring beer to your car, to be consumed in your car. Cash only, but two beers fries and a burger run under $10, but tip well!
For a not-too-expensive, very Texan steak, I’d go to La Hacienda Ranch. It’s a Mexican Steakhouse. The steaks are very, very good. The decor is very Texan.
The toll system is cashless. It’s pretty widespread. Get the tolltag option on your rental.
If you have time, come to Fort Worth. We have a really nice museum district if you like art. The stockyards are what people think of when they think “Texas”.
The Crow Collection of Asian Art is in downtown Dallas, is amazing, and is free. I think two of the three “major” museums in Fort Worth’s museum district are free too. Bit of a drive though from N. Dallas.
I have not had the BBQ in either Dallas or Ft. Worth. D Magazine recommends Pecan Lodge as the best BBQ in the area, however. I have been to the Farmer’s Market that it’s evidently within, and it’s not bad for a visit. Another article from 2010 that talks about DFW BBQ. Finally, D Magazine’s pick for best steakhouses.. I’ve not been to any of these places that they mention, but I figure more information couldn’t hurt.
Personally, when I’m visiting relatives up there, I’m usually eating at their house, or going up to the Bavarian Grill in Plano for outstanding German food.
From what I’ve heard, Jorg’s Cafe Vienna on 15th in Plano is better than Bavarian Grill. I can vouch that Jorg’s is excellent, but I haven’t been to Bavarian Grill yet.
Sonny Bryan’s is decent, but I think Spring Creek BBQ is just about as good (which isn’t saying much; DFW barbecue sucks), and is a lot closer; there’s a Spring Creek on the SW corner of LBJ @ Preston. One thing to remember is that it’s not so much “Southern” barbecue in Texas as it’s literally Texas barbecue. Brisket & sausage are the main two meats, with stuff like ribs, turkey and pulled pork are definitely also-rans.
Get the 3 meat plate with brisket, sausage & something else. Beans, Coleslaw and potato salad are the traditional sides, although many places also serve fries, green beans, corn, etc…
Another steakhouse worth trying is Chamberlain’s in Addison (just up the DNT, right on Beltline, between Montfort & Preston). I personally like it better than Bob’s - Chamberlain’s is more of a fine-dining steakhouse than Bob’s, if there’s such a thing. It’s not all steaks, creamed spinach and a freakish whole cooked carrot; they have some more interesting stuff on the menu at Chamberlain’s.
I’d also give Gloria’s in Addison a try if I were you- it’s a Tex-Mex/Salvadoran restaurant that’s really good.
FYI- Belt Line Road in Addison(a couple of miles north on the DNT) is the nearest collection of good restaurants and bars to the Galleria area, which is mostly sketchy, low-rent and Hispanic, without decent restaurants.
I happen to work in Addison, and live right south of 635 east of Central, so I know what I’m talking about!
Ask for the 48-ounce steak deal. A lot of Texas steak houses have that, or did when I was there (many years ago). They bring you this huge steak on a forklift, with a full course meal (salad, hot vegetable, potato). If you can eat the whole thang in one sitting, it’s FREE.
First don’t ask for ‘Southern Barbecue’ and mention pork. You’ll be in Texas.
Ribs are beef.
Although what you’re talking about is tasty. ( I live in Houston, which is where you SHOULD visit!) I don’t know what is good in Dallas, but I will give you my 'finding good BBQ tips.
Not a chain.
Rundown but clean.
Preferablly a gravel parking lot.
The pickup truck/cop car percentage. (I know it’s Texas, so probably you will think everyone is driving one. It’s the same rule as diners–if cops and working folks aren’t eating there? It prolly sucks.)
If you can’t smell the smoke and if you do it doesn’t make you hungry? 1. Don’t eat there. 2.If you smelled it and aren’t drooling–you aren’t in the mood for barbecue.
Also, that Book Depository Museum is awesome. And it’s not just about JFK, though that part is VERY cool. When I went there, it was hosting a showing of Pulitzer Prize Winning photos.