litho7

Welcome to Dallas! I've only been here a few years and have formerly been spoiled by many years of great eating in Chicago. I'm not willing to say the BBQ is great here compared to what I've eaten on roadtrips further south, but I think the original Sonny Bryans on Inwood is a fun place to grab lunch and bring kids. The tiny shack, old wooden desks and decent ribs remind you that you're somewhere else. Around the corner is the less ambient but very good Mike Anderson's with solid brisket and ribs and buffet dishes of sides and good fried Okra. These are both near the hospital so only worth a stop if you're cruising in the car but not far from Hilton Anatole. We ate at Pyles for our anniversary and I was very underwhelmed. A few dishes were fun but straight out of Thomas Keller's cookbook. When I tried to applaude the Keller compliment the waiter insisted that it was all Pyles invention. I didn't find much inventive at all. The "ceviche with citrus and popcorn" was just shrimp ceviche with a small side bowl that had about 10pieces of plain popcorn. The taste combo was interesting, but the description implied complexity that was lacking. We had very odd, pompous service that night but that might have been one person. Still, the menu itself had some solid cooking, some weak execution and nothing very innovative at prices nearing 100pp for food I'd expect a LOT more creativity and skill. I've hear good things about Local and would love to hear more from the folks who dined there. We had a tasting menu at Abbacus with the chef as guests of friends and some dishes were stellar but many were off and again I felt that aside from very modern stackings, they were mostly as complex as bistro food. I think the most exciting unusual things in Dallas to eat are in the ethnic neighborhoods. I LOVE INO (http://www.dallasobserver.com/locations/ino-japanese-bistro-4670) which is about 20mins from the city and has the ambience of an office in a strip mall (which it basically is). My husband found it for my first birthday in town by searching for good udon on anime blogs (see why I love him!). The menu is full of foods I've never tried despite a few visits to Japan. It's like Japanese tapas. The Chawan mushi is perfect. twisted root is a fun hotdog stand for the kids with good grub and you can park there and take the dart to fair park if you want to hit museums or events. Chaat house in Irving is on the way from the airport and we always stop there for legit Indian vegetarian street food. Enjoy!

We spent one night in Victoria without a car and decided it was Disney's Canada...quaint, small, but artificial feeling and it's a town that belongs to the tourists. didn't feel like we saw a local (or a street without souvenir shops) the entire time. Others have told us you need to explore elsewhere on the island and get out of the city. We went to the small "chinatown" even though hotel told us the neighborhood was dangerous and had decent Chinese and walked late and played pinball at a huge arcade so still a fun night, but I wouldn't go out of my way (or risk the long border delays) to go.

Hi Chufi, My husband and I just got back from our honeymoon there. One of our favorite meals was from Wild Coho. Really excellent execution, friendly service, Great combos and the Chef used fresh veg in his sauces in a really unique way. and major emphasis on fresh local produce. I would really recommend Port Townsend for a stay. We found it really charming. Their is a great organic blueberry farm you can visit near town, and tons of beautiful romantic vacation rentals to have your own private suite all seeming to fall in the 120-150 range. Send me a msg if you want names and numbers for the places we stayed, but it also seemed like you couldn't really go wrong. We also hit a brew pub on the mainstreet for great fish n' chips and people watching and some nice local brews. Maybe I missed something in Port Angeles but we quickly decided to skip it-chain motels and very run-down port feel to it. Pt.Townsend was only about 45mins away and so cute that we just returned there. For our blow out night we went to The Inn at Langley. Big bucks. totally worth it. amazing views and service and a private menu by the chef/owner only sat night (maybe sun too?) and a gorgeous breakfast in a really cute town. then drive north on the islands to the park near deception pass and bbq on the public grills all along the water. If you are going that way, I also second the rec for La Conner. Very cute town-very different feel. More rural, almost like being back in our hometowns in the Midwest. Great sandwich shop in the fruit and veg store and a historic hotel on the main street. Have a great time. It's beautiful there.

Hi all, First post. Very happy to see some food guidance. I thought this town was tiny until I see that folks are recommending great places I never heard of blocks from my front door. Hooray! My new husband and I are putting our old dating anniversary to rest with one final fancy-pants meal so I'm grateful for the wish lists. I'm also curious but squeamish about Blue Pepper as I hear such inconsistent and mixed reviews. I have, however, been to De Kas which we absolutely loved. It was last year's anni dinner so the details are hazy but I remember some really inventive tomatoe cumin butter starter paired with scallops as one of many crostini. Best foodie feature though was the tour of the greenhouses with one of the chefs. He saw me peeking around and offered to walk me through. I learned the Dutch names for a lot of fresh herbs and got to taste a pluck of everything we passed. The place just glows at night (it's in a greenhouse in the middle of a park) and rates very high on the gezellig list. I was not too impressed with the very limited wine list since it is a fixed menu and yet the wine pairing didn't always work. But the prep and service were really warm and pro and the food and atmosphere were great enough that Jas and I were actually willing to commit to a return visit on the spot. (We usually always want to try something new so we rarely back track). I agree with Markemorse's chinatown synopsis. The key is really what you are craving. We are old Chicagoans and miss the spicy Szechaun. Amsterdam is a Cantonese neighborhood (even the Mandarin names I know for my fav dim sums don't help me order around here.) But if you want roast duck, homemade egg noodles, or fried tofu in a good oily brown sauce New King is the place. And Nam Kee next door has homemade shrimp dumplings (fried or in broth), and great stuffed eggplant (aubergine) and tofu. But if you miss the burning hot food of American China towns, go to one of the markets in the Nieuwemarkt and buy yourself some fresh Cilantro and some Moeder's brand "fried crisp chili oil" and stirfry up with onion, ginger, garlic and meat of choice. Okay, I can see my novice posting ability is shining through in my extra long post. Plus now I'm craving shrimp dumplings so I'll need to stop typing and start boiling! (You can buy them in the narrow hallway store next to Lattei) Look forward to reading more recs. Anybody have a favorite weeknight place in the Jordaan?