Dallas Dining Suggestions

[rasputin1072]

hey, I am from Kentucky, but I will be going on a trip to Dallas early next month and I was wondering if anyone had some dinning suggestions for me. I will be attending a fundraiser at the MAnsion on Turtle Creek, held by chef Dean Fearing, so food will be taken care of for one day, but i gotta find my food for the two other days. Thanks.

[Mnehrling]

Within a couple of blocks of where you are at are a lot of good places.

One place I frequent often near the Mansion is Texas de Brazil, a Brazilian style steakhouse. I would go there for the salad bar alone -it is probably the only restaurant salad bar that I don't turn my nose up at.

TdB is actually on Turtle Creek Blvd about 2 blocks southwest of the Mansion.

Other restaurants in your general neighborhood include:

Cremona- Italian- right next to TdB

Enigma- about two more blocks south of TdB on Turtle Creek Blvd

Dream Cafe on Howell is great for a organic healthy break

[Lyle]

Within a couple of blocks of where you are at are a lot of good places.

One place I frequent often near the Mansion is Texas de Brazil, a Brazilian style steakhouse.  I would go there for the salad bar alone -it is probably the only restaurant salad bar that I don't turn my nose up at.

TdB is actually on Turtle Creek Blvd about 2 blocks southwest of the Mansion.

Other restaurants in your general neighborhood include:

Cremona- Italian- right next to TdB

Enigma- about two more blocks south of TdB on Turtle Creek Blvd

Dream Cafe on Howell is great for a organic healthy break

←

Enigma closed about three years ago.

rasputin1072, what type of food/price range are you interested in? You're in a greatly varied area of town.

Sorry, my question was to the wrong person.

Edited June 13, 2005 by Lyle (log)

[Richard Kilgore]

Welcome rasputin 1072. As Lyle mentioned, we will be able to be more helpful if you can fill us in on what types of food you are interested in, a price range, and whether or not you will have a car and are open to dining away from the immediate area of The Mansion. Breakfast, lunch and dinner?

[misstenacity]

This is in complete disgregard for which part of town you will be in, but here goes:

I had my first tasting menu at Lola a couple of years ago and it was excellent and a bargain at $55 for ten courses.

Also, I love anything coming from a Monica Greene kitchen. She has (at least?) 3 restaurants in town:

Aca y Alla

Pegaso

Ciudad

Enjoy your trip!

Andrea

http://tenacity.net

[rasputin1072]

Hey, i guess that does need some clarification. I am looking for mid-scale dining. Upscale casual if you will. When I was in Dallas last year, the only place I went was a vietnamese restaurant near the mansion. It was good, but not as good as the more authentic places here in Louisville. I will have a car and will probably be looking for both lunch and dinner. Thanks for all your help.

[Richard Kilgore]

Okay, now we're narrowing it down. That still leaves about 999 restaurants to choose from, so let's try to focus it a bit more so we can be more helpful. Beyond upscale casual and authentic, can you tell us anymore about 1) the types of food you are interested in trying here, and 2) price range for lunch and dinner, or a daily average you want to work within --- $50, 75, 100, 200?

Mid-range, upcale casual only, or were you looking for some inexpensive "authentic" places, too.

Mexican, Tex-Mex?

Other Latin American?

Asian, SE Asian?

French, Spanish, Italian?

Other?

[Allen]

It would be difficult to spend any time in Texas without taking in a steakhouse or southwestern cusine. Del Frisco's and Pappa Bro's Steakhouse are two high end steakhouses. Perhaps Star Canyon for regional fare. Cafe Pacific for seafood. Eatzi's is an interesting market / bakery / cafe concept. I've read Abacus has won another major award.

It's been a while since I've been in Dallas but I'm sure the locals could provide many more options.

[robyn]

Hey, i guess that does need some clarification. I am looking for mid-scale dining. Upscale casual if you will. When I was in Dallas last year, the only place I went was a vietnamese restaurant near the mansion. It was good, but not as good as the more authentic places here in Louisville. I will have a car and will probably be looking for both lunch and dinner. Thanks for all your help.

←

We were in Dallas last month (vacation). Of the restaurants we dined at - La Duni and Ciudad were mid-scale. We liked both of them - and they're pretty close to Turtle Creek. Robyn

[bhoward]

Enigma and Star Canyon, mentioned above, are both long gone. Lola has the best food in town IMO and is very reasonable given the quality. The wine list is also excellent.

[rasputin1072]

Thanks for the suggestions. I am in Dalas right now. The only place I have eaten so far was here at the mansion, a 5 course dinner lastnight. It was so good I can't even describe it. The Dishes were:

-a roasted fig with thyme bacon goatcheese

-Mansion Tortilla soup with chicken, avocado, and cheddae cheese

-Warm Lobster Taco with yellow tomato salsa and Jicama salad

-Yukon River Peking style salmon with Mu Shu vegetable crepe and Ginger Tempura Lobster Salad

-Texas Prime Steak "Diane" with Queso Fresco potatoes, Griddled Asparagus and Chorizo Avocado Nacho

-Mission Creme Brulee with Raspberry Sauce

Thanks for all your help. I'm going to Lola for dinner tomorrow night.

[Richard Kilgore]

Thanks for the report, rasputin1072. Please let us know about your dinner at Lola.

[jende]

I'm going to Dallas for business soon, and after all the business bs is taken care of my husband will join me there for some weekend fun. Can someone recommend a couple delicious, funky/laid-back, local-flavors kind of restaurants? High-end/stuffy isn't our scene, but we do appreciate very good food and wine, and don't mind paying for it.

We're staying at the Belmont Hotel, if that helps, and we will have a car (but prefer to be able to cab or stumble back to our hotel). Thanks!

[Kevin72]

Looks like you'll be very close to Lola. As you can see there's some unevenness to it but there's also some good food and brilliance here and there.

There's also York Street. A bit more reliable, but further up the road from you, maybe 10-15 minutes.

Then there's Dragonfly which, after a bumpy start, has settled into a fun groove of food and interesting menu items. It's kind of a scene, though. Fun people-watching (and people making-fun-of).

If you're up for a drive to Ft. Worth, there's Lanny's.

[JennyUptown]

Hi there - another first time Dallas visitor, but different part of town. I'm staying by the Galleria. What would you recommend as I'm trying to avoid chains or other uninspired stuff. No sushi, no Thai. Mexican would be great, but other than the aforementioned qualifiers, I'm open.

[Richard Kilgore]

Hi Jenny - it might help if you could tell us a little more about your preferences, including price range, whether you will have a car and how much time you have to get to a restaurant. Wide open spaces and all that, but some places near the Galleria.

[jsmeeker]

tasty and laid back? Go get some brisket tacos at Mia's

[planojim]

At the Galleria is Oceanaire Seafood. Somewhat expensive, but good.

Near the Galleria is Snuffers for a burger and great cheese fries.

Nates for good cajun seafood, although I don't think crawfish are in season anymore

Blue Mesa serves some real good Southwestern/tex mex kind of food.

Gloria's serves good El Salvadoran food.

Sambuca is a good jazz place (for people that like that) that serves decent food.

If you're into beer, there is a Flying Saucer nearby as well. LOTS of microbrews on tap.

[jsmeeker]

Hi there - another first time Dallas visitor, but different part of town.  I'm staying by the Galleria.  What would you recommend as I'm trying to avoid chains or other uninspired stuff.  No sushi, no Thai.  Mexican would be great, but other than the aforementioned qualifiers, I'm open.

←

Flying Fish in Addison. Very popular. Lots of outdoor seating.

[Swicks]

Hello all,

I will be in Dallas on business next week for three dayse and wanted to get a few suggestions for some good meals...

A few thoughts:

Good Tx BBQ? I know Dallas isn't the best spot but some suggestions for decent 'cue?

A nice dinner? I was thinking perhaps Craft, but will take some other suggestions, it will most likely be just myself so a bar dining situation is idea.

I am from Southern California and we obviously have quite a lot of very very good Mexican food around here, so Mexican or Tex Mex really isn't a priority unless there are some absolute can't misses.

Thanks for all the help!

-SW

[TBoner]

Well, Sonny Bryan's is probably the "classic" choice for barbecue in Dallas. The location on Inwood is the original. I've not had a bad meal there.

I'd say you can't go wrong at Craft, but York Street is unique to Dallas and very, very good.

There are other options in both categories, but those are the two things that leapt to mind immediately.

Edited October 6, 2007 by TBoner (log)

[planojim]

Stephen Pyles has a great bar dining area. It's a tapas/ceviche bar....but I'm not sure if you can get the whole menu there. Here's a link to the tapas menu:

http://stephanpyles.com/menu-tapas.asp

Abacus is a great restaurant, near downtown. I was there a couple of weeks ago, and I'm pretty sure I saw some seats at the bar in front of the kitchen:

http://www.abacus-restaurant.com//indexinner.php

I great area to go to is the Knox/Henderson area. It's on the east side of 75 just a couple of miles north of 75. I've been to all of these, and they all have bar seating.

The Porch:

http://www.theporchrestaurant.com/

Cuba Libre:

http://www.cubalibredallas.com/index.php

Fireside Pies (pizza)

http://www.firesidepies.com/home.asp

The Old Monk (good moules frites)

Bakers Ribs serves pretty good bbq:

http://www.bakersribs.com/

http://www.oldmonkdallas.com/

Tei Tei Robata (sushi)

http://www.teiteirobata.com/intrtopage.html

[majmaj40]

At Stephen Pyles you can get the whole menu at the communal/tapas area. It is a nice place to eat at the bar you can look at the kitchen and the dining rooms. We ordered a combination of appetizers and tapas. Others also were ordering entrees off the menu.

Teppo is another nice good restaurant to eat at the sushi bar - you can order sushi/yakatori/or menu items. People are generally friendly there.

Edited October 8, 2007 by majmaj40 (log)

[Swicks]

Thanks for the suggestions guys!

[jsmeeker]

Thanks for the suggestions guys!

←

I'm pretty sure you would be able to put together a nice meal at the bar at Abacus. The menu has lots of "small plates" in addition to the "big plates" (entrees). Sushi, too. They do a nice job with fish there. Which is great for a place in Dallas, IMHO.

Craft? I went shortly after it opened last year. had a nice meal. Was just there a few weeks a go. Food was still good (though not quite as good as the first trip) and service was good. But the place was DEAD. Also, there is no bar at the restaurant. There is a bar attached to the lobby of the hotel, but it's not the same atmosphere as the restaurant, and I am not sure if the same menu for food is offered (but getting a table for one should be a non-issue).

Of the two, I would pick Abacus.

Dallas has lots of steak joints, so if you like those, you are in luck. I would suggest Nick and Sam's

If you want a good, can't miss Tex-Mex, go to Mia's and get the brisket tacos.