I’m not a huge fan of Dallas. My recollection of the place every time I return home from there is that it’s not so much a city as it is a large suburb. It’s not very walker-friendly, for one, and it doesn’t seem to have neighborhoods.
One major development that hopes to address the latter is the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts. While not the first building in Dallas devoted to the arts, the DCPA will serve as an anchor for the Dallas Arts District, a 19-block neighborhood in the middle of the city. Conceived in the 1970s and scheduled to open later this year, the four-venue complex will be home to music, opera, theater, and dance—all in a very walkable, park-like setting. Today, you can enjoy the nearby Nasher Sculpture Center, a museum surrounded by a lush garden that features works from Rodin, Henry Moore, and George Segal.
Another attempt to create a neighborhood feel in Dallas is Inwood Village. It seems that people drive fast in the city, and they all seem to be driving somewhere to shop. Inwood Village is different. Its rhythm is a little slower, and the shopping choices are not so generic.
• Rich Hippie may make you laugh, with items from collections with names like “Old Stud,” “B Chyll,” and “Cancer Sucks.” The owners seem to stock whatever moves them.
• Forty Five Ten, in contrast, will make you gasp . . . at the prices (a poncho for $1,350?). It is fun, though, to see how the richer half lives. The T Room, Forty Five Ten’s café, has imaginative food, is pretty reasonably priced, and offers an opportunity to people-watch Big D’s rich and famous.
Speaking of food . . . Until fairly recently, haute cuisine in Dallas tended to the Olive Gardens and Applebee’s . . . not that there’s anything wrong with that! A couple of local places, however, have added significantly to the food tapestry of Dallas:
• Fearing’s Restaurant—It’s in the Ritz-Carlton, so that tells you it’s not inexpensive, but the buffalo tenderloin with jalapeno grits is fantastic (plus you can feel a little like a cowboy, eating buffalo and all).
• Trece Mexican Kitchen & Tequila Lounge—You’re in a state that used to belong to Mexico, and for which an entire type of cuisine is named, so let me recommend Trece. The chef offers inventive Mexican cuisine and a real tequila bar.
For accommodations, choices abound—mostly chains. For my money, the Joule Hotel wins out (it’s part of Starwood’s Luxury Collection, but not hideously overpriced). The Joule has a little character so stands out among the crowd, and the hotel is in a relatively recently refurbished historic building, which adds to the interest of staying there.
I have outlined a pretty decadent potential itinerary above, so if you need to work off a few calories, check out the Katy Trail. While relatively modest in size, it’s centrally located and connects with a number of other Dallas parks to create a 125-acre parkland in the heart of Big D.
Photo courtesy of Daquella Manera.
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