Where are THE places to eat, see, and stay at in Dallas? (Fort Worth: appointed)

[missboots23]

Hi, I am new to the Dallas area (live in Las Colinas) and my mom and sister are coming to visit from out of state. I want to make this a fun girl's weekend. I was wondering what food places that are unique to Dallas would be go to- Mexican restaurants, brunch, steakhouse, seafood--we eat anything! Also we want to get a nice hotel for one or two nights,have a spa day,and see the aquarium and the 6th floor museum. I want to stay at a hotel close to nice restaurants and somewhere with live music. We may go to the stockyards, but what are other neat things to see or do around Dallas or fort worth? They will be here June 17-22. Thanks! It's overwhelming
to search all over the Internet, and I'm still learning my
way around here!

[TurtleCreek80]

Don't know your budget, but stay at the Hotel Crescent Court, Mansion on Turtle Creek, or the Ritz Carlton and you won't be disappointed. The Stoneleigh is also a gorgeous old Art Deco hotel that is very luxe.

Crescent & Ritz both have very nice spas. Ritz is offering 50% of body treatments (massage, scrubs, etc) every Thursday in June.

My favorite steakhouse is Nick & Sam's. Great bar scene, great martinis, and delicious- albeit expensive-food.

Mi Cocina in Highland Park Village is good Tex-Mex and scene. Be sure to check out the Monkey Bar on the third floor for a tree-top view of the Village. Window shopping is safer at night when the stores (Harry Winston, Jimmy Choo, Carolina Herrera, Hermes) are closed and you won't be tempted!

For brunch, try La Duni Latin Kitchen (Oak Lawn or McKinney Avenue locations). Breadwinner's is also a Dallas brunch institution.

For shopping, there are cute girly boutiques on Lovers Lane just east of the Tollroad (between tollroad & Douglas), in Snider Plaza by SMU, and a few sprinkled in old houses throughout Uptown.

For a fun night out, get dinner on Henderson Ave. The Porch is great casual, as is Neighborhood Services Tavern. Tei Tei is pretty good sushi/ Japanese. Park is the hottest restaurant there, but it can be a long wait. I'd recommend eating dinner somewhere else and then hitting Bar Celine (in the back) at Park afterwards.

I think this should get you going!

[Squirl]

Great food at Via Real right in Las Colinas, by the way.

Also catch a nice meal at Avanti's on McKinney Ave.; they have live music weekends after 9pm so make your dinner reservation for at least 8:30 pm

The 4 Seasons has a very nice spa (Las Colinas)

It will be hot; might want to go to Northpark mall for a stroll

Try to get tickets to a performance at the Winspear Opera House and eat at The Screen Door before the performance (park at the performance center & walk)

[TurtleCreek80]

Ooh, also just thought if you like musicals, Wicked is at the Fair Park Music Hall this month. It is fantastic!

Avenue Q is currently at the Winspear, but may be done by the 17th?

[Lakewooder]

Screen Door: If Mama Cooked This Good, We'd A-Stayed Home - Page 1 - Dining - Dallas - Dallas Observer

"Do get dessert. "A little pillow of heaven" is how my eatin' pal described the lemon pudding souffle. Sweet and tart, it's a puffy yellow cloud of wonderful that must have come either from a generation before or several after the traditional lemon meringue icebox pie. I've never had anything like it, and it's something altogether more wonderful than pie or banana puddin'. For days after our lunch, I get e-mails from my friend that just say "lemon pudding." We want lots more of it. And soon".

[missboots23]

Thanks for all the help! I'm going to look into those suggestions!

[DaveG99]

if your into sushi and a nice atmosphere go to Steel

STEEL Restaurant & Lounge


I love the zebra rolls. The calamari is pretty tasty too.

[Lakewooder]

Better get Wicked tickets soon, they are going fast.

[lrfox]

I probably can't add much more to what others have mentioned, but I just stayed for 5 days at the Crescent... beautiful hotel and well located. We had a blast.

We had some pretty serious suggestions about Mexican food, but our favorite was actually Fuel City's tacos. If you're looking for an elegant sit-down place, it's not Fuel City. However, if you want an interesting experience and great food, give it a shot. It's literally a window in a gas station (right near downtown)... well, actually two windows in a gas station (one inside and one out). The tacos are $1.40 each but they're small (I put down 4 easily with room for more). The Picadillo was by far my favorite. Grab a tallboy at the gas station, park in the shade and enjoy your lunch and watch the longhorn cattle graze. I'm sure the person who recommended it to me is here (I want to say Lakewooder) and I owe then a big thank you. It was one of the trip's highlights.

Eno's on North Bishop Avenue was a great flatbread pizza joint we found too. I don't know if you're into beer, but their selection was great. The neighborhood around Eno's (Bishop Art District) is pretty cool as well.

For sit-down Mexican, we liked the food, service and atmosphere of Ojeda's on Maple. It's not high-end, but it's not dumpy either. The building was warm and inviting and the staff was friendly. I couldn't help but notice all of the "hole-in-the-wall" style places nearby that looked like they may have some great food too, but we didn't have enough time.

We took an afternoon trip to the Stockyards Historic District in Fort Worth which was a nice way to spend a day. A little too kitsch for my tastes, but there's a lot to see and do right around there.

hotwire.com and priceline generally work well for great hotels at decent prices.

[missboots23]

Thanks everybody!!