Deep Ellum
When I'm in Dallas, I like to visit Deep Ellum. Deep Ellum is an ecelctic section of Dallas which offers unique shops, great music and great food - not to mention great people watching, if you are into that sort of thing! I recommend a small club called Blue Cat Blues if you like to listen to live blues. Sol's Taco Lounge, Deep Ellum Cafe and Sambuca are excellent choices for dinner. If you are just going for a drink, the bartenders at Sambuca are excellent and can make anything you want! If you find you are still in Deep Ellum when the lights go out, head for Cafe Brazil. Cafe Brazil on Highway 75 is open 24 hours a day and their crepes make a wonderful late night snack!
Nightlife
So you are bored to tears and there is nothing good on the television...
In addition to Deep Ellum, Dallas is blessed with a number of other interesting and culturally diverse areas of town, each with their own hot spots. Some of these hot spots include: Sambuca (in Addison or Deep Ellum - for dinner or just to enjoy the live jazz), Blue Planet, Red Jacket, the Gingerman, Martini Ranch and any of the many clubs in Deep Ellum. Needless to say, these are just a few of the clubs in Dallas, and since I don't live there anymore I may be a little out-of-touch! There are also many Country & Western clubs if you want to put on your boots and go two steppin'. Of the Country & Western clubs I have been to recently, Cowboy's Red River Saloon and Country 2000 are my favorites.
Concerts
I have also been to a lot of great concerts in Dallas. Most of the country and western concerts I've seen were at the original club called "Cowboy's" in Dallas which, unfortunately, closed it's doors. But, not all of the concerts I have attended were county and western. My taste in music is very diverse. With the exception of only a couple of the concerts listed, I have been lucky enough to experience them front row - center stage (the only way to see a concert!): Tracy Lawrence, Tracy Byrd, Trisha Yearwood, Restless Heart, Toby Keith, Steve Wariner, Marty Stuart, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Lorrie Morgan, Steve Perry, Lyle Lovett, Phil Collins and His Big Band, Third Eye Blind, Eric Clapton, Rod Stewart, Van Halen and Rush.
On August 18, 1996, I won a pass from a local radio station, KDGE, to see Tracy Chapman perform at a soundstage in Los Colinas, Texas. The concert was awesome! There was an audience of approximately thirty (30) people in this informal setting and Tracy Chapman played for almost two (2) hours. She is very talented!!
To check out some great local bands, check out my Dallas Music Scene Page.
Dining in Dallas
If you like to experience great food, Dallas is the place. There are more than 6,000 restaurants in Dallas. I have certain favorites when it comes to dining in and around Dallas. Most of the places I frequent are casual: Frescos and Campisi's for Italian cuisine, Joe's Crab Shack and Daddy Jacks for seafood, The Cosmic Cup for vegitarian fare, Red, Hot & Blues or Big Al's for barbeque, La Madeline for their chicken ceaser salad and yes, the pastries, Uncle Julio's for steak fatitas, and Sal's and Carmine's for pizza - just to name a few. Also great, but a little more upscale, are The Green Room in Deep Ellum (ask to be seated in the "Chef's Kitchen" for more intimate dining) and Mediterraneo in North Dallas.
For more elegant dining, I highly recommend the Pyramid Room at the Fairmont Hotel in downtown Dallas. I dined at the Pyramid to celebrate my birthday, and the meal and the service were both superb!
And of course, there are a lot of great places in Dallas to enjoy a thick, juicy steak. Stone Trail is a fairly new, upscale restaurant in Addison specializing in steaks and seafood. Stone Trail also has a nightclub with a live band. For a more relaxed and informal atmosphere I would recommend the steaks at Texas Land & Cattle Co. and Laredo Grill.
Movies
Dallas has some great places to watch the lastest releases. The AMC Grand Theatre off of Highway 35 and Northwest Highway and the New Cinemark Tinsletown Theatre in Plano are both fabulous. Both theatres have stadium seating with extra large seats. The AMC Grand also features "date seating". The sound systems at both theatres are awesome. With approximately 24 screens at each theatre, it can be very crowded, but it is worth fighting the crowds. At the AMC Grand you call ahead and order tickets and pick them up at the will-call window which makes it virtually hassle-free.
Need more information?
For more information on what to do and where to go in Dallas, check out Yahoo's Guide to the Dallas/Fort Worth Area, Dallas Morning News' GuideLive, Metroplex Daily and Citysearch.
**I moved from the Dallas area in July of 1997.... so, unfortunately, this page may be a bit dated. I have returned to Dallas a few times and have enjoyed many new restaurants and nightclubs. The Yahoo Guide, GuideLive, Metroplex Daily and Citysearch will have the most up-to-date information available on what to do in the Dallas area.
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Copyright © 1996 Karen Patton -
All Rights Reserved.