Well Dallas, it’s been real but it’s time for me to go home. You have amazing food, nightlife and history. I will miss the crowded Deep Ellum streets, endless steakhouse and BBQ choices, great local Texas brews and the historic JFK sites and memorials. One thing I won’t miss is the freaking HEAT! If it weren’t for my sister going to a Young Living convention in Grapevine, I would have never experienced your scorching potential. This goes without saying, I was there in early August…yes August. 

Out of everything I tasted, sipped, and shopped, I continue to go back to the Buffalo Filet Mignon I ordered at YO Ranch Steakhouse in the West End. WOW! This was by far the best filet I’ve ever had. Let’s take a look:The picture doesn’t give it justice. On top of this 10 ounce delicious display, I loved the fact that YO offered local grass fed beef steaks along with their other menu options. I was tempted, but couldn’t pass up the buffalo. We also ordered the Gouda Mac and cheese and sautéed spinach to go along with it. I chose to pair mine with an also delicious local brew, Lost Gold IPA. I also enjoyed the brew pub we visited in Deep Ellum…Brain Dead Brewing. I wish I were hungry enough to eat more food but the heat was just too much. Their decor was unique, as most brew pubs I’ve visited, but this one really caught my attention. The pictures say it all. The tap handles are on old refrigerator doors!     Dallas – you’ve got amazing food and drinks! If it weren’t for Deep Ellum, I’d have to say you’re lacking something. However, Deep Ellum saved the trip! It is truly an amazing section of an up-and-coming city. We had an awesome time on our last night taking our picture with a selfiestick 😁  

#selfiestick #andtheyregettinganuber #ubersavedus

The streets were hoppin’! Music poured out of the numerous bars and we certainly had our choice of style. There was everything from hard core rock to sweet country and everything in between. Great time. 

Back to the food. 

Ella’s Southern Kitchen:Have you ever had Grits Benedict? I highly recommend them. Creamy cheesy grits topped with two poached eggs, tomatoes, bacon and hollandaise sauce. Yummy Yummy! I was so inspired by this dish I made my own version when I got back home. 

Texas Spice:  
    
  From top to bottom you see tuna tartar tacos (wow these were my favorite!) Shrimp and chorizo flatbread, delicious meatballs, and crab and artichoke dip. I’m getting so hungry remembering how good this meal was on our first night. I have to say though, the service lacked and our waitress forgot about us and we all ran out of cocktails and water. I didn’t like that but the food made up for it. 

Texas Spice was also hard for us to find. It’s located in the Omni hotel and no site we were on said that. We figured it out though. 

Loca Luna Mexican Cuisine:  Food was amazing!! However, my friend got a hair in her margarita and the waitress was not accommodating to a food allergy for someone. This is a nice place but they need to step up the service. All in all, it was ok. I would go somewhere else if I were in this area of Dallas again. We found this place while we were shopping at The Galleria.

CBD Provisions:  We had breakfast here one morning. Again, an amazing meal. I’ve never eaten a breakfast quit like this one. I would love to try this at home when I have the time. Crispy tortilla shells (housemade), scrambled eggs, topped with “melt in your mouth” shredded pork, queso, jalapeño, cilantro and verde sauce. Also garnished with onions and radish. OMG! Props to CBD Provisions. Everything in this restaurant was house made or locally sourced. I loved it! Our waiter was very accommodating as well. He was very helpful with telling us where else to go and what else to see. 

Last but certainly not least…

Pecan Lodge:  Beef brisket, pulled pork, Mac and cheese with some of their special sauce….finger lickin’ good. This was some seriously good BBQ. This place is unique in that it’s nothing fancy but man can they serve a great meal. It was Friday night while we were here and had live music outside on the patio. Music was cool but the weather was not. So, we decided to move on and look for music that was inside. Like I said before, Deep Ellum has so much to offer!

Overall, I was surprised a large city like this didn’t have more to do in its city’s center. I was also surprised at how many homeless there were in all parts of the city. I was pretty nervous at one point actually. We stopped at Union Station to catch the DART (their public light rail train) and thought we were going to get robbed. We were being targeted from all directions. Needless to say, we spent $25 on a 7 day pass and we only used it that one time. Uber saved the day! I love Uber and it was inexpensive to get around the city with them. 

I highly recommend staying at the ALOFT hotel. Our room was incredible:  It’s an old warehouse converted into a hotel. Really nice. 

The grassy knoll: 
Would I go back?  Probably not anytime in the near future but I am certainly happy that I got to experience Big Dallas. One of the things on my bucket list is to visit all 50 states plus Puerto Rico. So on to the next…