A friend will be working in Dallas (a NW suburb, don't know any more than that) and his wife will be joining him off and on. They are of course hip and clued into the zeitgeist of the times, but probably aren't looking for the type of clubs/restaurants that are favored by the newly graduated college crowd, if you know what I mean. They will have a rental car and money to burn. Any suggestions?
pretty vague. all of the really good clubs and restaurants are in Dallas, not he suburbs... with exceptions of course. impossible to tell you where to go based on your post. unless the name of the suburb is frisco or plano (nw), then the answer is move to dallas.
Thanks for replying. This guy is only going to be there a month or so on business. Are there any good places in that general area (NW'ish?) that wouldn't too far of a drive?
when you say NW, that could mean a lot. i'm assuming he'll be in living/working in the las colinas area since that NW of downtown. as the previous poster said, the areas of town for "hipper" bars and restaurants (read, places with a higher % of texas guidos) will be in addison and in dallas proper. neither places are too far from las colinas--about 10 mins to addison and 15-20 mins to dallas (lower greenville, uptown, knox-henderson, oak lawn, etc). if he wants to stay in las colinas, there's cool river (super douchebag central replete w/ plenty of north dallas divorced moms w/ fake funbags) and bluefish (decent sushi bar/restaurant). other than those 2 places, you're pretty much **** out of luck in las colinas. as for addison, someone else will have to comment because i stayed away from addison at all cost. dallas has some pretty decent bars and restaurants that have the douche factor at a minimun. but i won't comment because this board has had plenty of discussions on dallas bars and restaurants.
actually dallas can be somewhat fun, if you're just visiting. you can indulge in the scene but still escape before you want to kill yourself. the problem is if you have to live there. on the surface dallas is a great city. but dig deeper and you won't find anything. the city lacks a soul.
Keep going west. Stop in Fort Worth. Actually, on second thought, stay away from Fort Worth. It sucks. We already have way too many people migrating over from Dallas.
if it's irving then it's most definitely las colinas. las colinas is in irving, but irving is a dump. las colinas is nice, that's why las colinas is referred to as a separate location. since it's las colinas, read my note above. tell them to go into dallas for hipper bars and restaurants.
I'd add that Republic (the former Uptown douche capital) has opened a huge location in Las Colinas, right on 114. It's a cool looking place, lots of couches and a lounge feel. It seems packed every time I drive by, so there must be a scene. We went once and found an Addison-like crowd. Service was terrible, but we did eat in the dining room and it was pretty good. At least it's an alternative to Cool River. Also, there is a cool sports bar the Gaylord Texan. I would go there if it wasn't such a drive from town. The Texan also opened a club on its property on the lake. I have not been and it doesn't look like my scene, but it may be worth checking out.
top dallas restaurants: dean fearings (inside ritz carlton) abacus javier's mia's al biernat's oceanaire stephan pyles steel bars: the loon old monk corner bar TABC frankie's
one or two small oasis in a sea of **** does not redeem the city as a whole. i'm sure i could find nice things about hell if i had to.
ok, everyone gets it. dallas sucks, blah blah blah...i'm just as certain that people that live up in dallas wouldn't shed a tear if houston were to sink into the gulf. Neither town is NYC, but to say that Dallas is completely without any personality is a farce. Tell your friends to go over to Lakewood, have a nice meal at Kitchen 1924, hop over to the Wine Therapist, hit up Lakewood Landing to get a bit of second-hand smoke, then check out any of the bars on Knox or Henderson area. Sure, some are trendy, uppity crowds, but others aren't.
One of the never ending amusing things about this site is how every city in Texas except Austin sucks yet Texas is the greatest state in the country.
For something a little more laid back, try the Piano Bar at the Mansion on Turtle Creek, especially on a night when Michael Gott is playing. Great music, great voice, great atmosphere, if you like a little conversation and romance. This isn't your typical Dallas bar scene, which I find to be mostly guys practicing their best pickup lines on over-the-hill Cowboy cheerleader wannabes. The Mansion Piano Bar is a little quieter, a little classier - which may fit what your friends are looking for.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- One of the never ending amusing things about this site is how every city in Texas except Austin sucks yet Texas is the greatest state in the country. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- texas is a state of mind. the people make texas the greatest ******* state in the union. the texas guidos try to prevent this from happening, but we don't let them. and from a city perspective, dallas has nothing to offer except restaurants and bars. that's great if you are single or have no kids. you have friends come in town, where do you take them? what things do you show them and let them experience? my guess, bars, restaurants and shopping. imo, colorado or california are the best places to live. the problem w/ those places is the people living there.