texas tour: dallas, austin, san antonio

We're doing a little tour in Texas this February, starting with a wedding in Dallas, driving to see a friend in Austin, and taking a side trip to San Antonio. I've read a bunch of the posts on BBQ in and around Austin, but can anyone make more recommendations for the other two cities (and between them?), including non-BBQ...

Atalissa,

I might be able to offer some Dallas advice. Is there anything in particular you're looking for? (In the meantime, you should check out the Visitors' Information Guide at www.dallasfood.org .)

Scott

You must get puffy tacos while in San Antonio. I know Scott has pics somewhere. I'd highly suggest Mia's brisket tacos in Dallas.

If you're looking for upscale, I would highly recommend a dinner at Lola's Tasting Room in Dallas. Also, check out Scott's reports on Lanny's Alta Cocina.

I've had lots of business in Dallas the last few years, and most of my dining has centered on old white male expense account meals. That said, Dalls does the genre proud. My forays into other kinds of "fancy" restaurants ended in a series of dispeptic failures (Jeroboam's truly disgusting rendition of cassoulet jumps to mind).

I like Perry's for a forward-thinking steakhouse, much like Keefer's here. I'm a sucker for the old-fashioned vibe and the great meet at the original Bob's. You could sure do worse than the French Room or the Mansion for fine hotel dining. And the Dallas branch of Fogo I think, is neck and neck with Chicago for best in this micro-chain. For overall dining, including cheap/ethnic, Dallas might well be only the third or fouth best town in Texas. But the steakhouses are up to par with the best anywhere, I think.

There've been some downhill alerts for French Room lately and my dinner there was one of the worst upscale dining experiences I've had. I very much like The Mansion, though. Jeff, have you been to Lola's Tasting Room? If not, you should do a quick search on Chowhound Texas and see Scott's several reports. That's one of my favorite upscale dining experiences in the US. Perfectly balanced flavors and textures, awesome deal. Jeff, have you been to Aurora? That's one I'd like to try when I get back.

You might be interested to see this long set of reports I made a while back on a 5 day food trip to Dallas:

http://www.chowhound.com/southwest/boar ... /7434.html

Thanks for the suggestions...yeah, we might not be able to do any *fine* dining while in Dallas, because we'll only be there very late friday night, then we have the wedding on saturday, and we leave for austin on sunday afternoon. But we'd definitely be up for brisket tacos (especially if they stay open late - it would be a great late night snack when we arrive), and we may be able to do one of the steakhouses if they are open for lunch on Sunday (although I'll have to check out the price...)

As far as Austin and San Antonio, though, I'm really looking for some great unique/ecclectic restaurants or cafes in Austin and a great lunch spot in San Antonio. I wouldn't mind a good Italian or French restaurant for dinner, either. Of course, we're going to drive a bit out of our way to hit some of the BBQ joints that have been mentioned, but outside of that, I'm not at all sure what else is good...

extramsg,

Thanks for link to your report...I'm going to try to get to Zaguan and The Mozzarella Co. (god, I love cheese...) and maybe that Liberty Noodles. I don't have enough time for all the eating I want to do. We may hold off on the BBQ in Dallas and hit Lockhart when we're on our way to San Antonio.

Found that puffy taco post. Actually Scott's pics via my post:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?sho ... t&p=629828

They're from Henry's.

Sadly, Liberty Noodles went out of business. Very sadly.

Nick-

Never been to Lola's or Aurora, though I have only heard great things about both. (Lola's especially.)

Such places never fit into the after-work expense account, partner on Atkins plan.

Dallas, like most sprawling "Sunbelt" cities, but maybe more so, is hard to figure out when you are looking for more humble fare. The dichotomy between "going out" (dining at a place sporting valet parking at a Disney-like stand alone structure floating in a sea of parking lot by the tollway, with amazing examples of youth/plastic surgery/tailoring at the bar, and often, quite good but really packaged food/service) and just grabbing something to eat is, I think, more marked in Dallas than anywhere else I've spent much time.

I stumbled onto a few decent Indian and Japanese options among the strip malls of Frisco, Plano, etc. (I assume money and technology brings plenty of both to Dallas, and they need to eat) but usually had a hard time finding info or getting a grip on what's where.

Though I've spent plenty of time in Dallas, and only a little time in Houston, for example, I had a much easier time finding interesting stuff to eat in the latter town -- though I do get the impression that D does better the higher end you go, and that Houston seriously suffers at the mid-high level because of Pappas' hegemony.

Dallas, like most sprawling "Sunbelt" cities, but maybe more so, is hard to figure out when you are looking for more humble fare. The dichotomy between "going out" (dining at a place sporting valet parking at a Disney-like stand alone structure floating in a sea of parking lot by the tollway, with amazing examples of youth/plastic surgery/tailoring at the bar, and often, quite good but really packaged food/service) and just grabbing something to eat is, I think, more marked in Dallas than anywhere else I've spent much time.

There seems to be a lot of truth to that. I think it's often a western thing. There aren't any neighborhoods in Portland, eg, where you can just walk from one place to the next, like on Devon. It's all built around the car and people who basically know where they're going ahead of time. There may be some neighborhood concentrations, but not like in cities like Chicago or NY. We don't have the big variations of a place like Dallas.

It's interesting to note that, eg, Dallas has a Vietnamese population almost triple that of Chicago's. And, of course, they have a pretty large Mexican/Hispanic population, and Indian population. It doesn't seem to me, though, that these have been explored by whites as much as they deserve to be.

I'm in suburban Dallas once in a while to visit family, whose idea of a good restaurant is Olive Garden. Having tired of homogenized food, my husband and I went off one day by ourselves in search of lunch. We came across For You European Cafe in a strip shopping center, a modest but home-y cafe with home-cooked Polish food at good prices. The food was excellent, all cooked right there by the owner, a lovely little lady who was rightfully very proud of her restaurant. We will definitely go back the next time we're in Dallas.

For You European Cafe
910 W. Parker Road
Plano, TX 75075
972/423-2458

http://www.foryoucafe.com/

Carol

Just bringing this back to the top of the list - have two Dallas trips planned for March & April, and want to know if there are any current musts? Also have my annual client dinner there, and would like any rec's for a place that would be good, interesting and appropriate for a business dinner.

One warning: Lola just lost their chef and is as yet untested. So put it on the "wait to see" list.

extramsg wrote:Sadly, Liberty Noodles went out of business. Very sadly.

Good riddance.

I've lived in Dallas, Houston and San Antonio.

San Antonio requires a little "looking" so I'll list a few gems which you'll have to google for more info and addresses:

The Lodge
http://www.thelodgerestaurant.com/
Chef Jason Dady specializing in wild game

OMG! I was about to list Gladys at the Strand and just found out from their website that Chef Thomas Benninger passed away...

Biga on the Banks
http://www.biga.com/
Chef Bruce Auden

Silo Restaurant and Bar

Just to name a few. There are numerous great Tex-Mex Mex-Mex places in town as well... I'll update later.

I know you said you had Austin covered but if you get a chance to go to Jom-Bob's... killer breakfast tacos. Its a small family owned smoke house- a dying breed- out near Lakeway. It sbeen a while since I've been over to Tx... hope the place is still there!?

Don't miss breakfast at Las Manitas Avenue Cafe. Can't be beat on every scale.

Geo

Las Manitas Avenue Cafe
211 Congress Ave
Austin, TX 78701-4021
(512) 472-9357

You must make the hajj to the Mecca of Texas BBQ - Lockhart, between San Antonio & Austin.

Go to Smitty's, Kreuz's or Black's - preferably all three. Do a search here and on CH for details.

extramsg wrote:Found that puffy taco post. Actually Scott's pics via my post:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?sho ... t&p=629828

They're from Henry's.

Any clue as per the specific provenance of "puffy tacos?" I was born @ Herman Hospital(woohoo reality TV) and lived up until my 16th year in Houston. My family, for that matter, goes back 6 Texan generations. Over the course of my 30-plus years I continue to visit the family diaspora all over the state(Marathon, to Denton, to Somerville, to Corpus Christi). I've never encountered a puffy taco. They certainly look yummy, but profligate Tex Mex?" I dunno. It's always possible I just somehow missed them on the menus. Strange.

I'll add that in the 70's a popular TexMex treat was a puffed tortilla covered in chile con queso. Ahhh...Monterey House...how my adolescent self loved thee. But, this "puffy taco" thing is bugging me. Is it a contemporary gussying up or new appelation for an older dish? Of the tons of TexMex I devoured as a youth I don't remember ever seeing "puffy tacos" on the menu.

My understanding is that the puffy taco is a San Antonio specialty. Walsh talks about them and has a recipe in his great Tex-Mex book. Basically, they're just ungriddled raw tortillas fried at a decent temp -- like above 350 -- so that they puff.

Ahhh...I've always enjoyed San Antonio: The Alamo/Ozzy, The Riverwalk/diesel fumes...it's proximity to Aquarena Springs and Camp Warnecke/New Braunfels...but, I must admit the only "meals" I remember from the city involve sipping my dad's sangria and, later, scarfing boxes of liqueur-filled chocolates while reading a copy of Genet's Our Lady of the Flowers. I've never associated San Antonio w/ great food. Perhaps a puffy taco quest is in order[and a sidetrip to see Ralph(pt. trois?) the Swimming Pig, crunch Guadalupe River catfish shack nuggets, and of course, bbq brisket].

I want to do a San Antonio tour of Tex-Mex some day. A lot of Texas food lovers say that San Antonio has the best Tex-Mex in the state. However, I've eaten so little of it, I have no idea.

extramsg wrote:I want to do a San Antonio tour of Tex-Mex some day. A lot of Texas food lovers say that San Antonio has the best Tex-Mex in the state. However, I've eaten so little of it, I have no idea.

Well, again, when I'm in the Hill Country I'm more likely heading towards Fredricksburg or Austin. It makes sense that San Antonio offers good TexMex; traditionally, the Mexican worker corridor extends to Houston/the Gulf Coast and up mid-state.

I am currently planning a trip to Austin and the Hill country in mid-March. So far, I have about 30 pages of notes of various places that I would like to try along the way.

Scott's blog at Visitors' Information Guide at www.dallasfood.org is one of the absolute best resources for restaurants in Texas. He provided ne with some outstanding ideas for my trip to Harlingen and McAllen, TX.

[quote="dicksond"]Just bringing this back to the top of the list - have two Dallas trips planned for March & April, and want to know if there are any current musts?

Mr. Dickson, I haven't been to his newest incarnation but Stephen Pyles recently opened up a namesake restaurant. His food is nouvelle Southwest, which you won't find around Chicago, and his previous restaurants were wonders, including Routh St. Cafe and Star Canyon. I'm sure it's one of the hot places in Dallas and would suggest reservations.

Stephan Pyles
1807 Ross Ave
Dallas, TX 75201
(214) 580-7000

Check out Scott's website http://www.dallasfood.org. He has a tip sheet there, too, his "Visitor's Guide":

http://www.dallasfood.org/photos/visito ... vigsix.pdf

It might be a little out of date. eg, Lola has lost their chef.

He also has a review of Pyles restaurant there.

In Texas, Gas Station Restaurants Serve Roast Duck and Momos

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/t ... c8c05e4c9a

Kind of funny you bumped this old thread Dave. I'm expecting to ride down to Dallas with my brother when he moves this spring. After I arrive I want to extend my stay down there. All options are on the table. I could keep things in the Dallas area and then fly home. I could rent a car and head further out including Austin which has long been on the bucket list. I could also head in a different direction and even drive all the way back home. We shall see.