Places to eat in Dallas

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If you are Vegan or severely health conscious you may want to read on to the next tip. But if every now and then you like to get a good fatty, greesy goodness that makes your heart wail then read on!

I learned about Angry Dog from many of the Dallas publications that are around town. It has received MANY different Dallas foodie awards (see the additional picture of their menu which seems to be a trophy to their establishment or see the additional website I posted). Since I went with such a big group I was glad to get to taste so much food. And the atmosphere was very homey. Wooden tables and chairs were scattered beside the bar that walks the length of the place. TVs are on the wall to catch the games going on, although they aren't gigantic. Angry Dog is a Dallas staple, though. And being in Deep Ellum it has an amazing bar with over 100 different kinds of beer.

***A bit of a warning for those going with smaller children. The bathrooms are kind of raunchy, covered with semi naked celebrity pictures and some risque than others.

Hours:
11 a.m. to Midnight Monday thru Thursday
11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday
Noon to 10 p.m. on Sunday

Favorite Dish: I went with a big group of my family so we got some appetizers. The queso was great, fried pickles were AMAZING and my Angry Dog was fantastic. So good.... But my mom's BLT looked too tempting, which bacon the width of almost an inch, and so crunchy. Everyone loved their meal...So, the hard part will definitely be choosing what you want to eat.

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Dunn Bros is another small coffeehouse chain that I've seen in Houston and Dallas. They have good coffee and an even better atmosphere. It's very similar to Starbucks in that you'll see people studying, reading, and on their laptops when you enter. But the servers are as equally as friendly and the community awareness is inspiring. When I went to this particular store in Addison I found local community happenings on the windows, local papers giving local events, and papers available to read for free laying on the tables.

My favorite thing about Dunn Bros is their community give-back program. Volunteer organizations can sign themselves up and when customers use their give-back card Dunn Bros will give the organizations a few cents from their coffee purchase. My mother signed her organization Operation Lone Star up and they have received some donations through it. You better believe Starbucks surely doesn't do that. The website below also shows how involved Dunn Bros is with the community. Love that kind of a company when supporting with my purchases!

They also have live music every now and then. No one famous, just little coffeeshop players.

Monday-Sunday they close at 10pm
Monday-Friday open at 6am, Saturday 7am, Sunday 8am

"My" location is the one in Uptown, but there are others scattered about the Dallas-Fort Worth area. If you're lucky, you'll get a plate of sweet breads and muffins when you arrive. Atrium is nice for an inside brunch.

Favorite Dish: The aforementioned eggs benedict are perfect!

Despite being part of a chain and having a 1970's disco ball inside the place, it's a cool joint. Nice seating inside and out provides a view of Allen Street, which in the spring is as close to a Paris view you can get in Texas -- lovely trees and flowers! In the summer, the mist fans on the patio provide some respite from the Dallas heat.

Favorite Dish: Vino 100 has a great homemade sangria and a good-enough platter of wine food--cheese, sausage, crackers, fruit.

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My favorite place to go to breakfast is on Restaurant Row in Addison, North of Dallas. It's got a little nicer feel (you could show up in shorts and a nice shirt but I wouldn't wear your jersey and cut offs). The food has a range of breakfast items and some brunch items.

It gets busy after church on Sundays and most weekend mornings from 8am-after 12pm. But it's definitely worth the wait, if you can spare the time. It's not a huge place. There are three small eating rooms but the service is good.

The only downfall are the hours...Wish it was opened later into the afternoon but only because I like it so much.

Hours:
Monday-Friday
6:00 am-2:00 pm
Saturday-Sunday
6:30 am-3:00 pm

Favorite Dish: The food is definitely the best part of coming to Benedict's. Their gigantic breakfast burrito was HEAVEN! Eggs are great, meats are cooked well...pancakes are just as yummy as ever! They have almost everything you could want for breakfast, no matter what your traditions/customs are!

Some others praise their brunch/lunch items like soups and salads but I can never pass up the breakfast here.

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If you've ever wanted to try authentic african cousine, you should hurry up and vistit African Village Restaurant. Although not very fancy, this restaurant has food that will make you want to cry cause it is so good.

They also do take-out.

Favorite Dish: You should ask for the vegetable soup with pounded yam.

Other great dishes are Egusi Soup and Ogbono Soup, both served with Pounded Yam.
The Okra Soup is good also, but not everyone likes the slimy texture.

Also make sure you try the fried plantain and taste an original Nigerian malt drink (non-alcoholic)

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Mexican cusine is great but Meso-American, Mayan Huasteco and Aztec cuisine is quite unexpected. Selected as one of the top ten new restaurants in Dallas for 2006 and also selected as "One of America's Best Restaurants" in Gourmet Magazine!

Things that :
1. Clean table cloths and napkins (cotton)
2. Sparkling clean glasses (no water or soap spots)
3. Clean silverware (again, no water or soap drops)
4. Service is great and amicable.
5. Decor outstanding but the restaurant is too small!

When I go to restaurants, the above are some of the items I consider important. When the kitchen is visible I also check if the staff are wearing something over their head and are dressed in an apron. Service people should be serving from the right and removing plates from the left.

They are opening a second restauant somewhere in Dallas.

Favorite Dish: Pipian

Abacus is billed as contemporary global cuisine and might be considered neuvo American. The feel when you walk in the door is a modern feel that, when you look more closely, could reflect more of the clean lines and muted colours of the modern Arts and Crafts period. The dining room is open yet cozy in the way the booths and tables are arranged. For most of the evening I didn't know there was anyone else in the restaurant even though we were not the only table it sure felt intimate and comfortable.

Our service was fabulous and our server did a great job at coming to the table at just the right time. She was knowledeable and allowed us to pick and choose whatever we wanted.

Favorite Dish: The food at Abacus was incredible. I have to rate it one of the top 3 meals I've had in my life. Recognize that this includes some pre-Katrina New Orleans meals at places like Nola's, Gautreau's, Galatoire's, & Brennan's. Everything was spot-on and had great flavour, presentation and concepts.