Dallas restaurants
 

I have read the Fodor's reviews of Dallas restaurants and choosing one seems daunting. I would like reader's recommendations for authentic Mexican, a good brunch place and a nice dinner place that won't break the bank.

What part of town you are in is a major factor. Uncle Julio's on Lemmon is good Mexican. Mercado Juarez of NW Highway is also acceptable. Cattercorner from Uncle Julio's is Bob's Steak House, in my opinion, the best in Dallas, but far from the most expensive. A very nice Italian option, also on Lemmon is Alfredo's. Very reasonably priced, and very good. Palomino's in the crescent hotel is a fine restaurant at a modest price with a very elegant setting. I have no brunch experience in Dallas.

Mercado Juarez is BAD Tex-Mex. I cannot recommend it! Uncle Julio's, however, is very good. Cantina Laredo also has several locations in DFW and is also good.

What part of town will you be staying in? It will definitely help if we can find restaurants near you. Dallas is a big city, and there's no reason to drive all over the place if you don't have to!

What about Mattito's on Routh at Cedar Springs. Its one of our favorites -- Have to have the 'Bob Anderson' -- queso with ground beef and avocado. YUM. I like Cafe Laredo, too. Great guacamole. Uncle Julio's good, too.

Brunch at Breadwinner's is good. So is Ciudad -- gourmet mexican, if you will. And if you want a fine dining brunch, then definitely The Mansion on Turtle Creek but bring your platinum amex card!

Your location would help a lot.

I heard that Dean Fearing left the Mansion. Is that true?

Yep. Dean is gone from the Mansion.

Anyone know if he's 'cheffing' anywhere else?

His wife and a friend opened up a restaurant in Dallas -- is it Thai or something like that?

For AUTHENTIC Mexican food, Javier's is a must. Not the usual enchiladas, tacos, etc. but Mexico City cuisine. Wonderful.

RE: brunch. If you are looking for the huge all you can eat buffets, try one of the large hotels.

Most anyone who speaks Spanish and knows authentic Mexican food recommends the lower (SW) Maple Avenue restaurants - Avila's may be the best -all are inexpensive. The chains are not remotely authentic.
Our favs in Dallas are Lola; Iris and Suze.
I would go to Stephan Pyles next visit (lived there 25 years).
If you get to Ft. Worth, Bistro Louise has a wonderful Sat lunch/Watel's in D has a wonderful Sun Brunch/lunch - one of very few on Sun.
Buen provecho.
M (SMdA, Gto.)

Agree with Mikemo - Maple Ave is where you'll find authentic Mex.
Also Coquita's on Henderson @ Capitol.

I think the "Bob Armstrong" is at Matt's in Lakewood - La Vista @ Abrams near Lakewood Theater. They have my fave chili rellano. But it's Tex-Mex.

Javier's is always packed with the Park Cities crowd...limos, etc on a Sat night.

Dean is opening a restaurant in the still-being-built Ritz-Carlton...called Fearings, I believe.

Dean's wife and Kent Rathburn's wife opened Shinsei in the old Yamaguchi spot. Had dinner there one night and thought it was so-so - we had expected much more. We'd rather drive to Richardson to Sushi Sake for sushi.

We visited Javier's in Dallas during our recent trip to Texas, and it was absolutely fantastic. I am still kicking myself for not having another glass of sangria.....

I love Kent Rathbun's (not Rathburn) Jasper's in Plano. Very good!
Central 214 is great! I went last week and had crab cakes, butternut squash soup and fried portabella mushrooms. Yummy! I toured Trader Vic's, which is scheduled to open in a couple of weeks. You know that place was boarded up back in the 80's and virtually untouched all these years? They took all the fixtures down and cleaned/repaired them and rebuilt the place... using all the original stuff. Of course they replaced carpet and wallpaper, but they had it made to look just like the original! Anyhoo, it looks like it will be a huge hit!
Next week I am going to try out the new menu at Dragonfly, which Stephen Pyles opened.
Oddly, he sat with my party at Central 214 last week... which is not his restaurant. There was some sort of 'Up and Coming" chef awards while we were at the Palomar. Chef Pyles is a friend of my friend, who was at the table. ;)
I was not too impressed with his new place but chalk it up to my menu selection. I plan to try it again soon.
The DFW area is full of wonderful restaurants.

That depends if you want authentic TEX-Mex or authentic Mexican? For Tex-Mex, my favorites are Chuy's on Knox-Henderson (great neighborhood) and Blue Goose on Greenville (also a fun neighborhood, lots of bars, etc.)
I don't really do authentic Mexican, because Tex-Mex is soooo good! :)

For a nice dinner, let's see... Patrizio in Highland Park Village is delicious, trendy, and reasonably priced ($10-20 per entree on average). Peach bellinis to die for. I love Local in Deep Ellum for unique food. It's a little pricier - maybe $20-25 per entree? (it's been a while since I've been) La Duni is also amazing Latin food with delicious desserts and drinks. Moderately priced also ($15-20ish per entree)

Have you been to guidelive.com? That has the restaurant section of the Dallas Morning News. Their top 100 (http://www.guidelive.com/feature/25/)is excellent, and you can look at each restaurant to determine price and location.

Please tell us what area of town you'll be in. Dallas is a "restaurant town" and there are good places just about everywhere.

I love Cuidad on Oaklawn, Javier's and don't forget about Mia's on Lemmon. All very good and reasonably priced. The green belly button margaritas at Cuidad are delicious.

TxTravelPro, went to Jaspers in Legacy -- is that Plano? I've been several times with my sister for lunch and took my husband last Friday for lunch. It was absolutely spectacular. Great food, service and atmosphere!! Highly recommend that restaurant.

Has the atmosphere changed at Dragonfly? Its always crowded with drunk late-20's wanna-be's. We used to stay there but have passed the last couple of trips. The chocolate dessert was always delicious, though!

As for the "Bob Armstrong", that's what we order when we go to Matitto's -- not on the menu so maybe our friend has it made expecially for him -- it is sooo good!

There are so many great restaurants in Dallas. Can hardly wait to try some on our next trip that have been recommended -- especially the authentic Mexican restaurants on lower SW Maple.

Hit the patios last week -- Toulousse, Ferre and Cru. Oh, and Martini Park at Legacy was hoppin'! You all are so lucky with all of your choices. :(

BeachGirl........Dragonfly is still the same. haha

Havent been yet but my Dallas buds tell me that Dragonfly is "passe".That everyone has moved on to N9NE Steakhouse and Ghostbar at the W Hotel.Not sure I can down a 24oz bone in rib eye, as that is the signature steak.But might try.

I had lunch at Dragonfly Monday and it was wonderful. The menu was new.
Our large group ordered Demon crab cakes, the calamari, ABT Tower, East Dallas Chips and Dip and the Korean BBQ. I had the Magnificent 7 Salad which was very good. We ordered several desserts to share... I can't recall the names of the dishes but one was a mexican bread pudding, a Chambord chocolate cake and a creme brulee. It was all very good.
We saw Pink, who was performing in Dallas later that night.
My dinner experiences at Dragonfly are all early evening experiences and I have not tried the new dinner menu items.
I must admit I am a HUGE fan of the calamari at Dragonfly. It is served like a salad and is just awesome. I would be perfectly happy with that dish alone but my friends insist on ordering too much...
Jaspers is great. Is that in Plano or Frisco? Legacy at the Tollway... I think Plano.
Anyway, the chips with Maytag are so easy to recreate (and better) at home.
I got some of those salt and pepper Kettle chips and sprinkled them with some Maytag and broiled them like nachos. I finished it off with a sprinkle of finely diced pear. YUM!

Just to further elaborate on the blue cheese 'nachos' let me also add that I have made them topped with crumbled high quality bacon, too. It was awesome.
Don't use too much toppings and broil them far from the element.
These are ok as they cool since blue cheese is not really a melting cheese.