I'm attending a conference in Dallas in May and need a few things to do besides conference-type junk. Looking for the usual (or unusual): good food, fun pubs, funky shops and anything else! I know there are a lot of options in Dallas/Ft.Worth so I'm hoping to get some help in narrowing them down!

Don't know where you're staying, but the West End in downtown Dallas is fun with a good variety of restaurants/clubs and shopping area. Greenville Avenue has many good restaurants - just depends on what you like.

P.S. re: Mexican food - don't let anyone from Dallas tell you that the best Mexican food is at Joe T. Garcia's in Fort Worth. It isn't!

As has been said, the West End is fun. Try Uncle Julio's for grilled Mexican. The bacon wrapped grilled shrimp is unbelievable.

If you are downtown, the West End is fun & for Italian, try Lombardi's. It has Planet Hollywood, Dick's Last Resort & other pub/bar/restaurants. You can take the trolley from downtown to the McKinney area for more restaurants & pubs. If you are younger, try Deep Ellum (just east of downtown on Elm Street)--has clubs, etc. For the West End, you can ride DART, light-rail train. Get the all day pass for $2--as it is $1 for 1 1/2 hrs. you would spend that much anyway. You can take it to Park Lane station & free shuttle to North Park Mall. If you are driving, there are more options. Ask the people at your hotel for meal advise. In downtown, there are ambassadors with red shirts who patrol downtown to answer questions. We have the Stars hockey,
Rangers baseball, etc. The Dream Cafe & La Calle Doce are in Oak Cliff just across the river from downtown. Fair Park has some of the museums & best example of Art Deco architecture. Try guidelife.com for what's happening. That information is also in the Friday Dallas Morning News. Hope you enjoy Big D!

My best advice to visitors is always to pick up a Friday edition of the Dallas Morning News and read the Guide. In addition to a calendar of events for the upcoming week, it also has reviews of most of the restuarants in town! I've lived here for most of my life and I always read the Guide to see what's going on over the weekends!
Some of the best pubs are on lower Greenville Avenue: The Dubliner, San Francisco Rose, and Stan's Blue Note are just a few. Although parking is always difficult to find, it's defnitely worth the hassle! There are also plenty of cool shops down there, too.
Another area to try is Addison- just north of Dallas on the Tollway. Lots of fabulous restaurants!
For something different on a weeknight, try the Granada Movie Grill on Greenville or at Prestonwood Mall- it's a movie theatre with tables & chairs instead of rows of seats, and they serve beer, wine & and food! FUN!