If you think Dallas is boring, wait 'til you get to the Hill Country, lol.
M

I think rjw_lgb_ca raised an interesting point about how the Zagat scores are calculated. But would the score for the French Room be lower in San Francisco because if its supposedly greater restaurant star power? Maybe not.

Here is how the Mobil Travel organization rates restaurants. It awards stars to a tiny fraction of the restaurants in each city, essentially the cream of the cream. The number represents the number of restaurants that earned at least one star.

New York: over 300
Chicago: 167
San Francisco: 129
Dallas: 128
Los Angeles: 88
Washington: 85
Boston: 74
Seattle: 73
Atlanta: 70
Houston: 65
Philadelphia: 56

This puts San Francisco and Dallas into a virtual tie for 3rd best restaurant town in the United States. And Chicago is not that far ahead.

What this means: The French Room in Dallas faced some very stiff competition in the Dallas restaurant scene and most likely earned its ranking as the best hotel restaurant in the USA.

hi dabber- I lived in Dallas for 8 years. You most certainly need a car for this trip. Taxi prices are not too bad, if you are only visiting places in downtown. But anything else, even going to dinner not in your immediate area, is going to be very expensive to go back and forth in a taxi. Now, there is DART, the bus/light rail system in Dallas, but this will entail a little bit of walking and planning/coordinating bus/train schedules.

Sorry, I came in to this way late!! Please do have a Shiner Bock beer for me! Enjoy!

dabber, it's kind of Freeman to offer you a beer, and Shiner is quite a good Texas beer by the way, but I'm going to have to disagree with him about the need for a car.

Living in the Adolphus hotel for a few days, the downtown restaurants, and there are dozens, will be in convenient walking distance, as will be the DART rail stations. You will not have to coordinate rail schedules because the trains come every 3 to 10 minutes apart. In fact, the easiest way to reach any part of downtown Dallas will be for you to walk to a rail station, then take a DART train across downtown toward your final destination.

The area of Dallas just north of the downtown area is known as "Uptown" and contains at least 100 restaurants. It is a couple of miles wide and a couple of miles long, and is a cheap cab ride. Even better, its main street, McKinney Avenue is literally lined with restaurants... one after another after another. The Trolley on McKinney Avenue is free of charge, and will take you the 2 1/2 mile distance from downtown, at Ross and St Paul streets, to a shopping and restaurant area called West Village. This "Uptown" neighborhood is easily the most quaint, pleasant and walkable area in the city.

Some destinations on the trolley line are the Hard Rock Cafe, a gallery called the McKinney Avenue Contemporary, with attached theatre, and a playhouse called Theatre Three. Another theatre, this one designed by the architect Frank Lloyd Wright, is a dew blocks away, at Blackburn and Turtle Creek streets. Turtle Creek is itself a beautiful linear park built around a small river.

Another way to reach the West Village in Uptown is via DART rail. Take either a red or blue line train going north, and exit at the CityPlace underground station. From there, it is a 3 block walk to the heart of West Village. For restaurants, I'd recommend the Tom Tom Noodle House, Mi Cocina for Tex-Mex, and the Taco Diner for Mexico City fare. Also, the ice cream shop called Paciugo's is particularly good. The West Village also contains a filmhouse called The Magnolia that shows foreign and "art" films.

Another station with some interesting destinations is the Mockingbird Station district, with several restaurants, some gift shops, and another art film house, the Angelika. It is also a convenient location to a university, SMU, with several performance halls, and the Meadows Museum, specializing in Spanish art from the last few centuries.

Farther out, the Park Lane station on the Red line is close to the mammoth shopping mall known as Northpark. It is Dallas' premier shopping destination, although other shops sell luxury goods.

The Galatyn Park station is adjacent to a major performance hall called the Eisemann Theatre, likely to be having some shows you'd like to see.

The downtown Plano station is next to the high street of Plano... once a small country town and now a major Dallas suburb. Many quaint antique and gift shops.

On the Blue Line, the White Rock station gives you access to the trails around an attractive lake and its walking and bike trails. The lake is a public park and contains a small playhouse and gallery called the Bath House, and also has the Dallas Arboretum, a set of formal gardens and showhouses. Take the #60 bus from downtown if you do not care to walk.

The Red Line going south is adjacent to the Dallas Zoo. People in Fort Worth believe their zoo is better, and believe that you should dismiss Dallas' zoo out of sheer contempt, but the Dallas zoo is big, good, and easy to reach.

Fair Park is a major location for several museums and several bus lines converge there. In about 2 1/2 years, it will have a rail station of its own, but for now, take a bus there. Or a taxi.

I've never visited Lee Harvey Oswald's grave, but he is buried in a local cemetary, I believe in Oak Cliff.

There has always been a place near Dealey Plaza called the "Conspiracy Museum". I don't know whether it's in your guide book, but it gets terrible reviews on Trip Advisor. I thought I'd heard that they lost their lease, but the sign is still there. May want to double check if that is one of your destinations.

Oh, also, if for some strange reason you should want to walk through the triple underpass, you may see a homeless guy or two there, esp. if the weather is not good.

How old are the kids for whom you want to buy gifts? If you want Western wear(boots, shirts, belts), Ft. Worth would be the place to buy it.

The McKinney Avenue Trolley is a visitor attraction in itself. In American usage, a trolley is a vehicle powered by an overhead electric wire, running on the street, starting and stopping with the traffic. This trolley line is a restored antique, with cars almost 100 years old.

The normal schedule has the cars about 15 minutes apart. If you like, the trolley operator will point you to the car barn, just off of McKinney Avenue, and you can have a look at the restoration s in progress, and perhaps purchase trolley souveniers at their small gift shop. And oh yes, you may also pet Sherman, the cat and trolley mascot.

The Mobil Guides guy!

aceplace=xbt2316, how we've missed you! The worthless statistics! The fly-against-reality assertions about the worthlessness of World Cities like Chicago and San Francisco-- despite having not visited them.

Like anyone pays attention to the Mobil Guide any more.

You can throw stat after stat at the world, but you cannot turn Dallas into a World City merely by regurgitating meaningless numbers. I've been there many times. I've been bored after six hours. In contrast, I've been to Chicago dozens of times and not only never run out of things to do, I'm sitting here planning my next trip there in my head. Same thing with New York City. And San Francisco.

rjw_lgb_ca, sorry if you took offense. But why were you offended? Because I disagree with you?

I don't know why you think I'm down on Chicago, I think it's a great town. If this XBT2316 poster doesn't like it, I guess that's his business. And if you don't like Dallas, that's your business.

If you can't find anything interesting to do in Dallas, I wouldn't want to trust your advice about the place... I'd sooner listen to people who CAN discover interesting things to see and do.

I use resources like the Mobil guide and others because I dont have time to check out the thousands of restaurants in Dallas and other major cities. I generally trust their reviewers to make reasonably objective judgments. The business success of guides such as Fodors, Mobil, Frommer, etc., depends on their credibility.

Dabber was not asking for a recommendation of what American city to visit. He is visiting Dallas for a specific purpose. Please respect that.

Ace... good info about DART.

missypie
the kids are aged from 2 to 13,I would like to buy some cowboy boots for myself and my wife while we are there,have found a place called Wild Bills in Dallas or would Fort Worth be better?
The pound is quite strong against the dollar at the moment,about $1.88 to the £,what sort of daily budget,food transport etc. would be advisable as I dont want to run out of cash,is it easy to get cash from a bank on my credit card or can you use the card to pay for meals,cabs and shopping?
I think that the grave of LHO is very hard to find as it is unmarked?
Only 5 weeks on Saturday till we make the trip,what will the weather be like in March?

I am trying to think of an instance where you would need cash instead of credit cards. I carry very little cash. I guess you will need cash for public transportation and tips. Short of that, I can't think of much. (You can check the Sixth Floor's web site to see if they take credit cards.) Even lots of fast food places (like most McDonalds) now take credit cards (not that you will want to eat fast food).

You can eat a good meal at a casual restaurant (sit-down, perhaps burger, barbeque or Mexican - not fast food)for $20-$30 for two of you. I've learned from this board that restaurant prices in Dallas are quite low compared with many parts of the country.

I consider barbequed ribs and Tex-Mex food "essential" meals for you to try. (Plus the Zodiac Room at Neiman Marcus ifyou can fit it in.) I would also highly recommend a good "home cookin'" restaurant meal: chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes and gravy, turnip greens and peanut butter chocolate pie, but my favorite place near downtown closed a while ago. (The food at the home cookin' places is so chock full of fat and other bad things that I guess they've gone out of favor. The folks who used to eat like that every day worked in the fields all day. I don't think they had to worry about calories when they were working outside in the Texas heat 14 hours at day!)

As for weather....with any luck at all it will be fabulous - perfect. That's one thing that is a shame about our having mid-March spring breaks - there are few places we travel where the weather is as good.

Bring rain gear, however. Downtown Dallas is not like Rome, where when there are raindrops, the street vendors appear with raingear to sell. The only department store downtown is Neiman Marcus, and even with a strong pound, you don't want to have to rush to buy raingear there.

I admit that I'm not a frequent purchaser of Western wear, but I do know that Cavenders has a good selection (they have a web site with a store locator.)

I'll start pondering the kid souvineer issue...our stores are filled with merchandise made in China, just like everyone elses' stores. A Western belt or cowboy shirt might be nice. Some kids like Dallas Cowboys jerseys.

If you are really serious about finding the Oswald grave, try http://tinyurl.com/39m8sa. It's a website that gives you directions to get there.

One option for inexpensive food is to eat at the Central Market. Most supermarket ready to eat food is not very good, but the Central Market is very exceptional... there are dozens of ready-to-eat dishes to purchase by the pound (weight). The Market has a dining area with microwave ovens you use to warm the food, and tables to eat from.

To get there, take the DART Red Line north to the Lovers Lane station and walk one block west. The Central Market will be across the street.

Cash should be no problem, there are cash machines everywhere. Just make sure that you know your password or PIN number for your card, and make sure it IS a number. Alphabetic characters cannot be entered into the machines.

Wild Bill's is SO overpriced for western wear!! Honestly, I'd recommend finding a Western Warehouse, Shepler's or Cavender's store. MUCH better prices and selection. There is a Western Warehouse on the southbound service road of I-35 (Stemmons Freeway) near the Market Center exit.

I'm also one of the people who rarely carry cash. The only place you'll really need cash is for DART. Everywhere else takes credit cards, including the Sixth Floor

This is great. I, for one, am thrilled that someone is finally going to use the Dart line as their primary transportation. I look forward to that trip report.

Can you do Dallas with public transit? Sure. But much like any city that was built up in the 2nd half of the 20th century, Dallas is really made for cars, and using Dart is a stopgap at best.

One the food front -- I buy the fact that Dallas is a great food town. However, to me, the allure of Dallas' food is BBQ and Tex Mex. The fine dining is on the same plane as your typical American metro area.

I second a trip to Central Market. I think it would impress all but the most jaded of foodies. And yes, there are lots of ready to eat foods. You just can't go back home and tell your friends that all Americans shop at places like Central Market; their research shows that most folks shop there only on occasion (they are trying to change that.) But Central Market is way cool.

For Mexican food near downtown, if you don't go to Iron Cactus (which is walking distance from your hotel), take a short cab ride to either Uncle Julios (have a sangria/margarita swirl), Chuy's (they have an Elvis booth and great chile rellenos) or the Blue Goose (you can sit outside there if it's a nice day). Chuy's would put you in an area with decent home-type shopping (home accessories, kitchen, etc.)

Oh also, if you are looking for something to do on Sunday night after dinner, go to Reunion Tower for a drink. It's one of those rotating balls, but the view is nice (walking distance from your hotel.)

Oh! You just made my mouth water by mentioning Uncle Julio's. In addition to the swirl my favorite dish is one that has carne asade and camarones. I haven't been to Dallas in years, maybe I need to find a way. Dabber, do consider this restaurant!

I do LOVE the garlic shrimp at Uncle Julio's...we go for lunch. Also love Chuy's chili rellano...Chuy's is a fun place - I love the decor, especially the floor tiles.

One more thing...Chuy's has very cute and clever t-shirts for sale in kid's (and adult) sizes...would make a good souvenir!!

Hmmm...maybe you should find a way to get to both Uncle Julios AND Chuys!

After reading everyone's suggestions, I'm almost tempted to take a few days off, check into the Adolphus, and explore the city myself.

Hi Dabber and fellow posters! I've enjoyed reading these posts so much. It amazes me that there are over 100 posts for a 5 day trip to Dallas! I told you that folks were passionate about this city (one way or the other)! Who's forming the Greeting Committe for Dabber and his wife?

I've worked in downtown Dallas for 21+ years. It has been a lot of fun to me to try to see the city through the eyes of someone who has never been here before. What might be interesting? What might be unique?

Dabber, I mentioned before that my building (the tall one lit up in green at night) has a bank and multiple ATMs. I should also tell you that it has a CVS, which is a drug store/pharmacy that sells over the counter drugs, cosmetics, snacks, magazines, etc. It is open from 7 am to 6 pm on weekdays. Also, we have a Starbucks, in case you're an addict. Our building is 3-4 blocks from the Adolphus, on the way to the Kennedy sites.

I saw a programme the other day called "the fattest city in the world",it was Houston!!!It followed several people around,including one guy who spent most of his time eating fast food in his car or finding places like the one where if he managed to eat a 32 ounce steak with salad and fries he got it for free,which he managed!!
Is Houston really that bad ?it had loads of footage of wobbling rear ends and bellies and fast food places are everywhere and compared to the UK the portions seem very large,I like an occasional McDonalds or KFC but prefer something healthier most of the time,can we expect to see this sort of thing in the DFW area/
I would be glad to see any of you once we are out there,surely there cant be too many English couples on a 5 day break at the Adolphus,call in any night and we can have a beer in the Honky Tonk bar.

Given the rivalry between Dallas and Houston, I'm sure glad Houston got the fattest city award!

Lee Harvey Oswald is buried in Rose Hill cemetary on the east side of Fort Worth (my grandparents are buried nearby)...probably not practical given you won't have a car. BTW, while in FW, the Oswald's lived in the same neighborhood. After the Kennedy assassination, his mother, Marguerite, frequently hung out in front of the local grocery store declaring her son's innocence. It was a sad sight, really.

Regarding the fattest city award, Dallas is a decided step better than Houston (although several of us feel that many American cities are a decided step better than Dallas).

I don't think you'll notice any disproportionate "fatness" there. In fact, I think people in Dallas are very concerned about looks. I call it the LA of the southern states, where image is everything.

When I lived there, I was amazed how many apartment dwellers were driving new BMW's and Volvo's, and getting their hair redone weekly.

Hi Dabber! My husband and I would love to have you out for drinks. However, as one of the other posters mentioned, much of Dallas has Spring Break over the week you are here. We're leaving for San Diego on the morning of the 11th. Don't be surprised if you hear from us one way or another when you arrive. I think you've earned a little welcome gift for having to bear the brunt of all the banter on this post.

I think you'll be surprised at all the "beautiful people" who live in Dallas. It is right up there with LA, believe it or not. You just have to go to the right places.

You MUST write a trip report, [almost] every American is counting on you. Also, let us know of any new conspiracy theories you uncover. I personaly don't think LHW comitted the assasination on his own.

Is Dallas going to be deserted that week then/

Not at all. The people who leave town are a portion of us who (a) have school aged kids, (b) can afford to travel, and (c) have jobs that let us get away that time of year (e.g. tax accountants usually can't leave because that is their busy season). That leaves hundreds of thousands of other people.

Quite the opposite, Dabber. I think you'll find even more life in Dallas due to spring break. Lots of families and kids will take the time off and go to museums and restaurants.

For every family who can afford to travel somewhere during spring break, there are probably 20 who stay in town and are looking for things to do.

WOW!! Dabber - you have walked into a landmine! You have probably figured out by now that people have strong opinions on Dallas. I can think of several threads that went something like this:

1. Someone like you was innocently looking on some travel advice for the Dallas area
2. A few locals with good hearts begin to provide some basic, well-intentioned travel advice
3. People from Dallas or from other places who, for whatever reason, aren't very impressed with Dallas and wouldn't think of travelling there for pleasure, begin to point out all that is wrong with the Dallas and Fort Worth area, and why you really should visit any number of 100 other cities first.
4. Aceplace / xbt and a couple other loyal homers attempt to explain why Dallas is a phenominal, world-class city, usually trying to use US Census Bureau stats to prove their case.
5. Repeat 3&4 several times
6. The locals with good hearts continue to try their best to provide some legimate travel advice

I, for one, hope you have a great time in America.

Hazelmn
as this is the first time that I have been on Fodors I didnt really know what to expect and was pleasantly surprised by everyone who gave me advice, being so willing to make my stay as memorable as possible.As you have probably seen my main purpose of visiting Dallas is JFK.
I know that some people have tried to put me off visiting but I have always wanted to see Dealey Plaza etc.Perhaps Dallas is not the prettiest city in the US but I would prefer to visit there than somewhere like Orlando or Miami as I think it will be more representative of everyday life.I dont suppose you get a lot of British visitors??
Thanks to all who took the time to reply to me ,especially missypie , HonestAbe,aceplace,dgg and TTP.

I really do hope you can find time to spend a few hours at the Dallas Arboretum if you have nice weather. Downtown Dallas IS a lot of concrete, but if you go out to the Arboretum, you can see the kind of lovely plants that are grown in many fine yards that you won't have time to see.

My bank has just offered to send me an American Express card that is like travellers cheques in that you can "load" it with say $1000 dollars and then use it to pay for shopping,cabs etc.
Is this a good idea in that it means that I wont have to bring a load of cash,I was going to bring about $1000 to $1500 in cash as well as a credit card,I didnt really want to use my credit card too much and have a big bill when I got home,would prefer to use cash for everything.
Can I use my card in an ATM to get cash,it is one with a 4 number pin code and is the procedure the same as in the UK in that you put the card in the ATM,it asks for your pin,then how much you want ,it then gives you the cash and returns your card,this is how it works in Europe as well,my card is a platinum Mastercard,do they have symbols on the ATMs to say which cards it will take??

The offer you got from your credit card might be OK, but I would choose not to do it. They often charge you a higher interest rate on those special services (such as "pre-loading" a card).

To me, $1,000 of cash sounds like too much and very dangerous. Virtually every decent restaurant, all hotels, any rental car company, and every retail establishment will take your credit card. I would just bite the bullet and put most charges on your credit card, and pay it off as soon as you get home with the portion of the $1,500 cash that you didn't have to bring along. Plus, credit cards often give you among the most favorable exchange rates that you'll find.

Credit cards are so much safer, too. If you lose it, just one call and it is cancelled. Another day or two and a new one would be fed-ex'ed to your hotel.

Regarding PIN numbers, I believe your UK PIN numbers will work here, but call your bank to doublecheck.

I would not bring that much cash. Check with your credit card company regarding cash advances in the US.

I would DEFINITELY charge things (instead of paying with cash) and pay off the bill when you get home.

Check into a debit card. Then you'd have two "credit cards" - use the credit card for hotel and rental cars and similar and the debit cards for cash at ATMs and to pay for restaurants, etc. "Same as cash" - but you don't run the risk of losing a lot of paper money that can't be replaced.

Starrsville... just a note of caution using a debit at a restaurant.
I had my visa debit number, along with the security number, taken at a restaurant.
The thief then proceeded to buy tons of stuff on the internet.
Of course I was only liable for the first 50.00 (or whatever it was back then) but it took quite a few days to get my money credited back to my account.
Now I only use my visa debit card where I can do the payment myself. It NEVER leaves my hand.

Debit cards and credit cards give you the best exchange rate. I would bring both and use my ATM card for cash and purchases. US cabs usually do not take credit cards, but airport limo/car services usually do. I too have had someone steal my debit card number and make purchases, but my bank quickly caught it and made good on it. While it was an inconvenience to wait for a replacement card, I don't think the risk outweighs the benefits and ease of use. My travel policy is to carry enough cash to get me back to the hotel if I have a problem, but not more than I can afford to lose without ruining my trip and my mood, usually $200- $300.. If you have your debit card, you can get cash at banks, gas stations, mini markets, grocery stores, just about anywhere you go. If it has a Visa or Mastercard insignia, you can use it like your credit card and pay for admission fees and meals at most everywhere. The four digit numeric pin you describe sounds like it will work.