I think that the law enforcement side is now clearer but it still seems a complicated way of enforcing the law.
Flatfeet,thanks for the info,I do intend to visit Billy Bobs,when is the best time? I want to do a day visit to Fort Worth on the Tuesday or Wednesday of our visit,We will be going on the TRE in the morning and might stay until evening and get a cab back,is there anything going on in the afternoon at Billy Bobs or is it best to go in the evening?Is it easy to get a cab from there back to downtown Dallas,can you phone from the bar or would it be better to put the number of a couple of cab companies in my cellphone,can you recommend any reputable companies that have English speaking drivers?
What is the name of the service provider for cellphones in Texas (the name that will be displayed on my phone screen when I turn it on)
Finally, in a place like Billy Bobs what is the procedure regarding ordering drinks??In the UK when you enter a pub you go to the bar,order drinks,pay for them and repeat every time you want another,do they have genuine scotch whisky over there or is it all like Jack Daniels etc??

Dabber, it may cost you $100 to take a cab from Billy Bob's back to downtown Dallas. DTD to DFW airport costs about $45 and BillyBob's to downtown Dallas is twice the distance, about 45 miles. Also, the cabbie may refuse to take you because he has no chance of a return fare. A Fort Worth cab cannot accept passengers in Dallas, even assuming he can find a passenger in Dallas that is willing to pay $100 to go to Fort Worth.

This may be one instance where you might want to rent a car, but then you have the prospect of driving drunk in a city that you've never seen before, with traffic customs (and police) that are completely alien to you. You stand an excellent chance of spending the rest of your life in Texas.

Perhaps Gilley's in Dallas would serve just as well... it is also a huge honky-tonk of a place, and equally famous, due to a John Travolta movie from the 1980's. Gilleys is just a few blocks south of downtown Dallas.

There are many cellphone providers in Texas. The message that appears on your phone depends on which company you buy the phone from. I honestly don't know if your existing phone will operate in the DFW area, but if it does not, you can purchase a phone locally. Many of the large providers will require a yearly contract, but others are what is called "pre-pay". You purchase the phone and purchase a card that contains a password. You enter the password into the phone and minutes are now loaded into the phone. When you have used your allocation of minutes, you must buy another card, etc. My phone is a prepay, from a company called called TracFone. The instrument itself costs very little, about $20 or so, but the sale of minutes essentially provides the profits for the company. There are several shops in downtown Dallas, such as CVS or Walgreens, that can sell you the phone and the card.

In a bar, you can order drinks one after another, or the bartender can "create a tab". This means that the bartender receives a credit card from you, then keeps delivering drinks as you request. When you've had enough, the bill is settled from the credit card.

I'm sure that a large establishment such as Billy Bob's has any kind of alcohol you would want.

Billy Bob's opens around noon each day, but there is nothing going on until at least 6 PM. They do have a restaurant for dinner, but the food is just OK steaks and BBQ stuff. Statman is very correct that cab fare back to downtown Dallas would be over $100! Gilley's and Cowboys' Red River are better choices in the Dallas area.

As most of you know I am visiting Dallas to see the sixth floor museum,Dealey Plaza etc.,my daughter recently sent me an e-mail with the following information about the assassinations of John F.Kennedy and Abraham Lincoln;-
Lincoln was elected to Congress in 1846
Kennedy was elected to Congress in 1946
Lincoln was elected President in 1860
Kennedy was elected President in 1960
Both were shot on a Friday
Both were shot in the head
Lincolns secretary was called Kennedy
Kennedys secretary was called Lincoln
Both presidents were succeded by southerners
Lincoln by Andrew Johnson born in 1808
Kennedy by Lyndon Johnson born in 1908
John Wilkes Booth was born in 1839
Lee Harvey Oswald was born in 1939
Lincoln was shot at a theater called Ford
Kennedy was shot in a Ford Lincoln
Lincoln was shot in a theater and his assassin hid in a warehouse
Kennedy was shot from a warehouse and his assassin hid in a theater
Both Oswald and Booth were killed before they went to trial.

See snopes.com for information regarding this popular 'pass it on' email that has circulated for many years.
http://www.snopes.com/history/americ...ln-kennedy.asp

aceplace,
Are you suggesting it is not?
M (SMdA, Gto.)
PS after 25 years in Dallas

Dabber, here's another one...

Dollar bills printed in the USA are distributed through one of the regional Federal Reserve banks in the US. The particular bank the bills are destined for is identified by a letter of the alphabet printed on the bill.

The bills distributed by the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank bear the letter "K".

Some of you may wonder about the phrase "dollar bills printed in the USA".

Where else would they be printed?

I understand that many of them are printed in North Korea. And the Korean dollar bills are of a higher quality.

I have been looking at the menu on the Adolphus web site and understand most of the items,some,however, I have no idea what they are,can anyone tell me what the following are;-
breakfast potatos
soft grits
chilaquiles
flat iron steak
jalapeno poppers
I dont think that we will be eating much in the hotel apart from breakfast and possibly room service!!

Hmmm...doesn't sound like a typical "American braakfast." I'll take a shot at it:

breakfast potatos - probably chopped potatoes cooked with onions and bell peppers
soft grits - have you ever had grits? They're in the same family as polenta. Kind of like corn gruel. I love them; others hate them. IF they are liquid (as opposed to congealed), take a small bowl of them and add a bit of butter, salt and pepper. Yum!
chilaquiles - no idea
flat iron steak - no idea-some kind of beef
jalapeno poppers- typically "poppers" are jalapeno peppers, stuffed with cheese, then deep fried....more of a "bar" food than a breakfast food in my opinion. Most places buy these premade and frozen. I'd skip them if I were you, and use the calories elsewhere.

Chilaquiles
Pronounced [chee-lah-KEE-lehs]. This dish is popular from the U.S. border all throughout Mexico and downward into Guatemala because it is a popular way to use stale corn tortillas.

Depending on the dish the tortillas are cut in strips or broken into pieces and topped with a sauce or layered, casserole style. Chilaquiles are frequently eaten as a breakfast food. One traditional variation mixes the tortillas strips with freshly scrambled eggs and roasted chiles.

Okay...kind of like King Ranch Chicken?

s_m,
Great. I thought China.
eb, as probably 90% of the kitchen folks in DFW are from our State of Guanajuato, no surprise there.
M

Google the name of each menu item and you will find descriptions, recipes and even better, photos. That may help...

aceplace,

Regardless of the desireability of Dallas as a place to live, which you (supposedly) proved statistically, if you look at the raw numbers, Dallas does not attract hardly any tourists compared to northern cities such as New York, Boston, D.C. etc... and doesn't even come close to Las Vegas, Orlando, San Diego, and other sunbelt cities for tourism.

Yes, Dallas might be a magnet for workers, but it is not a magnet for tourists.

That is a statistic even you cannot refute.

Problem with grits - not everyone has good grits. I'm guessing the Adolphus has good grits. Dream Cafe has great grits - made with cream and butter and they use polenta (yellow cornmeal).

I've had terrible grits - just about everywhere else...made with only water and salt and whitish looking cornmeal (maybe they were "instant"). Some throw some cheese in there.

I agree about the grits, Pepper...that's why I said to try them if they are liquid and not congealed. I make cheese grits at home...mostly for Christmas and pot lucks...delicious!

Dabber, since we've carried this thread to incredible lengths, I have a question to ask you: Is there some particular reason that that Kennedy assination interests you to such a great degree?

I just went to Dalls last week to see the Gipsy Kings in concert at the Dallas Symphony Hall. I stayed at the Fairmont, which is plush. If you are artsy, Dallas has a fantastic Arts District not far from Commerce. There are children's exhibits too. Also the Medivel Times, is just a short taxi ride away. It is dinner with entertainment by knights jousting on Andulisan horses. Pricey for the food, but the entertainment evens out the value. Dallas has an Aquarium near downtown that is pretty good. ALso there is a lite railsytem so just cause you have no car doesn't meanyou can't travel the city. I am from Oklahoma and believe me it is better to see Dalls without a car- traffice is a killer

missypie,I think that I have mentiond once that I was 15 when it happened,I had been to the cinema and came home to find my mother in tears and she told me what had happened.I knew about Kennedy standing up to Khruschev about the missiles and he was regarded as a hero over here,probably tinged with relief that WW3 had not happened,I also remember watching the Zapruder film and being horrified by it and just decided that I must visit the Plaza some day,now many years ,2 children and 5 grandchildren later we have the time and money to visit and will be there in 3 weeks!!
bkluvsNola, that is why I am visiting Dallas,we could have gone anywhere in the States and hopefully will do in the future,the fact that Dallas does not attract tourists is a bonus for me as I want to see a slice of real life!!

bkluvsNola, a city is not validated by the number of people visiting its casinos (Las Vegas), going to its theme parks (Orlando) or lying on a beach ( Miami Beach). Would it really make a difference to anyone if Dallas built a dozen theme parks and started attracting theme park tourists?

People visit Dallas because it has better shopping than they have at home, better entertainment, food, cultural activities, better film festivals, better weather... and its own unique history... as Dabber can attest to.

As I have pointed out, the quality of a city is measured by the number of people who choose to live there... that's what cities are all about.

Dabber has a perfectly reasonable interest in visiting Dallas, and I'm glad that people are so willing to help him.

dabber,

I just came across your thread and have the following suggestions:

1. Since you watched "Walker, Texas Ranger," why not tour the studio where it was filmed? The Studios at Las Colinas - check out their website and look under "Guest Services" for tour info: http://www.mullerentertainment.com/edu.html

I took the tour several years ago, and at that time they had a set from Walker on display. Interestingly, the doorway for the set was built to be small because Chuck Norris is short and he wanted to look bigger on screen. Las Colinas is a suburb of Dallas very close to DFW airport.

2. Someone previously mentioned Southfork Ranch in Plano (also a Dallas suburb). Southfork was the homestead for the fictional Ewing family on the 80's TV show "Dallas." They have a lot of memorabilia from the show there, such as the prop gun that infamously shot J.R. Ewing, and there is a mansion you can tour which is hilariously, over-the-top tacky. For more info, check out www.southfork.com.

3. If you ever saw the American sitcom, "Alice," (remember the catchphrase "Kiss my grits"?) and wanted to visit a blue-collar diner with sassy waitresses, then check out Mama's Daughters' Diner. Their motto is "Ain't Nothin' Finer" and that should give you a good idea of what to expect. The food is typical Southern fair - tasty but unhealthy. The original location downtown is the best, and I highly recommend you go there. They have a website, too: www.mamasdaughtersdiner.com.

4. First Baptist Church of Dallas is a conservative church (lots of old ladies and men wearing suits), so don't expect a hellfire-and-brimstone sermon. You'd probably find it boring, so I would strongly suggest you attend a megachurch called The Potter's House. Although the church is not in downtown Dallas, it is not terribly far away. The pastor, T.D. Jakes, is a well-known televangelist who is more than capable of giving fiery sermons. Check out www.thepottershouse.org.

Have fun!

I watched a programme on the biography channel tonight about Carlos(Chuck)Norris, how does he look so good for a man who was born in 1940??
Is there any chance of meeting him when we are in Dallas at his karate school or wherever he hangs out (where was CDs bar in Walker filmed)
How tall is Chuck,I am 6 1 and wouldnt really want to look down on him!!

Excellent post Sooner!
At first glance I thought the Walker url was MULLETentertainment.com lol!!
Anyhoo, tose are great suggestions.
Dabber, you really should follow Sooners recommendations!

I think CDs is actually the White Elephant (think that's the name) in the Stockyards - Ft Worth.

Yes, it is the White Elephant. They have Walker stuff all over the place in there.

PLEASE, do NOT waste your time going to Southfork. The place is a true tourist trap, and it is horribly overpriced. Just have someone take your picture by the front gate and be done with it!

I stayed at the Adolphus. Not bad, but really you don't want to be there at all. Try Hotel Zaza. You want to be by the park cities.

Or the Palomar... or The Crescent Court

Its a bit late now,the hotel is booked and paid for!! anyway I think is about personal choice,I read many traveller reviews and the Adolphus reviews were the best in the downtown area and the photos and video confirm that it the sort of hotel that I want to stay in.

Southfork IS touristy, but if you watched the show and are interested in seeing it (a movie is about to come out soon), you may enjoy the short visit there. I was amazed at how small the pool is/was. In the TV show, it looks like Pam swims laps there. It would take, oh, about 2 1/2 strokes to get from one end to the other.

I loved the White Elephant in FW. I went there on a regular basis (instead of Dallas). One weird moment was being on the phone as a friend tried to coax me into joining them as the White Elephant - and on the TV was Lucy walking outside the WE. I took it as a sign - and joined my friends that night :-)

If you didn't watch "Dallas", I'm not sure you would have any interest in Southfork.

I was never a big fan of the Dallas tv series so will not be going to Southfork,will be going to Fort Worth and visiting the White Elephant.
Just checked the hotel ratings again for those mentioned by TTP and julzieluv and found that the Palomar scored 5 out of 5 but was more expensive than the Adolphus which scored 4.7.The Crescent Court scored 3.6 and the Zaza 4.5 and were also more expensive!!

Dabber, the Adolphus is a pretty good hotel. The Palomar is new, the Zaza is a glitzy place for celebrities, the W is for the uber-hip... your choice of hotels is fine.

The Adolphus has a history. It was built many years ago by a St Louis beer baron named Adolph Busch. He is the historic figure behind the well0known Budweiser brand of beer. The brewery in St Louis is famous for maintaining a stable of enormous horses, the Clydesdales, brought out to haul beer wagons on ceremonial occasions. I'm sure the hotel will tell you much more about its history when you arrive.

Also, the building is beautiful... the gargoyles are part of its charm.

I have just picked uo some dollars ready for my visit,they mostly seem to have A1 on them, some have E5 and B2 are these printed in Korea?

stat_man,

You state:
"bkluvsNola, a city is not validated by the number of people visiting its casinos (Las Vegas), going to its theme parks (Orlando) or lying on a beach ( Miami Beach). Would it really make a difference to anyone if Dallas built a dozen theme parks and started attracting theme park tourists? "

Wow, where do I begin. Let me begin with the basics since it seems that is where I'll need to start with you.

Dallas is NOT a tourist destination.

Dallas is a business city, and it's visitors are there on business because they have to, not because they want to. If someone is in Dallas for a week on business, rest assured that they will be going home immediately. If they are on business in San Francisco which has a history and ambiance that Dallas could never create, chances are that they'll extend their stay for a few extra nights.

There are differences between "business cities" and "tourist cities". The best cities in the world, the "alpha world cities", have both. Examples are Paris, New York, and London. For those cities, vibrant business communities and an avid cultural scene and immense tourism sites, usually of historic interest, make it places that people *want* to take a business trip to. Dallas is characterized as a minor world city:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_city

Also, even if Dallas wanted to build the theme park infrastructure that Orlando has, I doubt that they would get the same visitation rates, as (a) the weather in Dallas is much colder in the winter than Orlando and that would cut on tourists, (b) there is not much space to build something on the scale of WDW in Dallas, and (c) visitors to Orlando are close to beaches and other attractions you don't have in North Texas.

Also, gambling is never going to occur in Texas (due to neocons), so Dallas will never become a Las Vegas. Dallas doesn't have much history (except for JFK getting shot), so there's not much to develop in that regard as well.

So, all things considered, Dallas is very fortunate to be where it is today. The founding fathers did about the best they could with a city that was not on a major river in the middle of nowhere...

Longterm, Dallas is going to get more and more crowded, and with that freeways are going to get more and more clogged, the land prices will go up, and the things that make Dallas attractive right now (low pollution, cheap housing) will cease to exist. Then people will be moving to places like Austin, where well planned growth and strict zoning laws as well as plenty of park areas would have produced a densely packed downtown and a generally more agreeable way of life.

I was just reading an article that the biggest source of population growth into Austin right now was from (1) Dallas, and (2) Houston. Reasons for people leaving those cities was that it was getting too crowded, there was not enough planned parks (all available land is handed over to developers that put in either tract housing or strip malls). So the exodus has begun, although there are still more people moving into Dallas than moving out.

In the end, I think we'll all find that the current way of doing things in cities like Dallas, Atlanta, or Phoenix will falter, and cities like Austin, Portland, or other cities will be picking up the slack...

Maybe if Dallas actually had any tourist attractions, we could be talking about those instead of topics like this. After all, this is a tourist board.

bkluvsnola -

Amen. I hope the locals realize that nobody is trying to bash Dallas here. It is a perfectly good city. My whole point is the Dallas is a perfectly good American city, just like 20-30 other perfectly good American cities. Nothing more, nothing less.

Would I move back there? If I got a dream job and the money was off the charts, sure. Would I visit there for pleasure? Probably not, although I do have a couple favorite restaurants I try to hit when I have to go there on business.

Yes, this is a travel website, and I think we've all been able to help dabber make the most of a 5-day trip to Dallas.

bkluvsNola, I followed the Wiki link to see what a "minor world city" is supposed to be. Actually, the correct term is "Gamma" world city. Other world cities in Dallas' class include Amsterdam, Boston, Geneva, Prague and Washington DC. Ranked BELOW Dallas are Rome, Montreal, Bangkok and Stockholm. I think Dallas is proud to be in their company.

Plenty of people visit Dallas for pleasure, about 7 million per year, according to the Texas bureau that collects hotel taxes. In fact, more people visit the city for pleasure than for business. I'll grant you, though, that Orlando has many more visitors to its theme parks than Dallas does. Don't really know what that means.

Does Dallas want to disinvest its high tech industry in favor of tourist hotels? No, high tech industries pay higher wages than hotels and theme parks. Actually, people who visit places like Las Vegas or Orlando are not there to visit and enjoy the city, they're just there for the specific purpose of gambling, floor shows, theme parks, etc. Our friend Dabber is not coming to America to gamble, solicit loose women or to visit Disney... but to find something that only Dallas has.

Dallas-FW has plenty of activities and events that attract people... the Van Cliburn festival, the AFI International Film Festival, the State Fair of Texas, the Fort Worth Stock Show, tons of sporting events, better cultural life than almost any other American city, better restaurants than almost any other American city, better shopping than almost every other American city.

The Dallas-FW area has 6 million people. That means it generates and holds more of anything and everything than the Cincinattis and Omahas of the world. How can a metro with a million people compare with that?

HonestAbe, there are a lot of people who don't agree with your taste in cities. So many people do like the Big D that they come here to live. I'll admit though that I equally have no interest in returning to Boston, Seattle, Amsterdam, Brussels, Baltimore, St Louis, Phoenix, San Diego, San Francisco, Washington, Atlanta. Once is enough for those towns. I did, however, have a recurring interest in visiting Dallas before I finally moved here.

I'd characterize Dallas' visitor appeal as "moderate" or "good". Certainly, other places in the USA attract more people, for specialized activity such as beaches, casinos, theme parks, Revolutionary War history, etc, but Dallas gets a good share of visitors. Because it does have things worth visiting.

<Amsterdam, Boston, Geneva, Prague and Washington DC. Ranked BELOW Dallas are Rome, Montreal, Bangkok and Stockholm. I think Dallas is proud to be in their company>

The same survey ranks Houston in the same league with Dallas. A main criteria of the survey is air traffic. Having an airline hub, and people who HAVE TO connect through your airport, is a poor indicator of a world city.

<Plenty of people visit Dallas for pleasure, about 7 million per year, according to the Texas bureau that collects hotel taxes>

Who's keeping track??? I come to Dallas at least 8 times per year, and never once have declared to my hotel or travel agent what the trip is for.. biz vs. pleasure (BTW - 100% biz)

<Dallas-FW has plenty of activities and events that attract people... the Van Cliburn festival, the AFI International Film Festival, the State Fair of Texas, the Fort Worth Stock Show>

I used to live in Dallas, and never once attended one of these events or knew anyone who did. You mean people actually travel to Dallas to participate? Where was I?

<better cultural life than almost any other American city>

Seriously now, StatMan. When you make a claim like that, you're going to shoot your credibiilty for the entire argument.

<I'd characterize Dallas' visitor appeal as "moderate" or "good". >

Moderate, yes. We agree on that one. Dallas has moderate visitor appeal, and so do about 3 dozen other American cities.

"Maybe if Dallas actually had any tourist attractions..."

.Fair Park Art Deco and its many museums
.Heritage Village in Old City Park
.McKinney Avenue Trolley
.Dallas World Aquarium and Zoo
.Dealey Plaza Assassination Site
.6th Floor Kennedy Museum
.Southfork Ranch
.World Class architecture by Pritzger .Prize winners
.World Class shopping opportunities
.Reunion Tower
.Art Museums such as DMA, Crow Asian Art, Nasher Sculpture, Meadows Spanish, African-American Art, MADI Museum
.Best sports facilities in America
.Arlington theme parks
.Dallas and Fort Worth zoos and botanical gardens
.Fort Worth Stockyards
.Fort Worth Sundance Square
.Fort Worth museums, such as FW Modern, Kimbell, Amon Carter

"...I used to live in Dallas, and never once attended one of these events or knew anyone who did...."

Well, then you're not a good example of Dallas' visitor base. Plenty of people do visit these attractions. And since your taste is so atypical, your opinion is not a good reference for the people who do want to visit the city.

?...The same survey ranks Houston in the same league with Dallas. A main criteria of the survey is air traffic. Having an airline hub, and people who HAVE TO connect through your airport, is a poor indicator of a world city..."

The world cities classification has nothing to do with visitor appeal... it is more oriented to international connectivity...

"...Moderate, yes. We agree on that one. Dallas has moderate visitor appeal, and so do about 3 dozen other American cities..."

Moderate in comparison to NYC, LA, Miami or San Francisco.

Superb in comparison to Cincinatti, Omaha, Portland, Raleigh, or most of the top 36 metro areas.

"...Who's keeping track??? I come to Dallas at least 8 times per year, and never once have declared to my hotel or travel agent what the trip is for.. biz vs. pleasure (BTW - 100% biz)..."

The State of Texas keeps track of hotel occupancy, and the Dallas CVB does sampling of the visitor population to determine the relative proportion of business vs pleasure. I trust their figures... at least more than I trust your perceptions.

There's a larger issue here, Abe. You don't seem to be able to take advantage of Dallas. It has nothing to do with Dallas' array of visitor attractions, but everything to do with your attitude. Now you have a right to like and dislike whatever you want, but everyone should realize that you're speaking only for yourself. Not for the public in general.

statman - If I have made a total of, oh, 100-150 business trips to Dallas in the past 6 years, and I have never once been asked if my trip is for business or pleasure, where are your numbers coming from? Are they all assumptions? Do they profile me based on what I'm wearing when I check in? Is my regular hotel excluded from the analysis?

Yes, when I lived in Dallas and when I've visited, I probably haven't sought out the visitor attractions. I made a point of going to the JFK museum once, and thought they did a marvelous job with it. I have been to many of the restaurants in different parts of town, and think Dallas is a very good restaurant city. I used the park and trail system extensively, which I think is competitive with but not better than the average American city.

There is a larger issue here, Statman. You constantly cite tourist attractions that every decent American city has, and you claim that for some reason Dallas is superior because of it. Think about what you are saying. Dallas is a superior place to visit because they offer the same thing that most cities do. That makes no sense!!

Accept the fact that Dallas is a good but not great city. Granted, every city has their niche, and Dallas has a few. But they hardly have the monopoly on anything in this country, except for concentration of Texas-style BBQ, and JFK museums.

BACK TO THE ORIGINAL POST, which this should be all about, dabber will see a slice of Americana when visiting Dallas, which I think is what he/she is looking for.