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[Zebra]

Dallas-Fort Worth is the 4th most populous metropolitan area in the whole country, behind only NY, LA, and Chicago. Each of them has an OT of sorts and I thought north Texas deserved its own given just how many GAF members we have here. Maybe this could finally push us to arrange a meet-up, and here we can talk about developments/events in the area that would otherwise be completely meaningless to the rest of GAF.

I also put together a short guide for GAF members who find themselves in Dallas-Fort Worth for whatever reason.
If you happen to be visiting or are thinking of relocating into the area, please ask questions! We would love to help! DFW-GAF is a friendly bunch.

By Train:
DART Rail Line - Access to Dallas and it's surrounding cities.
Trinity Railway Express - Provides access between downtown Fort-Worth and downtown Dallas.
DCTA A-train - Connects to DART for access to Denton in far north DFW.
There are 140 miles of rail-lines connecting the area. Rail map.

By Bus:
DART Bus System (Dallas)
The T (Fort Worth)
DCTA Connect Buses (Denton and Lewisville)
Metro ArlingtonXpress (Arlington)

By Plane:
If you are flying into D-FW International Airport:
There is direct access to the DART rail system at the airport. This rail can take you directly to downtown. Information here.

If you are flying into Dallas Love Field Airport:
To access the DART rail system you will need to use a DART bus from the airport to connect with a rail station. Information here.

Real talk:
I love our rail system and I use it a lot, but we have a heavily car centric culture and our cities have been designed with cars in mind. You will want a car.
Driving tip: avoid the portion of highway 635 between 35E and 75 like the plague.

To give an idea of the distance between Dallas and Fort Worth in case you are thinking of driving from one to the other, it's only a 35 minute drive. The city of Arlington (where the Cowboys and Rangers play, and the location of Six Flags and the Hurricane Harbor water park) is directly between them, so the drive there is half of that.

"I plan on being in DFW soon. What events will be happening while I'm there?"
Guide Live Calendar
Dallas Observer Calendar

Museums/Zoos/Attractions
The Sixth Floor Museum (Museum detailing the assassination of JFK)
The Fort Worth Zoo
Dallas World Aquarium
Dallas Museum of Art
Perot Museum of Nature and Science
Six Flags Over Texas (worth it for the Titan and Mr. Freeze coasters)
Kimbell Art Museum
The State Fair of Texas (every Sept/Oct)
Addison Oktoberfest (every Sept)
The Dallas Arts District
Fort Worth Cultural District
The Deep Ellum Arts Festival (every Spring)
35 Denton Music Festival (Every March, the week before SxSW)
The Dallas Zoo
Hurricane Harbor Water Park

Parks/Wildlife
Klyde Warren Park - Downtown Dallas
Main Street Garden - Downtown Dallas
The Dallas Arboretum
The Fort Worth Botanic Garden and Japanese Garden
Arbor Hills Nature Preserve
White Rock Lake - Kayak/Canoe/Paddle board rentals here.
Fort Worth Nature Center & Refuge

Conventions
Dallas Comic Con
QuakeCon Video Game Convention and BYOC
A-kon Anime Convention
AnimeFest
SGC Video Game Convention
Texas Frightmare Weekend

Google Maps guide to local sports.

Professional
Dallas Cowboys - Football - Arlington
Texas Rangers - Baseball - Arlington
Dallas Mavericks - Basketball - Dallas
Dallas Stars - Hockey - Dallas
FC Dallas - Soccer - Frisco

Collegiate
University of North Texas - The Mean Green - Denton
Texas Christian University - The Horned Frogs - Fort Worth
Southern Methodist University - The Mustangs - Dallas
University of Texas at Arlington - The Mavericks - Arlington

Others
Byron Nelson Golf Classic (every May)
Texas Motor Speedway
Lone Star Park at Grand Prairie (horse racing)

DFW also hosts a number of minor league sports teams as well.

Dallas is all about food. We have restaurants and we have tons of them. That being said... I need some help from some fellow DFW gaf members to fill out this section. I'm sadly not as familiar with the restaurants in the denser parts of the metroplex.

DFW-GAF recommends:

Barbecue
Pecan Lodge (pictured above)
Off The Bone
Angelo's
North Main BBQ
Three Stacks Smoke & Tap House
Cooper's Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que
Lockhart Smoke House
Hard Eight BBQ
Kenny's Smoke House
Railhead Smokehouse
Sonny Bryan's Smokehouse
Marshall's Bar-B-Que
Tredway's BBQ

Burgers
Twisted Root Burger Co.
Jake's Hamburgers
Off-Site Kitchen
Maple & Motor
Hopdoddy Burger Bar
Liberty Burger
Stackhouse
Goodfriend Beer Garden & Burger House
Rodeo Goat
The Grape (Burger only available for weekend brunch)
Keller's Hamburgers
Burger Street
Kincaid's Hamburgers
LA Burger
Tommy's Hamburger Grill
Grease Monkey Burgers
Bottlecap Alley Icehouse Grill
Angry Dog
Hideout Burgers
In-N-Out Burger (for you easterners, this is as close as In-N-Out gets to you)

Steakhouses
Fogo de Chao
Nick and Sam's
Bob's Steak and Chop House
Brazan Dancante
Dallas Chop House
Al Biernat's
Texas de Brazil

Tex Mex & Mexican
E Bar Tex-Mex
Joe T Garcia's Mexican Restaurant
Fuel City Tacos
Torchy's Tacos
Pepe's & Mito's Mexican Cafe
El Fenix
San Miguel Grill
Ojeda's

American (New)
Bolsa
Whiskey Cake Kitchen & Bar
HG Sply Co.
Smoke
Greenhouse
Hannah's Off the Square

American (Traditional)
St. Pete's Dancing Marlin

Pizza
Cane Rosso
Fireside Pies
Zoli's NY Pizza
Cavalli Pizza
Vito's Pizza

Breakfast/Brunch
Oldwest Cafe

Italian
Campisis

Latin American
LaDuni

Wings
Cocky's Wing Bar

Sweets
Hypnotic Donuts
Fluellen Cupcakes
Dude, Sweet Chocolate


Give me more suggestions! I'll keep updating this over time. Also post some recommendations for the 'things to do' section if you think something worthwhile is missing.

Image credits:

Texas flag map. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Dallas Skyline at Dusk by seanpinto, used under CC / Cropped and resized.
img_7009 by Steve Rainwater, used under CC / Cropped, resized and contrast adjusted.
Dallas Day by Lyn Caudle, used under CC / Cropped, and resized.
Pioneer Plaza by Brett Chisum, used under CC / Cropped, and resized.
Downtown Dallas by Eduardo Merille, used under CC / Cropped, resized, contrast adjusted and color adjusted.
North Downtown Dallas by Cliff Baise, used under CC / Cropped and resized.
Dallas by Vittorio Ferrari, used under CC / Cropped and resized.
Blue hour at the Red Museum by Jim Nix, used under CC / Cropped and resized.
Fort Worth at Dusk by Bo Nash, used under CC / Cropped and resized.
Sundance Square - Fort Worth by JoshBerglund19, used under CC / Cropped and resized.
Fort Worth at Dusk by David, used under CC / Cropped and resized.
Fort Worth Stock Yards Signs by Drew Douglas, used under CC / Cropped and resized.
Fort Worth Skyline by QuesterMark, used under CC / Cropped and resized.
The Lathe of Heaven by Cliff Baise, used under CC / Cropped and resized.
Fort Worth courthouse by Lars Plougmann, used under CC / Cropped and resized.
Fort Worth - Sundance Square night by David Ingram, used under CC / Cropped and resized.
2010 World Series Game 5 by Earl McGehee, used under CC / Cropped and overlaid with text.
Sunny Day at Klyde Warren Park, Dallas, Texas by Curtis Simmons, used under CC / Cropped and overlaid with text.
Mockingbird Station DART rail station Jan 26, 2011 by Neff Conner, used under CC / Cropped and overlaid with text.
Pecan Lodge Barbecue by David Hale Smith, used under CC / Cropped and overlaid with text.
big tex by Steven Leggett, used under CC / Cropped, rotated and overlaid with text.
635 & 75 Fly Over in Dallas by Alexi Kostibas, used under CC / Cropped, constrast adjusted and overlaid with text.
Dallas Fort Worth Airport - Concourse D Atrium by Christopher Patterson, used under CC / Cropped and overlaid with text.
DSC05988 by Bengt 1955, used under CC / Cropped, constrast adjusted, mirrored, and overlaid with text.
DART & Former Santa Fe Railroad Through Truss Bridges over Trinity River on Santa Fe Trestle Trail, Dallas, Texas 1306141011 by Patrick Feller, used under CC / Cropped and overlaid with text.
PB111743 by Tim Allen, used under CC / Cropped, color adjusted and overlaid with text.
Fort Worth Modern Art Museum by Parker Miles Blohm, used under CC / Cropped and overlaid with text.
The Dallas Opera House and Arts District at night by David Ingram, used under CC / Cropped and overlaid with text.
Sunny Day at Klyde Warren Park, Dallas, Texas by Curtis Simmons, used under CC / Cropped, contrast adjusted and overlaid with text.
Reunion Tower by Band!to, used under CC / Cropped and overlaid with text.
Six Flags over Texas by Paul L. McCord Jr., used under CC / Cropped, rotated and overlaid with text.
Trees Dallas by Jax 0677, used under CC / Cropped and overlaid with text.
michel with the free kick by dolanh, used under CC / Cropped and overlaid with text.
AT&T Stadium Panorama by Anthony Roderman, used under CC / Cropped and overlaid with text.
Panorama--Stars vs NY Islanders at American Airlines Center by Ashley Bischoff, used under CC / Cropped and overlaid with text.
Houston Rockets v Dallas Mavericks by Danny Bollinger, used under CC / Cropped and overlaid with text.

 

[oneHeero]

Great OP! I'm in San Antonio but this is great info for a weekend in Dallas.

 

[TheDarkKnight774]

The restaurant section needs beefing up. Dallas is all about the food.

My contribution. Fogo de chao. http://www.fogodechao.com/locations/dallas

Amazing place where it's all you can eat high end meats and an amazing salad bar


Also what about hurricane harbor? It's not the best but it's still pretty good

 

[modnar]

Off the Bone BBQ
Angelos
North Main BBQ

 

[Pagusas]

Thank you for making this, my wife and I are finishing relocating to Irving at the moment and love it. She's there now, I'm closing on my home In Illinois and will be down May 31. This OP will help tramendously!

 

[rocketskates]

Yisssss Angelo's is fucking top notch.

 

[TheDarkKnight774]

Thank you for making this, my wife and I are finishing relocating to Irving at the moment and love it. She's there now, I'm closing on my home In Illinois and will be down May 31. This OP will help tramendously!

Welcome to the area. Most people that come here like to stay. Ie. see the Dallas sports stars

 

[condompickle]

I enjoyed twisted root. I believe that's the one on ellum where they give your weird names when you place an order. That's a fun lil street. Friend lives 5 min from love field. Great city to visit. I could never live there though. Shiner is a decent beer as well. Didn't care for the other local brews.

Oh and what's up with those city titties? I think that's what locals call them, those speed bumps on the roads that look like turtle shells and shatter wheels?

 

[Homeboyd]

Jake's hamburgers is pretty damn good and worthy of the burger joint list imo.

Fireside Pies (pizza) deserves an entire thread of its own.

 

[True Underdog]

About time we had an OT. Good work!

I enjoyed twisted root. I believe that's the one on ellum where they give your weird names when you place an order. That's a fun lil street. Friend lives 5 min from love field. Great city to visit. I could never live there though. Shiner is a decent beer as well. Didn't care for the other local brews.

There are more than one Twisted Root locations but you're right about there being one in Deep Ellum. Good place.

 

[Aeana]

They just built a Twisted Root in Bedford recently, but I haven't been. Will have to check it out sometime.

Fireside Pies (pizza) deserves an entire thread of its own.

lawd yes.

 

[Alligatorjandro]

Love the Dallas area. Have family there so I visit every now and then.

 

[Pagusas]

So you guys are going to help us find a house in a year right? We are renting an apt in the Valley Ranch/Las Colinas area right now. Love the area, but image our money may go farther in the Grapevine/Coppell/Carrollton area.

Definitely need a list of restaurants to try, and unique places to go. We know a bit more about Dallas than we do about Ft. Worth. Our goal over the next year is to explore it all and find the areas we like most, then buy a house there.

 

[spyhunterzero]

Cool, a DFW thread. Just chiming in to represent Dallas and subb

 

[CarpeDeezNutz]

Sounds like this would be fun.

Any people in the DFW area like to cook? I can possibly get a cafe for a meetup that we can cook at if everyone is up for meeting in fort worth. Depends on how many people and whatnot. We could use the kitchen to make our own dishes.

 

[dallow_bg]

I live here!

My current favorite restaurant is Bolsa in Oak Cliff.
Absolutely delicious food.

 

[CyclopsRock]

I didn't even know a place called Fort Worth existed until I read 11/22/63. That book has soured my impression.

I make all my judgements about places based on fictional accounts of time travellers.

 

[CarpeDeezNutz]

Also, if people are in the Fort Worth area "first Friday on the green" is going on. Free outdoor show by magnolia with various local bands.

It's every first Friday of the month.

 

[Cameron122]

Yayyy DFWGAF

 

[Salz01]

Joe T Garcia's is a must if you are visiting Fort Worth. Love that place, good atmosphere and tex mex.

http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/13/164738/restaurant/Northside/Joe-T-Garcias-Mexican-Fort-Worth

The homesite doesn't work on my ipad though.

 

[bucsfan0210]

Burgers:

Off-Site Kitchen
Maple and Motor
Hopdoddy
Liberty Burger
The Grape (Burger only available for brunch on the weekend, named best burger in Texas by Texas Monthly)

Pizza:
Zoli's NY Pizza (same guy behind Canne Rosso)

 

[Pagusas]

Whats the best Steak House?

 

[mugurumakensei]

Whats the best Steak House?

Brazan Dancante is great if you are looking for a Brazilian steakhouse.

 

[jacket320]

Love DFW. Have been displaced out west in El Paso the past four years and am moving to Houston for (likely) a few years next month-hoping to make my way back into the area after that.

 

[Pagusas]

Driving tip: avoid the portion of highway 635 between 35E and 75 like the plague.

Made that mistake when the wife and I drove from Illinois to Irving. So much construction, but given that we are in Irving what other choice do we have but to take 635 to north dallas? Good alternative routes? When is that construction suppose to be done?

Brazan Dancante is great if you are looking for a Brazilian steakhouse.

Never been to one, will have to research that. What about traditional sit down, order a 12oz New York Strip steak house?

 

[tapedeck]

Great thread! Dallas native living in Chicago burbs now. I visit family down there at least once a year so this thread will be very useful. Subbed.

 

[mugurumakensei]

Never been to one, will have to research that. What about traditional sit down, order a 12oz New York Strip steak house?

Nick and Sam's is great, but it is pricey. Of course, most of the really great steakhouses in Dallas are pricey. However, a lot of the chain restaurants such as Texas Land and Cattle are good and don't hurt your pocketbook near as much.

 

[Pagusas]

Nick and Sam's is great, but it is pricey. Of course, most of the really great steakhouses in Dallas are pricey. However, a lot of the chain restaurants such as Texas Land and Cattle are good and don't hurt your pocketbook near as much.

Thank you, thats a great help!

 

[The Lamp]

Driving tip: avoid the portion of highway 635 between 35E and 75 like the plague.

Dear Lord, yes, listen to this man.

Thanks for the great OP.

I'll add some food recommendations. Fuel City tacos and Torchy's Tacos. Man. MAN. And Fuel City is just a gas station but man those tacos are fresh.

LaDuni is expensive but incredibly delicious Latin cuisine. Their dishes often mix cuisine like Brazillian + Cuban, for example.

Also, considered some of the greatest cupcakes on earth, Fluellen Cupcakes. And Dude, Sweet Chocolate is one of the best chocolate shops I've ever been to.

 

[Homeboyd]

Whats the best Steak House?

Texas de Brazil
Bob's Chop House
Dallas Chop House

 

[Pagusas]

Dear Lord, yes, listen to this man.

Thanks for the great OP.

I'll add some food recommendations. Fuel City tacos and Torchy's Tacos. Man. MAN. And Fuel City is just a gas station but man those tacos are fresh.

LaDuni is expensive but incredibly delicious Latin cuisine. Their dishes often mix cuisine like Brazillian + Cuban, for example.

Also, considered some of the greatest cupcakes on earth, Fluellen Cupcakes. And Dude, Sweet Chocolate is one of the best chocolate shops I've ever been to.

But whats everyone using as alternative roads into North Dallas/Galleria? Belt line is jam packed from what I've seen.

 

[BoboBrazil]

Dallas has one of the best grocery stores in the world. Central Market. You will never want to go to another grocery store. I can vouch for Off-Site Kitchen for their burgers. They are incredible, but they are only open during lunch hours during the week so it's hard as a working person to get over there if you don't work in that part of town. Another great burger is at Keller's and they are kind of like a Dallas landmark at this point. At one point Jake's was owned by the same people, but I'm not sure if they still are or not. Both great burgers though. The sesame seed buns really set them apart. If you like donuts hit up http://www.hypnoticdonuts.com/. Get the Homer. Trust me.

 

[Pagusas]

Dallas has one of the best grocery stores in the world. Central Market. You will never want to go to another grocery store. I can vouch for Off-Site Kitchen for their burgers. They are incredible, but they are only open during lunch hours during the week so it's hard as a working person to get over there if you don't work in that part of town. Another great burger is at Keller's and they are kind of like a Dallas landmark at this point. At one point Jake's was owned by the same people, but I'm not sure if they still are or not. Both great burgers though. The sesame seed buns really set them apart. If you like donuts hit up http://www.hypnoticdonuts.com/. Get the Homer. Trust me.

Ive been following construction news and apparently they are building a Central Market on North Mcarthur in Irving :-D Thank god, as the wife and I were already complaining we miss Meijer (Illinois grocery store) and hate going to Walmart or Kroger for stuff.

 

[bucsfan0210]

Whats the best Steak House?

There is one opening up at the Hotel Palomar, called Knife, that has a lot of promise.

It's being opened up under head chef John Tesar, who is extremely talented, but crazy.

 

[Aeana]

Dallas has one of the best grocery stores in the world. Central Market. You will never want to go to another grocery store

Closest one to us is in Southlake, so I rarely get to go, but it is very nice.

 

[The Internet]

I'm going to be in Fort Worth from May 18th - 30th for work training. I have been to DFW twice before and really enjoy my time there.

 

[OdysseusVA]

Best place to rent a horse?

 

[bucsfan0210]

Dallas has one of the best grocery stores in the world. Central Market. You will never want to go to another grocery store. I can vouch for Off-Site Kitchen for their burgers. They are incredible, but they are only open during lunch hours during the week so it's hard as a working person to get over there if you don't work in that part of town. Another great burger is at Keller's and they are kind of like a Dallas landmark at this point. At one point Jake's was owned by the same people, but I'm not sure if they still are or not. Both great burgers though. The sesame seed buns really set them apart. If you like donuts hit up http://www.hypnoticdonuts.com/. Get the Homer. Trust me.

Go to Central Market once a week for lunch.

Off-Site is the bomb. Everything on the menu is great. Pretty excited for them to move over to Trinity Groves.

I still need to go over to Keller's. Definitely cool that you can order beer and drink it in your car.

 

[Jeels]

Enjoyed my 4 month internship in Dallas.

But I still prefer Houston.

Overall though, Texas has great cities that are often overlooked.

Good OT.

 

[EdibleKnife]

To add to the burger joint list, I'll throw my hat in for Rodeo Goat in Fort Worth near the museums. Great, stacked burgers with interesting fixin's.

 

[The_Inquisitor]

Enjoyed my 4 month internship in Dallas.

But I still prefer Houston.

Overall though, Texas has great cities that are often overlooked.

Good OT.

You preferred Houston traffic to Dallas? WTF?

 

[cr_blah_blah]

I kind of miss DFW. I've been living in Austin for the past couple of years, after growing up in San Antonio, but the prices to buy houses and even rent inside the city here is just so expensive.

Grease Monkey Burgers in Arlington has great onion rings. Bottlecap Alley in Grapevine is also really good.

 

[LegendOfGood]

Y'all are making me nostalgic for my childhood. (Grew up in DFW)

 

[Zoe]

Burger Street will always have a place in my heart. Too bad they're only in DFW

 

[CarpeDeezNutz]

No foodies in the DFW?

 

[Aeana]

Burger Street will always have a place in my heart. Too bad they're only in DFW

I live right next to one. Love their shakes.

 

[EdibleKnife]

No foodies in the DFW?

I'm a definite foodie. I can cook but I won't win any contests with my ability. I'd be down for a meetup with other cooks/food lovers.

 

[mug]

The Dallas Observer also has a nice amount of info on the city if you're interested. They also have coupons and contests for free stuff as well.

http://www.dallasobserver.com/

 

[SquashMatch]

I will throw in Campisis by SMU as a suggestion to those looking for good, reasonably priced Italian food. Place has an infamous history as well!!

 

[CarpeDeezNutz]

I'm a definite foodie. I can cook but I won't win any contests with my ability. I'd be down for a meetup with other cooks/food lovers.

Ah ok, I ask cos I will host a Fort Worth meet up if anyone is interested. Gaffers pick up the meat and drinks, we make it at he place. It's fancy as hell (if you look at the neogaf notebook I posted a pic) we could hangout and make our own steaks if anyone is interested.