Restaurants

Some people find it surprising that Dallas has more restaurants per capita than even New York City, but this shouldn’t be hard to swallow. Texans love good food and Texas restaurateurs know how to put it on a plate.

Of course, you’ll find an ample supply of places in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex that fall into what we like to call the Texas Trilogy—that’s beef, barbecue, and Tex-Mex. Burger places have grown in number exponentially in the past few years, and the population of steak restaurants shows no sign of slowing, the economy be damned. As our Hispanic population grows and the popularity of Tex-Mex food increases among all palates, our supply of food with flavors from south of the border appears bottomless.

Although DFW doesn’t have any Italian heritage, the depth of good Italian dining appears to be getting better. The availability of really good pizza has improved dramatically in recent years, as have options in sushi and other Asian dining. Other ethnic food has come along lately, too, with Middle Eastern a prime example.

We’re still really big on comfort food in Texas; some folks call it country food, others think of it as Southern cooking, and many people just consider it good home-cooking that Grandma provided. We have our share of celebrity chefs, too, and most of them are heading up what are commonly called upscale American dining venues.

There’s far more good stuff to eat than we could possibly cover here, so this is a selective, rather than a comprehensive, guide. One thing is for sure—you won’t go hungry here.

Up until recently, Dallas has been a strict dress-for-dinner kind of city. But Chef Dean Fearing defied the Dallas coat-and-tie dinner protocol when he declared his Fearing’s restaurant at the Ritz-Carlton, Dallas would have no dress code. His former restaurant at the Mansion at Turtle Creek also has done away with the dress code in order to be more inclusive. That said, you can’t stroll into these fine dining establishments in your sneakers and tank tops, even if this is Texas.

You still would not be embarrassed at all in a coat and tie, but for men, nice jeans, a stylish shirt, and good shoes are fine. Similarly for women, you can’t go wrong with a dress, but nice jeans with heels and a chic, tasteful top won’t attract any stares of the wrong kind.