h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I LIVE in Dallas. Admittedly, I like the place a little bit better than digi.intelligentsia does, but I feel all points of view belong here. So if you personally have ever been to Dallas, or you live here like me, feel free to add your thoughts about The Big "D" here, and your comments will be included in later revisions of this guide entry.

I grew up in a suburb of Oklahoma City. Dallas was the place we drove to overnight for "fun"! Of course that's not saying a whole lot, coming from OKC, but still...

Dallas is a quirky little town, like most towns in Texas, and this is a good thing. It has redeeming qualities that *almost* make up for it's shortcomings. For instance - I forget the precise name you Dallasans have given it, but the restaurant district by the Grassy Knoll, with all the cobble-stone roads and the horse-drawn carriages ...very charming, though a bit touristy. And the "Pickle" ...I miss the "Pickle".

I love to visit but I doubt I'd ever live there; it's a bit too Cosmopolitan-Metro-Out-In-the-Middle-of-Nowhere for me. It's also nearly impossible to find anything Downtown given local directions, a map and a compass (ex. Hard Rock Cafe - which is the best I've been to so far). And I can't stand the drivers!! But other than that...thumbs up on Dallas!

Quirky-- yea, I guess I'd have to agree on that point, but all that is neccessary for correct navigation is patience. If you are willing to wander around for a while you don't really need a map, and a compass will just screw you up (the roads follow no cardinal directions) .

The cobbly place is the West End and it has a number of decent resteraunts. My favorite of which is the “Spagetti Wharehouse”.

For real fun though, I would suggest Deep Ellum, an interesting section of town with lots of nice coffeehouses, bars, and tattoo joints.

Deep Ellum. Ah, yes.

Club Dada. Sol's Taco Lounge. The Green Room. The Gypsy Tea Room. The Bone. Club Clearview. Sambuca. Cafe Brazil. Crescent City Cafe. THE place to go to watch goths and rednecks get drunk together in relatively tolerant harmony.

The alcohol is great. The food is above par. Generally the only thing to do is go from bar to bar looking for something to do, but the bands that play there are many and varied. The more eclectic your taste the more you'll enjoy the place.

It really takes off after dark, and on the weekends especially. There's a hole in the wall pizza place that has no name that I know of but their pizza is some of the best I've ever had. They're right off Elm street, across the parking lot from the bar dubbed "Trees."

Body manipulation is very big in Deep Ellum, and there's a series of sub cultures that bubble to the surface in that area. Deep Ellum evolved from the early 20th century when minorities were living together there and making businesses come alive, and blues musicians would entertain each other and anyone who cared to listen. Deep Ellum has always been decades ahead of the rest of the city by way of taste, style, and tolerance of differences in others. It's quite an experience.

If the West End is too touristy for you, next time head for Deep Ellum.

I will! I can't believe I've never been there in all the times I've visited the city...

And the food - you're absolutely right! What I wouldn't give for real honest to goodness Tex-Mex right now. The farther up north you go, the less *flavor* the food has. My grandma still grows her own habeneros. *dreamy sigh*

If bar-hopping is what you have in mind in Dallas, try Lower Greenville. The street switches between one or two blocks of bars and stores and one or two blocks of houses. You can start at the South end of the road at,say, The Flying Saucer (110 different beers on draught, and 100 more in bottles) or The Cavern (good mixed drinks, GREAT music). Head North up Greenville, and you'll pass dozens of bars. Keep an eye out for Mick's, The Dubliner, the Greenville Grill, and the The Red Jacket. By the time you get to Mockingbird Lane, you will have developed a healthy (or not-so-healthy) for alcohol

Although I haven't personally walked Greenville, I drive up and down that strip every now and then. Upper Greenville is a completely different animal.

I grew up in Dallas and now live in a suburb of Oklahoma City. My favorite thing about Dallas will always be the State Fair. When I took drivers ed. in high school, in order to pass the test, I had to get on 635 at Floyd Rd. (now T.I. Blvd. or something) and immediatly cross four lanes of traffic to get onto Central Expressway. Thanks to that early education I have never had trouble driving anywhere in the world.

I just wanted to share the most awesome web site for visitors to Dallas.

The Dallas Visitor's Bureau:
http://www.dallascvb.com/DCVB/Site/1.1.asp

While the site must be forgiven for not including information about Forth Worth, it was the only one which seemed to get everything right as far as the best places to go from the locals' point of view.

> > My favourite of which is the “Spaghetti Wharehouse”.

Yes, I ate there when I visited Dallas. It was cool relief from the horrendous heat outside which no one seems to have mentioned. It is at the same latitude as the Sahara Desert after all.

Perhaps the name of the restaurant led me expect it would be broadly an Italian Ristorante, but it seemed to me to be just be another variety of steak house. The salad was excellent given the weather, but not equalled by the wine list.

The place seemed desperately trying to be cosmopolitan when clearly its roots are beef, oil and yee-ha. Sadly I did not see the Texan sense of humour as at all funny, in fact during my substantial stay in the US, I found Texas to be the least welcoming of all the states I stayed in. "Don't Mess With Texas" for example, is not exactly friendly, or if it is meant to be humourous, I misunderstood; either way it's not welcoming.

I was disturbed by the power of the fundamentalist church and the lack of critical thinking of the followers, particularly those did not seem able to engage in a rational dialogue about their faith.

I also found the gun culture frightening, worse than other states. On several occasions I was told by US friends not to approach people as they may be carrying a gun. Again not welcoming.

I admire the entrepreneurial spirit, but really, the days of the wild west are over if Dallas and Texas want cultural credibility. A new sensitivity is required.

Sorry, Dallas. I did not have a fun time there. (

"Don't Mess With Texas" is the slogan of the state's anti-litter campaign. If you look hard, you may see a fine amount on the sign under the slogan - telling you the penalty for littering in that spot.

Drivers crossing the state are often surprised by the distance between one city and the next. So they tend to buy fast food or whatever else at one city, and then throw the trash out their window when they don't see a convenient place to trash the stuff. (They also tend to run out of gas/petrol, prompting a lucrative industry for towers.)

This infuriates locals, who enjoy the wide open spaces and prefer to think of Texas' open areas as a last remaining outpost of the old frontier, and an independent cowboy-centric haven to boot. This is hard to imagine when your "frontier" is awash with fast food wrappers. Hence the campaign. And yes, it's got to be the worst slogan. Ever.

Onlike many other Southern states, Texas doesn't promote tourism very much. Between the oil fields, stockyards, and new silicon industries, the state can generally afford to give visitors the finger.

> give visitors the finger.

It certainly does.

I'm a cowboy from Fort Worth Texas. I drive a truck and a herd of cattle because I can. I (we) drive women crazy with my bi-sexual girlfriend sexual antics.I beat the hell outta terrorists for fun and profit. Hows that for a starter conversation.

Oh yeah and Fort Worth is called "Cowtown" NOT Dallas!!! Dallas is a city of A-holes.