need help planning a special birthday celebration for a good man!

November 9, 2008 7:19 PM

Need help planning a special birthday celebration for husband in the Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas area. His birthday is in the first half of December and we mostly just have weekends together. It will be just the two of us celebrating.

Husband is turning 27 and I want to do something special and fun to celebrate his birthday. Does anyone have any ideas to make this a fun and special day on a budget? Also where can I get a super delicious apple pie or a excellent key lime pie? Open to many suggestions to make the day fun and memorable-like a date idea in the Ft worth area. Places to visit? Any special events we might enjoy or want to check out? For example of things He likes is Alamo Draft House in Austin (but we cant roadtrip to Austin this time), Texas, XBox360, computer and electronic things.Im not looking for a gift but mainly for a memorable way to celebrate and for him to surprised!!

posted by Snoogylips to grab bag (7 comments total)

Ft. Worth can be a fun daytrip from Dallas. Hit up the art museums (Modern, Kimball, etc., adjust depending on your taste and willingness to spend time looking at art), go to the Arboretum/Japanese garden, walk around the downtown, eat at a restaurant down there, or go back to Dallas.
posted by MadamM at 8:35 PM on November 9, 2008

Fort Worth museum block is amazing. Kimball, Modern, Amon Carter and Science.

Plus they had some great restaurants around there.
posted by Lord_Pall at 12:20 AM on November 10, 2008

The art museums are fabulous and FREE. The Amon Carter has a huge Western art collection (Remington and Russell) along with American art up to WWII. They also have a world class photography collection. The Kimbell concentrates on what most people consider "the classics", from antiquity to WWII. Their collection is small, but staggering. Finally, the Modern Art museum picks up where the other two leave off, covering, you guessed it, modern art from WWII to the present.

Next, there's the Stockyards. Lots of cowboy goodness to be had there. No trip to Ft Worth is complete without the obligatory stop at Billy Bob's, so head there for a little boot-scootin' and indoor bull riding to top off the evening.
posted by ValkoSipuliSuola at 12:49 AM on November 10, 2008

I completely forgot about the Water Gardens.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Worth_Water_Gardens

They're beautiful and open year round.

Hit the museums in the morning, and then go across the street to The Back Porch. They have soup, salad, sandwiches, and homemade ice cream. Or, you could head down the street to Kinkaid's for an awesome burger. If it's warm, you can lounge around on the lawn at the Kimbell or the plaza at the Carter.

After lunch, go downtown to the water gardens and walk around for a while. Then the stockyards to wander some more and have dinner. Finish off at Billy Bob's.
posted by ValkoSipuliSuola at 1:01 AM on November 10, 2008

Take him to Kalachandji's. That place is one of my favorite places in Dallas. It's an awesome Krishnas vegetarian buffet for $9 lunch and $11 dinner. Food is great and it's in a temple. Very exotic and not expensive. It's not everyone's thing but if you like Indian food and are okay with vegetarian food it's a place you want to know about.

Then go to the Cliff Cafe for apple pie and coffee. After that enjoy the view at the bar of the Belmont next door.

Once in Ft Worth the husband and I (he's also into electronics, games, movie houses) were visiting the museums and there was a model train convention at this place right near the Kimball. It was great fun to visit. Stamp and coin collector convention are fun too.
posted by dog food sugar at 8:40 AM on November 10, 2008

You could take him to see the model Trains at Northpark ($5 for adults)

Other good places for pie:
Mama's Daughter's Diner, or Norma's Cafe.
posted by dog food sugar at 8:59 AM on November 10, 2008

Nthing the Fort Worth museum rounds. If the weather is great (which is 50/50 in early December), definitely hit the Japanese Gardens at the Botanical Gardens. Not so much for pie (Original Pancake House might be an option, and the one on University in FW is generally full of characters), but dinner at Byblos is a good one. They have belly dancers on the weekends (should be cheesy, but is just fun), and the chicken frarej (half a chicken roasted in gobs of olive oil and lemon juice) is an aphrodisiac, I swear. You could make a dinner with room for pie out of that and the meze plate.

You might check the Startlegram and the FW Weekly for cool events around that time. I know he's probably had his birthday Christmas'ed to death already, but if there's a particularly good presentation of Messiah (or Tuna Christmas) or something cool at Bass Hall, it might be worth a cheap dinner to do that.
posted by Lyn Never at 6:43 PM on November 10, 2008