Affordable dining recommendations near DFW?

January 22, 2006 6:31 PM

OutOfTownerFilter: Looking for some good, affordable dining/entertainment in the Dallas/Irving Texas area.

I'm on a consulting gig in the Dallas/Irving (roughly 114 and McArthur) area and will be there weekly for a couple of months. I'd like to find some good, affordable (I'm on ~$50 per day expenses) places to eat, etc. during the evenings. I travel a lot like this and much prefer the local color to the nationwide chains that I can find anywhere.

My preferences, given the locale, would be barbecue, Mexican, or Louisana-Cajun. Any suggestions? Also, does Dallas have any "dinner and a movie" type theatres a la Austin's Alamo Draft House?

posted by hwestiii to food & drink (10 comments total)

Yep: Studio Movie Grill. Two locations. A little less eclectic than the Alamo, but good folks.
posted by First Post at 6:54 PM on January 22, 2006

Yer makin' me miss home with this one, but...

There's an asian place that stays open super late called My Canh over on... Forest and Plano. Maybe Walnut and Plano. Open 'til 1 or so on weekdays and 2-3 on weekends. I always thought that was fun and the food is super good too. Definitely hit up Dickey's or Sonny Brian's for BBQ. Lots of good Mediterranean places where they'll give ya a hookah and flavored tobacco to go with/after/before your meal, but I can't recall names/places. Lots of decent Pho if you want any of that.

The Big Easy in the Valley View mall used to be awesome, but they were bought by some foreigners or something and declined somewhat. Still not bad, though, IMO. The Bone Daddy's off of Spring Valley next to the Loews movie theater surprised me with its tastiness and the waitresses were all hot, but it has a franchisey or maybe just someone-who-owns-a-lot-of-restaurantsy feel to it. As far as mexican, after having so many friends' moms make me food I can't really eat mexican at restaurants unless it's just nachos and magaritas.

If ya like sushi, Sushi Sake at Collins and Campbell (I think, near 75 anyway) is owned by Japanese and not bad. I only suggest because most sushi places are owned by other ethnicities and quite bad. Also, for hibachi go to Kobe Steaks, Belt Line and the tollway. Know that there are very few Japanese that work there (last time I had a korean waitress and a mexican chef), but it really beats the hell out of Benihana's. And you can snack on kaki no tane while you wait.

The range is somewhat limited (mostly around where I used to live), and nothing is there that I would call an exceptional find or representative of what DFW *is*, but if I were back there, they'd be the places I'd go.
posted by GooseOnTheLoose at 8:33 PM on January 22, 2006

Man - Goose listed some good stuff but none of it is anywhere near where you'll be...

Irving is rife with the national chains - you can find all of them on MacArthur between 635 and 114.

I could list on and on here, but e-mail me (it's in my profile) and I'll get more details from you and I can give you some good suggestions.
posted by TeamBilly at 10:31 PM on January 22, 2006

you might try the texas chowhound page. I've browsed around on it a little, and although I know fairly little about my hometown's food, they seemed spot on.
posted by MadamM at 11:11 PM on January 22, 2006

I would hit the Pocket Sandwich on Mockingbird in downtown Dallas. The popcorn plays, one is going on now, are something everyone should experience. It is a quite enetertaining evening that would be within your budget.
posted by busboy789 at 3:15 AM on January 23, 2006

There are many, many restaurants in the area, you'll have no problem finding somethings you like.

Around 10 miles south of 114 on MacArthur, there are a couple of very good "authentic" mexican restaurants. Not very classy, but awesome food, home-cooked style.

Also, see: GuideLive
posted by vjz at 7:27 AM on January 23, 2006

There's a Movie Tavern in Bedford that's probably a quicker jaunt than Addison or Plano if you're staying near where you're working.

Guidelive has all the Dallas Morning News restaurant reviews, and there's a lot of little places listed in there, but the web site's been down more than up the past two weeks. I haven't worked at Macarthur and 114 in a long time, but there used to be some great Indian and Thai places back on Las Colinas Blvd. There's a tiny Thai place at Walnut Hill and Belt Line where everything is really hot but really good, and in the shopping center opposite there's a place called Po Melvins with some fine home cookin'. I can't tell if Las Lomas is still open in Irving (O'Connor and 183), but they do some really good Mexican food, more Yucatan style than what you usually find here.

If Guidelive continues to be useless, check out the listings in the Dallas Observer (and to a lesser extent the Fort Worth Weekly).

My favorite Cajun is Dodie's on Greenville Ave, which is not nearby. Barbecue is a very subjective thing and you may simply be forced to try it all before you decide which one is best. dallasfood.org has been on a Quest for 'Cue for a while now (with some forays into real local Mexican food), though you might end up roaming pretty far afield to follow his recommendations.
posted by Lyn Never at 7:36 AM on January 23, 2006

I used to live in Dallas (not Irving), so everything I say will be Dallas-oriented. Also, some of these restaurants are not "cheap".

My Cajun friends enjoyed:
Razzoo's
Pappadeaux

Both are regional chains, I think.

For BBQ:
1) I second Sonny Bryan's.
2) I don't like Dickey's, but many people do.
3) I loved Red, Hot & Blue (it's Memphis-style)
4) Fogo de Chao (Brazilian, expensive, awesome, chain)

As far as Mexican restaurants go, you simply cannot go wrong in Dallas. I made a point of eating at every Mama y Papa mexican joint in Dallas and was rarely disappointed. And there are zillions of them. Scour the less ritzy neighborhoods to find the best ones. If you're familiar with Austin, you may wish to note that there is a Chuy's on Knox/Henderson.

You might as well start exploring steak joints, because Dallas has some of the best steak in the country. These are going to be really expensive in some cases, you may wish to save these up for occasional splurges:
1) Bob's Chop House
2) Three Forks
3) Pappas Bros.
4) and many more

Another thing that Dallas is getting better about is Indian food. If you like Indiand food, I think you'll be surprised at how many good Indian joints you can find.

BTW, the best chicken wings are at Stan's Blue Note on lower Greenville.

My favorite Middle Eastern joint was Ali Baba. I would drive to Dallas right now for some Shish Tawook if I didn't have to work.

As far as movie/food/beer, the Granada is similar to Alamo (if not as cool/funky).

(On preview: Dodie's!!!!! Lyn Never is right, Dodie's rocks!)
posted by popechunk at 8:04 AM on January 23, 2006

I had the best steak of my life at the Trail Dust a few years ago.
posted by waldo at 8:36 AM on January 23, 2006

Please note that this is nowhere near you - it's probably a...... 20 mile drive, perhaps? But the best mexican food I've ever eaten in my entire life is in North Fort Worth at Beach and Western Center. It's called Molcajetes. Little hole in the wall place by Albertson's. But superb. The shrimp fajitas are to die for, and it's totally fresh - the salsa, queso, tortillas.... all made right there at the restaurant. The same family that owns it are the ones that also own the Mi Cocina restaurants all around the area, but I've never eaten there. So if you can't make it over there, then at least try to find a Mi Cocina.

Salt Grass Steakhouse is also fabu. Many friends that come in from out of town have proclaimed it the best steak they've ever had. It's awesome, and the price isn't going to gauge you (with an appetizer, two can eat for around $40 plus tip). Try the seafood fondeaux (their spelling, not mine), and the beer bread with the homemade butter. There are locations in all parts of the metroplex.

As far as entertainment goes, I have to say the Fort Worth Zoo is very cool. It's one of the top zoos in the country and the weather is about right to go. I went in november and sweat(ed?) my ass off.

And this might be a very ghey answer, but from where I am in North Dallas, it's about a 45 minute drive straight up I35 to the Winstar Casino in Oklahoma. Only slots and blackjack, but friends and I have spent countless hours going there at 3am during the week to people watch.
posted by damnjezebel at 4:02 PM on January 23, 2006