Dallas - Restaurant Recs near the Intercontinental Hotel?

[medford]

Have a brief business trip next week and have never been to Dallas before. I'm staying at the Intercontinental and have no idea what restaurants are closeby let alone CH good. Any help will be appreciated. B'fast is taken care of but lunch/dinner suggestions appreciated!

[jinet12]

Grill on the Alley or Grand Lux Cafe at the Galleria

[sl1]

Has anyone tried Vue yet? It is in Addison in the Village on the Parkway. This would be very close the hotel. I have heard great things about the chef (Tony Gardizi). I went to a cooking class at the restaurant a while back. The food was great but, I havent been back for dinner yet. I am thinking about going next week for the wine dinner.

[irodguy]

Really Tony is back at it! I took cooking classes and ate many times at the place he worked at in Terrell.

[HalfBaked]

Mr. Dallas says it's a nightclub now.

[irodguy]

Yep they went down the tubes and a restaurant. It's now a nightclub.

[medford]

Thanks for all of the recs. Didn't have a car so ate close to the hotel. Ended up for one dinner at Fogo de Chao. Lots of fun, interesting food, great salad bar. A Fogo just opened in Philly so was interested in what this type of restaurant was all about. Another meal at Kenny's Wood Grill. It was convenient to the hotel and wasn't a chain --great appetizers! Astounding number of restaurants in Addison. Next trip will try to get downtown and also branch out to some 'mexican' offerings. Again, thanks for sharing.

[Kirk]

Glad you enjoyed your meals, Medford!

[irodguy]

While not a foodie experience but a Texas standard I would go across the street and get a Freebirds Burrito, directly across Beltline from you. I would suggest Steak houses several mentioned above for dinner since they are again a "Texas standard" You might also want to try "real Mexican" while you are here. I would suggest Nuevo Leon http://www.guidelive.com/portal/page?..., it's a very good example of Oaxaca food.

[Kirk]

Sorry for calling you a "him," Medford. One of the Dallas posters (Raynickben) can give you a much more informed exegesis of the difference, since she also hails from South Jersey. I'll simply state that, in my opinion, the Italian food in Dallas is not very good.

[medford]

Thanks to you all. Yes, I am from the East Coast--New Jersey Girl in the Pine Barrens. Some folks I will be meeting mentioned something about restaurants in a mall nearby the hotel but I was looking for something a bit more adventuresome. These are great suggestions! I'm curious--how is Dallas Italian different from East Coast??

[ieatdallas]

I agree the Dallas Italian restaurants are more "americanized" with fettucini alfredo, etc than some more authentic places in Italian rich neighborhoods in other cities and also agree there aren't that many good ones here but you wouldn't be disappointed with Ferrari's.

[donnaaries]

If you're in the mood for something cheap and quick, I'd go for a burrito at Freebirds.

[Epicurious Esquire]

Here is my recommendation. Stay close by for lunch. All the above suggestions will do you right.

But at night, you have to travel. Dallas has so many truly world-class dining options.

The best steakhouse in town - Bob's on Lemmon. I ate there last nite and it is hard to describe the perfection of Bob's filet, black and blue.

For a true "foodie" experience, do Lola's.

For a bit of the infamous Dallas "scene", head to Hibiscus.

But if you only have one chance for one dinner, head to Stephen Pyles and get the 8 Ceviche Tasting. Marvelous.

[ieatdallas]

Ferrari's - Italian open for lunch and dinner. Agree with Chamberlains for Steak (dinner only) and Chamberlains Fish Market for seafood (lunch and dinner). Kenny's Woodfire Grill is also pretty good.

[Kirk]

Based on his postings, it looks like Medford is from the East Coast. I would be reluctant to send him/her to Ferrari or any other Dallas area Italian place, with East Coast Italian as context.

[kuidaore]

Kirk, we were going to try Ferrari's because it's been recommended by a couple of people on this board, but maybe we shouldn't bother? We're looking for NYC-quality Italian--ok, not quite, but close. We tried a couple of Italian restaurants here and you know... If Ferrari's isn't good, we were going to give up and settle for Magiano's. (BTW, CPK's portobello ravioli in white sauce is VERY GOOD, better than at most Italian restaurants. The quality is consistent whether you go to CPK in CA, FL or Dallas.)

[ieatdallas]

Ferrari's is more americanized than what you probably are use to but I do think its the best Italian food here - and certainly a few notches above Maggiano's :). The best time to go is when they have a regional food/wine dinner which they do about once a month. They pick a region of Italy and do a 5 course tasting around it with wines paired.

[kuidaore]

Thanks! I'll look for their monthly event on their web site. We like Maggiano's bread (not necessarily main dishes), though we haven't tried it in Dallas yet.

[simply_victoria]

I also like Dream Cafe and Mercy, just over the tollway south of Beltline Mercy advertises as a wine bar, but I think their food is pretty good.

[Kirk]

There are a number of decent places relatively near the Intercontinental, which is located close to Belt Line and Addison (a big restaurant area because the town has long been "wet.") I say "relatively near" because you will need transportation to get to them. Guidelive (the Dallas Morning News' guide) http://www.guidelive.com/portal/page?... lists 301 restaurants in the Addison area.

Here are a few I recommend for consideration:

Thai Orchid (Thai
)De Tapas (Spanish)
Texas de Brazil (Brazilian churrascaria)
Chamberlain's (Steak)
Blue Mesa (semi-Mexican)
The Grill on the Alley (Chophouse)
Queen of Sheba (Ethiopian)