Recs for near Gaylord Texan?
I just cannot bear to eat at another mediocre hotel restaurant just because I'm trapped at a conference there. This time I'll rent a car so I can mosey to some good joints. Can anyone recommend something uniquely Texan (or unusual) near the Gaylord Texan/DFW airport? I'll be alone, and price is not a major factor. (I'm from the SF bay area, so do not need to consider Asian, Italian, sushi places.) TIA!
Claudette
Aug 22, 2007 02:32PM
The Gaylord has a surprisingly good restaurant called Ama Lur. The menu was designed by Stephen Pyles who is still one of the biggest hitters in Dallas. He and Dean Fearing were two of the Dallas chefs behind the Southwestern cuisine movement in the 90s. Ama Lur is pretty darn Texan with good steaks and excellent margaritas.
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I'm not sure how far you want to drive, but these are all about 10-20 min. away....
Agave Azul. (1837 W. Frankford Road, Carrollton, TX 75007). The food is pretty tasty and the margaritas are really good. They have a tequila bar as well.
Babe's Chicken House (1006 W. Main, Carrollton), definitely worth a drive if you like fried chicken or chicken fried steak. http://www.babeschicken.com/
Bin555 in Coppell, a southwestern wine bar & grill is good (http://www.bin555.com/) as is Anamia's TexMex 1900 Long Prairie Road in Flower Mound (http://www.anamias.com/).
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Agave Azul is closed - relocating to Old Town in Carrollton, but in the same strip mall as Agave Azul used to be is Ms. Mary's Southern Cuisine:
http://www.guidelive.com/portal/page?...
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Gaylord's restaurants are far from mediocre, but they are not cheap...
Come to downtown Grapevine and visit the Back Porch. It's just north on Main Street off Hwy 26 (the big road in front of the Gaylord). They have really good food, especially catfish and CFS, and they have live music in the evenings. It can sometimes get a little smoky in there... http://www.backporchtavern.com/
Esparza's mexican in downtown Grapevine is well-known for outstanding margaritas and a kickin' happy hour. It is located right behind the funeral home (not kidding) in downtown Grapevine. http://www.esparzastexas.com/
I can vouch for Babe's in Carrollton. It is good. I just don't know if you want to drive that far. It's more like 20-30 minutes away...
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I suggest The Railhead for the barbecue ribs (and fries, not the slaw and beans) on Highway 121 just southwest of the airport and Grapevine. Take the Hall-Johnson Road exit off 121S towards Fort Worth.
Esparza's does have fabulous, strong margaritas. The rest of the menu is average.
You don't say when you are going, but when I'm on my own in the area, I like South Prairie Oyster Bar in Grapevine. They are very friendly and nice to single diners. Oysters, gumbo, and shrimpy things are great.
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That Railhead location closed in 2006. Bummer...
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I must cosign the Ama Lur rec.....I recently had the most delightful meal there. I had chilean sea bass seared to perfection and tenderly steamed veggies with deliciously whipped purple peruvian potatoes topped with a little fried capellini that added a surprisingly wonderful crunch that went well with all the textures. There is also the Glass Cactus which is the new night club at the Gaylord. They serve fabulous mixed drinks with top shelf liquor and great service. Enjoy!!
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Sorry to say, but the Railhead off Hall-Johnson has been closed for months. The Fort Worth location is still thriving.
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BTW: I didn't mean to diss the Gaylord Texan restaurants, since I've never been there. But I spent 3 days at the Gaylord Palms in Florida, and the restaurants there (like most hotels) were expensive and mediocre. Beautiful hotel, but you could go broke feeding your kids there.
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I agree, I was not blown away by the Gaylord Palms restaurants when I was there, though we did have a very fun evening one night in the piano bar.
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I would recommend Ama Lur as well in a heartbeat. We'd go eat there more often, but parking and getting into the hotel is more of a chore than I usually go through for dinner!
Downtown Grapevine has some good and unique places. We like Esparza's, Big Fish (seafood/Cajun), Back Porch, South Prairie Oyster Bar...)
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Just posted my disappointing dinner at Ama Lur last night: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/435097
Next time I'll rent a car and explore non-hotel venues. Thanks for all the tips!
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