Wednesday, August 17, 2016

What Did I Eat in Dallas?

Living in a foodie city like Portland, with so many world-class restaurants, one would imagine I have every culinary wish my heart desires. While it's true that I am spoiled with great restaurants in this city, food is perhaps the only thing about Dallas I truly miss.

When I began planning my weekend in Texas, the first list I made was of restaurants. Mind you, Dallas has never been nationally famous for its food, unless you consider portion-size something of notoriety. Furthermore Texas is probably only known for its barbecue, which is not even a food I really enjoy or crave. So what could I possible want in Dallas?

The restaurants on this list are nostalgic. They are the best food memories from my teenage days. Alright, so La Madeline may not be the best French cuisine in the world, and Taco Bueno is certainly not the best Tex-Mex in the world, they are still pretty decent and possess a great deal of sentimental value to me. With so many places to choose from and only three days in Dallas, I could not eat at every one of my favorite places, so these photos reflect the very best of the best.


  1. Food I wished I had but didn't:  Mint Restaurant. Great Vietnamese-Thai cusine, but I just didn't have enough time. 
  2. Food I had but wished I didn't: BBQ ribs.I guess I'm not a true Texan after all. 
  3. What should have been on the list: afternoon tea at the Joule! 
  4. Biggest surprise: How crowded WAffle House was at 2:00am on Saturday. 
  5. Most delicious meal: Sweet Georgia Brown. Almost makes me want to go back...


Taco Bueno
My favorite Tex-Mex fast food chain since birth. My top picks are always the beef quesadilla, tamale platter, and nacho salad. 





Sweet Georgia Brown
If you go to Dallas and can only eat one meal, I would tell you to eat at Sweet Georgia Brown. It's kind of a long drive from the city center, and you will probably have to wait in line, but this is as soul food as it gets. With gigantic portions, one order may end up lasting you for days anyway...





Waffle House
The 24-hour breakfast chain serving "cheese grits" (which is a paper cup of grits with a slice of partially melted American cheese on top) is a 2:00am default of mine. 





Kalachandji's
Gorgeous and delicious Indian vegetarian buffet at a Hare Krishna temple. This is my go-to place for spring and summer months, so I can sit in their outdoor patio surrounded by the beautiful garden. 




La Madeleine
A cafeteria-style French restaurant with the best Chicken Caesar salad (is that even French? who cares). 




Sonny Bryan's Smokehouse
Ribs are staple food to order when in Dallas, but ironically I never ate BBQ or ribs when I was living in Texas, but now it feel like a requisite for any tourist.


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