Food/Dallas

Backlink to the official conference wiki: LISA'07 Conference Wiki

This is mainly being created to document restaurants near the Dallas Reunion Hyatt [Map] for LISA'07 conference attendees this coming November.

The list provided by the hotel can be found here: Hyatt Regency Dallas, Local Dining

NOTE: The times listed in the Distance/Time column are all best-case scenarios: walking is a brisk walk, and driving is no traffic with signal lights that are all green.

New section added below for stores.

Restaurants

Restaurant	Distance/Time from Hotel	Location	Menu	Notes (empty==not been/no review)
Novak's Landmark Grill	10-min walk	Houston between Wood & Jackson (306 S Houston St)	Grill: burgers and sandwiches	Burgers are well-done, no option for other levels of doneness. Onion ring batter incredibly thick and greasy. Slow-ish lunch of indifferent quality for cheaper than the hotel. Closes at 2 PM. No liquor license of any sort.
Founder's Grill	10-min walk	Corner of Houston & Jackson (302 S Houston St, in the Lawrence Hotel)	Sandwiches and assorted entrees	Good gyro, can get a salad instead of fries or onion rings, quick lunch for cheaper than the hotel. Better for lunch than dinner. Owners are Greek, so order the Greek food.
Subway	10-min walk	Record between Wood & Jackson
Chipotle	10-min walk	Market before Ross	Tacqeria: Burritos and tacos, chips, soda, beer.	Good burritos; pretty quick inexpensive lunch if you don't want to eat at the hotel.
Sonny Bryan's BBQ	10-min walk	Market before Ross		Sausage was pretty good, ribs had most all the fat smoked off but I think they went too far so they were a touch dry, they assumed when I asked for a taste of the brisket and brought me the lean that was also a bit (expectedly) dry Try the one on 2202 Inwood. This is the original location and all others pale in comparison.
Corner Bakery	10-min walk	Market before Ross		bright and cheery, open 7am-4pm, right next to West End DART stop. Coffee and espresso, sandwiches, breakfast foods (the oatmeal was good). Wi-fi is claimed, but not confirmed.
Hoffbrau Steaks	10-min walk	Market before Ross
Landry's	10-min walk	Market before Ross		Tried them during a "Taste of..." and the Shrimp Etouffe was quite good.
YO Ranch Steakhouse	10-min walk	Market before Ross		Tried them during a "Taste of..." event, on the street, the Frito Pie was good, solid middle-of-the-road Chili. The tacos were not to good, steak and chicken, both were a bit dry and the steak a bit tendon-y, pico was definitely uninspired. Hopefully the tacos were just a product of sitting out chafing on the street, have not returned to sit down and find out.
Palm Restaurant	12-min walk	Market between Ross & Corbin
RJ Mexican	12-min walk	Market between Ross & Corbin
TGI Friday's	12-min walk	Market between Ross & Corbin
Gator's	12-min walk	Market between Ross & Corbin
Atomic Sushi	10-12min walk	1718 N Market St (between Ross & Corbin )		Sushi, 2nd-hand report that the sushi was good
Cadillac Bar	12-min walk	Market between Corbin & Munger		Mexican: The salsa was a tomato-y medium-mild sauce with a fair bit of smoky flavor. The fish tacos were grilled with plenty of purple cabbage and a chipotle sauce. Good rendition of Chile Relleno. Not classic Tex-Mex, but still recommended.
Spaghetti Warehouse	12-min walk	Market between Corbin & Munger
Spiatza Pizza	12-min walk	Market past Munger
The Butcher Shop	12-min walk	Market past Munger
Joe's Crab Shack	12-min walk	Market past Munger
Dakota's	15-min walk	Market near Ackard
Trinity Hall	10-minute DART ride	Mockingbird Station		Irish pub that actually has good food, beware game days and holidays as it gets _very_ crowded. They have tastings every Tuesday (1st: whiskey, 2nd: beer, 3rd: wine, 4th: varies)
Margarita Ranch	10-minute DART ride	5321 E. Mockingbird #110		I loved the Camarones Diablo they used to have, but they have changed the menu in the significant time since I've eaten there and it was removed from the menu. It's a new-style tex-mex restaurant, but it's conveniently located just down the DART line
Del Frisco	20-minute drive (toll road)	5251 Spring Valley Road
The Old Warsaw	10-min drive, valet	2610 Maple Ave.		Note: This restaurant is Jacket Required. I attended during a set-menu "Restaurant Week" event and most of the food was definitely top notch. I really wish the Quail appetizer had been a main course. The Lamb was a touch on the dry side, but the steak was cooked properly. The Grand Monier Souffle was definitely a very nice finale. I can mostly echo the statements by "Mike C. Miller" on Chowhound though it sounds like my experience was a touch better in the food department. Agreed that the wine list is not among the best and they are definitely very proud of themselves.
Landmark Restaurant	?	Oak Lawn and Maple in the Melrose Hotel		3rd-hand: great crab-cakes
Kirby's Steakhouse	15-min drive	Greenville just S. of Mockingbird		Great steaks, decent pricing ($34 for a 10-oz filet mignon). They do medium-rare exactly right.
Craft Restaurant	?	The "W" Hotel near the American Airlines Center		way overpriced, ok food, give is a pass
Fearing's		Ritz Carlton on McKinney		Dean Fearing is the "hot" chef in Dallas right now, I have not had a chance to try any of his restaurants, though, but all that I've heard from have raved.
The Capital Grille	15-min drive, valet	In The Crescent Hotel		Well cooked tasty meals, comfortable atmosphere, decent wine list.
Perry's	?	?		3rd-hand: Good pork chops, shrimp, lamb
Abacus				3rd-hand: good steak, soft-shell crabs. My meal there was during "Restaurant Week", and they were over-all decent but doing the "new" food trends and I really did not like their wine pairings, I'd generally prefer to head somewhere cheaper if that was exemplary for them
Three Forks				3rd-hand: over-all good dining, another "best steak" review, slightly more formal atmosphere
Bob's Steak and Chop House	15-min drive	4300 Lemmon Ave
Chamberlain's Steak and Chop House	20-min drive via tollway, 30+ otherwise	5330 Belt Line Rd
Nana's	5-min drive	In Lowe's Anatole
Amuse	5-min drive	1326 Lamar (Across from Southside on Lamar)		Ready for something different? Amuse is an old diner transformed into an eclectic food establishment. Lunch is not too pricey, but dinner can be. Food is very good and worth the cost. And for a night out, Poor David's Pub is down the street.
Fireside Pies	5-10 min drive	2820 Henderson		Pizza! But in a gourmet/fun setting. Bring friends food is served family style and the dishes are huge. Expect a wait they are always busy. Good pizza and a few other things, see menu on website.
Cuba Libre	5-10 min drive	2822 Henderson		Good Cuban style food. Mojitos are excellent on the patio. Only problem is you will need a reservation and you will wait.
Cosmic Cafe	5-10min drive	2912 Oak Lawn		Self proclaimed "Best Vegetarian Restaurant in Dallas" [pck: I have not been]
Kalachandji's	10min drive	5430 Gurley Avenue		Krishna temple and (strictly vegetarian) restaurant [pck: I have not made it out there to try yet but everyone that has reports wonderful food]
Dream Cafe	10min drive	2800 Routh St		vegetarian friendly eclectic fare from breakfast to sandwiches to rice/pasta dishes etc. (not exclusively vegetarian)
Bread Winners	5-8min drive	3301 Mckinney Ave		Bakery with wide breakfast selection, sandwiches for lunch and a much wider selection for dinner
Cafe Brazil	5-11min drive	2815 Elm St or 3847 Cedar Springs		Wide breakfast selection as well as heartier fare [pck: I'm not as fond of this place as some of my friends, but I'm also told that different locations are slightly different in implementation]
Queen of Sheba Ethopian	20min drive (toll road)	14875 Inwood Rd, Addison		Vegan/vegitarian friendly, though celiacs should note there is some regular wheat mixed in with the tef in the injera [pck: this is high on my list of favorite places in town, just get the vegetarian platter]
Thai-rrific Thai	20min drive	3068 Forest		Very good Thai food, rated favorably by some acquaintances that have visited Thailand
Simply Fondue	12-15min drive	2108 Greenville Ave
Café Express	5-8min drive	3230 McKinney Ave
Hickory House BBQ	<5min drive	600 S. Industrial Blvd		Probably the closest BBQ join to the hotel but since it involves crossing a major highway , a car really is required to get there. This particular place is located over near some of the industrial businesses (as its street name implies), and they offer "car service" which surprised me when I got there and someone started walking out to my car; I still chose to head inside as I prefer to get the smells/etc. I got the 4-meat plate as a sampler and found the ribs were definitely decent and the brisket not bad, but the sausage and ham were decidedly uninspired. Their sauce was somewhere between a tomato-based BBQ sauce and a brown sauce, odd for my experience but interesting. I have other BBQ places I'd much rather recommend if travel time were no object, but the price is extremely low.
Fadi’s Grill	8-10min drive	3001 Knox St #100		Mediterranean food, cafeteria style, some good vegetarian selections.
Fogo de Chão	20min drive	4300 Belt Line Road, Addison TX	Menu Link	Brazilian Steakhouse, all you can eat. Highly recommended!!
India Palace	20min drive	12817 Preston Rd # 105, Dallas		Great Indian food
La Calle Doce	8-10min drive	415 W 12th St, Dallas		Real mexican food with a little bit of Tex-Mex as well. Specializing in seafood (mariscos). Highly recommended.
Cuquita's	10-min drive	2326 N Henderson Ave		Real mexican food of the more central variety, not Tex-Mex. Spanish speaking recommended but not required.
Taqueria Arandas	10-min drive	8904 N. Stemmons Fwy (at Regal Row)		Real mexican food of the more central/northern variety, some Tex-Mex. Grilled items are recommended, Menudo and Pozole are also good. Spanish speaking recommended but not required.
The Cultured Cup	8-10min drive	8312 Preston Center Plaza Drive		A very nice local tea and coffee shop, get some in bulk or have a cuppa in the store.

Stores

Store	Distance/Time from Hotel	Location	Genre	Notes
Siegel's	10-min walk (with DART ride)	1600 Pacific Ave	Liquor Store	Other locations a lengthy drive north have a very good wine/etc selection, this location not known
Goody Goody	10-min drive	3316 Oak Lawn Ave	Liquor Store	Generally the best prices in town, this location not known
Target	10-min DART ride (cityplace stop)	2417 N Haskell Ave	Misc	General good, food, clothing, etc