Reasons 16-20

Continuing our local's look into the city of Dallas, here are the next five reasons to visit Big D. Also, I didn't mention that this list of 25 is not ranked. It's a sum-greater-than-the-parts deal. OK, let's get to it.

16. They've painted the town.

http://talesfromtheroad.southernliving.com/photos/uncategorized/2009/01/26/picture_128.jpg

http://talesfromtheroad.southernliving.com/photos/uncategorized/2009/01/26/masstransit.jpg

Oak Cliff is the artist enclave in Dallas. In the colorful fray, you'll find mural vituosos Jeff Garrison and Chris Arnold, the big thinkers behind such projects as "The Storm," shown above, and "Mass Transit," below. The silent conductor makes his cement symphony in the downtown Arts District, near the museums. On "Mass Transit," notice the size of the cars parked below the boy pulling his town train for scale appreciation. I found myself mesmorized by the eneregy on the huge parking garage and quite inspired by such grand projects. For further info on Jeff and Chris, check out the Oak Cliff write-up here.

17. This Rattlesnake went to the bar. Dean Fearing is a food god around Dallas. So when we heard he was leaving the Mansion (collective gasp!) and heading up food/drink at the Ritz-Carlton's new venture, the SL team waited with high expectations. I'm here to report his only mistake: The Rattlesnake Bar is so cool, you might never make it into the dining room. Happens to the best of us. Dark enough for mood, glowy for effect, and as handsome as a thoroughbred -- Dean's outdone himself with the 'snake.

18. Fashion stars on the rise. I am by no means a guru -- though I do love dancing with a lady in a pink BCBG -- but Dallas seems to be the non-NY/LA fashion capitol of the US. Besides Fashion Week, the Market, and flagship Neiman's, Dallas is also home to a newish contest, Texas' Next Top Designer, spotlighting the Lone Star's most creative and undiscovered talents in the clothing universe.

19. Drive to Denton. OK. I get it. Sending you all to a northern suburb in a Local's Dallas piece seems ironic. But, some of the finest live music in Dallas happens in the college town of Denton. If I had to narrow it to two musically-inclined events, do this: Saturday morning pickin' sessions on the courthouse square, then a nighttime get-down at Dan's Silverleaf two blocks away. I'll be bringing you much much more on this live music gem soon.

20. Catch the train. From pre-dawn to near midnight, trains connect the DFW metroplex. Who doesn't love a train? What kid wouldn't LOVE to hop the locomotive and ride from downtown to the Fort Worth Stockyards? Well, it's not difficult at all. Day passes are $3. Single rides, $1.50. All aboard.

http://talesfromtheroad.southernliving.com/tales_from_the_road/2009/01/go-local-in-d-1.html

In the February issue of Southern Living, I wrote about "the most misunderstood metropolis in America" --- Dallas. Big D. The Other Dubai. The Central Coast. Where the east ends. The nicknames help to push this fashionable boom city into unflattering light. Fortunately, we don't research with Wikipedia. Truth be told, Dallas is a killer town. I've never in my life been more welcomed into a big city. It's very local, if that makes any sense. And I've never been more happily surprised to find indie music joints, laid back beer gardens, ambitiously green locals, and enough material to warrant a follow-up, top 25 list of reasons to kick it in Dallas sometime soon. So here we go...

Reasons 25-21

21. They are building a waterfront. A WATERFRONT! I start here because, in life, some stereotypes are true. And only in Texas would people set their minds to building a downtown waterfront on par with Savannah. I love it. The far-reaching endeavor is called the Trinity River Corridor Project, a band of dreamers and water lovers who've put forth a $2.2 billion dollar-plan to revolutionize the city. Their "Balanced Vision Plan" includes boating, sailing, and fishing recreation; three new lakes on the western side of downtown; equestrian and hiking trails in the Trinity Forest; two bridges designed by world-renowned architect Santiago Calatrava (the models of which I saw and were astounded by); plus numerous other community-accessible features. The Savannah comparison may be an ambitious one, but, hey, we are in Texas, remember?

22. The pizzas at Fireside Pies. I stopped by their Knox-Henderson spot for a light supper when I was in town. The place thrummed with people. Luckily, I was dining solo (see this post for a further explanation) and found a seat at the fireside bar.

23. Bill's Records. The legendary music store moved locations in the past couple years, but landed in one of the hippest sections of Dallas, the Cedars/Southside. New digs, but same old massive collection of vinyl. If you stop by the South Lamar shop, ask Bill about Ben Harper. If you don't know who Ben Harper is, iTunes him. You'll not find a softer, more mellow songwriter this side of the 70s. After snagging a Beatles LP, head over to Lee Harvey's, a saloon I mentioned in the printed piece. Bill can direct you there, but it's only a few blocks away.

24. Old theaters. Lakewood and Granada. I am one of those people who's obsessed with the way things used to be. I also love Texas writer Larry McMurtry's novel The Last Picture Show. That said, Dallas has some relics. "Arc deco palace" Lakewood still shows films on it's one screen, though Joan Baez is performing here in late February. The Granada, a staple of the Greenville neighborhood, is more live music than anything. It wins local "best venue" awards like clockwork.

25. The Dallas Arboretum. Admittedly, I am not a flower person. But, I grew up with one, helping her to plant bulbs every year, plucking yellow daffodils around Easter, etc, etc. So, when I dropped by the Arboretum, I was stunned. The place is magical. Especially if you find that perfectly temperate late morning and grab a bench by the Jonsenn Color Garden. Admission is $9.50, kids under 3 go free.

http://talesfromtheroad.southernliving.com/tales_from_the_road/2009/01/go-local-in-dal.html

Reasons 1-15? Here I'll take it for a spin.

1. The Dallas Cowboys. Everybody hates the Cowboys. What would you expect for "America's team?" Hell they don't even play in Dallas.

2. The heat. You can't have a big-city big-style experience without walking 1 block and already being drenched in sweat and the odor of a thousand homeless people.

3. Dallas' homeless population. In fact, it's growing faster than any other population in Dallas. Grew by 14% in 2008! Almost 6,000 .. more than there are people living in DTD (not including development just north of DT). Of course if they did include the homeless population, chances are Dallas' downtown population wouldn't be so bad.

4. Cockroaches. Dallas has huge cockroaches.

5. Traffic. Remember when Houston had the worst traffic in not just Texas but the whole damn country? Well now Dallas is worse than Houston. Take that, Houston! Dallas still has a ways to go in order to catch up to LA, but I think they can do it. Keep sprawling up to the OK line, that's the way to do it!

6. Suburbs. In a way, we are all suburbs of Dallas. This plays to Dallas' advantage in that we all seem to live in Dallas' shadow, especially Fort Worth. Take it from me, I grew up in Oklahoma, which is kind of like 1 big Dallas suburb in a way.

7. Hair. According to the National Review for Municipal Hair Statistics, people living in Dallas have the biggest hair in the country. In fact, Dallas is the only city where hair has actually been getting bigger since the 1980s, and not smaller. This is 100% fact.

8. International city. While Dallas may not boast the diversity of international representation that Houston has, nor the international business that Houston has, Dallas still has one thing that Houston doesn't have: a 13-story office building named International Plaza.

9. Crime. Out of the nation's largest cities, Dallas has the worst crime in the nation. Only Seattle has worse property crime (strange), and no city has worse violent crime. 1 out of every 12 people in Dallas are criminals. Not even joking..
http://www.policeone.com/community-policing/articles/1157886-NYC-had-lowest-overall-crime-rate-of-the-nations-10-largest-cities-in-2005/

So if you know 12 people from Dallas, there's a 100% chance you'll be raped.

10. Red light cameras. The Dallas Police Department is not going to bother placing easily spotted speeding traps along roadways. Instead if you go 1 mph over the speed limit, one of the cameras tracking your every move in Dallas will take a snapshot of your car tag and send you your ticket in the mail.

11-15. Fill in the rest.

P.S. I love Dallas. I love negative lists even more.

Most of that can be applied to most big cities. The Rape thing is over rated. I have lived here 4 years and dont know anyone who has been raped while living in Dallas. And everyone is a criminal. I smoke weed in my apartment over looking 75, Im a criminal!

Houston still has the worst Traffic. Dallas traffic is bearable.

Cockroaches, red light cameras, the Cowboys, and hair are all pretty unique to Dallas.

Dallas has its own specimen of cockroach named the Dallasus cockroachus which is 66% larger than the Houstoni cockroachi.

Everyone smokes weed in their apartment over 75. If I had an apartment over 75, yea..

The Rape thing is over ratted.

So are you saying people should keep quiet if they get raped?

With the exception that Houston definitely has bigger cockroaches, the list is fairly accurate. More so than the happy list posted by Ganis.

What Debbie Downers you are. We could sit here and pic out the problems with every city in the world.

Let's start with Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Reasons 1-15? Here I'll take it for a spin.

1. The Dallas Cowboys. Everybody hates the Cowboys. What would you expect for "America's team?" Hell they don't even play in Dallas

There are other NFL teams who don't play in their own city. This is not unique to Dallas.

New York Giants play in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Washington Redskins play in Landover, Maryland.
Arizona Cardinals play in Glendale, Arizona.
Buffalo Bills play in Orchard Park, New York.
Miami Dolphins play in Miami Gardens, Florida.
New York Jets play in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
New England Patriots play in Foxborough, Massachusetts.


So saying the cowboys don't play in Dallas is not unique because there are many other NFL teams who don't play in their own city either.

I meant having the Cowboys in their "city" aka over-sprawled urbanized area is a unique problem that no other city has. The Cowboys suck.

well, this thread started out alright.