Houses

Football stadiums

Steaks

Infrastructure for automobiles

Texas really does stuff big. Ever drive by a world’s largest department store? We have and I cannot wait to gather the grandkids around one night by the fire and tell them tales of the Nebraska Furniture Mart…

This place could comfortably fit all Americans

Or that typical drives to get around the metroplex feel more like rollercoasters with all the highway interchanges, like this:

High Five Interchange, reminds us of London

A buddy of mine lived in Dallas for a while and settled in Plano. His planned community/complex had treelined streets, (fake) gaslamp street lights, (facade) brick building exteriors and bars with names like Tight Ends. Although in the defense of Tight Ends, they do pour a mean Bud Light tower.

Americana thrives in places like Plano. Time for lunch? Chipotle. Dinner? Capitol Grill or Seasons 52. Caffeine jolt? Starbucks OR for the refined palate, there’s even a Starbucks Reserve. Wanna get really crazy? Catch some sake in your mouth at Benihana. Check, check, check & check.

Plano and many of our country’s exurbs offer fine amenities, and are ideal places to live or even visit for those with apathy towards architecture and without tastebuds.

Alright, enough with Plano and apologies to the millions of Plano residents and our Plano-based subscribers.

If we were seeking the Buckhead of Dallas, we’d stop right here, but we press on.

Cruising south down 75 we go past contenders Knox Henderson and Lower Greenville, straight into Deep Ellum. Deep Ellum is our Brooklyn of Dallas.

It doesn’t take long to feel the authenticity of the area. Single and two-story brick buildings with ever-changing street art and independently owned businesses provide a striking contrast to the central business district’s sterile skyscrapers. Even Deep Ellum’s powerlines give it some edge.

A small oasis within ubran/suburban sprawl, Deep Ellum is bordered to the north by the DART Green Line, to the southwest by highway 75 and to the southeast by I 30.

Elm Street looking west towards central Dallas

Here are a few of our favorite activities when in Deep Ellum:

Stay: There’s a lack of hotels in the area, which is good, but for the hotel fans, check out The Pittman, right in middle of DE. Otherwise, rent a hip loft through Airbnb.

Eat: Pepe & Mito’s, obviously for Tex Mex. Pecan Lodge for great BBQ. Zatar for Lebanese. Late night slice? Serious is the spot.

Drink: No shortage of places to beat the heat, rain or hail in Deep Ellum. For coffee, Merit, Murray Street should fit the bill.

For the beer drinker, breweries to sample are Deep Ellum Brewing, Braindead and Westlake. All have great indoor/outdoor environments. For the cider drinker, Trinity Cider is the choice.

As the night progresses, be sure to dip into divey Adair’s Saloon or Double Wide to the east side of Deep Ellum

Do: Live music! Check out Bands In Town to see who’s playing or choose any of the bars or live music venues for a show. Keep an eye on Trees and Dada Dallas. Too many to list!

And since Deep Ellum is so close to the city center, if you’re visiting Dallas, spend some time at The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealy Square, then hop over to Reddit to fuel your inner conspiracy theorist.

Dallas TX

San Diego CA