Other sites, good food spots, etc. welcome.
Will have car and willing go out of town apiece (intentional solicitous Texas talk).
Just 5 days total.
Cheap shots, zots, derisive humor also welcome.
Thanx.
San Antonio is the home of Tex-Mex food. You can’t go wrong at almost any Mexican food restaurant, but ask the friendly locals for their favorites.
Somebody mentioned Mi Tierra restaurant over in the mercado. The thing about Mi Tierra is that it is a 24 place that caters to all sorts of people who go there after a night on the town for some Tejano music and after midnight snacks. You might see high society people in formal clothes sitting next to a poor Mexican farm family or bikers or high school kids after their prom. So don’t go there before midnight.
Great side trip: Drive 25 miles on IH35 to New Braunfels and visit the restored old town of Gruene. Maybe eat some German food there or in New Braufels proper. Drive up the river road where cypress trees line the Guadalupe river to Canyon Lake. From the lake drive west to Hwy 281 S. to San Antonio again.
Slightly longer trip takes you to the quaint town of Fredericksburg where German settlers made peace with the Comanches that was never broken. More German food, a winery, and nice Hill Country scenery.
If you play gold there are lots of great courses open to the public all over the place.
Western Dance Hall: Midnight Rodeo has the original “race track” dance floor with bars in the center—and all around for that matter. Middle aged folks mingle with the twenty-somethings doing the two-step. Reasonable prices and not really a tourist joint. check our their web site: midnightrodeosanantonio.com/ for reviews and info.
Frankly, Dallas is like Atlanta is like Houston is like any number of American cities. Lots of high buildings and business but nothing you can’t see somewhere else. Forget Dallas and spend a week in San Antonio.
The Crash at Crush.
In 1896 two trains were crashed together by the Katy Railroad in a publicity stunt. Location is between Waco and West. All that remains is a Historical Marker sign on the east side of I-35. Still an interesting story.
http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/llc01
And a little Texas music:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=333d34NoN28
John T. Floore’s Country Store, where Willie Nelson used to play when he was starting. It has an air of authenticity to it.They serve lunch there most days I think. You can look it up on line. The history of it is interesting and it is mentioned in Texas songs. When Downtown San Antonio. be sure to go to the hotel bar where T.R. and the rough riders used to hang out. (The name of it escapes me at the moment).
An evening at the Grist Mill in New Braunfels (Gruene) is also great fun. Plan on an intimate dinner with just a few thousand others and drop by the oldest dance hall in Texas. Remember, "y'all" is singular, "y'alls" is plural.
What sorts of things were you looking to do in Dallas, anyway?
The best burgers in Dallas (and perhaps the whole state) are made at Del’s Charcoal Burgers in Richardson (a suburb). Place is straight out of the 1960s - small shop, guns on the walls, still has the Formica counter and menu from the 60s. Even more unusual, they have a perfect health department score. Video at site: http://www.delsburgers.com/
The world’s only flying B-29 bomber lives in Addison at the Cavanaugh Flight Museum. If you go there and ask nicely, sometimes they will let you look at it and crawl around inside it. They also have warbird rides when the weather is good, must be scheduled in advance: http://www.cavanaughflightmuseum.com/index.php/navwbflights/navrides
Plenty of stuff downtown to see aside from Dealy Plaza - the Old Red Courthouse, Old City Park, Reunion Tower (which has a rotating restaurant on top), half the buildings used in the Robocop movie...