After I was done prancing around Austin last month for SXSW, I picked up my rental and headed towards Dallas, planning to spend 3 days as part of my effort to see as much of Texas as I possibly could until it was time to leave for home. That’s why I stopped by Waco for a few minutes too. Here’s a billboard welcoming me to the city that once had the nation’s focus so many years ago:
Heh.
Waco was remarkably boring, I only noticed a river park and an unusual number of pawnshops while passing through, but I had to get gas anyway, so I stopped by a Chick-Fil-A, filled up afterwards and then continued onward towards Dallas. That was pretty much the sum of my experience in Waco, although if I had known that was where the Texas Rangers Museum was located, I would have stayed a while longer. Still kicking myself for that one. A million travel apps on my iPhone and I was still clueless about what was around me. Ah well.
Dallas was about a 3 hour drive from Austin, mostly nothing but straight roads and hardly any traffic (at least compared to the Long Island traffic I was usually accustomed to.) I was still amazed at how easily I could zip right into downtown at 4 o’ clock in the afternoon, arriving at the Adolphus with little fanfare. A valet guy who looked like he moonlighted as an Elvis impersonator took my rental and I waltzed into what had to be THE most luxurious lobby I have EVER seen.
Oh my.
I’ve seen sprawling lobbies before in Vegas and Philly, but I don’t think anyone can outdo this. It was like the Buckingham Palace had landed in Dallas. Indeed, Queen Elizabeth herself had been here once before during the 80s.
My room wasn’t nearly as lavishly decorated, but it was spacious and clean, making me 2 for 2 for finding awesome hotels to stay at in Texas.
For some odd reason I now having an almost overwhelming urge to wield an axe.
I only had two full days to spend here though, so after I settled in I scrambled for the nearest grocery store to pick up some supplies, then drove back outside the city to find the one restaurant I have been vying to eat at ever since watching Shawn Spencer down a milkshake there during a Psych episode:
Oh YES.
I had burgers, fries and a milkshake. What can I say, my needs are simple.
Now THIS is a tasty boiga!
By mistake they sat me at a stool in front of the bar instead of a more spacious booth, but I was actually comfortable enough that I was able to break out my MacBook and get tons of research done about Dallas. I needed to put together a quick itinerary, and because my time was limited, I was going to have to forgo visiting some of the attractions Dallas had to offer, such as their arboretums and a few of their malls. But there was one stop I was absolutely not going to miss:
The Sixth Floor Museum.
Very interested to see what you think of the Sixth Floor Museum, since the one time I was in Dallas I didn’t have time to see it.
There is a Red Robin not too far from me, and after that photo of your meal I’m definitely going to have to give it a try. That burger looks too tasty!
The one on that picture was called the Whiskey BBQ burger. Soooo good! It wasn’t the best greatest awesomest burger ever (I still think Five Guys rules), but the combination of a good burger, fries, a great milkshake and the ambiance of Red Robin made me feel at home.
The best part about it all is that shortly after I came home from Texas, I noticed they were building a brand new Red Robin only 5 minutes away from me! It was meant to be!
When I was there last year, I missed the chance of tasting Whiskey’s BBQ Burger due to a bad flu. I’ve heard it from my friends that it was waaaayyyyy good. The Sixth Floor Museum was ok for me though.