Whether you decide to visit Fort Worth or Dallas first, you'll fly into Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), about a thirty-minute drive from either city. Your trip is best made in midspring or midfall; otherwise the weather might be too cold or too hot. In both cities, people favor fairly casual clothing, though Dallas folk tend to dress up a bit to visit museums and restaurants. A rental car or hired driver is the best way to get around.
Dallas:
Where to Stay
The Mansion on Turtle Creek is where all the celebs stay, but even the basic double room is a commodious, well-appointed 450 square feet with a marble bathroom and a tub that can't be resisted—especially since someone will draw you a bath. Double rooms from $405 to $430; suites from $675 to $2,400. 2821 Turtle Creek Blvd.; 214-559-2100; 888-767-3966; fax: 214-528-4187; mansiononturtlecreek.com.
Magnolia This restoration of the downtown Magnolia Oil Building has a spare Art Deco–postmodern vibe in its 330 rooms. There's a great lobby with an ornate carved wood and gold leaf ceiling. Double rooms from $169 to $219; suites from $299 to $850. 1401 Commerce St.; 214-915-6500; fax: 214-253-0053; magnoliahotels.com.
Where to Eat
Local is a hot spot in the east downtown entertainment district known as Deep Ellum, several square blocks of music clubs, bars and restaurants. This is postmodern "stacked" food at its very best, especially the buttermilk-battered, sautéed breast of chicken over mashers. Since there are only thirteen tables, reservations are recommended. 2936 Elm St.; 214-752-7500.
Uptown, to the north, the "in" spot is Abacus, a sleek place serving contemporary global cuisine with Pacific Rim influences; you can start with a tower of sushi and sashimi, then proceed to such ample entrées as wood-roasted Texas antelope and grilled Nova Scotia halibut in a lemon-chive sauce with a prosciutto–English pea risotto. 4511 McKinney Ave.; 214-559-3111.
When in Dallas, some people want either steak or Mexican food, period. The best steak house is Bob's Steak & Chop House, located about fifteen minutes from downtown, where the cuts range from nine to twenty-eight ounces and you may run into a Dallas Cowboy or two. 4300 Lemmon Ave.; 214-528-9446. The most dependable Mexican café is Mia's Tex Mex, a bright, rambunctious joint that serves a complex chile relleno with beef, cheese, potato, raisins and nuts. 4322 Lemmon Ave.; 214-526-1020.
Seventeen Seventeen, on the second floor of the Dallas Museum of Art, is a highly underrated lunch spot. It's located in the atrium of the museum and its clean lines and Frank Lloyd Wright windows give it an air appropriate for gallery gazing. If you're lunching light, honey-mustard-dressed tempura shrimp with Asian greens in a piquant Thai vinaigrette will do fine. If you're very hungry, slice into beef tenderloin with pineapple teriyaki glaze and tempura vegetables. 1717 N. Harwood St.; 214-880-0158.
Museums
Nasher Sculpture Center The quietly elegant Renzo Piano-designed facility is home to one of the finest private collections of sculpture in the world. Open Tuesday through Sunday from 11 to 5; except Thursday, from 11 to 9. 2001 Flora St.; 214-242-5100; nashersculpturecenter.org.
Dallas Museum of Art An eclectic and encyclopedic museum that will keep your head spinning with Indonesian art as well as some classics and decorative art. Open Tuesday and Wednesday from 11 to 5; Thursday from 11 to 9; Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 11 to 5. 1717 N. Harwood St.; 214-922-1200; dallasmuseumofart.org.
Meadows Musseum Extensive permanent collection of Spanish art and, through May 1, "Crafting Traditions," a show devoted to the work of Dallas architect Mark Lemmon. Open Wednesday through Friday from 11 to 8, Saturday from 11 to 5, Sunday from noon to 5. Southern Methodist University, 5900 Bishop Blvd.; 214-768-2516; meadowsmuseumdallas.org.
Music
The Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, an imposing I. M. Pei creation, is worth taking a look at even if you're not going to a concert. If you do attend a performance of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra—or by the occasional popular artist, such as B. B. King—you'll find that the acoustics are terrific. 2301 Flora St.; 214-670-3600; meyersonsymphonycenter.com.
Other Diversions
Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza Yes, it's a museum dedicated in part to the Kennedy assassination, more than forty years ago. Your first thought: boy, I don't want to see any of that. But when you visit this extensive collection of photos, news clips, firsthand accounts, memorabilia and evidence from the event that forever changed Dallas and the nation—located in the School Book Depository building, from which Lee Harvey Oswald allegedly fired—you'll quickly realize that you don't know all you need to about it and that this museum can teach you, gently. Open daily from 9 to 6, except Christmas Day. 411 Elm St.; 214-747-6660; jfk.org.
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