Introduction to Dallas, TX
After weeks of anticipation, I left San Francisco on Thursday and embarked on a weekend adventure in Texas. A short plane ride later, we were picking up our rental car in Dallas and heading to the city center from DFW. After securing our rental our first order of business was to find some food and grab a margarita. In an effort to immerse myself in Texan culture, I wanted my fill of Tex-Mex and Texas-inspired beverages. It wasn’t until we actually arrived in Dallas that I realized a) I’m not really sure what people drink in Texas though my gut says margaritas and beer are a popular go-to; and b) I’m not actually aware of what constitutes ‘Tex-Mex’ or how it differs from any other variety of Mexican food. In summary, my realization is that after twenty-five years of being alive, I’m perennially confusing Texas with Mexico.
In any case, our first stop was Margarita Ranch, a little restaurant with a slew of frozen margaritas and a hefty tequila menu. For being christened ‘Margarita Ranch’ I would think this place would have the most incredible margaritas in the area, but I wasn’t that impressed. I was, however, impressed with the fact that they were only $5 which immediately made them taste better. Afterwards, we headed down the way to Ozona’s for another round before heading to our home base for the weekend. As a side note, it was our bill at Ozona’s that made me simultaneously realize two things: a) that I already liked Texas; and b) how incredibly overpriced thing are in California. For a whopping $6.25, we walked away with a couple of drinks, one of which was a frozen margarita. If there’s a place in San Francisco where such a thing is possible, I’m certain I don’t know of it.
We made our way to Scott’s friend’s home where we unloaded and prepped for our first evening out. With a small group in tow, we headed down to the Barley House, where we grabbed some drinks and played a couple of rounds of darts (a game at which I am awful – no surprise).
Our next stop was a place that I was more than a little excited to experience: Milo’s. There are two places that I had heard of more than any other before my arrival in Dallas: Milo’s and Home Bar (now christened the Green Elephant). Apparently, both spots were go-tos for SMU kids and with it being homecoming weekend there was no better time to relive the magic. We spent about an hour at Milo’s before calling it a night; just enough time to people-watch, grab a few drinks and meet some college friends. I have to say, for the few hours we had in Dallas for our first evening, we crammed in quite a bit. Definitely a great intro to Texas. Check back tomorrow as we explore a bit of Dallas!
Love from Dallas,
