Many people travel because they want to discover new experiences. One of my biggest reasons for traveling was experiencing different cultures. As I made my way through middle America I stopped to visit a friend in Dallas, Texas. Here I discovered that there is America, and then there is Texas.
Texas isn’t really the same as the rest of America, it’s more like the concentrated essence of stereotypical America. If America was a nicely diluted cup of Ribena, Texas is a cup full of just Ribena cordial, minus the water. It’s a place of extremes. The cars are bigger, the food is bigger, the people are bigger and the accents are better. Visiting Texas was my first taste of culture shock in the US and it was delicious.
While in Dallas I was staying with an old friend who had couch-surfed with me in Edinburgh many years ago. (Couchsurfing is a free traveling community online). She was a Dallas insider and knew all the best places to go. The first place we visited blew my mind, it was literally my idea of Shangri-La. The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema is the blue print of how every cinema in the world should be. It’s seats are incredibly comfortable, sitting in them is like being hugged by a vegetarian polarbear. The cinema has one rule ‘No talking during the movie.’, if you do talk, the manager will actually come and ask you to leave. There was one other special thing about the cinema, it’s also a restaurant. While lounging in the heavenly seats, one can order a large array of tantalizingly delicious and unhealthy delights. I opted for guacamole nachos with extra cheese dip, a bacon/chicken/cheese burger with sweet potato fries, oh and two mimosas to wash it all down!
There is a happening region of Dallas called Deep Ellum, it’s a hipster paradise filled with micro breweries, organic farm shops and even a shop that only sells pie. Really really good pie. There is also a sub-culture dedicated solely to donuts. Where else in the world can you get an ‘ELVIS GRILLER’ a donut filled with peanut butter, banana, bacon and honey – grilled in butter…
I had one bitter sweet experience in Deep Ellum. I visited a restaurant called Mama Faye’s BBQ. It ruined me, for life. Why you ask? Because here I had the best BBQ ribs that you could possibly imagined. I’ve been checking out rib restaurants ever since and nothing has come close to comparing. I have no idea how they made it so delicious but some nights I stay awake just thinking about how good those ribs were. Needless to say the next time I am back in Dallas my first stop will be Mama Faye’s!