Hey all! I'm visiting Texas for work and ended up with an extra day in Dallas and I'm looking for recommendations on what to do
Posted by mickeymouse4348@reddit | askdfw | View on Reddit | 53 comments
My boss recommended Hard Eight BBQ and that's as far as my planning has gone. I'm driving a 3/4 ton truck so I don't think I want to go to downtown proper unless there's parking. I also have an early flight Friday morning so I'm not really looking for nightlife advice
Is Hard Eight a tourist trap?
SouthernWindyTimes@reddit
Go see a hockey game or a Mavs game. Yes to BBQ though at Hard Eight.
mickeymouse4348@reddit (OP)
I don’t have time for all that, but I’m currently at Hard 8 and am satisfied. I’m sure Cattleack is better but I went for the experience
SouthernWindyTimes@reddit
I always do hard eight when people come to town.
elproblemo82@reddit
Hard 8 is exactly that. A tourist trap. It's OK at best. A little above dickies, cousins, etc., but nowhere near the level of the legit pitmasters around the metroplex.
Go to Hutchins if you need to stay near Dallas but don't want to have to worry about your truck. You will NOT be sorry!
FormerlyUserLFC@reddit
It's not a tourist trap. It's a local chain. It's good but not the absolute best.
elproblemo82@reddit
It's just not on my list of legit BBQ joints that I'd send to a visitor if I'm looking for them to be impressed.
mickeymouse4348@reddit (OP)
What's your top 3?
elproblemo82@reddit
Hutchins for overall consistency with their product
Daynes is my true #1. Been going to him since it was out of his backyard.
Panther City is #3. All are excellent choices.
qkilla1522@reddit
Add Hurtado’s to this list. Fantastic bbq.
elproblemo82@reddit
But that's just me.
elproblemo82@reddit
Indeed fantastic, but i wouldn't put them in front of these 3.
mickeymouse4348@reddit (OP)
I mean this genuinely.. the hardest part of this trip is choosing which bbq joint to go to
elproblemo82@reddit
You're right. There are lots of great choices that I haven't even mentioned.
Vaqueros in Grapevine.
Just avoid falling into hype joints like Heim, Hard 8, Coopers (unless you want a great pork chop), and Angelo's.
PomeloPepper@reddit
The thing with Hard 8 is that you walk through the smokehouse and select your food right off the grill, where a worker slices and plates it. The bbq is mid, but the steaks are great.
You go to Hard 8 for the experience, not the quality of the food.
mickeymouse4348@reddit (OP)
In your opinion, is the experience worth it?
PomeloPepper@reddit
I think it is. I always take out of town visitors there for he experience. They're always impressed, and it is an impressive operation. They also have a free pot of bean stew by the drink station, so try that too.
If I get a chance, I take them somewhere else for the food. A nice compromise is Rudy's brisket breakfast tacos the next morning,
mickeymouse4348@reddit (OP)
I've already had so much bbq this week I think I'm going to try it to try it. Its like 6 mins from my hotel and they have a parking lot
elproblemo82@reddit
100% with you on that
mickeymouse4348@reddit (OP)
I was honestly kinda surprised to see Dickies here lol there are SO MANY other, better, options
And heard. Hutchins looks like it's 45 mins from my hotel, but that's not a deal breaker. Thank you for the advice
Primary_Excuse_7183@reddit
Hard 8 was awful when i went. The wife and i still laugh about how bad it was. Guessing it’s a Thursday i would recommend cattleack or Hutchins if you’re in the north Dallas suburbs.
mickeymouse4348@reddit (OP)
Hard 8 is getting some hate. Can you tell me what you didn't like about it?
Primary_Excuse_7183@reddit
We tried a couple meats including ribs, and brisket , and a couple of sides. (Had just moved to TX so our first go at TX bbq) lol it was just awful. was not flavorful, wasn’t bold, the only thing about it that made it memorable was that it was so bad. Have not gone back and do not recommend it to people. was the location in the colony. so you’ve got Hutchins and tender a few miles away in Frisco, and there’s places down in Dallas like pecan lodge and terry blacks and cattleack that are far better. BBQ is too expensive to be that bad.
TakeATrainOrBusFFS@reddit
You can get downtown and do cool shit without driving there. Just head to a DART park and ride and go from there.
It’s not on the list I provided, but you can get some solid barbecue at Terry Black’s in Deep Ellum, and that’s very straightforward to get to from the Baylor Medical Center or Deep Ellum train station.
mickeymouse4348@reddit (OP)
I don't want to be constrained by public transit schedules but I appreciate you mentioning that
Are you saying that Terry Black's is one of the best?
TakeATrainOrBusFFS@reddit
Terry Black’s is consistently ranked as one of the best in Dallas, but you won’t find any consensus on that the best is.
mickeymouse4348@reddit (OP)
What's your personal favorite?
NintendogsWithGuns@reddit
Terry Black is just easy to get to, but the general consensus is that Cattleack, Goldee’s, Panther City, Smoke’n Ash, and even Zavala’s are better. Just do yourself a favor and avoid Pecan Lodge.
Terry Black’s is solid, but the primary selling point is that it’s the easiest to get to from the primary populations centers of Dallas. The other places are spread out across the metroplex. The REALLY hype spots usually have lines over an hour long and tend to sell out by the afternoon.
mickeymouse4348@reddit (OP)
Thank you so much for your recommendations!!
mickeymouse4348@reddit (OP)
I think I'm going to Cattleack first
TakeATrainOrBusFFS@reddit
I haven’t tried all the top rated places, so I wouldn’t have a meaningful answer. Terry Black’s is probably the best I’ve personally had. I haven’t been to Cattleack, Heim, or any of those other top four or five places.
ParsonJackRussell@reddit
Cattleack is probably best in Dallas but the bacon burnt ends at Heim and fried smoked chicken at slow bone are great bites
mickeymouse4348@reddit (OP)
I'm taking notes, thank you
TexasLiz1@reddit
Your boss hates you. What is your extra day? If it’s Wed-Friday then go to Cattleack in Addison.
mickeymouse4348@reddit (OP)
My boss is also a tourist. I'll let him know about Cattleack
Thank you for the recommendation!
TexasLiz1@reddit
Cattleack: You will be parking on the street but it was just mentioned by Michelin. It is seriously good BBQ. Open at 10:30 - get there early.
Around Grapevine is Grapevine mills. It is seriously the craziest mall I have ever been in so I plan to take people over Christmas just to see this batshit crazy place. It’s like part outlet mall, part time-warp from the 80s-90s, part mob-front stores you can’t believe exist, part just plain weird shit. And it’s got a Meow Wolf.
mickeymouse4348@reddit (OP)
I'll be coming from Austin so getting there early isn't an option, but I'll take what I can get!
pekkle88@reddit
Cattleack BBQ - Cattleack Barbeque is WAY better than Hard 8!
Arrgh98@reddit
Hard 8 in Coppell is good definitely try it, fyi Stephenville, TX is the original location. There is another in the Colony and Cowboys the Star near to that. The Colony area may have all the entertainment you could want for an evening if you want to Google search around there.
Heinz0033@reddit
Hard Eight is a good BBQ joint. There are a couple, but they're all good. I've been to the one near Grapevine (Carrollton maybe). If you're up that way you could check out downtown Grapevine. It's a nice stroll with a couple of watering holes you could duck into.
mickeymouse4348@reddit (OP)
I'm staying by the airport, I think Coppell is the location I'd go to
Thank you for your insight. I'll look up Grapevine
whiteholewhite@reddit
Hey I live in Grapevine. Hard eight is good if you aren’t a bbq snob. It’s straight forward real bbq. Downtown grapevine has Tolberts you can check out. It’s a chili parlor and a “cup of red” is real Texas chili and they have a bar/music every night. There is a brewery called Hop and Sting that’s pretty good. Weird outdoor seating though, but if it’s nice out it’s awesome. Wilhoites is a good old school Texas type of bar. More adventurous you can take the train to downtown Fort Worth and take it back. It’s free parking and $5 round trip, plenty to check out there. It’s about 45(?) mins one way, so depends on time.
mickeymouse4348@reddit (OP)
Does the chili at Tolberts have beans? I ask that in good fun, thank you for your recommendations I have some research to do
I'll be driving in from Austin tomorrow then spending all day flying home Friday so I'm all travel-ed out. I'll save Ft. Worth for the next trip.
whiteholewhite@reddit
Ha! Well you can get “northerner” chili or something which my family has gotten and they literally take the normal chili and throw beans in the bowl before serving lol. Drive to Austin sucks, at least sounds like you’ll take the bypass
mickeymouse4348@reddit (OP)
I grew up with beans in my chili, I understand that is a controversial topic here. IMO chili without beans belongs on a hot dog, but I've also spent a lot of time in Cincinnati and they put cinnamon in chili which is a different kind of weird.
I've never had Texas chili and I think Tolberts might be the move
whiteholewhite@reddit
I’m from Iowa, so a total yankee. Texas chili is better than northern chili IMO. If you go there, enjoy! I also lived in Indy and by a Skyline and been to Cincy some. It’s oddly good/ok lol
mickeymouse4348@reddit (OP)
Cincinnati chili is good if you accept that it's a meat sauce, not chili. You don't eat a bowl of Skyline chili, you put it on a hot dog or pasta
cupcakesordeath@reddit
Make sure you get the beans. They are usually in a big tub either inside or out. They are free.
mickeymouse4348@reddit (OP)
I understand all of those words but they're funny in that order lol
Free bean tub, got it!
Heinz0033@reddit
That's it. There's a whole bunch of cities that share a border right around there.
Also, the Gaylord Texan Resort is in Grapevine (a mile or 2 from downtown). It's huge and they have an enormous Christmas display. You could probably park there. They have shops, restaurants, and lots of amazing displays.
Have fun!
mickeymouse4348@reddit (OP)
Thank you so much!
12_yo_d@reddit
Your boss does not like you if they recommended Hard 8
Opus_777@reddit
Please don't go to hard 8, it's disappointing I was kind of embarrassed taking friends there a couple years ago from out of town
Hutchins would be more memorable
Terry blacks or pecan Lodge both downtown proper but there's large parking lots at the end of the block if you're going on thursday you should be fine for parking
mickeymouse4348@reddit (OP)
Good to know. Thank you!