Many of the less expensive - and least extravagant - of Dallas's
five thousand restaurants are concentrated in Lower Greenville
Avenue , which runs northeast of downtown parallel to I-75, and
trendier Deep Ellum , where even the excellent New American
cuisine won't break the bank.
Café Brasil 2815 Elm St tel 214/747-2730). Open 24hr on
weekends with great omelets, crepes and enchiladas.
Deep Ellum Café 2706 Elm St tel 214/741-9012. The first
restaurant in the area and still the benchmark for the rest. Very
popular, serving delicious, casual food (think waffles, crepes,
sandwiches) for around $10. Open until 2am on Fri and Sat.
El Fenix 1601 McKinney Ave tel 214/747-1121. Don't let
its ubiquity within the Metroplex stop you from trying out this
ultra-reliable Tex-Mex favorite; don't miss the tortilla soup.
Firehouse 1928 Greenville Ave tel 214/826-2468).
Inventive (if a bit pricey) menu - think antelope tenderloin -
smack in the middle of Lower Greenville.
The French Room The Adolphus 1321 Commerce
St tel 214/742-8200. Perhaps the best restaurant in the state, with
prices to match the top-notch French food and exquisite decor
(hand-blown crystal chandeliers, marble floors and so on).
Gloria's 600 W Davis St tel 214/948-3672. Catfish
ceviche, hot banana-leaf tamales and other low-priced, top-quality
El Salvadorean dishes.
Green Room 2715 Elm St tel 214/748-7666. Post-modern
decor, with up-to-the-minute American cuisine downstairs, and
pizzas on the roof with views across Deep Ellum to downtown.
Mia's 4322 Lemmon Ave tel 214/526-1020. A family-run
Mexican restaurant, a favorite with the Dallas Cowboys.
Monica's Aca y Alla 2914 Main St tel 214/748-7140.
Wood-grilled nouvelle Mexican food, with dashes of
Mediterranean and Asian influences, in a Deep Ellum hot spot
jumping with live salsa and mambo on weekends.
Samba Room 4514 Travis Walk tel 214/522-4137. Sexy,
Cuban-themed space with fabulous mojitos and a beautiful patio.
Sonny Bryan's Smokehouse 2202 Inwood Rd tel
214/357-7120. The original location - it still looks like a shack -
of a favorite local barbecue chain, but get there in good time as
the meat can be all snapped up by early afternoon.