Dallas-Fort Worth

Not sure what the drive to and from the Cotton bowl would be like, but if you can, you should consider staying in the Gaylord in Grapevine. It's pricey, but worth it if you have the extra cash.

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most recommendations say don’t stay in Dallas.

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I would stay in either Ft Worth or Dallas. Ft Worth has a nice downtown area a lot of people like but its somewhat stale IMO and I hardly ever hang out there. I usually go to Magnolia Street just south of downtown (Bearded Lady has good beer and food in an old house) or the West 7th street area in the museum district for day drinking. 7th street becomes a huge party seen on weekend nights full of douchebags though. The Museums in Ft Worth are world class (The Modern, Kimbell and The Amon Carter which is free).

I live in Dallas and can tell you a lot more about here including all the good dive bars such as Lee Harvey's, Lakewood Landing (I can walk here so am there a fair amount, Louie's (great pizza too. Its more of a dive bar restaurant until about 9 or 10pm and then just a dive), Cock & Bull (really good food here too), Cosmo's (quirky little bar with really good Vietnamese food), The Goat (free live blues music most nights), The Dubliner, Balcony Club (live jazz) and Ships Lounge. You should eat at Pecan Lodge in Deep Ellum which is great barbecue and then walk across the street to Braindead Brewing. Deep Ellum is the live music area of Dallas with bands playing at a lot of bars. Three Links, Club Dada, Trees, Prophet Bar, Curtain Club, Twilight Lounge and bigger venues like Bomb Factory.

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What part of town would be best to stay in and be able to hit most of these spots?

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Anywhere downtown is an easy uber to Deep Ellum and East Dallas (Lowest Greenville area) where most of these spots are located. Lowest Greenville has a lot of bars and restaurants in a walkable area. Truck Yard (big outdoor area if the weather is nice), Single Wide (dive), Libertine and Rapscalion for a good dinner. Another good restaurant on greenville is The Grape which is about 1/2 mile north of Lowest greenville but still on greenville in another area of bars and restaurants.....and I haven't even mentioned the Uptown area of Dallas. It has tons of bars but its the area that gives Dallas it's pretentious reputation. There is a lot of eye candy in uptown but full of people trying to impress each other. Katy Trail Ice House has a big outdoor area but if the weather is nice it will be packed and the douche factor will be high.

Zappas-- I'm surprised you left out Bishop Arts. Very cool spot in North Oak Cliff.

Lockharts for BBQ, Tillmans for steaks, Veracruz or Gloria's for mexican, El Ranchito for a Mexican experience,Enos for pizza, Oddfellows for comfort food, Dallas Grilled Cheese is great too, Emporium Pies or Picole Pops for dessert.

Get there early and wander around some of the shops.

Also check out Hotel Belmont at Ft Worth and Sylvan just north of I30. It has great views of the Dallas skyline and is close to Trinity Groves which gives you a whole slew of other restaurants to choose from.

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I'm surprised you left out Bishop Arts. Very cool spot in North Oak Cliff.

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I was listing dive bars and music bars and figured I gave him enough. And Bishop Arts is nice but we hardly ever hang out there. We go see shows at The Kessler all the time and might eat at Nova before hand but there isn't much food wise to get excited about in Bishop Arts except maybe Boulevardier. Eno's has a good beer selection but the pizza is hit or miss. I have had good pizza there but usually its average.....it tastes better after a few beers though. Emporium Pies is great but not really a hangout place and I do like Wild Detectives and Ten Bells for a beer.

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Zappas-- I'm surprised you left out Bishop Arts. Very cool spot in North Oak Cliff. Lockharts for BBQ, Tillmans for steaks, Veracruz or Gloria's for mexican, El Ranchito for a Mexican experience,Enos for pizza, Oddfellows for comfort food, Dallas Grilled Cheese is great too, Emporium Pies or Picole Pops for dessert. Get there early and wander around some of the shops. Also check out Hotel Belmont at Ft Worth and Sylvan just north of I30. It has great views of the Dallas skyline and is close to Trinity Groves which gives you a whole slew of other restaurants to choose from.

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Thanks!

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I'm a landscape architect

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Couldn't hack architecture school huh?

Klyde Warren park is near downtown by the Dallas Museum of Art and built over the freeway. An LSU grad designed it and I can critique the design but it's been a successful park.

The Dallas Arboretum is nice. It's on the shore of White Rock Lake just east of downtown. White Rock Lake is a great public lake with some Civilian Conservation Corps structures scattered about. There is a bike path that goes around the 9 mile perimeter full of joggers.i ride my bike around it a few times a couple times a week.

The Trinity river flows adjacent to downtown and Michael van Valkenburg is involved in a design for a new park between the levees. There was going to be a toll road built between the levees but the citizens fought against that for 20 years and finally won. There is a pedestrian bridge across the river that has really nice views of downtown called the Ronald Kirk Bridge. It was a vehicular bridge until they built the new Calatrava Bridge.

There are a couple of new small parks downtown, Main Street Garden and Belo Gardens and a couple more on the drawing board. A rich guy that owned the local newspaper and tv station (Belo Broadcasting Corp) is paying for the new parks.

Katy Trail is a paved multi-use path on an old railroad ROW that goes from American Airlines Arena where the Mavericks and Stars play to SMU and now to White Rock lake. It cuts through a very nice area of Dallas and when the weather is nice is full of amazing "scenery".

You should check out Fountain Place downtown. the Building is IM Pei but the fountains were designed by Dan Kiley back in the early 80's. The Nasher sculpture garden was designed by Pete Walker although he was pretty reserved on this design. He also designed IBM/Solana in the 80's way out in the burbs but its mostly private.

George Kessler designed Highland Park, a wealthy city within Dallas (where SMU is) and Kessler Park, a nice Dallas neighborhood. Both are nice to drive around if the weather is cold.

Speaking of SMU, Van Valkenburg designed the landscape for the George W. Presidential Library. Its a "prairie" concept so will mostly be dormant this time of year.

You will be surprised at what to do in FW.
A great downtown, not at all like Dallas.
FW has done an incredible job.

In Arlington, take a look at TEXAS LIVE,

LINK