The closest restaurant on this list to American Airlines Center, where President Donald Trump is scheduled to speak during the Republican convention, is modern Texas spot Billy Can Can.
Rose Baca/Staff Photographer
New York is the city that never sleeps, sure. Can Dallas be the city that always eats?
President Donald Trump and other Republicans visiting Dallas Sept. 9 and 10 should politely decline the concessions snacks at American Airlines Center and opt for a seat at a great restaurant instead.
These six restaurants are within 3 miles of the GOP convention in Dallas’ Victory Park and serve lunch, dinner or both.
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For Tex-Mex diplomacy: Las Palmas
No need to pick political sides, just head to Las Palmas, where a bowl of queso and a margarita might smooth over a policy disagreement. Everyone — and I mean everyone — is ordering fajitas. Choose the Akaushi Wagyu fajitas and smother each medium-rare slice in bone marrow butter if you’re feeling powerful. Go for the Gulf shrimp fajitas if you’re keeping it light. Can’t get a dinner reservation? Go for lunch. Or do as Dallasites do and slide on your sunglasses and wait outside at sunset. It’s gonna be hot; would a ranch water help?
Las Palmas is at 2708 Routh St., Dallas. Open seven days a week for lunch and dinner.
For dinner in the neighborhood: Billy Can Can
So you don’t want to stray too far from the arena. Mosey down to modern Texas restaurant Billy Can Can, where our big state is personified on the plate. That’s hard to do, but Billy Can Can nails it with hearty options like a fancy bowl of chili, venison tartare, Wagyu flatiron with cognac gravy and its Billy burger with bacon. This stylish saloon also shows the lighter side of Texas food in dishes like snapper ceviche and charred okra.
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Billy Can Can is at 2386 Victory Park Lane, Dallas. Dinner only, seven days a week.
Related: The behind-the-scenes story of the Texas saloon that might finally save Dallas’ Victory Park
For a dose of Dallas history: S&D Oyster Company
For 47 of its nearly 50 years, S&D Oyster was owned by the same man, Herb Story, who seemed to know half the diners in the restaurant at any given time. S&D was sold to a younger set of restaurateurs and remains a favorite for Dallasites who want a quick, reliable lunch in a room where time seems to stand still. The New Orleans barbecue shrimp dish is especially great, but keep a napkin close: It’s messy.
If lunch bleeds into happy hour, head to Caché, a tiny New Orleans-style bar upstairs.
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S&D Oyster Company is at 2701 McKinney Ave., Dallas. Open six days a week for lunch and dinner. Closed Sundays.
Caché, the cocktail bar upstairs at S&D, is open five days a week starting at 4 p.m. Closed Sundays and Mondays.
Nearly 50 years after S&D Oyster Company started selling fried shrimp on Dallas’ McKinney Avenue, its new owners opened a bar upstairs. Cache is romantic and moody.
Samantha Marie
For a donor dinner: Mister Charles
Plan dinner with big spenders and you’ll leave feeling like a million bucks, especially if somebody else picks up the tab. Many know Mister Charles from its appearance on the oil-and-gas soap Landman. Before Mister Charles, the address housed Highland Park Soda Fountain for over 100 years, a beloved shop with spinny stools and griddled sandwiches. Remember that as you visit this Michelin-recommended restaurant and order an $11 bite of caviar and egg salad or a $14 chicken nugget canapé with ricotta ranch. (Gutsy!) For an entrée, keep it interesting with the Colorado lamb rack with walnut muhammara. But a New York strip and a glass of cab are right there if you need them.
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Mister Charles is at 3219 Knox St., Dallas. Dinner only, seven days a week.
A popular main-course dish at Knox Street restaurant Mister Charles is beef Wellington.
Tom Fox/Staff Photographer
For the Texas barbecue you’ve seen in pictures: Terry Black’s
Take a jaunt to Terry Black’s in Deep Ellum to experience the movie version of a Texas barbecue restaurant, but in real life. Outside, peek at the pit room, where huge black smokers cook dozens of briskets, ribs and links of sausage. Then snake through the line, picking mac and cheese or green beans, before a butcher slides a glistening brisket onto the counter and cuts it while you watch. Brisket is a shocking $40 a pound, but that’s the price you pay for barbecue you’ll brag about later. Add this to the boast: David and Victoria Beckham ate at Terry Black’s recently.
Terry Black’s Barbecue is at 3025 Main St., Dallas. Open seven days a week for lunch and dinner.
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For classic Dallas charm: Fearing’s
Dallas chef Dean Fearing, known by some from his high-profile tenure at the Mansion on Turtle Creek, has spent the past 19 years lending his name to a restaurant in the Ritz-Carlton. At Fearing’s, look for dishes that made the chef a brand name in Texas, like Dean’s Tortilla Soup, chicken-fried lobster and Dr Pepper short ribs. While Fearing’s naturally feels like a dinner spot, it’s open nearly all-day, as it’s in a hotel. Consider Fearing’s for a breakfast meeting.
Fearing’s is at 2121 McKinney Ave., Dallas. Open seven days a week for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Dallas chef Dean Fearing garnishes Texas Wagyu beef carpaccio elotes at his restaurant at the Ritz-Carlton.
Shafkat Anowar/Staff Photographer
Find complete coverage of the convention from The Dallas Morning News’ politics team.
Dining and Cooking