Our very good friends over at V.O.D. boutique, whom you’ll recall from previous rendezvous, hosted a trunk show for the very talented designer Jeremy Laing from Toronto. Dallas was Jeremy’s and his partner Frank’s entrée to Texas, so there was some hometown tourism to show them how we do here. “Tourism,” by the way, is just a veiled term for eating and drinking. A lot.
Friday evening started with drinks at the diviest of dive bars. Your favorite and mine: The Grapevine — where the drinks are stiff and cheap. We sat on the back patio by the basketball court while Jeremy half-finished an electric red, frozen drink made with Everclear. “Is that even LEGAL?” They asked. Yep. Driving after you finish one of those is not, though. The second reason you go to the Grapevine: people watching. Spotted: three-inch sky blue fingernails, a lone drinker way too expressive about whatever he was fully engaged in on his iPhone, and a server with a face reminiscent of some faded 70s magazine queen.
When visiting Texas, there are two things you must eat. TexMex (in all its processed, plastic cheese glory) and BBQ. We ticked off TexMex Friday night at Manny’s Uptown, starting with an order of guacamole. “Uh. Can we please order another one of those,” they asked. You got it.
With sugary margaritas, enchiladas and tacos in the gas tank (someone at the table had imposed a lifetime ban on chimichangas), the boys were up for more at the gay cowboy bar Round-Up Saloon, where we saw none other than Dallas Sheriff Lupe Valdez tearing up the dance floor, as well as a few reality TV disasters who are disgraces to the city of Dallas — and dare I say, to the whole state of Texas.
Saturday morning the boys enjoyed the Nasher Sculpture Center before the garden would turn into a frying skillet in the afternoon. Plus, afternoons are for eating, so we marked off Texas must-eat number #2 — BBQ — at Sammy’s. What’s better than meat on meat on meat? Sides. That’s what. Baked potato casserole, potato salad, fried this, battered that. STARCH. Just love it for what it is and don’t look back. Frank said he was starting to get the meat sweats, so we got the heck outta dodge.
In Dallas, there is no other way to work off your food indulgences than with the great sport of shopping. And believe me. Shopping IS a sport here. Off to Dolly Python‘s shop of curiosities and vintage treasure chest we went, where one of us got a reading from the in-house psychic Melinda. One more stop landed us at Grange Hall for a more edited shopping of gorgeous things before friend and photog Allison V. Smith took us to East Dallas to see a Sunny Sliger installation on the facade of the Shamrock Hotel Studios. AVS shot some film with her badass Hasselblad before we called it an afternoon.
