Dallas Specialty

Cherry is an on-demand platform that offers classic and gel manicures and pedicures throughout Dallas. It’s the brainchild of time-short Texans, Bumble’s Whitney Wolfe Herd and rewardStyle’s Amber Venz Box, both of whom craved the convenience of an at-home manicure. Services are waterless, and technicians come armed with ten popular Essie shades, though you’re welcome to provide your own. (Basic treatments start at $15.) Everything, from the choice of service to the location and tip, is handled through Cherry’s user-friendly app.

This independent bilingual bookstore is an amazing spot, day or night. In the morning, stop by for Oak Cliff Coffee Roasters and breakfast tacos; in the evenings, the place transforms into a full-service bar with tapas and a lively backyard. Their events, like Shakespeare in the Bar and poetry and book readings, are absolutely fantastic.

Inspired by their childhood in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, the Diaz siblings (three sisters and a brother) have taken the classic paleteria and updated it with brilliant, imaginative flavors. There are two varieties of pops—cream-based and water-based. And all of them, from prickly pear and café de olla to mango avocado, can be dipped in milk or dark chocolate or drizzled with the family’s secret chamoy recipe.

This adorable shop specializes in spectacular pies, whether you like them creamy and topped with thick, brûléed meringue or filled with fresh fruit with a crumble on top. Owners Megan Wilkes and Mary Sparks change the menu four times a year to reflect the season, but the super popular Smooth Operator (chocolate cream with a pretzel crust) and Drunken Nut (bourbon and pecan) are available all year long.

Any time you visit Pokey O’s, it’s likely to be crowded with SMU students vying for a place in line—but don’t let that deter you. They’re famous for made-on-the-spot ice cream sandwiches, which they make with chewy chocolate chip cookies and Texas Blue Bell ice cream.

Bronwin Weber's award-winning confections are unapologetically over the top (she's a regular on The Food Network's Cake Challenge). She's masterful at intricate sugar art and fondant sculpting, which results in such awe-inducing, multi-tiered celebration cakes you'll feel kind of bad slicing into them. It's also worth noting that the bakery is Kosher.

Snap Kitchen has revolved around grab-and-go meals since 2010, making it one of the older companies in the relatively new healthy premade meal space. There are convenient pickup locations in Austin, Houston, Dallas, and Chicago, and while it doesn’t technically do delivery, you could easily arrange one through TaskRabbit. Snap also offers a twenty-one-day "commit" program, which offers healthy takes on hearty meals, like gluten-free beef stroganoff, bison quinoa hash, chicken butternut squash macaroni, and fettuccine and vegetable “alfredo.” The cooking style is relatively free from the niche health foods that turn some people off of clean eating, making it an easy transition for health-food rookies.

Gourmet Valet Head Chef Becky Nelson was a stay-at-home mom before she started her meal delivery business, and the dishes (beef filets, chicken chowder with cornbread, and seriously good dessert) definitely have a home-cooked feel to them. Each order rings in at around $15, a price that is easily justified considering each meal comes with multiple complementary sides. While many of her meals fall solidly in the healthy and gluten-free category, Nelson is also the genius behind Dallas-based Nieman Marcus’ signature holiday shortbread cookies.

While finding a Ruthie’s food truck near your office on a weekday is practically a godsend, knowing that they cater just makes it that much better. They rolled by the goop pop and served their famous grilled cheese heart attack (aptly called The Boss), which comes complete with slices of BBQ brisket tucked inside. Wash this or the mac ’n’ cheese down with their soup shooters on a day when you’re feeling particularly indulgent—it’s worth it.

When caterer Nathan Burke arrived at goop pop with a pizza oven attached to his truck, insanity ensued. People just couldn’t get enough of the pizzas that came out of that contraption. That night’s runaway hit was the combination of applewood-smoked bacon, garlic, and truffle oil, just to give you an idea of the kinds of ingredients Burke mixes to perfection.