True Food Kitchen

A 2017 renovation has given the thirty-five-year-old hotel a glossy new exterior and a sleekly finished leather-and-glass lobby. Grab drinks at the chic bourbon bar and practice your swing at the indoor golf simulator projected against the walls. The spa and gym now have a couple’s suite, nail bar, and top-of-the-line facial treatments; the mix of guided workout classes will keep you occupied in your downtime. Not to be outshone, the tricked-out guest rooms are done up in a crisp palette of whites, creams, and the occasional splash of blue; plus, there's a collection of “specialty suites” that look more like the inside of a storybook castle than a city hotel. Venture outside and you’re a stone’s throw from the bustling Theater District and a short walk over from Discovery Green and Houston’s best restaurants, including the beloved Xochi.

A stone's throw from the Galleria and the traffic-congested streets of Houston, the St. Regis offers the biggest luxury of all: quiet. For such a sprawling property (232 rooms, plus a pool, a spa, and several restaurants), the rooms feel decidedly homelike, with the fluffiest beds and décor that doesn't feel at all stale or corporate. The hotel relies on simple touches to leave a big impact, like the Texas-shaped chocolates at check-in or the live harpist strumming airy accompaniments on the staircase. On weekends, the hotel's Remington Bar draws a crowd with live music and dancing.

A new addition to Downtown Houston, Hotel Alessandra is a modern, twenty-story building situated near the METRORail, making it the perfect home base from which to explore all of Houston. It's also near the ever-active Discovery Green, and when you're exhausted after a busy day, returning to the hotel's marble staircases and vaulted ceilings is heavenly. The guest rooms are outfitted with all the high-tech bells and whistles, like a tablet for navigating lighting and room service. Bar Bardot will win you over with house-baked pastries, freshly squeezed juices, and small bites offered in the afternoon. But lunch is best enjoyed poolside on the roof, perhaps while taking a break from the spa.

Hotel ZaZa is right at home in Houston's Museum District, where its themed suites—not for minimalists—are as elaborate as any show in the nearby galleries. If you book the Rock Star Suite, expect all leopard print and mirrored walls. The Tycoon Suite has a trophy-size hundred-dollar bill mounted in the living room, and the West Indies Room feels like an island retreat. For all its eccentricities, the hotel never pushes quirk over quality. All the rooms have Italian linens, waterfall showerheads, and candlelight turndown service. The complimentary Magic Car Service will drive you to the best spots in the neighborhood, and ZaSpa has a fantastic infrared sauna. Plus, the outdoor pool is great for cooling down from the heat, and the bar's DJ spins a great set. The eclectic sense of humor is just a bonus.

Businessman Tilman Fertitta, the owner of the Houston Rockets, aspires to provide the global traveler with the ultimate respite with his new hotel, the Post Oak. The thirty-eight-story structure lavishes guests with an extensive wine cellar, a luxury auto showroom, and a library designed in partnership with book publisher Assouline. And that's before you even get to your room, which is likely to have a grand marbled bathroom and killer views of the city. The hotel has nine restaurants, including the state's only Mastro's Steakhouse (consistently ranked one of the best steakhouses in the US), a patisserie with a showcase of pastel-colored macarons, and an opulent cocktail bar. There is even an in-room dining menu for pets, because Texas.

If you're eating your way through Houston, you'll stumble on a fair amount of tacos. From cornmeal-crusted catfish to Austin-style breakfast tacos, Torchy's has earned the trust of Texans statewide. In this city alone, there are five branches, but unlike with most chains, the food and staff are unequivocally beloved at every outpost. Still, this one in the Heights is our personal preference. (It's easier to get a seat, and there's a bar, meaning margaritas.) If we had to narrow it down to three, go for fried avocado, the Trailer Park (fried chicken), and green chili pork.

The word "caracol" means "snail" in Spanish, an ode to chef Hugo Ortega's memories of ceviche de caracol served fresh in his brother's kitchen in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. The seafood dishes on the menu follow a familiar route—fresh, sentimental seafood, served with obvious care and love. A custom wood-burning oven allows the house specials to shine: whole roasted fish and wood-grilled oysters topped with chipotle butter. For dessert, the El Coco, a series of chocolates, handmade by chef Ortega's brother Ruben Ortega and served in the shell of a cocoa pod to be cracked open with a little wooden hammer. Finish with guava mimosas—sublime and refreshing enough to suggest a hint of sea breeze on the brow.

Each season, March changes its cuisine to devote itself to a new region along the Mediterranean. It's outstanding tasting menus are matched by incredible wine selections, impeccable service, and beautiful design.

Ranking BBQ in Texas is ill-advised. The topic invites strong opinions and heated debates, and it can get personal. Nevertheless, it's easy to make a case for the Pit Room. The brisket here is simply outstanding. Pitmaster Bram Tripp claims the secret is a strict adherence to high-quality meat—everything served is USDA beef or heritage pork from California—but we think there's something in the sauce. The sides are as carefully crafted as the meat: butter beans with bits of bacon, homemade jalapeño and vinegar potato chips, tortillas fried with lard from the brisket. The only things not made in-house are the bread and ice cream, and judging by everything else, if Tripp had a go at it, he'd nail that, too.

Chef Paul Friedman represents South Africa well, merging Dutch, Portuguese, and Asian influences into perfectly seared meats and seafood, served with a side of lush chutneys and spices. The name, Peli Peli, refers to a little red pepper relied upon to transform marinades in traditional cuisine. To experience its full effect, opt for the Cape Town skillet, a dish piled high with prawns so massive they have to squeeze onto the plate, scallops, sautéed calamari, and more. With a thirty-foot acacia tree as a centerpiece and a ceiling of networked neon lights, the restaurant's interior is as much an attraction as the food.

An ode to contemporary Houston, State of Grace has been appropriately established inside a refurbished shopping mall. The menu feels like an elevated version of the Houston food court. Crawfish hushpuppies—doughy balls of cornmeal, flour, and fish, fried then dusted in powdered sugar—share the menu with K-town fried chicken, cheese enchiladas, and squid ink pasta. It's Texas, in all its multicultural, contradictory glory. The eclectic fare makes it a bit of a hipster haven, but trust that the standards here are pretty classic.

Mala Sichuan Bistro is the crown jewel of Houston's Chinatown, a neighborhood glittering with really good food. The people elected it a winner long before the James Beard nomination was announced—check the consistently packed hall of happy diners as proof. Mala reserves bragging rights as some of the best Sichuan in the country: dan dan noodles, mapo tofu, and spicy, crispy chicken. The water-boiled fish in particular is a winner—the bright-red pot of simmering fish stew is perfect over a bowl of rice. Whatever you order, a side of eggplant cooked to sweet, gooey perfection is just...let's just say you'll be happy.

Hugo Ortega solidifies his status as a city treasure with Xochi (his 2017 follow-up to Caracol), built with his wife to represent the diversity of Oaxacan cuisine. Expect zero compromises on tradition—masas, tortillas, chocolates, cheeses, and moles are all house-made. What's imported are the authentic Oaxacan coffee beans, impossible to find anywhere else. The menu may be intimidating, but a short-course tasting of four moles of your choice and a platter of tortillas is a great place to start. The chichilo mole is an easy favorite, but consider the chaicatana, mixed with dried flying ants. Then delve into the antojitos for a taste of goat tacos or tlayudas, an Oaxacan street food of thin, fried tortilla, covered in beans, lettuce, meat, cheese, and salsa.

Local Foods has been packed with lines out the door since it first opened in Rice Village in 2011. Perhaps the new downtown locations can disperse the crowds, but it's doubtful considering the love for this sandwich shop runs deep. The secret at Local Foods is to keep it all fresh: You can hear the crisp snap of cauliflower when you bite into the Garden Sammie, a phenomenal veggie sandwich with a rich avocado spread. And make it a point to sample the vegan chili—vegan options abound, but this side is a standout. Otherwise, the undisputed classic is the Crunchy Chicken sandwich, fried chicken topped with crushed kettle chips and nuts, pickled cucumbers, and tomato slices on a salted pretzel bun.

James Beard Award–winning chef Tyson Cole serves small and inventive Japanese dishes using a mix of local ingredients and nonlocal seafood. Order the Hot Rock (they bring Wagyu beef and a hot rock to your table and cook the meat in front of you), and the madai from the sushi menu. If you're a peanut butter person, you have to get the peanut butter semifreddo with apple-miso sorbet for dessert. The combination of flavors may sound strange, but it tastes amazing. If you don't have time for a full dinner, come between 5 and 6:30 for sake social, during which a limited, but noteworthy, selection of the menu is on offer (and for a fraction of the cost).

Despite the wealth of taco options available in Houston, Ramon Soriano Tomka was still craving the tacos he knew from the streets of Mexico City. One man's food craving can become a city's culinary treasure, as is the case with La Calle Tacos. Here, Tomka converted the best-of-the-best taco recipes from all his favorite spots—sampling the translucent tortillas he knew from one or the salsa from another—into one perfect taco. Guacamole, for once, does not cost extra, and the aguas frescas are made with fresh, whole fruit.

Anita Jaisinghani's reverence for the healing power of Indian spices mixed with her creativity makes Pondicheri's menu both new and familiar. Palak paneer is tucked into simmering green omelets, and morning thali (a traditional breakfast platter) is reimagined to include oats, saffron yogurt, and a fried egg atop dosas. The fried chicken is coated in chickpea batter and tossed in garam masala and dried mango powder, and the specialty burger involves a lamb and goat meat patty. A second location has recently opened in New York.

Midwest native Chris Shepherd embraces his adopted home, Houston, with deep love, so expect some Southern comfort with your order: deep-fried pickle slices, peanut-butter-and-jelly wings (we weren't sure either, until we tried them, then we were damn sure), and a really solid burger. But the Hay Merchant's pride and glory is its incredible selection of craft beer. In fact, co-owner Kevin Floyd has been known to dump a beer from the menu as soon as it undergoes a major acquisition, resulting in spontaneous fire sales. It's not snobbery—if they believe good production practices are being compromised in any way, they won't support the brewery. Their principles usually mean happy returns for their patrons, like their golden rule that if a Houston sports team is winning the game—like, say, the Astros at the World Series—all eighty-plus taps of beer are offered half-price.

Here's how this works: Every drink purchased at OKRA's Charity Saloon qualifies as a vote toward one of four charities at the polling station against the wall. Charities are always local, and at the end of each month, the bar donates all profits to the organization elected by its patrons. If that spirit of benevolence—the bar has donated over $1 million to charity—doesn't win you over, trust that it's simply a great place to drink. The latticed glass ceiling floods the wooden hall with natural light, a shuffleboard table awaits your attention, and the waffle fries are arguably the best in the business of waffle fries.

The neon sign upon entry warns you straight-up: no pastries. But tamales—and tequila and mezcal—are fair game. They also serve what are arguably the best margaritas in Texas, using premium tequila and inventive twists like mango and chamoy dusted with tajín. Small and simple, with a projector displaying vintage soccer matches in black-and-white against the walls, this bar is a tribute to Mexican drinking culture.

Grab a beer and sip it swinging in the comfort of one of the outdoor hammocks strung across Axelrad's backyard. Intimate as a campsite (note the vintage Airstream), the building is actually over a century old (it was formerly a grocery store) and is now the most laid-back lounge in Houston. Pets are welcome, there's a live jam session every night, and while food is rarely offered, the neighboring pizzeria, Luigi's, serves a solid slice.

Anvil's cocktail menu can be intimidating to the uninitiated. Or for that matter, to the initiated. Biblical in length, there is an actual table of contents just to organize the exhaustive catalog of cocktails—divided into sections like Sour & Short and Tropical & Tiki. Pray for the bartenders, who must master every single one before they earn their rank. If you arrive in time for a bartender's "graduation day," every item on the menu is just $1 as newbies are quizzed on their mixology credentials. Usually there's a line out the door, but this bar is the call when you're ready to venture away from your regular gin and tonic.

Don't come to Public Services expecting the frills and invention of modern experimentation—this is a classic whiskey and wine bar. The leather-bound menu matches the grandeur of its setting in Houston's historic Cotton Exchange building (completed in 1884) with just six essential cocktails. The selection of rare spirits is best experienced through smaller pours, which should allow you to taste your way around the globe, and extend your stay to try the charred eggplant dip.

Common Bond's head chef, Roy Shvartzapel, returned to his hometown with one lofty goal: to build the best bakery in Houston. After assembling an all-star team of globally trained pastry chefs, he opened to lines around the corner, all waiting for his world-class breads, pastries, and viennoiseries (fancy for "croissants"). After a pistachio-cream-filled croissant (trust us on this one), turn your eye to the brunch menu: lavender lattes, chorizo mussels, and classic grits await. Also worth noting: The chocolate chip cookies are likely to rank among the best you've ever had

Espresso-obsessive Matt Toomey has dedicated himself to roasting and sourcing the best cup of coffee possible. A single shot of espresso here is composed of four different coffee beans tested to meld with milk while maintaining their flavor. When fans line up in the morning, they know Boomtown Coffee will deliver. The standout here is the Crüd (a combination of cold-brew espresso, chicory vanilla, and cream), with an additional "crack rock"—a gigantic ice cube of espresso that dissolves over time to slowly release an extra shot. Genius. During the week, food trucks provide a rotating variety of accompaniments for your to-go cup.

David Buehrer was one of the first people to offer top-quality artisanal coffee to the local community back in 2008 via his first business, Greenway Coffee. He then built Blacksmith and doubled his dedication to serving the best coffee in town. Everything is fresh and handmade—down to the caramel and ganache added to flavored drinks. The breakfast menu has a loyal fan base, thanks in no small part to the house-baked, square-cut biscuits, which serve as the foundation for fried eggs, fresh marmalade, and bowls of red-eye gravy.

This is a beloved local ice cream spot with an ever-evolving menu of handcrafted flavors. Fortunately, every choice is the right one thanks to Fat Cat's uncompromising dedication to Texan farmers. Fruit is always seasonal and provided by neighboring farms, and eggs are delivered fresh twice a week. If an ingredient is imported, expect the very best, as is the case with the crowd-favorite Mexican vanilla.

Czech immigrants left their culinary mark on Texas back in the 1800s with the gift of the kolache—a bite-size pastry filled with something sweet or savory. While many local bakeries serve some variation of the kolache, the Kolache Shoppe on Richmond Avenue has held on to its location and clientele for fifty-plus years. Each variation in the display case deserves a try, but for savory flavors, the winning combination is sausage, egg, cheese, with a little slice of jalapeño tucked into the dough. Sweet kolaches look a little different—like thumbprint Danish versus pigs in a blanket, but the cottage cheese kolache at least allows for a moment of feigned healthy eating.

Disguised as a throwback to the ice pops of your youth, Steel City pops are actually a serious upgrade. Expect flavors like strawberry shortcake, vanilla bean (with a cookie in the middle), pineapple, and jalapeño. Ask for your pop dipped in a layer of chocolate, or sprinkled with espresso dust, or drizzled with caramel (or all of the above). If the menu doesn't keep you occupied, the Ping-Pong table will.

Also referred to as "the taco Truck outside West Alabama Ice House," Tierra Caliente is another runner-up for best tacos in Houston. Served in soft, chewy corn tortillas, the famed ingredient here is the addictive green sauce (spicy, be warned); the best order, $1 breakfast tacos. And as for customer service, let's just say the staff kept this place open during Hurricane Harvey. The most winning feature of all is its proximity to the West Alabama Ice House, a Houston institution. Take your order next door to the picnic table and sip a can of Lone Star in the backyard.

Given our loyalty to nontoxic skin care and makeup, it’s only natural that we love a beauty boutique that checks off certain boxes: clean and luxurious products, transparent labeling, and a great overall message. So when Lemon Laine—a modern beauty boutique with an ethos that revolves around natural, effective, and sustainable products—opened in Houston, we were instant fans. Owner Laura Lemon brings her decade’s worth of beauty industry experience to the shop, in which she stocks some of our favorites, including Kjaer Weis, True Botanicals, and our very own goop skincare. Best yet: The design is clean with bright color—and there’s an oil bar where you can mix bespoke beauty formulas to meet your specific skin needs.

The first time you stumble into Sloan/Hall, you might think you're in a museum. The gallery/life space has everything from greeting cards and collector's books to a gold-plated robot beside a twelfth-century Italian chest to a French perfume collection, Etat Libre d'Orange. The vibe here can be ironic, so this is a great place to get a gift for a friend with a sense of humor and edge.

It's such a cliché to say that everything's bigger in Texas, but it's hard not to say it when you're talking about Kuhl-Linscomb, designer Pam Kuhl-Linscomb's nearly 100,000-square-foot design complex, which offers everything from designer homewares to tabletop items to stationery to pet accessories to a full-fledged apothecary. You could easily spend a day in here.

We love a store with a range of price points, and with options ranging from Jerome Dreyfuss purses to Venessa Arizaga friendship bracelets, Saint Cloud certainly qualifies. While it's primarily an apparel store, the accessories (A Peace Treaty scarves, Erin Considine fringed earrings, Lizzie Fortunato gems) can be relied on for consistently good gifts. The fact that they have a great clean beauty selection (Ilia, Grown Alchemist, Olio e Osso) and the sweetest, most creative kids' buy is a major bonus, too.

Biscuit is primarily known for designer Bailey McCarthy's quirky, colorful bedding collection, which incorporates everything from cactuses to arrows to astrology into sweet, soft-as-butter sheets and duvets. The Houston shop also has the best hostess gifts—the store's vignettes are scattered with cool coffee table books, candles, trays, and bar accessories. There are always great little knickknacks, too, like pineapple-shaped golden shot glasses, tin recipe boxes, and embroidered cocktail napkins.

The guy behind Manready Mercantile, Travis Weaver, is as Texas as they come—he grew up in a tiny town in West Texas, and his store drips of that aesthetic, with an enormous American flag hanging in the back, vintage saws, fishing signs, taxidermy on every wall, and an old-school canoe suspended from the ceiling. His brand began with a line of candles he made on the stove top in his apartment—the success of which inspired him to keep making products traditionally marketed to women (bath salts, bubble bath, and more) and making and packaging them for men. Now, he's expanded into clothing, and the brick-and-mortar showcases his own products as well as giftables from like-minded brands like Freenote Cloth, Mollusk Surf, Helm, and Taylor Stitch. During the holidays, it's pretty much a one-stop shop for brothers, dads, and SOs.

When Mickey Rosmarin opened an independent T-shirt shop in the early 1970s, he had no idea he would eventually come to set the bar for Houston's entire shopping landscape, introducing the city to designers such as Jean Paul Gaultier, Andrew Gn, and Kenzo. Now a resident of the West Avenue River Oaks shopping center, Tootsies is a three-story boutique that draws in the best of American and European couture, ready-to-wear, jewelry, and accessories. Come here for Attico robes, Saint Laurent shoes, and an encyclopedic collection of Chloé handbags. The customer service and attention to detail continue to make Tootsies a luxury-focused destination—and the private dining room for luncheons, spacious fitting rooms, and exclusive trunk shows don't hurt either.

It's difficult to fathom what 2.4 million square feet looks like until you step inside the Galleria. The usual European suspects—Gucci, Céline, and Dolce & Gabbana—all have individual boutiques showcasing the full range of new collections. If you're more of a department store type, Saks, Neiman Marcus, and Nordstrom all have gleaming outposts in the mall. And since it's not a question of if you'll get hungry but when, there are twelve restaurants, including the only Fig & Olive in Texas. There's also a movie theater and an ice rink. What's not here? Hard to tell. If time allows, sneak a visit to the nearby Waterwall—a sixty-four-foot man-made waterfall that's a quick walk over from the mall.

Wendi Koletar opened this boutique in Austin twelve years ago, and she finally let Houston in on her sharply refined taste with a River Oaks outpost in 2016. On the racks hangs a well-edited selection of under-the-radar international designers. Brands like Kaarem, Demoo, and Priory offer natural silk and cotton fashioned into well-tailored separates. The store takes aesthetic cues from sculptural abstract artists, best reflected via the off-kilter jewelry selection from names like Lizzie Fortunato and ACB.

Since opening in 2007, Found for the Home has been impressing serious collectors and casual enthusiasts with an eclectic mix of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century antiques—presented among a selection of repurposed industrial finds. Owners Aaron Rambo and Ruth Davis have an eye for the whimsical: mid-twentieth-century Italian settees and chairs, birdcages converted into bejeweled chandeliers, handmade brass candlesticks, and marble dinner plates. The space also opens its doors to trunk shows and showcases from innovative designers like lampmaker Christopher Spitzmiller or interior designer Nathan Turner.

We've been fans of the exceptional shopping experience that is Forty Five Ten since we first discovered the original location in Dallas. Founded by Brian Bolke and his late partner, Shelly Musselman, the space corrals some of the world's best designer clothing and homewares all under one beautiful roof. As at its sister store, you'll find Rochas, Marni, Proenza Schouler, and Delpozo on the shelves, along with Diptyque and Cire Trudon candles—and most recently, our very own goop by Juice Beauty skin care.

This small church in the compound of the Menil Collection doubles as a gallery for fourteen all-black tableaux by Mark Rothko. The somber paintings create a haunting, womblike interior that has a way of bringing instant calm to the spirit and the mind. The church is sparsely outfitted with a few wooden benches and a skylight to let just enough natural light seep in without disturbing the peaceful gloominess. There are weekly events for the Zen-minded, like sound meditations and yoga on the plaza, but a moment alone is the best way to experience it all.

Split across seven buildings, Houston's Museum of Fine Arts is one of the largest museums in the US, with a catalog that chronicles over 6,000 years of history. And while you're unlikely to get bored no matter where you begin, the Caroline Wiess Law Building is the main attraction. It is the permanent residence of artworks ranging from pre-Columbian and Oceanic artifacts to modern and contemporary works by artists such as Jackson Pollock and James Turrell. Outside, stretch your legs in the beautifully landscaped Lillie and Hugh Roy Cullen sculpture garden, dotted with pieces by Henri Matisse and Louis Bourgeois.

Breathtaking and romantic, James Turrell's installation on the campus of Rice University is your own private multiverse of color. Let us explain: The sleek steel-and-stone structure projects an LED light sequence from an open ceiling, so you can gaze up and see the muted pastel lights interplay with the changing colors of the sky above. Plan ahead to reserve the most coveted time slots, at sunrise or sunset. During these hours, the inflamed sky melds with Turrell's installation for a hallowed hour of gorgeous light.

Since 1909, the Houston Museum of Natural Science has been committed to making the wonders of science an interactive adventure to pique imaginations regardless of age. Inside, a surreal, glass-encased tropical rain forest protects over sixty varieties of imported butterflies flitting around a cascading waterfall. (Be careful not to unintentionally sneak one out—the butterflies have a habit of taking brief repose on the backs of visitors.) Robotics nerds will find joy in a virtual reality simulation promising to deliver the sensory experience of flying like a bird. Or visit the Burke Baker Planetarium for a 3D introduction to the universe, black holes and solar superstorms included.

Bikers and joggers are forbidden at this nonprofit park dedicated to the preservation of Houston's flora and fauna, but that's okay—the site's quiet, meandering trails are better enjoyed at the slowest pace possible. The two-mile Outer Loop wraps around the park's exterior and is good for a light stroll, but if you're in the mood to explore, bring bug repellent and some water-resistant boots, then head toward the ponds. It's the best place to observe the resident hummingbirds and dragonflies dancing over the Buffalo Bayou.

Bring a picnic basket with the evening's snacks, a bottle of Pinot Noir, and a heavy blanket for the tricky Houston weather—cold on winter nights, damp on summer days. Miller Theatre's performance calendar ranges from kid-friendly musicals to Shakespeare performances, but whatever you plan for, remember to arrive early. Parking is notoriously hellish. To hit the home run of kid-friendly outings, go extra early: The Museum of National Science is right next door.

This urban oasis draws comparison to New York City's Central Park, but when the sun sets behind Rosemont Bridge and the Houston skyline lights up the sky, it's impossible to think of being anywhere else. Joggers and cyclists commit miles to the park, thanks to the generous, ten-foot-wide paths and a landscape peppered with hidden art installations. Look for the lunar lights that change from blue to white in accordance with the phases of the moon, or the breathtaking Tolerance sculptures—hollow human figures constructed of letters by artist Jaume Plensa. But the park's best secret is the underground cistern, which once served as Houston's first underground drinking-water reservoir. Carve out some time on a Sunday morning to book a meditation session over the quiet pool of water.

Across fifty-five acres of once-abandoned industrial concrete, Sawyer Yards has sprouted as Houston's artsy playground. Now this collection of studios, galleries, murals, and boutiques represents the city's finest creative talent. The community has resulted in unexpected ventures like Workspace, a literary arts organization hoping to provide MFA-quality creative writing classes to writers who cannot afford to earn a degree. Or RacePace, an instructor-led running class, equipped with treadmills and usually packed with marathon runners hoping to improve their performance. Plan to come for Open Studios, held on the second Saturday of every month in the Silos, when artists open their studios to the public. Grab a beer on tap from Holler Brewing Co., mingle with the crowd, and introduce yourself to the artists displaying their work.

Imagine thirty acres of art and you begin to get the scope of the Menil Collection. First, get your bearings. The Menil Campus is comprised of several buildings: the Rothko Chapel, the Cy Twombly Gallery, the Dan Flavin Installation at Richmond Hall, and the main building (of permanent collections) designed by Renzo Piano. But put that part out of your mind for the moment—the main building will be closed for next few months for renovations. No matter. You’ll still want an entire afternoon, if not a whole day, here. Good thing there’s also Bistro Menil—perfect for a bite between taking in the exhibitions.

Just across the street from the Menil’s main building, the Cy Twombly Gallery pays tribute to the late modern artist best known for his enormous, graffiti-esque abstract paintings. Opened in 1995, the museum is another Renzo Piano commission, and sticks faithfully to the Menil’s minimalist aesthetic of natural light, wooden ceilings, and white oak floors. Inside, you’ll find a retrospective of Twombly’s impressive career dating, from 1953 to 2004, with a collection of paintings and sculptures handpicked by the artist himself.

Maryam Naderi introduced Houston to the nontoxic manicure in 2016 with Paloma, the very first salon in the city to ditch the chemicals for five-free nail polish (formulas that contain no formaldehyde, toluene, dibutyl phthalate, resin, or camphor). Every square inch of Paloma is clean and committed to Naderi's vision of wellness. There's no acrylic or UV lights to speak of, and pedicures are administered over sleek stone basins instead of plastic bins. For those in a rush, the Quick Fix manicure is the way to go, but if you've come to indulge, try the Standard, an eighteen-step nail service that comes with an exfoliation treatment, massage, and your pick of Weleda products.

This spa's holistic energy approach combines traditional Japanese and Egyptian treatments with a little bit of Southern hospitality. The menu isn't so expansive that you'd lose valuable time picking a treatment, but if you need a real quickie, the thirty-minute massage is a revelation. (And it's the only place in Houston offering yoni steams, at least that we know of.) The seaweed wrap for dry, flaky skin cocoons the body in a layer of kombu, aloe, and green tea for some light exfoliation. And the Off-the-Menu facial customizes products to your skin type.

Instructors at DEFINE are trained to listen to clients' needs and pay particularly close attention to joint and muscle protection—all while toning the body to peak performance. And they throw a few creative tweaks into their standard repertoire of barre, yoga, and spin, like DEFINE bounce, a barre class that makes use of a trampoline to incorporate high-intensity interval training. Cardio is a chore, but you'd hardly think so mid-bounce at the studio. The hammock yoga class teaches ballerina-esque swan dives; the ball yoga class is like a guided foam rolling session to open up tight joints. If your baby is a fan of the carrier, there's even a class you can take together for forty-five minutes of bonding and exercise.

This cycling studio is, in a word, remarkable. The highly trained instructors give you the benefit of intense, focused attention for forty minutes of heart-rate-pumping pedaling. Not to mention a playlist that's better than most clubs and a bike that tracks your performance and sends you the analytics (average rpm, energy burned, miles cycled, etc.) after class. Don't be disappointed when you have to leave your chilled eucalyptus towel behind—you'll be back tomorrow.

Licensed acupuncturist Lori J. Earley thinks of the human body as "just the tip of the iceberg" when it comes to balancing her patients' discomfort and pain. Using this ideology, Phoenix Rising provides a session called Esoteric Acupuncture, which works to expand consciousness and balance the chakras. There's also the option to add a cupping session to aid blood circulation.

Instructor and studio owner Robert Boustany combines his forty years of experience teaching and practicing yoga into a specially crafted practice he calls Pralaya. Relying on a background in academics (he holds a master's in physics), Boustany splices the very best of traditional yogi training with breathwork, resulting in a flow that aims to protect joints and boost energy levels. If you're still struggling with more difficult poses, Boustany is the kind of teacher who challenges you to elevate your practice.

If you're in need of a wax, a fast facial, a mani-pedi, or just about any self-care moment you can imagine, Milk + Honey is the spot. It's great if you have time for only an in-and-out, though we suggest carving out a solid afternoon to yourself. The Spa Partisan packs in a body-polishing treatment, a steam, and a sixty-minute body-butter massage. (It's as good as it sounds.) Facials, which last anywhere from 60 to 120 minutes, call for a customized mix of CosMedix and Osea products, and the aestheticians are happy to spend extra time to make sure your goals for the treatment are met. End your experience by wandering through the smartly curated shop, where you'll find their insane lemon-vanilla body polish and travel-size Davines hair care, which can be tricky to track down—plus, the full range of Osea certified-organic skin care.

To some, the décor may seem a little wild; to others, Zaza’s flamboyance is a welcome relief from the neutrals that characterize most hotels. The bones are Mediterranean—tile floors and soaring ceilings—but the guest rooms are a thematic riot, ranging from Moroccan-inspired to Moulin Rouge. The beds are roomy and comfortable, dressed in Italian linens, and the spa has an excellent facial program including impressive peel- and laser-based treatments. While the pool isn’t huge, its location—in a very Zen-ish garden with just a few lounge chairs—feels intimate. It’s the kind of place you want to relax with a book for a few hours before getting ready for a night out. The house bar is good times guaranteed, especially on weekends, thanks to the skilled mixologists, but the nearby Arts District means there are plenty of walkable options for dining, drinking, and wherever the evening may take you.

Housed in the former Dallas National Bank—and boasting some of the best places in town to eat, drink, and shop (CBD Provisions, Midnight Rambler, and Taschen, to name a few)—the Joule is more of a cultural epicenter than a hotel. It's brought in a brand of laid-back cool to downtown Dallas that was formerly nonexistent. Plus, whether you book a Mini Joule (a tiny hotel room boasting just the basics) or a suite (views of the city from on high), all rooms are tastefully and luxuriously appointed with Frette sheets and modern yet plush furnishings, no matter the size. An awesome art collection, a rooftop pool, and the spa are the cherry on top.

You pretty much know what to expect from a Ritz hotel and you also know what to expect from Dallas, which is a kind of over-the-top fanciness and an appreciation for the finer things gone a little larger than life. The Ritz Dallas is a perfect conflation of the two. Granted, the rooms are a little traditional, as is the restaurant, and lobby décor, but what else would you expect? It’s the impeccable service, the kids' activities on offer, the days spent lounging by the pool, the Bentleys on call to take you around the city, and the sprawling spa complex that make the stay.

Originally the private residence of oil tycoon Sheppard King, the Mansion was purchased and renovated into a hotel and restaurant in the 1980s. Since then, it’s been a Dallas institution known for understated, perfectly executed luxury. Beyond the pressed linens, each room—beautiful, large, stately—has its own wide balcony. The restaurant feels like a 1920s formal dining room, and the menu has tortilla soup and beef tenderloin. Weekends at the Mansion Bar are a fun, well-kept secret—the Sinatra-esque Hunter Sullivan keeps the crowd dancing until the bar closes.

We may have found the home of the chimichanga. With a menu that features a mix of old family recipes and local flavors, Avila’s is a must for authentic Tex-Mex. Tacos, tamales, and quesadillas will satisfy any hankerings for Mexican, but if you want to get into the local realness, then go for the chili relleno, chicken mole, and guisado de puerco (pork stewed in a rich pepper sauce) served with rice and beans. Just give in to the queso and order extra chips. This is one hole in the wall you won’t want to miss.

This is just like Grandma used to make—if your grandmother was from West Texas and happened to be famous for her fried chicken. Still in the same converted Texaco Station where it opened in 1981, Bubba’s (the big daddy of the Babe’s Chicken boutique chain) has a retro diner vibe that sets the perfect stage for a Southern comfort food feast with all the trimmings: green beans, mashed potatoes, and black-eyed peas. There's also a drive-through.

The entire team at this beautiful New American dinner spot is made up of teenagers released from juvenile delinquent facilities. Their yearlong internships at the Café give them both life and job training. The seasonal, local menu from head chef Chad Houser is fresh and original, and the vibe is in every way uplifting: One wall is devoted to a collaborative art piece titled the “I’m Thankful Plate Project,” where past interns have written about gratitude on plates from the restaurant.

This gem at the Joule does far more than serve the hotel's own guests with a tight, well-edited menu of exactly what we all want at every meal: In the morning, it’s the frittata; at lunch, it’s a healthy quinoa bowl; and at dinner, it’s pretty much anything that can be served with a side of their award-winning fries. Beyond feeding the hotel’s guests—and from very early in the morning until very late—it stands as one the best casual dining destinations in Dallas.

You’ll find clean eats with a sunny disposition here. Chef Franchesca Nor keeps her fresh seafood-and-veggie-forward fare simple but never, ever boring at this bright and cheery lunch and dinner destination in Highland Park. The super casual, mid-century modern space is a great spot to go with friends and share a few salads, ceviches, and tartares. Or dig into a hearty wrap or sandwich all to yourself. Bonuses: It’s very kid-friendly and practically gluten-free.

Amazing smoked ribs, jalapeño hot links, queso topped with brisket, tons of local beer on tap, plus the Gentleman’s Handshake (a Lone Star with a shot of whiskey) are absolutely reasons to come here. But the huge backyard is the real draw. Among the picnic tables and twinkling lights, a fifty-foot-tall, fully functioning Ferris wheel runs every evening. It’s the perfect place to go on a warm evening, especially if you have kids.

When the French Room opened in 1912, it was one of the fanciest restaurants in Dallas. More than a hundred years and a serious restoration later, it still is. The dining room is very Versailles, with pastel glass chandeliers and gilded crown molding. Chef Michael Ehlert’s menus are all prix fixe—three or seven courses. The latter is deliciously experimental, full of surprises and thoughtful wine pairings.

Owners (and lovebirds!) Allison Yoder and Stephen Rogers brought their passion for friendly fine food and wine with them when they left their posts running Press—one of Napa Valley’s must-go dining destinations—to return to Rogers’s hometown. They poured it all into Gemma and opened the restaurant earlier this year. Always expertly executed but never too fussy, the menu covers a lot of ground, from crudos to duck confit with fried rice, so come late when reservations loosen up and the $2 oysters make an appearance.

Grange Hall, with its gothic, cabinet-of-curiosities vibe, is the yin to Dallas’s glitzier yang. There’s a pretty gorgeous range of home goods—Ted Muehling candlesticks, Astier de Villate ceramics, Cire Trudon candles—along with really stunning jewelry. They opened an on-site café, too, that serves artfully arranged food and an encyclopedia's worth of teas. This is inarguably one of Dallas’s very best stores.

Plopped down in the middle of a quiet residential neighborhood, Kalachandji's Hare Krishna Temple feels a little random. But the pay-as-you-wish Ayurvedic vegetarian and vegan buffet restaurant alone is worth the trip: Get the cardamom-turmeric rice, vegetable curries, daal, and sweet tamarind tea. It’s easy to spend an entire afternoon here, so go for it. There are also great yoga classes, a calming meditation room, and Tai Chi in the garden.

This classic French bistro is wonderfully familiar (probably because it’s exactly like the original in New York). You’ll find the same classics, like chicken paillard, steak frites, and saffron-infused mussels—it’s both reassuring and delicious, though the crowd is what makes it fun.

Get in while the getting is good at this Central Texas–style smokehouse: When the day’s brisket, pork chops, chicken, and sausages run out, that’s that. If you’re not sure what to order, don’t be shy—ask for a sample. Meat is sliced to order and handed over wrapped in butcher paper, and the pickles, onions, bread, and crackers flow freely. Round out your Big Tex–worthy meal with blue cheese slaw, baked beans, and extra extra creamy mac ’n’ cheese.

Plan ahead if you think you’ll want to snag one (or two) of the thirty-six seats at this Italian restaurant in the heart of Bishop Arts. But size isn’t the only thing that makes this one of the very toughest tables to snag in town: Chef David Uygur has had a hard-core following since his Lola days. Foodies flock to Lucia to get a bite of his house-cured salumi, creamy risottos, and Texas Wagyu short ribs. Discuss the deliciousness over milk chocolate and buttermilk panna cotta.

For anyone who thought that fried baloney sandwiches were pure fiction, this roadside pit stop—where they are served either with mayo, lettuce, and tomato or “cowboy-style” with chili, cheese, and chopped onion—will be a revelation. For everyone else, there are flat-top brisket sandwiches, grilled cheese, BLTs, and quite possibly the best burger in town (but in a town like this, we know these are fighting words).

Appropriately set inside a former tortilla factory, this restaurant mixes Oaxacan- and Mayan-style dishes from chef Nico Sanchez. The Budin Azteca, something of a tortilla lasagna, and Cochinita Pibil (braised pork) are absolutely transporting, and the serrano-berry margarita is incredible (hell, try the avocado one, too). The lush patio is perfect for an afternoon cocktail, and there’s a cute, casual small taqueria, La Ventana, where you can get street tacos and drinks.

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.

Luckily it’s not on Mars, but even if it were, fans of chef Julian Barsotti’s trattoria would tell you it’s worth the trip. Tucked away in a nondescript Highland Park strip mall (which locals will describe as “across from Whole Foods”), the upscale Italian joint is one of the city’s most beloved destinations for salumi, perfectly crisp thin-crust pizzas, and classic bolognese, with a terrific wine list to round out the meal.

Distilling down to the essence of American cuisine these days is tough, especially with the new crop of chefs redefining it into a type of New American fare. Origin, however goes back to basics, serving the traditional, hearty American food that fueled our childhood dinners. Tender, fall-off-the-bone short ribs on a bed of creamy, goat cheese grits, burgers made with the finest American bison, buttery Brussels sprout salads. Come hungry—and we mean hungry—and start with predinner drinks at the white subway-tiled bar. Appetite whetted, scoot into one of the cozy booths for what can only be described as an all-American feast, accompanied by a robust wine list.

The wait can be a long one, especially because Pecan Lodge sticks to a schedule that’s dictated by meat quantities. In other words, if they run out of meat in their on-site smoke pit that day, you won’t be enjoying Dallas’s best BBQ. We were, however, lucky enough to get our hands on their world-renowned brisket, and it was perfectly smoked, absolutely decadent, huge, and totally delicious. The ribs are equally insane.

There’s something pretty charming about this Francophile restaurant located in Inwood Village. As its name suggests, the specialty here is the soufflé, which they’ve totally mastered in all its forms, both savory and sweet. Each comes prettily plated on traditional French dishware, making it the kind of fanciful place you might take your daughter for a special treat. If you’re just along for the ride and not a huge fan of the dish, there are plenty of healthier, equally French-inflected options to choose from.

State pride is strong at this Uptown restaurant and bar—note the life-size metal longhorn outside the front door and the huge Lone Star flag made of Shiner beer cans that hangs over the bar. The pretty outdoor space, named Pat’s Backyard for part-owner and country singer Pat Green, has live music on the weekend, and there’s tons of room for kids and dogs to run around.

Husband and wife Stephen Rogers and Alison Yoder opened Dallas favorite Gemma more than four years ago, and it’s still hard to get a reservation. Their newest project, Sachet, takes the same fresh approach to Mediterranean food in a much more casual, laid-back setting. The menu's small plates (all on pretty white pottery) are meant to be shared: We love the tabbouleh, roasted eggplant dip, and pickled turnips with Syrian lentil purée. The floor-to-ceiling wine cellar is impressive and filled with little-known varietals, not to mention amazing ouzo. If you’re not able to get a table, the high-top bar is fantastic for people (and plate) watching.

While the menu at Shinsei might be a little offputting with its pan-Asian ambition—it offers not only Japanese sushi but also some Korean BBQ dishes along with plenty of Chinese-American options—the truth is the food is well, great. It’s no surprise, though, as the owners are Lynae Fearing and Tracy Rathbun, the wives of two of Dallas’s most established chefs. We tend to opt for the sushi and tempura dishes and find ourselves enjoying the Dallas-style innovations, including using jalapeño as an ingredient in the rolls. The gorgeous interiors—mid-century Swedish gone to Japan—are a plus.

This sleek, minimalist destination inside One Arts Plaza is best known for its noodle dishes: hand-cut buckwheat soba served cold with dipping sauces, tonkatsu ramen served in a thick and hearty broth, and bowls of piping-hot udon loaded with Japanese mountain vegetables of the season. Explore the daily specials or leave the meal in the hands of chef Teiichi Sakurai, who will take you on an all-out trip through the best seasonal flavors Japanese cuisine has to offer from the land and the sea. In short, the omakase is worth the splurge.

Park it in the yard and snack it up with some of the city’s best food trucks without having to chase them down. Window hop from BBQ and burgers to pad thai and po' boys, order beers while you wait, and then pull up a lawn chair to one of the picnic tables under the breezy trees and let the face stuffing begin. There’s really no better way to spend an afternoon.

A seat on the sunny patio at Ziziki's with a tableful of salty, tangy, fresh traditional Greek food is a pretty ideal way to spend a summer afternoon. The spanakopita—flaky filo pastry stuffed with seasoned spinach and feta—is a fail-safe crowd-pleaser. The keftedes (lamb meatballs in a sharp tomato sauce) are ideal to share, as are the souvlaki skewers. No meal here is complete without a bowl of Ziziki's heavenly baklava-flavored ice cream to round it off. All the buttery, sweet, nutty tastes of baklava in creamy, cold form.

Inside this double-wide trailer you’ll find one of the strongest cocktails in the city. The deceptive vanilla-vodka-and-coffee-liqueur-spiked Yoohoo Yeehaw comes straight out of an old Slurpee machine, is topped with a Maraschino cherry, and tastes like a Tootsie Roll. Drink it on the patio, which is decorated with toilets that artfully overflow with plants, or on one of the couches inside. There’s also a small stage where DJs play vinyl and there’s fantastic live music.

This rooftop bar at the CANVAS Hotel—the latest in a crop of younger, hipper hotels—offers spectacular views of the city’s South Side. Come for sunset drinks by the pool or at the bar, take in the Dallas skyline, and make a meal of it, too, thanks to a menu of substantial snacks—hot dogs, tacos, salads, and the like.

There are many reasons to visit the Grapevine: potent Tangaritas (frozen margaritas mixed with Tang), pickup games on the basketball half court, and the rooftop with amazing views of the downtown skyline. The laid-back dive bar straddles a few neighborhoods, so it’s almost always busy with an interesting crowd—perfect for people watching.

Drinking Mexican beer or mezcal in the back bar here is a singular experience: A statue of St. Jude, the patron saint of desperation, watches over the room. The entire bar (the name means “the broken souls” in Spanish) is a shrine to Mexican culture. And the food—homemade tacos and salsas—and drinks are absolutely authentic. Get the El Topo, a combination of the mineral water Topo Chico, lime juice, and tequila.

Exactly what you want in a dive bar: nice bartenders mixing strong drinks, a jukebox, and a huge dog-friendly yard. There’s live music in the vein of Mumford and Sons on the weekends. And sitting by the fire pit in the fall is absolute heaven.

The Joule’s subterranean mixology bar is somewhere between alternative and Texas classic, serving up some serious old-school cocktails with a twist, in a glam setting concocted by the gang behind the store Tenoversix. Green marble cocktail tables, brass bar stools and accessories, and a walnut ceiling are elegant enough for the Texas environs, while the cocktails—with names like Sister Cel-Ray and Savory Hunter—have a bit more bite.

The city’s first dog-park/restaurant mashup is absolutely packed on beautiful days—dogs can run off-leash in the one-acre park while owners hang out in the outdoor beer garden. The laid-back restaurant is popular in its own right: The menu focuses on burgers and hotdogs, and adorably, there are options for the canines, too.

A gay country-dance club where everyone is welcome, this is one of the best places to dance in Dallas, whether you’re in work clothes or drag. Early in the evening, there are very serious two-steppers on the floor, but the moment it’s 10:30 p.m., contemporary music comes on and the dance floor is flooded.

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.

This coffee bar shares a space with a popular taco joint, which means they have unusually good food options for a working coffee spot. Both the tacos and the espressos are neighborhood favorites, so you’ll want to arrive early to snag seating.

The interior of Drip Coffee is really well laid out for work, with a slew of compact tables set up in rows just begging for a laptop or stack of books. The owner is a coffee-industry veteran who roasts the beans himself in small batches; devotees buy the beans in big batches.

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.

The décor choices here—couch/chair/coffee table seating vignettes, big wide garage-style windows—feel residential, which makes it a comfortable place for work. The coffee is pretty Goldilocks perfect (strong, but not too strong), though the real draw here are the sandwiches, served on olive-oil-toasted ciabatta.

Oddfellows is a celebrated brunch institution in Dallas—on Saturdays, the wait for the duck chilaquiles and fried chicken is hours long. But stop by in the morning or afternoon during the week and you'll find a quiet coffeehouse, perfect for nursing a coffee and emptying out a full inbox (the Wi-Fi is just as strong outside on the patio). They're especially proud of their espresso, which is made in a gleaming, luxury La Marzocco machine.

Every town needs an arty coffee shop with open mic night and free Wi-Fi—with eclectic décor, oversize couches, and great coffee, Opening Bell is straight out of central casting. While the extremely full entertainment calendar makes this more of a daytime study location, there are plenty of tables, so you can find a seat even late in the afternoon. You'll also find all the requisite snacks and drinks, including a long tea menu, doughnuts, and a weirdly good breakfast taco.

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.

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.

Union is a major gathering place for the community in Dallas—it hosts performances, volunteer events, and more. What's really cool for nomadic workers is that no matter what is going on in the space, there is always a conference room or other area reserved for work and study: a lifesaver when you need a place that's reliably quiet. But regulars will remind you that this place is so much more than a coffee shop—it donates 10 percent of its proceeds to a rotating group of community causes and rallies its customers as volunteers and donors to multiply the effect.

Honestly, Weekend Coffee's retro graphic identity and associated swag are reason enough to visit (that, and the fact that it's located in the goop-favorite Joule Hotel), but the cold coffee here is some of the best in Dallas. It's a pretty tiny operation and seating is limited, but those who arrive early enough are rewarded with seats in leather chairs overlooking the room.

Run by Nancy and Bob Baker, White Rock Coffee is literally a mom-and-pop operation—there's nothing glamorous about this local spot, but the excellent coffee (roasted by Nancy and Bob themselves) and laid-back vibe make it a mainstay. While there's always a steady stream of customers, it never feels crowded, so it's a good place to get stuff done. The original Highlands Lake location has a spacious lofted space (that's where most of the outlets are), while the new express location has a drive-through if you don't have time to park.

This store was once literally housed in a cabana on owner Merry Vose's property. However, when her covert, by-appointment operation was shut down by the city, she took her fan base to Lovers Lane. It's equally easy to miss there, which only adds to the allure and sense of discovery upon spotting the unmarked lavender door. The same mix of pretty, affordable labels—MiH, Monrow, Steven Alan, Nili Lotan—abounds.

Merry Vose’s Cabana is a siren song in Dallas for all the women who love pretty, easily wearable labels, and so in response, she opened up Canary—a bigger, splashier store just down the street. The space is equally homey and filled with a mix of lesser-known finds like Christian Wijnants, SEA New York, and Each x Other.

At first glance, this looks like it’s solely devoted to eveningwear—and eveningwear is its mainstay. But these aren’t your average cocktail dresses: Mary Katrantzou, Chloé, and Balenciaga all line the racks, along with Pierre Hardy shoes and a smattering of jewels.

This beauty store stocks a huge assortment of skin care and makeup from some of our favorite brands (de Mamiel, Ilia, Kypris, and RMS Beauty to name a few) along with our own goop Beauty. Bring in your makeup bag, and the Credo team will help you find clean, cruelty-free replacements for everything. There’s also a Tata Harper spa that offers facials, waxing, makeup lessons, and more.

In 2016, the Dallas Farmers Market underwent a major renovation, and one of the unused buildings was transformed into the Shed—an amazing indoor local food hall. We love nourishing bone broth from Stocks and Bondy, Mexican furniture at the Dallas Antique Company, truffle-infused cheese from Scardello, and, of course, the fresh local produce.

What you fall in love with when you wander into this vintage store meets flea market depends on the day: We’ve taken home a taxidermy mouse wearing a top hat, hand-painted ceramics from local musician Sarah Jaffe, and rare vinyl from Bucks Burnett’s meticulously organized booth. The selection of vintage clothes, arranged by decade, is fantastic. On the weekends, Nancy Lloyd gives disturbingly accurate tarot readings.

In a state known for its antique fairs, you’re bound to stumble across great vintage troves, this one being one of the very best. As its name suggests, it’s an antique mall, not a shop, and you should expect to spend some time. You’ll find everything from Murano glass chandeliers to Art Deco dining tables to Chinese lacquered everything. Bonus: They ship everywhere.

Brian Bolke and his late partner, Shelly Musselman, revolutionized Dallas retail when they founded the original Forty Five Ten in 2000. Now no visit to the city is complete without spending a few hours getting happily lost in the latest iteration on downtown's Main Street. You’ll find everything from Proenza Schouler, Marni, and Delpozo to Kelly Wearstler home accessories and Diptyque candles under one spectacular roof. The beautifully renovated industrial-style dark-brick-and-glass building is also home to an amazing art collection—including works by Mario Testino and Bruce Weber, as well as Catherine Opie's 700 Nimes Road—plus an excellent rooftop restaurant with amazing views and an Assouline bookshop.

Grange Hall, with its gothic, cabinet-of-curiosities vibe, is the yin to Dallas’s glitzier yang. There’s a pretty gorgeous range of home goods—Ted Muehling candlesticks, Astier de Villate ceramics, Cire Trudon candles—along with really stunning jewelry. They just opened an on-site café, too, that serves artfully arranged food and an encyclopedia's worth of teas. This is inarguably one of Dallas’s very best stores.

Occupying a sprawling corner of one of Dallas’s busiest thoroughfares, Highland Park Village has been reigning supreme over the Dallas shopping scape since the '30s—in fact, it was the country’s first shopping center and gained historic landmark status because of that. It also has to be one of the country’s fanciest: Stella McCartney, Hermeès, Harry Winston, Tom Ford, and Chanel all have outposts here. (It is also home to the goop pop.)

Run by interior designer sisters Kirsten Fitzgibbons and Kelli Ford, this shop is one of the city's best resources for great gifts. They carry Baccarat crystal, Mottahedeh ceramics, and an array of kids' books and coffee table books, but what sets them apart is their personalization service—they’ll monogram, emboss, or engrave pretty much anything. (In fact, they did the monogramming for everything at the goop pop in every conceivable color, including neons.)

This is where to get cowboy boots. Handmade in a factory that’s been making custom boots for more than 150 years, these are the best. Full stop. The classic silhouette comes in three heights, and you can find classic stitching, metallic chili-pepper appliqués, cactus embroidery, an especially chic rock-and-roll constellation inspired by the West Texas sky—you name it.

Neiman’s was born in Dallas, and no trip to Texas is complete without a visit to the mother ship (there’s the original downtown and a bigger outpost in Northpark). Here, you’ll experience the sort of service that Stanley Marcus described in his epic book, Minding the Store, which is a must-read for anyone who loves retail. But we digress: The shoe department here is particularly epic, and dressed models still roam the floors, making it a wonderfully old-world experience.

Just inside the art-filled lobby of the Joule hotel, this small library is lined wall-to-wall with gorgeous books from the German publisher. On the weekends, they host a delightfully unfussy afternoon tea (with champagne). While the books themselves are remarkable, the ceilings—tiled with mid-century mosaics by Millard Sheets that were salvaged from the wrecking ball in 2006—are spectacular, too.

Shop owners Jackie Bolin and Liz Thompson were the first to bring a new breed of understated labels to Dallas (and quite possibly to Texas as a whole)—for one, they’re known for their Isabel Marant buy. But they also stock Alexander Wang, Acne, Thierry Lasry, Coqui Coqui candles, and a trove of vintage in collaboration with Archive in Austin. You’ll find Chanel, YSL, Dior, and Hermès.

Ylang 23 offers an encyclopedia’s worth of jewelry designers (its website is one of the better sources online). Whether it’s tiny stack rings from Jennifer Meyer or opal-bedecked earrings from Nak Armstrong, there is something for every price point.

This non-collecting museum has been pushing the boundaries of the Dallas art scene for thirty years. Mary Katrantzou and Richard Phillips are just a few of the artists who have shown work here, and entry to the museum is always free. Members get access to the show-opening parties, which are absolutely worth it.

The permanent art collection here cannot be dismissed: There are Monets, Manets, and Rauschenbergs, plus one of the largest Impressionist and Post-Impressionist collections in the country. But all that said, the museum’s design and local crafts holdings from around the world are just as impressive, from pre-Columbian artifacts to African masks and ceremonial attire to Eero Saarinen’s Tulip Chair. Admission is free.

Ranging along the tracks of a long-abandoned railroad line, the Katy Trail is a beautifully landscaped three-and-a-half-mile running/walking/biking path that cuts through some of the busiest parts of town. It makes for a great jog, with CrossFit equipment stops scattered along the way.

Adjacent to the Dallas Museum of Art and open to the public since 2003, this private collection, owned by the Nasher family, is one of the most stunning in the world, including works by everyone from Auguste Rodin and Paul Gauguin to Richard Serra, Ellsworth Kelly, and Tony Smith. The grounds match the work with a sprawling garden by Peter Walker and a glass Renzo Piano pavilion that barely interrupts the landscape. And not to be missed (from May until October): The Nasher hosts the ’til Midnight program, staying open late for film screenings and outdoor concerts.

Opened in late 2012, the new science museum is a must-see, not only for its stunning permanent exhibits and traveling shows but also for Thom Mayne’s groundbreaking sustainable building, which boasts a glass-enclosed staircase that cuts right through the structure. There is so much to see here that you might want to break it up into a couple of trips, but our favorite by far is the gems and minerals hall, which among other phenomena, includes an amazing five-foot geode. Plus, if you have little ones, the Children’s Museum alone is practically worth the day trip with all its requisite slides, crawl spaces, and sandpits.

The Texas State Fair is everything you might expect: country-and-western shows, livestock competitions, roller coasters, and food booths that will fry just about anything. Less expected are the tiny homes exposition, where every dwelling is less than 300 square feet, and the vegan-food pavilion. Open for only three weeks a year, the fairgrounds are filled with ornate Art Deco buildings built in the 1930s, and there’s also a lake you can paddle across in a swan boat.

This super challenging Pilates studio offers cutting-edge classes to tone strong, lean muscles. The fifty-minute classes incorporate reformer work, the chair, and a restorative stretch-and-release class that’s designed to work on tight fascia and increase flexibility and mobility.

This studio takes its mantra of “yoga for all” very seriously. There are ten types of classes, at all different levels, as well as options for kids and teens. Some of the best: deep stretching, an energizing vinyasa flow set to rock music, and sculpt classes warmed with an infrared sauna. There’s even a class for families to take together, where kids sing “Row Your Boat” while parents hold the boat pose.

This sprawling spa complex operates out of the Hotel Crescent Court, so a full day is well spent here: They offer private yoga and Pilates classes, a health-centric café, and treatments that range from the basic (manis and pedis) to the intense (hardcore lymphatic-draining treatments). We love that the spa is open to kids, too, with a full menu of kid-friendly treatments (and snacks in the café).

Holly Dear’s Uptown hair studio is always packed. Whether you book an appointment with one of the founders (you might have to wait) or one of the other super talented stylists, this is place to go for edgy-but-lived-in cuts and colors. It’s known for natural-looking balayage, but you can also get braids and blowouts at the bar in the back.

Dallas friends swear they’ve experienced the best facials of their lives at the hands of Joanna Czech, who incorporates LED therapy into her treatments. After studying biology in Poland, she made a name for herself in NYC before adding her studio here in Dallas in 2012. Instead of selecting a treatment from a menu, your aesthetician analyzes your skin, discusses goals with you (which could be anything from treating sun damage to glowier skin for an event that evening), and then gets to work. Every facial focuses on treating and supporting the lipid (top) layer of skin, and you can add on microcurrent, hyaluronic acid patches, oxygen infusion, microneedling, and more as you need. Czech’s eponymous skin care line is clean and absolutely fantastic. There is a second location in New York City.

Drawing from a combination of techniques from Pilates, strength training, cardio, and ballet, Meghann O’Leary, the founder of The PilatesBarre, has put together a roster of classes diverse enough to avoid repetition fatigue. Using a revamped Pilates machine known as the BarreFormer, the fifty-minute sessions target both big and small muscle groups. Classes are small, and the instructors are very hands-on and ready to get in there and make adjustments.

This airy, brick-walled nail salon was one of the first in Dallas to go clean, nontoxic, and sustainable. Local fashion designer and nail artist Lucy Dang is dedicated to making every treatment a safer, more luxurious experience for both customer and technician. All the products used—there are effervescent bath bombs, custom-blended aromatherapy oils, and rich shea butters—are made in-house. Get the VIP, which combines a shoulder massage, collagen-boosting treatment, multiple scrubs, and a mud mask, all made specifically for feet: It’s beyond relaxing.

Come to this relaxed, cozy salon founded by Joshua Rossignol for a transformative haircut, color, or extensions. Rossignol’s textured cuts give hair a natural lift. And the rest of the small team is talented and skilled, too, so book freely. At the back of the salon there’s a fully equipped photography studio for rent, should you need head shots, glamour shots, etc.

It was only a matter of time. As SoulCycle studios populate almost every neighborhood in New York, it’s no surprise the indoor cycling studio has made its way to Dallas. On any given morning, sixty or so riders pile into a candlelit studio for forty-five minutes of high-intensity pumping cardio—and sweat, a lot of sweat.

The sleek subterranean spa beneath the the Joule hotel offers both traditional and experimental spa treatments in a relaxing environment. Many of the facials use Tata Harper products; body treatments include Swedish massage, cupping therapy, and Thai table massage; and there are brow treatments from threading to microblading by local brow expert Rula Sharkawi. There’s a steam room with a giant amethyst shining in the corner (thought to encourage tranquility), a sauna, showers, and the Vitality Pool, a body-temperature pool with jets that gently massage the skin. Book a 50-minute or longer service and get a free spin, kickboxing, or yoga class at the neighboring Vital Fitness Studio.