TS: Dallas vs. Houston

(I haven't been to Dallas; I hate driving through Houston but have only spent an afternoon there other than on I-10.)

Dallas isn't much better, but it's not as polluted, humid and has somewhat less violent crime. Therefore Dallas wins.

ergo, dallas wins.

Argh. Argh. Argh.

Depends. Do you know where Chacho's is, and can you get me some of their salsa quemada? :)

Is there a Houston corollary to Jerry Jones' face-lift?

Dude, that's right around where I live!

I've never been there, though. Is their salsa quemada supposed to be legendary?

(End of pointless tirade)

I've never been there, though. Is their salsa quemada supposed to be legendary?

Oh man. Well, the salsa itself, no, not really. Nor is Chacho's, exactly. There used to be a different fajita place there, which my ex had gone to all the time when she lived there (this is why I've been to San Antonio so much). We found Chacho's when we went looking for the other place ... and man, between that and a few other places in SA, Mexican food just doesn't satisfy me anywhere else now.

They have the little salsa-and-condiments bar in the middle there, and the salsa quemada -- I have no idea what's in it, but it's brown, and in the mid-to-high range of spiciness, and I'm going to guess chipotle and onion for starters -- is my favorite, especially for the quesadillas and the carne guisada taco.

... damn. Said ex and her friends are in San Antonio this weekend, and I haven't gone since we broke up a couple years back. (I miss Rudy's, too, but that's not in San Antonio proper, that's down ... that loop ... 1604?)

Had an itchy feeling about race relations, but the only places I haven't had that feeling were places where everyone was the same race. So.

Can't speak to club-and-music scene except that I think a large portion of it is really in Austin, but that's only, what, an hour away.

Dee can say more, I'm sure :)

Thank you for ranking the school system here as "good". We're so tough on ourselves in regards to that that it's nice to know the school districts' efforts (well, at least the two largest ones, the NISD and the SAISD) haven't gone for naught.

Agreed about the heat and humidity during the summers, which really encompass May - September here. After September's end, though, when the cooling starts and one is able to do outdoor activities without sacrificing comfort, the payoff for summer begins.

Also agreed about the sheer sprawl of this place. It's not uncommon to spend anywhere between 30 and 45 minutes driving to a destination, and when I was going to high school downtown the commute back home was a good hour or so. Sometimes it does get irritating, but other times, when I've got a CD I love playing on the car stereo I feel happy about the distances. (Right now, most places I go to are within a 20-minute drive of where I live, but if I wanted to go to the "cool local record store", i.e. Hogwild Records, I would have to spend anywhere up to 45 minutes driving there. Which I have, I'll let you know.)

Austin IS the place to go for the really cool music and clubbing scene, but there are still things to do here in San Antonio. We've got like five or six gay bars/clubs lined up almost end-to-end in a strip that's actually not too far from Hogwild Records (these places exist in our "artsy bohemian" area). There are other bars & clubs scattered throughout the city, although I couldn't tell you how they are because I'm not exactly a clubbing/bar-hopping type of person. And I suppose if you're interested in it, we do have a Polly Esther's downtown and a Dave & Buster's in the near-northwest side. Plus, the whole city is DM-friendly because Depeche Mode have been good to us and played here several times in the past. (This totally rocks my own personal casbah, of course.)

The racial atmosphere -- well, honestly it could be improved. But that could describe most places you go to, hm? One good part about living here with the ethnicity I have is that I feel like I'm the norm when I'm here. I don't have to really think about the way I look or my lineage, which frees me up to be whomever I want to be vs. trying to be an example of what my ethnicity is supposed to be about. If I were living in someplace like Hartford, CT, or Birmingham, AL, I think I'd be trying as hard as I could to be the "perfect Latina", but over here I can be all-American and not really hear anything about it or feel like I was a failure to my ethicity.

James, if you've got questions to ask, feel free to ask, either in e-mail or over here on this forum or in chat or a combination of the three. I'd be more than happy to answer your questions.

http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/human_league/tours.jhtml

C'monbecorrectMamawantstohear"Secrets"live. ;)

vs

http://pod-135.dolphin-server.co.uk/~gareth/postcards/houston.jpg

Having lived in both I must say Dallas will make you want to kill yourself far, far less.

which area is the artsy, bohemian side of San Ant? Is it the northeast side? (forgive me, it's been a few years).

Strong words from a man who lives in Arlington! ;)

gygax!, no worries. The part of town I'm thinking of would be the one just north of downtown, right around San Antonio College. I suppose one could make the argument that there are two other artsy, bohemian areas in the city -- the area just west of downtown, right around where the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center is, and another area just north of downtown that borders the King William Historical District. However, the one I was thinking of specifically at the time I posted the above message was the one just right next to the Monte Vista Historical District. You remember the intersection of San Pedro and Main? That's right around where I was thinking.

*reads Orbit's post, is incredibly surprised*

I think my Texas rankings would go:

Austin
Ft. Worth
El Paso
San Antonio
Dallas
Houston

Yeah Aaron, just cause my window got shot out at work in the Cliff doesn't mean it's a bad part of town.

my TX ranking:

1. Austin
2. Dallas
3. San Antonio
4. Ft Worth (my hometown)
. . .
100. Houston

1) Austin
2) Houston
3) Ft Worth
4) El Paso
5) SA
6) Dallas

Dallas is ridiculous. I have learned to like aspects of it, but most of what I like about Dallas is centered around the fact that there's nowhere to go but up; and that whatever interesting scenes or facets there are are so nascent and tiny, and are therefore limitless in their promise, and more accessible/less intimidating.

And for the record the Dallas food scene could not be more overrated. A hudred katrillion restaurants and so very few of them are worthy of note.

i lived in the heights and thought it personified everything i hate about houston. yuppies moving to the "inner city" and gentrifying everything. Houston just reeks of upward mobility and shallowness to me.

and i've noticed people who dislike dallas usually associate it with deep ellum and knox/henderson. I used to do the same. if you do this of course you'll dislike it, those places suck!!!

keeping it real in the 2-1-4,
Sam of the E.D.T.

Aren't about half the clubs in Deep ellum owned by one guy/group now?

I worked for him at Liberty Noodles before it shut down.

My aunt dated Corky Campisi when she was an SMU cheerleader in the '70s, until my dad and uncle basically severed the relationship (they weren't gonna let their sister date a wiseguy).

some lame ass velvet rope type club is there now.

sammy, i met "Books" (RivBtGmblrs mgr.) a couple times when he was out here, should i call him up?

the double wide was a little much (lone star cans though).

why didn't you tell me you were here???

on the other hand, houston has the guy that is probably at the top of the reserve list now, and we always have an amazing time when i'm down there. great restaurants, going to the theatre, going to see bands-- all designed to trick me to move there. although i think i'd get sick of it after a week or so.

and i went to austin for the first time, and we liked it because it had: frozen custard, brew and view with good food and 'spellbound' showing, champagne sangria in a lovely garden.

so i like each in their own way.

There are two vietnameses noodle places in the EDT, each within a mile of me: Mai's and VietNam.

Sam (or indeed anyone else here), what are your opinions re: Mesquite? I ask this because this sweetheart of a person I know is now in Mesquite and obv I'm curious about what that place is like.

I consider cities superior to the 'burbs for the cultural bonuses - concerts/shows/music, cinema, museums, shopping (if you have the money and are into that, I suppose), art, etc.. Dallas doesn't have any of those worth mentioning (arguably not even the best in the area for any of them), nor the mass transit/pedestrian culture of a New York.

Dallas is pretty much identical to the rest of the non-Plano/Highland Park/richwhitefuckers Metroplex.

I'm not saying Dallas is worse than anywhere else in the area, but it's not that different, either. Different from the richwhitefucker part of North Texas, but not from the other population centers.

My sister has just announced that her and her husband are moving to Dallas for three years (he's been seconded). So what's our view on Dallas as a holiday destination?

Dallas is wonderful. I've lived here three years now and I love it. (have also spent 6 yrs in Austin and 3 in Houston). If you want more specific info vicky, you can mail me.

Here in Dallas for 48 hours on work. So far: humid and massive electrical storm.

OMG fuck Dallas forever