Monday, October 12, 2009

Weekend wonderland


Since we appear to be winding down our stay in Dallas, I've become increasingly sentimental about certain favorite spots/activities about town. One of those places is the Bishop Arts District, where I can't help but wonder how much homier I might've found this city overall if I'd been living there this whole time. The neighborhood has the right kind of historic/funky/artsy/mellow vibe that appeals to a hippie community planner type like myself. So much so, in fact, that this weekend we crossed the river three times to take it in. I couldn't get enough.

Friday night: Bolsa. I'm a huge fan of this new wine bar/restaurant. All of Bolsa's produce is local and organic, and you can taste the difference in every bite. I nearly wept with joy over their spinach salad... seriously. And the duck? Oh my word. Another note about Bolsa: every bartender, hostess, and waiter is just incredibly friendly, well-informed, and excited about their menu... not commonplace anymore, that kind of attitude. See you again soon, Bolsa...

Saturday: We headed back over to Bishop Arts for the Make Urban Street Bazaar. There were so many fantastic booths out there, and it was the first day in Dallas that was scarf-appropriate (hello fall and cider!). I scooped up some adorable hipster baby gear for my surrogate nephews and had the best time people-watching and playing in all the fun shops. Scenes from the afternoon:


"Tweet tweet, bitches!" from Cut Out and Collect 


The Soda Gallery boasts hard-to-find regional sodas (hello NC Cheerwine!) and letterpress from Inky Lips and Missing Q all under one roof



Creepy, fascinating baby hands art piece at Artisan's Collective (didn't catch the artist)


I loved these "Dysfunctional Bottles" by Bret Hahn, also at Artisan's Collective


Awesome t-shirt from Epiphany, which sells a slew of fairly awesome screenprinted tees. And yes, of course I bought one for T. As weird as we are about the words "husband" and "wife," I must admit that "trophy husband" has a nice ring to it. My favorite, though, comes courtesy of Ana Marie Cox's weekend tweets: "opposite marriage partner."

After stocking up on more Italian Tangelo Voluspa candles at Fete-ish (I love these candles!), my opposite marriage partner and I had to race back home to meet the cable guy, who's been hanging at our pad every weekend trying to figure out why our DVR keeps crapping out as us. But then hunger struck... and why not go back to Bishop Arts for the third time in 24 hours, we wondered?


Urban Street Bazaar still going strong!

Although Hattie's has been calling my name for a return visit in a big way, we decided to eat at Tillman's Roadhouse, where I nearly died over the ridiculousness that was my corn-stuffed poblano pepper with coffee/goat cheese polenta. (And almost died in another way at the extremely annoying double date taking place beside us.) But on a brighter note, I am obsessed with Tillman's decor:


Antlers, tree stump tables, and crystal chandeliers? Love it!

Just another weekend in the Big D...

10 comments:

  1. ok i ADORE Bolsa and the Bishop Arts District, so much so in fact that we are doing our puppy photos there.

    I adore the old soda shop.

    Have i mentioned I'm crying at my desk that your time in Dallas is winding down, this is unacceptable. please don't leave me. I NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED YOU!

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  2. i will have nightmares about the baby hands.

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  3. MM - Well then we will just have to spend all our time in Bishop Arts, won't we? xo.

    MODG - Just be happy I didn't photograph the baby heads piece.

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  4. i want that tote. and that t-shirt. i think they both need to be in my house.
    enjoy your wind-down in dallas! excited to see where you might next land. :)

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  5. LOVE Bolsa! I once had spaghetti squash carbonara there as a side and it was heaven. I tried to re-create it but it turned out terrible. All the more reason to go back and have it again!
    Next time you go to Tillman’s please try the homemade Smores…OMG – outrageously delicious!

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  6. I think Aaron needs that shirt. And then we can take T and he on a double date. To Tillman's. Where we will make them buy us Voluspa candles? (my faves too)

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  7. Did you visit the back room at Tillman's? Floor to ceiling birch trees with stuffed peacocks in them. Very cool.

    Tillman's chef Dan Landsburgh had a food booth at the Zoo fundraiser on Saturday night, Foie Gras biscuits, slathered with Duck gravy and a balsamic reduction drizzled over. Yum.

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  8. So glad you've enjoyed my little corner of the world (Oak Cliff)! I love to read stories like these - great juxtapositions to the ridick "news" pieces about robberies and shoot-outs. Come back anytime!

    P.S. I call mine "fake husband" and "baby daddy" interchangeably and without shame.

    P.P.S. Cheyne of CO&C is a good friend of mine and I'm so happy to see her Tweet bag featured.

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  9. Oh hai! Thanks for showing off my tweet tweet bitches tote! I hope we met and I was nice - I was so cold that the entire weekend was a complete blur!

    fantastic photos!

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  10. Glad you liked my bottles. They were a lot of fun to make. It was interesting to come across a reference to them on the web.

    Regards,
    Bret Hahn

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