If you watch the eponymous 1970s TV show, or indeed the new shiny 2012 version which airs in the UK on Channel 5 next week, you'd think Dallas was all big ranches, cowboy hats and oil money. Well, take it from someone who lives here – it's not. I am not saying the shows are completely inaccurate; I like the series, and they surely did something right to become one of the longest-running American soaps of all time. Yet despite the reputation for thick accents, over-the-top fashion and cattle barons, there is an arty side, bohemian even, that rarely gets covered.
Here is my list of off-the-beaten path attractions, plus some of the unmissable and historic sites, that make Dallas such a fun city to visit.
Neighbourhood watch
Deep Ellum, east of downtown, is a hotbed for art, music, and graffiti, and one of the more historic areas of the city: it played a big part in the development of American blues music. It has gone through periods of boom and bust but is on an upswing now, with new bars and the recently opened Deep Ellum Brewing Company (2823 St Louis Street, deepellumbrewing.com), with public tours on Thursdays and Saturdays. Classic spots include The Meridian Room (3611 Parry Avenue, themeridianroom.com) and Amsterdam (831 Exposition Avenue, theamsterdambar.com), and legendary music venues include Trees (2709 Elm Street, treesdallas.com) where Nirvana, Soul Asylum, and other grunge bands played in the early 1990s; Club Dada (2720 Elm Street, dadadallas.com), and for metal music heads Reno's Chop Shop (210 N Crowdus Street, renoschopshop.com). See DeepEllumTexas.com, and DeepEllumSocial.com for more ideas.
Further west, Oak Cliff (gooakcliff.org) and the Bishop Arts District (bishopartsdistrict.weebly.com) at Davis Street corridor, and the Tyler Davis Art District (tyler-davis.org) are full of good food, culture, and cyclists wearing nerdy glasses and hats. Over the years this historic area has been the home of Stevie Ray Vaughan, Erykah Badu, Edie Brickell, Dennis Rodman, and T-Bone Walker. Oak Cliff gets slapped around a lot in the media – it was the home of Bonnie and Clyde, and Lee Harvey Oswald – but it has undergone a renaissance lately.
Lockhart Smokehouse (400 West Davis, lockhartsmokehouse.com) does the best barbecue in Dallas in my opinion – order from the counter and eat with your fingers. Bolsa (614 West Davis, +1 214 367 9367, bolsadallas.com) does great modern American; and Eno's (407 North Bishop Avenue, enospizza.com), a pizza place and tavern, is also worth checking out. There are some cool vintage clothing and antique shops, such as Zola's Everyday Vintage (414 North Bishop Avenue, zolasvintage.com) and DFW M'Antiques (424 West Davis Street), an antique store geared towards men that offers free beer.
Lakewood (lakewoodguide.net) next to White Rock Lake, has a relaxed vibe that leaves you wondering if it's a suburb of Austin. You might also call it Dallas for People Who Hate the Big City. It has drawn hippies, hipsters, artists and families, creating a sense of community. A few favourite haunts include the Cock and Bull (1920 Abrams Parkway, cockandbulldallas.com) a pub that also serves the best burger in Dallas; Cosmo's Lounge (1212 Skillman Street, cosmosbar.com) a 1960s-style martini bar with excellent pizza; Arcade Bar (1825 Abrams Parkway), and the Lakewood Landing (5818 Liveoak, +1 214 823 2410, lakewood-landing.com). It's also home to the historic Lakewood Theater (lakewoodtheater.com), which opened in 1938, and features occasional burlesque shows and gigs.
The Dallas Museum of Art (dm-art.org), the Nasher Sculpture garden (nashersculpturecenter.org) and the Crow Collection of Asian Art (crowcollection.com) stand together downtown in the Arts District (thedallasartsdistrict.org). Both the DMA and the Nasher have late-night events once a month or so, with bands, movies, and food trucks.
Fun things to do
The M-Line (mata.org) is a system of four (mostly) air-conditioned and heated vintage trolley buses running 365 days a year around Dallas's vibrant Uptown neighbourhood. All rides are free, though there is a donations box.
The Dallas skyline is well worth admiring. The bar of my favourite hotel, the Belmont (belmontdallas.com, stylish rooms from $99), patios at Bryan Street Tavern (bryanstreettavern.com) and The Cedars Social (thecedarssocial.com) are some of the locations affording great views. A scene in the second episode of Dallas was filmed here, with John Ross Ewing and Christopher Ewing. Or take a free elevator ride to the roof of the old Sears Roebuck building (southsideonlamar.com) which is now loft housing. It has the most amazing view: as you stand below it, the rooftop sign feels a bit like the Hollywood hill sign. The cast of Dallas actually stayed here for some portion of the filming of the series.
But the best panorama of the city is from Reunion Tower (+1 214 741 5560, reuniontower.com). The Big Ball on its top is synonymous with the Dallas skyline. Catch a happy hour or eat in the restaurant Five Sixty by Wolfgang Puck (+1 214 741 5560, wolfgangpuck.com), named for the number of feet it sits above ground.
Since 1989, the Sixth Floor Museum (jfk.org) at Dealey Plaza has welcomed more than six million visitors seeking information about the assassination of President Kennedy on 22 November 1963 in the plaza outside. The 50th anniversary of the shooting is coming up and the conspiracy theorists are foaming at the mouth. I've heard that the X on the street that marks the spot where Kennedy was shot moves every year. How's that for a conspiracy?
Adults can relive their childhood playing two-foot-high Jenga and 1980s video games at Barcadia (1917 North Henderson Avenue, barcadiabars.com). It has several nostalgic video games as well as early-20th-century arcade game skeeball, all for 50 cents a game.
Lots of people come to Dallas expecting to see cowboys and are disappointed. But the cowboy is alive and well in Fort Worth (part of the Dallas "metroplex"), and nowhere more so than at the Fort Worth Stockyards (140 East Exchange Avenue, fortworthstockyards.org), a working Old West ranch which is touristy but fun. Go on a Friday or Saturday night to see the rodeo or catch a show at Billy Bob's, the country music club that bills itself as the world's largest honky tonk. Nearby at Sundance Square in downtown are hip restaurants and rooftop cocktail bars.
If you'd rather hear some real Texas blues, head for The Goat (7248 Gaston Avenue, thegoatdallas.com) and Brooklyn's (1701 South Lamar Street, brooklynjazzcafe.com) which have blues bands or open mic opportunities nearly every night.
Where to eat
Unless you're vegetarian, you can't visit Dallas without chowing down on some barbecue. Off the Bone (1734 South Lamar Street, +1 214 565 9551, offthebonebarbeque.com) is best for ribs. Hispanic culture is huge in Texas – but Texans like to put our own spin on the classics, which is why we call it Tex-Mex. My two favourite Tex-Mex establishments are Desperados (4818 Greenville Avenue, desperadosrestaurant.com), a family-owned joint with great fajitas, and Pepe's & Mito's in Deep Ellum (2911 Elm Street, pepesandmitos.com), which does chipotle wine sauce enchiladas I have had dreams about.
Dallas is also big on street tacos, except they are not on the street. Fuel City (fuelcity-tacos.com), Rusty Taco (therustytaco.com), and Good 2 Go Taco (good2gotaco.com) are three of the best for inexpensive fajita, shrimp, and picadillo (ground beef with spices) tacos. All these places, especially Good 2 Go Taco, offer vegetarian and healthy options that are just as yummy.
If meat is not your thing, try the healthy fare at the Dallas Farmers Market (1010 South Pearl Expressway, dallasfarmersmarket.org), a downtown fixture for six decades and now one of the largest public markets of its type in the country. Often you can make a meal out of all the free samples.
• Netflights (netflights.com) has a seven-night trip to Dallas from £670pp, including room-only accommodation and Delta Airlines flights from Heathrow on 21 October. British Airways (0844 209 2770, ba.com) flies daily to Dallas Fort Worth from Heathrow from about £725 return including taxes.
See traveltex.com for more Texas holiday ideas
Neil Lemons is editor of iliveindallas.com, an online Dallas arts and entertainment site
