I can think of two decent-to-good restaurants with Mexican food that are in downtown Dallas, both walking distance from the Fairmont.

1. Wild Salsa - is an upscale version of authentic Mexican but the food is good. The menu ranges from fancy dishes like lamb shank barbacoa with a poblano tamale for $29 all the way down to $2.50 tacos. It's a beautifully designed space with a Day of the Dead theme, and has a bunch of unusual margaritas.

http://www.wildsalsarestaurant.com/

2. Sol Irlandes is a pretty good Tex-Mex place with classic recipes dating back to one of Dallas' earlier Tex-Mex chains, Tia's -- nachos, fajitas, rellenos, combination plates, queso, and also American dishes like burgers and chicken-fried steak.

http://solirlandes.net/

3. there's also Iron Cactus, a spin-off of a mediocre Tex-Mex place from Austin with a convenient location on Main St but it's more popular for drinking than eating.

and you'll hopefully budget in an hour wait for Pecan Lodge? the lines are long since their DD&D appearance

Old downtown Plano is a great place to hang for a while - you can stroll up and down 15th street where there are shops & bars. (you can even take DART there, if you're near a Rail station, since one stops right at 15th St.)

Fillmore Pub and Vickery Park are two solid restaurant-bars, both with good beer selections, right across the street from each other, and they both do pretty good food; Fillmore has notable fish & chips and beef stew, while Vickery is 'fresher' - they actually have a mesclun salad with dried cranberries etc.

there are two yupscale pizza places, Urban Crust and Zanata, both with fancy ovens and better-than-average crust. i like the pizza at Urban Crust better - they do interesting toppings - but Zanata seems to have a broader menu, and there's not as much of a line/wait

Jorg's Vienna is an old classic that does Austrian and German food - schnitzels, apple strudel - the quality is very good, and they have a quaint biergarten.

Daisy's Barn & Grill is cheap, funky home-cooking; they make a just-like-mom's stuffed bell pepper and it's about $7.

Posh Nosh Market just opened - mostly prepared foods but they're fiiiinally bringing espresso drinks to the area and they have a full case of Talenti gelato.

just ate lunch last week at my Lakewood favorite, Dixie House. vegetable plate: real mashed potatoes with skins-on; broccoli with cheese; green beans - round thin ones, nice and green; glazed carrots soft and sweet; and fried okra. came with as many warm wheat rolls and squares of buttery cornbread as i wanted, all for $7. Shiner, #4, and Fat Tire on tap.

Shannon at Pegasus has compiled menus from more than 80 of the restaurants participating in Restaurant Week ... list is at the link below, and the restaurants with menus are bolded:

http://www.pegasusnews.com/news/2011/...

Pegasus did a big list. i mean, probably every other site did a list too, i just happen to know the one at pegasus heh

http://www.pegasusnews.com/news/2010/...

Crossroads Diner on Walnut Hill east of 75 by chef Tom Fleming has both corned beef hash and pork hash. did not try the corned beef but there's a photo of the pork hash here:

http://www.pegasusnews.com/news/2010/...

i just recently ate at Original Pancake House for the first time and really like their Dutch baby pancake. the texture was really good - kindof spongy in a good way

have always loved TSOGB for its international perspective and beautiful photos http://scentofgreenbananas.blogspot.com/

restaurant week or not, i think brownstone is pretty easy to eat at for $30 per person. they do the small plates to share and the portions are pretty big. they only have about 5 entrees and those are HUGE

the snow cones with alcohol are at Twisted Root. i had them at the Roanoke branch but the new SMU branch has them too. (i think deep ellum does not.) the one i had at Roanoke had blueberry & basil, it was really good.

i love frozen cocktails. my very favorite that i'm obsessed with is at Glass Cactus and at AmaLur, out in the Gaylord Resort in Grapevine. it's a haul but i will make it for their prickly pear margarita. the texture is gorgeous - no pellets at all, just frozen meltiness, smooth and slick, and the prickly pear puree has a luscious flavor. this drink was originally served at Taqueria Canonita in the 90s under the supervision of Stephan Pyles, who brought the drink to Gaylord when he consulted on their menus. i've never had a prickly pear margarita as good. last summer, Glass Cactus was doing a Sunday brunch and during that time, the prickly pear margaritas were only $5. it's quite nice to brunch there and look out on the lake with the absolute best frozen drink around. I LIKE THAT DRINK. ha

speaking of prickly pear frozen margaritas, i just had a close second, alas, also in the mid-cities, at a new place in N. Richland Hills called Anejo's. It's a fancy tex-mex and they have one where it's a regular frozen margarita to which they add the prickly pear puree. it's expensive though, maybe not worth the drive.

as of July 12, Lemon Bar in the West Village will bring back the frozen mojito, devised by since-departed bar manager Jason Quiroga, who first created the drink when he was at Republic on Hall & McKinney. they use fresh mint and lime, it's very puckery and good.

those bellinis at Patrizio are good and are often priced at $1. for $4.58, you can get them with a shot of raspberry Chambord.

Bolsa has a few frozen drinks with fruit in them, and La Duni picked up some of the exotic frozen cocktails they were serving at Alo. Alo had great frozen cocktails

i wasn't fond of the long black hair that showed up in my food the last time i went to Tong's House. i know these things happen but ... disgusting

i love Tei An's noodles with black sesame, great suggestion Webra

noodle-making session!
http://sidedish.dmagazine.com/2009/10...

tom thumb is selling some great reusable bags these days. i already have a slew of canvas bags (from Trader Joe's no less!) but the tom thumb ones are real comfortable and practical and i think they're only 99 cents each

planojim, you rule for bringing your own shopping bags
meanwhile, that sounds like a helluva dessert you were making...

i hear you on the disappearing flavors. i forget what was in Bovinity Divinity?

i really liked "Black & Tan", a 2006 flavor described as "Chocolate & Cream Stout Ice Creams Topped with a Cream Stout Ice Cream Head". basically chocolate ice cream + malt ice cream, awesome. but they pulled it because the name offended some people.

i just tried Boston Cream Pie, a new Ben & Jerry's flavor... it was OK. a bit rich

as an ex-new-englander, i don't much care for Milwaukee Joe's, either. sticky and gross. (altho i haven't tried the lemon custard...)
i should say that growing up in new england makes you spoiled/picky when it comes to ice cream. has to be a certain way! ha

sillypup, from which massachusetts town do you hail?

speaking as a fellow former massachusettsian, i'm not a fan of Henry's in Plano at all. try leaving it out on the counter to melt. it just sits there like a block of cheese. yuck

the closest i've found to what i grew up with is all the way on the other side of the metroplex in Southlake - it's called The Ice Cream Place. the ice cream there is similar to new-england-style ice cream in that it's better than supermarket ice cream and braum's but not as rich as the superpremiums like Haagen Dazs, which for me taste greasy, and their texture is too tight.

The Ice Cream Place is right in between. it has the creaminess but you don't feel dead after you eat it.

they have rather too many chocolate flavors for me and few of the classic new england flavors like orange pineapple or grapenut custard; but i had a great cone this weekend, a potent coffee called Eyes Wide Open.

it's at 1957 West Southlake Blvd and the # is 817-749-0888

i agree with amokscience that Paciugo is very good, and also that Eatzi's is one of the best places to get bread. Also: Empire Baking Co., which, as amokscience points out, is inconvenient, with only the one branch at Lovers & Inwood.

thanks FoodChic and hey CocoaNut have a great day! always enjoy reading your posts

FoodChic, it's obvious you're a "big fan" of City Hall, so i had a question about your steak: when you say it was "devine", do you mean it was REALLY good or just 'good'. also wondered about that party room. did they add on a tip for a large group? was also curious to know if they have drink specials, and if so, on what days

could those cones maybe be the "Papadum Jugalbandhi"? cutting and pasting from the menu: "Cone Shaped Papadum Sampler 1. House-Made Mung Sprouts with Tomatoes, 2. Spiced Potatoes, Peas and Pomegranates, 3. Green Garbanzo Chaat with Micro Cilantro"
i ordered it once thinking it would be good but ... i thought wrong

oh my gosh, Lfitz200, I was just thinking about going out and visiting City Hall tonight when I coincidentally stumbled across your comment. It's like there's this completely organic grass-roots viral type GROUNDSWELL of excitement brewing for this exciting new jewel on the landscape of Keller, Texas. Your description of the food really had my mouth watering, and I've got like 10 kids, so anyplace with a kids menu is an automatic YES

this might be a good place to start

http://www.gelartfloral.com/technique...

it seems to imply that the "flowers" are made of gelatin

Dallas
http://www.pegasusnews.com/news/2010/jan/31/valentines-day-2010-dallas/

and Fort Worth
http://www.pegasusnews.com/news/2010/...

I love this place too! Aside from the awesome vasos and really cool custom tables, one of my favorite things is sitting on the patio and breathing in the hookah smoke. That's how good this place is: Even the exhalations from other hookah smokers are incredible. And it doesn't cost you anything! ha haha

Old World Sausage Co. just opened in the Dallas Farmers Market, they have a real Chicago slant, are bringing in lots of goods...
http://www.pegasusnews.com/news/2010/...

p.s. (sorry for double comments, but I forgot about this salad) - the other night I had the side salad at Black-Eyed Pea and it was really great and fresh. It had a blend of Iceberg, Romaine, and Baby Spinach mixed with diced cucumbers, diced tomatoes, a mix of Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses, and homemade garlic croutons. It was all super fresh and delish. Served with your choice of homemade dressings. I like that you can get it as a side for $3.49 but also with your entrée for $1.99 (which is how I got it)

oh wow, what a great thread you've started! if i may offer a suggestion: you ought to take all of the responses you get here and turn it into some kind of uber-blog posting! would love to see that. i always like to contribute my two cents to that kind of thing.

my suggestion for a great salad is a little offbeat but here goes: the brand new Asian Crunch Salad at Applebee's. I know, i know - Applebee's, oh NO - but don't knock it if you haven't tried it! It has grilled chicken breast served over crunchy salad greens, roasted red peppers, sugar snap peas and refreshing cucumbers. With a tangy Asian vinaigrette and sliced almonds. (LOVE the sliced almonds.)

If that doesn't float your boat, they also have a Paradise Chicken Salad that is seriously like paradise: pineapple, mandarin oranges, fresh apple chunks, pico de gallo and crisp greens, topped with slices of blackened grilled chicken and served with cool balsamic vinaigrette. It's - how do they say it - THE BOMB

this is somewhat tangential but Victor Tango's on Henderson SERVES marrow bones, with toast and, i believe, caramelized onions

do you mean Cafe Rembrandt in the West End? pretty sure they closed in september

http://www.pegasusnews.com/news/2009/...

or have they re-opened?

just had a pretty good version at a new place out in Mesquite called Jessie's, from the guy that used to own Texana Grill in Arlington (back in the 90s)

http://www.pegasusnews.com/news/2009/...

the bldg at Knox-Henderson has a "for lease" sign...
http://www.pegasusnews.com/news/2009/...

adkim, what is your favorite mussels and fries? i saw them recently on a menu, i think it may have been Masaryk. i love mussels and i love fries! what a great idea to have them together. but isn't it hard to keep the fries crispy? just my opinion