A New Arts And Dining Scene Is Reshaping This Tycoon Town

Dallas is no longer just about longhorns and ten-gallon hats: With a reinvigorated arts district, noteworthy hotel openings and outstanding new restaurants, the city is taking serious strides toward becoming the cultural capital of the Southwest.

See The best of the city's visual arts are concentrated in a narrow downtown strip known as the Arts District, which will expand substantially when a massive performing-arts center opens its doors this fall. Until then, start your walking tour at the Dallas Museum of Art and head east, making stops at the Crow Collection of Asian Art and the Cathedral of Guadalupe. In the evening, take in a performance at the I.M. Pei-designed Meyerson Symphony Center.

Stay On the Arts District's north side, the historic Stoneleigh Hotel blends Art Deco sensibility with luxury. Recent renovations include the additions of an impressive spa and a beautiful new venue (pictured) to showcase Bolla Restaurant chef David Bull's culinary ingenuity. And on the south side, the sleek new Joule hotel caters to the posh set with chef Charlie Palmer's namesake restaurant.

Savor The new One Arts Plaza development has lured several serious restaurants into the district. Teiichi Sakurai, Dallas's foremost Japanese chef, has segued into soba at Tei An, his new restaurant. The menu deftly drifts between traditional preparations and new interpretations, such as "soba carbonara." Only a short walk away, at Screen Door, chef Fitzgerald Dodd has updated the beloved flavors of the regional cuisine. In a nostalgic bent, the menu is divided into dishes from "Then" and "Now," but all are thoroughly Southern.