The Devil Does Dallas

When you have a whole bunch of friends that live in the great state of Texas, you have to go to Dallas for a fun drinking weekend. Granted that every trip does not have to be a "drinking" weekend but it sure does make the time fly by rather quickly. We started off our regular bar hop in the Oaklawn area at the Cowboy emporium know as the Round Up -- yes who knew all these boys could really line dance much less dress up as legitimate cowboys, and we ended in places that only the bravest Uber drivers would circle to pick up their rides.

Outdoor bars are becoming a thing in Dallas just like NOLA, and we were pleased to stumble upon The Ivy Tavern. Ivy is a combination of a comfortable, dark interior bar attached to a generous patio with lots of tv's for sports watching. Of course ivy is growing on all the walls despite the fact that it is plastic ivy. The most unique concept at this bar is the glassware which are red solo cups which allows the bartenders to easily offer doubles every time you secure a beverage. Note to self: don't order doubles every single time a bartender offers you a double. Ivy also has a fine collection of beers including many local craft beers. It is Texas so even Bud and Miller personalize the cans for this big state.

We ventured next to the Hidden Door which has the largest memorabilia collection I have seen in a bar this size. The Hidden Door has the traditional old NOLA type interior--dark, dirty, lots of people staring at you-- with a spacious patio housing a ton of seating and a very high fence which gives some indication to what occurs after dark. We chose to leave before it got dark by the way. Drink prices here are a bargain and the pours are generous. The Hidden Door continues to be a leader in supporting LGBTQ causes throughout the Dallas area.

We closed the weekend at Sixty Vines with brunch and discovered one of the cleverest ideas we have ever seen: a Mimosa creation bar. Sixty Vines is a wine and beer restaurant and over 50 beers and wines are on tap as part of the decor. At brunch, you get bottomless Mimosas in a carafe which brings us back to the Mimosa bar. Fresh fruit and juices of all types are on this bar so you bring your champagne glass over and create your own Mimosa on each refill. Small plates and long tables designed for large parties make people watching a spectacular event.

We of course ended up in quite a few other places but we'll save that for another time.

Ivy Tavern

5334 Lemmon Avenue

Dallas, Texas

214-559-4424

http://www.theivytavern.com/

The Hidden Door

5015 Browser Avenue

Dallas, Texas

214-526-0620

http://www.hiddendoor-dallas.com/

Sixty Vines