Go Deep (Ellum, that is)

Most of you know that Lydia and I live in the Deep Ellum area of Dallas, just east(ish) of Downtown. It is one of the “oldest” parts of Dallas – meaning most of the buildings from the turn of the 20th century have yet to be bulldozed, unlike most of the rest of the city. Deep Ellum has historically been an “entertainment” district – meaning you can go see a band play before or after you get a tattoo, eat dinner at a funky restaurant, and maybe visit an avant-garde art gallery or leather shop (and I don’t mean for saddles and tack)… It started off with blues music greats like Blind Lemon Jefferson and Leadbelly, went through a punk phase surrounding the 80s, always has had a pretty consistent rock groove, and believe it or not has a “country” side that has helped put some serious Texas Country musicians on the (state) map.

Unfortunately, somewhere along the line Dallas’ general populace decided that history just smells of decay, grit is best scuffed off on a welcome mat from Ikea, mainstream is the only way for good fish to swim, and music – well music comes from Los Angeles and Nashville. So, Deep Ellum has earned itself a reputation as unseemly and dangerous and dirty and bohemian and, I don’t know – too “Austin”? The city crime map doesn’t look any worse in Deep Ellum than it does in East Dallas or West Dallas. Most of that crime occurs around the hoochie clubs and other mindless venues that I could care less about. If you learn to tell the bums “no” and use some amount of reasonable common sense, Deep Ellum will reward you with some character, some history, and some cojones that are sorely lacking in the rest of Dallifornia.

But, as a result of the perception and general disinterest in Deep Ellum, its fabric is starting to unravel. Its most famous music venues are shuttered. Its lynchpin restaurants are gone – though arguably its best remain, and I’ll expound forthwith. And with fewer feet on the sidewalks, butts in chairs, and thus fewer paying tenants, the building owners seem to be banding together to hasten the demise of the neighborhood. Then they can sell to a developer that will bulldoze it and start over so fresh and so clean, clean – just like Dallas likes it. My free market conscious can’t blame them, but my Texan love of history and roots and individuality is pretty pissed off.

I’ve been visiting Deep Ellum since college and it has consistently been my favorite place in Dallas since I moved back to Texas. Lydia has lived there for several years; it’s our first ‘home’ together; and it will be our home until at least next summer when we look to buy a place of our own. To say it is indelibly associated with the beginnings of our relationship is an understatement on par with, “The Texas Rangers don’t seem to be … good.” So, last weekend I decided to take the digital camera and document for posterity the places that we love (and loved) before we move away and its spirit moves on to the historic afterlife. And this post is already way to long, so let’s get on with it. In sort-of alphabetic order.


Adair’s Saloon is one of the first places Lydia and I hung out just prior to our official dating life began. It’s a hole-in-the-wall country bar with a tiny stage that’s packed, smoky, and loud as anything on Friday and Saturday night. But, the beer is cheap and cold and you can catch good acts – both state and local. Like one of our favorites, Boys Named Sue, who played the night of our engagement when I had Lydia’s friends meet us at Adair’s after I popped the question. The bassist, Ward – once Lydia’s neighbor, even dedicated a song to us, but for the life of me I couldn’t tell you what it was.


The AllGood Café has the best chicken-fried steak I’ve ever had, and if you know me at all, you know I don’t make statements like that lightly. They’ve got a simple menu with awe-inspiring food at good prices and they have good bands that play frequently. I mean, seriously, what more do you need? Oh yeah, beer – the Shiner is cold at AllGood. (If I ever need a pass-phrase for a secret mission, that’s going to be it, “The Shiner is cold at AllGood.”)


The dog was angry that day, my friends. In a good way. The Angry Dog is home to the single finest burger I’ve ever eaten that I did not grill myself. Get it with the grilled onions. Oh, man. And the hot dog, source of the eatery’s name, is as good as you would expect when one has named one’s business after it. I’m sure other menu items are good too, but every time I contemplate something else, I can’t make myself forgo the burger. Also in the photo, Baker’s Ribs – heed the name if you decide to try it. The ribs are good, the brisket would land you on a PETA billboard if you tried to feed it to your dog. But that puts it in good company with another Dallas barbecue institution, Sammy’s, which has the absolute worst barbecue on the planet. I would eat barbecue off a 7-Eleven hot dog spit before I went back to Sammy’s. I would fly to New Jersey to eat barbecue before going back to Sammy’s. Geee-ross. Anyway…


It’s good and it’s … homey? I don’t know how to explain it. It is a really comfortable sushi restaurant, and comfort is just not something I usually associate with sushi. Some day we are going to sit at the sushi bar and let the chef decide what we’re eating that night. Man, I could eat a couple of octopus nigiri right now and drink one of their big bottles of cold Kirin.


Ahhh, Monica’s. Our first date and the venue for my proposal to Lydia. I e-mailed Monica herself (used to be ‘himself’ by the way, though that really doesn’t matter here or there, thus ‘aca y alla’) to ask for a reservation because they usually only do that for larger parties. Well, they set aside their entire private dining room for us, on a Friday night no less. I have to say, that’s the coolest thing I’ve ever accomplished. And the food is fantastic. And they have a live salsa band on the weekends. And the margaritas are perfect. Yep.


Pepe’s & Mito’s is about a block from our apartment. We walk when we go, obviously. Authentic Mexican food annihilates the (admittedly very good) Tex-Mex on the menu. Get the tacos nortenos or anything with chipotle-wine sauce. It’s got a little covered patio that is nice when Dallas isn’t surface-of-the-sun hot. Don’t get the standard margaritas, though, make them make you one to order – Herradura is good for that. We probably eat here more than anywhere else, now, and that’s my fault. I’m a man with needs – and P&M meets one of them.


If we were having a small Dallas wedding, I’d have the rehearsal dinner here. It’s not groundbreaking in any way that I can think of, but it’s just a good, solid casual dinner that you can afford to do in the middle of the week. And, it’s got all sorts of crazy, mounted, giant saltwater fish on the wall. You can see how that would appeal to me, but Lydia likes St. Pete’s just as much as I do. St. Pete’s and Angry Dog both seem to have the same beer selection, as does Elbow Room – very extensive for what it is. Just so you know. St. Pete’s patio is good too. It’s also on Commerce, which I have no trouble admitting is my favorite Deep Ellum street – Adair’s, St. Pete’s and Angry Dog are within a block of each other.

And now, my requiem for the two best Deep Ellum music venues that ever were.

Bring in da noise:


Bring in da funk:


Here’s where I get artsy on you:


Deep Ellum, I’m glad I knew ye…