I had a strange weekend. Instead of hanging out with friends on Saturday, or shopping for shoes for my sister’s wedding, or sleeping late, Home Warrior and I got up and drove to Dallas with our dogs. I had a rare Saturday meeting to attend yesterday, so we gathered up our dogs and our coffee and my work outfit and headed to Big D (see picture at right of the boys in the car).

We stayed at the Sheraton Suites Market Center near downtown, which was the closest hotel to my meeting site that took dogs. The hotel itself was very nice, the rates were reasonable, and they had no pet fee or weight limit for my dogs. Which is good since one of my boys is a 90 lb. black lab.  The bed was pretty comfy, and breakfast this morning was totally fine.  My meeting took about two hours (and was in a hotel that had an ice skating rink in it–crazy!), and by that time I was starving. Which brings us to the best part of our trip.

We had dinner at a downtown steak restaurant called Dakota’s. Your first impression is taking the elevator down from street level to the subterranean dining room. There is a lovely outdoor area with a stunning waterfall, a firepit, and a terraced garden. Of course, it was 28 degrees, so we did not spend too much time out there. Which was okay because it got us to the best part about Dakota’s more quickly: the food. It was freaking amazing. Everything from the wine selection to the the wedge salad to the steak to the chocolate bread pudding was delicious and perfectly prepared. I had the filet with bluecheese while Home Warrior had the Cowboy (20 oz!!) steak. It was tender, juicy, flavorful, and overall delicious. I was very full so I had to stop eating, but I was really sad to see it go away. The service was flawless, and wine recommendations were right on. It was not cheap by any means, but well worth it for a splurge. We will certainly go back the next time we are in Dallas.

We finished the night with Home Warrior playing on the computer while I read. It was definitely strange to have to get all dressed up in my work clothes and go to a meeting on a Saturday, but all in all we had a very nice weekend.

Countdown to my sister’s wedding: 20 days!