Posts about Dallas, Texas – the best city in the world!
Additional bars are reopening in the gayborhood, which means that the evening dog walks are very interesting.
There were several wrecked cars in the area this weekend — one was even left turned on. The strangest thing about these crashes is not that people abandon their vehicles, but that it takes so long for the crashes to be cleared. Each crash took almost a full 24 hours to be removed.
On Sunday we made it back to drag brunch at TNT Tacos and Tequila in Uptown, Dallas. This is quickly becoming one of my favorite drag shows in town because of the food, drinks, and talent.
Finally, rounding out this week’s photo series from “All Tea, No Shade” drag brunch in Deep Ellum, we have photos of Bleach!
I was really excited to finally see Bleach perform live after following her amazing Instagram account for a while now. She’s definitely a stand-out member of the cast and brings a wild comedic energy that reminds me a lot of Alaska and Katya.
I also wouldn’t be shocked if Bleach is Dallas’ next Drag Race superstar (or even Dragula!) Perhaps the first queen to win both? Who knows! When you’re this talented, the possibilities are endless.
Here are photos from brunch!
The nice thing about the cooler temperatures is that we can actually take the dogs on longer walks without Ingrid completely overheating.
These are some shots from a recent walk to Victory Park, which is about as far as we could walk from Oak Lawn before the heat gets to the dogs (and us!) Now that the temperatures are closer to 80, the rest of the downtown Dallas area becomes a possibility.
The next challenge is ending work early enough to take long evening walks before it gets dark. We haven’t figured that out quite yet, but it’s on the to-do list this week.
Ingrid and Gunter in Victory Park, Dallas.
Ingrid the labradoodle in Victory Park, Dallas.
Ingrid the labradoodle in Victory Park, Dallas.
Next up in this week’s photo series on “All Tea, No Shade” drag brunch performers is Tayanna Love.
We were not familiar with Tayanna before this performance, and I was pleasantly surprised. She took us to church and really excelled in intense lip syncs. She also busted out a cartwheel, which no one was expecting. Definitely a strong performer and someone I am excited to see again.
You can follow Tayanna over on Instagram.
Here are photos from brunch!
Dallas’ amazing skyline is one of my favorite things about this city. I love that I can always see skyscrapers without ever feeling walled in.
The view approaching downtown on a highway almost makes up for how terrifying the highways are. I-35 near this part of downtown is particularly treacherous, maybe because drivers are more focused on the skyline than the road. We’ve already seen several crashes since August, but fortunately I’ve lucked out so far. 💥
Next up in our round-up of “All Tea No Shade” drag brunch stars, is Kira Kennedy Chanel.
Kira was visiting from New York City, and only performed one number. However, Kira she had a great look and was a lot of fun. I hope to see more of Kira in the future, perhaps she’ll be back for another one of Kennedy’s brunches.
You can follow Kira on Facebook.
Here are photos from brunch!
I think we are done with 90 degree days for the rest of the year, but we had a chance to go to Virgin Hotel’s pool club before things got too chilly.
We got free passes to the pool club as part of the Last Virgin Drag Brunch. Like everything else in the hotel, it was a very elegantly designed space.
The cabanas at the pool club in Dallas’ Virgin Hotel.
A drag queen hosting at the Virgin Hotel’s pool club.
The Pool Club at the Virgin Hotel in Dallas.
The cocktails were great, but the best part of the pool club is the people watching. There was the most bizarre mix of people — body builders with crazy tattoos, gay tables, Uptown girls, 25-year-old bros, and a woman who got kicked out about three times but kept materializing somehow.
I think the hotel knows that the pool club attracts riffraff because the security was on point. The presence of so many security guards was a little intimidating at first, but it quickly became apparent why they were necessary. The security guards were very friendly however (even when they were continually kicking out that woman).
The view of downtown Dallas from the Virgin Hotel.
The Pool of the Virgin Hotel in Dallas’ Design District.
Michael and Dennis at the Virgin Hotel in Dallas.
Cocktails at the Virgin hotel (with masks, of course).
It was a great time and made us feel very fancy. The pool club is normally $40/person which is a higher cover than what we’d typically pay, but maybe we’ll be back for a stay-cation soon — Dallasites get a 35% discount at the hotel. 🌴
So I took a lot of photos from “All Tea, No Shade” drag brunch, which I’ll post throughout the week.
First up is the host, RuPaul’s Drag Race alum Kennedy Davenport. I saw Kennedy Davenport perform frequently the last time that I lived in Dallas, and she’s always good for a high-energy show.
Kennedy is one of the few drag race alums that haven’t high-tailed it to Los Angeles, which is why we get to see her at drag brunch. She’s our dancing diva and pulled out some great costumes last Saturday. There also happened to be a crew filming a TV show at the event so you’ll get to see the performance sometime in the future.
We made it back to “All Tea No Shade” drag brunch at The Free Man Cajun Cafe & Lounge in Deep Ellum.
The “United We Stand” mural is one of the several interesting new pieces in Dallas’ Bishop Arts District. This is less controversial and way more inclusive than the Kings Club barber shop’s Lee Harvey Oswald mural.
United We Stand Mural at the Kings Club barber shop in Dallas’ Bishop Arts District.
I am not sure whether murals in Dallas are as temporary as they are in Washington, DC, but hopefully this one sticks around.🌈
My neighbors have pretty fancy tastes in cars, and this bedazzled Slingshot-style car is no exception.
I probably wouldn’t want to get stuck in traffic during a 100 degree day in one of these things, but fall seems like the perfect time to take a three-wheeler vehicle out around the metro.
The Oak Lawn Polaris Slingshot.
It’s interesting that the front of the vehicle reads “Little Rock, AR.” Hopefully my neighbors didn’t actually drive this contraption all the way from Arkansas — I would need air condition and doors for that type of road trip. 🏎️
Like many other cities, Instagram-ready murals have proliferated around Dallas. This “ride it like you stole it” mural is in the Design District, specifically in an open lot called the “Design District Playground” that has several other rotating murals and exhibits.
I think this mural is awesome, but I am not sure about the sketchy tin man water tower in the background. 🥫
Redfield’s Tavern is one of my few favorite spots, conveniently located right by the gayborhood in Dallas’ Medical District.
With most of the bars on The Strip still closed, the queens have coopted this supposedly-straight venue.
I love the murals in Deep Ellum. Here’s Gunter the Chiweenie with one of the several murals featuring kids. He’s also in an unusually good mood in this picture — maybe the kids are having a positive effect. 🎈
The massive Oak Lawn rainbow gateway sign that I mentioned a few weeks ago is actually the second such sign in the neighborhood. The other gateway sign is at the intersection of Douglas Avenue and Cedar Springs Road, right in front of the Kroger.
The interesting thing about this sign is that it has lights with a holographic effect. Sort of trippy for pedestrians, but pretty cool.
The Oak Lawn rainbow sign near Kroger on Douglas Avenue.
Hopefully some shrubbery will be added in the coming months to hide the random utility boxes by the sign. But we’ll see — landscaping is not often a priority in this area. 🌱
Continuing our tour Dallas drag brunches, we went to All Tea, No Shade drag brunch today at The Free Man Cajun Cafe & Lounge in Deep Ellum.
Today’s cast was:
Barbie Davenport Dupree performing at drag brunch.
Location: The Free Man is at 2626 Commerce St, Dallas, TX 75226. The restaurant is at the edge of Deep Ellum right next to the highways.
Parking: There are plenty of meters and a very cheap pay lot across the street. (We parked in the lot).
Time: This drag brunch happens every Saturday and runs from noon to 3 pm, with a showtime around 1 pm.
Cost: There’s a $10 cover for brunch, taken at the door.
Food: Cajun and general American food. There didn’t appear to be any drink or food specials.
Out of all of the potentially scary things in the gayborhood, I did not expect that my labradoodle would be terrified by a faded Disney princess beach ball.
Ingrid has not growled and snarled at something so fiercely since that awful camouflage car in Washington DC.
It look her almost five minutes to muster enough courage to inspect the ball. I was thoroughly amused.
However, a truly terrifying thing happened about two minutes later as we started walking toward Cedar Springs Road — we startled a flock of pigeons feasting on one of the many piles of cat food in the neighborhood. The pigeons all flew toward us and almost clipped my head!
Ingrid was far less pressed by the birds than the ball, so maybe this was just karma for me laughing at her. 🔮
We came across an interesting scene on the evening dog walk today — apparently a bus and a white sedan had a crash in front of the S4 nightclub on Cedar Springs Road. The car got the worst part of the deal.
It appeared that there were no injuries because a woman (who looked like the car driver) was speaking with the cops. The very bored bus driver stood nearby.
A bus and car accident on Cedar Springs Road in the Dallas gayborhood.
A bus and car accident on Cedar Springs Road in the Dallas gayborhood.
Hopefully soon there will be something more interesting happening on the Strip than a minor car accident. Ideally, it will be less exciting that the murder that happened a few blocks down.
What happened to the low-level alcohol-related crime? 🥂
I love the art work popping up in the Dallas’ Victory Park and Harwood District neighborhoods.
This 8-foot tall sculpture of a hand giving the peace sign is one of my favorite pieces. The piece is called “Heavy Handed” and is by LA-based artist Nathan Mabry.
Apparently, another name of this gesture is the “victory hand,” which is probably why it makes sense for its placement in Victory Park right in front of a sports arena. ✌️