Market >>

• Market: Taking It to the Avenue!
  Web extra: Take a video tour of Henderson Avenue development with Marc and Roger Andres. It seems so damn Dallas: I'm with the Andres brothers, Marc and Roger, and they've agreed to give me a brief tour of their holdings on Henderson Avenue—one of the more walkable neighborhoods in the... More >>
• Best Outsider Art Gallery
  The Stewpot
  Don't take our word for it. Go to www.dannahscolors.com/Dannahscolors/Stewpot_Artists/Stewpot_Artists.html and take a look at some of the work being offered by artists in the Stewpot mission's Open Art Studio program for homeless artists. Some of the artists at the Stewpot, a feeding mission for... More >>
• Best Place for Some Ciao
  Vespa Dallas
  If we die and go to heaven—hey, it could happen—we don't want a harp, wings or an angelic choir singing hallelujah. Nope, our idea of bliss is a never-ending summer's day and us, 40 pounds lighter in tailored clothes. We're forever zipping about on a scooter around a gushing fountain... More >>
• Best New Urban Landscape Mixer
  Neighborhood Night at Gardens
  First, you have to get Gardens. Since 1981 the original place on 35th Street in northwest Austin has been a destination in itself--a showcase for high-end outdoor architecture and new wave plants. The Dallas store, which opened only a year ago, is already a point of entry for people interested... More >>
• Best Hot Tot Stop
  Baby Bliss
  Even if you're a confirmed, old child-free couple, a stroll through Baby Bliss might make you want to have kids--just for the accessories. Seriously, we don't remember our families having any of this stuff 20 or 30 years ago: We had no crib that looked like it's right out of the Eames studio, no... More >>
• Best Organic Produce
  Tom ("Spice-Man") Spicer
  Organic is the least of it for Tom Spicer. He won't sell a tomato, an onion or a potato if it doesn't have the right terroir, a vintner's term for the flavor and quality imparted to the grape by the place where it is cultivated. Who knew potatoes could have terroir? "I taste things down at the... More >>
• Best Hardware Store
  Lakewood Hardware
  If there were a sliding scale for store clerk helpfulness, big-box stores would be at the bottom, of course. ("What? Me a sales person? Nah. I just wear this uniform because it's cool-looking.") And Lakewood Hardware would be at the top. The owner/proprietor, Khandoo Nagar, and his two top sales... More >>
• Best One-Stop Shop
  Etsy Dallas shows
  Sure etsy.com—the online boutique community for crafters, jewelry designers, knitters, tailors, bookbinders, vintage sellers and collectors of everything—is a surefire way to kill an afternoon and build up a wish list, but an Etsy Dallas event is even better. Prices are great, the... More >>
• Best Low-Guilt Shoes
  TOMS Shoes
  Blake Mycoskie founded TOMS shoes after a visit to Argentina in 2006: For every pair of shoes sold to a customer in the United States, TOMS donates a pair to a needy kid somewhere in the world. So far TOMS has given away 140,000 pairs to shoeless kids. All of the Southwest Region Whole Foods... More >>
• Best Local Italian Wine Blog (2 Comments)
  On the Wine Trail in Italy
  On the Wine Trail is local in the sense that blog-master, Alfonso Cevola, lives in Dallas and mentions local themes and places once in a while. But Cevola is also something of an international authority. A lifelong wine seller whose mom's mom came from Calabria at the toe of the Italian boot,... More >>
• Best Backyard Farmer Store
  North Haven Gardens
  You can't get much more eat-local than growing your own food in your own backyard or in containers on your apartment balcony. But how? Northhaven Gardens, a long-tenured plant nursery next to the Jewish Community Center just off Central Expressway, has taken on a kind of second persona as a... More >>
• Best Curiosities
  Curiosities
  Jason Cohen, founder of Forbidden Books and Video and Forbidden Gallery, and his mother, longtime antiques dealer Terry Cohen, have conspired to create a store that somehow combines the best funkiness of South Congress Avenue in Austin, the punkness of Deep Ellum five years ago and the antiques... More >>
• Best Shoe Laces
  Cobblestone Shoe Repair
  What, do people not replace their laces any more? The lace breaks, so they throw the shoes away? Must be, because it's impossible to find a good selection of replacement laces. You wind up prowling the aisles of a Tom Thumb grocery store, where two out of three clerks don't even know what laces... More >>
• Best Cheap Hair Cut (for Chicks)
  Floyd's 99 Barbershop
  If you're cool with using the men's bathroom at your favorite dive bar, then you're probably willing to shear your locks at a local barbershop. Floyd's 99 Barbershop isn't just some hole in the wall but part of a cool chain across the country with more than 40 locations. Magazine cutouts and... More >>
• Best Salon (1 Comment)
  The Johnny Rodriguez Salon
  If you're looking to save a few bucks on a haircut, stop reading right now. The Johnny Rodriguez Salon doesn't boast about providing low-cost styles and cuts, instead focusing on being the best while catering to the needs of its upscale Highland Park clientele. Before the snipping begins, a... More >>
• Best Return to Childhood
  Lego
  Some of the simplest toys are the most enduring. From the "Automatic Binding Brick" developed in 1949 to the sophisticated Technic and Mindstorms products available now, Lego has unleashed the imaginations of several generations of kids and adults. Likewise, the new Lego store at NorthPark... More >>
• Best Eyebrows
  Salon Pompeo
  Lisa Nguyen is a small woman of Native American and Asian descent obsessed with hair removal. She waxes her entire face because peach fuzz "is not cute," she says. Not that she's going to judge you if you decide to keep those tiny hairs that maybe serve a kind of evolutionary purpose. But if you... More >>
• Best New Bike Shop (2 Comments)
  Fleetwood's Kit Kat
  When owner Fleetwood Hicks and operations director Harvey Herr opened Fleetwood's Kit Kat across the street from SMU in February, business was expectedly slow. But as spring came and word-of-mouth spread, the two knew the beginning of something special was afoot. Specializing only in cruiser... More >>
• Best Grocery Store
  Central Market
  Central Market is a Texas conceit. It's huge and has a personality all its own. A regular grocery store is organized by aisles (dry pasta in aisle 10, anyone?) But here you have to wind around corners and mosey from the produce section to probably the best beer selection in Dallas. From the bulk... More >>
• Best Pot Dealer
  Amigos Pottery Inc.
  Hundreds of rustic clay pots are stacked high into the sky at the Amigos Pottery outdoor lot near the farmers market. Owners Benito and Elsa Reyna have been selling pots, fountains, talavera (the colorful hand-painted ceramics), outdoor statues, mirrors and even margarita glasses for 12 years at... More >>
• Best CD Store
  Good Records
  We're starting to feel like a broken record when we say it (Get it? Get it?), but there's a reason Good Records winds up winning this honor every year. Sure, the selection of vintage tunes at Arlington's Forever Young Records is incredible, and anyone who's ever combed the rack at CD Source can... More >>
• Best Distant Vintage With a Grudge
  Style Station
  Sure, the city of West isn't exactly a suburb, but if you're like us, you pass through at least a few times a year en route to Austin, San Antonio or beyond. A few miles past the world-famous Czech Stop you'll find the Style Station, located on the southbound side in an old building surrounded... More >>
• Best Do-It-Yourself Shop
  Splendor in the Grass
  When Diana Thatcher's garden art and gift store across from the Dallas Arboretum simply wasn't turning a profit, she did what anyone else would have done: relocate to the Lakewood Shopping Center and focus her efforts on selling jewelry-making accessories and teaching classes. OK, so her plan... More >>
• Best Place to Get Stuck
  Hold Fast Tattoos & Body Piercing
  The folks at Hold Fast are simply the best skin pokers in town, developing a stellar reputation for offering a variety of kick-ass bling, a clean environment, a relaxing atmosphere and the always necessary steady hand. Getting your piercing in a naughty place? They have massage tables for your... More >>
• Best Antique Jewelry Store (1 Comment)
  Village Goldsmith
  Tucked away in the back of the Forestwood Antique Mall at the corner of Forest Lane and Inwood Road, there's a piece of antique jewelry you or your spouse surely can't live without. Whether it's something with a sapphire, ruby or emerald surrounded by platinum, gold or silver, Village Goldsmith... More >>
• Best Flea Market
  Junkadoodle
  Discovering something uniquely cool or fun is exactly what the spirit of shopping at flea markets is all about, and the place with the hippest junk in town is easily Junkadoodle. Owners Bettyann Nugent and her brother Jimmy Henley are dedicated to cramming as many funky items under one roof as... More >>
• Best Miniatures
  Through the Keyhole
  The allure of the dollhouse is apparent: A place where the dollhouse owner can carefully control the environment and actions of each doll, building an entire fantasy world with no outside influences or real-life repercussions. Also, tiny stuff just looks cool. Whether you're staging a... More >>
• Best Thrift Store
  Buffalo Exchange
  It's hard to believe that a simple concept like the Buffalo Exchange, where customers can buy, sell and trade clothing and accessories, needed to be imported from someplace else, but the city's best thrift store was born from Kerstin and Spencer Block, who opened their first store 35 years ago... More >>
• Best Shop at Mockingbird Station
  Francesca's Collections
  Whether you're catching a movie at the Angelika Theater, grabbing a meal or visiting one of the other stores at Mockingbird Station, you're likely to have some spare time on your hands. This is where Francesca's Collections comes in handy. It's the perfect place for a gal to do some quick... More >>
• Best Way to Avoid the TABC Altogether
  Homebrew Headquarters
  We used to think TABC stood for Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, but now we're starting to wonder if it really means Thugs Against Beer Consumption. The state's insanely complex alcohol code favors big-business distributors at the expense of craft breweries—which is why the country's... More >>
• Best Place to Lose Your Gut
  Private Workout
  Summer is over, and you no longer have to exercise to fit into that itty-bitty bikini or Speedo. Whoa, not so fast. This is Texas, remember? It's pretty much summer up until Thanksgiving, and you still need to look somewhat good in your revealing summer clothing. This is where the trainers at... More >>
• Best Place to Spend a Sunday Afternoon (1 Comment)
  Half Price Books
  Sundays are usually the day of the week people pick to do around-the-house chores or just be lazy on the couch while watching Lifetime movies. Why not leave your home and stretch your legs before you are stuck in a cubicle for the next five days at work? The Half Price Books off Northwest... More >>
• Best Tanning Salon
  Park Cities Tan
  Any tanning salon site that grabs your attention by comparing you to that famous friendly ghost must be worth looking at. Park Cities Tan must know this, because the first thing you see on their site is "Hey Casper!" After that, you look at yourself in the mirror and start to notice you are... More >>
• Best Stick Man
  Dr. Mark Currington
  Become a human pincushion to lose weight? Why not? Dr. Mark Currington, whose office is an oasis of calm, has a sure hand with those hair-thin needles, inserting each one quickly into energy points up and down the body. Acupuncture for weight loss is a painless (if controversial) procedure that... More >>
• Best New Big Girl Shopping Destination
  Park Lane Place
  East of NorthPark is the easy-to-access, fun-to-shop collection of new stores that offer lots of fashion options for the non-petite woman. While the mall's biggest retailers have taken women's sizes 14-up off their selling floors, Nordstrom Rack has a huge selection of curvy-girl couture at... More >>
• Best Florist
  Cebolla Fine Flowers
  Luit and Jamie Huizenga's Cebolla may have the accommodating staff of your basic neighborhood flower shop, but it's so much more than that. The husband- and wife-run flower emporium offers not only dynamic, elegant and artistic floral arrangements, but also a variety of living plants, succulents... More >>
• Best Health Food Store
  NewFlower Farmers Market
  People drive in from Richardson and Oak Cliff just to come to the NewFlower Farmers Market that opened in a long-empty space on Henderson Avenue. Sure, it's popular because of "double ad Wednesdays" when the weekly sales overlap for twice as many deals. Of course people love saving money on many... More >>
• Best Movie Date
  Planetarium + IMAX at Museum of Nature & Science
  Any douche can ask, "Wanna go to the movies?" It takes a slightly more thoughtful guy (or gal) to change the old date routine into something a little more interesting—like a Saturday afternoon "movie" date at the Museum of Nature & Science. For just $7 apiece, you and your date can... More >>
• Best Furniture Store
  Again & Again
  We don't have to always buy new new things. We don't have to throw out perfectly good furniture just because it has a stain on it or some ugly piping. We can appreciate the good bones of an old sofa; see the potential in a ripped vinyl chair. Together with Leslie Pritchard, proprietor of... More >>
• Best Artistic Healing
  Art Restorations Inc.
  For a facility established in 1978, Art Restorations Inc. is as spry as ever. Owner Cher Goodson and her staff of conservators face each new project—whether restoring a painting centuries old, or a Lladro figurine—with energy and excitement that puts the client at ease and makes them... More >>
• Best Doggy Style
  mine.
  Shopping got you down? It's hard sometimes—finding the right outfit, the right fit. Don't even mention accessories and shoes. Good thing Zoë La Rose's mine. has our back. The clean white boutique has flattering lighting, good mirrors and clothes that make a girl feel good. Flirty tops... More >>
• Best Way to Dress Like a Million Without Spending One
  Rethreads
  After losing 30 pounds, a friend found himself facing an entire wardrobe that no longer fit. How would he possibly replace his duds without spending a fortune? Someone told him about Rethreads and he hit the jackpot, returning with suits, dress shirts and a plethora of new pants. The place is... More >>
• Best New Artist
  Photographer Alex Remington
  Remington has been shooting pictures for a decade, but only in the past two years has he debuted as a professional, making a living showing and selling his unique brand of photography. Mostly surreal landscapes or urban scenes and close-ups of natural objects, his images are often manipulated... More >>
• Best Bank
  Wells Fargo Tower in Lakewood
  Housed in a big old-school building with a broad, wide-open lobby, this branch actually has enough employees to make the lines few and short. Not only do you get to skip a long wait, which is a rare treat in and of itself, but once you arrive at a podium—or if your transaction is more... More >>
• Best Place to Buy Briefs
  Skivvies
  This store is strictly for men, though we recommend it highly to any woman who has tired of her man's old, threadbare boxer briefs that, having been washed thousands of times, scream for a spicier set of replacements. There's everything from your basic navy and white briefs and boxers to... More >>
• Best Movie Theater
  Angelika Film Center
  Countless critically acclaimed films have made their debuts at the Angelika throughout the years, making it the favorite theater for movie buffs anxious to see the latest Oscar-caliber flick. And while it has the reputation for being more of a specialty and independent film house, it's not... More >>
• Best Cheap Art
  Urban Outfitters at Mockingbird Station
  A piece of art large and bold enough to set the desired tone in the living room can be pricey indeed. That's why in these spare times we recommend checking out Urban Outfitters when you find yourself in a decorating pinch. There are large-scale paintings—granted, they're not original oils,... More >>
• Best Greeting Card Selection
  Nuvo
  In addition to high-end bath soap and jewelry, this store has a huge array of greeting cards. There are walls of birthday and holiday cards and a wide selection of artistic, hand-made blank ones. Our favorites are from the "A Little Piece of Art" line by Constance Kay Inc., which include black... More >>
• Best Toy Store
  Kidrobot
  Kidrobot—it's just a toy store, right? And a pretty lame one at that, considering that the store's flagship product, the Munny, is nothing but a blank, 7-inch-tall, white vinyl doll that will cost you $29.95 to customize on your own. Uh, not so much. If that's all Kidrobot was, there... More >>
• Best Cheap Clothes
  Wednesdays at Salvation Army
  Secret confession: We hardly ever buy new clothes. Why would we when there are so many like-new castoffs on the racks at Salvation Army? OK, yes, you will have to sift through many stained gimme T-shirts to get to the good stuff, but if you have the stamina, you will be rewarded with top-notch... More >>
• Best Affordable Jewelry
  Emeralds to Coconuts
  In addition to being affordable, the earrings, bracelets and necklaces here strike the perfect balance between boho and glam. There are always some pieces to go along with the store's incense, embroidered Mexican shirts and flowing skirts—think thick wooden bracelets and strands of chunky... More >>
• Best Cheese Shop
  Molto Formaggio
  Feeling a bit peckish, like John Cleese in the Monty Python cheese shop sketch? You won't go away hungry from Molto Formaggio, where the well-informed salesfolk are happy to provide nibbles of anything in the joint, even the expensive truffle-ribboned delicacies from France. With almost as many... More >>
• Best Cheap Specs
  Pay-Rite Optical
  Like designer shoes and handbags, the price of fashionable eyeglass frames is out of sight. Except at this tiny shop, where 3,500 sample frames crowd the walls and counters. Don't waste time browsing. The owner, Arman, knows his products and people so well, he can pick out the three best choices... More >>
• Best Eye Guy
  Dr. R.B. Schpok, Optometrist
  For the uninsured, finding affordable eye exam docs is often like running up a blind alley. Then we found Dr. Rodney B. Schpok, a reasonably priced ($79 per exam) optometrist who is quick, efficient and surprisingly funny. Clicking through the lenses as you peer at the eye chart, the Woody... More >>
• Best Women's Boot Camp (1 Comment)
  HerStrength
  Having trained more than 300 women in his women-only boot camp fitness groups over the past few years, Dallas trainer and entrepreneur Scott Colby knows what works and what works quickly to get ladies in shape. Nicknamed "The Abs Expert," Colby has a no-nonsense but still decidedly laid-back... More >>
• Best Pool Guys
  The Ian Crocker Swim School
  Olympic gold medalist and UT-Austin swim star Ian Crocker and his partners, Olympic and National Champs Neil Walker and James Fike, opened their swim school at the swanky new indoor pool facility in Rockwall this summer. In the first week, they had 150 kids—second-graders to high school... More >>
• Best Place to Whine Like a Kid Again (1 Comment)
  HobbyTown USA
  Pfft. The Mrs. just doesn't get it. Why would anyone want a ginormous, wooden scale model of HMS Surprise, the ship featured in novelist Patrick O'Brian's Master and Commander series? she asks. That feather-light, radio-controlled indoor airplane? You'll just break it, she says. Doesn't she know... More >>
• Best Hotel
  The Joule
  We're locals, so, really, who are we to judge? Last we heard the best hotel in town was the convention center hotel for which groundbreaking was held, oh, days ago. No, but seriously: Earlier this summer we actually spent a free Saturday exploring Dallas' hostelries just for kicks; took us all... More >>
• Best Massage
  Spa Habitat
  From the reclaimed wood floors to the organic oils and balms, a massage at Spa Habitat is a luxurious way to go green. The spa uses recycled paper for paper products, organic cotton for linens, and Green Mountain Energy's wind power to fuel the operation. So it's easy to offset your guilt... More >>
• Best Cultural Relaxation
  King Sauna
  King Sauna is a trip to another country—but you don't have to bring a passport or sit on an airplane for hours. At this Korean jjim-jil-bang sauna, rooms ranging from cold (the ice room) to extremely hot (the fire sudatorium) help you sweat and relax. Americans may not normally equate... More >>
• Best Wool
  The Shabby Sheep
  The first time we tried to find this place, we gave up. But on our second attempt, we were glad we had persevered. For knitters, crocheters and other fiber crafters, welcome to heaven. This darling cottage is stuffed full of charming displays (such as an old mail sorter and a china cabinet)... More >>
• Best Women's Clothing Store
  Archive Vintage
  We always admired (sometimes in shocked amazement) the bold fashion choices of Carrie Bradshaw. She taught us (along with Sex and the City stylist Patricia Field) the subtle art of combining vintage and contemporary styles. The show has been off the air for five years, fashion has moved on and... More >>
• Best Bottles 'n' Cans
  Soda Gallery
  There are plenty of joints in Dallas with a healthy beer selection, but soda drinkers are lucky to have more than five or six choices at any given establishment. Not so at Oak Cliff's Soda Gallery, where you'll find more than 150 different types of soda, from ginger ales to colas to root beers... More >>
• Other Winning Market Suggestions From Our Readers
  Best Men’s Clothing Store Billy Reid 3720 Canton St. 214-821-1010 Best Bookstore (Used) Half Price Books Various locations Best Bookstore (New) Borders Bookstore Various locations Best Shoe Store DSW Shoe Warehouse 8335 Westchester Drive 214-696-2305 Best Bicycle Shop Richardson Bike... More >>