Best Stone and Rock Vendors 2016 | AAA Sand & Stone | Best of Dallas® 2020 | Best Restaurants, Bars, Clubs, Music and Stores in Dallas | Dallas Observer
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Best Stone and Rock Vendors

AAA Sand & Stone

Look at your neighbor's yard. Behold the array of large rocks and stones laid out in such complex and bewildering patterns that future archaeologists could try to match them with myriad astronomical alignments. Then ask yourself, how do I get my own yard looking as Druidic and mysterious? The answer, you wannabe pagan, is AAA Sand & Stone. It's a 5-acre playground of earthen material with enormous racks of rocks, slabs of stone, collections of car stops, miles of mulch and groupings of gravel to examine. Watch your fingers and back muscles as you handpick your rocks, or depend on their delivery service and fleet of trucks to deliver.

  • 10550 Miller Rd, Dallas, TX 75238 Phone:, Dallas, 75238 Map

Best Citibank ATM

7-Eleven

A couple years ago, Citibank changed strategies. Where once they focused on 120 cities around the world, they decided to cut 20 from their consumer banking portfolio. Dallas was one of the 20 they cut. When Citibank abandoned Dallas, cardholders who moved to Dallas from out of state discovered that the only place to find an ATM is a 7-Eleven convenience store. The preferred store for such bank-seekers largely depends on location, but special consideration should be paid to locations that accept check deposits. For that, the 7-Eleven on Garland and Easton takes the cake.

Best Educational Kids Store

Lakeshore Learning Store

Although most parents might consider Lakeshore Learning solely for teachers, the store caters to any caregiver interested in providing children with learning experiences. These toys aren't superhero focused or purple and pink. They are fun exploratory toys — like kinetic sand and water beads, water tables with magnetic fishing poles and toy fish, parachutes and balance boards, light tables and Magnatiles. Although at times pricey, Lakeshore Learning is one of few toy stores in the Dallas area that carries educational supplies and toys. When your child is playing with toys from Lakeshore Learning, they are also building skills and knowledge. Their curiosity is engaged, not their brand awareness.

Best Tattoo Artist

Liz Cook

She slings ink better than most artists, creating lifelike images with her permanent art. She's been featured in the Observer and appeared on several cable tattoo shows. Her designs have garnered her a legion of followers on Facebook (more than 1 million and counting), and she's become a celebrity among celebrities. But all of this fame hasn't gone to her head. Liz Cook still slings ink out of her shop Rebel Muse Tattoo in Lewisville. "Tattoos are a collaboration," she says. "A lot of times I try to get the feel for it to understand that personality and be able to push the piece past what was requested."

Readers' Pick:

Deborah Brody Pittman

Best Furniture Store

Nebraska Furniture Mart

Sometimes you just have to stand in awe at the scale of America's vast supply chain as it feeds its hungry consumers. Bigger may not always be better, but humongous is pretty darn impressive no matter what it's describing — dinosaurs, Donald Trump's ego, breasts, or in this case, the biggest furniture store in Texas. Forget IKEA. It only feels huge because it's maze-like design never let's you leave. The Midwestern import NFM has everything imaginable to furnish your home, from electronics and appliances to furniture, rugs and outdoor kitchen gear. All of it is from affordable lines from makers like Ashley, or our favorite, Flexsteel. Higher-end furnishings are also displayed in a store the size of a small city that's open and airy, so you don't feel like a lab rat. Better still, the salespeople are knowledgeable, plentiful and friendly but don't attach themselves to shoppers like a commission-hungry remora. Also, their warehouse pickup area is a marvel of logistics.

Readers' Pick:

Nebraska Furniture Mart

Best Tattoo Shop

Dark Age Tattoo

Located on a corner of the historic square in Denton, Dark Age Tattoo offers customers more than a simple tattoo. The artists tattoo true art. Tattoo artist Rember Orellana opened the shop in 2014 after serving a three-year stint at Cat Tattoo in Dallas. Now he's world renowned for his complex work, appearing in several tattoo magazines. The shop consistently receives five stars from its customers, praising the artists for their ability to walk customers through the tattoo process, as well as offer great attitudes and professionalism when it comes to their art. Originality is the most important part of what he does at his shop, Orellana says. "There are so many great artists that do realism really clean and really straight, but what makes the difference is when you have style."

Best Guitar Shop

Shake Rag Music

Named in honor of Elvis Presley, Shake Rag Music offers not only a huge selection of vinyl but also guitars of all shapes and sizes from a Fender that looks like something Stevie Ray Vaughan would play to a bass that resembles Beatle Paul McCartney's bass but with psychedelic designs. Owner John Gasperik, who spent his years as a photographer at Mother Blues, opened the shop in the early 2000s near Lower Greenville, showcasing not only his collection of guitars and vinyl but also extensive rock 'n' roll memorabilia. "When Elvis was a little boy, his father got thrown in jail, so they had to move to the poorer part of town across the railroad tracks, which was called 'Shake Rag,'" Gasperik once told a reporter. "That was when Elvis first heard the blues and gospel music. I figure that's the birthplace of rock 'n' roll, so I thought it was an accurate name for the store."

Best Place to Buy Weird Soda

Rocket Fizz Deep Ellum

There are those of you out there who enjoy a rare blueberry soda or peanut and jelly flavored beverage. Adventurous drinkers and Texas transplants who crave regional specialties can get their fix at Rocket Fizz, an eminently explorable shop in Deep Ellum. The 1,500-square-foot store, the third of its kind but the only one in Dallas, showcases hundreds of kinds of soda and an equally vast array of candy. Vintage signs and oddball tchotchkes can encourage loitering and impulse buys. But the soda selection is really the main attraction. Where else can one buy a bottle of Martian Poop marionberry flavored soda? And what the hell is a marionberry?

Best Skateboard Shop

Rec Shop

Supporting the Dallas skate scene since 2004, the Rec Shop prides itself on being a mom-and-pop skateboard shop offering skateboard supplies at affordable prices. Both longboards and old school boards can be found at its Lower Greenville location. The shop doesn't just specialize in skating supplies but also offers graffiti art supply from brands such as Montana, Alien, Ironlak and Sabotaz. It's one of the few shops in the U.S. to carry these spray-paint brands under the same roof. If your graffiti and skateboard loving self isn't tantalized enough to check out this place, keep in mind Rec Shop also carries 12-inch vinyls to support "all real DJs" with a selection that covers hip-hop, drum 'n' bass, house and break beats.

Best Vape Shop

Wizard's Vapor Bar and Smoke Shop

The vaping craze is still going strong at Wizard's Vapor Bar and Smoke Shop where new products arrive on a daily basis. Juices, tanks, chargers and dozens of brands of e-cigs — Wizard's sells just about everything a person needs to enjoy a vaping experience at a reasonable price. It also offers a large space for customers to vape together and a knowledgeable staff willing to explain how vaping works. Oh, and Wizards also provides adequate parking for customers.

Readers' Pick:

Good Vapes

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