<p>We are planning a trip to Plano, TX to meet up with a friend from Taiwan who is traveling there as part of a church choir tour. She has not been in the States for years, and my kids have never been to Texas, so we don’t have a lot of knowledge of that destination. On the friend’s day off we would like to tour around the environs of Plano, trying to experience genuinely Texan experiences and perhaps also looking for signs of east Asian culture there. </p>
<p>Any advice would be much appreciated. I understand that while it has been dry and sometimes hot here, it has been very rainy in most of Texas. We’ll have about a day and a half in TX with our friend, so we’d like to make the most of it.</p>
<p>I am guessing the reason you have no replies is that you have asked about cultural experiences in Plano, and not shopping. I lived there for 2 years (albeit many years ago though I have been back since several times as H’s company was headquartered there). Plano is a plastic, suburban area with a small ‘authentic’ downtown area which has a few interesting nooks and crannies. You are going to want to go to Dallas to find anything of substance to do- the only iconic feature of Plano is the Southfork Ranch(which might actually be in Murphy), so unless you were into Dallas (the TV show that is) or decide what you really want to do is shop, head south or north for a more authentic experience. Check the Dallas Morning News on line. They have a great supplement on Fridays.</p>
<p>Dallas is a short enough drive to make that feasible. The area where I live is largely suburban, and perhaps of similar general character, but nearby is an old town with a quaint downtown that still preserves some historical character. (I’m referring to Excelsior, Minnesota, a resort town historical on the huge lake near here.) </p>
<p>Broadening the question a bit, what are some examples of Texas cuisine, high or low, that out-of-staters just can’t get in their home states? As I recall, even the ubiquitous hamburger takes a different form in Texas, and I’m pretty sure most Texans regard “chili” as Midwesterners know it as an abomination. Wherever I go, I like to eat authentic local food if I possibly can.</p>
<p>antilaw- that is hilarious! During my 28 years in Dallas I maintained that the only thing to do with out of town guests was to go shopping!</p>
<p>That said, believe it or not, there is a really strong Asian community in that area due to all the tech companies that are located in Richardson and Plano. Richardson has a number of “real” Asian restaurants and grocery stores.</p>
<p>I would try to go to the 6th Floor Museum (Kennedy) in downtown Dallas. It is an easy trip on the expressway. The Dallas Farmer’s Market (also downtown) is really neat- tons of vendors of produce and some craft/furniture items in huge sheds. You can get lunch there. </p>
<p>Plano is very plastic, as anitaw said. One of the most impressive things is the presence of huge parks of soccer fields that extend as far as you can see, surrounded by miles and miles of flat terrain upon which are built McMansions.</p>
<p>Food- no one in Plano cooks, so there are restaurants everywhere. Local cuisine would be Mexican or barbeque. I’ve learned since moving to Nashville that Texas barbeque involves beef, as opposed to other parts of the country where it is pork-based. Spring Creek Barbeque or Dickie’s are the places to hit in the Plano area (chains, but good). Mexican- everyone has a favorite, so just ask whoever you see. </p>
<p>There is a neat area called Uptown which has been developed (just north of downtown) with wonderful shops (there we go again) and restaurants. It is worth strolling around and finding a place to eat. </p>
<p>If anything is going on at Fair Park (east of downtown surrounded by sketchy areas), it would be worth a stop. Fair Park is very “Texas” and has some neat things to see. The Aquarium is there and the Cotton Bowl. </p>
<p>The Dallas Galleria is an amazing mall, and I see packs of Asian tourists there.
(sorry- I told you…)</p>
<p>Gosh it’s a shame you don’t have time to explore some of the smaller towns in the Hill Country or visit San Antonio…but with not even two days to look around, it would be impossible to do much out of the Dallas-Fort Worth area. </p>
<p>Bear in mind, there is no one Texas experience. In the Hill Country, you’ll find the German and Czech influence and even our own Wine Country. West Texas may have more of that cowboy thing going on, San Antonio and the Valley is all about the Mexican and Spanish influence and very charming, the Coastal Bend is farm country (nothing good to see now…crops are headed for ruin if it doesn’t dry up… ). Cities like Houston and Dallas are going to seem no different than Atlanta, LA or any other metroplex.</p>
<p>For southern food that isn’t BBQ, I would suggest Babe’s Chicken Dinner House. They have great friend chicken, and have some reasonably close to Plano locations, I think.</p>
<p>Plano is an extremely fast growing suburb. The teen suicides were many years ago. In Texas it is known for intense high school athletics and highly regarded academic high schools.</p>
<p>That’s what I see reported in the news most in recent years. I suppose the town’s name “Plano” (how is that pronounced as to vowel sound by the locals?) makes it unsurprising that there is a lot of flat land with soccer fields there.</p>
<p>Yes, that is true. Fort Worth does prefer to use its vast expanses of land for the cultivation of wheat, sorghum, and alfalfa. :)</p>
<p>Seriously, the debate about culture in Fort Worth versus Dallas is mostly based on fictional accounts of past feuds among prominent and wealthy individuals such as Amon carter. </p>
<p>The entire metroplex presents good points and bad points, and it serves no purpose to compare the city. It is much better to recognize the different flavors of the main cities and suburns that form the Metroplex. Fort Worth with its Museum of Western Arts and Stockyards does have a more visible “cowboy” atmosphere. However, not everyone leaves impressed by a tour of the biggest honkytonk in the world. </p>
<p>Painting Dallas as a city void of all culture is misleading. Any tourist guide should list the many museums and other artistic forums. </p>
<p>As far as the shopping goes, I would suggest to TokenAdult to experience it for himself. There is shopping and there is shopping! Nobody would think that centers such as NorthPark or Galleria are copies of the cookie-cutter centers presents in every city of the country. Dallas has elevated shopping to an art form and is using shopping centers as other cities use …museums. People with an interest in architecture and art should check how Ray Nasher and his family developed NorthPark since the 60’s and influenced the nation. And that is just ONE example out of many. </p>
<p>And for the record, please realize that Plano is a haven (if not a heaven) for a nation of transplanted easterners who moved to Dallas as part of the massive relocations of large companies. Considerind that “cultural” handicap, the twon has done pretty well in preserving its heritage. /back to being objective :D</p>
<p>I’m appreciating all the comments. I had a VERY GOOD Chinese meal in Dallas back in the 1980s, so I know is some Chinese culture (and some overseas Taiwanese political activism, which is what brought me there) in that city. I’ll have to see how many of the interesting experiences you all have suggested I can cram into one rather brief visit.</p>
<p>TA, there are many, many asian restaurants in Dallas. As MOWC, a good bet is to look in the vicinity of Plano as well as in Richardson and Garland. There is an area with many asian restaurants on a street that parallels I-75 between Plano and Dallas. I -75 is the highway you’ll spend much time on!</p>
<p>Were you to go to Downtown Dallas, one of the hot zones is Deep Ellum and just north of it, you’ll find a number of small asian restaurants in the Bryan/Fitshugh area.</p>
<p>While the Kimbell Museum is in no way “cowboy” and its collection of Masters makes anything in Dallas look pale by comparison. And the last I heard, the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History was still the most visited museum in the Southwest. You need to spend more time in the Museum District in Fort Worth, xiggi, and less in the shopping malls of Dallas. :D</p>
<p>The heroin was more recent, was it not? As I recall there was a rather stunning number of arrests, overdoses and deaths for a city of that size and certainly for one that wealthy, hence the national publicity.</p>
<p>Well…if you consider 1998 recent. Back then, there were 13 heroin deaths between 1995 and 1998 which drew a lot of national attention. Currently, Plano law enforcement has reduced this statistic by 91% and this local crisis is considered to be long over. (Furthermore…Plano is not that small.)</p>
<p>Per the US Department of Justice statistics, heroin use is three times as prevalent in the Northeast as in the West or Midwest and twice as prevalent as in the South.</p>
<p>There does seem to be a problem with a new heroin derivative making the rounds…called ‘cheese’.</p>
). Cities like Houston and Dallas are going to seem no different than Atlanta, LA or any other metroplex.</p>