The hardest thing to do when you move to a new town is to separate the "wonderful" from the "not so wonderful." Although Patty had lived in Dallas for most of her life, when we married, she moved to Galveston where I was hometown stock.
Ten years later, when we moved here permanently, many of her old stand-bys had closed, moved elsewhere, changed hands, and so forth. Progress it's called. So we basically had to start over looking for vendors and service people who were of the quality we were used to.
I want to tell you about several of them.
CALAME is a fine jewelry store in the Highland Park Shopping Village. We needed a trustworthy jeweler with fine craftsmen to do some repairs and appraisals. I called our "new" church, Saint Michael and All Angels and asked for a recommendation. CALAME was the suggestion. I couldn't have been happier. You should use them, too.
GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER? Heaven only knows why Chef Phillip Luna named his business after the famous movie, but he did. This is one of the Park Cities' favorite caterers. But here's the best part. You can stop by there Mondays through Fridays and pick up full gourmet dinners, not frozen, just refrigerated. Pop them in the microwave for 3.5 minutes, and you have a wonderful meal. These cost $8 a piece. Every now and then, when we aren't particularly famished, Patty and I divide one, like we did this evening. We have it along with a loaf of French bread, garlic-olive oil for dip, and a glass or two of vino. Perfect! GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER? is on Audelia between Royal and the Dart tracks.
POPOLAS CAFE. There are lots of good places to eat in Dallas, however this pseudo-Italian restaurant in the Preston Royal Center is beautifully decorated and the wait-staff has been expertly trained. We have found that the fish dishes are especially delicious. I bend toward those with shrimp.
ROMANO'S BAKERY is as good a bakery as there is in Manhattan, and there are some mighty good bakeries there. In the shopping center at Mockingbird at Abrams.
NEIMAN MARCUS at North Park Shopping Center is overseen with aplomb by Malcolm Ruben and Henry Binkowski. You will see from other blogs I have posted here, that I was able to get some personal insight into how Stanley Marcus thought that business should be run. He and I accidentally became friends about 30 years or so before he passed away. The Messrs. Ruben and Binkowski run this store exactly as Mr. Stanley would have. We love to shop there, and usually use it as an excuse to eat in the Zodiac Room, home of the best $20 steak in the nation.
THE BELO MANSION is an especially good place for receptions and parties, not because the building itself is spectacular, but because Byron Starnes is there to arrange the affairs.
GOODYEAR TIRE CENTER is owned and operated by the elegant Miss Mary and her son. Mechanics nationwide lock their doors, turn out the lights, and hide behind the counters when they see me coming. They don't here. And the repairs and service are outstanding. Why they even came by to pick me up once when Patty wasn't home to take me to get my car. This store is located at Ferndale and Northwest Highway. The address is 10140 Shoreview. Wonderful service.
DOBSON FLOORS has been serving Dallas for a long time, but it moved to the top when salesman Michael Santos joined them. Dobson Floors is at 2010 Eastgate in Garland, near Northwest Highway and LBJ. Carpet, wood floors, vinyl, tile, marble and exotics.
SIGNATURE SIGNS. I know the likelihood of you needing a sign is slim unless your church is having a big event and you're on the publicity committee. But signs are a big thing to real estate people. Judi Burdette has her fancy sign company among the antique and decorator shops and art galleries on Dragon Street. I was happy to find her.
MINUTEMAN PRESS is my printer. Somehow this guy, Eric Pirpich, is kin to me in a round about way because one of his relatives was named "Cherry." So I call him Cousin Eric. An engineer who decided he'd had enough of that, he bought a print shop. Cousin Eric and his boys do fabulous work, get it out on time, and at a fair price. On Sherry Lane just off of the corner of Douglas and Preston.
W. NEIL GALLAGHER, PH.D. He's known as the Money Doctor. Start with Doc Gallagher when you intellectually reach the point of concern as to whether or not you'll be able to retire safe, early and happy. Doc is a financial educator, not a stock broker or banker. www.docgallagher.com.
AUDIO BY BYRON. Byron Parks is a fine trumpeter. But his amazing talent is as an audio engineer. He flies more than $1 million of equipment when I go by to make "voice overs" or play the piano for background recordings. This is a first class act,
and Byron's not the least bit expensive. 469 964-5242. If you have a special musical or performing talent, you really should put some of your work on CD so that it can be saved and heard by your descendants. Call Byron.
WELLS FARGO BANK. I absolutely abhor chain banks, preferring neighborhood banks where I know the owners, officers and tellers. But since that has become almost an anomaly, Patty and I gave in about five years ago and began banking with Wells Fargo. Oddly, the young Personal Banker who set our accounts up in a branch near Houston, moved to Dallas to become a branch manager. He's the best. You'll find Damion Phillips at the Hillside Village branch in the Tom Thumb store. He remains our banker.
RADIO. KAAM-AM 770 for Big Band music to calm your nerves. KSKY 660 for political and religious education from Laura Ingraham, Dennis Prager and Michael Medved. "Ernie and Jay Mid-Day" on KRLD-AM 1080 is the best of call-in talk radio in the country. And don't forget Dallas' own classical music station, WRR-FM 101. I love it especially on fall Sunday afternoons after church while we devourer the "New York Times" in front of a roaring fire.
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