This blog post is sponsored by Visit Addison, TX.
When I received the invitation to visit a town with over 180 restaurants in 4.4 square miles – I jumped on it. And so this past weekend, my family took a road trip to Addison, Texas. Where is Addison you ask? Well, it’s right in the middle of the North DFW Metroplex. Just North of Dallas and somewhere in the middle of Carrolton, Richardson, and Plano. MAP HERE.
The first thing we did was EAT (that’s also the last thing we did, but we’ll get there). We started at Texas de Brazil, a meat-parade-style steakhouse that started in Addison in 1998 and now has over 60 locations worldwide. Oh man was it great.
That evening we checked into our hotel at the Renaissance Dallas-Addison. I’ve got five kids, so finding a hotel room is difficult. When we checked in, they said the magic words…”presidential suite.” We stepped in and my kids lost their minds. There was a STAIRCASE in the hotel room. So, yes it was two stories tall. This hotel recently did a full multi-million dollar renovation during COVID and it’s quite amazing. The staff was super friendly as well.
The next morning we stopped by the Mary Kay World Headquarters, because, well, I’ve got girls and, little known fact, my wife sold Mary Kay while I was in law school. The museum is only open on weekdays, so we were limited to a pink photo shoot out front.
Next up – CHOCOLATE! A lot of Chocolate. We visited Yeli Chocolates and took a private chocolate class making Easter smash eggs that are chocolate on the outside but full of candy on the inside. Yeli Marshall (yes, YELI is her name) is a master chocolatier and made this so much fun. I’d recommend that anyone and everyone visit. My kids were enthralled the entire time. She also hosts whiskey/chocolate classes. Note to self for next time – leave the kids at home. 🙂
After stuffing our faces with chocolate, we needed to burn off some energy and so we headed to Addison Circle Park. The park had plenty of space to run around and a splash pad. Miraculously we kept our kids out of it and picked up some lunch from the nearby Latin Deli and had a good ol’ fashioned picnic.
The afternoon was spent at the Cavanaugh Flight Museum ogling over the amazing historic planes and reading stories of men and women who’ve kept our country safe. I’ve toured a handful of fight museums and this was absolutely one of the best. They do private flights in WWII warbird planes and I’m dying to come back and fly.
With so many choices for dinner, it was tough to decide where to eat. But we say the packed parking lot at Nate’s Seafood & Steakhouse and knew it was the spot. The cajun decor and zydeco music made me feel transported back to my hometown in Southeast Texas. Lucky for us, it’s crawfish season and we went to town! Legitimately some of the best crawfish I’ve ever had. As a Nate’s twist, you can order a bowl of “JP Juice” (butter + good stuff) for dipping.
For brunch on Sunday, we rolled into Ida Clare and our eyes rolled back into our heads. Homemade biscuits. Chicken and Waffles. Duck Potato Hash. On the patio, live music filled the air as the “man-mosas” kept flowing. Which are WAY better than mimosas because they’ve got whiskey.
Overall – this trip was a blast. I’d recommend Addison for foodies, families, and anybody in between. I’ve only got 175 restaurants left to try. 🙂
