Food
Zavala's Barbecue
Right on Main Street, at the corner of Brisket Lane and Sloppy Juan Way (yep, the city renamed the streets for them), sits Zavala’s Barbecue in an old burger drive-in. Pitmaster Joe Zavala started smoking briskets in his backyard and got obsessed with getting it right. Now his 44 Farms brisket wears more pepper crust than anything I’ve ever seen. Add Joe’s Mexican touches like pork carnitas, jalapeño cheese hominy and the El Sloppy Juan taco, and you’ve got Tex-Mex barbecue worth the drive.
FireHouse Gastro Park
Grand Prairie’s old fire station is putting out a different kind of fire these days. FireHouse Gastro Park is part restaurant, part cocktail lounge, part music venue, part coffee shop and part indoor terrarium, dreamed up by Jason and Carly Smith after they came home from Los Angeles to raise their family. Sip a Southern Charm made with pressed watermelon, agave and basil, then dig into the Dirty Bird fries, a deconstructed Nashville hot chicken sandwich. Or tackle the smokehouse burger with onion rings. Old building, new community hot spot.
Culture
Ripley's Believe It or Not!
If an indoor mountain didn’t make you question reality, Ripley’s Believe It or Not! will. Five attractions sit under one roof: an odditorium packed with strange things from around the world, Louis Tussaud’s wax museum, a mirror maze, a 7D moving theater and an interactive video game. I came face to face with a shrunken head, a vest made of human hair and a whole lineup of presidents in wax. This spot opened as a wax museum back in 1972, and you’ll want a good three hours to see it all.
Lone Star Park
Grand Prairie is one of the few places in Texas where you can watch live horse racing, and Lone Star Park does it right. Start down in the paddock to see the thoroughbreds and jockeys up close. I met Stewart Elliott, who won the Kentucky Derby aboard Smarty Jones. Then grab a hat, dress up a little and head to the rail. Each race lasts about two minutes, and a small wager is part of the tradition. Bet only what you can afford to lose, cheer loud and enjoy the ride.
Outdoors
Bolder Adventure Park
Permanently closed as of October 2026.
Who says Texas doesn’t have mountains? Bolder Adventure Park built one indoors, and it’s air conditioned. Part of the EpicCentral complex, Bolder packs ropes courses and activities for every age around a giant climbing mountain. Clip into the via ferrata, Italian for iron path, and follow it through caves, tunnels and a cable bridge about 50 feet up. Ride a tube down the indoor sledding hill, and if you’re feeling brave, take the free fall off the top of the arch. The mountain is fake. The butterflies are real.
