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" Thank goodness the Super Bowl&amp;#039;s being held in Dallas this year, not least because it&amp;#039;s got much better restaurants than Pittsburgh and Green Bay. If you&amp;#039;re going to the game and not attending a tailgate party, here are just a few of the many options for eating well around Big D. GOING TO DALLAS? Find the Esquire Logo and Win a Free iPad &amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;gt; Sonny Bryan&amp;#039;s Smokehouse 2202 Inwood Road 214-357-7120 Since 1958, when Sonny Bryan opened his barbecue on Inwood Road, this rickety roadside eatery has been a shrine for Dallasites and visitors who come to sit on school-classroom chairs in the grungy old smokehouse, order the nonpareil ribs and juicy brisket and perfect onion rings, and hobnob with the local truckers, city councilmen, car dealers, oil tycoons, and musicians. But do not even think of going to or ordering out from any of Bryan&amp;#039;s eight branches, where I&amp;#039;ve had some truly dreadful &amp;#039;que in an atmosphere that looks like a Ruby Tuesday.  Bolsa 614 W. Davis St. 214-367-9367 Behind a garage door, Bolsa is part organic market, part eatery with a quaint green streak\u2014like, they use recycled electric-socket holders as planters.\u2028 No freezer, no fryers. Chef Graham Dodds is as adamant about freshness as he is his ingredients&amp;#039; sources, and it shows in seriously eclectic fare like his addictive flatbreads, topped with wild arugula, Dallas goat&amp;#039;s cheese, and oven-roasted grapes; bruschetta with prosciutto and fig preserves; a Texas clambake with jalape\u00F1os; and pork tenderloin with cheese grits and green tomato chow chow. Most of the dishes change daily.  Urban Taco 3411 McKinney Avenue 214-922-7080 \u2028 As it does everywhere in the state, Tex-Mex rules in Dallas, but Urban Taco, with two Dallas locations, is owner Markus Pinevro&amp;#039;s homage to authentic Mexico City-style tacquerias, with 13 taco options (three choices on a plate for $9.75), five ceviches, terrific braised beef tostados, rotisserie chile pork, and pollo con mole\u2014tender juicy chicken smothered by a dark thick mole sauce. Sit outside in the wicker chairs, nurse a Pacifica beer, have some guacamole, and stick around for an eyeful of the young crowd.  Fearing&amp;#039;s Ritz-Carlton Dallas, 2121 McKinney Ave. 214-922-4848 Along with Stephan Pyles (below), Dean Fearing (Esquire&amp;#039;s Chef of the Year in 2007) reigns in Dallas as chef-pioneer of New Texas Cuisine. Here at the Ritz-Carlton he&amp;#039;s got all the room and panache he needs to attract the savviest clientele who start out on chile-dusted margaritas at the Rattlesnake Bar, then feast on his justly famous tortilla soup and new creations like smoky-sweet apricot barbecue-glazed white quail, topped with blue cheese and cider-braised bacon; a trio of griddled jumbo lump crabcakes, barbecued duck tamale, and lobster tacos, served with an avocado relish; and maple- and black-peppercorn-soaked buffalo tenderloin served over a bed of jalape\u00F1o grits and sided by a butternut squash taquito. Stephan Pyles Restaurant 1807 Ross Ave. 214-580-7000 With its wide-open spaces, 160 seats, communal table, wood-burning oven, and fiery open kitchen, Stephan Pyles Restaurant in the Arts District gleams with Dallas cool. Pyles (our Chef of the Year for 2006) calls his food &amp;quot;New Millennium Southwestern Cuisine,&amp;quot; based on big flavors, perfumed with mesquite smoke and laced with plenty of chilies, but refined by two decades&amp;#039; experience. Start off with an array of ceviches or tapas here (skip the so-so flatbread pizzas), then some spit-roasted suckling pig, with a peach-filled empanada, and the barbecued beef short rib with a Creole tamale and chipotle salsita.  Also check out Pyles&amp;#039; Samar, his casual Pan-Mediterranean restaurant (one of Esquire&amp;#039;s 20 best in 2010), with an outdoor hookah tent on the patio. There is also a gorgeous Persian tapestry in the bar area, with a green and red onyx bar top, and the menu throughout is one of small plates, from almond gazpacho with liquid grapes to a lush foie gras br\u00FBl\u00E9e with sherry-drenched pears and crispy Serrano ham. La Duni Latin Kitchen and Baking Studio 4264 Oak Lawn Avenue, Highland Park 214-520-6888 The three little caf\u00E9s run by Dunia and Espartaco Borga are among Dallasites&amp;#039; most beloved spots to eat, not least for the effusive welcome from the Borgas and staff, who are as sweet as the confections sold here. La Duni is best known for its over-the-top desserts like its cuatro leches cake with meringue; Venezuelan rum and chocolate truffle cake; Nutella chocolate cake; and milk chocolate pudding cupcakes. But they also serve lusty lunch and dinner items, and breakfast is a revelation of great beginnings, with dishes like their sliced popover with honey-baked ham, two poached eggs, Gruyere cheese and decadently rich Hollandaise sauce.  Nana Restaurant 2201 N. Stemmons Fwy 214-761-7470 To really impress your friends with both fine cuisine and a spectacular view of the Dallas skyline\u2014from the 27th floor of the Hilton Anatole Hotel (I don&amp;#039;t know if you can see Cowboys Stadium, but it&amp;#039;s out there somewhere)\u2014book a window table at Nana, where Anthony C. Bombaci has proven himself the city&amp;#039;s most creative and daring chef, backed by a wine list that is one of the best in the country. The 10-course tasting menu at $100 is a steal for cuisine like his slow-roasted pork belly with barbecued rice, chanterelles, and sherry gel\u00E9e, or seared salmon with garbanzo bean-pork rago\u00FBt and glazed piquillo peppers.  Charlie Palmer at The Joule 1530 Main St. 214-261-4600 At any meal this new swanky dining room serves fine modern American fare\u2014the two-course &amp;quot;15-30&amp;quot; executive lunch is $15 and gets you out in half an hour\u2014but it&amp;#039;s also become Dallas&amp;#039; power breakfast scene, and not a bad place to nurse a winning or losing hangover after the game. The tables are well staggered for privacy, the room is kept relatively quiet, and the service staff is well-accustomed to the morning&amp;#039;s ritual. Chef Scott Romano&amp;#039;s signature breakfast dish is marinated skirt steak and scrambled eggs, served with crispy thick home fries and a red-wine reduction. And the migas tortillas, filled with buttery scrambled eggs, shredded beef, chopped chorizo, topped with melted cheese, possesses magical restorative powers.  Al Bernat&amp;#039;s 4217 Oak Lawn Ave. 214-219-2201 As you might imagine, there&amp;#039;s a steakhouse on just about every corner in Dallas, including all the usual chains. But the best independent has the owner&amp;#039;s name on the awning. Al is always there, knows his regulars, loves to meet newcomers, and is manic about the quality of his beef, lamb, and seafood, which includes North Dakota buffalo with a habanero chile sauce, double-cut Colorado lamb chops with Provencal hash, and a 24-ounce &amp;quot;cowboy cut&amp;quot; rib-eye. It&amp;#039;s all accompanied by a 650-label wine list. The bar up front is always packed with the finest-looking women in town, and the Martini glasses are Texas sized. Arcodoro &amp;amp;amp; Pomodoro 100 Crescent Ct. 214-871-1924 For no good reason I can think of, Dallas is largely bereft of good Italian restaurants. Arcordoro &amp;amp;amp; Pomodoro is a wonderful exception, where not only does owner Efisio Farris serve great antipasti at the sleek Doro Bar, but sit down to dinner (there&amp;#039;s a six-seat chef&amp;#039;s table outside the wine room that&amp;#039;s a great choice for a small party) and you&amp;#039;ll be amazed that the menu has a decided (and very authentic) Sardinian cast, with dishes rare to find anywhere in the U.S., like gulurgiones de cas\u00F9 canne\u2014half-moon pasta with Sardinian cheeses in a veal-tomato rag\u00F9\u2014and the array of salt-baked fish from a wood-burning oven.  Shinsei 7713 Inwood Road 214-352-0005 \u2028 Dallas is rich in Asian restaurants, and one of the best is Shinsei, run by Lynae Fearing and Tracy Rathbun, who provide a lot of sexy Texas dash to Japanese food, as interpreted by sushi chef &amp;quot;Elvis&amp;quot; Shuji Sugawara and executive chef T.J. Lengnick. So, within this shadowy venue, you&amp;#039;ll find dishes like spicy tuna with a habanero mayo and avocado; the &amp;quot;Elvis Mack&amp;quot; sashimi of Spanish mackerel, yuzu, olive oil, shies, and Japanese cucumber; coconut shrimp with jalape\u00F1o peppers; braised short ribs with noodles; and tamarind BBQ chicken. It can get very, very loud, but the place says as much about Dallas&amp;#039; global dining scene as it does about the fusion of talent, taste, and swagger. The Mansion Restaurant at Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek 2821 Turtle Creek Blvd. 214-443-4747 For three decades the Mansion has been the place for high Texas posh in Dallas, and now, in recast dining rooms with a more casual ambiance than in the past, chef Bruno Davaillon, from the Loire Valley and formerly of Alain Ducasse&amp;#039;s MiX in Las Vegas, has shown enormous finesse in his cooking, from a Dungeness crab salad with tomato-jalape\u00F1o gel\u00E9e and bloody Mary sorbet to Colorado rack of lamb with crispy white grits gratin and braised Texas kale. There are three dining room options: the main dining room, with its varnished wood tables, coffered ceiling and fireplace; a smaller, more intimate room, formerly the library; and the small orangerie-like room for a single party. \u2028  PLUS: More John Mariani on Esquire&amp;#039;s Eat Like a Man Blog &amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;gt; "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.esquire.com/food-drink/food/a9327/super-bowl-restaurants-dallas-2011/>