A Weekend of Fun in Dallas/Fort Worth

I absolutely LOVE having family that live in the Dallas/Fort Worth area! It provides me with endless opportunities to see, do, and taste new things with people that I love! Every time we go out “West” (ha ha), I try to take my kids on a new adventure of some sort or try a new restaurant or cuisine. This keeps the trips exciting, but it also prompts my family members that live there to branch out of their normal routine and join us! Join us for a Weekend of Fun in Dallas/Fort Worth.

On this trip, I wanted my kids to see a new sport up close and personally. Hockey is not a “thing” in our area, and they really didn’t know much about it. But we are a competitive family and so I knew that they would enjoy the competition. We lucked up and booked tickets for a game with the Shreveport Mudbugs! So, we were divided as a family. My brother and his family were going for the Texas team, obviously, and I had to support LOUISIANA of course!! (By the way… Louisiana won!)

We also checked out a cool museum, ate some Indian food, and hung out with family! It was a great trip, and I can’t wait to make it back out to see them again and dive into something else interesting and new!

you can watch our adventure here:

what to eat/drink on a weekend of fun in dallas/fort worth:

starbucks:

• I know that everyone is probably familiar with this WORLD-FAMOUS coffee joint, but just in case you are not, it is GREAT! Whenever we travel to Texas and whenever we travel home from Texas, we always swing by and get us something. It’s kind of like our vacation ritual of eating Cracker Barrel for breakfast on the day that we travel home. There’s just something about traditions that I love! It’s probably because I never really had any growing up. So, I’m here to make them for my kids. Let me tell you what we ordered below!

• Iced Caramel Macchiato – This is my favorite because it is made with espresso, hints of vanilla and caramel. I like my coffee strong, and this is bold, not overly sweet, and is my chosen drink for driving in the mornings!
• Cheese Danish – This is a buttery croissant with soft, warm cheese in the middle. You HAVE to try it! (I’m pretty sure everything on their menu is amazing, but I can only speak of this Danish and their muffins. Just get them and thank me later!)

wingstop:

• (Singing loudly) If you don’t know me by now, you will never, ever, ever, know me… ooooohhhhh (HA HA) and if you aren’t familiar with that song, click here for a quick listen to that oldie but goodie! What should you know? You should know that WE LOVE WINGS! And it’s almost become another ritual that when we go out to Texas to visit family that we visit a Wingstop. They seriously have the BEST WINGS! (And yes, I have wings at other places… plenty of other places. And they don’t even compare) Let me tell you the flavors that will knock your socks off!

• Lemon Pepper – This flavor is a dry seasoning rub and it’s salty and tangy. I love lemon and it’s balances perfectly with the fried wing. It’s probably my favorite of all time!
• Original Hot – This is their original sauce, and it has that signature Buffalo Wing sauce flavor. (By the way… it’s not HOT at all. Seriously, this Louisiana girl needed something with a little more spice!)
• Hickory Smoked BBQ – This flavor is smoky and sweet. One of my daughter’s favorites!
• Mild – This is just a milder version of their original sauce. It’s also one of my daughter’s favorite sauces and she orders it every. single. time.

ZuRoma’s Restaurant:

• This restaurant is located in the NYTEX Sports Centre and I’m so glad that it is! The concession stand food left a lot to be desired and this restaurant was our saving grace! We didn’t know that the Hockey game would last 3 hours, and we didn’t eat dinner beforehand.

• So, with 5 hungry kids staring us down, we decided to order two large pizzas at $15.00 each and they were delicious! The other items on the menu look pretty great too! I would definitely give them a try if you are in that sport’s complex for an event or activities.

five guys:

• We actually do have one of these restaurants about 45 minutes from us and they make a pretty good burger. On this particular Saturday, I woke up with a pounding headache and so my mom wanted to run out and grab us lunch instead of me having to get dressed just to go and eat. What’s great about where they live is that we could have had the food delivered straight to my mom’s house. But she had some errands to run and so I just placed our order online and my mom picked it up about 20 minutes later. Here is what our order looked like. In case you are wondering. (HA)
  • Jessie – Little Bacon Cheeseburger, mayo, mustard, lettuce, pickles, onion, sauteed mushrooms, Cajun fries, and coke zero.
  • Ava – Little Bacon Cheeseburger, mayo, lettuce, fries, Dr. Pepper.
  • Brady – Little Bacon Cheeseburger, mayo, lettuce, Cajun fries, Sprite.
  • Luke – Little Cheeseburger, fries, Coke.

spices of india kitchen:

• I LOVE Indian food! And I’ve made it a small mission of mine to get people in my family to try new cuisines and foods that are way out of their comfort zone! Some of the best Indian food that I’ve ever had was at a small, family-owned restaurant in New York City. And although I haven’t found a place that cooked their lamb quite as perfectly as them, I’ve still ran into some tasty places on my quest for great local Indian food. I knew that I wanted my kids and my brother’s family to try this food and they wouldn’t do that without a polite push from me… so we went! This was a super small restaurant with only a few employees that were all family members, and the food was as authentic as it gets! This is what we ordered and how it tasted.

take a look at what we ate!

• Appetizer – Chicken Samosas (These are deep fried pastries filled with Indian spices and minced chicken. They are served with two dipping sauces, a cool avocado and a deep and rich soy that resembled a runny BBQ sauce. I love these things and I knew they would be a hit at the table. I wasn’t wrong! Everyone adored them, even the kids!
• Naan – This is Indian Bread flatbread. It is INSANELY DELICIOUS! It reminds me a lot of pita bread. It’s usually cooked in a coal brick oven and comes in a regular or garlic flavor.
• Jessie – Shrimp Curry (Delicious coconut flavor, tender shrimp, served over steamed rice)
• Brady/Ava/Luke – Chili Chicken, fried rice (The chili chicken was SUPER spicy, too spicy for the kids and the fried rice had no flavor at all. I’m not quite sure why it was on their menu, but I think that my kids were thinking it would be like the sushi/Thai restaurant that we like, and it wasn’t anything like that. There was a cucumber, mint, yogurt sauce poured over it and that was interesting, but not what they were looking for.)
• Colby – Lamb Curry (The flavors of this curry were very deep and earthy. The lamb was tender, cooked like a stew and served over steamed rice)
• Teresa – Butter Chicken (This was probably the BEST dish on the table! It was so delicious, and I can’t describe the flavor. It’s unlike anything we have in American cuisine. The chicken was incredibly tender, and the sauce was… AMAZING! Served, of course, over steamed rice)

Braum’s:

• This is the place we go to for ICECREAM, specifically, during the holidays. Their seasonal flavors are AMAZING! At Thanksgiving I got the snickerdoodle Ice-cream, and it was DIVINE! I’m a HUGE lover of cinnamon and the cinnamon flavor was so strong. (And I mean that in a good way) Here is what we got! (It’s also SUPER affordable)
  • Jessie – One scoop of peanut butter cup on a traditional cake cone.
  • Brady – One scoop of salted caramel on a traditional cake cone.
  • Ava – One scoop of chocolate chip cookie dough on a cake cone.
  • Luke – One scoop of chocolate chip cookie dough on a cake cone.

what to do on a weekend of fun in dallas/fort worth:

lonestar brahmas Hockey Game

• Where do they play?
  • NYTEX SPORTS CENTRE
    • This sport’s complex is really nice, and they have so many things available for kids to do. Seriously, they have everything from hockey, ice skating, and volleyball to indoor turf, roller derby, restaurants and embroidery/athletic stores!
    • As far as seating goes, I really liked this sports complex. It’s large enough to accommodate a good crowd, but small enough to fill personal and intimate. Pretty much every seat and section are a part of the action, which makes the experience even better!

• What is the cost?
  • This is another great thing about taking your family to see the Lonestar Brahmas play. It isn’t expensive. And that is saying something about sporting events! We had seats right up to the glass and they were only $20. But the $10 seats were not many rows behind us. And it’s a lot like NBA games, there really isn’t a bad seat in the house! And parking is FREE! (Always a plus for me!)
• What food is offered?
  • The food on the concession stand menu is much like all the food you would find at any sporting event. But I am here to be honest and transparent with you and so I am going to share my personal thoughts about those items. I am a mom, and I would like to know the cost of things and whether or not they are delicious because I plan to feed my crew there and I want to make sure you are prepared and informed as well.

take a look at what they had!

• Popcorn ($4.25) – Tasted good but was SUPER SALTY. (I don’t have a big problem with that as long as I have something to drink.) But I do think it’s odd that this item was just as much as a container of nachos. They are not equal in my opinion. This should have cost less.
• Nachos ($4.25) – My kids wouldn’t eat them and that’s saying something! They didn’t look very good, but we were hoping to have snacks from the concession stand for dinner, so I purchased them. It’s a strong “NO” from my crew. And I feel like we know good nachos because I not only make them at home, but we attend a sporting event at least once a week for most of the year and nachos are on our radar often.

typical concession stand food…

• Hot Dog ($4.25) – I tried the hot dog and I really tried to like it too. I don’t waste food or throw food away and by bite number 2, this hot dog was trashed. The wiener was too big and had NO FLAVOR. Sadly, not even mustard could make it redeemable.
• Chick-fil-a Chicken Sandwich ($9.00) – So, here’s the deal… You really can’t go wrong with a Chick-fil-a sandwich, but there was no way that I was going to pay almost $10.00 for it! That price didn’t include a drink or fries. That’s a pass for me!
• ZuRoma’s Pizza $(15.00) – NOW… we are TALKING! This was the best thing that we had but it’s not really part of the concession stand. It’s an onsite restaurant. I think that during the week you might be able to place your order for their food at the concession stand and so the name is on there, but we had to go into the restaurant and order our pizzas because it was technically the weekend. It was delicious but I’m talking about it in the FOOD SECTION ABOVE. So, go check that out!

now for strange things on our trip!

museum of illusions

• What is it?
  • It’s a place where nothing is as it seems, where the unbelievable truly becomes reality. This Museum combines fun and entertainment with education and learning and has something to please everyone! There are over 80 exhibits as optical illusions, holograms, installations, and interactive illusion rooms. The Vortex Tunnel was incredibly challenging for me because I couldn’t keep my balance while the mirror that combined two people gave my brother and I endless laughs! Totally worth the money and the time. We had a blast!

• What is the cost?
  • The cost is $17 for kids and $21 for adults. I’m not really sure if this would rank high or reasonably priced in the museum category but I do know that it was like an attraction for my kids, and we enjoyed the time that we spent there. So, I certainly do not regret spending this money.

the illusions are crazy fun!!

• How much time do you spend there?
  • We set our time to tour the museum at 4:00 p.m. and it was quite overwhelming because there were all of these people showing up at the same time with that same time slot. As a result, the front part of the museum was flooded with people all at one time and was a little chaotic. So, I would certainly advise coming in and going to the back of the museum and working your way back to the front. That way, you miss that crazy crowd at the beginning of your time slot. About 30 minutes into the tour, those people started to leave, and the crowd thinned out and honestly, the museum was so much more enjoyable! We spent about an hour there and I could have spent another 30 minutes reading and trying to solve some of the hands-on puzzles. But we had my younger nephews with us, and their attention span wasn’t quite that long.

• Location and Parking:
  • This museum is located in the heart of downtown Dallas in the Historic West District. There isn’t a lot of parking nearby but what is available is paid parking. So, just be prepared to pay between $8.00 – $10.00 for a spot.

our itinerary for a weekend of fun in dallas/fort worth:

day 1 – Travel Day/hockey game

• Load the car
• Drive to Starbucks
• Bathroom and snack breaks along the way
• Get to mom’s house and unload the car
• Go eat Lunch at Wingstop
• Shower at mom’s house and change clothes
• Go to the Hockey Game

*day 2 – Museum of illusions and indian food

• Worked on the Blog
• Five Guys Burgers delivered by mom for lunch
• Showered and changed clothes
• Museum of Illusions (Downtown Dallas)
• Indian Food for dinner
• Braum’s ice-cream for dessert

day 3 – travel home

• Pack and load the car
• Drive to Starbucks and McDonalds for breakfast
• Bathroom and lunch break on the way
• Arrive Home and unpack the car

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check out some of our other adventures!

A Week of Fun in Dallas/Fort Worth

Quick Day Trip to New Orleans

Family Vacation to Gulf Shores

be sure to pin it for later!