I Ate the D 100 AKA Much Respect for Nancy Nichols

In June of 2013, D Magazine finally printed their list of the Top 100 restaurants in Dallas. This isn’t an annual list, or even a biennial list. It’s been a while since they last published that list, but knowing how we all love a good list so we can compare notes(scores) with friends, the good folks at D, more specifically Food and Travel Editor Nancy Nichols, put together the list of the top 100.

I generally read D cover to cover the day it arrives in our mailbox(don’t judge), so I remember when the issue came out. I remember turning to the Sig-O when I saw the list and saying, “We should do this. We should eat at all 100 top restaurants.” How on Earth I managed to snag someone who would blindly join me on this quest to #EatTheD100 is beyond me, but the Sig-O said, “Sure. Why not?” So the quest began.

A few clarifications before I go on. We did not do all 100 in the time since the list came out. We’ve been in Dallas about 15 years, so if we had already been to one on the list, it counted. If one of us had been to the restaurant, but the other had not, it could still count – those amounted to less than five restaurants each. As people who eat out a fair bit, vary their restaurant choices and have adventurous palates, we (I) were pretty disappointed when we had been to just over 50 of the top 100.

While we’re not in 100 percent agreement with where restaurants were placed on the list, we really have no qualms for the majority who made the list. Were there some that should have been on the list but weren’t included? Of course. Were there some that were on the list that probably shouldn't have been? Probably. Were there any who absolutely didn't belong on the list? Yes, but only one and I’m not going to front them out publicly because someone still has to make a living and feed their family from that restaurant, but hopefully not feed them food from that restaurant. What about the ones that closed? Yes, we made it to all of those before they closed.

I now completely understand why Nancy gets tired of the “what’s the best restaurant in Dallas” question. Seriously, if I had a dollar for every time we’ve been asked that question, I would be able to go back to all of our favorites on the list and probably still have a little cash in my pocket for a drink at the Windmill. I’m by no means a restaurant critic, but I have gained a new found respect for those who have to eat for a living. Personally, I’ll stick to food as a hobby rather than a living. And I’m never attacking a list of 100 again.

I knew this adventure would eventually end up on the blog, but I’m not going to bore you with reviews of all 100.  Because we all love lists, we’ve created “Best Of” lists from the Top 100 list. Yep, lists from lists, mind blown! I’m breaking these lists up over several days, so check back later for the next installment.