The New York Times has a nice take on modern Dallas in the Travel Guide's "Dallas Does Dallas."

The city seems willing to throw off its long-held infatuation with glitz and glamour, while remaining obsessed with maintaining a reputation for impeccable, indisputable good taste.

[...]

At the heart of it all — this zeal for glamour and sophistication, a supreme faith in the transcendent power of surfaces — is a Texan’s pride and a Texan’s insecurity: you don’t leave the house without looking your best, because you never know whom you might see, and who might want to find you lacking.

The quick rundown... what meets the Times writer's approval?

• NorthPark Center
• Nasher sculpture garden
• a new opera center by Norman Foster
• a new theater by Rem Koolhaas
• a proposed bridge spanning the Trinity River by Santiago Calatrava
• a Latino Cultural Center by Ricardo Legorreta
• a symphony hall by I. M. Pei
• Philip Johnson’s Crescent Court complex
• Dallas Museum of Art
• Campisi's
• Hotel ZaZa
• Uptown/West Village
• Oak Cliff/Bishop Arts District/Hattie's

I'd say that's a pretty decent list of things to do, see, buy and eat if you're going to be spending a few days in Big D.