BOHEMIA IN THE BIG D

I love relying on the advice of friends, but not this time.

For a recent trip to Dallas, my friends here told me to see the downtown skyline, but we have one of those in L.A. Ditto for massive malls like Northpark (Angelenos excel at retail therapy) and the place where President Kennedy was shot. (We have our own Kennedy tragedy.)

I wanted the real Dallas, the counterintuitive Dallas, the Dallas of the fringe -- and I found it in three neighborhoods, plus a worthwhile side trip to Fort Worth.

I considered Deep Ellum, the crucible of music from early jazz to the Dixie Chicks, but it felt scary at night -- poorly lighted and filled with vagrants. The West End historic district near the Texas Schoolbook Depository had been touted too, but it didn’t feel ready for prime time (though I did visit the Dealey Plaza’s Sixth Floor Museum, where the Kennedy assassination exhibit was moving).

Instead I rented a car and found a Dallas of Degas and Borofsky downtown, Goya at Southern Methodist University and artists nobody’s heard of -- yet -- in the Bishop Arts District. There was fruit soap, fruit sorbet and fruit still lifes -- all served with a heaping dollop of Texas charm.

Some of the biggest pleasures were the unexpected moments of kindness; lots of other cities could take lessons. Here are some places to spend half a day exploring, eating, shopping -- or even to stay the night.

Knox-Henderson/SMU

Why go: This district northeast of downtown is named for two streets straddling U.S. 75. Knox Street, west of the freeway, is the more polished, where such chains as Crate & Barrel and Restoration Hardware are mixed with local faves like Froggie’s 5 & 10 (3211 Knox St., [214] 522-5867), selling classic toys and novelties, and Forty Five Ten, 4510 McKinney Ave., [214] 559-4510; www.fortyfiveten.com), a high-end fashion spot founded by local models.

Down the block is the entrance to the Katy Trail, a jogging and cycling path through the city. You can’t miss it: Motion sensors at the entrances to the trail activate stockyard noises -- think mooing and cowbells -- from speakers.

East of the freeway, Henderson Avenue is more homegrown and hippie. No big chains here; look instead for small antiques shops, vintage clothing stores and gift boutiques such as Emeralds to Coconuts, whose name about says it all. Side streets house historic bungalows, and the Old Monk beer hall (2847 N. Henderson Ave., [214] 821-1880, www.oldmonkdallas.com) has a generous patio and dozens of beers from Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands.

One exit north, on the manicured, Georgian-style Southern Methodist University campus, I found the world’s largest collection of Spanish art outside Spain at the Meadows Museum (5900 Bishop Blvd., [214] 768-2516; www.meadowsmuseumdallas.org): 15th and 16th century religious art, portraiture and works by Goya, Picasso and Miro.

Eats: Knox-Henderson is full of local spots that won’t break the bank or make you feel like you’re slumming it. The Latin cafe La Duni is typical; it serves renowned cakes, dozens of coffees, teas and cocoas, and the ABCs of Caribbean and South American cuisine: Argentine, Brazilian, Cuban ....

My Argentine sausage sandwich called choripan came with avocado, tomato, chimichurri sauce and manchego cheese on a cone-shaped roll. I was glad I had saved room for the Venezuelan chocolate cake: Each of the three layers of chocolate icing had a different flavor.

Cool hotel: The former down-at-the-heels Mockingbird Hilton near SMU emerged from its shell as the Hotel Palomar in September. Its mid-century structure has been enhanced with geometric, 21st century decor and $2 million worth of art on the first two floors alone.

Unexpected act of kindness: A friend recommended Fireside Pies (that’s “Fahr Sahd Pahz,” in Dallas-speak) on Henderson Avenue, noted for its fabulous pizzas made in pecan-wood-burning ovens. When I couldn’t decide among white peach or red passion fruit sangria or a prickly pear margarita, the waitress brought me samples of all three. I didn’t like them (too sweet) but chose a Stella Artois, which paired perfectly with a chicken sausage pizza.

Bishop Arts

Why go: Across the Trinity River from downtown, this is the city’s most bohemian neighborhood. Even if “arts” is pushing it -- there are more cafes and shops than galleries -- it still makes for a fun and funky afternoon.

Zola’s Everyday Vintage (414 N. Bishop Ave., [214] 943-6643, www.zolasvintage.com) is acclaimed by local fashionistas. Gift shops sell fragrances, candles, and art and design pieces. The hand-colored greeting cards at Fete! Home Collection (322 W. 7th St., [214] 948-9874) are cute (though, for the kiddies, the occasional double entendre is better left unexplained). The Soda Gallery (408 N. Bishop Ave., [866] 946-SODA [7632]; www.thesodagallery.com) sells soft drinks from Australia (Bundaberg ginger beer), New York (Dr. Brown’s), Iowa (Sioux City Sarsaparilla) and Texas’ own Dr Pepper (the original formula, made with cane sugar instead of corn syrup).

Eats: For such a bohemian neighborhood, Hattie’s has a lot of polish, down to the kumquat lime soap in the bathroom. I met a friend in its long, windowed room for a lunch of Southern cooking grown up. Low-country shrimp were served on a cake of seared grits, and dessert was fried pie, a brilliant banana walnut alongside coconut ice cream and squiggles of raspberry sauce.

Cool hotel: Hotel Belmont, a few minutes’ drive away, dates from 1946 but reopened a couple of years ago after a two-year retro-chic renovation. Its 68 hillside rooms are motor-court style; bungalows and the pool, trimmed with mosaic tile, have full views of downtown; and folksy Kiehl’s bath products complement the vintage fixtures.

Unexpected act of kindness: The Belmont’s staff was a low-key storehouse of info, and during my visit they had a free screening of 1959’s “Plan 9 From Outer Space” by the pool.

Downtown Arts District

Why go: Tourist literature touts Dallas’ Arts District as the nation’s largest. How this is measured (and to what end) is not mentioned, but no matter. The museums are excellent.

The Dallas Art Museum (1717 N. Harwood St., [214] 922-1200, www.dm-art.org) is like a multistory maze, wending across, around, up and down a series of galleries that house French Impressionists (Degas’ “Ballet Dancers on the Stage”) as well as reverential displays of Hindu, Buddhist and Islamic art. American works include Gilbert Stuart, John Singleton Copley, Shaker chairs, Edward Hopper and Georgia O’Keeffe.

A block away, in the Nasher Sculpture Center (2001 Flora St., [214] 242-5100; www.nashersculpturecenter.org), designed by Renzo Piano and opened in 2003, airy indoor galleries sit beneath a glass ceiling that lets in just the right amount of light to shine on Calders, Miros, Giacomettis and Brancusis and a special exhibition of Matisse sculptures that runs through April 29.

In the roughly 1.5-acre garden out back, Jonathan Borofsky’s “Walking to the Sky” moved to Dallas from New York in 2005, a sculpture of regular folks sauntering up its 100-foot-tall diagonal pole. Works by Henry Moore, Jean Dubuffet, Barbara Hepworth and Aristide Maillol also are on display outdoors.

The intimate Crow Collection of Asian Art (2010 Flora St., [214] 979-6430; www.crowcollection.org) is across the street, and a few blocks away is architect I.M. Pei’s travertine-and-glass Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center (2301 Flora St., [214] 670-3600; www.meyersonsymphonycenter.com).

Cool hotel: A quick drive west leads to the towering W in Victory Park, a new shopping, night life and entertainment district anchored by the American Airlines Center (home of the Mavericks basketball team and Stars hockey team). Rooms are W-slick; a section of the balcony floor at the top-floor Ghost Bar is made of glass (not for the vertiginous), and super-helpful concierges printed out maps and directions to places I was only thinking of visiting.

Eats: Local star chef Stephan Pyles recently opened his own restaurant near the museums. The color palette is shades of sunset-meets-stone, and the new American cooking adventurous: poblano asiago soup, seviches, salmon steamed in hoja santa (leaf) atop crabmeat and chorizo paella.

At the W, the restaurant Craft (an offshoot of Tom Colicchio’s New York eatery) is expensive but worth it. Staff never missed a beat in serving family-style dishes such as silky short ribs (in a cast-iron pot) and a magnificent medley of mushrooms. I wished I’d had someone to share the scoops of ice creams and sorbets served in sake cups, eight fantastical flavors including black walnut, huckleberry and brandied cherry.

Unexpected act of kindness: While seating me, the hostess at Craft noticed I was dining alone and asked whether she could bring me a newspaper to read.

Way out

About an hour’s drive from Dallas, Fort Worth proudly fancies itself a cow town with an excellent arts district.

Why go: The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth (3200 Darnell St., [866] 824-5566, www.themodern.org) is as famous for its building as for its collection. Pritzker Prize winner Tadao Ando designed a series of bays that seem to float on a lagoon, a backdrop for the Lichtensteins, Rothkos and Warhols inside.

Nearby the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame (1720 Gendy St., [800] 476-FAME [3263]; www.cowgirl.net) highlights some unexpected cowgirls, Sacajawea, Patsy Cline and Sandra Day O’Connor among them.

*

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Lone Star-struck

GETTING THERE:

From LAX, nonstop service to Dallas is offered on American and United. America West and United offer direct service (stop, no change of plane); Frontier and America West, connecting service (change of planes). Restricted round-trip fares begin at $204.

WHERE TO STAY:

Hotel Palomar, 5300 E. Mockingbird Lane, (214) 520-7969 www.hotelpalomar-dallas.com. Doubles start at $279.

Hotel Belmont, 901 Fort Worth Ave., (877) 476-3378; www.belmontdallas.com. Standard rooms (one queen bed) start at $199.

W, 2440 Victory Park Lane, (214) 397-4100; www.whotels.com. Doubles start at $599.

WHERE TO EAT:

La Duni (Knox-Henderson), 4620 McKinney Ave., (214) 520-7300; www.laduni.com. Latin-style sandwiches, $7.45-$9.95.

Fireside Pies (Knox-Henderson), 2820 N. Henderson Ave., (214) 370-3916; www.firesidepies.com. Pizzas $13-$14.

Hattie’s (Bishop Arts), 418 N. Bishop Ave., (214) 942-7400; www.hatties.net. Dinner entrees run $12.95-$28.95.

Stephan Pyles (Downtown Arts District), 1807 Ross Ave., Suite 200, (214) 580-7000; www.stephanpyles.com. Dinner entrees start at $24.

Craft (in W hotel), 2440 Victory Park Lane, (214) 397-4111; www.craftrestaurant.com. Dinner entrees $28-$98.

TO LEARN MORE:

Dallas Convention and Visitors Bureau, 325 N. St. Paul St., Suite 700, Dallas, Texas, (214) 571-1000; www.dallascvb.com/visitors/contact.php.

-- Andrew Bender