Paseo del Rio

4 Texas cities rank among most romantic in U.S., but top spot is a shocker

When you think of the most romantic cities in the United States, there’s a clear pecking order: San Francisco, New York City, New Orleans and maybe somewhere like Charleston, South Carolina. But according to OpenTable, the most romantic city in the states is … San Antonio.

Based on a formula that took into account the percentage of restaurants rated “romantic” according to OpenTable reviews, percentage of tables seated for two, and percentage of people in the city who dined out for Valentine's Day last year, San Antonio led a pack of four Texas cities that made it into the first 11 spots.

Austin ranks No. 2 on the list of romantic cities, while Houston and Dallas come in at 10 and 11, respectively.

Austin picks up the No. 2 slot. Providence, Rhode Island; La Jolla, California; and Columbus, Ohio round out the top five. Because everyone knows that Columbus is the Buenos Aries of the Rust Belt.

Salt Lake City, long thought to rival Lisbon or Prague on an international level, is just outside the first five. Houston and Dallas come in at 10 and 11, respectively.

And what of San Francisco and New Orleans? Neither made the cut. Milwaukee slides in at No. 12, though, which will probably serve as a topic of conversation when they see No. 19 Indianapolis at the next wine and cheese party.

So where do Texas romantics go? Well, in San Antonio, they go to Ounce Steakhouse and Bella On The River. Austin’s best included the historic Driskill and Carmelo’s Ristorante Italiano downtown.

For romance in Houston, OpenTable suggests Chez Nous and the near-religious Mark’s American Cuisine. The best places to make lovey eyes at your date in Dallas are the French Room, the iconic Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek, and Five Sixty by Wolfgang Puck atop Reunion Tower.

So don’t worry about making it to the City of Light by February 14. The River Walk is only a few hours away.

The River Walk is to San Antonio what the Eiffel Tower is to Paris.

RiverWalkSanAntonio.us

The River Walk is to San Antonio what the Eiffel Tower is to Paris.

unspecified

Politics News

Dallas narrows down field for new city manager to 4 candidates

Photo by R K on Unsplash

This is an Dallasite's sign to launch that small business they've been dreaming of.

After six months without a city manager, the city of Dallas has narrowed down the field of replacements to four semifinalists including one serving as current interim city manager, plus candidates from Fort Worth, Michigan, and Georgia.

Dallas has been without a city manager since May, when previous city manager T.C. Broadnax left to take a job with the city of Austin. Since that time, Broadnax's former chief of staff Kimberly Bizor Tolbert has served as interim city manager.

The city retained Baker Tilly, a consulting firm, to recruit and compile candidates. (Baker Tilly famously erred in the brochure it created for the position by featuring a photo of the Houston skyline instead of Dallas; they've since replaced it with Dallas.)

A spokesperson for Baker Tilly did not respond to inquiries but according to D Magazine, an email listing the candidates has been sent to the Dallas City Council.

The semifinalists include:

Kimberly Bizor Tolbert, Dallas’ current interim city manager
William Johnson, an assistant city manager in Fort Worth
Mark Washington, the city manager of Grand Rapids, Michigan
Zachary Williams, a county chief operating officer in Georgia

All have more than 25 years' of public administration experience and have worked in similar capacities in their respective cities.

Before working in Fort Worth, Johnson was Baltimore’s transportation director and Atlanta’s deputy chief operating officer and public works commissioner.

Washington worked in Fort Worth and Austin before becoming Grand Rapids’ city manager.

Williams has mostly worked in Georgia at the county level, including serving as county manager in Fulton County and chief operating officer in DeKalb County.

Tolbert began working for the city in 1998, first as the city manager’s assistant and later in the aviation department. Broadnax hired her as his chief of staff in 2017.

Unlike the Mayor and the Dallas City Council, the city manager position in Dallas is not elected but is instead appointed by the city council, and is tasked with executing policies, overseeing the annual budget, and managing staff at city hall.

The council’s Ad Hoc Committee will choose finalists, introduce them to the public, and make an offer in early 2025.

politics