Rub It In, Travelocity. Rub It In.

By Robert Wilonsky Tue., Jul. 3 2007 at 12:52 PM

Categories: News

There are two men on this planet who know what they're talking about when it comes to traveling, writing about traveling and talking about traveling. Those men are Bill Bryson and Rick Steves. If you pick up a guidebook, listen to a radio show, watch a television program or otherwise try to learn something about a particular place, and it is not produced, endorsed or written by Bill Bryson or Rick Steves, you embark upon your journey at your own foolish peril.

Case in point: Travelocity's "Local Secrets, Big Finds" collection of crap to do, which, according to a recent press release, features six local, secretive, big finds when it comes to DFW tourism. Locally (secretively? Bigly?) they chose: Dallas' Café Madrid, Fort Worth's Joe T. Garcia's, Grapevine's Vintage Railroad, Canton's First Monday trade days, Watauga's Chef Point Café and … the Gypsy Tea Room?

You mean, the closed Gypsy Tea Room, that will not, in all likelihood, be featuring "patrons who can be seen shaking-it on the dance floor or rocking-out to an awesome band," as the Travelocity website promises?

To be fair, Gypsy only closed three months ago (and who's got time to update a website or a press release in three months?) and will, presumably, soon be reincarnated as The Door Dallas. But any Dallas tourists who cab it to the corner of Main and Good-Latimer in the near future, at Travelocity's behest, will surely be disappointed.

Here's hoping they at least make it down the road to the All Good Café for a decent meal. Oh, wait. Don't take my word for it. Wait until Rick or Bill recommend it. Like I said. Until then, more meat loaf for me. --Andrea Grimes

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