The new 888-room Loews Hotel glistens just south of Interstate 30, surrounded by AT&T Stadium, Globe Life Field and Choctaw Stadium. Shiny and new, it's nothing like the drive-in motels just miles away, which Arlington was long known for. Pulling into the valet, you'd never guess that Walmart and Panda Express are two of the nearest businesses.
Amenities overflow at Loews. A full-service spa and salon will take care of your toes before dipping them in the resort-style beach club with two pools, cabanas, fire pits and a water slide. The new Arlington Convention Center is inside the hotel, and suddenly we really want to get invited to a convention. Live! by Loews is the smaller, now-overshadowed sibling hotel.
The new Loews has five restaurants and lounges, including Farena, an Italian restaurant with two 900-degree wood-burning pizza ovens and a pasta lab, where fresh noodles are rolled out daily. An extension of that is The Veranda, an outdoor late-night dining spot.
Tomar El Sol is a poolside spot where you can sip frosty margaritas to wash down your Mexican snacks. Yum, Arlington! (Reservations here are available only for hotel guests.) There's also a big lobby bar with lots of trouble to get into. Peak people-watching here because what is a convention and hotel stay without bad decisions?
There's also an unaffiliated new Mexican restaurant, El Tiempo just across the street at Choctaw Stadium, which Sarah Blaskovich at The Dallas Morning News recently reported on. It sits along the concourse of the former baseball stadium.
Soy Cowboy
Last week we got a media invite to an anchor restaurant, Soy Cowboy, which sits on the south end of the massive hotel, just across the street from Texas Live. First things first: for parking, use the valet at the hotel and the restaurant will validate your ticket. Why lead with that news? If you're asking that: congratulations. We're excited about your independent wealth.Soy Cowboy is not vegan Texas fare. It's also not Spanish as in, "I am cowboy." It's a pan-Asian restaurant, and the name is a playful nod to a thriving street in Bangkok, Thailand, called Soi Cowboy with some 40 go-go bars. We hope this new space channels that energy. Arlington should be the go-go capital of the West.
Soy Cowboy, which opened last week, is from Berg Hospitality Group in Houston. The 12,000-square-foot space has a grand entrance and a large bar to one side, a showy restaurant to the other, and a wicker room in another area. We weren't able to try any of the food on opening night as the space was absolutely packed but will gladly go back to take in the vibrant scenery. We may have to wait for the happy hour menu though. If there ever is one.
A Menu Survey
According to the website, the menu is a tour through China, Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, Japan and more. Menu items include sushi, dim sum, tempura, robatayaki (charcoal grilled food) and hibachi, as well as Korean barbecue. A Soy Cowboy omakase platter ($295) comes with 14 pieces of sashimi, 14 nigiri and three specialty rolls. Or pull up to a 32-ounce Wagyu Australian tomahawk for $285. The Soy Cowboy burger is topped with roasted kimchi and American cheese for $24. An 8-ounce filet is $52, and the shrimp fried rice with furikaka is $26.
The cocktail menu is full of good times with drinks like a Japanese Homerun made with Suntory Toki, Jameson and Aztec chocolate bitters ($20). The cheapest is a Violet Spritz with Botanist gin and Gambino Gold Prosecco for $16. Most drinks are $20. We do like that the mocktails are high on the menu, not buried at the bottom (and are $12 each). The scotch menu is deep: Johnnie Walker Blue for $80 and Macallan 18 for $75. There's also a large tequila menu with all the big names, and Don Julio's 1942 for $60 a serving. Feels like they're expecting some big rollers or expense accounts.
It's worth checking out. After dinner, be sure to take a stroll through the hotel and to admire that pool. It's likely best to make reservations. We're excited to get back to see about service and fare.
Soy Cowboy, 888 Nolan Ryan Expressway, Arlington. Sunday – Thursday, 11 a.m. – 10 p.m.; Friday – Saturday, 11 a.m. – 11 p.m.
