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My company is bringing down a group of NC State fans for the game on Sept. 22, and I am looking for some restaurant recommendations. Our group is staying at the Marriott Quorom, and I would to know what the good places to eat are in that area.

Thanks in advance for your help, and I am looking foward to getting back down to Dallas. It has been a while, but I've always had a great time down there. Here's to a great game, and good luck to you guys this season.

You are staying in the Addison area. There are a ton of good restaurants on Belt Line road in Addison. Cant beat the Blue Goose for good Tex-Mex and margaritas, also really like a hibachi place called Kobe Steak House. Theres a place called the Rock Bottom Brewery which is a good spot. You'll find all that you could want from casual to nicer stuff on Belt Line.

Thanks for the info stangster. Is the Belt Line Rd you mention Dallas Parkway? That is the road where the hotel is located. I would assume that most of the places you mentioned are a reasonable cab ride from the hotel since most of our group is flying in and won't have transportation except to/from the airport and stadium.

Football season can't get started soon enough. See ya in September.

Dallas Parkway runs north/south and Belt Line Road runs east/west and is located just north of the Hotel.

Most of the places in Addison tend to be geared for large numbers of people and if you like that, that's fine. If you're willing to venture out a little (or can afford to run around in a cab very far), there are a number of good places not too far from the SMU campus that tend to be more intimate although often crowded. (BTW, you are staying at a Hotel that is about 11 or 12 miles north of the SMU campus)

Mockingbird Lane runs east/west along the south side of campus. If you head east on Mockingbird about three and a half blocks you will find Campisi's serving the best pizzas in town along with a good assortment of home style Italian food. Head a little bit further east and you will come to Greenville Avenue ... turn south and you will find a number of places that are hard to beat. This area is called Lower Greenville and is a popular area for entertainment. You can find great steaks at Kirbys or sushi and tempura next door at Blue Fish or oysters and fried seafood and a totally unique experience at AwShucks across the street. Further south you will find the original Blue Goose for Mexican food or Terilli's for more Italian food and martinis. Across the street is a place called The Grape with an interesting assortment of daily specials. There are just too many places all over Dallas to mention them all. Even if you decide Lower Greenville doesn't appeal to you, you need to at least drive down it after the game to get the flavor of the area.

Looking forward to seeing your fans here at SMU. Hope you enjoy your stay despite your team losing to us.



[This message has been edited by PK (edited 08-21-2001).]

PK...Thanks for the info. I have heard that the Greenville area is the hot spot in Dallas, so we will probably have some folks that venture down that way.

Who knows what will happen on that Saturday, but as any good fan would, I expect to head back to Raleigh with a smile on my face.

Pack Traveler,

As PK said, its a very short cab ride to the restaurants on Belt Line. Its a bit far to walk, but its so close there might be a hotel shuttle that goes over there frequently. I would ask. Anyway enjoy the visit and I hope we put up a much better fight than last year. I expect the Ponies will.

stangster...I expect a much closer game than last year as well. I really haven't had a chance to read a lot about SMU yet, but I know that we have a few holes to fill, especially at WR and SS. Some of our fans are expecting a blowout, but early in the year and playing at home, I expect SMU will play hard to make up for last season.

The success or failure for NC State this season will depend on how quickly a few of our young guys can adjust to the college game. We are expecting several to have to contribute immediately, especially at WR. We had a heck of a recruiting class on paper, but we all know it's on the field that counts.

I don't know how many fans we will bring, but I expect a decent showing from the Red and White faithful. It should be fun. There's not much better than a football game on a hot September night in the great state of Texas. Good luck and GO PACK!!

Glad you mentioned HOT Pack Traveler. September in Dallas is still quite hot ... pack accordingly and pray for a cooling breeze.

BTW, I don't think anyone has mentioned it yet, but we do have some good tailgate partying on the "Boulevard" starting about three hours before the game. If you're nice and not too loud , I bet some of these here PonyFans will offer ya'll a brew or two.

PK...I will definitely check out the tailgating. A cold one on a hot day will be a must. We'll be doing a tailgate function somewhere on campus that our Alumni Assoc. is sponsoring. I think it is in an area where the corporate tents and such are set up. I appreciate the insight you guys have given me. It will make my job easier to plan activities for my group.

I will try to come back and post a little more info on our prospects for the season, but to do it right takes time, and as you can see from the delay in this response, time has been in short supply lately.

Good luck with the season, and I hope you guys crush the Tar Heels on Sep. 15th.

On Beltline try Solly's, where the ribs, sausage, and potator salad are especially good, for very good Texas style barbeque. IMO its the best in Dallas.

There is also a local barbeque chain, Dickey's, once and perhaps still owned by people with an SMU connection. I suppose there is still a Dickey's branch in the Delta terminal at DFW. Its about the best place there to grab a bite while waiting on a plane.

I know NC barbeque is probably different. I'd be interested in comment if you try either of the above.

I'm staying at the Brookhollow Hilton on Mockingbird Lane. I've been given recommendations of Poppa's, Del Frisco and Bob's for steaks on Mustang Maniacs. Different choices for Mexican and Tex-Mex. What do people think of Pappadeaux's? I got mixed reviews on Mustang Maniac.com. Thanks in advance and good luck against the Tar Heels.

Pappadeaux's is good, if you like Cajun food... I'm also a huge fan of Benihana's, if you've never been there. It's a Japanese steakhouse... kinda pricey, but definitely worth going to at least once in your life. One of my favorite restaurants.

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