Park Cities, North Dallas Best Italian: Amore Italian Restaurant

Where: 6931 Snider Plaza Dallas, TX 75205

Contact: 214-739-0502

Park Cities Best Barbecue: Peggy Sue BBQ

Where: 6600 Snider Plaza Dallas, TX 75205

Contact: 214-987-9188

Susan and Marc Hall have the market cornered. With their trio of Snider Plaza restaurants, Amore Italian Restaurant, Peggy Sue BBQ and Cisco Grill, the Halls have been dishing up flavors to all varieties of tastebuds for decades.
 When Marc, a former Brinker executive, decided he’d like to make his own mark on the restaurant industry in the mid-1980s, he knew his most powerful asset was his wife Susan’s creativity and love of food.
 After taking over Amore from its previous owner in 1985, the Halls opened their own brainchild, southwestern-themed Cisco Grill in 1987 and finally gained proprietorship over Peggy Sue BBQ (the “Sue” in honor of Susan) in 1989, known formerly to longtime customers as Peggy’s Beef Bar.
 “What a neighborhood it is to have restaurants in,” Marc said. “People are willing to be very loyal to you.”
 “It has been so fun for us to see the third generation of families coming in,” Susan said. “We’ve seen folks that had their first date at Amore, now they’re having children and returning with them. And they still have their favorite dishes!”
 Amore’s menu includes traditional Italian fare and locally-legendary lasagna that has kept customers coming in for over two decades. Its dedication to customer attention is one priority the Halls pride themselves on.
 “Overseeing the reservations is really a science,” Marc said. “We never like our customers to wait, and we want their experience to fit their expectations, so we strive to meet them.”
 Prior to taking over Peggy Sue BBQ, the Halls researched their new endeavor by hitting the Texas Barbecue Trail in Lulling, Lockhart and Elgin. It was there they discovered the ingredient common to the barbecue’s sublime taste: oak wood.
 “That’s why we smoke with oak as opposed to the traditional hickory,” Susan said.
 In addition to ribs, brisket and sausage plates decked in Peggy Sue’s celebrated spicy sauce, fried pies are a must-try at the hotspot.
 “It was so fun for me to learn how to make them,” Susan said. “I scoured old recipe books to make sure they were just right.”
 But the most essential element to the Halls’ success boils down to one thing: location, location, location.
 “It has been wonderful to see the growth of Snider Plaza and its transformation into what it is today,” Marc said. “When we first got here, we were trimming the weeds from in front of Amore, and now there’s this charming, relaxed, small-town feel to it. We wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”