Here at SMU, we are all very dedicated to our work. In fact, sometimes we are so dedicated to our work that we stay up until the wee hours of the morning with our noses crammed in books.
It was just one of these nights, about a week ago, when I pulled my head off of my desk and decided that I needed a post-study snack. The only problem was that it was one-thirty in the morning. Domino’s had stopped delivering hours ago, and no place on Mockingbird was open, save Jimmy John’s, which is open until 2:30 a.m. seven days a week. Reluctantly, I called up Jimmy John’s and asked them to send over a Gargantuan – their most flavorful sandwich with everything on it that still doesn’t taste half as good as a solid Subway sandwich. (The latter sandwich vendor, by the way, closes at some ungodly hour along with the rest of Hughes-Trigg, so that was out of the question.)
My sandwich finally came and I sulked in the rocking chair in front of McElvaney while I half-enjoyed my un-toasted, dry deli-meat sub. I went to bed that night with a full stomach, but an unsatisfied need for delicious late-night delivery. I vowed to find it.
The first place I looked was the obvious choice. It is no secret that Pluckers is every SMU student’s best friend when it comes to late-night snacking, but it gets old. One can only order wings so many nights in a row. On the other hand, a good order of cheese fries can be the perfect thing to end a Saturday night – and they’re open until 3 a.m. (wings until three-thirty).
But I wanted to branch out. I was tired of the old favorites and was looking for some new cuisines to plant my flag in. My flag was pretty secure on campus, having mapped out Hillcrest and Mockingbird pretty well, so I ventured outwards.
Searching for the best of the best, I happened upon Taco Bell. As I learned quickly here at SMU, Texans take their Mexican food very seriously and Taco Bell is far from considered authentic. I don’t need to give a review of the Mockingbird Avenue Taco Bell’s food, because we’re all very accustomed to its Beef Combo Burritos and its Grande Soft Tacos.
The bottom line is that Taco Bell is not the best food in the world, but the drive-through is open 24 hours a day so you will never be disappointed. And the Big Bell Value commercials are true to their word – it truly is one of the best bangs for your buck in the DFW area, even if it is the loathed Taco Bell.
On my way back from my late-night quesadillas, I passed by a sign on Greenville reading “Whataburger – Open 24 Hours.” I cannot vouch for this place not having lived here for very long, but everyone I ask says that it is a fast-food cult that you would be insane not to join. The bad news is that they don’t deliver, but that might be a nice one-two stop with Taco Bell if you’re feeling especially hungry at five o’clock in the morning.
Another fast-food option on Greenville is Wendy’s – also a 24 hour non-delivery burger joint that gives you a few healthier side dishes besides the perfunctory French fries.
Another night came, but this time I didn’t have a car, and I still didn’t feel like ordering Pluckers or Jimmy John’s. As if it were destiny, I was about to give up and dial Mr. John’s when I happened across my hall-mate hovering over an aluminum rectangle container with a pair of chopsticks. It was already 3:30 in the morning, and his food looked hot and freshly delivered.
“You better tell me where you got that right now,” I said. Having “studied” for a few hours and by then I may have been a bit gruff, but this new continent of food was too exciting. With rice kernels falling out of the corners of his mouth he garbled the word, “Panda’s.”
I quickly got the number and ordered as much food as would fit on my pony card. As I found out by browsing the menu while I inhaled my Szechuan Chicken an hour later, Panda’s Restaurant and Bar is open until four in the morning every day of the week. I felt as if I had just discovered China.
The food was by no means the best Chinese I’ve ever had, but it was open ridiculously late and that was all I cared about.
Once I found Panda’s I thought I was finished. I thought I had found the best of the best for late-night delivery at SMU. While bragging about my newfound delivery place to a friend over some Mac’s Place burgers, she name dropped an old time Chinese restaurant on Greenville called Betty’s Best.
I thought, for the sake of the article, why not try it out. I didn’t even have a menu, so I ordered from the number my friend gave me and chose random Chinese dishes I thought they might have.
Forty-five minutes later, my food came. Surprises ensued. Not only was it cheaper than Panda’s, and exponentially better than Panda’s, it is also open until 4 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and 3 a.m. from Tuesday to Thursday.
Looking back on my epic quest for late-night munchies, Pluckers is still near the very top of my list, but Betty’s Best may have stolen the No. 1 spot.
For some reason, delivery Chinese is not so popular here at McElvaney, but that might just be because nobody knows a good Chinese place.
If you are looking for amazing food really late at night, the answer is Betty’s Best. Bon Appètit.
