My favorite pizza in Dallas is at Louie’s on Henderson, a tolerable place to eat now that smoking is banned in this media Mecca. A close second is The Elbow Room on Gaston, in the shadow of Baylor School of Dentistry, where the pizza, jukebox and everything else on the menu is fantastic.

The best take out pizza is from Marco’s on the southeast corner of Preston and Royal (214-363-6122) in the heinous strip mall that also hosts Border’s. It’s take out only and cash only. The salads are great at all three places, too.

I’m amazed at the number of people who haven’t eaten at Louie’s, The Elbow Room or Marco’s. Of course you have to love thin crust pizza, and dank, dark, reasonably priced, hole-in-the-wall joints. If you like Cafe Express, you won’t like these three places.

So, where else is the pizza, salad and people watching without parallel?

Can’t think of much else to contribute except that I have been going to The Texas State Fair for exactly 20 years and have only missed one year.

The last two weekends are notoriously more pleasant (cooler and less crowded) than the first two. And if you can swing going during the week, either during the day or the evening, you find it downright hospitable.

The whole event seems to be a large lead-up to the TEXAS versus university of oklahoma game, and then it all slides downhill from there. But in a good way. Especially when TEXAS wins.

So, let’s talk about keeping our cars clean.

Colonial Car Washes in Dallas, Arlington and Ft. Worth has a really great deal. One month, three month, six month and year-long passes for unlimited car washes. I just bought a three month pass for $69.

The only stipulation is that you can only get one wash a day. And it’s only good for one car (they check the license plate number on your registration card.)

Check out the locations at www.colonialcarwashes.com

Now back to CNN and more important things. But at least my car will be clean.

Eclectic, fantastic food, with a simple but terrific menu. Very club-like ambiance. Adult happy hour from 4 to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. (No jello shots here!) Definite front runner for a nice business lunch as well.

Every Thursday they have $2 martinis and $2 wine, with free appetizers, live music and a featured drink special by Aussie chef Andrew Ormsby, who co-owns and operate tucker with his wife Jo.

This is an interesting place divided into four separate areas. The main dining area, the restaurant described above. The patio, with mist machines. The kitchen, where a small catered group can dine amongst the chefs. And lastly, Victoria Hall, a splendidly restored, wood-floored, high-raftered site for receptions, Christmas gatherings, engagement parties.

Plenty of on-site valet parking. Reasonably priced, but a “grown-up” restaurant nonetheless.

Check it out at www.ormsbycatering.com. Check it out, there really isn’t anything else in Dallas like it.

Instead of the bedlam that one would assume would ensue, I was blown away by how courteously and responsibly drivers behaved. It was amazing. Everyone stopped at the lights regardless. Checked the other traffic. And then took turns, safely proceeding through the intersections.

Even at North Park All of the truly ravenous shoppers must have been up at Ikea. And all the teenagers on their cell phones were back in school. This will probably never happen again, but I thought it was worth congratulations to ourselves.

“Murderball.”

It is one of the most enjoyable, funny, interesting movies of all time. Rugby being played by quadrapeligics.

It’s nothing like what you imagine and the best thing to do is visit the Web site at murderballmovie.com

As one of the guys in the movie says while heading to the Worldwide Paralympics, “We aren’t here to get hugs, we’re here to get gold.”

It’s not getting huge crowds, so I’m doing my part to fix that. The name scares some people. As well as the topic. And it is a documentary. The language is a little rough so don’t take your kiddos. But you’ll learn things you can use in life and you’ll leave the theater feeling great.

Watch for Mark Zupan, USA Team Captain, on TV. He’s hitting the promo and interview circuit very hard right now.

“Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room,” is playing at the Magnolia in the West Village, and at the Angelika in Plano.

Great movie, well done, interestingly told, and doesn’t really go out of its way to bury Ken Lay, Jeff Skilling and Andy Fastow. But then again, it doesn’t have to.

It’s a well made documentary that also doesn’t harp on the widespread destruction this company wreaked on thousands of peoples’ lives. Once again, it doesn’t have to. We all watched the news in 2002.

I’ve never really understood the rivalry between Dallas and Houston. Yes the traffic is bad in Houston and it’s hot, but I don’t see many Dallasites wearing sweaters in July.

Regardless, go see the movie.

It’s called the Record Grill at 605 Elm Street, that’s Elm and Market Streets.

Now this joint comes with a bunch of caveats: It’s a dive. The health inspector doesn’t know it exists. The owners can’t spell ambiance. The cooks don’t know what Atkins or South Beach are. Your best bet is taking it to go. And if you just love nearby Corner Bakery or Chipotle, don’t bother giving it a test drive.

If however, you want a good, home cooked, down and dirty, daily lunch special or a decadent diner breakfast to go, this is the place. Daily lunch specials are usually broiled chicken, green beans and salad. Or meatloaf, mashed potatos and carrots. Or chicken fried steak, fries and greens. And it’s always just $3.95 including tax.

It’s not for everyone and you certainly can’t do it every day. But it’s the best lunch at the cheapest prices within blocks. And lastly, it’s so nice to eat in Dallas at someplace that isn’t a chain.

The details are at dallasartfest.com

More and more people seem to be staying home on these long weekends when I-35 is packed, the lakes are jammed with unsober boaters and we begin to hunker down for another long hot scorcher.

Someone in Addison needs to be canonized for the park that was built up there. It’s now the host venue to everything from Taste of Addison to Pepsi KidAround. It’s wonderful.

If you go, there’s good news and bad news. The good news is there are air conditioned indoor potties. The bad news is that all three cash machines in Addison Circle are permanently out of money. Hit the 7-Eleven before you get there.

Jimmy B. (one of the El Paso Baldwin Brothers) plays guitar and sings every Thursday evening at the Lakewood Bar & Grill, from 9 until 11 o’clock. All original material with a few exceptions.

The joint is just west of, and about 20 yards away from, the Lakewood Theater. Between the theater and Starbucks