EATS

This week, Restaurant Critic Bill Addison reviews Charlie Palmer at the Joule. See more photos of the restaurant and its dishes in this slideshow.

The other new reviews this week are Firefly and Sakura Japanese Restaurant.

Share your own review of these restaurants. Leave a comment below.

If you're a Napa cab fan, drop by the newly remodeled Sigel's across from Old Towne to meet and taste wine with Napa winemaker Robert Craig.

He'll be leading a tasting of current releases, including the 2006 Chardonnay Durrell, 2005 cabernet-driven Affinity blend, 2004 Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon and 2004 Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon. Think round, concentrated and luscious. It's a good opportunity to visit with Craig, who will also sign bottles.

The free tasting is 5 to 7 p.m., but you need to RSVP at 214-739-4012 or here. The store's at 5757 Greenville.

I stopped by Charlie Palmer last night to meet Charlie Palmer. He lives in Sonoma County, but travels pretty much all the time to oversee his "collection" -- do not use the other c-word, chain, around him -- of restaurants, which also includes locations in New York, Washington and Las Vegas.
Dallas customers got an unannounced bonus as the chef himself stopped to greet new arrivals to the sophisticated space on Main Street. The balmy weather and late sun make the Charlie Palmer patio a new downtown destination. And -- attention expense account types -- come April 21, the restaurant will be open for lunch.
The chef says the menus are different at all his restaurants, and he's surprised by how much fish Dallasites are eating. Of course, the bison ribeye is big here.
The artisan salumi platter already has a following, and chef Palmer says he's trying to find regional cheeses so he can do a cheese plate too.

Read more about Charlie Palmer here.

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Two weeks ago, Frank Bruni, the restaurant critic for The New York Times, introduced his list of top 10 new restaurants across the country, based on 15 places he'd visited in the last few months. Fearing's made number five on the roundup, and his account of the meal came out in today's paper. There's also a three-minute audio conversation about the visit between him and the Texan friend with whom he dined (click on the page's "Fearing's" link). Go, Dean. The national press keeps on rollin'.

For the Easter season, chocolatier Dorian Isenberg's created Truffle Bunnies, made of French and Belgian chocolate and decadent ganache filling, available in three flavors: Classic Dark, Classic Milk and Classic White Chocolate (photo, left). Truffle Bunnies come six to a $15 package, with two truffles of each flavor.

For kids, there's J. Dorian's Kinder Egg, a chocolate egg shell filled with tiny molded chocolates in the bunny and egg shapes, available in dark or milk chocolate. Kinder Eggs are in two sizes, $8.50 or $12.50..

All will be available through Saturday, March 22; call 972-392-9499 for more information. J. Dorian Chocolatier is at 5312 Belt Line Rd. (next to Houston's) or online at www.jdorian.com