EATS

Need reservations for Mother's Day? Check out our dining guide. We've got brunch , lunch and dinner options. There are buffets with omelet stations, prix fixe meals with fig-glazed quail salad, bottomless mimosas, frozen Bellinis, sushi, specials for kids, chocolates for mom and more. And remember to check back as we'll be adding to the list as more specials hit our inboxes.

Technically, that's assistant winemaker and heir-apparent-to-the-top-job Ronald Du Preez who stoped in to lunch with trade and press. But you have to believe he's a winemaking wunderkind to follow in the footsteps of Rob Davis at Jordan Winery Estate. (Davis and Du Preez are shown in the vineyards in the pic.)

Before getting to Du Preez's story, which eerily echoes Davis' own, I have to tell you that the Jordan 2006 Russian River Chardonnay (about $35 retail) with The Mansion's half-moon lobster ravioli with uni (sea urchn) butter and American caviar was like a breath of Burgundy. Chardonnay in this classic, Old World style that's so lean and crisp celebrates food. But about this Gen-X winemaker...

Evidently, there are restaurateurs experimenting with the concept of Pay What You Can restaurants . They've popped up in Seattle and Salt Lake City as well as Melbourne, Australia and Vienna, Austria. Some people eat for free, others pay more -- it's all about trust and people taking care of each other. So, can Dallas be far behind? Yes, well, probably...Seriously, if you've heard about anything like this here, we'd love to know...

Latte Da Dairy in Flower Mound invites everyone out to see their "Dairy Divas" (aka goats) tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. It's also a chance to meet cheesemaker Anne Jones and see her operation. Plus, it's the middle of kidding season, notes Jennifer Uygur in her Slow Food Dallas e-blast, which means a lot of new babies are being born weekly. And baby goats are so cute. The dairy farm is at 1304 Bridle Bit Road in Flower Mound. Here's a link to a map. Phone is 817-490-5004.

This is one of the wierdest products I've ever seen at Whole Foods Market. I found it at the Lomo Alto store next to the packaged to-go foods case. The Okra Snack was one of several similarly dried and seasoned veggies, which also included Japanese pumpkin squash and carrots. I suspect they're fried and dehydrated a la ramen noodles because they're crackling crisp and the second ingredient after okra is non-hydrogenated palm oil.

I find myself caught in approach-avoidance with them. On the one hand, if you think of crisp okra that has the feel of potato chips, it's a kind of icky proposition. But then when you eat them - yes, I did this, just for you - they're actually kind of good. If I had a kid who didn't like veggies but would eat these, I'd buy 'em. Oh, and about that slime. It never really, really dehydrates completely away.

According to the Web site, the Frisco Farmers Market opens Saturday (May 3) and runs through Sept. 6, Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., at Frisco Square. I went last year, and it was tiny then, but maybe it'll grow like the rest of Frisco.