EATS

The new season of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations starts tonight at 9 on the Travel Channel. The first episode is about Mexico with Tony getting a tour care of Les Halles chef Carlos. This season will also include visits to Venice; Washington, D.C.; Azores; Chicago; Philippines; Sri Lanka and Vietnam.

When Teiichi Sakurai delivered a bowl of oden to the table, I almost got choked up.

A wintertime specialty in Japan, oden is a mixture of fish cake, fried tofu, daikon and other texture-specific nibbles cut into geometric forms, bobbing in dashi broth so hot the fragrant steam warms your innards before the first sip. I have a particular affection for oden, which was introduced to me by John Kessler of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, one of my best buds and most admired food writer colleagues.

It felt very full circle, to be savoring a well-made oden at Tei An, one of my favorite restaurants in Dallas, before heading back to the city where I first learned about the dish.

Does it feel like overkill, that I named Tei An the best new restaurant of 2008 and still went there for my final meal in Dallas? I couldn't help myself, and I wasn't disappointed. I ordered an omakase meal and was treated to several specials I'd not before encountered: braised beef tongue so tender it could have been palmed off as pot roast; flounder and scallops sauced with a crazy, delicious orange paste distilled from uni and jellyfish; a finale bowl of soba served with a tubular piece of fish cake that was said to be a favorite meal of samurais centuries ago.

If these kinds of oddities sound too far out for you, order Tei An's buckwheat risotto - a big ol' plate of comfort I discovered a few weeks back. But I can't say it enough: Go support this amazing restaurant. It's one of the best examples of culinary tradition meeting imagination that I've ever encountered.

It's been a satiating few last weeks in Dallas: I hit York Street more than once, drank beautiful wines at Dali on New Year's Eve, introduced good friends to Yutaka and, on a frazzled night after packing, found succor in my new favorite pie at Olivella's - the Snow White pizza (ricotta, mozzarella, oregano, garlic) made sanguine with red sauce.

I felt lucky to have the chance to put my regimented schedule as a critic aside and simply chow through my beloved spots. In spending my own money at these places, it also felt like my way of saying thanks to the restaurant community of Dallas, which surprised and inspired me with its energy and multiplicity. I carry a pride about North Texas' dining scene now. I failed to convince many of its chefs to loosen their grips on the truffle oil bottle, but I'm beyond thrilled that the city as a whole is enjoying finer cheeses: Please continue to help Molto Formaggio and Scardello thrive.

And so, goodbye for now, Dallas. One never knows what the future brings. I can't wait to come visit in the spring or summer to try the newest crop of restaurants ... and taste what sort of seasonal warm weather dishes Tei An will be serving. Thank you for your eyes and opinions and words these past two years, and look me up soon at atlantamagazine.com.