For a very brief moment in life, I was a Central Market Foodie. A dream job? Let me say, an eye-opening experience into people and their obsession with food. I saw the gamut, from highly intelligent people so serious that their approach was more science than art, to the very out-of-touch, like the lady who asked "Does this ham contain pork?"

The responsibility of any supermarket promoter is to sell product -- to demonstrate what someone could do with, let's say, cauliflower or smoked duck breast. And of course suggest other ingredients that will make the most amazing dish every created.

So, let me put this out there. Why do you taste a sample? What makes you buy? Or are you just grazing the store?

At Craft, on my first visit, a section on the list jumped out at me: Indigenous and esoteric reds. Not that the rest of the list was limited to predictable choices -- far from it. But giving this section a scan, something caught my eye: a 2004 Alois Lageder Lagrein from Alto Adige in Italy for $42.

And as it turns out, it seems to have been a super-bargain. I couldn't find that same bottle online for sale in Texas, but I found a few in New York, where it retails for about $30. (Maybe one of your wine folks out there knows something about it?)

There's a lot more to say about the wine list, and I could go on forever, but I won't. Suffice it to say that general manager Max Rudberg, who oversees the wine program, does a magnificent job.

I will mention one funny thing though. I love the fact that Craft Dallas offers a number of sherries. They make such great apertifs (finos and manzanillas) and after-dinner drinks (palo cortados and olorosos). On one visit I ordered a glass of Hidalgo La Gitana manzanilla for $7. This is one of my favorite sherries. Served chilled, it's very dry, with a wonderful hint of salt from the sea. (Sanlucar de Barrameda, where it's produced, is on the Analusian coast.) It also comes in a really cool bottle with a gypsy on the label. The waiter brought the bottle and a regular white wine glass. Normally sherry is served in a small, short, slightly tapered stem. But this was a standard white wine glass. He started pouring. And pouring. And pouring. He poured about two and a half glasses-worth! I guess they don't sell a lot of it.

Any sherry fans out there? What do you like to eat with it? Fans of reds from Alto Adige? Fans of great wine service and bargains in unlikely places?

Chef Tim Byres (who is wrapping up duties as exec chef of Stephan Pyles and was previously chef de cuisine at the Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek) will join with Oak Cliff's Bolsa creators Chris Zielke and Christopher Jeffers to replace Cliff Cafe at Hotel Belmont with a new eatery.

Cliff Cafe will close and undergo interior renovations starting July 6. Fans can still dine at BarBelmont and the hotel lobby until the new restaurant opens in September.

Photos by Courtney Perry: Hotel Belmont's Cliff Cafe and Byres in 2005 at his former Standard Restaurant

Most of us can agree, Anthony Bourdain has the BEST job in the world. On his show No Reservations, Bourdain travels around the world as hosts from each locale help to expose their unique culture and cuisine, however wacky or mundane.

It is my fantasy to be Bourdain's Dallas episode tour guide and my mission to MAKE him like Dallas (or Texas, for that matter). With his dry sense of humor, irreverent persona, passion for the culinary arts, and insatiable thirst for alcohol, I'm certain we will be fast friends.

The phrase, "I would definitely take Bourdain here" has been incorporated into my everyday vernacular as I constantly refine my 'No Reservation itinerary'. Needless to say, when the Travel Channel comes knocking at my door to host 'No Reservations: The Dallas Episode', I'm ready to go!

First stop: Fuel City. Tell me where else you'll find a gasoline station with roaming longhorns, a swimming pool complete with bikini-clad women, and a karaoke truck (just in case you might want to belt out your favorite Latin tunes) as the setting for a 24-hour taco stand with surprisingly authentic al pastor and barbacoa tacos.

Next up: Tillman's Roadhouse for Dallas' twist on a Texas staple. Amongst wooden animal heads and over-sized chandeliers, we will feast on venison Frito pie and braised buffalo short ribs in culture-ridden Oak Cliff (I can hear Bourdain's raging commentary now).

Then onto Rattlesnake Bar in the Ritz-Carlton for a margarita and to scope out Dallasites at their finest. Gotta go to Fearing's to sample southwestern fusion cuisine at its best, after all Dean Fearing has been an icon for so long that he is woven into our Dallas tapestry.

On the hole-in-the-wall circuit will be Odom's for BBQ, Chapman Chile Kitchen for Texas chile and stuffed jalapenos, La Hechizera for chicken tinga huaraches (pictured above) and ice-cold Mexican soft drinks, and the Old Monk for beer and mussels. Then, with an invitation from Ricardo Avila, we will enjoy Avila's brisket chile rellenos and throw back shots of various tequilas until we are salsa dancing down Maple Street (or until our stomachs can take no more).

But to dispel Bourdain's stereotypes of Dallas, I'm gonna need some help. As only one of many Dallas foodies, I need other's opinions of what sums up our unique city. Tell me your 'No Reservations itinerary'!

To learn more about Reagan and her food opinions, check out Everything's Yummier In Dallas.

I can't wait to get over to Oak Cliff to try the empanadas at Espumoso. Read more here.

Has anybody been?

Chapman Chile Kitchen opened five months ago in a space no wider than a snow-cone booth, and owners Fran and Randal Chapman already have plans to expand.

Renovations will begin in the next week or two in the empty storefront next to their business at 515 N. Carroll Ave. near Munger Place. They hope to open the addition by fall, and will have regular seating, evening hours, five beer taps and an expanded menu, including green chili stew, serrano salmon pasta, green gazpacho and chili rellenos. "Stuff we're good at making" is how Randal described the new menu. Fran warned that they're going to have to raise their prices, so if you're frugal, get your fill now.

The expansion is made possible by the success they're enjoying -- despite being tucked a few blocks off Gaston Avenue and having only seating for four on their 10-square-foot patio. People are returning for the bison chili, stuffed jalapenos, wings and burgers.

DMN Photo: David Woo

Go to the jump to read how the Chapmans ended up in East Dallas.

"There's just a certain energy that you have in Dallas. And I missed it," Fran said. "And it's in East Dallas for sure." Friends in Colorado couldn't understand the draw, and Fran said a couple friends even quit talking to her. But they've been back for two years.

They first rented a home at White Rock Lake until they were shocked to discover that Fran was pregnant with their fourth child. "After crying for a couple weeks," Fran said, they decided they needed a bigger house and bought one out in Sachse. But East Dallas was still a draw, so they decided to find a new house and rent out the Sachse house. While driving around Munger Place, they spotted the tiny little storefront that would become Chapman Chile Kitchen.

They put the down payment for the house into the business and are now stuck with 40-minute commutes to and from Sachse. They still hope to move the family to East Dallas some day.

"A lot of people call it grungy, but we like the area," Fran said. "It's funky."

No doubt, they add to the character.