But since I'm not, I thought I'd just run through a few more things I loved and didn't love about the new place at the Belmont Hotel, where Tim Byres is chef.

LOVED: The bread and butter pickles. Especially the cucumber ones. I think they're the best I've ever tasted. I could eat them all day long, even this early in the morning.

DIDN'T LOVE: The back room on a Friday night. There's a tournament-quality (according to one of the waiters) pool table back there, but the people playing pool were screaming and laughing so loud we had to shout across the table to hear each other.

LOVED: The configuration of the bar. It's kind of pointed, and arranged so there's plenty of space to sit or stand and have a drink if there's a long wait. The staff actually seems to care about people who are waiting for a table.

Tom "Spiceman" Spicer plans to have cooking classes and demos all day starting at 10:30 a.m. This will include wild mushroom paella cooked by the Spiceman over a bonfire. Someone will also be making duck and andouille gumbo.

Spiceman says, "Come dine, bring yo' wine and ...loose (sic) yo mind at Spiceman's Gumbo 'n da Garden."

For the uninitiated, Spicer is the city's most unusual and eclectic produce broker. He's big on local (he's harvesting greens), brings in gorgeous stuff from Louisiana (Satsumas, Meyer lemons) and helps chefs find hard-to-get produce from elsewhere (wild and cultivated 'shrooms).

FM 1410 is his storefront, where does business (anyone can buy any amount), plays his kalimbass (kalimba + bass) and farms his urban garden out back. The store is at 1410 Fitzhugh, in the block toward Central from Jimmy's Food Store at Bryan and Fitzhugh.

Ringland makes wine in a partnership arrangement with Dan Phillips of Grateful Palate, an importer of big-hair Australian wines so fat and juicy that Phillips handed out toothbrushes one year as a promo item.

Sigel's has enjoyed something akin to "favored nation status" with Grateful Palate, although the wines are not sold exclusively with the retailer. Ringland will be at the Old Town store (5757 Greenville) from 5 to 7 this evening, not only with some spiffy new releases (available as pre-orders, coming in December), but a handful of his most exclusive, small-production wines.

These include R Wines Anamorphosis Shiraz 2005, Evil Incarnate Shiraz 2004 and The Wine Shiraz 2004. All score in the high 90s with wine reviewers. How rare will they be in Texas? The state gets 52 bottles of the Anamorphosis, 45 three-paks of the Evil and 22 six-packs of The Wine.

Another of Ringland's finest wines, Longitude won't be open for sampling, but will be available for pre-order. (It arrives in January.) 500 bottles allocated to Texas; SRP is $1,000. The Wine Advocate gave this wine 100 points.

Do the folks at Sigel's a favor and RSVP for the free tasting event at 214-739-4012.

Smoke
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Photo of Smoke chef Tim Byres by Matt Nager/Special to DMN

If you're having overnight company on Thanksgiving, for example (the better to get a head start on Black Friday shopping), ETW's savory breakfast bread pudding sounds like a hearty day-starter. Owner Toby O'Brien also carries several Cajun-leaning dishes, such as boudin-stuffed chicken. This is the op to taste before you buy.

Eat the World is in the strip center at Royal and Abrams (northeast corner) behind the Starbucks. The last time I was there, O'Brien hadn't gotten his sign up. 'Hope it's there now.

Chalk it up to primal instincts, but Dallas dining has become a meat-and-greet this fall. From two glitzy new steakhouses and one hipster smokehouse, to an indie downtown barbecue joint, there's a beast for every bent.

Photos by Brandon Thibodeaux: (Top) Dr. Bell's BBQ: No appointment required and (bottom) buttery cracked-pepper prime strip from Bailey's Prime Plus.

Go, Big D!

Photo of the bar at Samar by Kyle R. Lee/DMN

The DMN's Bindu Varghese will be putting together a roundup of restaurants serving Christmas dinner -- look for a blog post with a link to it on or around Dec. 11. But in the meantime, are there restaurants or hotels where you've been wowed by the Christmas dinner? Do tell!

But here's Rathbun's cool twist: You can access most of the recipes on the same Web site under the "recipe" pull-down. The sides and leg of lamb are the same; only the smoke-roasted turkey is missing. Click on the holiday recipe archive to unearth the green-chile-red-eye gravy. The cost for Rathbun's recipes? Zip. Zero. Nada. Enjoy.

I tasted three kinds of baklava, including the pistachio square you pictured on the left and the nests in the middle; they were fine, though not particularly distinguished. But the one on the right, which was just out of the oven, was spectacular -- the pastry so delicate and fine, filled with pistachios and drizzled with honey. I loved the coconut macaroon (the round white cookie on top) too. I think freshness is key when it comes to these pastries (like most). When they sit around even a couple days, they suffer, but right out of the oven, they can be amazing.

One of the owners said they'll be adding panini and drinks in a couple of weeks. For now, it's cash or check only; soon they'll also take credit cards.

Bab El Harah, 201 S. Greenville Ave., Richardson; 972-664-1119.

Check it!

Photo by Ann Stratton/Special to DMN

A few things attracted me to the dish. First, chicken thighs. They're inexpensive, easy to deal with and so much more flavorful than chicken breasts. I like braised chicken, but I'm often bothered by the slimy skin, so "crispy" sounded good. I was also intrigued by the flavor combination of fennel and green olives, especially Cerignola olives. (I have trouble distinguishing them from Castelventranos, which I buy at Central Market all the time and serve as hors d'oeuvres; I love both.)

The flavors dish turned out to be delicious and beautiful -- the flavors worked wonderfully together. However, there are some problems in the recipe, and I'll make some tweaks next time I do it.

I particularly liked these ruffled pork dumplings (on the left) and the round ones (below), a fragile wrapper filled with shrimp and spinach. Turnip cakes and sticky rice were also very good.

Has anyone been, either for dim sum or dinner? What did you think?

And beyond that, what's your favorite dim sum spot? I have a feeling there are some amazing places out there I haven't discovered yet. (Addresses or at least approximate locations and cities are appreciated -- I love checking out the places you recommend.)

Hong Kong Royal Restaurant, 3030 Josey Lane, Carrollton; 972-492-9999

He plans to be back next week with his tomatoes, also green tomatoes and squash. Today, there were a specialty greens grower and an egg dealer, JuHa Ranch and Wackym's cookies, all in Shed No. 1. In Shed No. 2, there were the usual suspects (Texas Meats, Mawker Coffee, Kurry King) plus Rosey Ridge Bakery, BeeLiscious Spice blends (wow), Ain't No Mo Buttercakes, including caramel and pumpkin flavors, and Gulf shrimp and seafood. Slowly, slowly, Shed 2 is coming around.