​Last week I published a blog post about an object of my affection: a steaming bowl of seafood laden soup from Veracruz Cafe. In the comments, CitizenKane seemed just as smitten, and asked about other bowls of soups and stews that were worth checking out. Since the mercury is rising, and soup may no longer be in fashion again till fall, I thought I'd compile my favorite bowls in no particular order. Get yours before it's hot.

Tei-An's Ramen (pictured above)
It's still my favorite. Tei-an's ramen was a simple and delicately prepared bowl of soup. It was poetic, and as I type this I'm tempted to alter my lunch plans for the next few days. I'm even tempted to have a second lunch.

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Alexander Nham

Two La Tejanita tacos will set you back $3.62.

​​Alex Nham travels the globe, mainly the part with Dallas on it, in search of new places to eat breakfast.

In my search for Dallas' more interesting morning meals, tacos are the one obvious breakfast genre I have yet to explore. It's not that I don't eat them; I eat them by the pound. But that's the point: They're everywhere. I didn't know where to start.

So, drawing inspiration from Scott's brisket taco hunt, I went searching for some of the city's best cheap breakfast tacos. This is what I found.

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​Listen, I know I have a problem. This whole Tex-Mex thing is getting really out of hand, and it's all rooted in my deep-seated affection for what is really a rather trashy menu item: the sour cream enchilada. I'm obsessed with these bundles of joy and am determined to find the city's best version before we start that whole Best of Dallas thing later this year.

Trust me: I've eaten a lot of sour cream enchiladas. And while I have an idea whose is best, I'm sitting on that till later. Plus I still have 700 or so to go.

Anyway, because I'm obsessed, and because I feel the need to discuss all my neurotic tendencies with everyone, I'm constantly asking other people where their favorite sour cream enchiladas can be found. This is how I found myself at Chuy's.

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​The margarita may be the greatest drink of all time, if only because it almost always comes alongside a free, bottomless basket of chips and salsa. Born out of desperation, the margarita originally provided a way to choke down bad tequila. At some restaurants this still holds true. At others the drink has evolved significantly. This item originally ran in October, but we figured today, National Margarita Day, was a good day to re-pour it.

Broken down by category, these are City of Ate's five favorites, including our recent Best of Dallas winner for Best Margarita. Get more of Dallas' best with our Best Of app, available for the Droid and the iPhone.

Marquee Grill
The Top-Shelf Margarita
Amongst the high-end shopping and eye candy of Highland Park, you can sit at the bar of the Marquee Grill and order a margarita, pictured above, that's nearly as fancy as the red-soled Louboutins peddled a few doors away. Jason Kosmas mixes up a seasonal riff on the classic, making use of fresh cranberries and hunks of orange fruit. Taste vanilla? It's in the infused honey used to sweeten the drink.

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​I once paged through a diet book that listed foods as good and bad. Salads dressed with not too sweet and not too fatty dressing were good. Steamed or boiled shrimp was good. According to the book you could eat as much of the good stuff as you wanted. Bad foods like pizza and burgers had to be consumed in moderation. And fried chicken? It was listed as something you should never, ever consume.

So if you're going to eat something that will literally stick to your hips (not to mention your arterial walls), you better make sure it's the absolute best version you can get your greasy fingers on. Here are our five favorite spots for fried chicken, including this year's winner for Best of. We're sure you'll agree with all of them, but just in case, make your case in the comments. And get more of our favorites on the Best Of app, available for iPhones and Droids.

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​Valentine's Day is coming, which pretty much sucks for everyone. If you've got a special someone, you're guilted into going out and having your wallet gutted by a triple-digit, prix fixe, mediocre meal. Have fun with that. And if you're not coupled up, you get to spend the evening alone while people look at you and say condescending things inside their heads about your sad, single state. Get more of Dallas' best with our Best Of app, available for the Droid and the iPhone.

Fight back. Being single rocks, and it may offer the best way to navigate the worst day of the year to eat out (yes, it's worse than New Year's Eve). Since everything is booked, pony up to the bar (it's way easier to find a seat when you're alone) and treat yourself to a decadent meal. Here are five of my favorite Dallas bars at which to eat alone.

Eno's (pictured above)
Just look at this thing. Eno's Sundae Sack is built for misanthropic dining. And if you're hung up on being single you can comfort yourself with calories as you watch your tears of loneliness mix with melted ice cream and fudge.

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​It's the New Year. Maybe one of your resolutions is to save a little scratch. But just because food is cheap doesn't mean it's good. Here are six spots we think do a good job of offering up the cheap eats, including this year's winner for Best Half-Priced Food. Get more of Dallas' best with our Best Of app, available for the Droid and the iPhone.

All Good Café (pictured above)
On Tuesday evenings at our favorite Deep Ellum cafe, you can order two entrées and only pay for the more expensive one. Chicken-fried steak followed up with some chicken-fried chicken for 12 bucks seems like a pretty decent deal.

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​I am not a Jewish person, but I like Jewish things. Latkes top my list. As does getting drunk. Gefilte fish doesn't excite me very much, but Christmas does, which isn't Jewish at all, but you know the drill: movies, Chinese food, drunk. I'm good at these things.

These are City of Ate's five favorites including our recent Best of Dallas winner for Best Chinese Restaurant. For the record, I've eaten at none of these restaurants (though I'm kind of fantasizing about Christmas Day five-way binge). The list was lovingly curated by the Dallas Observer staff and all of Dallas -- a few are readers picks. Get more of Dallas' best with our Best Of app, available for the Droid and the iPhone.

Royal China, pictured above
Xiao long bao dumplings are like little tiny presents that explode in your mouth. And hand pulled noodles beat those prepared versions that often end up in a clump like a tennis ball in the bottom of your bowl. You guys liked Royal China too, awarding the Preston Royal spat a Readers Choice award this year. I'm starting my binge here.

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​While barbecue is certainly important foodstuff in the Lone Star State, it has roots in many other areas of the country and world. But Tex-Mex has been jacking up G.I. Tracts here for 100 years -- long before the rest of the country bastardized our already-bastardized signature cuisine.

These are City of Ate's five favorite spots for Tex-Mex, including our recent Best of Dallas winner. We're sure you'll agree with all of them, but just in case, make your case in the comments. Get more of Dallas' best with our Best Of app, available for the Droid and the iPhone.

Matt's Rancho Martinez, Pictured above
East Dallasites know where to find great drinks, chicken fried steak covered in runny cheese, foot-long enchiladas and decent fajitas, and they loved on Matt's enough to land it a Reader's Choice award in this year's Best of Dallas issue. Order the Bob Armstrong Dip, which makes use of taco meat, guacamole, sour cream and queso. It's the Mexican Famous Bowl, only significantly less terrible.

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​I once had a delicate morning beverage made with the water strained from the pulp of summer tomatoes, vodka infused with rosemary and a hint of citrus. The drink was crystal clear with a faint rosy hue, and it tasted like a fresh garden tinged with the warm burn of alcohol. It was understated and refined and light on the palate.

It was, in other words, everything a Bloody Mary isn't.

But when you're good and hung you need something more than a light summery beverage to beat your misery away. Savory, spice, the umami of a tomato and a heavy pour of alcohol is what makes the bloody a hangover ass-kicker. Here are five of our favorites, including our recent Best of Dallas winner for Best Bloody Mary. Get more of Dallas' best with our Best Of app, available for the Droid and the iPhone.

Monica's Aca y Alla
The best pay-for-it-with-the-change-you-find-in-your-couch Bloody Mary (pictured above)
If it's the end of the month and your bills are due, or you're otherwise strapped for cash, Monica's hooks it up on the cheap. This big, spicy and thick Bloody Mary is an absolute savior in the event you blew through your checking account the night prior.

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