Sorting through wine varieties, styles, regions and terroir is exhausting. Saying "I'll have your house red" is simply more eloquent than "You pick." This year we got to know Paul DiCarlo, co-owner and wine buyer at Jimmy's Food Store. He personally selects wines at this bodega in East Dallas, where the wine section is only two modest aisles. He focuses on smaller producers that you won't find at the big box stores, with an eye on value; a $15 that drinks like a $30. Anything off the shelf is going to be good; ask for him if you need more help.

Cindi's is a lot of things to a lot of people. It serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, and it's a bakery. You can get a cheap breakfast or soak up the previous night's recklessness with a monster breakfast, and the sandwiches here are some of the best in town. The menu is long, but flip over to the deli page and look for the gray box at the bottom left: New York Reuben. You can choose between corned beef, pastrami or turkey; it comes grilled on rye with sauerkraut and melted Swiss cheese and house-made Russian dressing served on the side. If that doesn't sound appealing, there are more than two dozen other options. It's a lot of food, and you're barely going to be able to find room for cheesecake, but we have faith in you.

Who doesn't love a good menu hack? We kind of live for them. And while there are 101 good reasons to go to Heim BBQ, we recently spotted a simple grilled cheese on the kids' menu. Below, it told us we could add brisket or bacon jam for just a couple bucks more. So, we ordered it and no one asked to see our ID. Cool. Then they asked us what side we wanted and we jumped up and down like a cheerleader and clapped for the green chile mac and cheese. The whole meal was less than $15. Gimme an H! Two slices of well-buttered, thick, homestyle toast hold two slices of processed cheese (which we're good with due to the melt factor) with a thick smear of bacon jam. Gimme a hell yeah!

Café Momentum is a restaurant in downtown Dallas that offers an internship program that works in tandem with juvenile justice officials and community partners for young people who have been involved in the justice system. To date, this nonprofit restaurant, which is really more of a "program" than just a kitchen and dining room, has helped more than 1,200 participants turn their lives around by offering 24/7 case management, a full curriculum, a safe place to study and mental health services, and by pouring out basic love and respect. The concept has done so well, it's expanding to other cities. Don't know what to do for dinner tonight? Here. Go here. Oh, the food? It's phenomenal.

This Mediterranean restaurant on Oak Lawn Avenue has done something with its wine list that is rare enough that most restaurants its size don't even bother with. In other words, Sachet's wine menu is neither boring, trite nor cliched, and if it's a bit pricey, it's not silly pricey. How many restaurants forgo the same old half dozen bottles of California cabernet sauvignon and chardonnay in favor a Texas wine (Duchman), a Gascon white, a Sicilian red made with Nero d'Avola or a Provencal rosé that is one of the world's great values?

This vibrant yet cozy bar is tucked away off Tyler Street in Oak Cliff, close to the Bishop Arts District. It's unpretentious and neighborly. The classic cocktail menu lists the dates the drinks first appeared on the map — 1850 Sazerac and 1902 daiquiri — with just eight drinks in all. Then there are future classics, too, including a Bidi Bidi Bom Bom with tequila, mint, hibiscus agave and lime. Check out happy hour, 4 to 7 p.m., Tuesday through Friday, for half-price cocktails, domestic beer and wine specials. Plus, any place with a Bob Ross shrine deserves our attention.

Sad because your weekly allowance doesn't understand your snobbish foodie side? Take heart at Uchiba, the lighthearted sibling of Uchi, the impeccable Japanese restaurant with a stellar sushi bar. Located one floor up from Uchi, Uchiba offers a happy-hour menu with dozens of options, only a few of which are priced north of $10. Wine, sake, cocktails and Japanese beer, along with a mini burger ($7.50), hot fried chicken bun ($6) and crispy duck ($10), are likely candidates. The nigiri menu comes with two pieces per order and includes Atlantic salmon, tuna and dayboat scallops, all priced less than $10. There's even a dessert on the happy hour menu: crispy bao with coconut semifreddo and koji shio caramel for $7.

Spanish tapas fuse with Mediterranean-style food at Selda Mediterranean Grill. Indulge in fall-off-the-skewer tender kebabs, layered baklava that flakes to the bite and dates stuffed with a creamy feta-walnut mixture. Other traditional Mediterranean dishes include Turkish liver-and-onions and a beyti, ground beef rolled in flatbread. For dessert, enjoy the cheese pulls on Selda's specialty kunefe, which comes with a base of melted cheese in crunchy shredded wheat sticks. Most dishes arrive in shareable portions. Grab a couple of friends and seats on the patio, surrounded by fairy lights and fresh spearmint plants. Just make a reservation; it's a popular spot.

This vibrant Deep Ellum hotspot is all about the vibes — good ones, that is. Since its opening in 2021, Neon Kitten's Asian-inspired small bites have already made near-permanent indents in our terminally famished hearts. But the lounge's memorable craft cocktails are the true stars of the show. Sip on the Osaka in a Hello Kitty-shaped glass, the Hiroshima in a Yoda vessel or the Kobe in a container that resembles a handstanding pink pig. It's just about all the deliciousness one can handle served in super adorable cups.

Oh, whiskey: best friend to some, worst enemy to others. But whatever your feelings about the amber-colored spirit, it is indisputable that Herman Marshall delivers some of the best around. This award-winning distillery recently relocated to Wylie from Garland. Go for the HM Texas Bourbon, which you'll see on many bar shelves around North Texas. This particular bourbon is based on a recipe from the 1800s and is what kickstarted this entire venture. Distilled with 77% Texas corn and 23% malted barley, it won silver at the American Distilling Institute's Craft Distilling Competition and was named "Best Small Batch Bourbon" at the International Whiskey Competition.