And, almost as an afterthought, wanted to know the best places for soul food, barbecue and Vietnamese or Thai. The crowdsourced answers go as follows: Krankies, Ollies, Morning Dew.

There's no small amount of irony that I'm covering for my editor on the food beat this week, considering that I often turn to Clarey for advice on all things culinary. Not that I take it, necessarily. He suggested that for a holiday dinner I might be able to find a cheap filet mignon.

There are eight guests riding out the winter over on Grove Street. And New Year's Eve is fast approaching. Were I you, I'd make my reservations now, or at least send a press release about my restaurant to the Triad's definitive alt-weekly. So far I've heard from just two restaurants.

Man, they really have their finger on the pulse of the nation, huh? Here in our own humble corner of the world, there are but a few things going on in the culinary scene you know, because of visions of sugarplums and all that. On Wednesday, Earth Fare.

There will be more about these new places in the coming weeks. Also worth mentioning: Allen McDavids Twin City RibFest.

Oh, and about that Lipton Cup-A-Soup thing: It seems they still make it, at least according to the intertubes. The line, however, has been narrowed down to three flavors- chicken noodle, cream of chicken and tomato with croutons..

If you like a nip of wine over the holiday, here's my short (local) list: The Grove Winery.

And it means caramel or at least it does at H%u4867en-Dazs. And a roulade is simply something rolled, which in this case would be a sweet bread. Look for it in the frozen section, and let me know what you think. Heres what I think about the culinary week ahead.

However, a few places have just opened or reopened for business this fall. In Winston- Salem, the Stocked Pot Co. Cooking School.

Howdy folks lots to talk about and not much space in which to do it. Prime eating season.

And hey: Is anybody else here freezing? Im freezing. Its going to be a long, cold winter. I can feel it in my bones. Thank god for whiskey, and the steam room at the YMCA..

But by lagging behind the drop in the price of a gallon of gasoline or diesel, companies can pad their profit margins for a few months, or at least until someone comes along and undercuts everybody by passing the new savings on to the consumers. Im thinking maybe it will happen some time in the spring.

It runs through Jan. 5, and you can call the restaurant at 336.294.7790. Caf%u9810asta.

I could probably hack out a lede here about the changing of the seasons and then work in something about falls bounty.

And theres some food-related news that is not as dismal as the American economy. Winston-Salem is preparing for the arrival of two new restaurants..

The cooling climate this month brings with it a sense of urgency and change. Triad restaurateurs, acutely aware of the changing vibe, take the cue to shake things up in their kitchens and dining rooms..

Fifty-two area Domino’s joints will hold food drives before Sept. 30 wherein a can of food is good for an order of breadsticks or two liters of soda. I know what you’re thinking: There are 52 Domino’s in the Greensboro area?.

If that doesn’t do it for you, there’s plenty brewing locally to wet your whistle. On Saturday,.

at 7:30 p.m. Japanese beers. The Japanese picked up brewing from the Dutch during the 1600s, and today it is the most popular alcoholic beverage in that country. They are generally light and crisp, with low malt content. Make a reservation at 336.333.3190..

For the uninitiated, Dunkin’ Donuts began in New England around 1950 and quickly spread its brand of sugar-glazed goodness throughout the Northeast. When I was a kid in the 1970s and ’80s, mothers would bring boxes of Dunkin’ Donuts to school for their kids’ birthdays, and anytime you went to a sleepover.