I have written very nice things about Bonny Doon and winemaker Randall Grahm recently. And, ordinarily, I’d slow down. But he keeps making such terrific wine that I’m almost compelled to keep writing nice things.

Take, for example, this syrah (about $20, available at most of the usual suspects). It tastes almost nothing like any New World syrah — none of the over-the-top inkiness of Australian shiraz and no overdone California fruit. In fact, it has quite a few French-style syrah elements to it, including a wonderfully funky aroma. And regular readers know that if the Wine Curmudgeon recommend a wine that costs more than $10 or $12, it must be really, really good.

Having said that, don’t drink this if you’re expecting one of those high alcohol, incredibly unsubtle, jammy-to-the-point-of-no-return syrahs. But if you want a deep, dark, rich, well-balanced red wine, drink it with barbecue and grilled steaks.

Loire wine makers: France’s Loire wine region often gets lost in the hubbub over Bordeaux and Burgundy, but it has traditionally produced some exceptional wines — mostly white and usually very interesting. Some of the region’s best young wine makers will appear from 6-8 p.m. at the Lovers Lane Central Market, in a tasting sponsored by the local chapter of the American Institute of Wine and Food. Tickets are $25 for members; $30 for non-members. Call 214-696-2493 for information and reservations.

Yesterday I stopped in to check out Café Chez Moi, the new coffee shop at Royal and 75 (in the Meadow Central Market shopping center, next to the Tom Thumb).
The name means “coffee at my place” in French, and the shop specializes in European and Asian coffee.
Like any good coffee shop, it’s got plenty of comfy couches for lounging, plus there’s free Wi-Fi.
Owner Paul Ho is what you might consider a coffee fanatic. He travels to Asia regularly to scope out the best hand-picked (not vacuumed-picked) coffee beans. After importing his selection, the beans are roasted and packed under Café Chez Moi’s in-house label.
Aside from all the other standard caffeine concoctions you’d expect to find (like lattes, cappuccinos, and espresso), there’re also fruit smoothies, juices and teas. They also offer a small café menu. You can get a cup of coffee and a breakfast pastry for $2.50—beat that Starbucks. Or you can get a deli sandwich and chips for $3.99.
The shop’s open all week 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Next time you’re craving your morning pick-me-up, stop in for a cup of joe.

The Porch on Henderson near Central Expressway inhabits the forth corner on what might be the city’s hippest quadrangle. Tristan Simon who also owns Hibiscus, Fireside Pies and Cuba Libre opened it last year.

All you Freebirds fans, head’s up: The Texas-based burrito chain has updated its Dallas menu.
No, they haven’t added a 12-pound burrito (at least not yet anyways). Instead you’ll find F-Bomb salads—and yes, that’s what they’re really called. The salads are dubbed that because supposedly, they’re so good they’ll make you cuss. Personally, I’ve never tasted food that made me spout random expletives—but hey, maybe that’s just me though.
Anyhow, these salads come in two versions: chicken with ancho dressing and steak salad with roasted tomatillo sauce.
If you decide to order one next time you’re at Freebirds, just make sure there aren’t any kiddos within earshot before you take a bite of your expletive-inducing meal.

Anyone who has driven past that intersection lately has noticed that the McDonald’s that had been there is gone. It will be replaced at the beginning of May by a new, state-of-the-art restaurant, says Karen Skinner, who owns that franchise and 10 others in and around this area.

It will feature the chain’s McCafe concept, which has been described as a Starbucks within a McDonald’s. "This is totally new — there is nothing else like it in the Metroplex," says Skinner, who also operates the McDonald’s at Greenville and Southwestern and at Ross and Henderson. The new store will also have TVs and a toddler play area.

"We’ve had a lot of trouble in that area, but it looks like it’s starting to clean up," says Skinner. "We really want to attract Lakewood folks when it re-opens."

One of the rules of this business is that one should only write about wines that are locally available. After all, what’s the point in waxing poetic about a wine that no one can buy?

Which brings us to the Neprica, a sample of which arrived this week and which I tasted immediately. That’s because it’s a $10 Italian red blend from Tormaresca, a very reliable producer that understands how to combine quality and value.

In fact, this wine is so good that I’m going to break the availability rule. Since I just got the sample, the wine probably isn’t in most stores yet. Never mind. Go to your local retailer and tell them to order some.

he Neprica is made with a local grape called negroamaro, plus primitivo and cabernet sauvignon. It’s darker in flavor than chianti, but it’s still low in alcohol and it’s not aged in oak. The latter gives it a fresher favor. I drank this with spaghetti and tomato sauce with mushrooms, and my only regret was that I didn’t have another bottle.

 • Savor Dallas gets underway this weekend: The fifth annual event is Friday and Saturday. There is also a book party today for The Art of Terroir, featuring photos by the inestimable George Rose. It’s at 5 p.m. at the Nasher Sculpture Center downtown.

• Dallas loves its celebrity wine: Why doesn’t this surprise me? Dallas, according to a Nielsen study, is one of the five biggest markets in the U.S. for celebrity wine — wines associated with the a famous person. We’re fourth, behind Phoenix, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.

When I was at Michelle’s working on this month’s "Off the Eatin’ Path", manager Tina Russell told me that the restaurant had plans to begin serving breakfast, made daily from scratch. When I ate at Michelle’s recently, a big banner announced that breakfast is now being served Monday through Saturday from 6:30-9:30 a.m. Customers can order either a breakfast meal or fill up on the all-you-can-eat buffet.

What’s on the menu? Grits, biscuits and gravy, pancakes, smothered potatoes and onions, sausage, omelettes, turkey bacon, bacon, egg and cheese sandwiches … "everything. We going to go the whole nine yards," Tina told me. (By the way, when she introduced herself, she followed it with: "No kin to Ike, even though my father named me after Tina Turner.")

The French, who once supplied the world with quality cheap wine, have been mostly supplanted by the Australians and the Chileans over the past decade. This has caused not just consternation within the French wine industry, but serious financial difficulty.

Some producers, realizing the crisis, have made significant changes to their products. They use better quality grapes, have upgraded their production techniques, and have adjusted their pricing to compete with $7 bottles of Yellow Tail. They understand that consumers will not pay a 10 or 20 percent premium because the wine label has some French on it.

Case in point is the Les Jamelles, one of the finest $10 sauvignon blancs — one of the finest sauvignon blancs at any price — that I have tasted in a long while. This is French sauvignon blanc the way it used to be — cheap, tasty and complete. There’s hardly any citrus, because Les Jamelles understands that French wine is not supposed to taste like New Zealand wine. It does have some tropical flavor,  mostly pineapple, as well as the minerality that French sauvignon blancs are supposed to have. A tip of the hat to Glenn Verk at Central Market for telling me about this.

Drink this, chilled, on its own, or with seafood, salads or grilled chicken.