YOUR GUIDE TO DINING OUT

CHUBBY’S $ When looking for a restaurant to have breakfast, lunch or dinner, we all want a place that serves up variety, hearty helpings and even bigger portions of friendliness. The Touris family has developed a recipe that delivers all of the above at a good price. With four locations in the Metroplex, Chubby’s Family Restaurant provides a rustic setting with down home cooking. Catering available.

Locations: 11331 E. NW Hwy. 214-348-6065 and 7474 S. Cockrell Hill Rd. 972-298-1270.

EL TIZONCITO $ Located at Illinois & Westmoreland, this Mexico City taqueria is a Dallas must-visit. The décor offers a casual experience that corrects the misconception of an original Taqueria. The Tacos al Pastor shaved down from the vertical oven and the unique Tamarind Margarita are a musttry. “What a pleasant surprise.” George Bush. “Excellent service complement exceptional food.” Gary Fisher. “Best Tacos in Dallas.” Mico Rodriguez. Sun-Thurs 10am-11pm Fri-Sat 10am-1am. Catering available. 3404 W Illinois Ave. 214.330.0839.

TILLMAN’S ROADHOUSE $$ODWB

Tillman’s is a place for really good food, drinks, and music in a fun, casual, come-as-you-are environment. An update on the classic Texas roadhouse with regional menu favorites, familiar tunes and no-one is a stranger hospitality — all energized with a modern take. A combination of both rustic and lush in everything from the menu to the décor make Tillman’s a good-time anytime destination. Bishop Arts District 324 West 7th St. 214.942.0988. www.tillmansroadhouse.com.

View the Holiday Guide at centralmarket.com or pick up a copy at your store.

GLORIA FERRER BLANC DE NOIRS ($20) CALIFORNIA>

Call it what you will: Champagne, sparkling wine, bubbly, Cava or Prosecco. But whatever you call it, this is the time of year when the wine with all the fizzy stuff gets the most attention.

In one respect, this is too bad, because sparkling wine deserves to be enjoyed year-round. It’s much more than something to pour on New Year’s Eve. As I learned early in my wine-writing career, sparkling wine pairs with almost any kind of food, oysters to chocolate-covered strawberries to chicken-fried steak.

But even if this is the only time of year you drink sparkling wine, there’s plenty to go around. So take a chance. Try something different. The recession, though it has slowed sales of the expensive, high-end stuff, has been quite helpful for bubbly that costs $20 and less. And there is some excellent wine at those prices. All are available at Central Market.

One other note: Only sparkling wine made in the Champagne region of France can legally be called Champagne, thanks to trade agreements the European Union has signed with most of the rest of the world. The rest of the non-Italian world calls its bubbly “sparkling wine”; the Italians have Prosecco and Asti.

Here’s an overview of what you’ll find this holiday season: This is the stronghold of the Spanish and their Cava, which usually offers the most value. But I’ve always been impressed by an $8 French wine called Carousel, which has lots of chardonnay fruit and good acidity.

A Washington state wine, Domaine Ste. Michelle, provides quality, though it’s a bit soft. Also look for the cremants — French sparkling wines from the regions of Alsace, Burgundy and the Loire. Only the Burgundian wines are made with the traditional Champagne groups, but each is interesting and well worth a sip.

This is where you’ll find most California sparklers, as well as Champagne. I’m a huge fan of Gloria Ferrer ($20), Iron Horse ($38) and the French Duval-Leory ($44), which is reasonably priced as Champagne goes.

—JEFF SIEGEL

DALLAS

5750 E. LOVERS LANE

MAIN: 214-234-7000

HOTLINE: 1-877-263-1379

PLANO

320 COIT ROAD

MAIN: 469-241-8300

HOTLINE: 469-241-8386

JEFF SIEGEL’SWEEKLYWINE REVIEWS appear every Wednesday on the Advocate Back Talk blog, oakcliff.advocatemag.com/blog.

My mom’s 7-layer brownies

Who knows how many versions of this recipe are floating around, but my mom has always done something special with these. And as hard as I have tried over the years, I have never been able to make them as well as she does. And yes, they go very nicely with sparkling wine.

Serves 6-8, takes about 90 minutes

1/4 c butter

1 c graham cracker crumbs

1 c shredded coconut

1 6-oz pkg butterscotch chips

1 6-oz pkg semisweet chocolate chips

1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk

1 c chopped nuts

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and melt the butter in a 9x2-inch pan. Spread the graham cracker crumbs evenly over the bottom of the pan. Press down gently.

- Sprinkle the coconut evenly over the graham crackers. Then spread the chocolate chips over the coconut, the butterscotch chips over the chocolate and the nuts over the butterscotch chips. Pour the milk evenly over all.

- Bake 30 minutes or until the graham crackers are browned but not burned. Let cool in pan, and serve.

ask the WINE GUY?

DOESCHAMPAGNE (AND SPARKLING WINE) HAVE A VINTAGE?

Mostly not. It’s so difficult to make bubbly that the wine usually carries the NV (non-vintage) label. That means that grapes from more than one harvest are used to make it. Sometimes, in special years, the producers will make a vintage wine — and charge extra for it, since it’s supposed to be of higher quality.

—JEFF SIEGEL