As one of the many talented cuisiniers participating in Le Fooding D'Amour (September 25-26 at at New York's P.S.1), Julie Farias knows a thing or two about a good cut of meat. The Texas-born chef—who recently moved from Brooklyn's Beer Table to The General Greene—worked for Daniel Boulud for five years (at Café Boulud, db Bistro Moderne, and Daniel), but attributes much of her culinary know-how to her southern upbringing and family influence (her clan owns a tortilla factory inside a San Antonio meat market). Farias tells us about working in kitchens on both coasts and how Le Fooding is going to taste for New Yorkers. In her case, it's going to taste like tacos made from 40 cow heads.

No matter your poison, level of expertise, or income bracket -- there’s no beating comparison shopping. So line up the wine, beer, whiskey, tequila, and even the house-infused vodka for the purpose of weeding out the bad so you can order up more of the good.

10. European Union (East Village) - When you don’t feel like burning your throat with the 5-for-$10 shot-deal at Continental, hit this spot where, for the same price, you’ll get a flight of five hand-crafted artisan beers.
9. I Trulli (Murray Hill) - Always seasonally appropriate with both a garden and a fireplace, the wine flights here go for $14, $15, and $26.
8. La Esquina (Nolita) - Prove wrong all those from Cali who say that NYC can’t master Mexican as you top off your meal with one of three tequila flights -- the Blanco ($35), Respado ($40), or Anejo ($45).

Beer Table's Justin Philips on expensive brews, his favorite spot in Paris, and what not to call him.

I read something about a $95 beer you serve. It's called a Baladin Xyauyù. It's an Italian version of an English beer. The reason it's so expensive is the real estate it takes up in the brewery. It's fully oxidized, which means no bubbles. It takes about two and a half years. The Daily News wrote something about it and Eater put me on their so-called Deathwatch. A funny thing happened. We had an incident where someone had stolen credit cards out of some purses here -- that's not the funny part -- but about two weeks later, a police car started driving real slow back and forth out front, like they were casing the joint, and shining a light inside. I was closing up and the cops got out of the car. And they're like "Hey, is this the place with the $100 beer?"

10. Jeremy’s Ale House (Lower Manhattan) - Not the greenest option, but when it comes to price, there’s no arguing with their $4 32-ounce Styrofoam buckets of Coors.
9. Zum Schneider (East Village) - It’s Oktoberfest all-year-round at this frat-tastic joint where the impressive beer selection comes in small 0.3l, regular 0.5l, or large 1.0l glasses.
8. Heidelberg (Upper East Side) - Nothing like drinking two liters of beer out of a glass boot.