Just a few thoughts: all museums in the Zwinger are worth a visit. Number one is definitively the Gruenes Gewoelbe followed by the Gemaeldegalerie (mainly old masters). Another Dresden museum I enjoy a lot is the Deutsches Hygiene Museum, www.dhmd.de, a "museum of man" (good for children). And if you're into technology, visit the "Glaeserne Manufaktur" where Volkswagen builds its luxury level cars.

In terms of old buildings and churches, the Frauenkirche (the rebuilt cathedral) is a "must". In addition, I very much like the Kreuzkirche, a baroque church which after the war was plastered from the inside with concrete. While this might sound weird, if gives you one of the best feelings for the space of a baroque cathedral, which leaves me breathless whenever I see it again. It's a special treat to go there when the Kruzianerchor sings (a world class boys choir). Note that Dresden was completely destroyed in the 1945 bombing, so a lot you will be seeing has been reconstructed. They've done a very good job, though, and Dresden really deserves its title "Elbflorenz" (Florence on the river Elbe) and its former UNESCO world heritage ranking (now gone because of a heavily debated bridge building project.

Off the beaten path and not so well known but architecturally very important is the section of Dresden called "Hellerau" (easily accessible by tram). This was one of Germany's "garden cities" built in the 1920s, they offer nice guided tours there (in the US, something comparable was Greenbelt, MD).

In the vicinity of Dresden is Meissen, but I guess since you're interested in porcelain, you're going there anyway. Other nice places for tours from Dresden are the Saechsische Schweiz, a nice mountain area close to Dresden. Only go there if the weather is good, though. Festung Koenigstein is a nice place to go (a huge castle). Finally, I like Schloss Moritzburg, a baroque water castle, and the baroque castle in Pillniz.

In terms of food, I especially like pastries in Dresden, in November there will already be Dresdner Stollen available (a must try), I also like Eierschecke a lot. Non-sweet foods in Saxonia are influenced by bohemian food, heavy but very good. I don't drink beer, so I cannot comment on this.