Listen | Download | Subscribe to the podcast

Coffee mania is alive and well in Portland, Oregon so we're heading there for a lesson in cupping at Stumptown Coffee. Cupping is how the industry evaluates coffees and you can do it at home. Stumptown's cupper, Liam Kenna, explains how.

It's muscular kielbasa and buttered kolache for Jane and Michael Stern at Sokolowski's, a Polish cafeteria in Cleveland.

Wine maverick Josh Wesson is back talking local heroes of the grape world - those little-known gems most of us never try.

Investigative reporter Jennifer 8 Lee outs the fortune cookie, then we'll play another round of Stump the Cook with celebrity Stump Master Christopher Kimball of America's Test Kitchen fame. And New York Times journalist Alex Williams warns of the dangers of eating (and drinking) while texting.

Recipes

Rustic Jam Shortbread Tart

This cross between a tart and a cookie crumbles and then melts away as you eat it. Get the full recipe

Hoisin China Noodles with Four Flavors

A favorite dish from an old teacher, this is a Chinese pasta with meat sauce. It evolved from two of my favorite recipes by Chinese cookbook author Gloria Bley Miller. Get the full recipe

Features

Jane & Michael Stern: Sokolowski's University Inn, Cleveland, OH

Listen

The great eating cities of the Midwest have one thing in common - great Polish food - and some of the best can be found at Sokolowski's in Cleveland, Ohio. It's classic, utterly delicious, cafeteria line food set to a polka beat.

Sokolowski's, which has been around since 1923 in an off-the-beaten-path industrial area, is filled to the rafters with tchotchkes and there are racks of polka music CDs to browse while you wait to get into the cafeteria line.

Once you see the big pans of food you'll know this is a Road Food find extraordinaire. Fill your plate with stuffed peppers, kielbasa, pierogi and halushka. If you've room for only one choice, Jane says make it the pierogi. They're filled with cheese, smothered with onions then bathed in butter! It's great fun!

Sokolowski's University Inn
1201 University Road
Cleveland, OH
216-771-9236
www.sokolowskis.com

Cupping at Stumptown Coffee

Listen

It could be argued that nowhere is coffee mania more alive and well than in Portland, Oregon. Folks there are obsessed with good coffee and local roasters' shops are treated like hallowed ground.

One of these roasters is Stumptown Coffee but they go a step further than most. Here you can learn to "cup" with an expert. Cupping is the industry standard for tasting and testing coffee quality. Industry buyers use the method to determine which coffees they'll purchase.

Lynne was in town recently and had a cupping lesson with Stumptown's cupper, Liam Kenna. Many brews were sipped, but the one Lynne liked best was Panama Esmeralda Especial.

Local Heroes of the Grape World

Listen

There's a whole world of wine beloved by locals but rarely experienced by outsiders. Some gems are among these overlooked bottles. We asked Joshua Wesson, Senior Director of Wine, Beer and Spirits at The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, for some picks.

• Alamos Torrontes 2007: An unoaked Argentinean white varietal. About $11.
• Argiolas Costamolino Vermentino 2007: A Sardinian white. About $14.
• Bodegas Carmen Carmenère 2006: A spicy Chilean red. About $10.
• Kir Yianni Paranga Xinomavro/St. George Blend 2006: A Greek red. About $12.

Weeknight Kitchen® is a free weekly e-mail newsletter full of new recipes and tips from Lynne and our guests.
Sign up »
This week's newsletter »

The Splendid Table®, is now available for free in podcast form. Follow the Sterns as they travel the country, hear all our unique and wonderful guests and, as always, Lynne takes your calls, downloaded direct to your computer every week.
Get the podcast

Get our recipes delivered straight to your iGoogle account with our new Google Gadget. It's free. It's easy. Find out how you can install this new feature on your Google Homepage.
Learn More