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This week it's a peek into the life of a waiter at one of the world's most demanding restaurants. It's a profession and high craft, and not for the faint of heart. Our guest is Phoebe Damrosch, former waiter at Chef Thomas Keller's acclaimed Per Se in New York City. Phoebe tells all in her book Service Included: Four-Star Secrets of an Eavesdropping Waiter.

The Sterns are at Grove Café in Ames, Iowa, where they're forking up pancakes true to their name-huge, pan-size disks of thick and fluffy deliciousness.

Cheesemonger Steve Jenkins is back with a look at the cheeses of the Pyrenees.

Improvisational cook Sally Schneider talks the theory and practice of meat loaf and shares her recipe for Lamb Meat Loaf with Cumin, Coriander and Fennel.

Pierre Laszlo, Professor Emeritus of chemistry at the University of Liege in Belgium, tells the story of what happened when a group trying out Utopia in California wrote a letter to the USDA. Professor Laszlo wants us to try his recipe for Tarte au Citron from his latest book, Citrus: A History.

Streit Matzo, the last family-owned matzo factory in the country is moving from its long-time home on New York's Lower East Side. Fourth-generation family member Aaron Gross explains why.

Recipes

Lamb Meat Loaf with Cumin, Coriander and Fennel

This unusual lamb meat loaf, seasoned with cumin, coriander, fennel, and cinnamon was inspired by the flavors of a Moroccan lamb tagine. Get the full recipe

Tarte au Citron

This is everything a delightful little lemon tart should be-sweet, tart, and pretty with a nice, crisp crust. Get the full recipe

Events

Join Lynne and Slow Food Minnesota members and friends for an afternoon of lively conversation followed by dinner based on Lynne's recipes. The event is a benefit for Slow Food's Terra Madre delegate fund.

Sunday, March 8, 2009
Coffman Memorial Union Auditorium
University of Minnesota Campus in Minneapolis
1:30 p.m. Presentation by Lynne -- "One Food Lover's Journey to the Land, or The American Paradox"
3:00 p.m. Dinner based on Lynne's recipes hosted by the Campus Club with wine from Crofut and Alexis Bailly

Ticket price for Lynne's presentation is $15 general admission. Tickets for both the presentation and dinner are $65 for Slow Food members and $75 for non-members. All but $35 of the package cost is tax deductible. Proceeds will benefit Slow Food Minnesota's Terra Madre fund.

Features

Jane & Michael Stern: Grove Café. Ames, IA

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At the Grove Café, the word "pancake" takes on new meaning. The thick, fluffy cakes that absorb copious quantities of butter and syrup are, quite literally, pan size. Unless you're extremely hungry one is enough, although a couple of peppery sausage patties on the side wouldn't hurt; this is Iowa, after all.

The hot beef sandwich shouldn't be missed either. It's a classic: thick slices of hot roast beef, mashed potatoes and gravy.

Jane loves the slogan hanging in the kitchen: "Just like home ... you don't always get what you want."

Grove Café
124 Main Street
Ames, IA
515 232-9784

Pyrenees Cheeses

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Steve Jenkins, author of Steve Jenkins' Cheese Primer and cheesemonger at New York City's Fairway Markets, feels that cheeses from the Pyrenees Mountain region between France and Spain are vastly underrated. He urges us to get acquainted with them. Always made from sheep's milk, they are rustic and memorable. Here are some to try:

• Ossau-Iraty: From the Pays Basque, Béarn and parts of the Bigorre regions of France, these are some of the world's oldest cheeses.



• Roncal: From Spain's Navarre, this cheese has been made in Spain for nearly 3,000 years.



• Idiazabal: From Spain's Basque Country and Navarre, this cheese is vastly undersung.