This week we meet Bob Giraldi, producer and director of the new film Dinner Rush. This movie, about a night in a happening New York City restaurant of the moment, captures the frantic trendiness and atrocious pressure that drives so many places these days. It's no warm and fuzzy Babette's Feast. Bob leaves us with his mother Minnie's recipe for Baked Ziti with Ricotta, perfect for Sunday dinner.

In contrast, Jane and Michael Stern are at laid-back El Gallito in Cathedral City, California, eating mole and buying second-hand Pucci dresses. Master of Wine Mary Ewing Mulligan talks decanting, and writer Jim Leff of Chowhound.com takes on the political side of dining out. Comedienne Cathryn Michon, author of The Grrl Genius Guide to Life, reports on competitive cooking at the Santa Barbara Fair and gives us her recipe forLow-Fat Technicolor Tater Salad. It's not the all-American classic. Lynne's trivia question has a medical theme, and she's finally agreed to put her recipe for Pork Steaks with Chile Orange Sauce into print!

Broadcast dates for this episode:

October 6, 2001