SF157: Guacamole (Live at Guactacular 2013)
Dan talks to Lee Frank of Nachos NY, Laura Anderson of Slate, and Chris Salgado of Chris's Awesome Guacamole about guac composition and consumption. They debate optimal chunkiness, the tomato question, proper tortilla chip dip technique, and much more. Plus Dan discusses his latest innovation for preventing chip breakage, and issues a challenge to NPR's Sandwich Monday. Taped on stage at Guactacular 2013 at the Bell House in Brooklyn.
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SF156: Sandwich Theory, Broccoli, and More
It turns out something magical can happen when Dan goes into a taping with no plan whatsoever. This episode is free association with guests Ian Chillag and Mike Danforth, producers of NPR's "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me" and hosts of the NPR podcast "How To Do Everything." They cover broccoli as podcast metaphor, tortilla chips, sandwich theory, burger-to-bun ratios at the famed Billygoat Tavern, and more.
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SF155: Brown Bag Lunches
Chicago Tribune columnist Eric Zorn joins Dan to discuss strategies and techniques for bringing your own lunch to work. Eric argues that pretzels are better for a brown bag lunch than potato chips while Dan explains why the sandwich isn't as well suited to this purpose as people think. Plus they talk about what your lunch tells your coworkers about you, and a caller offers advice on dealing with large groups of friends who can't decide where to eat.
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SF154: Peter Sagal of Wait Wait Don't Tell Me: The Sporkful Interview
Peter Sagal of NPR's Wait Wait Don't Tell Me joins Dan to discuss growing up as a fat kid, his opinions on Chicago pizza, grilling the perfect burger, how Courtney Love turned him against melted cheese, and much more.
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SF153: Ramen / The Meaning of Vegetarian
Slate Food and Drink Editor L.V. Anderson joins Dan to debate ideal ramen cooking methods, broth-to-noodle-ratio, and flavor packet usage. Plus L.V. explains what curly hair can teach you about ramen while Dan lays out The Ramen Code and introduces several new techniques for ramen preparation. Also, L.V. and a caller from Alaska discuss the proper use of the word "vegetarian".
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SF152: Hot Sauce (w/11-year-old Nathaniel Goodyear)
Dan wants to get more into hot sauce, but he's a little tentative. So he goes to the home of 11-year-old Nathaniel Goodyear, a president of The Sporkful Junior Eaters Society, to ask Nathaniel to serve as his hot sauce personal trainer. They sample several varieties and Nathaniel discusses his favorite methods for consumption, what to do when you go too far, and much more. Plus a caller needs advice on how to deal with her child's precocious eating habits.
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SF151: Eating Throughout History + Deepak Chopra on Total Pizza Awareness
What did dinosaur eggs taste like? In what shape would Jane Austen likely have had her dessert served to her? What does one of the world's leading paleontologists think of the Paleo Diet? How do you get maggots out of boiled sheep in the Gobi Dessert? How do you make ice cream on an uninhabited island in Madagascar in the summer? And how many ancient Aztecs would have had better teeth if they'd learned to eat corn by listening to The Sporkful? Dan gets answers to these questions and many more when he interviews the curators of a special food exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History entitled, "Our Global Kitchen: Food, Nature, Culture." Plus, Dan calls up Deepak Chopra for some guidance on how to get maximum pleasure from meals eaten alone, and Deepak's wisdom leads Dan t
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SF150: Burgers
"Rev" David Ciancio from Burger Conquest joins Dan for a passionate conversation that covers ideal fat-to-lean and burger-to-bun ratios, perfect patty formation, burger bite consistency vs. bite variety, cheese on the bottom, and what having a father in the FBI taught him about restaurant seating. Plus, Matt in Chicago calls in to press for new legislation regarding ice cream cone serving techniques.
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SF149: Muffins
Julia Turner from the Slate Culture Gabfest joins Dan to bemoan the cake-ification of muffindom, debate the merits of muffin tops, and take a quiz on U.S. states' official muffins. Plus secrets of muffin grilling, and a caller who needs serious help reheating a leftover meatball sub. 
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SF148: War Zone Eating
Sometimes people in the most difficult circumstances are the ones who find the most creative ways to eat well. In this episode Dan speaks with military veterans, as well as NPR reporter Quil Lawrence, about ways to make military MREs (Meals Ready to Eat) more palatable, and conducts his own experiments with MREs, forcing Quil Lawrence to taste the results. Plus, the vets share some great stories about their best war zone meals. (Please note this episode contains one use of profanity, which has been bleeped out.)
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SF147: Christmas Dinner (in Rockefeller Center)
Dan heads to the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center to talk to people about Christmas dinner strategies and preferences. Two Eaters propose novel pairings for mac and cheese, two others discuss Latino pork preparations, and another advocates brute force to displace relatives competing for prized dishes. Plus, a married couple calls in to ask Dan to mediate a dispute over the correct way to drink water.
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SF146: Fried Chicken
Robert Smith from Planet Money on NPR joins Dan to discuss the perfect fried chicken, the best parts, and what Robert calls "The Golden Mean of Fried Foods." Then they travel to Queens for Korean fried chicken, and Robert teaches Dan the art of eating on mic without grossing people out. Plus, a caller draws a distinction between original and canonical Pepperidge Farm Goldfish.
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SF145: Thanksgiving 2012: Veggieducken and Stuffing (w/Slate's Laura Anderson)
In the annual Thanksgiving show Dan welcomes Slate's food and drinks editor Laura Anderson, who brings a vegetarian perspective to the holiday. Dan discusses the Veggieducken, his new creation inspired by the turducken that's a sweet potato inside a leek inside a squash, and he and Laura debate the purpose and preparation of stuffing. Plus, a man in Kentucky calls in with a Chinese buffet ethical quandary.
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SF145: Thanksgiving 2012: Veggieducken and Stuffing
In the annual Thanksgiving show Dan welcomes Slate's food and drinks editor Laura Anderson, who brings a vegetarian perspective to the holiday. Dan discusses the Veggieducken, his new creation inspired by the turducken that's a sweet potato inside a leek inside a squash, and he and Laura debate the purpose and preparation of stuffing. Plus, a man in Kentucky calls in with a Chinese buffet ethical quandary.
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SF144: Nachos
Dan speaks with Lee Frank and Rachel Anderson of Nachos NY, as well as various other attendees and eaters at the first New York Nacho and Craft Beer Festival. They discuss construction methods, optimal topping-to-chip ratio, the single serving nacho trend, and first nacho etiquette. Plus, a caller takes issue with Dan's position on hot dogs and recommends a novel cooking method, and Dan talks about one way eaters can help those affected by Hurricane Sandy. 
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