Dan goes to the Second Avenue Deli with Luke Burbank (from the podcast TBTL and Ross and Burbank on KIRO), Mike Pesca (NPR sports correspondent and co-host of the Slate podcast Hang Up and Listen), and Win Rosenfeld (Current TV contributor and The Sporkful's beloved wacky neighbor). Together they debate how much beer to drink while eating pastrami as well as the most important characteristic of pastrami, and they get valuable advice from a server named Lynn who's been at the deli for 20 years.

What's the best way to pick up, dip and eat dumplings? What's the ideal dough thickness? And is the term "dumpling" applied to too many foods? Plus, could soup dumpling soup be better than soup dumplings?

Dan and Mark debate the best way to preserve and re-serve the meals you couldn't finish, including ideas on how to combine different devices to improve reheating outcomes.

We expand our beer knowledge in our conversation with Christina Perozzi & Hallie Beaune, aka "The Beer Chicks."

This week, we're continuing our conversation on improving lunch. We'll cover salad bar strategy, eating on the move and in other situations without tables, food trucks and messy food. We're joined again by Zach Brooks, creator of Midtown Lunch. When Dan and I worked together at NPR, we used Zach's site often to find good food in New York's midtown. His site now also covers lunch in downtown New York, LA and Philadelphia.

We're talking about ways to improve eating at work with Zach Brooks, creator of Midtown Lunch, a vital site for people looking for originality and variety in their workday feeding.

As part of a groundbreaking podcast meld, Dan and Mark team up with the hosts of the Slate Culture Gabfest -- Stephen Metcalf, Julia Turner and Dana Stevens, plus Slate's Laura Anderson and Jesse Baker -- to discuss all things granola, and to judge which Slate staffer makes the best granola.

In this week's episode, we cover paper vs. cloth, moist towlettes and wet naps, and issues of hand and beverage sanitation. Plus we discuss the dangers of scented soap.

We mediate a debate between a married couple over whether giving their kids breath mints is the same as giving their kids candy. And a man makes the argument that most foods are better eaten at room temperature.

We explore chicken piece size, dipping techniques, and even using chicken soup as a topping. Bonus: the deceptive danger of shrimp.