The Splendid Table: Conversations & Recipes For Curious Cooks & Eaters Podcast

This week, we talk to two longtime restaurant critics from different parts of the country about what makes their work so interesting and what they're excited to eat.First, Bill Addison, restaurant critic for The Los Angeles Times, talks about his approach to critical writing, his favorite restaurant experiences, and the evolution of California cuisine. He just wrapped up one of the mostambitious projects of his career,the list of theOne Hundred and One Best RestaurantsinCalifornia forThe Los Angeles Times. Then, we turn to the Midwest to join Wini Moranville, a restaurant critic based in Des Moines, Iowa.She tells us about her first job as a restaurant server and how that influencedher current work reviewing restaurants, and how restaurant criticism in smaller cities often have very different considerations. Wini is the author of the memoir"Love is My Favorite Flavor: A Midwestern Dining Critic Tells All,"and you can check out her Substack, Dining Well in DSM.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

• June 13, 2025 (originally aired)

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Have you ever wondered how June looks and tastes in different parts of the country? This week, we visit three different corners of the country to hear about their Junes. Gullah Geechee Chef-Farmer, Matthew Raiford in Coastal Georgia describes this time of year as “where the wild things are”. He tells us how his decision to come back to the south to become a farmer came to be and paints a picture of his favorite low country boil. Matthew's latest book is Bress ‘N’ Nyam: Gullah Geechee Recipes from a Sixth-Generation Farmer. Then, we take a trip to Alaska to hear from Native Alaskan fisherwoman, Melanie Brown as she takes us into a radiantly green scene with sloughs and creeks and paints a vivid picture of millions of sockeye Salmon rolling into Bristol Bay. And then, we sit in with Ronni Lundy, author of the award-winning Victuals: An Appalachian Journey, with Recipes to talk about June in the mountains and summer preserves.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

• June 11, 2021 (originally aired)
• June 10, 2022 (rebroadcast)

• June 6, 2025 (rebroadcast)

  
  

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We're celebrating our 30th Anniversary on the road, and this week, we make our fourth stop in Iowa City in partnership with IPR. We talk to bakers, chefs, restaurateurs, and farmers about the food of the heartland. First up, Shae and Anna Pesek of Over the Moon Farm and T.D. Holub of The Garden Oasis Farm talk about their personal experiences with farm life, from agricultural challenges to sustainability and the community and passion that contribute to the success and drive of a farm. Then, we talk to Jamie Powers, owner and executive chef of Deluxe Bakery, and Carrie and Andy Schumacher, owners of the restaurant Cobble Hill, about opening their restaurants in Iowa and how building community is the most important part of their businesses.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

• May 30, 2025 (originally aired)

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When it comes to seafood, frozen is the new fresh. We talk to seafood industry expert, Jennifer Bushman about how technology has improved the quality of frozen fish and how to make the most of canned seafood from your local grocery store. Her latest project is Sea Pantry, how to keep your pantry stocked up with ingredients from the sea. Then, Senior Editor of New York Times Cooking, Genevieve Ko brings us her best at-home seafood cooking tips and recipes.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

• April 9, 2021 (originally aired)
• April 8, 2022 (rebroadcast)
• May 31, 2024 (rebroadcast)
• May 23, 2025 (rebroadcast)

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This week, we spend the hour with Deborah Madison, one of the trailblazers in popularizing vegetarian cooking in America — even though she’s not a full-time vegetarian herself. We chat with her about how she came to be the founding chef of Greens, likely America's first high-end vegetarian restaurant, at a time when fine dining meant meat at the center of the plate, and her study of Buddhism and the food path it opened up for her. Then she helps us answer your cooking questions. Deborah is the author of the classic Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, The Greens Cookbook, The Savory Way, and her latest, memoir — An Onion in My Pocket: My Life with Vegetables.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

• March 5, 2021 (originally aired)
• March 11, 2022 (rebroadcast)
• May 16, 2025 (rebroadcast)