Steve Dolinsky's Audio Podcast

As we prepare to fill our bellies yet again, on this Thanksgiving Day, my kids and I reflect on some of the culinary things and places we are thankful for.

The harvest in California's Central Coast just wrapped up, and Denise Shurtleff is feeling a sense of relief. As Winemaker for Cambria, she oversees chardonnay, pinot noir and some viognier production. In Chicago this week for the big Pinot event and the Food & Wine Showcase, we tasted some '05 and '06 Cambria wines over a few crabs at Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab.

On a routine business trip out of town recently, I met Barry Levenson, the Founder/Creator/President of the Mt. Horeb Mustard Museum, in bucolic Mt. Horeb, Wisconsin. Barry has more than 5,000 different kinds of mustard on hand - plenty for sale too. He spoke with me about the birth of this unique endeavor. Incidentally, you can check out much more at www.mustardmuseum.com

If you're going to eat in Las Vegas, forget Zagat, Citysearch and Yelp. Instead, go check out www.eatinglv.com, the site run by local food critic/bon vivant John Curtas. The man makes me look downright lazy, with all of his noshing and blogging. John makes it a point to eat off the Strip as much as on it, and his reports air weekly on the local CBS affiliate as well as on the NPR station in town. He picked me up at the airport this week, and took me to a great little Thai place many foodies rave about, Lotus of Siam.