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This week's it's a culinary contradiction, something that's difficult to get your head around: vegan soul food. How can there be soul food without pork or fried chicken? We asked this of our guest Bryant Terry, a gentle food activist that takes the food of his childhood down a timely path. His book is Vegan Soul Kitchen: Fresh, Healthy, and Creative African-American Cuisine.

Jane and Michael Stern tuck into grand greasy-spoon grub at the M & M Cigar Store in Butte, Montana.

Cheese maven Steve Jenkins talks the "stinkers" — the cheeses that separate dabblers from true aficionados.

Writer Suzanne Pirret, author of The Pleasure is All Mine: Selfish Food for Modern Life, stumbles onto the truth of Cervante's saying, "all sorrows are less with bread."

Michael Ruhlman reveals the secret culinary codes only the pros know. His fascinating book is Ratios: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking. And Lisa Schiffman, founder of www.tuttifoodie.com, talks matchmaking for food types.