Chef Jeff Paul Smith joins Dave Weekley for a Monday food segment covering two essential kitchen topics. The breakfast meat debate opens the conversation — with Smith ranking bacon, sausage, and country ham nearly equal, making the case that a restaurant specializing in great ham has a competitive edge, and admitting he'd happily order all three at once alongside breakfast potatoes over biscuits and gravy. The scrapple question follows, with Smith acknowledging the mystery of its ingredients while endorsing the spirit of it. The conversation shifts to rice — a make-or-break element for Latino and Asian restaurants — as Smith walks through his techniques for jasmine rice and his two signature rice recipes at Bad Happy, covering toasting, triple-rinsing, the knuckle water method, seasoning the cooking liquid, and the differences between long-grain jasmine, sushi, and Arborio-style rice.

Entertainment reporter Kristyn Burtt joins Dave Weekley with a mix of sad and anticipated Hollywood news. The segment opens with the passing of Hayden Panettiere at 36, with Burtt reflecting on her career from Remember the Titans and One Life to Live to Heroes and Scream, and the troubling circumstances of her death in Greenville, South Carolina. The show then looks ahead to NBC's mid-season Rockford Files reboot starring David Boreanaz — who personally sought the blessing of James Garner's daughter before committing — which Burtt saw previewed at Universal Studios and calls a near-certain hit. The segment closes with the September 24th Netflix premiere of the A Different World reboot, which brings back Jasmine Guy, Kadeem Hardison, Jada Pinkett Smith, Debbie Allen, and Cree Summer in a single-camera comedy following Whitley and Dwayne's daughter at Hillman College.