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Dan Bernstein
tripping, kicking back by the pool, or just looking for your next obsession this Memorial Day weekend. Now is the perfect time to catch up on American Afterlife, the audio drama podcast that hit number one on the Apple Podcast Fiction charts. Catch up now before the season finale drops this Tuesday. Listen wherever future Podcast.
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Dan
Matt
Bernstein Unfiltered Unfiltered on 312 Sports
Shane Reardon
it's
Dan Bernstein
DBU on 312 brought to you today in partnership with my bookie and by Chicago Window Guys and the owner Russ Armstrong. 847-302-9171. Happy Friday. What do we do on these days? Well, we usually do Friday Feedback Friday and we read a bunch of emails and hear what you have to say. And instead of the top 10 list today we're gonna have a special guest. So I'm really looking forward to that and an old friend is going to come back and join us, but I wanted to start with a voluminous list of feedback emails that have come in and just moving through everything every you know I love when things that things hit nerves or things spark thoughts and I I never know what they're going to be or why. And that was what I love about Friday Feedback Fridays. I try to give a representation of the things to which you have been paying attention or that sparked your responses. And I'll start with something on a serious note and this was sent in at the start of the week, and I just thought it was really very, very nice. And this came in from Eric from downtown, who says, dan and Matt, I wanted to send a note expressing my thanks for the work that you've done for mental health just from this podcast. Ever since the first episode, you've both made no bones about your willingness to use this platform to be honest about your mental health awareness and and your sincere open support for any listener in the middle of or beginning their own. By now, that's the table stakes for the DBU experience. What inspires me the most, beyond the time you specifically set aside for these topics, is how you walk the walk through your expressions of self awareness, your vulnerability, and mutual support in the middle of casual conversation. The fact that you two can start a conversation about trolling each other, take a second to recognize your anxieties and insecurities, and then get back to being dicks to each other all in the same breath is significant. And it happens so frequently that I'm starting to notice myself. Well, not notice anymore. Simply put, you're making us fluent in mental health. So on this mental health awareness month, thank you again for the honesty and accepting. The preciousness of men's mental health, or at least my own is still a tough nut for me to crack, but consistently hearing it from you two goes a long way. Eric, thank you. And I can't say that a lot of this is conscious at this point. Some of it is when we talk about it and making sure that we are generally sensitive to and supportive of such things. But I think a lot of it is the byproduct of the work, I think. And having. Having a supportive family that is also fluent in this stuff would be how I feel. And. And it's much appreciated. Thank you. Jeff sends a question. Guys, I need an iraqpo ruling. Fox is running a World cup commercial where at the end, two guys in are in a bar. One thinks the US Is going to win, and the third guy says, what, you don't believe in miracles? And while they don't say Mike Aruzioni's name, Mike Aruzioni turns and walks toward the exit of the bar and walks out past a clearly viewed Mike Aruzioni USA Hockey jersey. Has he been iraqpo'd?
Matt
I say yes. Ooh. I say yes. But. But it's very, very clever on the. Yes, very clever in the development of the Iraq BO without stepping full foot into the big pile of shit. Kind of scrape it a little bit without stepping, yeah, full forward into it.
Dan Bernstein
I think that is a very sort of self aware decision on the part of the producers to do that. Be like, look, we got to iraqpo this guy, but how are we going to do it in a way that
Matt
listen, they clearly listening to us for years. They're like, we're not going to let these two idiots iraqpo us.
Dan Bernstein
Yeah, they use the term. Yeah, they clearly call it that. Right? Another in that vein from Ryan. I didn't think a television show would need to lay out a guest appearance in such obvious terms. But in case you missed it, at the start of Saturday Night Live's monologue, Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, who is also a fairly well identified Will Ferrell look alike, emerged to take the stage as Will Ferrell. Surely enough, Will came out and asked what the hell he's doing. Following Chad Smith's response, stating that he's hosting the show, Will Ferrell said, you're not the host, I am. You're Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili. I don't know whether or not to feel pride in the fact that I immediately thought of your show or the disappointment that an audience of millions has to be told who someone is in such blatant terms. Has there ever been an Iraq poem to such a degree on live television in our history?
Matt
Not that I can recall. And yeah, that's, that's, that's very egregious too as well. That is.
Dan Bernstein
Yeah, I don't, I don't think I can do that. I, I, I can't, I can speak to any and every Iraq poing that has possibly occurred. Joey.
Matt
That's the top three.
Dan Bernstein
Has to be. Yes, Joey says you boys mentioned in passing the MMA a fight last weekend. I am a huge women's MMA fan. They just go hard. Like a lot of women's sports. They're trying to prove their worth so there's no balance. And that said, I couldn't stay further away from that fight. Gina Carano, who as you boys mentioned, was a budding TV and movie star after her MMA career fizzled, she was a fairly important side character on the Mandalorian on Disney until she wasn't anymore because of a rant comparing living in the United States as a conservative to being a Jew during the Holocaust. Yes, among other right wing conspiracy BS involving the pandemic and vaccinations and anti trans comments, she was fired. So when the fight was announced, I was like, hell yeah, I can't wait to watch Ronda Rousey beat her ass until Ronda decided to tell the world that the reason she wanted to fight Gina Carano was because Gina was canceled and she deserved a second chance in a payday. Unfortunately, the intuit dome didn't fill with water, inexplicably drowning everyone, including the Paul brothers. Better luck next time, I guess.
Matt
Yeah, and they really got their money's worth, too. That was. That was great. 17 seconds.
Dan Bernstein
17 seconds. Yeah.
Matt
Took her down, got her in the arm bar, and it was all over. And like I said, the hug lasted considerably longer than the actual fight itself.
Dan Bernstein
Drew in Edgewater. Regarding the Mike Vrabel, Diana Rossini thing, Guys, when you mentioned the possibility that it could fall under polyamory or consensual non monogamy, I find it unlikely, and I wanted to push back a little on something Matt said. Matt made the point that people who choose that relationship style are usually very open about it and don't need to hide it, et cetera. Let me say from personal experience, that's not always true.
Matt
Okay.
Dan Bernstein
Even if a couple decides an open relationship works for them, there can be any number of reasons they might choose to keep it quiet, depending on their professional situation, expectations created by family culture, or just having more traditional friends. It's not always a decision people feel comfortable sharing with the world. Again, I doubt that's what Vrabel and Rossini are doing, but I wanted to note there are couples who are about that life but prefer to live it quietly.
Matt
Okay. Yeah, no, that's fair. And I appreciate you taking the time to email in. I just thought if they're in this situation where it blows up as significantly as it did, would have been a good opportunity to say, hey, it's not. Not what you think, because it's all good. It's all good in our neighborhood.
Dan Bernstein
Yeah, this is how we roll. And it's all fine. And all the stuff that you've heard, me, my husband, and all these podcasts, just a joke. We do it to spice up the relationship. Yeah, okay.
Matt
It's better when he thinks I hate him.
Dan Bernstein
It's our bit. It's what we do. All right. Okay. All good. Cool.
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Dan Bernstein
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Shane Reardon
Terms apply.
Dan Bernstein
Next up is Johnny in Plainfield. Johnny says Guys, I finished the DBU episode in the car with my wife. This is Wednesday. I had the podcast on Bluetooth. She was half listening and trying to read her Kindle for context. I'm 29. My wife is 26, and while we both enjoy sports, she's much bigger into hockey than anything else. Her favorite sports movie is Miracle because she absolutely loves the story of the USSR losing to a group of college aged Americans in the Olympics. So when you did that segment about Mel Brooks and his definition of comedy versus Tragedy, stick with me here, she suddenly stopped reading and became fully invested in the conversation. When you mentioned that Mel Brooks is one of the greatest comic minds of all time, her brain. Had accidentally substituted Met Mel Brooks with coach Herb Brooks from Miracle.
Matt
Oh boy.
Dan Bernstein
Completely serious. She looked at me and said verbatim, Mel Brooks was funny. The actor who played him in Miracle did a bad job showing that he had no sense of humor in the movie. Right before I could correct her, you quoted Mel Brooks's line about tragedy versus comedy. The one about somebody falling into an open sewer and dying without missing a beat. I said to my wife, well, yeah, he said that because after the USS US beat the beat Russia, the Soviet coach fell into an open sewer and died. She immediately grabbed her phone to look it up, realized I was messing with her, called me an idiot, and I spent the rest of the drive home laughing. I felt obligated to share that one with that's great. That is very good. Oh, speaking of looking something up like I was okay, I'm sharing this from last night and this is apropos of nothing, I thought. Sometimes in the Crossword puzzles that I do. I do some. Some kind of utre boutique y weirdo crossword puzzles. Okay. That some of the constructors do outside the auspices of the. The papers or the larger editors.
Shane Reardon
Well, that's the.
Matt
The magazine you get every month is the Boutique Weirdo Crossword Puzzle Magazine.
Dan Bernstein
Essentially, yes. And I do. I subscribe to. To various providers of these things. So sometimes the. They go outside the rules. And I thought that this was just a cute little funny clue where the. And the clue was the government name of a cartoon dog. And it was seven letters. And the answer. And I got it from Crossers. The answer was Scubert. S, C, O, O, B E, R T. Okay.
Matt
S C O O, B E, R says eight letters.
Dan Bernstein
Eight letters. Eight letters. And it said Scubert.
Matt
His real name is Scubert.
Dan Bernstein
Okay. So I. My first thought was, all right, that's, that's. That's funny. That's cute. Somebody made a bit about how Scooby Doo. That his actual name is Scubert. And then, and I was laughing, and Beth said, what are you laughing about? You know, she's in the bathroom brushing her teeth. I said, this is really funny. Somebody.
Matt
Wait, tell me she didn't know this.
Dan Bernstein
And, and, and then I said, so, like, wait a second. Is this. This can't be right. And she's like, how the hell am I supposed to look it up? Okay, It. It's right.
Matt
Okay, I, I. First of all, I'd never heard that. I thought you were going to go with your wife knew that his name was Scuba.
Dan Bernstein
Well, that. Well, that would have just been weird. But, I mean.
Matt
But no one knew that his name was Scuba.
Dan Bernstein
How. How did you know that that Scooby Doo.
Matt
No one's ever heard the name Scuba before.
Dan Bernstein
That Scooby. Do think it's gotta be retconned when it. Cause then, of course, I had to read how did he get his name? And Fred Silverman, who was in charge of daytime at cbs, named him Scooby Doo. But there was a song that had the word Scooby Doo in it. And Fred Silverman said he got it from Strangers in the Night and Frank Sinatra singing Scooby Dooby Doo. But he's lying, because there was a whole thing at CBS that had the term Scooby Doo for some reason, and they must have rat content. But how did I not know that his name is Scubert?
Shane Reardon
Do.
Matt
Because no one's. No one's known that. That's why no one's ever heard that.
Dan Bernstein
Before, I certainly hadn't. But it sounds like the thing I should have known. I swear to God. They're saying officially in actual Hanna Barbera official cartoon, like, cartoon graphs or whatever it is, Scooby Doo's name is Scubert.
Matt
I'll have to go back and listen to it. But I don't. I'm also pretty sure Frank Sinatra doesn't say Scooby Dooby Doo.
Dan Bernstein
It's Doobie Dooby Doo.
Shane Reardon
Doo Doobie Doobie.
Dan Bernstein
But that's what no one.
Matt
No one's ever heard Scubert before. And if you're listening and then you send in feedback saying that you knew that.
Dan Bernstein
How could you not know that?
Matt
No one's ever known that. Well, like, weekly. We're gonna have, like, weekly debates on cartoon characters.
Dan Bernstein
I didn't know Shaggy had a last name. Like, there's. There's all sorts of stuff that has been. What's his last name? You're gonna make me look this up.
Matt
Hold on.
Dan Bernstein
Because I think it's Rogers. Is that right?
Matt
Shaggy Rogers? No. What's his real name, then?
Dan Bernstein
Okay, okay. Scubert. Scubert. Scooby Doobert is what, Hannah? The Hanna Barbera wiki says, no, I can't. That can't be right. Right?
Matt
They're. They're. They're. No one's ever heard that before. No one's ever said it before.
Dan Bernstein
I. His legal name is.
Matt
What are you doing, kid? I'm going to go watch tv. What are you going to watch? I'm going to watch Scuba Doobie to Doby Do.
Dan Bernstein
The name was revealed in episodes of a cartoon called A Pup Named Scooby Doo.
Matt
All right, well, I've never heard it before, so. Man.
Dan Bernstein
Yes.
Matt
The things you learn about cartoons on this program. Yeah.
Dan Bernstein
And Shaggy's name is Norville Rogers. So.
Matt
So he comes from money.
Dan Bernstein
He must. Oh, they. You know what? That would explain a lot. Yeah. He comes if he's just like a. Like a rich trust fund stone guy.
Matt
He comes from a lot and a lot of money. Yeah, yeah.
Dan Bernstein
Rogers, Norville Rod. Country club kid.
Matt
Wealthy.
Dan Bernstein
Yes. Slacker, stoner. And here's the other thing. He's, I guarantee you, scratch golfer.
Matt
Oh, yes, definitely scratcher. Parents got him in the Yale because he's a legacy kid.
Dan Bernstein
Yeah, he's. He's one of those guys that shows up to golf with, like, this, like, raggedy used clubs and a canvas bag.
Matt
Yes. And.
Dan Bernstein
And just. And shoots, like, a 76. Yeah. Some crazy number. Yeah, yeah. All right, well, I just thought I'd Pass that along because. Yeah, I had no idea that his name was actually Scubert.
Matt
Hey, did you see the. We got a. A follow up from our guy Matt, who gave us all the information about net rest time and days and did all the research. The lawyer.
Dan Bernstein
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Matt
So he. He said that he. That no clients were harmed in the research.
Dan Bernstein
I don't know.
Matt
And then he said he's a night owl and that he did it. I think this is even worse. He says he waited till his wife and kid went to bed before he worked on it at night. So probably hurrying his family off to bed.
Dan Bernstein
Come on, secret.
Matt
Scoot, scoot. It's bedtime. Dad, it's only seven. I don't care.
Dan Bernstein
I don't care. I don't know. Hop on pop.
Matt
Pop on hop.
Dan Bernstein
Go to bed. I afford progress work to do for free.
Matt
But thank you for not neglecting any clients on death row. We appreciate that, man.
Dan Bernstein
Thank. Thanks so much. This Billy sends it in and a lot of people responded to the idea of the nostalgia for who you're crapping.
Matt
Yes.
Dan Bernstein
Being. Being overblown relative to the actual quality of the bit. And this is his theory. He said the reason so many people have positive nostalgic feelings for who you're crapping is because despite the fact that 80% of it was bad and irritating, the 20% that was good was very, very good. You guys were able to cultivate a listenership that most, if not all, sports radio programs at the time just couldn't. By that I mean smart people, clever people and creative people. The non Mike north or Murph and Fred crowd. When those people took part in the creative process for your show, it was magic. We just had to wade through a lot of shit to get to that stuff. I think it's actually nice that people choose to selectively remember the good rather than the bad in this situation. As human beings, our memories are all incredibly flawed and intensely selective. In 99 of circumstances, the memories that cement themselves into our heads are unfortunately the worst ones. The humiliations and the failures. I like to look at people selectively remembering that segment on your show for only its heights as a good thing. Love the show. Love your suit. Thanks, Billy.
Matt
Yeah, that's good thought. And I'd say 20 is a little bit high.
Dan Bernstein
I think it's significantly high. Yeah, I wouldn't go say that 5% of it would was really good. Mark says regarding Kevin Warren. He is symptomatic of an issue affecting many companies right now. Leaders just don't want to make decisions. And they sink way too much money into high priced consultants to provide cover. Yep, it can be cover for incompetence. It can be cover for avoidance of accountability. We've seen it happen with entire political parties. It's just another poisonous grift. And once they get their foot in the door, the consultants are increasingly difficult to remove. Let's hope the Illinois legislature can pass this and George maybe can clean house. Mark says parenthetically, whose own workplace has suffered from the scourge of consultants. Well said. We've got a couple of Jason's here. This is from the first Jason. He writes. As a youth in the 90s, you either had Leno or Letterman families. Mine was Leno.
Shane Reardon
And it was brutal.
Dan Bernstein
Watching Carrot Top and his bag of hacky puns every New Year's Eve as my father guffawed was below me even at the age of 10. Around 1999, I found David Letterman silly, offbeat, irreverent, not a care in the world for the drudgery of corporate business. Letterman was a trailblazer long before Late show, having reinvented the late night wheel as we all know with the run at NBC. But he was always different. And so too Stephen Colbert. Colbert played a hard lined, conservative character on Comedy Central. He then flipped a script and became his actual self on Late Show. He grew into a guy that was the most genuine man on late night tv. My favorite moments from his run as host of Late show were during COVID when he came on and complained and griped and shared his fears that we all shared as a nation. Made us laugh, let us cry. And notably during George, Floyd and other countless moments of turmoil during the summer of 2020. I hope we look back at the 33 years of late show for what it was. Honest, an honest portrayal of comedy to truth. Something needed now more than ever and something that will be sorely missed. Thank you Jason for expressing that. I, I just never became a watcher. I was pretty much done with late night when Letterman retired and yeah, same here.
Matt
I just, and not, not. It wasn't like, oh, I'm not gonna watch that guy.
Dan Bernstein
No, I drifted away from it.
Matt
Yes.
Dan Bernstein
It just drifted away from the habit. And the other thing too was if there were something important or funny or notable that it would find its way into my feed.
Matt
Yes.
Dan Bernstein
And you get to, you didn't have the same feeling like, oh, I'm going to miss something.
Matt
But yeah, man, you know, having much older brothers, six, eight, nine years older. And then my, my dad obviously was an Influence with late night tv. I wouldn't have known Carson or Letterman without my dad knowing. You know, my dad got me into Carson as a kid. I remember my dad would watch it and that, that meant something to me to see my dad do something in a regular habit. And it was like he always watched Johnny Carson. So that stuck with me. And then my brothers got me the Letterman and yeah, I just, after both those guys, I just, I drift away
Dan Bernstein
from watching my parents watched, my parents watched Carson. I found Letterman when he began the daytime show on NBC and I knew that there was something going on there that reminded me, it reminded me a little of Ray Rayner, what he was doing with just the irreverence and not respecting the conventions of the genre and moving the cameras around and showing people the producers and all that. And I was riveted. And then when he started Late Night with David Letterman on NBC, I VHS recorded it every single night and watched it the next morning before school.
Matt
VHS is a, it's a cassette tape type thing, kids, that you put into a machine that was attached to your TV and you could record things off it or watch things like go down to a video store to rent a VHS cassette tape and then, yeah, you could watch a movie.
Dan Bernstein
I recorded that show every single night. Another Jason here and he says this is some FFF regarding the cyber truck dude intentionally driving his truck into Grapevine Lake to test something he called Wade Mode. Now maybe I'm old fashioned, but Wade Mode sounds not like a truck feature, but more like something Wade Boggs unlocked after beer number 42. We're going Wade Mode. You just hear it from the back of the plane. Uh oh, what's happening? Wade Mode's happening. Another thing, every cybertruck owner talks like they're preparing for the collapse of civilization. Buddy, if society falls apart, I promise you, your vehicle with six software updates and a touch screen gear shift ain't gonna be the last thing standard. I know firsthand. In elementary school we had a computer room filled with some apple ones and Oregon Trail. I've noticed there are now two kinds of men wearing red hats in America. Guys driving 30 year old pickups held together by rope and a bit of vengeance, and guys driving stainless steel Minecraft refrigerators that can apparently maybe not sometimes go in a lake. And I don't care what anybody says, if your truck gets recovered by a pontoon boat, you officially have lost the truck portion of the debate.
Matt
That's great. Held together by rope and vengeance.
Dan Bernstein
Thank you, thank you so much for that, Jordan. And St. Charles. I too, gentlemen, have been forced to change my brief more frequently than what is considered healthy as an unavoidable side effect of watching these Western Conference finals. Although I take great joy in terrorizing my home with sudden exclamations like and he's 74 while my beautiful bride practices her anti stress breathing and calming affirmations, the thing that keeps flashing through my over baked noodle is an experience I had in college. As a youngster, I suffered from a condition all too commonly observed in barely athletic teenage boys who, like me, didn't spend enough time getting humbled by elevated beings and open public competition. This unearned confidence empowered me to excel in the classroom, coast through my most social situations, and had me enthusiastically signing up for co rec flag football where my team of cosplaying Trilams and I slept walked into postseason tournament play. In our first matchup of the knockout round, we Arts and Communications majors squared off against a squad Simply known as JV Basketball 2 the Myriad the myriad details of our total dismantling need not be repeated here. Aside from all six three of my scrawny ass getting absolutely high pointed by the biggest, blackest man I'd ever met at that time and someone who also happened to be first to give me a really good nickname mid flight with his junk at my elbow or my eyebrows, he offered the following Nice try Krispy Kreme. After a bit of reflection After a bit of reflection, I think the reason this tale is so relevant to me now has much to do with the fact that there are indeed levels to this. If a random D3 scrub can effortlessly torch normies like me, how good are those aliens from Oklahoma City and San Antonio to make the best in the world look like assorted pastries? Keep it up boys. That's from Jordan and St. Charles.
Matt
Did you see the comments from LeBron James?
Dan Bernstein
No.
Matt
Talking about his future and how the season ended.
Dan Bernstein
Did he say so long suckers?
Matt
No, he. He talked about the series against against okc and he was like, we didn't get out hustled. We didn't get outsmarted. We didn't get outplayed. He goes, we just got out talented.
Dan Bernstein
Yes.
Matt
It's just. It's not even close.
Dan Bernstein
Yes.
Matt
Not even close.
Dan Bernstein
Yes.
Matt
That's LeBron James saying, yep, not even close. We got out talented.
Dan Bernstein
The best player in the history of the game. Like, we can't compete with those guys. What do you want me to do, right? What am I supposed to do?
Matt
It's time to get back in the east or. Time to pack it up.
Dan Bernstein
LeBron. Did he really said that?
Matt
Yes. He used the term out talent.
Dan Bernstein
LeBron James. Yes. Said out, and we were out talented, outplayed.
Matt
We didn't get out hustled, outsmarted. We got out talented.
Dan Bernstein
That is a. That correct observation.
Shane Reardon
Yes.
Matt
It's great. So I'd say either get back to the east or just hang it up.
Dan Bernstein
All right. Lastly, lastly, the Mike in Bartlett, who describes himself as the Department of redundancy department, says Wednesday. Wednesday, Dan was talking about the fine that PCA got for his action Sunday. And he was saying.
Matt
Oh, hang on a second. Let me pause you there real quick so I don't forget to do this. I'm sor. We're idiots.
Dan Bernstein
Oh, yes.
Matt
The email that said PCK is because he strikes out a lot. We're stupid.
Dan Bernstein
Yes.
Matt
I. I'll own it. You. You jumped in on that.
Shane Reardon
On that.
Matt
That train. So
Dan Bernstein
I let it happen.
Matt
Yeah, we both. We both missed it. And. Yeah, you allowed it to happen. I'm going full force on that train. And you're like, let's go.
Dan Bernstein
I let it. Yeah. But the. The email's hysterical.
Matt
Yeah, it's very funny. And then. But we get the. It was. It was a text from our buddy, and he's like, hey, guys. Hey.
Dan Bernstein
He was very polite.
Matt
He was very polite. He's such a sweetheart of a man.
Dan Bernstein
Yes.
Matt
He goes. I think the K is because he strikes out a lot. I was like. I even said, yeah. Oh, boy. I'm dumb. I'm not a smart person. So. Yes. So. But we'll. We'll own it, but thank you.
Dan Bernstein
Yeah, I think where I.
Matt
We had it.
Dan Bernstein
We got a note here, A kind note from Ball Sack in Raleigh, who said, aloof. Gen Xer here. I put down the phone to email you boomers. PCK is insinuating that he KS a lot, you old bozos. Yes, So I said. I sent a note back that I just said. It took us half the day, but we figured that one out eventually. Thanks for the wellness check.
Matt
Yes. And I still. I replied, well, I'm not a smart man.
Dan Bernstein
I'm not a smart man.
Matt
What's your excuse, Dan? I don't have any excuse there. All right. Sorry to interrupt you there, but I want. I wanted to own that one, so.
Dan Bernstein
Oh, yeah, that was. That's really dumb. Mike and Bartlett, he said, so when PCA got fined $5,000, Dan said, $5,000 might not be a lot for PCA, but it's sure a lot of Money for me. Well, that's good to know.
Shane Reardon
And.
Dan Bernstein
And. And a few minutes earlier, Dan was regaling us with his tail of forking over $1 more for a bottle of windshield washer solvent. I'm not sure, but I think I detected a little bit of bragging that he'd coughed up the extra buck for that solvent's specialized bug removal capabilities. So, yeah, Dan, if spending an extra dollar is a lot for you, I'm not sure we needed you to clarify your position on a $5,000 fine. I think we were already on board.
Matt
See, I didn't take it as bragging. I just. I very proud of yourself.
Dan Bernstein
I just.
Matt
I very, very proud because you are known for finding the deals.
Dan Bernstein
I'm no saying, well, I'm sure this washer still the same for me to fall. But again, the irony is I am often a victim of advertising.
Matt
Yes.
Dan Bernstein
And I can be an easy mark for something that says, wait a second, this is a dollar more. It's orange instead of blue.
Shane Reardon
And.
Dan Bernstein
And we've. There's. And we've told you it's better at removing dried bugs from your windshield.
Matt
You're in.
Dan Bernstein
And I said, oh, really? Look what technology has done. I didn't say, why don't you read the ingredients and see if maybe it's just orange and they're lying, right?
Matt
Yeah, but I mean, for a guy who goes out of his way to find specialty cuts of cheap meat and discounted pastries for you to spend the extra dollar, I thought you were very proud of yourself. I was proud of you for doing it as well. And for sharing. I didn't know that there was a special windshield washer fluid that removes bugs.
Dan Bernstein
Yeah, and I lied. Let me finish this up here with something that came in from John, who says, I'm at my local Mariano's. They have a newly constructed Stan's donuts inside. They're $4 a donut. We can question if they're worth that. I did what Dan would do. I went to the back of the Mariano's to look for the leftover Stan's Donuts. But alas, no stands. I went about my shopping. When I got to the self checkout lane, I noticed a little inconspicuous stand with a sign saying Gourmet donuts box of 4.3.99. It was the leftover Stan's Donuts. Yep.
Matt
That's where they do it.
Dan Bernstein
Yeah. He said you were the catalyst of my Stan's Donuts hunt today, John. They've been there forever and I am Taking a donut break.
Matt
But Dan, my, my Mariano's has a display rack at the self checkout now of those gourmet donuts.
Dan Bernstein
Yeah.
Matt
No longer in the back. I mean they're.
Dan Bernstein
Oh no, no. They're up front too.
Matt
Yeah, yeah. As you're, as you're going through it like, oh, I need these.
Dan Bernstein
Yeah. It's all. Unfortunately at mine it's a lot of the gluten free donuts. It's a lot of maple long johns. For some reason the maple long johns seem to find themselves into those. So I've got to be very particular that if, if there happened to be four apple fritters or four of the salted caramel glazed, something like that. Yeah. But I'm off of donuts for a while.
Matt
Why?
Dan Bernstein
I was, I developed a problem.
Matt
Oh, I don't mind the maple. I wouldn't pick a maple like Long John or maple donut. But if there's bacon on it though, the maple bacon donuts, I'll do that. Yeah, I'll do that for no treat. Nope.
Dan Bernstein
That is right out. Not doing that. Anyway, thank you for your Friday feedback. Friday, yes. Feedback, yes. It's much appreciated.
Matt
Yes.
Dan Bernstein
And you should also know that when you're thinking about windows this weekend and you caught a break this spring, we haven't had hot, hot weather yet, so the AC hasn't been chundering down. So. But it's going to start and you're going to look at what it costs to heat and cool your home and think, God, is there anything I can do about this? Aha. Yes. Call Russ Armstrong. Russ is the owner of Chicago Window Guys. And what you can do is put new windows on your house that keep the temperature that you want in your house instead of letting it bleed right out of your house. You're not heating the outside area or cooling the outside area around your house. And that's a windows issue. So call him and he'll get you these low emissivity double paned windows in any style that you want, however. And he'll, he'll go through whatever you like, however you've got. If you want something really specific or if you want him to build you something over a door, a bay window, he can do all of that. Most importantly, he'll match any price. When you price it out and when you are getting quotes and you ask those other sales reps who's installing your windows, they don't know. They pick up third party labor. They've got other people around there, you know that they, they don't know. Just subcontracted. Russ doesn't. Russ has his crew. The same people have done. My windows are going to do yours and Russ himself will come out and talk to you and make sure that you are absolutely happy. Like I say, he's going to match any price. Call him. Don't wait. 847-302-9171 check out his five star reviews@chicagowindowguys.com and know that all of Russ's windows have a lifetime guarantee with parts and labor. And these are his words here. Okay? His words. He said if Junior breaks the glass playing catch out front, Russ will replace it absolutely free. You don't have to wait weeks on end. Yeah, if Junior. No, it's not Russ Jr. It's if Junior breaks the glass, not if Junior breaks. Russ won't replace Junior. It's Russ who will replace the glass his windows absolutely free. So again, 884-7302-9171 yes, insurance isn't one size fits all.
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Shane Reardon
Terms apply.
Matt
Yes.
Dan Bernstein
Is it that time?
Matt
It is that time. Are you ready for this?
Dan Bernstein
I don't know. I'm not sure. But I think we figured something out. Because I think what I figured out is when we have done one of my favorite sort of holiday weekend segments in the past that we referred to as Shane's meat. And it is the expertise of one Shane Reardon with grilling, barbecuing, smoking, cooking and when when we've involved callers. I think at one point I called it the single worst segment in the history of Radio that, that he did when he was driving through the. Somewhere in Michigan and unable to keep the signal. And we could take in calls and the calls were dropping and he was dropping. But if we do it on a podcast and if we don't have callers, I think we can do this just right. Hello, Shane Reardon.
Shane Reardon
Guys, Junior just broke my goddamn glass.
Dan Bernstein
Yeah, you don't get a replacement.
Shane Reardon
What am I supposed to do? Junior's back there. He's. He's naked. He's broke my glass. Right?
Matt
Yeah, but Junior's not your child.
Dan Bernstein
Junior.
Matt
Junior's a friend of yours.
Shane Reardon
No, it's Junior Caminero.
Dan Bernstein
Junior Lake. Yeah, that's exactly what I was thinking.
Shane Reardon
How are you guys?
Dan Bernstein
Yeah, how are you? That's what I want to do. So I'm telling people the news. Tell me the, the. The big news about your new gig that I think adds a tremendous amount of credibility to this segment.
Shane Reardon
Yeah, I mean, if anything, I had no credibility prior, and now I have just a tiny bit. I am now. I mean, you guys have heard me talk about Rosemary, the restaurant in the West Loop Joe Flam spot for the longest time. And I decided after a year of unemployment that I would just hit up a friend and ask for a job. So I did that. And I'm a manager at Boulevard Steakhouse now, which, Matty, as you know, the typical pipeline for leaving radio is restaurant management. So that's what I decided to do. And I have zero experience and it's going very well, and I have not lost the company or the restaurant any money yet, but I'm having a great time. The best thing I ever did was leave terrestrial radio.
Matt
Well, that's great to hear, man. I'm very excited for you. I know it's going to fit your personality, your skill set, your passions as well. Yeah, you may not have any experience in doing it, but the fact that you love food, you love eating out, you're. You're hospitable, you're friendly. You know, the fact that, that going out to eat is an experience to be enjoyed and treasured and savored. And so if you have that mentality as a manager and bring that to the staff into the restaurant, you're going to do great, dude. I'm really, really happy for. For you. What a.
Shane Reardon
Thank you.
Matt
Fun experience, man.
Shane Reardon
Yeah, it's been, it's been incredibly eye opening and like you said. Yeah, I think, of course, I would love to have hospitality experience before going into a job like this, but as long as you understand how you would want to be treated at a restaurant when you're spending hundreds and hundreds of dollars, then just make people happy, man. And it's, it's going, it's going really well. And I hope to see a lot of score listeners out of Boulevard in the West Loop very soon.
Dan Bernstein
When I mentioned this, when I saw this news and Jason was sitting on the couch and I said, oh, this is really cool. Shane is going to be a manager at Joe Flam's Boulevard Steakhouse. And Jason just went, oh, what took so long? And I said, what do you mean? He's like, that is perfect. He said, that is just ideal for his energy level, for his ability to. To operate in that kind of, you know, active workspace rather than sort of sitting behind quiet glass all the time, that he could be out there among people, getting immediate feedback from, you know, what he does and the interactions.
Matt
And I.
Dan Bernstein
All right, he's like, he, he said that. What his first words are, what took so long?
Shane Reardon
Yeah, well, I appreciate that. I'll. I'll give Jason his paycheck later. But it's been, it's just like going around to tables and sitting there and talking to people about their steak and, and recommending food and recommending drinks and stuff like that has just been. It's something I never thought that I would do, but I'm so grateful that I'm. I'm doing it now.
Dan Bernstein
That's really cool.
Matt
So it's Boulevard steakhouse. So blvd chicago.com blvd chicago.com Joe Flam is the executive chef there, owner of Boulevard Steakhouse, 817 W. Lake St. If you're not familiar with Joe Flam, check him out online. Just Google his name. And if you're getting into the city, if you're not there and you want a nice night out for dinner, you've got to check out one of his restaurants. Check out Boulevard Steakhouse, 817 W. Lake St. Question for you, because I have not been to Boulevard yet, but I know the menus really well. What I did not look at are the drink menus. Are there specialty mocktails on the menu or available dining there? Because it's very important. My wife and I, we go out now. We got to make sure we have. We got to have experienced, craft made mocktails.
Shane Reardon
Yeah, I mean, I don't drink anymore either. It's. So we have some incredible bartenders who you just tell them what flavor profile you want and they'll make a mocktail for you. We have some.
Matt
That's what I love.
Shane Reardon
Really, really good. Like batch syrups and batch stuff that we can just remove the gin or remove the vodka. Remove the whiskey. Any flavor profile you want, they'll make for you.
Matt
Yeah, look, we were. We were at a restaurant once, and there was no specific drinks, no mocktails on the menu. Asked the server, and the server said, yeah, what. What do you want it to taste like? What profiles do you want exactly? You want sweet? Do you want sour? Do you want spicy? What fruit flavors do you want? Or what aromatics would you prefer? She's like, jot, jot down a few things and we'll make it like, okay, perfect. Even better. So, yeah, that's good to hear.
Dan Bernstein
Now, there are some questions here that came in via social media and some via email. So. And there's just other things that are sort of on my mind here going into a long weekend. And I wanted to ask you something we talked about on the show. I don't know if you saw that Spam has come out with a Spam dog.
Shane Reardon
Of course.
Dan Bernstein
And I guess it's a natural. I had a question about whether or not you could make a technically like a frankfurter out of something other than an emulsion. And I was immediately disabused of any worries because somebody said spam is an emulsion. It is of pork and. Or ham and pork and fat. I didn't know that. So I guess would be ideal for a hot dog. What would you do with it if you opened your basket and found Spam dogs in there?
Shane Reardon
If I found Spam dogs in a basket. Does the Spam dog have a casing or no?
Dan Bernstein
I think it's got. It doesn't have like a pop pop it. I couldn't tell. My guess is it's going to be like a regular hot dog.
Shane Reardon
Okay. All right, so I'm taking the Spam dog and I'm cutting long way down the middle and I'm searing it off kind of like a panini. Right. Like, I grew up eating hot dogs on white bread instead of hot dog buns. Exactly. So I'm very familiar with cutting the hot dogs down the middle long ways, searing it off, getting as much surface area as possible, and then building a panini out of that with. I don't know, maybe I've been really into corn lately. Like, we're coming up big time on corn season, so maybe like a corn puree as the sauce or like a corn aioli with. With a Spam panini. That sounds really good right now.
Dan Bernstein
All right, there it is. One question here. Says, are we? I guess all of us are the we. Are we doing smoked fish this year?
Shane Reardon
So here's the thing with smoked fish. I love smoked fish, but you can only do smoked fish if you have a smoker dedicated to the fish. Like, I've smoked salmon on the same smoker that I've done a pork shoulder, a brisket, sausages, chicken, whatever. That smoker holds on to fish flavor more than probably any other protein. So absolutely smoke fish, whether it be whole, whether it be filet, but you have to have a dedicated smoker for it, in my opinion.
Dan Bernstein
I didn't know that. I mean, I've got a friend. I've got a friend with a big green egg who does. You know, he'll do an overnight, you know, beef brisket, and he'll do Scottish salmon or something. It's delicious. But I did not know that. That it was really important to.
Shane Reardon
I mean, it's important to me, Dan. Like, some people might not taste it, but, like, when I do, my Weber Smoky Mountain, that tends to hold on to fish flavor a ton. So I like to have a dedicated smoker for fish. What do you.
Matt
What do you use to smoke it with? Like, what's.
Dan Bernstein
What's your.
Matt
What's your choice? Do you have a. Do you have wood chips or do you have pellets? What do you. What do you use?
Shane Reardon
I. I think anything but mesquite. I think mesquite is a little bit too offensive for fish. So apple, I like for fish a ton. But you guys know how I feel about Traegers. I think they're
Dan Bernstein
so.
Shane Reardon
No chips. Don't soak your wood chips in water. And, of course, like, don't be afraid to get sick every once in a while and keep that fish temperature low.
Dan Bernstein
They had to have that. It wouldn't be a Shane segment if we weren't getting in some sort of nebulous legal issues here. This. Best recipe, Shane.
Shane Reardon
Yeah.
Dan Bernstein
For oxtail.
Shane Reardon
Ooh.
Dan Bernstein
This can be a sweet preparation, a spicy preparation. What is your preferred way if somebody just handed you a couple of pounds of oxtails?
Shane Reardon
Okay, so, Dan, I know you're Jewish, and, Matt, you are not Irish, but, like, Irish food sucks. Irish food is horrible. Everything is just.
Dan Bernstein
Not anymore.
Shane Reardon
I've been to Galway.
Dan Bernstein
I've been on a changing.
Shane Reardon
Dan.
Dan Bernstein
I've been on a food tour in Galway.
Shane Reardon
Oh, good.
Dan Bernstein
We had a spectacular, spectacular, spectacular day eating.
Shane Reardon
Okay. Dan's been on a food tour in Galway. The only. The only thing that my mom ever made that I liked in terms of Irish food was oxtail stew. Oxtail stew is just incredible. Braise an oxtail like you would a short rib, do a nice red wine reduction with it. Mashed potatoes, keep it simple. And if you want to step up from that, if you don't want to be white enough, do some oxtail jerk. Like jerk is. You can buy jerk by the jerk seasoning by the bottle now and just marinate it through the bottle. You don't have to build the jerk seasoning from scratch. Oxtail. Jerk or oxtail stew is my favorite thing. And you could smoke it, too. Oxtail is so incredibly cheap. You're probably at like 399, 499 a pound, and it tastes just like short ribbon.
Dan Bernstein
It's.
Shane Reardon
It's incredible. So stew or jerk for me, definitely.
Matt
Hey, when you're. When you're doing a brisket, what do you do? You use a binder, and if so, what do you use?
Shane Reardon
What's your mustard?
Matt
Yeah, yeah.
Shane Reardon
Like you see on Tick Tock and you see on Instagram reels, people putting mustard on. On whatever meat they're smoking as a binder, and the comments are lit up like, damn, I don't want my to taste like mustard. It doesn't actually taste like mustard. Use mustard, use hot sauce, use soy sauce, use Worcestershire, use fish sauce, use oyster sauce, whatever. It's going to just keep your rub to the meat.
Matt
Yeah.
Dan Bernstein
Okay. And it's gonna. It's gonna cook off too, right? I mean, doesn't that ultimately.
Shane Reardon
Yeah, no, you don't taste it.
Matt
You don't taste. I've always used mustard. Mustard's the only thing I've ever used. I've never used anything different.
Shane Reardon
And you don't.
Matt
You don't get a different profile because you use the mustard. It's that. It's that vinegar that you want in there to help break it down. But it's mainly just to keep the. Your rub. Your choice of rubber. Yeah, you buy rubber. Do you make your own rubs?
Shane Reardon
I don't think there's anything wrong with buying rub.
Matt
No, no, yeah, I agree. I agree. I mean, I do my own, though. I usually do my own if I want for my brisket. Other stuff I'll buy, I have. I have rubs that I've bought for certain things for poultry or for ribs or whatnot. But for my brisket, I do my own.
Shane Reardon
What do you do on your brisket? Because I'm only a salt and pepper guy. Like, I'm a Texas brisket straight.
Matt
This is why I do my own Because I'm. Salt, pepper, and then garlic.
Shane Reardon
Oh, you add the garlic. Okay.
Matt
Yeah, that's it. And I haven't able to find one that's just. That's just salt, pepper, and garlic. There's usually eight or nine things.
Progressive Insurance Announcer
I don't.
Matt
I don't want the other six or seven.
Shane Reardon
Yeah, I get that it's too much sugar. If you get a rub with too much brown sugar in it, you're just gonna. You're gonna torch that. That beautiful crust on what should be the. The brisket.
Dan Bernstein
Agreed. Question here. That might dovetail with what you're discussing. This came from Twitter. Best way to cook ribs, if I'm not smoking them, just bake them.
Shane Reardon
Just bake them either in your oven or on your grill. Wrap it, Bake them for two hours, and then finish them, overheat. I. I think people are so intimidated by ribs because, like, you see the 3, 2, 1 method of smoking ribs, it's put a rack of ribs in your oven, wrap it in tin foil, and then put barbecue sauce on it. Or don't. What I've realized is people make. Like in the emergence of social media. I don't know if you guys heard about the social media thing. It's getting pretty big. People look at cooking like it's this. This hard thing. Turn your goddamn oven on, put food in it, and then take it out when it's done. It's. I used to be such an elitist when it came to food, and then I stopped working in radio, where I had to perform for everyone all the time, and now I just don't care. I don't care.
Dan Bernstein
Isn't that liberating?
Shane Reardon
It feels so good, Dan. It feels so good. So good.
Dan Bernstein
I'm happy to hear that. I really am. And I would say if you want a quote unquote recipe, because I only cook ribs for myself, because I'm the only one who eats them.
Shane Reardon
Yeah.
Dan Bernstein
And even. Even the people in my house who have liked meat aren't rib fans. So what. What I do is I get the ribs. I do peel off that back fascia.
Shane Reardon
The membrane.
Matt
Yeah, yeah, that.
Dan Bernstein
On the. On the back of the ribs, you got to dig in with your nail. It comes off really easily.
Matt
If you're not familiar with that, too. Where you buy your ribs, they'll do it for you if you just ask.
Dan Bernstein
Yeah.
Matt
So. But make sure you do it, though.
Dan Bernstein
Yeah.
Shane Reardon
And if they don't do it for you, just take a paper towel and. And grab it in the middle behind your ribs and pull it off or, or put a butter knife underneath it. It comes right off.
Dan Bernstein
It's easy, it's fun. I like, I actually look forward to doing it because it's satisfying to me. And, and then, and I use, I use lowry, seasoned salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, and a tiny dusting of cayenne. And then I cover the pan with foil and I put it in at 225 for about an hour and a half.
Shane Reardon
Sure. Yeah.
Dan Bernstein
And just low and slow. And then, then after that, I pour off the liquid. And then either if it's, if it's raining outside, you can just put them in a 400 degree oven and, and mess around with the sauce and let them crackle and bubble, or take them out to your grill and sauce them and char em. But that, that, that two hours at 225, under the foil like that. Rubbed is. It gets you where you gotta go, right?
Shane Reardon
If, if you're worried about it getting too hot in your house, just turn your grill on, put the heat on on one side and put the, the ribs wrapped in the tin foil on the other side. Just cooking's not hard. Like, you guys have me on for this bullshit fucking segment and people have these dumb questions. Just put food in your oven or put it in a pan and eat it. All right. I forget everything I've ever said to you.
Dan Bernstein
Oh, my world is crumbling.
Shane Reardon
Everything I've ever said about how I feel about food is out the window. Okay, all right. Everything is, is out the window. Just.
Matt
Why, what's the. What's. What's the change? Why the change?
Shane Reardon
I mean, Matty, I, I was an asshole for so long, and I, I'm. I'm not less of an now, I'm just more aware of it, I would say. So I'm. I'm here to consider more opinions than I used to, if that makes sense.
Matt
Yeah, no, it makes perfect sense. From a reformed to another reformed. So congratulations on that.
Shane Reardon
What are you.
Matt
What are you cooking up this weekend? Anything.
Shane Reardon
I'm working, so I'm just gonna eat a 5 wagyu for free all weekend. Is that cool with you guys? Yeah.
Matt
Hey, I wanted to ask you about those wagyu hot dogs there with the mornay sauce and the, and the caviar
Shane Reardon
and do not started on the boulevard. Wagyu hot dogs?
Matt
Yeah, dude, they have a wagyu hot
Dan Bernstein
dog with my first caviar. My first thought is the moment I see wagyu hot dog. I'm like, who took this quality of meat and turned it into a hot dog. And then my thought is, okay, if it made it to this menu, it's probably already battle tested.
Shane Reardon
You mean who took this quality of meat and turned it into an orgasm? Is that what you meant to say?
Dan Bernstein
Yes, that's a recommendation. Recommendation.
Shane Reardon
It's in a split top bun like a. Like a lobster roll.
Matt
Okay.
Shane Reardon
And yes, the chives, the bearnais, and then just a bump of caviar on top. And that's on the happy hour menu. You can go out of the patio at Boulevard from 4 to 6:30 on the weekdays. And we have a weekend Happy hour from 2 to 5:30. And you can have a goddamn Wagyu hot dog for like 15 bucks. But whatever the hell the price is, it's. It's incredible.
Matt
Yeah, yeah. It sounded amazing. Yeah, absolutely amazing.
Dan Bernstein
So I wanted to ask you too about the proper resting of grilled stuff. Yeah, and I know we always talk about resting a steak. Do other things require rest? If I. Okay, so if I make. If I make chicken legs, they should have some time to re. Uptake the juices. So. So it's not just steak.
Shane Reardon
Yeah, it's any protein that has moisture in it. Needs time to redistribute that moisture throughout. Like heat shocks things. And it just like you when you're running around catching your stupid little fish and you have to get in your car and you're listening to Andy Chainley or whatever the hell his name is on XRT and playing some stupid Nathaniel Rateliff song or Mavis Staples pops up and here you are bound in your head, in your little Acura.
Dan Bernstein
You have to became an ad hominem attack very easily. Yeah. Yeah.
Shane Reardon
You and Stonecutter are sitting in the car and you have to go out and let yourself kind of re. Acclimate to the temperature of your. Of your vehicle. It's the same thing for. For protein.
Dan Bernstein
Okay. It's an interesting framing of that answer, but it's appreciated. You're. You're a big Blackstone griddler as well as grill.
Shane Reardon
Yeah, well, I gave my Blackstone to Tanny. Tanny's got it somewhere. I didn't have space anymore. I ran out of space.
Dan Bernstein
I didn't know this. You just gave it to Tanny.
Shane Reardon
I wasn't using it like I should. And I moved to an apartment that did not allow them. So I would rather someone get use of it. So I'm sure I'll take it back eventually. But Tanny's got it right now.
Dan Bernstein
He's caretaking it so we know the smash burger trend.
Matt
Yeah.
Dan Bernstein
Is to have the burger, the seasoned burger in a ball, smash it down. And then you sometimes see weekend warrior grillers will, on an actual grill, will press down on a burger. And to me, it always seems like you're. You're pushing out things that are good. What's the difference between smashing a burger for surface area and that kind of exposure to the Blackstone and doing so over an open flame.
Shane Reardon
Yeah. So the Blackstone has a surface that will touch every portion of the burger. The fat might escape it temporarily, but it redistributes itself within the meat on that surface. So just like a good big booty woman, I want all my fat remaining in the meat. So I like to keep a Blackstone burger smashed and a regular grill burger pub style. Don't touch it. Don't touch it. You don't want to remove the fat. You want to keep the fat within your protein.
Matt
As an experienced grill grill person.
Shane Reardon
Yeah.
Matt
That you are, Shane, I know you don't need a thermometer for, for temperature checks. I mean, you can tell just by having experience of time of cooking, even look or touch people that are. That maybe are not as experienced. I would, I would highly recommend having a thermometer. I have a really, really nice one that my sons get to use when we're grilling and they get to check stuff. You use that. But it's very important tell people the importance of not cooking things on the grill or whatever you're doing up to the temperature you want.
Shane Reardon
Oh, yeah.
Matt
Pouring things off beforehand.
Shane Reardon
Oh, my God. I use my, my thermapen, my. My temperature probe on everything I cook, like every. I don't think that people should feel like, hey, I'm not as good of a cook if I can't tell the doneness, I use it. We have three or four in the kitchen at Boulevard that are just sitting there right there. When, when chef takes a steak off, he tests the. The temperature. It's beautiful. You want it exactly where you want it. But just like you said, like, let's say, forget steaks, let's talk about pork chops. Because I think pork chops are the most criminally under overcooked proteins out there. And probably. Of course, yeah, but I mean, people don't know how to cook chicken. The whites are never going to learn, and that's fine. But like pork chops, same thing with the Irish stuff. I grew up with my mom cooking that shit to 165 internal. And then it comes up to 180 190. And it's dry as chalk. Cook everything 5, 10, 15 degrees under the temperature that you want it to finish at. And don't be afraid to get sick every once in a while. It might be underdone. You might get the salmonella, but then you're gonna lose 10, 15 pounds, you're gonna look snatched, and your wife's gonna want to touch you again. So just. Just keep it under a little bit and then get it up.
Matt
He wasn't talking directly to you, Dan. It wasn't a direct message.
Shane Reardon
No, not you, Dan. I'm sure. Sure, I'm sure. You and Beth have a wonderful life.
Dan Bernstein
I was gonna say, are other people's wives gonna want to touch me?
Shane Reardon
Maybe. Okay, if you're wearing Maddie, if Dan's wearing his pee pants that day, maybe not.
Dan Bernstein
Still has them.
Matt
Yeah.
Dan Bernstein
Damn it. Those are now my assless pants. The ass fell off.
Shane Reardon
Oh, that's right.
Matt
The ass fell out of those.
Dan Bernstein
Yeah, those old school ones had entirely ripped out. The lining is still there, but the actual nylon part is actually gone.
Matt
Hey, I know that you. You do more than just meats. Obviously, you're very experienced in the. In the kitchen. Any. Any side dishes that are a favorite for, like, a holiday weekend, like Memorial Day, people are cooking out.
Shane Reardon
I'm. I'm very glad you asked this. It is the summer of the stuffed mushroom cap. All right, so hear me out. There are two ways that I like to do mushrooms. I went to this Japanese steakhouse with Danny and speaks in Pilsen. I can't remember the name of it. It's in, like, an industrial park almost. It's very hidden. And what they do is they cook their mushrooms upside down to where the moisture then releases within the mushroom itself. And then you eat it whole so it kind of tastes like you have, like, this mushroom soup, like this pop of umami. So that's very simple and easy, where you just take out the stem, hook it upside down, let that. That juice redistribute within the mushroom. But then also this summer, we are stuffing mushrooms with chorizo, and we're topping it with either blue cheese or gorgonzola, and then we're grilling it like that. So easy, so simple. You want to wrap it with bacon? Go ahead and wrap it with bacon if you want to go crazy like that. But I think this is the summer of being simple with mushrooms. So that's my go to side dish right now. Just stuffed mushrooms, grilled.
Matt
Love it. That sounds delicious, too.
Dan Bernstein
Sounds great.
Matt
Awesome. And then in that dinner.
Shane Reardon
Boulevard has those, too. Boulevard has an insane stuffed mushroom dish.
Matt
That dinner that you went to, then you didn't get a word in the entire night. So did you enjoy yourself just eating?
Shane Reardon
No, it, like, Speaks was doing this. He was doing, like, this. The singing thing that he does. I miss those guys, man. I. I think that's the one thing that I miss. Just, like, hanging out with them on a daily basis. I miss them so much. Mostly tanning. But seriously, I find myself wanting to text Speaks and Danny all the time and just, like, talk about, like, plan a show or whatever. And then I realized I don't want to kill myself anymore.
Dan Bernstein
I just don't want to do that. I give Speaks a lot of credit. I saw him in the lobby the other day, and he was looking at his phone, and he looked really intense, and he's kind of.
Shane Reardon
Was his bike helmet on?
Dan Bernstein
No, he was kind of pacing around. So I went up behind him and I took the edge of my phone and I just started, like, touching right around the bottom of his ass
Matt
and
Dan Bernstein
just, like, kind of caressing with my phone a little bit. And to his credit, instead of, like, jumping up and going, who is that doing that? He played it completely cool and very slowly turned around like this, and he. And he realizes it's me. And then he said, I really was hoping that was going to be a woman.
Shane Reardon
He probably thought it was.
Dan Bernstein
Mitch, sorry to disappoint you, man.
Shane Reardon
I miss those guys, man. That's pretty much the only thing I miss. They were so good to me. I miss hanging out with those guys so much.
Dan Bernstein
Yeah, but now you get to hang out with your. Your loyal customers and you get to work the room every single day.
Shane Reardon
It's fun, dude. It's. It's so fun. I'm just walking around a steakhouse seeing if people like their food. Like, why didn't someone tell me this was a career before?
Matt
Well, I'm sure you're doing more than that, but. Yes, I. Yeah.
Dan Bernstein
Yeah, for sure. Yeah.
Matt
Good stuff.
Dan Bernstein
Well, happy to hear you're doing well. Happy to see you. You look great. And thanks, guys. And thank. Thanks for doing this. Thanks for hanging out.
Shane Reardon
Thank you for having me.
Matt
Before we say goodbye, hang on real quick. You mentioned you're not drinking. Why? Why. What happened with the drinking? Why are you not drinking?
Shane Reardon
Dude, alcohol sucks. It. It's. It's horrible for you. I. I have, like, a. A beer every once in a while. Sure, but, like, alcohol is so bad for you. It makes you feel horrible. And I. I didn't want to feel horrible anymore. I'm sure I'll go back to it, but I'm taking a good break right now.
Matt
Good. All right. Good answer.
Shane Reardon
Yeah.
Matt
It's good to see you, pal.
Shane Reardon
How are you guys? Before I go, how are you guys? Tell me what's going on with the. The DBU world and. And from the 50.
Matt
Yeah, I know. Everything. Everything's great, man. Life is great. Very, very busy with the kids and travel, baseball and spending as much time as I can with my wife when we're both not busy working. I mean. I mean, I hate my co worker, but everything is really, really good in life, though, man. I mean, it's just. It's really fantastic. So.
Shane Reardon
And you got Dan Zampilla now that the Me and Z show has taken over 312 sports.
Matt
Yes. He's our. He's our boss now. We get to get yelled at by Dan. So that's good.
Shane Reardon
It's good to talk to you guys.
Matt
Things are going great here, dude. And it's going. It's been. Where are we at? 9 months now, Dan? 10 months. I don't even know where we're at, but it's just.
Shane Reardon
Damn, you brought us the term already, huh?
Dan Bernstein
November, December, January, February, March, April, May 8th.
Matt
Eight months. Is that only eight months?
Dan Bernstein
Eight months.
Matt
But yeah, it's been. It's been great. We're having a lot of fun, and it's just. It's.
Dan Bernstein
We didn't.
Matt
We haven't missed a beat together, and it's just been fun working together every day and building.
Shane Reardon
Sound awesome.
Dan Bernstein
Thank you. Building this community, like, whatever. The whole three one, two, sports thing. Yeah, you know what, Whatever. Whatever. This. This is. Is still kind of becoming. And when we're still. The cool thing is still growing that we get. We have the autonomy and, you know, the wherewithal here. Thanks to all the wonderful people at Hubbard to be allowed to figure it out and make it something unique.
Shane Reardon
But you're still reading emails, right? What the hell?
Dan Bernstein
Is that from the same people?
Shane Reardon
Stop. Stop doing that.
Dan Bernstein
Yes. All right, bye. Thank you.
Shane Reardon
Thank you. Thanks for having me.
Dan Bernstein
Bye. Thank you.
Matt
That is.
Dan Bernstein
That is Shane Reardon. I wrote down the quote, and this. This is. This is going to be the pull quote on social media for this segment.
Matt
What is it?
Dan Bernstein
Quote, I was an asshole for so long. I'm not less of an asshole now. I'm just more aware of it. More aware of it.
Matt
Yeah. That's great. That is.
Dan Bernstein
That is. That's kind of a mentally healthy approach right there. In some Ways which I admire. Now, you know, every sports fan has an angle. When we talk about the team you trust or the favorite, you want to fade the player you think is due. The live moment you can feel coming before everybody else sees it. And that's where my bookie comes in. Because my bookie gives you a place to turn your opinions into action, whether you're watching the playoffs now or you're getting ready for the World cup this summer. Our promo code, dbu. When you sign up, use that and you can claim an exclusive offer just because you're listening. Dbu. Pick your team back and before the game, feel the momentum. Make the moments you care about feel bigger. And that's the real reason to check out my bookie. Because you're already watching. Gotta take. And I got a place to play it. Bet anything, anytime, anywhere with my bookie.
Matt
Hey, let me ask you a question.
Dan Bernstein
Please gamble responsibly. Go ahead.
Matt
Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to cut you off there. Did you. Did you do one of those earlier in the show in the podcast that I just missed or not?
Dan Bernstein
I did not. And I've got it. No, no, I'm all good
Matt
to do. Yeah, we have plenty of things.
Dan Bernstein
I just want to make sure. Yes, I'm all good. Great to hear and see Shane. And I am. I am definitely going to stop down there, I believe.
Matt
Yeah, I already. I already told him. I said the wife and I will come on down and. For a date night in the big city.
Dan Bernstein
Yeah, I think probably wait for the. The boy to get back from his little sojourn in Scandinavia and maybe we'll pop on over there. Could be. Oh, you know what? Maybe my birthday dinner will be there.
Matt
Oh, I'm busy, though. Sorry.
Dan Bernstein
I didn't say you were invited.
Shane Reardon
Oh.
Dan Bernstein
So but maybe. Maybe I'll do that there. Why not? And I can try a Wagyu hot dog. We do have to do our picks, and I. My picks have actually been pretty good lately. I've been finding some of these little props for you, and it always excites me when I can figure out an individual performance that's going to come through for us. So it is time for DBU picks that are presented by my bookie. Maddie is the. The guru of all things NBA. Despite being not as big an NBA fan as I am, it's just better at betting it. So what you got?
Matt
So I'm 67, 39 and 1 right now, Dan. And then I had a. I put together a little parlay from last night, and Then tonight. And I've hit the first part of that with New York minus six. Last night, they covered that. I'm taking the spurs and laying the two points. Yes. Uncertain about Dylan Harper, if he's playing or not tonight.
Dan Bernstein
Yeah. And dear. And Fox is hurt, too.
Matt
He's out hurt as well. I. So I don't know their playing status, but I'm still gonna go with the spurs at home minus two. So that's. That's. That's a little parlay I had there. I got the first half going, but I also did a couple other player bets, too, for tonight. So I'm taking Stefan Castle at 17 points.
Dan Bernstein
Okay.
Matt
Alex Caruso at nine points.
Dan Bernstein
That's easy.
Matt
And Wemby at 24 points. And I put all those together as well, too.
Dan Bernstein
Okay. I can't imagine there's a. There's a big odds number that you're gonna get off of those thresholds.
Matt
There wasn't. It was more for fun and that I'd already started my parlay. And there's. There's only, you know, two. Two games to bet now as we're going through the week. So that's why I added those players. They're not. They're not huge, but it'll be a little extra wrinkle in watching tonight's game. So that's Castle at 17 points, Crusoe at 9, and Wemby at 24.
Dan Bernstein
All right, well, I am going to go. I'm going back to the. Well, I'm going to. Again, this is the third game in a row I'm going to take Devin Vassell three or more three pointers, and that is. That's especially if they're down a couple of guards, because that's what he does. He's out there to play defense and shoot threes. So I think he's. As far as attempts, he's had seven. He's had nine. He's going to have enough attempts to hit, and he hasn't shot it all that well. So he's due to have a crazy game on the other side of it, man. And I'm not counting the one he banked in accidentally, but Jared McCain can really stroke it, and I like him for two or more threes tonight. Okay, so it is Jared McCain two plus threes, Devin Vassell, three plus threes. Do what you want with those. You can link them together or not, whatever you'd like to do. And those are the DBU picks brought to you by my bookie. Bet on anything, anywhere, anytime, Maybe you're already thinking about the World Cup. Maybe you have an opinion about that. Well, my bookie has a place for you to put that thought. It's a country you're rooting for or players who you like because of their professional clubs, and then you're following them to bet on their countries. Whatever you want, however you want to make the tournament fun, you can. And as a new player, the promo code, dbu, when you sign up, lets you claim an exclusive My Bookie offer. It's the World Cup. It turns every match into a conversation. And then my bookie lets you turn your opinion into action. Back that side before kickoff. Follow the match live. Stay locked in. Opening whistle. Final kick. The World cup only comes around once every four years, so don't just watch it from the sidelines. Get in on the action in My Bookie must be 21 plus. Please gamble responsibly. And please have a responsible and healthy Happy Memorial Day as well. When you think about people who have given their lives to service to the country. And that will do it for Dan Bernstein. Unfiltered on this Friday. We will talk to you again on Tuesday. We have been brought to you by Russ Armstrong and the Chicago Window Guys, whom you can reach at 847-302-9171 and in partnership with my bookie, Dan Bernstein. Unfiltered unfiltered on 312Sports. Everybody talked about it since I first moved to Oregon. The big one. The earthquake that trashed the whole West Coast. Total destruction. Officially calling it the largest natural disaster in American history. I just didn't know what would help me next. So I took it all. Even the gun. It was time. Cielo. American Afterlife, presented by Pair of Thieves. The number one fiction and drama podcast in America. Listen wherever you get your favorite podcasts available now.
Episode: "Shane's Meat" with Shane Riordan & Friday Feedback Friday
Date: May 22, 2026
Host: Dan Bernstein with Matt Abbatacola
Special Guest: Shane Riordan
This episode combines Dan and Matt's signature "Friday Feedback Friday" segment—where they respond to listener emails—with a long-awaited return of Shane Riordan for a special grilling and cooking Q&A ("Shane’s Meat"). The conversation runs from serious mental health recognition to sharp, hilarious takes on sports, pop culture, and food. The tone is candid, irreverent, and characteristically Chicago.
[02:04 – 05:16]
"I can’t say that a lot of this is conscious at this point... It’s just a byproduct of the work." — Dan Bernstein (05:16)
[05:16 – 09:15]
[07:41 – 09:04]
[09:15 – 10:56]
[12:24 – 25:35]
[22:09 – 23:18]
[23:18 – 24:49]
[23:18 – 25:35]
[26:28 – 28:18]
“Wade Mode sounds... more like something Wade Boggs unlocked after beer number 42.” (26:28)
[33:29 – 36:57]
[40:15 – 68:34]
“Best thing I ever did was leave terrestrial radio.” (42:27) “It’s fun, dude. I’m just walking around a steakhouse seeing if people like their food. Why didn’t someone tell me this was a career before?” (66:18)
“Cut long way down the middle... sear it off like a panini... I’ve been really into corn lately—maybe a corn aioli with Spam panini.” (46:50)
Smoked Fish: Only do it if you have a dedicated fish smoker—flavors linger. Apple wood recommended; avoid mesquite (48:26).
Oxtail:
“Braise it like a short rib, do a nice red wine reduction... mashed potatoes, keep it simple... oxtail jerk is great... it’s incredibly cheap.” (49:54)
Brisket Binders: Mustard, hot sauce, Worcestershire—or any such element holds the rub; you won’t taste the mustard. (51:15)
Ribs (no smoker):
“Wrap, bake them for two hours, finish them over heat. Turn your goddamn oven on, put food in it, and take it out when it’s done.” (52:56)
Resting Meats: All proteins benefit from a rest to redistribute moisture, not just steak (58:03).
Thermometers: Even pro chefs use them—no shame. Always undercook by 5–10 degrees due to carryover cooking, especially for pork and chicken (61:03).
Side Dishes:
“It is the summer of the stuffed mushroom cap... Stuff with chorizo, top with blue cheese or gorgonzola, grill them.” (63:08)
Shane’s new, liberated attitude:
“I used to be such an elitist... now I just don’t care. Just put food in your oven or put it in a pan and eat it.” (55:51) “I was an asshole for so long. I’m not less of an asshole now. I’m just more aware of it.” (68:44)
Shane discusses how leaving radio and making lifestyle changes improved his life.
“Alcohol sucks. It’s horrible for you... I didn’t want to feel horrible anymore.” (66:45)
Matt and Dan praise Shane’s transparency, warmth, and the joy he brings both on air and in the new role.
Dan Bernstein on mental health:
“Some of it is when we talk about it and making sure that we are generally sensitive to and supportive of such things.” (05:16)
Matt, on nostalgic radio segments:
“I’d say 20% is a little bit high.” (22:09)
Shane, on cooking advice:
“Turn your goddamn oven on, put food in it, and then take it out when it’s done.” (52:56)
Matt, poking fun at himself:
“I’m not a smart person. So. Yes. So. But we’ll own it, but thank you.” (32:37)
On Shane’s approach to management:
“Just make people happy, man.” (42:59)
Pull Quote:
“I was an asshole for so long. I’m not less of an asshole now. I’m just more aware of it.” — Shane Reardon (68:44)
| Timestamp | Segment / Topic | |-----------|-------------------------------------------------------| | 02:04 | Mental health email and discussion | | 05:16 | ‘Iraqpo’ phenomenon in sports and pop culture | | 07:41 | Women’s MMA, Gina Carano & social commentary | | 09:15 | Polyamory/media privacy debate | | 13:37 | Mel Brooks/Herb Brooks movie mix-up | | 15:44 | The "Scubert" (Scooby-Doo) name trivia | | 22:09 | Nostalgia for old radio segment ("Who You Crappin") | | 25:03 | Late night TV: Letterman vs. Leno | | 26:28 | Email: Cybertruck “Wade Mode,” masculinity, & trucks | | 33:29 | Donut and bargain-hunting tales | | 40:15 | Shane’s Meat: Shane Reardon returns | | 42:27 | Shane updates on BLVD Steakhouse role | | 45:16 | Craft/mocktail options at BLVD | | 46:50 | Spam dog ideas & grilling techniques | | 48:26 | Smoked fish: use a dedicated smoker | | 49:54 | Best recipes for oxtail | | 52:56 | Ribs without a smoker: “Just bake them.” | | 58:03 | Resting grilled meats explained | | 61:03 | Cooking to under temperature, thermometers | | 63:08 | Side dish of summer: stuffed mushroom caps | | 66:45 | Shane on quitting drinking | | 68:44 | “I’m not less of an asshole, just more aware of it.” |
“Shane’s Meat” proved both informative and hilarious, delivering practical cooking advice, reflective mature humor, and the warm reunion of a familiar trio. The episode’s balance—moving easily from sports inside jokes to mental health and kitchen know-how—shows why Dan Bernstein Unfiltered is considered essential Chicago sports and culture listening.
Summary by DBU Podcast Summarizer