Not Today, Pal – “Sal Vulcano Will Fight You About Bread”

Episode Date: November 13, 2025

Hosts: Robert Iler (Rob), filling in for Jamie-Lynn Sigler

Guest: Sal Vulcano (Impractical Jokers, Taste Buds)

Podcast: Not Today, Pal (YMH Studios)

Episode Overview

This episode is a lively, comedic, and honest conversation between Robert Iler and Sal Vulcano, famed for his roles on Impractical Jokers and the hit food debate podcast Taste Buds. With Jamie-Lynn Sigler absent for the first time, Rob steers the discussion through friendship, the art (and therapy) of friendly arguing, growing up on the East Coast, obsessive food opinions, embarrassing social moments, and the outlandish stories that bond friends for life. The episode balances nostalgia, humor, and reflections on relationships, debates, and personal growth.

Main Themes & Purpose

• Celebrating the joy and catharsis of friendly arguments—especially about trivial topics like food
• Nostalgia for chaotic East Coast upbringings, contrasted with adult attempts at calm and mindfulness
• Examining the evolution of friend and family dynamics through yelling, forgiveness, and affection
• Sal’s journey in comedy, podcasting, and continual reinvention
• Navigating social etiquette and embarrassment with humor
• Embracing differences in opinion as the glue of real, lasting connection

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Yin-Yang of Taste Buds Friendship (00:00–10:59)

• Rob’s praise for Sal’s “Taste Buds” and its classic NY friend energy:
  • “If you want to feel like you’re back home, throw on Taste Buds… your friends arguing, this is what you do.” (00:33, Rob)
• Sal on putting multiple busy projects (Taste Buds, Hey Babe) on hiatus for quality:
  • “We were in like three years, starting to get hard to fit into the schedule... I don’t want to half-ass anything.” (00:59, Sal)
• Sal teases new podcast, “Minouche Solo”, a “really weird talk show, half conversation, half sketch” (01:36).

2. Arguing (and Eating) Like New Yorkers (04:17–07:58)

• Origin of Taste Buds during COVID lockdown: Poolside food fights led to “Is this a podcast?” moment with Joe DeRosa.

  • “Is this a podcast?…You want to just argue about food?” (03:38, Sal)

• The unique role of friendly shouting among NYers:

  • “Everything was a fight. The dog barking, the bell… but then when I get back in it, I’m like, this is good.” (05:36, Rob)
  • “Arguing loud is just normal… it’s not me getting mad.” (06:37, Sal)

• The magic: Everyone has passionate, nonsensical opinions, especially about food and dumb topics.

3. Turning Arguments Into Art (13:35–17:30)

• Sal shares the behind-the-scenes rituals for “getting salty:” The pre-show chant of “It’s time to get salty”—and the post-fight “No matter what happens, I love you” mantra

  • “We’d hold each other’s arms… ‘No matter what happens, I love you’... all because Joe was second guessing if you were actually getting too heated.” (15:29, Sal)

• Merch was made: “No matter what happens, I love you.”

4. Family Holiday Fights—And Fast Forgiveness (17:33–19:18)

• Both reminisce about never making it through a holiday without a “full-on blowout,” but always repairing it through casual, unspoken means (“I left a hat over there”).

  • “There never did a healthy makeup ever really…” (19:01, Rob)

• On chaos in big families, and the new generational wave of “little kids running around.”

  • “I invite that chaos—I love seeing it with the kids now.” (22:17, Sal)

5. Arguments About… Absolutely Anything (26:03–34:24)

• Sal recounts the most heated but silliest Taste Buds debate: “heroes vs. rolls” (bread discourse), so real some listeners felt like “their parents were fighting” (27:38).

  • “At the end of the day, you’re listening to us argue about heroes vs. rolls!” (27:58, Sal)

• The age-old “couple” vs. “few” argument in marital life:

  • “‘A couple’ always means two.” (29:28, Sal)
  • “But what about… ‘a couple minutes late’?” (29:45, Rob)

• The “next Wednesday” debate: Is it this Wednesday or the one after? (31:39)

6. Emotional Intelligence and Personal Growth (34:17–36:46)

• Both discuss therapy, communication, and learning to pause before reacting, especially in marriages and adult friendships.
  • “The fight is never about what it’s about… it’s an emotional reaction manifesting itself.” (34:24, Sal)
  • “You learn how each other communicates—discourse is good, even in relationships.” (36:21, Sal)

7. Food Fights: Bread, Butter, Garlic Knots, and Core Memories (37:00–44:39)

• Rapid-fire Taste Buds rounds:

  • Garlic bread vs. garlic knots—Sal’s passionate about the “airplane wing” loaf (37:16–38:16).
  • Nostalgic tales about Italian bread, red sauce, and the cult-like joy of bread-and-butter (“One of the great joys in life”—Sal, 40:03).

• Notable Quote:

  • “Put me at a Michelin restaurant… give me hot, fresh bread and butter, and it’s gonna compete with the best. It’s one of the great joys in life.” (40:03, Sal)

• Hysterical “yesterday’s bread, horse” story: Sal’s friend calls out stale bread in a French restaurant—pure, authentic East Coast comedy (41:14).

8. Personal & Social Embarrassment: Etiquette, Coupons, and Mishaps (66:51–79:33)

• The ultimate debate: Do you use a gift certificate on a first date? (67:04–71:18)

  • “I would judge the person on how they reacted… if they thought it was tacky, I’d be like, you’re not real.” (68:28, Sal)

• Red Lobster coup: The “Impractical Jokers” crew pranks their intimidating former network boss into an absurdly lavish Red Lobster bill, capping it with a $5 coupon (73:44–77:30)

  • “He opened it up and was like, ‘Ah, f*** your coupon!’” (75:38, Sal)

9. Embarrassment Olympics: Bad Breath, BO, Social Faux Pas (82:02–91:44)

• Brainstorming a new podcast: Announcing to people (anonymously or not) that they need to address their bad breath or BO (82:51).
• The etiquette of telling someone about food in their teeth—tell them IMMEDIATELY, never after a delay (86:44–86:57).
• “If you spit on someone, acknowledge immediately—‘I just shot food out, I’m so sorry.'” (88:53, Sal)
• Most mortifying: Spit landing on your face or in your eye (“I feel like 28 Days Later, I’ll turn into a zombie!”—91:10, Sal)

10. Closing Thoughts: The Value of Arguing and Forgiveness (94:10–94:32)

• On why “Taste Buds” and similar friendships are needed now:
  • “People need to be able to say ‘F*** you, I hate you,’ and then go to dinner and laugh about it.” (94:24, Rob)
  • “It’s just a little tolerance… Friends are idiots and that’s why I love them.” (94:35, Sal)

Notable Quotes (with Timestamps)

• “If you want to feel like you’re back home, throw on Taste Buds… your friends arguing, this is what you do.” – Rob (00:33)
• “We’d hold each other’s arms…‘No matter what happens, I love you’... all because Joe was second guessing if you were actually getting too heated.” – Sal (15:29)
• “There never did a healthy makeup ever really… It was always like, hey, I left a hat over there.” – Rob (19:01)
• “Put me at a Michelin restaurant… give me hot, fresh bread and butter, and it’s gonna compete with the best. It’s one of the great joys in life.” – Sal (40:03)
• “You just spit in my face, but you don’t say anything, now I’m talking to you with a bead of your spit, my whole body is feeling like it’s dying…” – Sal (88:09)
• “People need to be able to say ‘F*** you, I hate you,’ and then go to dinner and laugh about it.” – Rob (94:24)

Memorable Moments

• “Yesterday’s bread, horse” story in a French restaurant (41:14): A perfect old-school New York moment.
• The Red Lobster prank—turning an intimidating boss’s promise of a Per Se dinner into a $700 Times Square seafood feast, ending with a coupon for added spite (73:44).
• Sal arriving at a costume party one day early—dressed as a Picasso, walking into a family eating dinner (61:35–64:57).
• The spontaneous business idea: a podcast for breaking the news about chronic bad breath or BO, complete with “rehabilitation reunions” (82:51).

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:33 — Rob’s perfect pitch for Taste Buds’ NY energy
• 03:38 — Taste Buds’ COVID incept, “Is this a podcast?”
• 15:29 — “No matter what happens, I love you” chant
• 27:38 — The most heated Taste Buds fight (heroes vs. rolls)
• 29:28 — A couple = two vs. a couple = a few
• 34:24 — “The fight is never about what it’s about...”
• 40:03 — Bread & butter is a “Michelin-star” bite of joy
• 61:35 — Showing up to the wrong day for a costume party
• 73:44 — The Red Lobster “coupon” incident
• 82:51 — Brainstorming a bad breath/BO notification podcast
• 88:09 — The agony of being spit on
• 94:24 — “People need to be able to say ‘F*** you, I hate you’…”

Tone & Style

• Affectionate, candid, filled with fast-paced, animated exchanges
• Both hosts show self-aware, “New York therapy” energy—big on yelling, fast on forgiveness
• Playful, vulnerable, quick to swap jokes and stories, and to turn even cringeworthy memories into cathartic comedy

Summary

A heartfelt, hilarious episode that celebrates messy but loving debates, family chaos, the quest for culinary and social satisfaction, and the power of letting trivial things go. Sal and Rob remind us that the best friendships aren’t defined by sameness but by their ability to navigate (and laugh about) their differences, and that, now more than ever, the world could use more “Taste Buds” style arguing—and forgiving.

For longtime fans or newcomers alike, this episode is a masterclass in New York banter, food obsessions, and the kind of friendship that can survive, and even thrive on, a screaming match over garlic bread.