The Bonfire w/ Big Jay Oakerson & Robert Kelly
Episode: Garbage Plates & Heartbreaks
Date: October 21, 2025
Host: SiriusXM – Faction Talk Channel
Episode Overview
This episode of The Bonfire delivers a wild, unfiltered ride through food oddities, comedy club war stories, and a raw, hilarious dive into relationship drama. Big Jay Oakerson and Robert Kelly swap stories about Rochester’s infamous “garbage plate,” bizarre food cultures, and open up about marital misdeeds, forgiveness, and the realities of long-term relationships. The show’s signature blend of quick banter, dark humor, and surprising sincerity shines, weaving food talk and personal confessions into comedy gold.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Kicking Off: AI Music & Intro Debates
[01:22–03:59]
- The show begins with Jay and Bobby riffing on the use of AI-generated music in the intro, poking fun at AI covers of classic rap songs.
- Jay: “Can we play real music for an intro? Since Bobby’s ready for the robots to take over…” [01:32]
- Bobby prefers the Motown version of a rap song to its original.
- Quick banter erupts over music tastes: Bobby accuses Jay of liking ‘angry white guy’ music, while Jay returns fire about Motown.
2. Anniversaries Without Pressure
[03:59–04:45]
- The hosts marvel at their relationships where they don’t have to be sexually pressured, joking about stress-free anniversaries.
- Robert: “It was our anniversary this weekend and nothing happened. So fantastic.” [03:05]
3. Elote & Culinary Curiosities
[04:12–04:57]
- Bobby and Jay swap opinions about “elote” (Mexican street corn), with Christine chiming in to explain.
- They reflect on food discoveries and Duolingo efforts.
- Bobby: “I’ve been doing Duolingo for 257 days.” [03:25]
- Jay: “I have a daughter who speaks fluent Spanish who’s half Hispanic.” [03:29]
4. Bobby’s Comedy Road Stories in Rochester
[04:58–12:23]
- Bobby recounts working at a Rochester farm, run by a “big lesbian woman in overalls,” and a staffer’s bizarre behavior with a cat—delivered with dark comic flair.
- Praise for Rochester’s comedy club owner, Mark, whose catchphrase “yabba dabba doo” is divisive.
- The guys roast Rochester’s “garbage plate”—a local dish blending fries, onion rings, burgers, chili, and more in a “pile of crap food”:
- Jay: “Your self-esteem is so low, your big food is called a garbage plate.” [10:40]
- Robert: “It’s disgusting. It’s definitely garbage.” [11:51]
- Bobby struggles to buy socks at Walmart—the store locks them up and no one has the key, inspiring a classic urban decay rant.
5. Regional Food Roasting: Loco Moco, Spam Musubi & Ethiopian
[12:23–17:33]
- The hosts riff on food cultures:
- Jay gripes about Hawaiian food (loco moco, spam musubi), calling Hawaiians “savages” with signature irreverence.
- Bobby praises loco moco: “My favorite fast food of all. Hamburger with gravy over rice, egg, macaroni salad. Now that’s not bad.” [13:13]
- Jay and the crew gag at the thought of eating Ethiopian “fist food,” and swap jokes about eating with one’s hands versus utensils.
- Notable Kermes joke about Ethiopian restaurants: “I thought that was their whole problem, that they don’t have food.” [17:03]
6. Eating with Hands: Culture or Laziness?
[18:13–20:37]
- They debate why some cultures eat with their hands: Ayurveda/tradition, laziness, or dish-washing avoidance? Jay summarily rejects the idea of greater “connection” to food via hands:
- Jay (mocking): “I already have a weird relationship with my food. I don’t want to fuck it too. I just want to eat it.” [20:31]
- Bobby: “I wish. I would love to fuck it, you know?” [20:37]
7. Food, Travel, and Dookie – Getting Sick Abroad
[21:04–22:04]
- Jacob mentions a former child star dying from hepatitis A after eating in India, while Bobby shares getting violently ill from food in Guatemala.
8. Indian Cinema & Bollywood Superheroes
[22:12–24:48]
- Bobby raves about Indian action movies (specifically “RRR”), with the gang making fun of Bollywood’s penchant for wild action and exuberant dance sequences.
- Robert: “You can see up his shorts... there’s no shredded Indians. And they always have to go into a dance.” [23:26]
9. Relationship Confessions: Cheating, Addiction, and Redemption
[31:01–57:00]
This core segment features Bobby’s unflinching, funny, and surprisingly moving tell-all about infidelity, addiction, and forgiveness in his marriage.
Highlights Include:
- Bobby’s and Dawn’s 18-year marriage, going back to New York post-9/11, and the pivotal advice from Patrice O’Neal:
- Patrice: “Bobby, you gotta leave. You gotta get the fuck back to New York right now.” [32:12]
- Bobby’s “dark days” in LA, compulsive late-night pie-baking (a sure sign of losing touch with stand-up), and moving back to NYC.
- Full, hilarious account of Bobby getting caught cheating: losing his cell phone, girlfriends and managers conspiring, and a wealth of incriminating evidence (“taxes 1996” folder full of videos and photos).
- Robert: “Her friend… found ‘taxes 1996’ folder. It wasn’t taxes.” [37:36]
- Dawn’s heartbreak, Bobby’s self-confessed sex addiction, and how therapy (and the AA “Big Book”) helped them crawl back from marital meltdown.
- Jay (laughing at Bobby’s secret photo stash): “You are…is it like all the same, like, you make—is the girl always nervous and harsh white lighting?” [40:06]
- Robert: “She goes, ‘You are a fucking serial killer, it’s like you’re a serial killer because I had all these trophies.’” [39:42]
- The infamous scene where Dawn dumps out Bobby’s “big book” filled with leftover Polaroids; Bobby’s chagrin and remorse in the face of marital confrontation:
- Christine: “I mean, you literally could have hid them anywhere else.” [49:05]
- Genuine moments:
- Robert: “We sat on the kitchen floor and cried. We sat on this kitchen and cried all morning.” [41:12]
- Jay: “I know it is real and it is also funny.” [41:25]
- Therapy works: Colin Quinn urges Bobby to give therapy and true change eight months before walking away, advice Bobby credits with saving his marriage.
- End result: Bobby learns, laughs, and gives his wife diamonds (“tennis bracelet”) to make up for old wounds.
10. Heartbreak Hilarity: Making Amends, Buying Jewelry, and Getting Roasted
[50:13–56:07]
- Bobby seeks advice (from Christine and Jay) on what diamond jewelry to buy his wife to “make things right,” haggling over size and price on-air.
- Christine: “I mean, if I deserved one, then she definitely…” [54:51]
- Jay and Christine pile on the mockery as Bobby’s search for redemption becomes an on-air shopping debacle—naturally, all laced with roast jokes.
- Bobby admits: “If only you could suck my dick like her, I wouldn’t have to do this…” [56:44]
11. Reflections on Love, Addiction, and Happiness
[57:29–58:59]
- Bobby makes clear: he loves Dawn, despite (or because of) their rocky past.
- Jay sums up: “At some point you had no idea you were going to be sobbing on a kitchen floor.”
- The group reflect on long-distance drives of shame and the journey from pain to healing.
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
On Rochester’s “garbage plate”:
"Your self-esteem is so low, your big food is called a garbage plate."
— Jay Oakerson [10:40]
On being in a long relationship:
"It was our anniversary this weekend and nothing happened. So fantastic."
— Robert Kelly [03:05]
On breaking up with LA, thanks to Patrice:
"He goes, ‘I haven’t seen you in the clubs... but this is the best chicken I’ve ever had in my life. And I literally moved under two months. I was cooking, dude.'"
— Robert Kelly [32:39]
On getting caught cheating:
“Her friend… found ‘taxes 1996’ folder. It wasn’t taxes.”
— Robert Kelly [37:36]
“You are…is it like all the same, like, you make—is the girl always nervous and harsh white lighting?”
— Jay Oakerson [40:06]
On the pain of marital reckoning:
“We sat on the kitchen floor and cried. We sat on this kitchen and cried all morning.”
— Robert Kelly [41:12]
“I know it is real and it is also funny.”
— Jay Oakerson [41:25]
On relationship advice:
“If you…care about her…give it eight months. And if you can’t change…walk away.”
— Colin Quinn (as paraphrased by Robert Kelly) [45:26]
On therapy, love and atonement:
“If I deserved one, then she definitely…”
— Christine [54:51]
“If only you could suck my dick like her, I wouldn’t have to do this…”
— Robert Kelly [56:44]
Important Segment Timestamps
- 01:22 – Show intro, AI cover music debate
- 03:05 – Anniversary talk, marital comfort
- 04:12–04:57 – Elote and food favorites
- 04:58–12:23 – Bobby’s Rochester stories, “garbage plates,” Walmart sock security
- 12:23–17:33 – Food stories: Garbage plates to loco moco, Ethiopian food
- 18:13–22:04 – “Eating with hands” debate & food poisoning stories
- 22:12–24:48 – Bollywood superhero movies, RRR
- 31:01–57:00 – Bobby’s saga: infidelity, AA “big book,” relationship therapy, and kitchen floor tears
- 50:13–56:07 – Bobby shops on-air for marital amends (diamond tennis bracelet)
- 57:29–58:59 – Closing thoughts, reflection on love and self-improvement
Tone & Style
The episode is rapid-fire, darkly humorous, and unfiltered, alternating between absurd food culture commentary and authentic, sometimes raw sharing about relationships and mistakes. The comedians roast themselves and each other, but beneath the laughs is an honest reckoning with personal faults and growth.
Summary
“Garbage Plates & Heartbreaks” is a masterclass in confessional comedy: the episode’s first half is a rollicking roast of regional food (from Rochester’s “garbage plate” to Hawaiian loco moco and Ethiopian hand meals), while the second devotes itself to Robert Kelly’s candid story of infidelity, regret, and the hard road to redemption. Jay Oakerson needles and comforts in equal measure, providing both comic foil and sympathetic friend. By episode’s end, the laughs are still coming, but so are the lessons—about honesty, forgiveness, and loving (and laughing at) yourself and your past.
For anyone craving comedy that’s both hilarious and heartfelt, this episode of The Bonfire stands out as a tour-de-force—deeply funny, brutally honest, and never afraid to dig into the messiness beneath the punchlines.