← The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show
American Gravy: SNAP Fraud, Food Fights & the Rise of Robot Restaurants
00:32:57
Loading summary
Transcript319 lines
- [00:00]
A
This is an iHeart podcast. Tired of spills and stains on your sofa? Wash away your worries with Anabe. Annabe is the only machine washable sofa inside and out where designer quality meets budget friendly prices. That's right, sofas start at just $699. Enjoy a no risk experience with pet friendly stain resistant and changeable slipcovers made with performance fabric. Experience cloud like comfort with high resilience foam that's hypoallic, allergenic and never needs fluffing. The sturdy steel frame ensures longevity and the modular pieces can be rearranged anytime. Shop washablesofas.com for early Black Friday savings up to 60% off site wide backed by a 30 day satisfaction guarantee. If you're not absolutely in love, send it back for a full refund. No return shipping or restocking fees. Every penny back Upgrade now@washablesofas.com Offers are subject to change and certain restrictions may apply. Okay, only 10 more presents to wrap. You're almost at the finish line. But first. Ah, there, the last one. Enjoy a Coca Cola for a pause that refreshes.
- [01:35]
B
Limu, Limu and Doug Here we have the Limu Emu in its natural habitat, helping people customize their car insurance and save hundreds with Liberty Mutual. Fascinating. It's accompanied by his natural ally, Doug. Uh, Limu is that guy with the binoculars watching us. Cut the camera. They see us. Only pay for what you need@libertymutual.com Liberty Liberty Liberty Liberty Savings Fairy Unwritten by Liberty Mutual Insurance Company Affiliates excludes Massachusetts. Hey, it's Ryan Seacrest for Albertsons and Safeway. Flu season is here and our pharmacies have you covered with a free flu shot with most insurance plans. Plus it's cough and cold season and now through December 2nd. Stock up on all the season's essentials and get ready for relief with discounts on items like Mucinex Cold and Flu, Kickstart, Mucinex, Fast Max Products, vicks Daquil and Nyquil combo pack. Alka Seltzer plus also airborne and Afrin offers end December 2nd. Restrictions apply and offers may vary by location. Visit Albertsons or Safeway.com for more details. This is Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang from Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang. JBL Tour Pro 3 earbuds are for those who don't conform to the standard. Yeah, I mean, if you want to get into some touchscreen technology, how about the smart charging case? Clear sound? These are not standard things. You're only going to get them with the JBL Tour Pro 3, baby. And I love the sound of JBL when it goes. These earbuds are pac with innovation because you can't stand out by following others. Touchscreen smart charging case for one touch control, instant EQ customization, true adaptive noise canceling, and the one of a kind audio transmitter which can plug and play with everything from game consoles to in flight entertainment. What more could you want first doesn't follow. Grab a pair@jbl.com.
- [03:25]
A
Welcome back to another episode of American Gravy. The only show where we mix for food, family, and freedom in the same pot and somehow don't burn it. Well, mostly right, Andrew?
- [03:35]
B
I burn it a little bit.
- [03:36]
A
A little bit.
- [03:36]
B
I am Lauren Gruel and I'm chef Andrew Grull.
- [03:39]
A
And whether it's a shared meal or a shared moment, every story adds flavor to the table.
- [03:44]
B
You didn't say welcome home because I.
- [03:45]
A
Don'T like the welcome home. It seems a little cheesy.
- [03:47]
B
It's a little weird. Welcome home. Come on, hop on the door.
- [03:50]
A
It's like they're not here with us.
- [03:52]
B
Yeah, well, they are.
- [03:53]
A
If anything, we're in their home.
- [03:54]
B
Close your eyes and imagine laying on our couch.
- [03:57]
A
Oh, dear.
- [03:58]
B
Tell us your food problems. Well, speaking of food problems, today we're gonna be covering snap benefit fraud, spam cheese, and a little bit of vegan drama and more, of course. And by the way, I should call out, make sure that you follow us on social media. I'm on xefgrul.
- [04:14]
A
And I'm Aurengruel. I'm on Instagram ndrewgruel and I'm Aurengruel.
- [04:21]
B
And make sure you subscribe to our substack American Gravy. On substack, we're giving recipes, cooking videos, just general cooking advice.
- [04:28]
A
You have to subscribe right now. Andrew is checking, just busting out all sorts of Thanksgiving recipes.
- [04:34]
B
Oh, I'm going crazy on that.
- [04:35]
A
It is now the time.
- [04:36]
B
It's like I'm doing a little tap dance on there every day. One, two, three, hut two, hut two. Jiggity mung boo.
- [04:41]
A
I love when you do that.
- [04:42]
B
Yeah, you do.
- [04:43]
A
All right, let's cut to our first story. What the fork? All right, so this is a vegan restaurant. Owner is slammed after adding badum meat to her menu.
- [04:56]
B
I'm sorry. I find humor in this one, actually. So, I mean, that's pretty intense because I understand why people are mad. So this vegan restauranter was like, hey, we've gotta add chicken and fish to our menu. Because we just can't make it otherwise. And there is a cult like understandably so I'm not saying this in a bad way. It's not a pejorative. People who are devoted vegans. Right. For ethical reasons and for health reasons and many times for both by the vegan mantra. So they go to these restaurants not even just for the food, but for the fact that they're trying to support an owner who has similar viewpoints.
- [05:29]
A
Exactly.
- [05:30]
B
Reason why they had there was an uproar is because they feel betrayed.
- [05:34]
A
Well, I, yes, I could see why they're upset. Right. Because I feel like if you go to a, just a like say our restaurant and then we had like a vegan option on the menu. It's not like, that's not as bad as like going straight from like vegan, you know, cruelty free. That's what they say to then adding, you know, chicken and fish on the menu.
- [05:53]
B
However, I will say I think with some of our customers, if we did have a vegan option, they would get angry, but they wouldn't be in an uproar. They'd be like, why are you pandering to the vegan?
- [06:01]
A
Well, it's funny. So Ashley Cohn, the owner and operator of the vegan and gluten free restaurant Good Beat in Haddon Township, announced a quote, plot twist on social media last month.
- [06:12]
B
Oh, that's how she announced it was a plot.
- [06:13]
A
Yes. And so she said, you know, we're keeping our menu the same but we're adding local organic pastures. Chicken or wild caught Jail island salmon.
- [06:23]
B
Jail Island.
- [06:24]
A
I don't know what Jail island is. We have to look into that.
- [06:26]
B
Kind of funny. It's where they keep the salmon in jail.
- [06:28]
A
Yeah. So it's just for a protein.
- [06:30]
B
So they're gonna get sued by the ACLU on that one. I think it would've been funnier if she said it's a fleshy sizzle.
- [06:36]
A
A flesh what?
- [06:37]
B
No. Too soon. That is funny. So we actually owned like we owned a restaurant that we opened in Irvine years ago and it was in this kind of like business focused food hall area. We had a chicken restaurant, but then next to it as well, we had a plant based restaurant. And the idea wasn't to introduce alternative proteins. We weren't doing like soy and tempeh and sorry, tofu tempeh. We weren't doing the Beyond Burgers or any of that. It was more of just like a celebration of vegetables. I actually love vegetables and I think that we're relegated so often to just like carrots and zucchini and broccoli vegetable medley. Right, like the Bird's eye frozen medley. People don't realize the bounty of vegetables, especially in California that we have. We work with a wonderful vegetable provider, Melissa's World Variety Produce, and they're always introducing these fun, unique veggies, like, you know, the Romanesco cauliflowers. There's like 20 different types of cauliflower. So we said, why don't we open a restaurant where we highlight a lot of these great vegetables and we'll do bowls with like fun sauces. Quinoa, the veggies. We did like that fire roasted burger. We did the veggie poutine fries.
- [07:41]
A
We did the black bean burger. That was phenomenal. So we geared it towards. We said our restaurant was what was.
- [07:50]
B
Where meat eaters and plant lovers unite. No, we said where vegans and meat eaters unite.
- [07:55]
A
I don't know, something like a vegan restaurant for meat eaters.
- [07:59]
B
As you see, this wasn't very memorable for many, but I'll say this on the economics of it. We had like a devoted base of customers. Every day they would come in and the majority of them were vegan. And we did have a lot of meat eaters too that came in and were like, I just want, I want this. Cause it tastes so good. Like our black bean veggie burger was to die for.
- [08:17]
A
It was phenomenal. And our bowls were so good. We had avocado fries. Do you remember? We had a lot of fun stuff there.
- [08:24]
B
And our sauce, we called them avocado.
- [08:26]
A
Bombs because I would inject them.
- [08:28]
B
I injected them with sauce before I breaded them and then we deep fried them and then we served them with this like kimchi aioli.
- [08:34]
A
We need to. You know what, we should bring some of this to Calico.
- [08:37]
B
But the point is, the point is, is that even though we had like the same 15 customers coming back day in and day out, there was such a small subset of vegans or plant based diners to choose from in the general area that we financially couldn't make it. Like we couldn't get our sales high enough by penetrating that audience.
- [08:56]
A
Yeah, so she even says that, you know, vegan restaurants aren't like such a destination anymore. Right, Exactly. And a lot of people, I know a lot personally, a lot of people who were vegan who are now like carnivore.
- [09:07]
B
Well, yeah, they go from one extreme.
- [09:09]
A
Yeah. So.
- [09:10]
B
Well, in any case. So that was kind of a funny WTF story. And sorry about losing Butter Leaf. Maybe we'll bring it back someday.
- [09:16]
A
I love butter leaf.
- [09:17]
B
Another WTF what the fork story. So Cinnabon is now selling wrapping paper that literally smells like cinnamon rolls.
- [09:25]
A
I don't think you can eat it, but I was telling Andrew, I'm like, okay, but what about, like, you have, like, pets and, like, the dog think it's, like, a treat, and they're just, like, eating your paper.
- [09:33]
B
Or furthermore, what if you have kids who act like pets?
- [09:37]
A
Yeah, probably our kids would. But, like, ants. What? Ants come in play.
- [09:41]
B
You have an obsession with ants.
- [09:42]
A
Because we've been getting ants because of the rain and it's driving.
- [09:45]
B
The other day, I was eating a piece of bread and, like, a crumb dropped on the counter. Lauren's like, the ants are coming.
- [09:51]
A
No. Okay. And we have a playroom. Ish thing. I go in there last night, speaking of ants, and I shake out a blanket that was, like, on the floor. All these crumbs fly out because our son was eating a sandwich. Somehow he meant to get half the sandwich bread onto this blanket. And then there was a cluster of ants. And I'm like, I give up. I give up.
- [10:12]
B
In our house, I think it's important because we're in the group setting right now, so I feel safe saying this. The son that you're referring to eating the sandwich in the blanket on the floor, is he 45, was your husband, and it was me. I needed. I needed alone time. It was the only area in which I could eat the sandwich, because every time I try and eat a sandwich, the minute I sit down with a sandwich, it's, oh, can you come do this? Can you do this?
- [10:33]
A
No. Or the kids are like, can you make me one? You're like, I just want to eat my sandwich.
- [10:37]
B
Exactly. There's nothing worse than sitting down. You've sliced a sandwich corner to corner, and you're ready to take that first bite. And then someone's like, hey, can you grab me the orange juice? Or there's a knock on the door.
- [10:48]
A
Yeah.
- [10:48]
B
And it's somebody that wants to talk politics.
- [10:50]
A
You know, just speaking of being a parent, like, do you ever feel like you sit down when you're at home?
- [10:55]
B
No. I argue about it. I complain about it.
- [10:58]
A
Like, I don't sit down. I'm like, even when I drop the kids off at school and say, I'm having, like, a day at home, this is totally going off topic, but I will realize, oh, my gosh, it's time to pick up the kids from school, and I have not sat down for One second.
- [11:11]
B
Because you were laying down. Because you were sleeping.
- [11:13]
A
I wish that was the case. No, I'm usually cleaning up my 45 year old child's mess.
- [11:19]
B
Mama. So that brings me to another off topic point. Lauren can't take naps.
- [11:25]
A
What? Why are we bringing my nap?
- [11:27]
B
Can you nap? I'm saying this to the listeners. Can you nap?
- [11:30]
A
I mean, let's hear their answers. But I can't.
- [11:34]
B
See here, one person's already just called in. Ding, ding, ding.
- [11:36]
A
Yes. I love napping.
- [11:38]
B
See, we've got. And another person love naps.
- [11:41]
A
I can't nap. You know the only time I can nap is when I'm sick.
- [11:46]
B
That's true.
- [11:46]
A
I love napping. He knows. Andrew knows. He goes, oh gosh, you're sick, you're nappy.
- [11:51]
B
I can take a nap. I can sit down on the couch.
- [11:52]
A
He's the annoying person that could close his eyes and he's asleep.
- [11:55]
B
Yes.
- [11:56]
A
And I'm like, I will. I'm like, I want to like kill him.
- [11:58]
B
Like, why take a seven minute nap? I'll be mid eating a sandwich and I'll take a nap. I'll be like, okay, looks like the kids are out.
- [12:03]
A
And I know when he's napping he'll like go hide in the office. And we have a couch.
- [12:08]
B
This has never come out before. I thought I was hiding. Now I know that I always do that.
- [12:12]
A
He'll go, and I like see his feet on one end of the couch and he'll like, beep. Pretend to be on his laptop. And I like glance over and his hat is just covering his eyes.
- [12:22]
B
No, because I'm reading an article on my laptop.
- [12:24]
A
Yeah, yeah, whatever. Anyway, I get really annoyed that he can fall asleep so quickly.
- [12:27]
B
She does. And then of course she'll like come in and be like, oh, time to vacuum. I just happen to want a vacuum right there at 3,000 decibels right next to you.
- [12:34]
A
Okay, that is not true. I let you nap. But then when the kids are like, it's just. You know what, we're not getting into this right now.
- [12:40]
B
I think this is a great segue to talk about SNAP benefits because I might need to be on them after I get thrown out of the house. So there's been this like this snafu recently with the SNAP benefits. Now I think it's interesting. Let me just kind of like refresh everybody on my perspective on this. I think people who need help need to get the help. The problem that I have with the SNAP benefits is its corporate welfare. Because the Only food that's available for people to use the SNAP benefits are in food deserts. Right. So most of the people that are using them are either in rural food deserts or in inner city food deserts. And what a food desert is, is where there's no grocery stor. The only thing you can do is go to like a 711 or a convenience store. 90% of the food there is potato chips, sodas, et cetera. And the people who make money on those SNAP benefits and ultimately also making you sick are the soda, the big food manufacturers, like the big five, Right. Like the Frito Lays, the people, the chips, et cetera. So people get mad. They're like, oh, the SNAP benefits are only. People are only buying junk. Well, that's the only option of food that they have to buy. I think we should take the money from SNAP benefits and we should be giving people real food and doing it that way. So that's just like my overall thesis on that. Now in this SNAP debate, a lot of stories have come out about all of the SNAP fraud that's going on out there. I have a problem with that because the people who truly need the SNAP benefits are then getting tainted by the people who are using it for fraudulent purposes.
- [14:06]
A
Yeah, look at this. So 186,000 deceased men and women and children were receiving a check.
- [14:15]
B
Wait, children deceased?
- [14:16]
A
That's sad. That's sad. It's so Sad. But almost 200,000 people were receiving, quote unquote, SNAP edits that aren't even here.
- [14:22]
B
Yeah, but where, so where are the checks going?
- [14:24]
A
I mean, are they getting. Are their relatives taking them?
- [14:27]
B
Yeah, probably the estate or like whoever has control over it. Then if they cash the check, isn't that fraud?
- [14:33]
A
I always wonder how these things happen. If there's so much fraud, how can they get everyone. You know what I mean, if there's so much going on.
- [14:39]
B
Yeah, it's leakage. Right. Like there's always gonna be a certain amount that like slips.
- [14:42]
A
And that was just in, you know, red states, Republican led states. They haven't even tapped into any of the Democrat.
- [14:50]
B
I wouldn't say that even necessarily. That's always a political issue. I think it's like there's always gonna be fraud across both parties. I mean, this voting issue here in California where the dog voted, that was a Republican.
- [15:00]
A
True.
- [15:01]
B
Even though it underscores like certain irregularities with voting. And we gotta stop fix that. Like that wasn't a particular party. Right. Or it was, it just wasn't the party that was screaming about it. The SNAP benefit piece that I heard was in New Jersey because every state has like certain. There's a national program, but then they give it to the states to administer the SNAP benefits. Because this, I agree with, the federal government shouldn't be in the business of doing that. We need to decrease the size of the federal government. But in New Jersey, you can roll over your benefits from month to month, up to nine months. There was a video that went viral on TikTok where the lady called and was on speakerphone and she was kind of showing off to her friend and it said, you know, your available benefits are. And it was $24,952 or something. So basically she had gotten so much, and I'm like, is this, is this real or is this fake? Right. Because I don't take anything at face value anymore. So I looked it up and what, you can get up to three or $4,000 a month based on the amount of people in your family. This is in New Jersey. So if you think about it, if you roll that over for six months, there you go, there's your $24,000. So what do you think about that?
- [16:06]
A
I mean, obviously if they truly needed it, they wouldn't have this large balance.
- [16:11]
B
Yeah.
- [16:12]
A
You know what I mean? Like, clearly you don't need it if you're able to save all this money.
- [16:16]
B
What was interesting was that there were some people in the comments that said, well, no, you need to be. Because somebody suggested no more rollover. Right? Like you shouldn't be able to roll over. And then somebody in the comments said, well, no, I get like $200 a month or $150 a month. And sometimes when I go grocery shopping and I get a ride because I don't have a car, I need to buy a ton of groceries at once. Frozen foods, canned foods. So I need like a $300 balance. So in that scenario, that actually does make sense. So it's almost like there should be a limit on the rollover amount. If you could put that mechanism or that control in place, I think that would. That would help prevent some of it. But the bottom line to all of this is that now the USDA chief says that everyone has to reapply for SNAP benefits after all this fraud came out, now that the government is reopening.
- [17:03]
A
Which I think that they should. I mean, to be honest, if there's that much fraud and there's that much, you know, people taking advantage of the system or what have you, like, I think if you truly need it, you should obviously Obviously, like, you should be able to receive it. But I feel like when people take advantage and they know that they don't necessarily need to be on it and they continue.
- [17:21]
B
Right, Yeah, I agree. What's the process gonna be like to reapply if it slows down?
- [17:26]
A
I mean, what do they do? Do they cut everyone off and tell them to reapply? I don't know how that's gonna.
- [17:31]
B
I don't know when they didn't actually present an issue. I think that, like, just generally speaking. Yeah, reapply and go through the process to make sure that you're eligible, so long as it doesn't hurt the people who like, genuinely need them right away. But that's where the state should step in and say, okay, let's say the federal government prevented money from distilling down to a local level, then either the local or the county or the state government should step in and they can subsidize that in the interim. I think that that would be like the solution instead of pointing a finger, like state government saying it's the federal government's fault, the federal saying it's the state government's fault. And then they kind of like divert the responsibility around, but then you got the person who needs it who's like, I don't care whose fault it is. I need to get my food. So.
- [18:14]
A
Yeah, well, we'll see how that all.
- [18:16]
B
We're going to be following this story a lot.
- [18:18]
A
Okay. This is a funny story kind of shoot. So you know how QVC and HSN were like all the rage back in the day?
- [18:27]
B
Like back in the day.
- [18:28]
A
I mean, it still is, but I feel like not like I would never watch it. I think you have to be at least 60 or older.
- [18:33]
B
You can't watch it because you don't take naps.
- [18:35]
A
Well, we also don't have cable tv, so that's probably why I don't watch it.
- [18:39]
B
I have a feeling if we did.
- [18:40]
A
You'D watch it probably. Okay, so there's a new, you know, a new movement in the shopping world. Okay. So this is going to be the next trillion dollar industry. Can you guess what it is?
- [18:54]
B
I mean, I don't know. Qv, like QVC on steroids?
- [18:58]
A
No. So it's going to be live selling. So you know, like where they can shop so somebody's trying on the clothes.
- [19:05]
B
Where? In a store.
- [19:06]
A
Like a lie, Like a stream. Like Tick Tock Live.
- [19:09]
B
Okay.
- [19:09]
A
Or Instagram Live. Right.
- [19:10]
B
So I walk into a store, I'm on Instagram Live, and I'M like, hey, I'm over here at JCPenney's.
- [19:14]
A
No, it's like their products, like, it's like they have like an online store, but this person's trying on the clothes. They're answering questions. Live. Like, does it. You know, how. How tall are you? What's your weight? So they can gauge, like, is that gonna look good on me? Because online shopping, you're kind of guessing, right? Like, I don't know if this is gonna f. Get it. And you have to return.
- [19:32]
B
What are you calling in? Like, how are you asking questions?
- [19:34]
A
No, it's live. Like, when you go, do you not know what a live is?
- [19:37]
B
No, I'm an old man.
- [19:38]
A
Okay. When you go on, like, Instagram Live, and then there's people watching and they're commenting.
- [19:42]
B
Yeah.
- [19:42]
A
They're asking you on the spot questions and you're able to answer.
- [19:45]
B
Most of the time, people don't answer that.
- [19:47]
A
Yeah, that's the whole point. They are answering.
- [19:49]
B
Okay.
- [19:50]
A
Oh, my gosh, Andrew.
- [19:51]
B
Well, no, explain this if I understand.
- [19:53]
A
So the CEO of Whatnot. It's. It's the prime live Whatnot.
- [19:57]
B
Oh, Whatnot.
- [19:58]
A
The Primary Life shopping company in America just raised 225 million at an 11.5 billion valuation. So it sees this ballooning from $100 billion market to a trillion dollar market in the next few years. So do you understand what I'm saying?
- [20:15]
B
So these sellers rotate items in front of the camera, answering questions.
- [20:20]
A
So it's like shop. It's like the experience is more like shopping at a brick and mortar store without the hassle. Right.
- [20:25]
B
It's still online.
- [20:26]
A
Still online. You're looking on. You're obviously watching your phone or whatever.
- [20:30]
B
So could I be like, oh, hold up the pants again? Yes, exactly like, oh, wait, I just noticed that there's. That the pants are buttless. I don't like those.
- [20:38]
A
What? Butless pants.
- [20:39]
B
Yeah, like chaps.
- [20:40]
A
Yeah. So live video is sort of the best way to bring in person commerce online. So it's almost like if anyone can set up a brick and mortar shop anywhere without building the building. You know what I mean?
- [20:51]
B
Oh, and then those people's Instagram or whatever live channels will be streamed on this new QVC type network.
- [20:57]
A
It's not QVC. It's like TikTok.
- [20:59]
B
No, but it's gonna be on TV.
- [21:00]
A
No. Oh, my God.
- [21:01]
B
Yeah, see, I don't get it already. If I don't get it, then this.
- [21:04]
A
Is maybe because you're not a girl.
- [21:06]
B
Where will I watch this on TikTok so this is TikTok.
- [21:10]
A
No, babe. Oh, my gosh. It's TikTok. Read. There's an article if you want to read.
- [21:17]
B
Okay. So this makes no sense to me. And I guess the other thing is, is that if this is going to be. How are they valuing this at $11.5 billion? If I absolutely. If I don't even understand it in a simple description.
- [21:27]
A
Okay, well, I will just say for me, when I'm watching somebody do their makeup, right, it's not alive. They're just posting a reel or a video. I'm like, ooh, that's a pretty color.
- [21:36]
B
Like, I want to buy it, but what's the company? How are they valuing the company? What's the asset upon which they get the 3. The 11.5 billion?
- [21:42]
A
I don't know. We'll have to dive deeper into this story.
- [21:45]
B
Ooh, this just got intense. I like it for food. I'm just thinking about ways in which I can do this for food. People will be like, oh, my gosh. No, no, no.
- [21:51]
A
Well, you know, we should do it.
- [21:52]
B
We should do.
- [21:53]
A
Oh, my gosh, this is good. We can do a live cooking video. And you can. Once you come out with your product.
- [22:02]
B
So when is this. How will I get the 11.5 billion dollar valuation? That's all I care about.
- [22:06]
A
I have no idea. We're gonna need to figure this out.
- [22:08]
B
People will be like, oh, my gosh, cut that acorn squash harder. I just want to see if I want to buy it. And I'll be like, okay, get the cleaver. Is that it?
- [22:15]
A
Yeah. And then you'd be like, look at this knife I have.
- [22:17]
B
And they cut your fingers off. And then be like, I'm a doctor. And then we can sell doctor services.
- [22:21]
A
You and I are on two totally different paths on food.
- [22:25]
B
So food fact that'll blow your biscuit. Okay, let's get into some food facts that are gonna blow your biscuit.
- [22:30]
A
I don't understand you got so angry at that story.
- [22:33]
B
Because I hate when I hear things like, oh, they got an investment, and now it's an $11.5 billion valuation.
- [22:38]
A
You know what? One day, babe. Don't worry. All right, so could be jealousy. I think it is.
- [22:44]
B
I can't even value my shoes more than $3. I'm gonna go take a nap.
- [22:47]
A
All right, so what's a food fact that'll blow your biscuit?
- [22:51]
B
Did you know that cheese is the most stolen food in the world?
- [22:53]
A
I did not.
- [22:55]
B
I wonder how that is. Are they Stealing it from the producer or are they stealing it, like, at Whole Foods?
- [22:59]
A
Probably off the shelf.
- [23:00]
B
Do you know what's so funny? I was at Whole Foods the other day, and I was with the kids, and Jack ripped one, right? And we were walking by the cheese aisle, and this lady was like, oh, my gosh, this cheese is so ripe. But it was really just Jack ripping one.
- [23:11]
A
Are you serious?
- [23:12]
B
Well, no, I kind of made that story up. But it's funny. Did you know? So, yeah, cheese is stolen a lot. Cheese is also one of the most illegally, like, transported items because of, like, the pasteurization process. There's a huge underground cheese trade.
- [23:25]
A
I remember we talked about not a black market cheese. We should, you know, next episode, we should talk about the black market cheese.
- [23:30]
B
Trade or just any black market foods. Like the Devil's Picnic.
- [23:33]
A
What's that?
- [23:34]
B
It was actually a book about that, but I still think it's a memorable name.
- [23:38]
A
All right. Do you know that Spam was invented in Minnesota, not Hawaii?
- [23:45]
B
I did not know that because I.
- [23:47]
A
Feel like I even thought that.
- [23:50]
B
And so you said 1975. It was 1937.
- [23:53]
A
No, I said 1937. Okay.
- [23:55]
B
My head heard 1975. I was like, that's weird. So it was World War II, because then they could pack it. Well, that wasn't ultimately why they developed it. Why did they develop it?
- [24:03]
A
So it was developed to utilize pork shoulder, a less desirable cut, and was introduced as an inexpensive meat product.
- [24:10]
B
Spam is. So why the Hawaiian piece?
- [24:13]
A
I don't know.
- [24:13]
B
Oh, because In World War II, there were so many soldiers that were stationed in Hawaii, and therefore, they were shipping it out to the soldiers, and it probably permeated the local grocery. That. Now that makes sense.
- [24:24]
A
It's all connecting.
- [24:25]
B
Okay. We used to do a Spam pineapple and shrimp taco off the food truck years ago. That was like, people would drive miles for that.
- [24:34]
A
People love Spam.
- [24:35]
B
Yeah.
- [24:35]
A
Do you?
- [24:37]
B
I don't mind it. Like, I'd pan fry it and have it with, like, an egg.
- [24:40]
A
Would you, like, go out of your way to buy it at the store right now?
- [24:42]
B
No, but I might today. I think we should do Spam recipes later. We're shooting for the holidays.
- [24:46]
A
I'm on a fast.
- [24:48]
B
We're shooting today. We're doing food videos today. And Lauren just happens to be on the water fast. What are we gonna do? Like, a water tasting like, my gosh, this. This voltaire water is so much better than the avian. Je ne sais pas.
- [25:02]
A
Should I. Would a fast be beneficial? If I stop at like 18 hours.
- [25:07]
B
Yeah, it's an intermittent fasting. I don't think that your body's like, oh, I said 19 hours. It's 18. Like, let's turn it all around.
- [25:15]
A
It's supposed to be £20, whatever.
- [25:17]
B
It's all relative. So Sweet Greens is opening its first drive through location with an automated make line.
- [25:25]
A
So that's robots, which they already have. So I went to a Sweet Green the other day and they have somebody working there, but nobody's actually making your food for you, so it's.
- [25:37]
B
So how are they doing it?
- [25:38]
A
So they have all of these almost like dispensers of, you know, say, like the vegetables, the chicken, whatever, you know, the grains. And so say I pick out a bowl and I want quinoa and chicken or whatever it is. And then the bowl gets set up on this line and it goes down and they fill it for you.
- [25:55]
B
Is it an arm? Like what fills?
- [25:56]
A
It's. It's just like a dispenser. So, yeah, it's like on a. Like a belt almost. And it goes across and it fills in like what you put on your order. So it's kind of cool. I didn't really like it because I was in store and I wanted to like, have a person make this for me. You know what I mean?
- [26:13]
B
Yeah.
- [26:14]
A
So, I mean, I guess, like, the drive thru is not that big of a deal, but I'm assuming they're gonna have a cashier. It's not just gonna be like all automated, is it?
- [26:21]
B
No, that's the whole thing. Like, you still need the human element. Food hasn't caught up with the AI as other manufacturing has, although I'd like to see it do. So I just think that there, that's. This is one industry where like, the artist is always gonna be required, the culinary artist. In certain types of food, fast food, or this kind of dump and stir, fast casual food, you can prepare the food ahead of time. Maybe a human does that. And then as you say, the dispensing can be done in an automated manner. But I just don't see how this happens on a grander scale.
- [26:50]
A
I don't know.
- [26:51]
B
Well, maybe we should go visit it and then we'll tell all the listeners about it.
- [26:54]
A
Yeah, we should. We should visit it.
- [26:56]
B
Yeah, let's visit it. Let's talk about cooking tips. I want to sharpen your skills today. Do you have anything for me or you want me to jump right in?
- [27:04]
A
You jump in and I'll go after.
- [27:05]
B
All right, so. So somebody Asked me the other day, they're like, I love cooking with butter, but butter burns so easily. Now, the reason butter burns is because there's milk solids in there. If you're using ghee, which is clarified butter, where you cook out the milk solids in the water, then it's gonna have a much higher smoke point or burn point. So there's two different tricks and tips that you can use. Number one, I finish with butter. I don't always cook with butter. If you are cooking with butter and you want it to have a higher smoke point, what you can do is you can take room temperature butter and you can actually drizzle in, like, a little bit of extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil if you're trying to go seed oil free. And that will increase the smoke point of the butter. So that's a little tip or a trick right there. So you can have the butter that you cook with, that you mix in, like, one part avocado or olive oil into the butter. And then you can have the butter that you finish with to give it that mounted rich mouthfeel at the end, which is known as monte au beurre. Although I should say one of my 86s a couple weeks ago are these silly French terms. So I should just say mountain with butter. Another trick is that people keep asking me, like, do I start this vegetable in cold water or boiling hot water? And the thing that we learned in culinary school is if it grows underground, start it in a cold pan. So any tubular, any vegetable that grows underground, potatoes, beets, turnips, rutabaga, celeriac, any of these, but primarily potatoes. For those of you doing the basic cooking, you start those in cold water, and then you put the heat on and you slowly bring it up to a boil. If it's grown above ground, that's where you blanch it in boiling hot water. So that's the trick right there.
- [28:32]
A
All right, I have a little cooking tip.
- [28:34]
B
Give me one.
- [28:35]
A
All right, so preheat the sheet tray.
- [28:38]
B
Yep.
- [28:39]
A
Right. So a lot of people just throw on what they're cooking on the sheet tray and put it in the. In the oven. So if you do that, if you preheat your sheet tray, it will start the cooking process immediately when you add your food, resulting in faster cooking and better browning.
- [28:51]
B
Yeah, I love it. Absolutely love it. We gotta get people in the kitchen more. This is the problem with, with nutrition and diet in America, is people aren't cooking their own foods. And it's all of that processed food that's getting into your diet, all the chemicals, and that's what's making people sick. I always say that 20% of the federal budget goes towards healthcare, which ultimately goes back to food, because so much of what we're dealing with from a healthcare perspective is chronic disease. It's actually 50% now in the last budget. 50% somehow related to healthcare. Now that could be like Medicaid, Medicare, et cetera. But I thought that was an interesting number that I just wanted to update there. So I want to 86 a few things today. The first one, though, is I am so over these kind of like, kitschy menu items that are all sex related. Right.
- [29:35]
A
It's good because I. I don't. I haven't seen a menu.
- [29:37]
B
Well, I saw a menu the other day and like, they pop up on social media. It'll be like, like, okay, like the. The food truck that's, you know, pho. It'll be like, I'm the pho king. Right? Like, you see what I'm saying? Or like, you know, this one menu, that was a bar menu. It was like, you know, the nut in your mouth sandwich. It was a peanut butter burger or something along those lines.
- [30:00]
A
That's actually gross.
- [30:01]
B
I know, but it's. It's like, it's gotten so old. It's just. It's very slapstick. I don't love it. I don't think it's cool. Maybe I'm the old man now.
- [30:09]
A
Like, that stuff, you know, A lot of things I don't agree with anymore. And I'm like, oh, my gosh, is this what getting older is like?
- [30:15]
B
That's why I saw the meme the other day. It was like, it took me to be 45 years old to realize that Clark Gridzwald actually is not crazy.
- [30:22]
A
Yeah, he's all of us.
- [30:23]
B
Yeah, like the. The Christmas vacation when he's standing there with the chainsaw and he's screaming like, I'm like, oh, my God. That actually, like, when I was a kid, I'd be like, that guy is nuts. Now I'm like, totally empathize with Clark.
- [30:35]
A
Totally, Totally. Yes. Okay, so my 86 it.
- [30:38]
B
Yep.
- [30:39]
A
Not food related again, but verification codes.
- [30:43]
B
Oh, my God. Why?
- [30:45]
A
Every time I go to log into anything, I need a verification code, and then like, half the time I can't get into my email and it's just.
- [30:50]
B
A. I forget all my verification codes.
- [30:52]
A
Or I forget my passwords that we.
- [30:55]
B
Should talk to somebody.
- [30:55]
A
And it's. And I.
- [30:57]
B
Your password is poo. Poo. 23. Why do you forget that?
- [31:01]
A
It used to be something stupid like that, but not anymore. I've learned my lesson. And then also Labubus. Do you know what a Labubu is?
- [31:07]
B
The kids. So I went to New York City with the boys last week before I was shooting Gutfeld. And they were. We were driving into the city and Jack starts screaming. He's like, labubu.
- [31:17]
A
There are these creepy monster dolls, but I'm not worried about it for kids. Like, I don't care if your kid likes a little boo boo. That's fine. It's the adults that are like die hard Labubu freaks that will stand in line to get like the latest edition Labubu.
- [31:30]
B
See?
- [31:31]
A
And they'll. And then they'll clip them to their purses and stuff. It's so weird.
- [31:34]
B
I thought when you said Labubu, I thought it was like some sort of a midnight scene. Like, we're gonna do the Labubu tonight.
- [31:40]
A
No. And it has like, you know, celebrity.
- [31:42]
B
What?
- [31:42]
A
The Labubu.
- [31:43]
B
Labubu.
- [31:44]
A
Is that a dance?
- [31:45]
B
I don't know. Labu Boo.
- [31:48]
A
Anyway, it's just really ridiculous. And they're so expensive. And then people are like buying them and then selling them on ebay or whatever.
- [31:54]
B
Can you give me like a 20 second overview on what a Labubu is? Because I'm still hung up on Labubu.
- [31:58]
A
Labubu. It's a creepy doll.
- [32:01]
B
Okay, that's it. That's what I want to know. So it's a doll.
- [32:03]
A
It's a doll. But it's like a monster doll. It's a collectible plush toy.
- [32:08]
B
Do you know how every.
- [32:09]
A
Wait, hold on. With mischievous, devilish but cute monster appearance.
- [32:13]
B
Okay, that's weird. Yeah, actually sounds like me on our first date. So the. Going into the holidays, there's always like a big push for some toy or doll. Remember? For us it was like, remember Tickle Me Elmo? Nobody could get their hands on a Tickle Me Elmo.
- [32:29]
A
They were so popular. I remember my sister got one for Christmas and I was so mad.
- [32:32]
B
I always thought the Tickle Me Elmo was weird. I was like, there's this thing that's like, tickle me like.
- [32:37]
A
But why was that a thing? Why were people like. I remember my sister got it. I mean, she is four years younger than me, but.
- [32:43]
B
Well, how old was she when she got it? 20?
- [32:46]
A
No, we were little. I was little. I was probably. She was probably like four and I was maybe eight.
- [32:51]
B
Like, what happened to the like our. For me, it was when like the Nintendo Entertainment System, the original nes, that was a big deal. No, Sega, Sega, Sega. When that sold out, I was upset. Like, I really had no issue with selling out.
- [33:07]
A
Well, you're a boy. I don't think you would want an Elmo doll.
- [33:10]
B
I think that's the Pillsbury Doughbo boy.
- [33:13]
A
I don't know what you sound like.
- [33:14]
B
Right now, but just I get stuck on these voices and that just all she's going to hear for the rest of the day.
- [33:20]
A
So annoying. Okay, I'm not even going to bring up what it was, but you and our nephew were saying something for days. It was when we were traveling and you guys overheard it on the intercom and then wouldn't stop talking for like a week straight. On our family vacation. Do you remember?
- [33:36]
B
Please remove before directed to eggs it. Please remove your seatbelt before directing.
- [33:40]
A
I literally want. No, no. It was bad. All day, everywhere we went, I was like, shut up.
- [33:46]
B
You know what? Speaking of nephews and family, the holidays are coming up. Thanksgiving.
- [33:49]
A
Yeah.
- [33:50]
B
You want to give me a Thanksgiving tip? I threw you on the spot on that one.
- [33:54]
A
Thanksgiving tip.
- [33:55]
B
Yeah. Buy your turkey now.
- [33:58]
A
Yes, definitely buy your turkey now. You can pre order from the stove.
- [34:01]
B
And try and get a heritage bird. Try and get a more local bird. So people don't realize this is. But the birds that they sell for Thanksgiving are actually genetically modified to have be. They're called like double broad breasted birds. That's actually the double broad breasted. That's actually the, like the technical name for the bird. I thought that was the name of like a strip club and those birds. Because people don't like dark meat. So at some point, like the turkey manufacturing association, so they like, created a.
- [34:28]
A
Bird with double the breasts.
- [34:30]
B
Yeah, I mean, that's kind of. That's kind of like women in the 90s, in the early 2000s. It's no different than 2000.
- [34:36]
A
I wonder if big boobs are gonna come back.
- [34:39]
B
Oh, boy. This just went on a. I'm sorry.
- [34:40]
A
Well, you know, trends, they come and go.
- [34:42]
B
Yeah, I don't know.
- [34:43]
A
And the thin trend is back. The like heroin chic trend is back.
- [34:47]
B
Oh, that was the Kate Moss trend from the early and then it went.
- [34:50]
A
Heroin chic to big boobs. So I wonder if the big big bopples are gonna come back.
- [34:54]
B
I think it's gonna be big boobs on men, but not like men who are pretending to be women. I just think like general genuine men with like really big boobs.
- [35:02]
A
Okay.
- [35:03]
B
Okay. So on that note, the chick, the bird. Like, if you want the dark meat, now's the time to get a good heritage bird. I don't like the white meat.
- [35:10]
A
Nobody likes try.
- [35:12]
B
And we're gonna go into cooking technique on the birds in the next episode. But now's the time look for heritage. Like call up your local store and be like, do you have any heritage birds? Cause in many cases those birds are not actually in high demand. Cause people want the double barrel breasted booby birds. So you're gonna be able to pick up the heritage birds early. And it's frozen, which is totally fine. Cause they're frozen properly. You'll be able to get them for a discount. Now, we covered a lot today. We covered, I mean we went, we started off with snap benefit fraud, spam cheese, vegan drama. We ended with the big double barrel bested big boob birds. And on that note, make sure you follow us on social media. I'm at Chefgruel on X and I'm Aurengruel. And on Instagram, I'm at Andrew Gruel and I'm Aurengruel.
- [35:55]
A
And make sure to subscribe to our podcast. Share it with your friends. Give us your what they the f stories.
- [36:00]
B
What the four Just so you don't.
- [36:01]
A
Think Lauren, I literally was like, oh gosh.
- [36:04]
B
As I said, going with that one. Well, thanks for hanging out with us here on American Gravy.
- [36:08]
A
All right guys, we will see you soon.
- [36:10]
B
We're going to be back next week with more stories that feed the soul and probably make you hungry. So till then, enterprise AI is redefining business operations and voice technology leads this transformation. While Alexa showcases consumer applications, AWS AI delivers enterprise scale voice solutions that are reshaping customer engagement across industries. Leverage Amazon's proven AI innovation to transform your customer experience and drive operational excellence. AWS AI the voice of innovation. Discover the Alexa story@aws.com AI our story. Ah, greetings from my bath festive friends. The holidays are overwhelming, but I'm tackling this season with PayPal and making the most of my money. Money getting 5% cash back when I pay in 4. No fees, no interest. I used it to get this portable spa with jets. Now the bubbles can cling to my sculpted but pruny body. Make the most of your money this holiday with PayPal. Save the offer in the app ends 1231. See paypal.com promoter points can be redeemed for cash and more paying for subject to terms and approval. PayPal Inc. And MLS 910457 okay, only.
- [37:23]
A
10 more presents to wrap. You're almost at the finish line. But first, There the last one. Enjoy a Coca Cola for a pause that refreshes. Black Friday is here, and Pandora Jewelry is offering up to 40% off storewide and sitewide now through December 2nd. Explore jewelry designed to last beyond the season, from classic charms to modern rings, bracelets, earrings and more. Whether you're holiday shopping or treating yourself, now's the perfect time to find something Special. Shop@pandora.net or your local Pandora store. Exclusions apply.
- [38:17]
B
This is what the market used to sound like. Pretty complex. But today with iShares by BlackRock, investing is easier. With over 450 ETFs, iShares gives you easy access to countless market opportunities. IShares by BlackRock the market is yours. Visit www.ishares.com to view a perspective, which includes investment objectives, risks, fees, expenses and other information you should read and consider carefully before investing Risk includes principal laws. Prepared by BlackRock Investments, LLC member Finra.
- [38:46]
A
This is an iHeart podcast.