Podcast Summary

The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show

Episode: Deep-Fried Chaos: Matcha Pizza, Stolen Tequila & the Great Pan Debate

Date: October 14, 2025
Hosts: Andrew Gruel and Lauren Gruel (filling in / food segment)
Podcast: iHeartPodcasts

Overview

This lively episode of "The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show" (American Gravy segment) is a whirlwind tour through food culture oddities, political hypocrisy, kitchen essentials, viral food trends, and true-crime-level food heists. Chef Andrew Gruel and Lauren Gruel use humor and real-world industry insights to blend hot takes on political figures (notably Katie Porter), a passionate debate about cookware, the latest in ultra-processed food policy, weird menu innovations, and some wild restaurant scams.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Culinary Culture Gone Wild

• Theme: Viral, outrageous food trends are dominating headlines—from deep-fried ice cream machines to matcha cheese pizza and pickle cupcakes.

• Speaker Tone: Playful skepticism, mild disgust at viral "over-the-top" creations.

  "Have you ever noticed that food stories are getting weirder and weirder?"
  —Andrew Gruel (01:41)

  "They're just doing the most ridiculous things."
  —Lauren Gruel (01:44)

2. Political Hypocrisy & How We Treat Service Workers

• Topic: Viral clips of Rep. Katie Porter—her rudeness to reporters and campaign staff—spark a discussion on political double standards and worker respect.

• Insight: Politicians who champion worker rights often have never had to actually manage service teams or businesses; their real character is revealed in their treatment of "the help."

  “If you want to judge a person's character, you can see the way that they treat people in restaurants.”
  —Andrew Gruel (03:32)

  "All these labor bills...but then she treats these people like absolute junk."
  —Andrew Gruel (06:15)
  (Full segment: 03:00-06:45)

3. Pots, Pans, and the Great Kitchen Debate

• Listeners' Question: "What cookware do I actually need?"

• Andrew’s List:

  • Cast Iron or Carbon Steel Pan: Versatile, durable, holds heat well.
  • Cheap Boiling Pan: For water, no need to splurge.
  • Egg Pan with Nonstick Surface: Only for eggs, discard if surface degrades.
  • Stainless Steel Saute Pan: For sautéing vegetables, searing proteins.
  • Dutch Oven: If choosing only one, offers versatility; cheap ones can suffice.

• Fun Sidebar: Dutch oven jokes; playful banter between Lauren and Andrew.

  “There's really only four pots and pans that you need...don’t buy them as a whole set...”
  —Andrew Gruel (07:01–09:56)

  "Dutch oven is so versatile...you can do anything in there."
  —Lauren Gruel (11:34)

  (Full segment: 06:45–12:05)

4. California's Ultra-Processed Food Ban in Schools

• Policy: Real Food Healthy Kids Act (AB 1264) aims to remove ultra-processed foods from school lunches by 2035.

• Hosts' Critique:

  • Huge lag time on implementation (ten years).
  • Politicians move swiftly when it suits their interests; this is more about virtue signaling.
  • The details (defining “ultra-processed”) are delayed until 2028, making the ban toothless in the near term.

  "This is virtue at its best. There is no appetite to get this done."
  —Andrew Gruel (14:45)

  "Honestly, none of them are gonna benefit from this because they're gonna be out of school by 2035."
  —Lauren Gruel (15:21)

  (Segment: 12:44–16:19)

5. Weird Food News: Pizza Hut Matcha Pizza & Arby’s Steak Nuggets

• Matcha Cheese Pizza: Pizza Hut releases a pizza topped with matcha. Both hosts are put off by the flavor combo and note the cultural irony—matcha (Japanese, green tea) and cheese (rarely found in traditional Japanese cuisine).

  "Imagine taking a tea bag and grinding it up into powder—and then dusting it all over your pizza."
  —Andrew Gruel (17:13)

• Arby's Steak Nuggets:

  • Unusual “steak nuggets” join the menu.
  • Speculation on their composition (likely heavy on MSG, possibly not 100% steak).
  • Nostalgia for "fresh-sliced" roast beef, critiquing modern fast food for moving away from real cooking.

  "Wouldn't it just be so cool if Arby's—freshly sliced roast beef in house?...Go back to what like McDonald's was originally intended for."
  —Andrew Gruel (21:13)

  (Matcha Pizza: 16:29–17:55; Arby's Steak Nuggets: 18:02–22:18)

6. WTF: The Guy Fieri and Sammy Hagar Tequila Heist

• Story: Two entire semitrucks of their tequila brand vanished en route from Mexico.

• Method: Sophisticated logistics scam; fake trucking companies, fake GPS, staged breakdowns, and elaborate online identities.

• Hosts’ Analysis: Product likely resold in Mexico due to branding and chain-of-custody tracing challenges; highlights the vulnerability of small producers and restaurant owners.

  "Apparently, this is like there's some true crime associated with these brokerage companies. They're creating fake company names, fake websites, fake...GPS."
  —Andrew Gruel (24:29-25:02)

  (Segment: 22:29–26:12)

7. Restaurant Scams: The Utility Bill Call

• Description: Scammers spoof utility companies and demand urgent payment by Zelle, threatening to cut power/gas during service hours.

• Hosts' Advice: Always call the company directly; scam identifies itself when alternate payment methods (e.g., Zelle) are pushed.

  "If we weren't on top of our stuff, we would've fallen for it..."
  —Lauren Gruel (27:16)

  (Segment: 26:12–27:56)

8. Sharpening Your Skills: The Ground Beef Browning Trick

• Tip: Brown ground beef in a hot pan spread thin—let it sear, don’t stir constantly—to build maximum flavor.

• Bonus Advice: Batch-cook, refrigerate, and use in multiple dishes for convenient, affordable high-quality protein.

  "Let it sear...that mallard browning...is going to be unbelievable."
  —Andrew Gruel (29:24)

  (Segment: 28:08–29:49)

9. 86 It: Things That Should Be Banished

• Andrew: Truffle oil/fries—mostly a perfumed, low-quality oil, not worth eating unless you’re using real truffles.

  "All that is is basically like, it’s a truffle perfume that they use by soaking...in vegetable oil...I don’t like the truffle oil trend." (30:44)

• Lauren: ASMR—those YouTube and TikTok “Get Ready With Me” videos full of tapping, whispering, crinkling.

  "I cannot stand ASMR...It drives me insane."
  —Lauren Gruel (30:58)

  (Segment: 29:49–33:16)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On Food & Viral Trends

• "10 years ago, the craziest thing we had was like the double-double at In-N-Out. And now somebody's serving sushi in a shoe."
  —Andrew Gruel (01:55)

On Political Hypocrisy

• "We always say this...that just shows who they are deep down. Because they treat the help like crap."
  —Lauren Gruel (03:42)

On Fast Food Evolution

• "Why wouldn't one of these major fast food brands...say, you know what we're going to do? Freshly sliced roast beef in house."
  —Andrew Gruel (21:13)

On Policy Virtue Signaling

• "This is virtue at its best. There is no appetite to get this done. They're strictly doing it for political points."
  —Andrew Gruel (14:45)

On Restaurant Scams

• "So many restaurants have been hit hard with that utility scam. That's a tough one."
  —Andrew Gruel (27:27)

ASMR Silliness

• "Just put a fork in me. I would never do that."
  —Lauren Gruel (31:35)

Timestamps for Important Segments

| Segment | Time (MM:SS) | |--------------------------------------------|--------------:| | Food culture’s viral absurdities | 01:17–02:50 | | Katie Porter, service worker respect | 02:58–06:45 | | The essential pans debate | 06:45–12:05 | | California ultra-processed food policy | 12:44–16:19 | | Matcha pizza and Arby’s steak nuggets | 16:29–22:18 | | WTF: Tequila heist of Guy Fieri/Sammy Hagar| 22:29–26:12 | | Restaurant scams: Utility bill call | 26:12–27:56 | | Sharpening your skills: ground beef tip | 28:08–29:49 | | 86 it: Truffle oil & ASMR annoyance | 29:49–33:16 |

Final Thoughts

Andrew and Lauren Gruel bring a fun, insightful mix of food nerdery, industry skepticism, pop culture, and personal storytelling. If you’re interested in what's behind viral food stories, the nuts and bolts of kitchen gear, or the realities behind food policy and scams, this episode serves up plenty of flavor (with a side of sarcasm).