From Argentinian Beef to Baja Blast: What’s Really Cooking in America

Summary

Podcast Summary: From Argentinian Beef to Baja Blast: What’s Really Cooking in America

The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show (iHeartPodcasts)
Episode Date: October 28, 2025
Hosts: Andrew and Lauren Gruel

---

Overview

This episode of “The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show” is a lively, insightful, and often funny deep dive into America’s current food landscape—spanning everything from record beef prices and government policies, to fast casual chain drama and quirky food trends. Hosts Andrew and Lauren Gruel, both restaurateurs and food enthusiasts, guide listeners through headline-making stories (beef imports, SNAP benefits, Del Taco’s fate, Thanksgiving turkey prices) while mixing in family anecdotes, policy critique, and memorable banter.

---

Key Discussion Points

1. The Beef Crisis: Scarcity, Politics, and the $50B Argentinian Beef Question

(Starts ~04:04)

• Record-High Beef Prices:

  • U.S. cattle herd size is at historic lows (from ~150 million in 1990 to ~75–80 million today).
  • Causes:
    • Droughts limiting feed (grass, hay, grains)
    • High input costs (inflation, fuel, feed)
    • Early culling by ranchers anticipating future cost increases
    • Difficulty in quickly scaling back up—calves need 2–3 years to market

• Politics & Policy:

  • Both parties blame each other:
    • Republicans cite inflation, overregulation, and climate mandates;
    • Democrats blame tariffs and the Trump administration.
  • Notable quote:

    “Everybody wants to point toward the opposite party … Unfortunately, it’s not that easy.” —Andrew (06:41)

• Proposed Solution: Importing Argentinian Beef

  • U.S. administration to invest $50 billion in Argentinian beef imports (mostly for ground beef).
  • Lauren: “Why would they invest the $50 billion into Argentina? … Why not invest it here?” (08:13)
  • Andrew argues the plan “does almost nothing”—even $50B’s worth is “a drop in the bucket” for U.S. supply (09:06).
  • Biggest winners: Four major beef packers (Tyson, JBS, Cargill, International Beef Packers) controlling 85% of U.S. supply.

    “We have consolidated and centralized our beef market. So they’re the ones setting prices. They’re the ones that benefit from this.” —Andrew (09:34)

  • Andrew’s stance: Government aid should support U.S. ranchers, not foreign producers; policy should decentralize big packer power.

    “Give that power back to independent ranchers … That’ll have a long-term effect.” (11:10)

---

2. Fast Casual Shake-Up: Del Taco’s Discount Sale & Fast Food Economics

(13:11)

• Jack in the Box Sells Del Taco at a Massive Loss

  • Bought Del Taco for $575M just 4 years ago; selling it now for $115M to franchisee Yadav.
  • Discussion of regional presence (primarily West Coast), profit struggles, and labor shortages.
  • Tied to California’s new minimum wage law (AB 1228):

    “It absolutely killed their business.” —Andrew (15:51)

  • Lauren shares personal fandom: “Anytime we fly home, our first stop is Del Taco … We are just a Del Taco family.” (14:18)

• Labor & Service Woes:

  • Noted decline in staffing at Del Taco locations due to wage pressures, impacting customer experience.

---

3. SNAP/Food Aid Freeze and the Debate on Food Security

(16:50)

• Government Gridlock on SNAP (Food Stamps):

  • Democrats in the Senate holding up funding; 12 block votes, partly due to budget disagreements.
  • Cited stat: “1 in 5” Americans on food stamps.
  • Memorable analogy:

    “It’s always the Spider-Man meme—everyone pointing fingers.” —Andrew (16:59)

• Community Over Government:

  • Andrew (and Lauren) argue for tighter oversight and a bolstered role for local organizations vs. federal administration.

    “I always say that we don’t need the government necessarily to help each other out—it starts in the community.” —Andrew (18:38)

  • Program inefficiencies: “Every $1 that goes to someone, $2 is spent—it’s the most inefficient program as all government programs.” (22:51)
  • Abuse/scams: Discussion of EBT (debit card-based benefits) and stories of recipients manipulating the system.

• Lauren’s Personal Experience:

  • Shares story of relying on food assistance in her youth, emphasizes importance of temporary, structured aid.

---

4. Thanksgiving on a Budget: Turkey Prices and Conspiracy Chatter

(24:00)

• Turkey Prices Up 40% Over Last Year

  • Cause: Avian flu outbreaks, government-mandated culling of birds (sometimes even healthy ones), and ripple effect from 2024’s egg shortage.
  • Pricing: Expected $1.32/lb (vs. $0.94/lb in 2024).
  • Retailers like Aldi, Walmart setting “loss leader” turkey deals to bring in holiday shoppers.

• Conspiracy Theories:

  • Some believe artificially inflated prices push consumers toward “artificial meat” or reflect government collusion—hosts poke fun at this idea.

    “They want us all to eat artificial meat—is that what they say?” —Lauren (25:51)

---

5. Quirky Food News: Baja Blast Pie Sweeps Nation

(26:26)

• Taco Bell’s “Baja Blast Pie”

  • Limited edition dessert: bright blue Baja Blast-flavored custard pie with graham crust, $19.99 for 8 servings.
  • Hosts’ reaction: mostly disgust.

    “Why would you want a Baja Blast pie?” —Andrew (26:38) “It looks really gross, too. … Look it up and tell me what you think.” —Lauren (27:36)

• Family fast-food loyalty revealed: Lauren admits to buying their kids a Baja Blast drink (“I felt bad”)—Andrew feigns outrage.

---

6. Family Life, Holidays, and Restaurant Pet Peeves

(28:04)

• Halloween costume woes: Kids want to be a “fart” and a “dirt bike” respectively.
• Restaurant & retail store pet peeves: Awkwardness of unstaffed fronts, poor greetings, and labor disengagement; contrasts owner-operated vs. chain experiences.
• Airplane boarding etiquette rants:

  “You will say something. See, I’m passive aggressive.” —Andrew (31:59)
  “In my old age you have to speak up for yourself—nobody else will do it for you.” —Lauren (32:12)

---

7. Industry Trends to “86”

(29:03)

• Andrew’s 86: “AI answering bots” in restaurants—hard to use, rarely helpful, sometimes fail to even call you back.
• Lauren’s 86: Restaurant awkwardness and lack of welcoming staff; “Makes me not want to spend my money there.”

---

8. Quick Culinary Tips: Acid Makes All the Difference

(32:57)

• Andrew’s #1 Tip:

  “Acid makes food taste so much better. If you add it at the end of your cooking, food that otherwise would taste bland is going to be brightened, it’s going to be amplified.” (32:57)

  • Examples: Squeeze of lemon juice, dash of vinegar, pickled onion, etc.
  • Exercise: Try seasoning plain chicken—add salt, then add acid, then layer in umami—“teaches your palate how to understand flavor differences.” (35:09)

---

Notable Quotes

• “We have consolidated and centralized our beef market. So they’re the ones setting prices. … They’re the ones that benefit from this.” —Andrew, 09:34
• “It absolutely killed their business. … AB 1228 increased the fast food minimum wage and it killed [Del Taco’s] business.” —Andrew, 15:51
• “It’s always the Spider-Man meme—everyone pointing fingers.” —Andrew, 16:59
• “I always say we don’t need the government necessarily to help each other out—it starts in the community.” —Andrew, 18:38
• “Acid makes food taste so much better. … Just a dash—at the end, you shouldn’t even be able to taste it. But suddenly it’s more delicious.” —Andrew, 32:57

---

Memorable Moments

• Lauren describes labor-inducing with Gregorian chants to avoid three kids with the same birthday (03:18).
• The running “methane/fart” joke when discussing cow emissions and family anecdotes (08:07, 16:26).
• Lauren’s confusion at why anyone would eat a blue Baja Blast pie (27:36).
• The “what the fork?” segment on odd food trends (26:22), evident host rapport and self-mocking.
• Andrew’s defense of the family’s Del Taco loyalty, despite nutritional and business woes (14:18, 16:24).

---

Timestamps for Core Segments

• Beef Market Explained: 04:04 – 13:11
• Del Taco Sale & Fast Food Labor Crisis: 13:11 – 16:50
• SNAP/Food Aid Freeze Debate: 16:50 – 24:00
• Thanksgiving Turkey Prices: 24:00 – 26:22
• Baja Blast Pie & Food Trend Oddities: 26:22 – 28:56
• Restaurant/Airline Etiquette Rants & “86” Segment: 28:56 – 32:19
• Cooking Tips (Acid in Food): 32:57 – 35:09

---

Conclusion

The episode blends deep-dive explanations of pressing food and policy issues (beef supply, SNAP program, turkey prices) with irreverent takes on the business of fast food and emerging culinary fads—anchored by the Gruels’ real-life restaurant experience and sharp, familial humor. Whether you’re curious about why beef is so expensive, why Del Taco is in trouble, or just wondering what acid does for your chicken, this show has opinions, laughs, and actionable insights to share.

Transcript

[Lauren Gruel]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[Doug (Liberty Mutual Ad)]

Limu Keymoo 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.

[Andrew Gruel]

Uh, Limu is that guy with the binoculars watching us.

[Doug (Liberty Mutual Ad)]

Cut the camera. They see us.

[Ryan Seacrest (Albertsons and Safeway Ad)]

Only pay for what you [e-mail] Liberty Liberty Liberty Liberty Savings Very unwritten by Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. Affiliates excludes Massachusetts hey, it's Ryan Seacrest for Albertsons and Safeway now through November 4th. Shop the annual beauty event and save $5 when you spend $25 on select beauty products. Shop in store or online for items like Dove Body Wash, Native Body Wash, Cetaphil gentle skin cleanser, Dr. Squatch body wash, Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel, Dial Liquid Hand Soap and Olay Body wash. And say, $5 when you spend $25 or more. Offer ends Nov. 4. Restrictions apply. Offers may vary. Visit albertsons or safeway.com for more detail. Details.

[Scott Hansen (NFL Red Zone Ad)]

I'm Scott Hansen, host of NFL Red Zone, Lowe's Nose Sundays are for football. That's why we're here to help you get your next DIY project done, even when the clock isn't on your side. Whether that's a new Filtreat filter or Bosch and Cobalt power tools, Lowe's has everything you need to feel like the MVP of diy. So get it done and earn your sundae. Shop now in store and online. Lowe's official partner of the NFL.

[Matt Rogers or Bowen Yang (Las Culturistas Ad)]

This is Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang from Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang.

[Andrew Gruel]

JBL Tour Pro 3 earbuds are for those who don't conform to the standard.

[Matt Rogers or Bowen Yang (Las Culturistas Ad)]

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.

[Andrew Gruel]

And I love the sound of JBL when it goes. These earbuds are packed with innovation because you can't stand out by following others.

[Matt Rogers or Bowen Yang (Las Culturistas Ad)]

Touc Screen, 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 [e-mail].

[Andrew Gruel]

And welcome back to another episode of American Gravy.

[Lauren Gruel]

Oh yeah, the one and only show where we mix food, family and freedom in the same pot and somehow don't burn it.

[Andrew Gruel]

Hey. Ooh ba dum bum. And I'm Andrew Grohl.

[Lauren Gruel]

And I'm Lauren Grohl.

[Andrew Gruel]

And we are excited to have you back. It's another exciting week, and we've had a lot going on in the food world and beyond since we last met. All of us in this great audience.

[Lauren Gruel]

I feel like they're here with us.

[Andrew Gruel]

They are with us. There's 52 people right here in the room right now. Lauren, myself, and 49 of my alternate personalities.

[Lauren Gruel]

This is true.

[Andrew Gruel]

Yeah.

[Lauren Gruel]

All right.

[Andrew Gruel]

We had a lot going on this weekend. We had some kids birthday parties. We had.

[Lauren Gruel]

We had so much going on. If you don't know, I don't know why these. They would know. But three of our kids, three out of four of our kids pretty much have the same birthday. Two of them have the same birthday, and the little guy is born the day after.

[Andrew Gruel]

Well, you held that one in for a while.

[Lauren Gruel]

I did, because I went into labor with him on their birthday, and I said, there's no way I'm having three kids on the same day.

[Andrew Gruel]

That is true. We turned all the lights off, and I just played Gregorian chants, and it worked out well.

[Lauren Gruel]

It's very peaceful.

[Andrew Gruel]

It was very peaceful. We also were on multiple planes.

[Lauren Gruel]

Oh, yeah. We've been all over. We've had a crazy.

[Andrew Gruel]

Out of the country. We were out of the country. I landed at. We landed as a family at like 3pm on Friday, and I turned around and took a red eye out at 7pm, 8pm anyway, God bless him, because.

[Lauren Gruel]

I don't know how he did that. Just to film for five minutes.

[Andrew Gruel]

Film for five minutes and then turn around and.

[Lauren Gruel]

And come back home. And then we had another birthday party.

[Andrew Gruel]

Yeah, those birthday parties are getting crazy. All right, kids. Birthday party king. Sorry. We digress.

[Lauren Gruel]

Let's jump into these stories.

[Andrew Gruel]

All right, well, everyone's talking about beef.

[Lauren Gruel]

What about it?

[Andrew Gruel]

What about beef? I've been talking about beef for years and trying to explain to people how the beef supply chain works, but it's come to a bit more public light recently due to the administration's plan strategy. And when I say administration, I mean, you know, it's the Trump administration specifically. This is handled by Brooke Rollins with the USDA and other agencies in regards to beef prices. Right. So I just want to lay the foundation here, set the table, if you will. Beef prices have been going up significantly. The reason beef prices are so high is because we have our lowest herd size. Herd size is the number of cattle that we have in the United States, for point of reference, I want to say, you know, we, let's take like 1990, we had, I think 150 million cattle or herd. That, that would be the herd size. Now we're down to like, I don't know, 75, 80 million, but it's dropped even more. We have the lowest herd size since, like 2019. You know, generally in that timeframe. Why is the herd size so low? Well, they're going to tell you it's two things. It is the, there was a significant drought which dries up all the land, and then the cattle don't have an opportunity to feed naturally on the grass and the hay and the grains, et cetera. And then number two, input costs, right? So the cost of feeding due to inflation due to coming out of the Biden administration, the cost of soy, corn, wheat, et cetera, that's an issue. And then all the other input costs associated with gas, right. So just generally the consumer price index and everything that goes into it. But the problem is that there's also the hedgin. There's looking ahead. So cattle ranchers are going to say, well, we're looking out three, four years, and we foresee costs are going to continue to go up. We need the cash now. It's going to be difficult to bring on loans, capital investment. So we might sell our cattle early. It's called culling the cattle. Sell them early so that you can get more money now or you at least kind of bet or try and speculate as to what the future costs are going to be versus current. So they sold a lot of cattle a couple years ago. It takes two to three years. If I bring in a new, you know, the cow has a baby, it's gonna take two to three years for it to come to market size. So it's not like something that you can fix overnight. So that's kind of setting the table. Obviously, for the purposes of politics, everyone wants to point towards the opposite party. You know, Republicans are gonna point to the Democrats and they're gonna say, well, it's because the cost of. They pump so much money into the economy and so much regulation and the cost of everything has gone up. And then by way of a lot of the climate change conversation, they were trying to decrease cattle production because they were pinning a significant amount of the issues related to hypothetical climate change on the methane coming from the cows, AKA the farts, or the effect that they have on the surrounding ecosystem. And then of course, Democrats are gonna point and say, look, Trump's in office and the tariffs have created this major issue. Therefore, the cost of everything has gone up, primarily beef. Unfortunately, it's not that easy, and we can get into that throughout this episode. But where it's brought us to today is that one of the solutions that was proposed last week was, well, if we need to increase supply, right, to bring and demand is there, we just need to increase supply to bring prices down. We have this partnership with Argentina. Malay, right. Very friendly with the current administration. Why don't we put money into buying Argentinian beef, bringing it into the United States, and that can reduce some of the demand or reduce some of the supply pressure and therefore bring prices down. And that has created a lot of cause, that has caused a lot of stir and controversy because people are saying, and by the way, the number specifically is let's invest $50 billion into Argentinian beef to bring in as imports. And they've said, well, that money should go to US Ranchers and farmers.

[Lauren Gruel]

Okay? So the only thing I got from that entire spiel, which was brilliant, by the way, was that you said farts.

[Andrew Gruel]

Actually, I said methane.

[Lauren Gruel]

You said farts.

[Andrew Gruel]

Methane, which is the formal word at home, we'll say, like, when the kids will have a little rotutui, I'll say, all right, who released their methane?

[Lauren Gruel]

Okay, so question for you. Why would he invest the $50 billion into Argentina? Right. Like their ranchers, why not invest it here?

[Andrew Gruel]

Because we don't have the herd, Right? So.

[Lauren Gruel]

So is it because people are buying so much because beef, like we talked about a few episodes ago, have become so popular? It's because we literally just don't have enough.

[Andrew Gruel]

We just don't have enough. So it's the general supply. We don't have enough. And the argument is that by bringing in. By buying $50 billion worth of Argentinian beef, that then we're going to bring it into our supply chain. Now, keep in mind, most of this is going to come in as ground beef, right? So you're going to take lean cuts and you're going to grind it up into US Ground beef. You're not really going to get primal cuts, tenderloins. You're not going to get rib eyes, et cetera, the whole muscle cuts. It's lean Argentinian beef that is going to be ground.

[Lauren Gruel]

So then how is that bringing prices down?

[Andrew Gruel]

Well, that's the argument. So I would postulate as an economist, that it's not. Because even $50 billion worth of beef, if you extrapolate that across the amount of beef that that would supply, it's really only like zero of the total beef that we have in our market anyway. So it's a drop in the bucket. The beef packers are the ones that are pushing for this now. This is where the real problem lies. We have four major beef packers that own 85% of the entire supply of beef in the United States. So you're dealing with Tyson, jbs, Cargill and International Beef Packers. Those are the four major players. We have consolidated and centralized our beef market. So they're the ones that are setting the prices. They're the ones that benefit from this.

[Lauren Gruel]

I was gonna say. So they're excited because they're getting all this new product to then package. Right.

[Andrew Gruel]

At the cost of the U.S. taxpayer. I mean, $50 billion of taxpayer dollars is gonna go. And Argentina is excited as well, which, okay, I get that they're a friendly nation, so we wanna do business with them. And he's also decreasing any hypothetical tariffs that there would be on Argentinian beef. So he can kind of flip that lever and they say that's supposed to help with supply and then there's gonna be a downward price pressure. Now my perspective is as follows. I don't think we should be giving any money to Argentina, not because I don't like them, but because I think $50 billion should go into increasing our herd size and making it easier for the beef for the ranchers to be able to increase their supply of cows of cattle. Now that's not going to help prices immediately. However, I think there's other levers and mechanisms that can be utilized through the USDA subsidies, et cetera, through the government to decrease the pressure on beef prices in the short term. And that's gonna cost a little bit of money, but I'd rather that money be spent on us than that money be spent on Argentinian beef. But then the bigger issue here is that we need to take away the powers that the four big beef packers have and we need to give that power back to the independent ranchers. The more family run ranchers, farmers, increasing processing capacity, increasing the ability to raise beef regeneratively through the United States. That'll have a long term effect.

[Lauren Gruel]

Yeah, And I agree with you on that.

[Andrew Gruel]

Yeah. So I mean what this really comes down to and what's interesting is that even if we do that, it's not incumbent upon the packers really to set the price. It's the retail price. So in theory if you decrease the price that the packers. If you decrease the price, the packers sell to the retailers. Right. And that's called the wholesale beef price. That doesn't mean that the retailers are going to decrease the prices for the consumers. We've seen that so often is that we've seen that the. When prices are decreased on a wholesale side, the processors or the retailers still keep the price high because they're used to that high price. So that's the beef issue, and that's what everyone's been talking about. So when you see people saying us ranchers should be able to benefit from any policy, right, Any policy decision, be it economic or even regulatory. I agree with that wholeheartedly, because that's the, quote, America first philosophy that there was a campaign on.

[Lauren Gruel]

I was gonna say that was his whole spiel.

[Andrew Gruel]

Yeah. So one of the things I think that's important about this, and we go back to, is ground beef, right? Like, ultimately, you're getting actually more benefit from your ground beef when you're eating it than you are from your whole muscles anyway. Because the ground beef. Beef actually has a lot more connective tissue. It has more of the animal ground into it, which is where you're gonna get more of the vitamins, the creatine, et cetera. So what this comes down to is even with beef price, look, continue to eat your ground beef, right? Like, ground beef is the way to go. And we'll continue to offer a ton of recipes related to ground beef. So that's just a little bit of an overview on what we've been talking about, or rather a deep dive on some of the made food headlines this week. Beef specifically. But there's also a lot of things happening in a restaurant in a fast, casual world. You know, what I saw, you know what I saw recently as well is.

[Lauren Gruel]

It Jack in the Box sells del taco to Yadav for $115 million. When they just. What was it? Less than four years ago, they spent 575 million to acquire the chain. So now they're selling it to a franchisee, is that right?

[Andrew Gruel]

Exactly. So they are. Del Taco is selling. I mean, that's huge. Jack in the Box owns Del Taco, and they're selling it for $575 million, as you mentioned, to a franchisee. But what's crazy about this is that it actually, and I got to look at these numbers. They. They bought del taco like four or five years ago for, I want to say, like 5x that amount.

[Lauren Gruel]

I was. Yeah. So clearly it wasn't like turning a profit. Right. If they're selling it for so cheap.

[Andrew Gruel]

Well, that's the thing, right? So that's why I think this is a really interesting story. Is, is that how are they able. $575 million, which seems like a ton of money for Del Taco.

[Lauren Gruel]

That's a lot of. Well, first of all, we always talk. Where do people get this money from?

[Andrew Gruel]

Well, it's private equity from.

[Lauren Gruel]

Yeah, I know, but where do they.

[Andrew Gruel]

Get this money from? I mean, there's, there's, there's a lot of money. Let me, let me look up, let me see how much they you, how much you love Del Taco. I want to find out how much.

[Lauren Gruel]

They sold it for. Anytime we fly anywhere and we fly back home, our first stop is Del Taco. I don't know what it is about Del Taco. We love it. Bean burritos. We get some of the Carbone tacos, right, Andrew?

[Andrew Gruel]

I like the Del Carbone tacos.

[Lauren Gruel]

We are just a Del Taco family. And I know some people don't like Del Taco and would rather eat Taco Bell, but we cannot do Taco Bell in this family for some reason. Gut issues.

[Andrew Gruel]

So I am sorry, this is actually not the case. Jack in the Box is selling the entire Del Taco chain. I got my numbers wrong. For $115 million.

[Lauren Gruel]

Oh, they're selling the.

[Andrew Gruel]

They originally bought it for 575 million.

[Lauren Gruel]

Oh, they. Okay, yeah, that's right.

[Andrew Gruel]

I said 575 million. All of Del Taco for 115 million. I'm sorry, that is not a lot of money.

[Lauren Gruel]

That's not a lot of money. No, I mean, like Del Tacos are nationwide, correct?

[Andrew Gruel]

No, there's no Del Taco on the east coast.

[Lauren Gruel]

Oh, there's not. It's just West Coast.

[Andrew Gruel]

No, it's west coast, but there's a significant number of locations. Del Taco. To me, if I'm going to eat fast food like I would eat at Del Taco, they still shred their own cheese fresh in house, which that's a big deal for me. It's not the best food ever. However, what I want to say that is interesting about this is you see a brand that's being sold for a major discount. A major discount. And one thing we have noticed at Del Taco recently is that their labor is down so much.

[Lauren Gruel]

Oh my gosh. There's like one guy working like the drive through and cooking and the inside taking inside orders and we're like, holy moly.

[Andrew Gruel]

Yeah. So Del Taco is primarily a California chain. And what's so funny is that when I read the headlines about this, no one's talking about. They're like, oh, it's just, you know, a shake up within their portfolio. No, I'm telling you right now. It's because of AB 1228. It's because they increased the fast foods minimum wage and it killed their business. It absolutely killed their business.

[Lauren Gruel]

That's a good point. I didn't even think about that. But yes, the last few times we've gone, there's been one person working the entire store.

[Andrew Gruel]

It's nuts. And it takes so long to get the food as well. Granted, we're the only family that can actually order $75 worth of Del Taco.

[Lauren Gruel]

Well, there are six of us.

[Andrew Gruel]

Back to the methane issue. So that's interesting. I want to know what everybody's favorite is when it comes to these fast food chains. If you had to eat at one fast food chain, what would it be? Hit us up. Hit us up on xfgruel, Orangruel and give us your best. So another food story this week that I think that we're gonna continue to hear a lot about is the government food aids freeze. So SNAP benefits.

[Lauren Gruel]

Yeah. So I heard it's really the Democrats, right? Like, is it their fault?

[Andrew Gruel]

Well, once again, I mean, you know, all of this has so much nuance to it. And it's always like the pointing of the finger. I love that meme where it's like spider man pointing at spider man. And they're like, you're a knock. You're a knock. Right? Cause that's ultimately what it comes down to. So I think that just generally speaking, politicians are gonna be responsible in. Yeah, you could say that. It's the Democrats because they're the ones that are holding it up in the Senate. You need a 60 vote majority in order to pass a budget. And it's what we have, like 53. So you've got a seven vote deficit. And, you know, Schumer's holding it up by saying the only way we'll vote for it is if you make these concessions.

[Lauren Gruel]

This is what I read today. So Senate Democrats have now voted 12 times to not fund the food stamp program, also known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Snap.

[Andrew Gruel]

And it's funny because that was actually posted on the USDA website.

[Lauren Gruel]

Yeah, I know. That's where I.

[Andrew Gruel]

Which that's a bold move. That's a pretty bold move. Well, the reality is that. And I've talked about this, what people are now, what I find so fascinating about this is we realize things when they become issues. So everyone's out There. And they're like, wait a minute. We spend all of this money, and when you dig into the numbers, it's like one in every five people is on food stamps. Right. And people are having trouble stomaching that number because they're like. And it might even be even smaller. The issue here is that we have ignored this for years and years and years. So we're in the final hour and we're talking about this and saying we'll just eliminate it. Right? Like, you've got one side saying eliminate it, and you've got another side saying, you want to kill kids. Like, that's what it comes down to. It's always this, like, hyperbolic reaction.

[Lauren Gruel]

Yeah. I mean, it is sad, though. I didn't realize the number were that significant. Like one in five. And you said maybe even lower.

[Andrew Gruel]

Yup. Well, and I'll go back to this, because we are, you know, as part of our kind of brand DNA, and by us, I mean, Lauren and I, it's about feeding people and making sure that people don't go hungry. And we're constantly giving away meals at the restaurant. And that's really why we wanted to build the restaurants, is we kind of wanted this, like, community kitchen so that we can help out as needed. It's not just us. There's food banks, there's churches, there's community organizations. There's individuals who run these organizations. I always say that. That we don't need the government necessarily to help each other out. Like, that starts in the community. And I've already seen the week leading into this where we know that the food stamps are gonna be cut on November 1st. So many organizations that are pulling together to say, well, don't worry, we're gonna fill this gap. Here's how we're gonna do it. That's a testament to the good of community. And I think that there should be more of that. So, for example, when I say that maybe we overspend on this program, it's not because I don't want people to be helped out. It's because I think that we need the fishing pole and teach them how to fish. And I think that a lot of the people within the community can pull this together themselves and put the money in themselves as well, us included. So it's not like I'm putting it on the backs of other people in the state of California. It's a huge amount. It's even higher than it is in many other states.

[Lauren Gruel]

I guess for me, it's like these individuals, you know, I know a Lot of people have fallen. I mean, I'll. I'll admit it. When I was, like, young, I was struggling, and I had to go on some, like, food assistance. Like, I'm not gonna lie, when I was, like, in my late, you know, teen years, early twenties. But I eventually got out of that, I broke. Cause I wasn't embarrassed, but, like, I didn't want to stay on it forever, so.

[Andrew Gruel]

Yeah, well, it needs to be temporary. The problem is that with every federal program, right, there's really not that much oversight. It's like, okay, let's get the money from the feds, and then we bring it into the, you know, kind of your local congressional rep gets the money, brings it into the local community, and then it's disseminated through a state program or ultimately a local program. And then when you distill all of that money through so many big government filters or bureaucracies, number one, you. You lose a lot along the way under the guise of administrative costs. And then, number two, there's not that much oversight and control on it. Now. Each state has different controls put in place. Like I heard in Texas, you cannot manipulate the program. It's virtually impossible. As we know in California, we're spread thin in regards to a will or a desire to regulate the program. So what I've read is that what people have been doing is that let's say you've got five kids, it's incumbent upon the parent to spend the money on the food. And a lot of the parents are not spending the money on food.

[Lauren Gruel]

Well, now, aren't they just. Aren't they just getting a debit card?

[Andrew Gruel]

Yeah.

[Lauren Gruel]

Yeah, because when I had it, like, it was. It was like almost vouchers, right? And it was for whatever the grocery was, like, say, a carton of milk or whatever, right? So, like, it wasn't like, it was just like a free willy nilly. I could buy whatever I wanted at the store.

[Andrew Gruel]

Now you get a debit card and there's still limitations on it, although they're pretty wide in variety.

[Lauren Gruel]

Because I see a lot of. Even if you go, you know, to like a liquor store or whatever, there's like EBT cards accepted here. Like, there's a lot of signage on that. Whereas before it was like, you could only go to the grocery store and get certain items.

[Andrew Gruel]

Yes, but that's where the scammers always come in. There's always a scam. I mean, I was at the grocery store the other day and some guy asked me if, said, oh, I've got you know, $400 worth of groceries from a voucher or an EBT card. Like I'll buy whatever you want, just give me the cash for it. So like they're discounting it so that they can get cash and then they use the cash to go buy drugs or do something nefarious with it. There's so many different ways in which it get manipulated.

[Lauren Gruel]

Yeah. And I feel like, I think people definitely will take advantage. I mean, obviously some people really do need this assistance. So it is sad that it's going away.

[Andrew Gruel]

Yeah. But look at it this way, right? So you want, you need food. You can buy a bag of rice for, you know, a bag of rice for a month for $50 and dry beans for $30. So for $80 you can feed yourself for an entire month. You just gotta sacrifice.

[Lauren Gruel]

Yeah. I mean, I think I ate potato salad for like a year.

[Andrew Gruel]

That's disgusting. We'll talk about that another time. So, and I'm not trying to be flippant about it, I'm just saying is that we have this problem. It's come to a head. So now let utilize this opportunity because it's a national conversation, to fix the program, make it more efficient. I don't think anybody is against the program in general or people being fed. I think they're against the fact that $2 for every $1 that goes to somebody, $2 is spent. It's the most inefficient program as all government programs.

[Lauren Gruel]

And two, it's like all this money's going to people who don't necessarily need it. It's like milking the system.

[Andrew Gruel]

Yeah. There are a lot of people who don't need it. You are correct. I mean, I've heard stories. One of the biggest stories here in California is that what people do is they take the EBT program and then they'll go buy flowers at Trader Joe's and then in a freeway and they sell the flowers for profit.

[Lauren Gruel]

I heard that too. And. Or like the, they'll sell like the fruit.

[Andrew Gruel]

Yeah.

[Lauren Gruel]

On the side, you know, like the cut up fruit. But they're using that. How to. They're using the EBT card to buy that fruit and then they're selling it for double the price, which in a.

[Andrew Gruel]

Way is a small business loan. But then they don't pay taxes on that because it's cash only. So it doesn't go back and help the system. So maybe we digress a little bit. But I think we can open up on that in a subsequent episode. But let's at least make this a little bit more fun. Well, actually, here I go. I'm not going to be. It's not going to be too fun, but we're getting into the Thanksgiving season, and rumor has it that turkey prices are going to be going up. And the result of that is because still, I know we talked about the avian flu with eggs, but they were, you know, they were raising the turkeys around that same time. So we have a lower supply of turkeys this year. So they say prices are going to go up.

[Lauren Gruel]

Yeah. So prices are going to be about $1.32 per pound, a 40% increase from 2024's average of 0.94 cents a pound.

[Andrew Gruel]

Yes. Now, what I find interesting about that is that's gonna become a huge political talking point going into Thanksgiving.

[Lauren Gruel]

Wasn't this a thing?

[Andrew Gruel]

Yeah.

[Lauren Gruel]

With the Biden administration, it was like. I forget, but we always use the.

[Andrew Gruel]

Gauge, the index, like the turkey or the Thanksgiving holiday price index. But what I think is interesting is. So I dug deeper on this story, and I'm like, okay, so turkey prices are in regards to wholesale. However, how are the retail operations gonna respond to this? A lot of the major retailers are now saying, well, we're gonna use turkey as a loss leader, which means we're gonna sell it at a loss in order to bring people into the store and then make money on all the other things that we're selling. So you have big brands like Aldi and I think Walmart and some of these major brands and retailers are doing these, like, 20 or $30 turkey deals where you get an entire turkey dinner for four for, like, $30. So I think the perception when you're looking at the marketing is not necessarily going to be that the prices are higher, but the reality on the retail side is that they might be a little bit higher. Although you're going to see those costs kind of amortized across a wide variety of products.

[Lauren Gruel]

I would say turkeys in general have been impacted by the bird flu this year, including over half a million this month alone.

[Andrew Gruel]

Half a million. Half a million dead birds.

[Lauren Gruel]

Half a million turkeys.

[Andrew Gruel]

You know why? But that's also the government forcing people to kill their birds. Remember we talked about that in the past with the eggs? They force you to call the birds because they don't want there to be a spread, and they actually pay to decrease supply, which artificially increases prices. When a lot of the birds that they were killing were healthy birds. That's where you get the conspiracy theorists.

[Lauren Gruel]

That are like, that's sad. They want us all to eat artificial meat. Is that what they say?

[Andrew Gruel]

I don't necessarily know if they want you to eat artificial meat. A lot of this is the economy is gonna be a driver of politics, and people within the world of are always competing within that world for headlines and clicks and surveys and you name it. So many times people do manipulate policy in order to help on the political side.

[Lauren Gruel]

All right, well, we've just depressed our audience with the last few stories. What the fork?

[Andrew Gruel]

Yeah, what the fork.

[Lauren Gruel]

What the fork?

[Andrew Gruel]

What are some of the craziest food stories from this week?

[Lauren Gruel]

All right, so Taco Bell is turning its Baja Black into a pie, and it is finally going nationwide this November.

[Andrew Gruel]

That does absolutely nothing for me.

[Lauren Gruel]

It does nothing for me.

[Andrew Gruel]

Why would you want a Baja Blast pie?

[Lauren Gruel]

I mean, the kids made me go to Taco Bell like we just talked. We don't do Taco Bell in our family. We go del Taco. But the kids had me go to Taco Bell the other day because they needed the Baja Blast. And it's just this, like, blue drink.

[Andrew Gruel]

Wait, are you joking me? I love how you're just telling me this right now because you knew I would lose my mind.

[Lauren Gruel]

Okay, listen.

[Andrew Gruel]

You bought the kids a Baja Blast?

[Lauren Gruel]

Yes, because they wanted to try it. I felt bad.

[Andrew Gruel]

That's horrible.

[Lauren Gruel]

Okay?

[Andrew Gruel]

So anyway, I hope they didn't like it.

[Lauren Gruel]

I don't think they did that much. They haven't asked for it since.

[Andrew Gruel]

I'm gonna need to sit down and have a talk with the boys. I'm gonna crack some eggs in the pan and say, this is your brain on Baja Blast.

[Lauren Gruel]

So listen, this dessert pairs a graham crust with Baja Blast flavored custard and whipped cream, and whole pies will run for $19.99 and can serve up to eight people.

[Andrew Gruel]

I'm all for indulgence and every now and then, like, breaking the rules and just indulgin. It's just. Why would you want to waste your kind of indulgence ticket or your free pass on something like a Baja Blast?

[Lauren Gruel]

It looks really gross, too. It's available on November 6th. It looks like artificial. Look it up. Look it up and tell me what you think it's like.

[Andrew Gruel]

Find me one thing within Taco Bell.

[Lauren Gruel]

That'S not artificial neon blue color pie.

[Andrew Gruel]

Well, you know what? I think for Halloween, I might be a Baja Blast.

[Lauren Gruel]

Oh, that'd be cute. I'll put some whipped cream on.

[Andrew Gruel]

Okay. This just turned in. Why are you doing this? It's midday. This is not between the sheets. This is not after hours.

[Lauren Gruel]

Oh, my gosh. Okay, that's weird.

[Andrew Gruel]

Speaking of Halloween, we gotta get our Halloween costumes ready.

[Lauren Gruel]

We have nothing. We do this every year. And every year I try to be more organized and get the kids costumes ahead of time, and it never happens. And here I am ordering, like, prime overnight delivery Halloween costumes.

[Andrew Gruel]

Yeah, but the thing is, is that the kids change their mind all the time. Like, Jack the other day told me that he wanted to be a fart for Halloween.

[Lauren Gruel]

James actually told me he wanted to be a dirt bike. And I'm thinking he wants to dress up as like, a dirt bike rider, like a professional. But no, he actually wants to be the dirt bike. Like, he wants wheels.

[Andrew Gruel]

Oh, he wants to be the bike.

[Lauren Gruel]

Which is great, but where the heck am I gonna find that costume?

[Andrew Gruel]

Wait, you mean to tell me you don't have four hours to sew that together?

[Lauren Gruel]

I don't know.

[Andrew Gruel]

We need a sewing machine.

[Lauren Gruel]

I used to sew. Yeah, did you know that?

[Andrew Gruel]

Sew what? We're going there.

[Lauren Gruel]

Sharpen your skills. Gruel.

[Andrew Gruel]

All right, what do you want to give me for a cooking tip? This.

[Lauren Gruel]

Why do you put me on the spot?

[Andrew Gruel]

Because I like to put you on the spot.

[Lauren Gruel]

No, I need your quick tips.

[Andrew Gruel]

I'm going to jump around here. I want to 86 at first because I've been thinking about this one and what I want to see, like, food trends that need to end, or any trends in general in regards to the restaurant industry. And that's AI answering bots.

[Lauren Gruel]

You hate answering. Well, because it's so annoying, because they sound real, but then you, like, you're talking to them and they just say something totally different than what you're talking to them about. Like just put on a person.

[Andrew Gruel]

Well, and what's even hilarious about that is I tried to do it for our restaurant and it's impossible for it to even get done because, like, you pre programmed these AI answering bots. I wasn't necessarily gonna deploy it, but I wanted to see how much it cost and I wanted to understand it. Yeah. But they never called me back. Cause it was an AI bot.

[Lauren Gruel]

The AI person never called me back.

[Andrew Gruel]

But you call these restaurants now and for a second you don't realize that it's a bot.

[Lauren Gruel]

No, Sometimes. So we at the restaurant, we were getting these calls from Google and you'd answer and it would some. I don't know how they set this up, but they would call the restaurant and it would be somebody requesting a reservation on behalf of whoever put in their information. So, like, the person could have just called us and made the reservation. Instead they use Google to do it and call us. And using an AI bot.

[Andrew Gruel]

Yeah, that one is really weird. What's your 86 at this week?

[Lauren Gruel]

My 86 at Speaking of restaurants is restaurant awkwardness. You know, when you walk into a restaurant and there's like nobody in the front, you're not really sure what to do. You're kind standing there, like awkwardly.

[Andrew Gruel]

Then you see this, and then somebody else walks in and you're like elbowing them because you want to make sure.

[Lauren Gruel]

That they don't get noticed first. They know that I'm first in line. Like, I just, like, I just don't like that it makes me. And not just restaurants, I would say also like retail stores. Like the other day it was our daughter's birthday, so I went shopping with her. We went into a store. And my pet peeve is when nobody greets you when you walk in, like, you're just, do they want to help me? Do they want my business? It is like, and they're continuing on with whatever they're doing and like, don't help you.

[Andrew Gruel]

Want to help you because you're a nuisance. Right? Like, they want to, they want to clock in.

[Lauren Gruel]

They want to chit chat with their friends at work and not help you and actually do their job.

[Andrew Gruel]

And they want to clock in, they want to get the money. And when a customer walks in, that's like, you're a nuisance. That's it.

[Lauren Gruel]

So no, I actually think that's why.

[Andrew Gruel]

You always look for owner operator stores. You walk into an owner operator store and they're all about it.

[Lauren Gruel]

You know the difference too. You can spot the difference between 100%.

[Andrew Gruel]

Yeah, so I get that. And I would say parlaying from the restaurant awkwardness too. It's like airplane awkwardness. So it's the same idea. I assume everybody else operates, operates under this modus operandi, like this, this playbook of being polite to each other. So, for example, when you're waiting in line or when you're about ready to be called for your, you know, whatever your lineup area, that no one's going to cut you, but what happens is they do. There's always that one person that's going to come in and cut you and they're gonna. And they're gonna disrupt the entire system.

[Lauren Gruel]

Oh, I hate that. You're supposed to go in order by row. And some people now just like from the back, just come and line up so there's this huge line. You can't even get out when it's time to, like, deplane.

[Andrew Gruel]

And you, you will say something. See, I'm passive aggressive.

[Lauren Gruel]

I will.

[Andrew Gruel]

I'm like, no, I'm passive aggressive. Like, Lauren will walk right up to somebody and tap them on a shoulder and be like, excuse me, that was incredibly rude and you need to be back there.

[Lauren Gruel]

Okay, I'm not like, that aggressive.

[Andrew Gruel]

But that's not true.

[Lauren Gruel]

I will say something. I don't. I've come to learn in my old age, you have to speak up for yourself because nobody else is gonna do it for you.

[Andrew Gruel]

I do this little cost benefit analysis in my head. I'm like, is it even more.

[Lauren Gruel]

Oh, Andrew, Andrew, what did we talk about? We're not talking about it on air.

[Andrew Gruel]

But they say that people who have, like, skin problems are people pleasers. I read a study about that. So I've like, had just like. I don't have, like crazy psoriasis or anything, but, like, I've. My scalp is. Was itching a little bit here and there the other day.

[Lauren Gruel]

And I'm like, andrew, because you're a people pleaser, I'm like, look what you're doing right now. You're trying to make everyone happy, which is a good.

[Andrew Gruel]

But also, I do want to make everybody in my family happy, especially my wife. Have you met her? She's unbelievable. We should get her in here.

[Lauren Gruel]

Oh, you're too sweet.

[Andrew Gruel]

All right, well, back to. Sorry. Well, this just got weird. Back to the quick, quick sizzle, quick tip a little, sharpen your skill. So one of the things I talk about all the time is acid, right? And I'm not talking about lsd. I'm talking about, like vinegars and tomato juices. Acids in food. High bright, the sour flavor, if you will. Acid makes food taste so much better. If you add it at the end of your cooking, food that otherwise would taste bland is going to be brightened, it's going to be amplified. It's the way to change your food. At the end. It's not just salt and pepper. At the end of cooking, it's a dash of acid. So that could be a squeeze of lemon juice, that could be a dash of a high quality vinegar. That could be even fresh tomato in there or some pickled onion, something on there with a little bit of acidity to balance the flavors. That. And it's not supposed to taste sour, so. So don't overdo it with the acid. Just a dash of acid. You shouldn't even be able to taste it. You'll taste your food at the end, and you'll go, oh, Mmm. Ooh, Rhonda. Oh, Margaret, that's delicious.

[Lauren Gruel]

Okay, what do you say, though? You say if you think of the salty, sour, sweet, bitter, and umami, and if anything's missing, add it. Right? And most of the time, it is an acid.

[Andrew Gruel]

It's an acid because that takes. And those aren't even right. So salty, sour, sweet, bitter, and umami. That's not like a one to one to one to one to one. That is some. The of them play a stronger role in the symphony of food on your palate. So acid is one of those. Obviously, salt isis another one. But it's not always just salt. Like people think, oh, this tastes bland. I'm gonna throw a bunch of salt in there. No, that's how you get salty food. It's think acids. Maybe you need some fresh herbs, which also fulfills the bitter flavor profile. But try that. Right? So what I would suggest you guys do is take a bland piece of chicken at home. If you're cooking it, cook one piece with no seasoning, then hit it with salt, taste it with no seasoning, then taste it with a little sal, then taste it with a little bit of salt and acid. Then taste it with salt, acid, and maybe even a dash of, like, soy sauce or Worcestershire sauce, which is that umami or even tomato, some sort of tomato sauce on there, because that's umami as well. And each time you taste it, you'll be able to taste how you're building those layers of flavor. And it's an exercise that really teaches your palate how to understand the flavor differences. Because once you teach your palate that, then you'll be able to taste the differences better and know strategically how you should season your food, especially at the end.

[Lauren Gruel]

I love it. All right, well, that was fun.

[Andrew Gruel]

Yeah. We got a lot in store for us over the next week. Halloween parties, birthday parties, you name it. So I think we're gonna bring it back into some crazy stories over the next couple episodes. But I hope that we gave you a really nice primer on the beef industry, on the, you know, the history of Del Taco and the financial purchase thereof. We'll follow that story closely. Love to hear your feedback on what's going on with this government aid and snapback benefit piece. But make sure that you follow us. I am on XEF Gruel, and I'm Lauren Gruel.

[Lauren Gruel]

And make sure to give us your 86 items as well as your what the fork stories.

[Andrew Gruel]

And you can catch me on Instagram.

[Lauren Gruel]

At Andrew Gruel and I'm Aurengruel and.

[Andrew Gruel]

Make sure that you subscribe, Leave us a review, send us a letter, send us some fan mail, send a mariachi band over to our house, whatever you want to do. We appreciate it.

[Lauren Gruel]

All right, bye guys.

[Nintendo Switch 2 Ad Announcer]

Get ready to power up your play with Nintendo Switch 2. Power up the visuals with 4K support and a bigger, more vivid screen. Power up the fun with exclusive new games like Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong bonanza. Nintendo Switch 2 all together anytime any games rated E to E10 games and systems sold separately. Compatible TV required for 4K display.

[Ryan Seacrest (Albertsons and Safeway Ad)]

Hey, it's Ryan Seacrest for Albertsons n Safeway, now through November 4th. Shop the annual beauty event and save $5 when you spend $25 on select beauty products. Shop in store or online for items like Dove Body Wash, Native Body Wash, Cetaphil gentle skin cleanser, Dr. Squatch body wash, Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel, Dial Liquid Hand Soap and Olay Body wash, and save $5 when you spend $25 or more. Offer ends November 4th. Rest offers may vary. Visit albertsons or safeway.com for more details.

[Doug (Liberty Mutual Ad)]

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.

[Andrew Gruel]

Limu is that guy with the binoculars watching us.

[Doug (Liberty Mutual Ad)]

Cut the camera, they see us.

[Ryan Seacrest (Albertsons and Safeway Ad)]

Only pay for what you [e-mail] Liberty.

[Andrew Gruel]

Liberty Liberty Liberty Savings for and written.

[Ryan Seacrest (Albertsons and Safeway Ad)]

By Liberty Mutual Insurance company and affiliates.

[CVS Caremark Ad Announcer]

Excludes Massachusetts who doesn't want more more care, more guidance and more expertise, especially when it really counts. That's what your members can count on from a CVS Caremark prescription plan. Like Rodney from Chicago, who got personal support and guidance from a CVS Caremark customer care rep when his glucose monitor needed to be replaced right away. And it was. That's why Rodney said it's an exhilarating feeling knowing they really can't care. Want more support for your members so they can make more of their benefits? Go to CMK Co Stories to learn more. That's CMK Co Stories. This is an iHeart podcast.