Culinary Catastrophes - Ep. 120 of Intentionally Blank

This week, Brandon and Dan discuss their worst food stories, how Brandon has been stopped by the TSA for Magic the Gathering Cards, and how the candy industry tries to make “cool” candy for kids.
Check out our previous episode of Intentionally Blank
• Brandon and Dan Kind o...
Can be listened to almost everywhere podcasts can be found.
Sound engineering and editing by Daniel Thompson

[@airbendnerd]

The hot dog bandit mustard all of his strength but the police managed to ketchup and relished in the arrest.

[@iivin4233]

- The Onion.

[@SoyElDiabloRojo]

+ ‘police dogged pursuit’ and ‘grilled the bandit before cooling his buns behind bars.’ 🤷

[@hiltrud2001]

😂

[@lokenecummings47]

A hot dog is not a hot dog unless it's in a pun.

[@LethalLuggage]

I'm sorry but ketchup doesn't belong in this sentence

[@dericplummer9272]

I think Brandon is seriously understating how cool "Vikings vs Cthulhu" sounds... Dans treatment was awesome. But I would pick up that book with out knowing anything about it besides "Vikings vs Cthulhu".

[@Saturosian]

If you want something in the vein of "Vikings vs. Cthulhu", you should check out the Bloodsworn Saga by John Gwynne. I recently found it and the first thing I thought of was "Oh this is Vikings vs. Cthulhu!" It's obviously not EXACTLY Cthulhu, but it is vikings vs. eldritch horrors and it's excellent.

[@dericplummer9272]

@@Saturosian Yea this is the second time John Gwynne was recommended me today. I will probably pick it up soon. Do you recommend that series or his Faithful and the Fallen series more?

[@Saturosian]

@@dericplummer9272 I've only read a little of the first Faithful & Fallen book, so far I liked Bloodsworn better but I haven't read enough of F&F to say. I think F&F is finished while Bloodsworn has at least another book yet to come out, in case that influences your decision.

[@TheMatSignal.]

If weekend at Vader's wins it totally should have an opening crawl on the back of the shirt summarising the plot!

[@AeonCenturion]

I was in Berlin recently, and there was a TexMex restaurant that we passed by. They served steaks and burritos there. I very much got the vibe of, someone heard about this food and decided they probably knew what that meant and didn't need it described in any way.

[@janelf5]

My husband and I tried a Mexican restaurant in Germany, I think it was in Kiel, and we were shocked at how not-Mexican it was. They brought out my husband's 'quesadilla' order and it was basically just stuffed with steamed zucchini and other random vegetables, and maybe a little cheese. No noticeable Mexican-esque flavor profile, so that was disappointing.

[@ThePhantomphan11]

Where is the voting link?!

[@Aligariusful]

Speaking as someone else who lived in Germany for a bit, I went to a city once and they had an "American" restaurant that people wanted to check out. I was so excited to see "Nachos" on the menu. ... It was basically a small plate of Doritos for 4 euros.

[@dorphalsig]

Welcome to Germany my friend! I saw once in Frankfurt a place that misspelled "burritos". You have to try REALLY hard to misspell that word.

[@althechicken9597]

@dorphalsig a dyslexic Mexican would like to have a world

[@seidmadr2024]

I argue that large towns have the best fast food. Small towns don't have the competition needed, and in cities there are enough people who just go to the closest fast food place, whatever. Large towns have enough people to have several restaurants who compete, but not enough people around to survive on tourists and drunk people.

[@robertdullnig3625]

They're definitely the ones that get all the weird chains.

[@alisalarsen9163]

As someone who was diagnosed with Celiac Diseas as an adult and no longer able to eat Gluten I have an extraordinarily long list of foods I cannot eat and crave

[@KatiePayneVlogs]

You had my attention at vegan black bean burger, lentil soup, and mythological macaroni and cheese

[@phoenixperformancecoaching]

As someone who worked at Applebees for 5 years... I appreciate this episode lol.

[@bencarlson4300]

Yeah, imo it’s the McDonalds of chain sit down restaurants.

[@aaronnewton9398]

"Other Nationalities Chinese Food" is one of my favorites haha. Indian Chinese is amazing.

[@dsquaredgames9286]

Runza! As a fellow South Dakotan/Nebraskan I'm so glad Brandon finally mentioned the greatest fast food restaurant in the world. Runza gives you discounts when the temperature goes below zero for every degree below zero. They know their market well!

[@raptorgod08]

My friend Logan always talks it up...

[@jamcdonald120]

wait? where is the vote link?

[@TheIgle]

"Kolache's that's a very midwestern thing". West, Tx would like to have a word.

[@elizabethdavis5661]

Can confirm trading cards trigger alarms in the airport. My son snuck his Pokemon cards on a trip and got his bag searched. I suspect they are just so dense that they look like a brick of C-4.

[@andrewberenson5717]

I could not find the link to the voting brackets.

[@bronwynecg]

So what happens when BrandoSando is finished signing all the pages? Does this stop or what? 🤔

[@srlong1123]

He starts signing for a different book. He’ll be signing until he’s incapable of doing so, or until he’s signed all of the paper in the world. Either option will, hopefully, not happen for a long while

[@rachelmontgomery44]

There’s always more pages

[@robbybevard8034]

They move onto the next book. There's always the next kickstarter or special that needs signing.

[@khyrianstorms]

When Brandon talks about "I even did a thing on the channel about this", which channel is he refering to? Is there another channel with a free flow of Brandon Sanderson content?

[@grahamcrawford4773]

In Australia we have a comedy program which features a segment that regularly ridicules the worst pun headlines of the week from newspapers around the country

[@ItsAvarus]

First maybe? If you could change a single decision that one of your characters made who would you choose and what decision would it be?

[@zenthepoet.]

😬

[@robbybevard8034]

Brandon's actually sort of covered this before. He wouldn't change anything plot related in his old books because that causes a chain effect down the road. He *has* tampered down and changed some modern slang or phrases that don't fit so well in another world old timey setting that can take readers out of a thing, but that's a line edit rather than a real change. The one exception is he would maybe put back in a scene with Hoid in Elantris that he took out at the time because he was scared about showcasing the bigger universe stuff in his first book and Hoid.. just wasn't important at the time.

[@ItsAvarus]

@robbybevard8034 If I remember correctly, he did say he wished he made the crew in mistborn era 1 have more female characters, I was wondering if he had any similar experiences. Same with Dan as well if he had anything he wished he had decided to write a different way.

[@WasatchWind]

I think I know the taco place in Pensacola Florida that Dan is talking about. On my own Latter-day Saint mission, I served in Pensacola, and it's probably this taco shack called El Asador. The place is a humble little operation, but the best Mexican food I've ever had. Just exceptionally good meat, and for a decent price. I also recommend Foosackly's as another great place in Pensacola, they're a lot like Raising Caine's. Great ranch sauce.

[@gamesnstuff657]

In N out is a B+ Fast Food burger, and the beauty of it is that it's always a B+ fast food burger the quality is very consistent. Also you have to get it mustard fried(Mustard Fried patty w/ No onions w/pickles)/Animal style (Mustard Fried patty With onions no pickles), but it's not for everyone. If you don't like the 1000 island dressingish style burgers you won't like in n out. I grew up in Utah and did not grow up eating in n out and I love it, so I refute the claims of this podcast 🤣. It's my favorite fast food burger joint by a significant margin.

[@LoganKearsley]

I know Brandon visits Idaho Falls from time to time--if you're looking for good Mexican food, you gotta try Jalisco's. It's better than Mexican food in Provo.

[@Jo1day]

Agreed! I love that place.

[@MIMMan12]

I am one of those people who loves In N Out due to nostalgia, and I have to admit the “Stockholm syndrome” joke was hilarious.

[@cujo27]

No poll? Or is that being done at FanX?

[@sevcoyote4730]

A meal I can't have anymore that there is a *chance* one of you may have had: When I was a kid, my maternal grandparents lived near Ogden, and when visiting them we'd often go eat at the Utah Noodle. I looooved the beef noodle there, and I guess it closed down about 10 years ago. Nothing super fancy or anything, but a lot of nostalgia tied up in the flavor of that simple beefy broth and noodles. Also, I had candy cigarettes a couple times as a kid and I can't believe I'm just now learning they made a powdered-sugar puff if you blew through them.

[@treyden]

i tell everyone that in-n-out is not the best burger you'll ever eat. but it is the best $3 burger you'll ever eat

[@TheIgle]

You have to get the animal fries. That's the secret to enjoying In-n-out.

[@kaelmic7476]

They need to watch the one piece live action. Its right up their alley.

[@SCEnver]

The Sonic pun would be “Gotta go glass”

[@leireacha9542]

Just wanted to point Dan to the fact that in Spain there is a popular singer duo that is, in fact, called 'El Duo Dinámico' and that made his comment even funnier

[@Zimoria]

The description is missing the links to vote, please update.

[@danyf7429]

Damn, gotta admit, never heard of anyone doubting their fate due to a fantastic meal. So, It is now my duty as a Mexican to ask my fellow Dan: Tiene restaurante o fonda la seniora? Yo tambien quiero experimentar una epifania comiendo chile relleno jajaja

[@bronwynecg]

Yep I can relate. Went to Canada a few years ago. I forgot I had a deck of playing cards in my baggage. Asshole security took my whole bag apart only to see ….. cards. Both ways. 🙄

[@LaurenReads]

Small towns in Louisiana have good food, I can guarantee that

[@hiltrud2001]

No voting today?

[@althechicken9597]

In and Out is the best fast food burger, and no one will ever change my mind. You can get a full mean for the price of a Big Mac and at the burgers are at least 6× as good.

[@NarcoticIsland]

There was a lawsuit against Jenni-O Turkey a few years back because a couple was feeding raw turkey to their dogs and their 2 year old tried a bite, got salmonella, and died. So ever since the entire poultry industry is trying to reduce if not eliminate salmonella

[@harrisonking1195]

Speaking of tastes that are lost to time. I wanna know if these Utah boys ever ate at Sconecutters. Me and my high school buddies would make late night trips for their honey butter and cinnamon scones all the time there and there is NOTHING like that anywhere else. Big thick fried bun sliced in half and slathered in honey butter that by the time you dig into is is completely melted into the bread. It's heavenly.

[@Rhedak]

As a German now living in Japan you've made me Hungry for some Knusprige Ente mit Currysoße. While I love Japanese food I do not like Japanese Chinese Food.

[@sanjithechef]

What I love about Dan and Brandon is that they unapologetically talk about things they love or can be nerdy about (soccer, fast movies, etc) despite it not being the smartest or more interesting thing in nerd circles that likely make up a big portion of the audience. Be it sports or cliche action movies or even being religious - I really like when we can all just be ourselves and still laugh about it all/be respectful at the end of the day

[@IvanAlejandro99]

Brandon, what you got in spain was probably a cachopo, that is cow, not chicken, so it probably wasn't wrong for it to not be fully cooked.

[@Painter99]

Finally here early!

[@DisneyBatchman]

Both the best and the worst lasagna I have ever had was in the UK. The best was pub food at a wonderful place in Cambridge called The Old Dot, which unfortunately is no longer with us. The worst was in a fancy Italian place in London that charged like 40 pounds for the meal (and 3 pounds for a 6 oz can of Coke) in 1992 ... which means the Coke was $6 and the meal was $80 in 1992. I would *LOVE* to somehow go back to The Old Dot!

[@miandagny]

Im glad that's all the knowledge you have of sanic. The show did use candy for their "meth"

[@thepocketboy]

I always teased my wife cause she loves getting shepard's pie at thy cheesecake factory. Id say "Really? Who orders cheap, college, throw-leftovers-together, poor-man's food at a restaurant? Well, then I finally tried it and was astounded. Best shepard's pie I've ever tasted. Wife=1 hubby=0 For the record though, I'd take Chiles molton lava cake over any of the factory's cheesecake.

[@sherizaahd]

Runza though, that's definitely a cult. I grew up in Nebraska, and I've never had a burger at Runza, we only ever got the Runza, cabbage and beef in dough. Traditional Polish food, I think, but fast foodised.

[@nw2kr8bc3t]

on the topic of "lost meals", before the pandemic, costco had this turkey pesto sandwich that was the peak of my early teens. every time my family would go to costco, after walking around for an hour and a half, and trying all the free samples, we would order from the food court. my mom would get a hot dog, my dad and sisters would get the too greasy pizza... but i would always order the turkey pesto sandwich because, (with the exception of the chicken bake which is only mediocre) everything else is basically cafeteria food. The sandwich though, was a cut above. Crisp brioche bun with slices of juicy turkey, perfectly baked onions smushed into melty provolone, and then the crown jewel, a slathering of pesto on both buns. It was the perfect comfort food for when I go sick, and the perfect reward for a preteen who refused to enjoy and hour of grocery shopping. I've told this tragic tale when ever the subject comes up and will continue to drag this injustice until costco brings it back.

[@yobgodababua1862]

100% on the Applebees. (and Chilis) I will also never eat at Denny;s because I got food poisoning there TWICE. Fool me once...

[@sherizaahd]

Probably the worst meal I ever had at a restaurant was in Japan at a Mexican place. Abysmal. Casa Bonita is open and they've raised prices and quality, a bit. It's now on the level of decent according to my coworker who went and paid $50/person plus drinks.

[@jamesweible5357]

Chip's Burger Village in Palestine texas is a place which I would try to visit if it still exists because they made everything from scratch (except the buns) and it was ALL delicious. Every day there was a wait to get in of about 3 hours, and I HATE waiting in lines and it was worth every second. I had it when I was in my teens and still dream of it. The local town of Noonday grows a special kind of sweet onion which chips uses in the rings, it's like savory candy. They've actually tried growing these wide flat onions outside of noonday and the soil isn't right, they just taste like regular sweet onions.

[@Mrtheunnameable]

As a Canadian I reckon the biggest disappointment is Tim Horton's. They're everywhere and people go there all the time, but it's not actually good. All the donuts and baked goods are bland and the coffee is the worst of any chain. But I still always go to a Tim Horton's before I start any road trip.

[@waheeda8166]

Runza temperature Tuesday!!!!

[@john-davidkirkland427]

Small town home cooking is about HOME cooking. Most returaunts In small towns tend to be okay. But if you get invited to someone’s memaw, they’ll take care of you

[@McCainenl]

As a resident of Berlin, I can confirm that the Mexican food in Germany is by and large godawful. We do other things well though - some of the Korean and Vietnamese is surprisingly good.

[@spedcuber178]

Best food I ever had was some pulled pork that a friend of mine spent all day making in his smoker, and then put his special BBQ sauce on. Nothing else I have ever eaten has topped it. Worst food I ever had (not counting food that had ingredients I just dont like) was a diner on East coast of US that was definitely more show than substance. I ordered steak and eggs, and it was completely unedible. I ate the eggs, left the steak, and I wrote "worst breakfast I ever had" on the recieipt because I didnt want to say anything in person. Plus I still left a good tip since it wasnt waitress' fault, but I wanted to still let them know it was bad. Most disappointing meal I have had is a local Indian restaraunt. It used to be a really great local place, basically built into the side of a warehouse, and it was my favorite. Then it went out of business and another Indian restaraunt went in its place. Thought it would still be pretty good because I have never had an Indian food experience that wasn't great, but wow was I mistaken. Like Brandon said, not the worst food I have had, but I was so let down. Especially since there are not any other Indian restaraunts around the area.

[@ouden.]

I just finished Secret History and since I was watching this episode earlier I decided to post it here. Now I will use random comments section in Brandon's videos to track my progress when I finish one of his books. This is my 11th book in the Cosmere I think.

[@ArtSnob101]

Utah Mexican food is awesome. Feels like your in Mexico if you go to the right place. California was the only other place I've eaten Mexican food that equals it north of the border.

[@michaelrogerson6939]

In Singapore, the Taco Bells use mayonnaise instead of sour cream. Might be some of the worst Mexican food in the world.

[@Netflixtmoney]

I was going to make a super long comment about how actually Mexican food of the US is bad compared to other parts of the world. Then I remember I live in Mexico and shut up

[@sherizaahd]

I don't love Cheesecake factory, but it's definitely better than Chilli's. But yeah, it's just decent food whenever I've had it.

[@yobgodababua1862]

"best Mexican north of the border" Los Angeles and San Diego are giving you SO MUCH side eye right now.

[@raptorgod08]

This hilarious because Applebee's is terrible everywhere I have been. Excluding Montana where it is decent.

[@Lezzyboy87]

Never ever get fish and chips from a place that doesn't only do fish and chips. If they offer pizza etc, avoid it like the plague

[@TaiSharTanner]

Week 5 of my begging Brandon and Dan to play Outer Wilds because it will undoubtedly become one of their favorite games ever

[@benolsen3904]

I can promise you, in no uncertain terms, that Dan would hate Outer Wilds.

[@robbybevard8034]

@@benolsen3904 But Brandon would *love* it.

[@walternate2914]

I will not stand for this slander of In N Out. It's the best fast food burger and such a great value. It's fresh. It's the best. Yes, it is not a gourmet burger from a sit down restaurant, but it puts every other fast food burger to shame, especially for the price.

[@TheShadoth]

Wait, Joshua took me to the Cheesecake Factory for the first meal he bought me in Chicago! Does that mean he did that because I'm a Midwesterner! Wut!

[@jonahroberson1158]

Can confirm Germ-Mex is the most awful food that exists. I went to a Mexican place in Weimar to see if how bad it would be, and it was an assault on my mouth. XD

[@PrincessStabbityStabb]

As a brit, I can totally believe we did that with football😂We are nothing if not wind up merchants.

[@plusmanikantanr]

We should use Glass spheres! For trading! With glass spheres containing suspended colour fragments inside! Call the new currency Spheres! 😆Also glass marbles sound so much like Rosharan spheres 😀 wonder if that is a coincidence 😀

[@voidsabre_]

Love when Dan shouts out Pensacola. You need to come to Pensacon again!!!

[@brooklynkelsey703]

Sad about the Cheesecake Factory-- I love it. Wonder if that second time was also in Vegas or somewhere else

[@godminnette2]

There's a German streamer I follow who complains about the lack of Mexican food in Germany. Every time he visits America I imagine he gets his fix. Frozen chicken reminds me of a time I went to Applebee's with my mother as a teenager. I got chicken tenders. They were partly frozen and partly scalding. Never been back to an Applebee's, lol. Edit: the Applebee's mention is even funnier now lol.

[@MasterRahl221]

My wife's family is from Nebraska and we love to make runzas! They freeze great.

[@aharrold653]

You probably went to a 'diner' designed for truckers rather than everyone else. Fish and chips at a fast food truck or diner is never as good as a proper Chippie

[@xkxxxx]

Have they talked about Wheel of Time yet?

[@robbybevard8034]

Brandon hasn't watched it yet, but he has read the scripts.

[@mcspazatron240]

Training Table was such an odd restaurant in Utah but that was my childhood, anyone else?

[@nroke1684]

Having had both, californian mexican food from tiny cheap restaurants is considerably better than any utahn Mexican food i've ever had.

[@Kcoldraz]

Yeah! Mormons migrated to Mexico so it makes sense to have good Mexican food in Utah now that it is Mormon central.

[@SpencerTwiddy]

Love this food heist, one of the best ones we’ve had in a while!

[@andrewberenson5717]

Best meal I ever had was the Bellagio buffet in Las Vegas. Fogo de Chao Brazilian steakhouse was the second best meal I ever had.

[@dreamingacacia]

A lot of owners ruined their recipes here because of money. Sadge.

[@emosongsandreadalongs]

4:06 I thought this was another pun, but neither Brandon nor Dan seem to have noticed

[@rebekahjensen7248]

Unfortunately, the Mayan closed in 2011. Like you said, the food was meh but the entertainment was 🔥

[@samanthaa.6055]

Most of the food is a bit better in Vegas. It should be branded as Disneyland for foodies.

[@jaymiec9394]

WHERE do I get the Intentionally Blank shirt? I need it.

[@clawedsimian]

Chef Saul Montiel talks a good game on Epicurious videos. Maybe give his restaurant a try next time you are in NYC? I'd be curious to see if it's good Mexican food. Cantina rooftop.

[@dillonjacobs9845]

I was also in Stuttgart and ate at Sauslitos....horrible stuff

[@TheDanishspartan]

When I first saw the title of the episode, I thought that food heists that has gone to food crimes was now stooping to crimes against food

[@aguy3129]

13th

[@manaze85]

21st

[@davidwatson1216]

Best meal I've ever had - restaurant called JAN in Nice, France. It was an unbelievable experience, where halfway through the meal they took you across the street to a second building filled with wines, cheeses, nuts, chips, and everything in-between. Truly a unique experience I have never seen anywhere else.

[@SavannahSedai]

Nice, France had the best pizza place I've ever had in my whole life. I remember it 19 years later. It was also the first time I'd ever seen a man just peeing in front of people. A normal looking man by all other counts. Also still a vivid memory from almost 2 decades ago 😂😂😂

[@lukasvitroler2178]

As German speaking: knusprige ente mit currysauce is horrible xD

[@fakjbf3129]

I don’t see a link to the voting brackets in the description.

[@Sephiroth1204]

"Officer I swear, I'm not a smuggler, I'm just a nerd!" Brandon and Dan to the TSA, probably

[@brendanmorgan109]

Where is the link to vote in the brackets? Is that not out til next week?

[@Machtyn]

I got it both ways. My parents wouldn't let me get Big League Chew because of its likeness to chewing tobacco (growing up in KY, I can tell you that's the grossest thing. I also know a lot of dentists. They concur, it's just awful!). But I also remember the campaign saying they were trying to make it the alternative to tobacco.

[@ThePhantomphan11]

STILL NO POLL!!!??? THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT ONE!

[@sundaycomicssection]

The burger of my childhood is Roy Rogers

[@andrewbeccarelli7613]

San Diego Mex Food tops all others

[@robbybevard8034]

Brandon left a comment in Patrick WIllems video about "Content", and Patrick addressed it at length in his latest "Patrick Replies - The Content Episode" as the first question he responded to Neat since I know Brandon has specifically mentioned Patrick's videos before, but I can't for the life of me remember which one.