"Corner Bakery with Marques Ray" is Episode 383 of Doughboys, hosted by Nick Wiger and Mike Mitchell. "Corner Bakery with Marques Ray" was released on February 2, 2023.

"Tomorrow… with Marques Ray" - @doughboyspod
Synopsis[]
Marques Ray (Curb Your Enthusiasm, Superstore, Brewster High) joins the 'boys to discuss ice cream flavors, on-set snacks, and bidets before a review of Corner Bakery. Plus, a brand new segment, Chew Truths, and a Fry.
Nick's intro[]
Baby boomers: this generation of Americans began spawning after the cessation of World War II in 1946, as returning GIs got to the busy work of railing their wives.

Baby boomers
And while boomers themselves catch a lot of the blame for contemporary America’s ecologically ruined, economically bifurcated dystopia, it was their equally shitty parents, the so-called “greatest generation” as fawningly dubbed by journalist Tom Brokaw, that set the wheels in motion, as the year 1946 birthed not just the first wave of Karens, but the modern idea of private equity — giant pools of money managed by psychopath capitalists that exist only to overtake businesses and extract as much profit as possible, like money-milking Metroids.
This predatory practice has come to impact every sector of the American economy — including food, most famously in the hostile takeover of RJR Nabisco in the 1980s, chronicled in the book and film, Barbarians at the Gate. And so naturally, many beloved chain restaurants these days are controlled by private-equity firms: Argonne Capital owns IHOP and Applebee’s; Golden Gate Capital oversees CPK and Red Lobster, and in 2020, Roark Capital Group (owner of Arby’s and Jimmy John’s) transferred ownership of a breakfast- and lunch-focused sit-down chain to Rohan Group (owner of Boston Market).
This cafe was originally founded, fittingly, on a corner in Chicago in 1991, and had an eager patronage from the office lunch set, as well as people looking for a spot to kill time and sip coffee, eventually expanding to nearly 200 locations nationwide. Around the turn of the millennium, its founding owner, the punnily named Lettuce Entertain You, began a series of sales that saw the company changing hands a half-dozen times until the hot potato landed with its current stewardship.
So while the name may evoke a mom-and-pop local baker of postwar Main Street USA, its corporate ownership reflects the more important postwar reality: an anonymous, unaccountable glob of money management.
This week on Doughboys… Corner Bakery Cafe.
Fork rating[]
guest / host | ordered | rating |
---|---|---|
Nick Wiger |
|
4 forks |
Mike Mitchell |
|
3.5 forks |
Marques Ray |
|
4.5 forks |
Mitch and Marques shared |
|
Spoonman's Bite of the Night went to both the Mac & Cheese and the Chicken Carbonara.
Chew Truths and a Fry[]
In this debut of a new quiz segment, Nick gives two truths and a lie about a chain, and Mitch and the guests try to figure out the lie.
statements | Mike Mitchell | Marques Ray | the lie | score (MM-MR) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Waffle House
|
a | - | a | 1 - 0 |
McDonald's
|
c | a | b | 1 - 0 |
Denny's
|
c | b | c | 2 - 0 |
IHOP
|
a | - | a | 3 - 0 |
Carl's Jr./Hardee's
|
c | a | b | 3 - 0 |
Olive Garden
|
a | b | b | 3 - 1 |
Subway
|
b | a | a | 3 - 2 |
Papa John's
|
b | a | b | 4 - 2 |
Mitch wins!
Roast Spoonman[]

Chris Pratt and Crisp Bratt
“ | Crisp Bratt | ” |
–Andy P. |
Quotes[]
“ | If you were a Die Hard villain, you'd die immediately. | ” |
–Mike Mitchell to Nick |
“ | My wardrobe fitting was in the same tank they keep Bruce the Shark in. | ” |
–Mitch re: working at Universal |
“ | Nick: I got chocolate on my trousers. I accidentally sat on the microphone. Mitch: I don't know how you do an unfunny Mr. Bean. |
” |
–The Doughboys |
The Feedbag[]
“ | If you could create your own mixed nuts combo, what would it be? | ” |
–Cory |
guest / host | mixed nuts combo |
---|---|
Nick Wiger | almonds, pistachios, Macademia, pecans, walnuts |
Mike Mitchell | 100% peanuts (with different flavors/seasonings) |
Marques Roy | walnuts, peanuts, Macademia |