"Friendly's with John Hodgman & Jean Grae" is an episode of the premium-content podcast, Doughboys Double, hosted by Mike Mitchell and Nick Wiger. "Friendly's with John Hodgman & Jean Grae" was released on July 16, 2019.
"Tomorrow on the Double...(with @hodgman & @JeanGreasy)"
Synopsis[]
For our second LIVE show in Massachusetts, we discuss our experience traveling to the east coast before we're joined by John Hodgman (Vacationland, Judge John Hodgman) and Jean Grae (Everything's Fine) to review a cornerstone of New England fast food: Friendly's.
Recorded live on June 29th in North Adams, Mass. as part of the Solid Sound Festival.
[They also bring out North Adams' mayor, Thomas A. Bernard. -ed.]
Nick's intro[]
"I figured out that Springfield was one of the most common names for a city in the U.S. In anticipation of the success of my show, I thought, 'This will be cool. Everyone will think it's their Springfield. And they do.'"
That was Matt Groening speaking to the Smithsonian Magazine in 2012 about the hometown of the animated family he created, The Simpsons.
Springfield U.S.A.
The name is indeed common enough to feel like a placeholder for a generic American suburb: there are 33 different populated places in the United States named Springfield, but the nation's first is located in one of its first states: the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
And in Springfield, Mass., in 1935, during the height of the Great Depression, brothers S. Prestley and Curtis Blake opened an ice-cream shop with a name chosen to be inviting to guests. They opened a second shop in 1940, but the Second World War forced them to shutter until V-Day when they relaunched better than ever. In 1951, they had ten shops, and by 1974, they had over 500, expanding their menu to include diner-style hot food to keep guests captive during the months when cold treats' sales dipped.
In 1979, S. Prestley died and the surviving Curtis sold the company to Hershey, one of a series of corporate stewards who would oversee periods of growth and decline until the present day. Curtis passed away, just this May, at the age of 102.
But he and his brother's chain survives up and down the East Coast, and, if you live in a Springfield, chances are you're in driving distance to a franchise of the Blake brothers' cold-creamery chain.
This week on Doughboys: Friendly's.
Fork rating[]
The Doughboys at Friendly's
| guest / host | ordered | rating |
|---|---|---|
| Nick Wiger |
|
3.5 forks |
| Mike Mitchell |
|
4.5 forks |
| John Hodgman (and his son) |
|
3.5 forks |
| Jean Grae | (has never been) | 5 forks |
Roast Spoon[]
Marcus Smart
| “ | Marcus Smart, but instead of "Smart" it's "Dumb" | ” |
–@js_maxwell | ||
Quotes[]
| “ | My urine looked great backstage before I went on. | ” |
–Nick Wiger | ||
| “ | I know it's the afternoon, but wake up. | ” |
–John Hodgman to the crowd | ||
| “ | Nick: Mayor Tom, this is an audacious ask, but Mitch and I are audacious men. We wanted to ask your permission to have Doughboys named the official podcast of North Adams, Massachusetts. Do you have that power? Mitch: Can you make that happen for us? |
” |
–The Doughboys | ||
| “ | Nick: You don't know what a rhombus is! Mitch: I know a rhombus! |
” |
–The Doughboys | ||
Related Episodes[]
| John Hodgman episodes | Jean Grae episodes |
|---|---|
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Photos[]
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