"Hillstone with David Phillips" is Episode 50 of Doughboys, hosted by Mike Mitchell and Nick Wiger. "Hillstone with David Phillips" was released on April 28, 2016.
Synopsis[]
Houston’s, Gulfstream, Bandera, R+D, it goes by many names, but in the end, it’s Hillstone. Writer David Phillips (Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Rick and Morty) joins to share his passion for this fine dining chain. Plus, a Cheez-It edition of Flavor of the Week.
Nick's intro[]
Sam Houston
Shortly after the founding of the Independent Republic of Texas in 1836 came the incorporation of its most populous city, named after the new nation's war-hero President, Sam Houston.
A century and a half later, long after Texas was annexed as a U.S. state, restaurateur George Biel and two business partners founded an upscale eatery in Nashville, Tennessee, naming it after Texas's oil-industry megalopolis.
Biel's creation brought fine dining to the masses, making it a stand-out in the chain-restaurant industry, which generally stresses cost-cutting and efficiency to maximize market share.
That atypical corporate philosophy carried through to its branding. As the chain grew, it expanded beyond Houston's to include over a dozen different names dotted across the country with heavily overlapping, but not 100% uniform, menus. Its stunningly consistent upscale food and service has earned the admiration of both civilians and hospitality industry elite. A recent Bon Appetit profile by Andrew Knowlton proclaimed it "America's favorite restaurant" and noted its popularity with food celebs Danny Meyer and David Chang, as well as regular celeb Shaquille O'Neal.
It's a brand that, under the stewardship of Beal's son Brian, now encompasses nearly fifty restaurants nationwide: Houston's, Bandera, Grill, Gulfstream, R&D Kitchen, and as of 2009, one with the same name as the restaurant group itself.
This week on Doughboys: Hillstone.
Fork rating[]
| guest / host | ordered | rating |
|---|---|---|
| Nick Wiger |
|
5 forks |
| Mike Mitchell |
|
5 forks |
| David Phillips |
|
5 forks |
| shared |
|
With these scores, Hillstone joins the Platinum Plate Club and the Hand-Holding Club.
Hillstone is a a whole group of restaurants, with different names, albeit with similar menus (as Nick explains in his intro). The Doughboys went to the South Beverly Grill in Beverly Hills.
A note: in episode 67, Mitch explained how they went to Hillstone together and he bit into a bone in his French Dip sandwich, and knocked his score down a full fork, but because they saw Boston Celtics/Los Angeles Clippers coach Doc Rivers there, he bumped it back up half a fork more. Nick tries to talk him out of this readjustment. Its position in the Platinum Plate Club seems to be unclear.
Flavor of the Week[]
In this segment, the Doughboys try a variety of flavors of one brand.
For this episode, they have four flavors of Cheez-It Crackers.
| guest / host | Italian Four Cheese | Pepper Jack | Cheddar Jack | Extra Toasty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nick Wiger | 4th | 1st | 3rd | 2nd |
| Mike Mitchell | 3rd | 2nd | 4th | 1st |
| David Phillips | 4th | 1st | 3rd | 2nd |
Quotes[]
| “ | I'm sure Evan Susser will appreciate having his voice mixed up with the architect of the Holocaust. | ” |
–Nick Wiger | ||
| “ | I challenge Bill Nye to come on this podast and let's debate science! | ” |
–Mike Mitchell throwing down the gauntlet | ||
| “ | This is becoming a very controversial podcast for the weirdest reasons. | ” |
–David Phillips | ||
Hashtags[]
- #PulpFiction vs. #PulpNonfiction vs. #JackieBrownPulp vs. #IHateJewsPulp
- #BigDipper vs. #LittleDipper
- #BrownieWithNuts vs. #InglouriousBrownie
- #GoNuts vs. #NoNuts
- #BlackPlusRed or #ChocolateSolo vs. #ChocolateKylo
The Feedbag[]
| “ | In the last few months, fast-food chains have been competing with each other to have the best value combo. I remember when every one of the chains had a legitimate dollar menu where items cost one dollar and no more. Those days seem long gone due to inflation, but which of these do you prefer? Carl's Jr.: Four dollars for a Double Cheeseburger, Spicy Chicken, small Fries, small drink. Wendy's: Four dollars for Junior Bacon Cheeseburger or Chicken BLT, four nuggets, small Fries, small drink. McDonald's: Pick two for five dollars: Big Mac, ten Mcnuggies, Quarter Pounder with Cheese, or 'fish filet'. I know this seems arbitrary as a question, most of these combos are the same. Burger King has a similar deal but I think that you are overlooking the budget of a lot of your listeners of the podcast. The 'corporate values/dollar value' category in the Chompionship was half of a great category. College students like me have about fifty dollars to spend every week and so the cheap stuff is really where I'm looking. The tournament made me want to try Shake Shack until I realized it is over ten dollars. |
” |
–Eddie Averell | ||
| guest / host | choice |
|---|---|
| Nick Wiger | Wendy's |
| Mike Mitchell | Carl's Jr. |
| David Phillips | McDonald's |
Restaurants[]
| official visits | location | notes |
|---|---|---|
| South Beverly Grill | Beverly Hills, CA | Nick, Mitch, and David all went to this location together (with Susser) |
| restaurants referenced | location | notes |
|---|---|---|
| Bandera | Brentwood, CA | the Hillstone restaurant Nick was most familiar with |
| Langer's | Los Angeles, CA | David's favorite delis in LA |
| Nate 'n Al's | Beverly Hills, CA | David's favorite delis in LA |
| Philippe The Original | Los Angeles, CA | Mitch and David also went to the famous French Dip place |
Drops and Plugs[]
| movies / tv | notes |
|---|---|
|
Mitch's drop (by E. Lord) |
|
Mitch's second drop (also by E. Lord) |
|
David Philips plugs |
Related Episodes[]
| David Phillips episodes |
|---|
|
Photos[]
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