"McPlant with Eric Edelstein" is Episode 329 of Doughboys, hosted by Mike Mitchell and Nick Wiger. "McPlant with Eric Edelstein" was released on December 9, 2021.

"Tomorrow… with Eric Edelstein" - @doughboyspod
Synopsis[]
Eric Edelstein (Jurassic World, We Bare Bears, Green Room) joins the 'boys to discuss dining alone and meeting your heroes before a review of McDonald's new McPlant burger. Plus, another edition of Sauceton Powers.
Nick's intro[]
Founded in 1948 by its namesake brothers and later expanded nationally by Ray Kroc, the burger chain known for its Golden Arches and golden french fries is inarguably the most iconic brand in fast food.

Ray Kroc at a McDonald's
And while the company today has fewer stores than Starbucks or Subway, in terms of sales, it remains the largest chain restaurant in the country. That's reflected in its economic impact: the brand is not just America's, but the world's, single largest purchaser of beef. And this bountiful beef-buying is reflected in its ecological impact: beef requiring on average eleven times as much water to produce as pork or poultry, setting aside the methane impact from commercial feed lots and the ethics of industrializated slaughterhouses.
So in October of 2020, when the chain officially announced its own plant-based burger, although other sector stalwarts like Burger King and Carl's Jr./Hardee's had gotten there first, it still caused a massive ripple in agribusiness. Speaking to the irrationality of the stock market, plant-based pioneer Beyond Meat saw its shares plummet on the news amid speculation as to the supplier... until it was confirmed the fast-food chain's veggie patty was in fact made by Beyond Meat.
In September of 2021, after nearly a year of hype, the company rolled out its plant-based product in the United Kingdom. And, then in November, they debuted it stateside in select markets. Unlike its UK counterpart, the US sandwich is not fully vegan, as it includes mayonnaise and American cheese, by default; reportedly after pressure from the domestic dairy lobby.
Still, the nation's largest hamburgery offering a plant-based protein is a seismic event in the history of fast food, and for Beyond Meat founder, Ethan Brown, a dream come true. As Twitter cofounder, Biz Stone, an early investor in Beyond, said of Brown to the LA Times, "this was a guy who, from the beginning, was saying 'we are going to be in McDonald's.'"
This week on Doughboys, we return to McDonald's for the McPlant.
Fork rating[]
guest / host | ordered | rating |
---|---|---|
Nick Wiger |
|
4 forks |
Mike Mitchell |
|
4 forks |
Eric Edelstein | 2 McPlants (no cheese, no mayo) |
|
Nick used Eric's 5 fork score to place the McPlant in the Golden Plate Club, so that's the canon score.
Sauceton Powers in Greenmember[]

In Sauceton Powers, yea baby, Nick reads the ingredients of a sauce, one-by-one, and the first person to buzz in tries to guess what it is. They sort of did this once before on an episode in 2018 with Bug Mane, who didn't take it seriously.
For this episode, the theme is Sauceton Powers in Greenmember (all the sauces are green).
ingredients | Mitch's guess | Eric's guess | Emma's guess | correct | score
(MM - EE) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
avocado / salt | - | Guacamole | - | Guacamole | 0-1 |
basil / garlic | - | Pesto | - | Pesto | 0-2 |
tomatillo / onion | Salsa verde | - | - | Salsa verde | 1-2 |
mayonnaise / sour cream / chervil / chives / anchovy / taragon / lemon juice / salt / pepper | - | Green Goddess dressing | 1-2 | ||
chopped parsley / minced garlic / olive oil / oregano / red chilis / red wine vinegar | - | - | Chimichurri sauce | 1-2 | |
wasabi root | stuff that comes with sushi | - | - | Wasabi | 2-2 |
This edition of Sauceton Powers ends in a tie!
Roast Spoonman[]

The Dalai Lama
“ | The Deli Lama | ” |
–Brandon |
Quotes[]
“ | I wore Spanx last week when my Mom was here. | ” |
–Mike Mitchell |
“ | I met Grimace at a McDonald's once. | ” |
–Mike Mitchell re: meeting heroes |
“ | Why, when you sing, do you sound like an elementary school child asking his teacher on a date? | ” |
–Mike Mitchell re: Nick's singing voice |
#hashtags[]
- #Shortchanged
The Feedbag[]
“ | My son and I would go to a local chain pretty regularly and enjoyed their chicken nuggets. Probably due to the pandemic, the place changed to a nugget we find inferior to the point where we don't go there anymore. This also happened to me years ago when Carl's Jr. changed their chicken strips and I never really went back.
Can you think of any items that you loved that were replaced with a new version that lost you? |
” |
–Rob Beals |
guest / host | removal/changing of favorite items |
---|---|
Nick Wiger |
|
Mike Mitchell |
|
Eric Edelstein |
|