"Pizza Hut 2 with Jen D'Angelo" is Episode 248 of Doughboys, hosted by Mike Mitchell and Nick Wiger. "Pizza Hut 2 with Jen D'Angelo" was released on April 23, 2020.
"Tomorrow..." - @doughboyspod
Synopsis[]
The 'boys welcome Jen D'Angelo (Workaholics, Solar Opposites) for their second full review of Pizza Hut, including the chain's new Big Dipper pizza. And the debut of a new segment, Family Food.
Nick's intro[]
Yum! Brands
In 1997, PepsiCo, the Hydrox of cola, spun off its fast-food division into an independent company, birthing the ominously named Tricon Global Restaurants Inc. with an unending clause requiring the eateries to carry Pepsi products exclusively. This triumvirate of massive chain brands - KFC, Taco Bell, and the largest pizza restaurant in the world - was subsequently renamed to the cheery sounding Yum! Brands, complete with a Jeb Bush-style trailing exclamation point.
And in 2020, this trio became a quartet with the addition of formerly independent West Coast burgery, The Habit, purchased for a staggering 375 million dollars. But the company may wish it hadn't made such an expensive expansion now, as its stock has lost a third of its value due to plummeting restaurant sales in the wake of the COVID crisis.
Although its woes can't all be blamed on the plague, one of its original tri-force of brands, the pizzeria chain, has in fact been struggling for years, highlighted by an embarrassing flop of a rebrand that involved dropping the 'pizza' from its name Facebook-style.
In fact, headlines such as "Yum! Brands CEO David Gibbs Says Company Working Urgently To Fix Pizza Chain," "Pizza Chain Planning To Close As Many As 500 Locations," and "Largest US Pizza Chain Franchisee Could Choose Bankruptcy" all pre-date the current crisis.
And while pizza delivery is surging during the patchwork of regional stay-at-home orders in the U.S., it may not be enough to salvage the struggling Italian-American Goliath.
So can this non-Noid Domino's antagonist right the ship and transmogrify from an anchor to a jewel in the Yum! Brands portfolio?
And will it improve upon one of the worst reviews in this podcast's history?
This week on Doughboys, we return to Pizza Hut.
Fork rating[]
Big Dipper
As Nick mentioned in the intro, way back in 2016 (ep #32) the Doughboys reviewed Pizza Hut. Nick gave it a 2.5, Mitch rated it 3.5, and Neil Campbell gave it an infamous 1 fork review.
For this episode, they focus on the Big Dipper, which is a pizza sliced in strips and includes dipping sauce on the side, but did try other things to consider this a full review.
| guest / host | ordered | rating |
|---|---|---|
| Nick Wiger |
|
3 forks |
| Mike Mitchell |
|
2.25 forks |
| Jen D'Angelo |
|
1 fork |
Spoonman's Bite of the Night went to the Ultimate Hershey's Chocolate Chip Cookie.
Family Food[]
Family Feud
In this brand-new segment, Nick has a food-related survey/list. Mitch and the guest compete to guess the results.
In this episode, Nick has a list of the ten most popular pizza toppings in North America. Three wrong answers ends the game, or the first to get six correct wins.
| Jen's guesses | Mitch's guesses |
|---|---|
| pepperoni (#1) | sausage (#4) |
| extra cheese (#6) | onions (#3) |
| bell peppers (#8) | |
| mushrooms (#2) | bacon (#5) |
| pineapple (#9) | |
| olives (#7) | |
| WINNER! |
After Jen won, there was still one item to guess. Mitch tried ham, which was wrong. Jen guessed artichokes; also incorrect. (The 10th item was spinach.)
Roast Spoonman[]
K.K. Slider
| “ | K.K. Sliders | ” |
–Tom in DC | ||
Quotes[]
| “ | Jen: There are secret Chick-fil-A workers working at Popeye's? Nick: It's possible. |
” |
–The Doughboys re: Nick's conspiracy theory | ||
| “ | Mitch: I got another hot take for all you listeners: french fries freaking rock! Nick: Can I spit some fire at you guys? If you're gonna get a fountain drink at a fast food restaurant, make sure you get some ice. And you might want to have a straw. |
” |
–new positive Doughboys | ||
| “ | It's a container you could fit your pet's ashes in. | ” |
–Nick Wiger re: the Big Dipper packaging | ||
#hashtags[]
- #TrebekJokerChallenge
- #LockdownComfortEats
The Feedbag[]
| “ | I don't normally drink pop, unless I'm on a long road trip or want a Jack & Coke at a wedding to give me an extra boost - both because I know it's bad for you and I feel judged when I do. But I've rediscovered how amazing Coke and Diet Coke are while I've been locked down.
Are there any food/snack items that are normally on your 'no go' list that you've gotten into over the past couple of weeks? |
” |
–John from DC | ||
Related Episodes[]
| Pizza Hut episodes | Jen D'Angelo episodes |
|---|---|
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Photos[]
