"QDOBA with Jamelle Bouie" is Episode 332 of Doughboys, hosted by Mike Mitchell and Nick Wiger. "QDOBA with Jamelle Bouie" was released on January 13, 2022.
"Tomorrow… with Jamelle Bouie @jbouie" - @doughboyspod
Synopsis[]
Jamelle Bouie (The New York Times, Unclear and Present Danger) joins the 'boys to discuss Disney+ and homemade pies before a review of QDOBA. Plus, a cereal mascot edition of Slop Quiz during Snack or Wack.
Nick's intro[]
"Bay Area residents tend to have peculiar ideas about burritos, which they regard as monstrous things wrapped in tinfoil and filled with what would seem to be the contents of an entire margarita-mill dinner."
San Francisco's Mission District
This was from a 2009 column by the late, great LA Times food critic, Jonathan Gold, discussing the bulky, calorically-dense burritos that originated in San Francisco's Mission District. A historically Latino neighborhood that is today thoroughly gentrified by tech assholes, the Mission District birthed the Mission-style Burrito in the 1960s, with two restaurants claiming credit for its conception; Taqueria La Cumbre and El Faro disputing the territory like Pat and Geno's over Philly cheesesteak.
Regardless of its actual inventor, the Mission-style burrito would go national in the 1990s, thanks to two Denver-founded chain restaurants that appropriated the concept of a made-to-order hulking calorie log: Chipotle, founded in 1993, and Zuma Fresh Mexican Grill, founded in 1995 and renamed to its current brand in 1999.
The latter company has lived its lifetime in rival Chipotle's shadow, reflected in its sales, footprint, relevance, and even in its corporate overseers. While McDonald's once owned and later flipped Chipotle, the company formerly known as Zuma was owned and flipped by the less-esteemed Jack in the Box. As of 2018, it is owned by Apollo Global Management, a private equity fund that also owns AMC, Chuck E. Cheese's, Hostess, the University of Phoenix, Yahoo!, and private military contractor Constellis (formerly known as Blackwater). Also, its founder was linked to Jeffrey Epstein.
How's that for a late capitalist dystopia?
But as for the former Zuma, though it will likely always be runner-up to its Denver neighbor, Chipotle, it's still a success story with over 750 locations: another Mile-High Mexican brand built on the back of a borrowed Bay Area burrito.
This week on Doughboys, QDOBA.
Fork rating[]
| guest / host | ordered | rating |
|---|---|---|
| Nick Wiger |
|
3 forks |
| Mike Mitchell |
|
2.9 forks |
| Jamelle Bouie |
|
3.5 forks |
Slop Quiz: Cereal Bowl / Snack or Wack[]
In an unprecedented blending of segments, this episode has a Snack or Wack segment happening during the Slop Quiz.
In Slop Quiz, Nick presents a food-related exam (pop quiz) and Mitch and the guest compete for superiority.
For this episode, the theme is cereal mascots. Nick offers a cereal mascot, and they have to guess name the cereal.
| clue | Mitch's guess | Jamelle's guess | correct | score (MM - JB) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cornelius "Corny" Rooster | Kellogg's Cornflakes | - | 1-0 | |
| Chef Wendell | Cinnamon Toast Crunch | - | 2-0 | |
| Chip the Wolf | - | Cookie Crisp | 2-1 | |
| Crazy Craving | Honeycomb | Cocoa Puffs | 3-1 | |
| CinnaMon and Bad Apple | - | Apple Jacks | 3-2 | |
| Waldo the Wizard | Trix | Rice Krispies | 3-2 | |
| Lovable Truly | Raisin Bran | Kix | 3-2 | |
| Boss Moss, Cowmumble, Gargle, Grumble, Goody Goody, Hamhose, Snorkledorf | January 6 Capitol Storm Crew | - | 3-2 |
Mitch wins this week's Slop Quiz!
In Snack or Wack, the Doughboys try a snack item and decide if it is 'good' or 'bad.'
For this episode, Jamelle had mailed some Virginia Peanuts from Virginia Diner to both Nick and Mitch. There were three flavors: Butter Toasted, Salted, and Honey Roasted. Mitch received his at his door during the episode, so he cracks them open and does a Snack or Wack.
| host | Salted Virginia Peanuts | Honey Roasted Virginia Peanuts | Butter Toasted Peanuts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Mitchell | Snack | Snack | Snack |
Roast Spoonman[]
Buffalo Bill
| “ | Buffalo Ranch Bill | ” |
–Jake from Michigan | ||
The Feedbag[]
| “ | When I prepare a microwave meal, instead of following the instructions printed on the back (for example, 'poke holes in the plastic and microwave for two minutes, then take plastic off and microwave for another three minutes'), instead I'll just take the plastic off, add up all the time, and do it all at once. While technically following the instructions does sometimes make the food a little better, I've found with microwave meals, the difference is so small that for me it's just not worth the extra steps. Do you prepare microwave meals as intended? Do you have any other food preparations that you ignore? | ” |
–Noah DeBow | ||
| guest / host | follow instructions? |
|---|---|
| Nick Wiger | follows the instructions to the letter |
| Mike Mitchell | yes, but may adjust to his microwave a bit |
| Jamelle Bouie | sure, unless something doesn't quite make sense so then he'll make it up |
Quotes[]
| “ | If you're a Ratatouille fan, there's an NC-17 cut on Disney+ Nasty. | ” |
–Nick Wiger | ||
| “ | Was QDOBA ever acquired by Q-bert himself? | ” |
–Mike Mitchell | ||
| “ | I hope that a thousand years from now, the only thing left from the internet is the Doughboys Wiki and future humans have to reconstruct 21st-century society based on [it]. | ” |
–me too, Jamelle Bouie | ||
Related Episodes[]
| QDOBA episodes | Jamelle Bouie episodes |
|---|---|
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Photos[]
