"Starbucks with Joe Saunders" is Episode 20 of Doughboys, hosted by Mike Mitchell and Nick Wiger. "Starbucks with Joe Saunders" was released on September 24, 2015.
Synopsis[]
The ‘boys evaluate the most powerful, most influential coffee chain in the world with the aid of Comedy Bang! Bang! and Emmys writer Joe Saunders — and play a special home baked edition of Snack or Wack.
Nick's intro[]
Central Perk
On September 22, 1994, David Crane and Marta Kauffman's sitcom Friends premiered on NBC. The multi-cam show, originally titled Insomnia Cafe, featured six West Village 20-somethings and had as its primary setting, a fictional Manhattan coffeehouse named Central Perk, predicting and perhaps amplifying the caffeinated culture that took root with Generation X and continued with Millennials.
The main cause, and beneficiary, of the "hot brown" craze?
A Seattle-based coffee-roasting chain founded by college classmates Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl, and Gordon Bowker in 1971, and sold to current CEO Howard Schultz in 1987. Schultz aggressively expanded the business, purchasing rivals and bullying out local competitors to become as ubiquitous as any chain in American life.
When Friends aired its pilot in '94, Schultz' coffeehouse had 425 locations. Ten seasons later, when C, J, M, Ross, R, and P took their final bows, there were 8,569 locations. Today, there are over 22,000 stores worldwide, and with 190,000 employees, its workforce is larger than the population of Little Rock, Arkansas. It has become the most influential eatery of the past two decades, even forcing the once-invincible McDonald's to add the McCafe.
This week's Doughboys is trenta-sized because we're talking Starbucks.
Fork rating[]
| guest / host | ordered | rating |
|---|---|---|
| Nick Wiger |
|
|
| Mike Mitchell |
|
2.5 forks |
| Joe Saunders |
|
3 forks |
The Doughboys also share their coffee preferences: Nick and Mitch take it black, but Joe likes it with French Vanilla Cream.
Mitch says the highlight of his meal (not yet Spoonman's Bite of the Night) was the Chocolate Croissant.
A year and a half later, Nick drops his score to 3 forks during his review of The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf.
Snack or Wack[]
In Snack or Wack, the Doughboys have a snack and decide if it is good or bad.
For this episode, they have Joe Saunder's Banana Quick Bread, the recipe for which he got from marthastewart.com.
It was, of course, delicious. (A few years later, Joe would start The Bread Cast.)
| guest / host | verdict |
|---|---|
| Nick Wiger | Snack |
| Mike Mitchell | Snack |
| Joe Saunders | Snack |
Quotes[]
| “ | I used to get pictures of Mario Kart 64 emailed to me. | ” |
–Mike Mitchell | ||
| “ | Mitch, I don't think you bragging about taking longer to get an entry-level job should be something to hang your hat on. | ” |
–Nick Wiger | ||
| “ | I experimented a little with coffee in college. I dabbled in coffee. | ” |
–Mike Mitchell | ||
| “ | I used to call chocolate milk "Bubba Juice Chop Chip with milk." | ” |
–Mike Mitchell | ||
| “ | Pizza is a sandwich. | ” |
–Nick Wiger | ||
#hashtags[]
- #Spoonmail
The Feedbag[]
| “ | On the Steak N Shake episode, Mitch alluded to the idea that the burger may not be the dominant fast food in the future or that the number of burger chains has reached its critical mass. This got me thinking about what other types of fast foods might become dominant in the near future.
For one thing, Mexican-type chains seem to be getting increasingly popular to the point where there's a Chipotle in my middle-of-nowhere hometown. Also as an American who lives in the UK, Indian food is absolutely omnipresent here and it's really your best bet for a quick and satisfying meal for vegetarian and omnivores alike. Could you imagine something more leftfield like this becoming popular in America or do you think a more traditional item will challenge the burgers dominance? |
” |
–Jack Souter | ||
| guest / host | future dominant fast foods |
|---|---|
| Nick Wiger | probably a cuisine from outside the US |
| Mike Mitchell | burgers |
| Joe Saunders | burgers |
Restaurants[]
| official visit | location | notes |
|---|---|---|
| Starbucks | Santa Monica, CA | Nick went to a location in Santa Monica |
| restaurants referenced | location | notes |
|---|---|---|
| Chick-fil-A | Atlanta, GA | Joe's childhood memories |
| Waffle House | Atlanta, GA | Joe's childhood memories |
| Village Bakery | Los Feliz, CA |
Related Episodes[]
| Starbucks episodes | Joe Saunders episodes | Joe's Bread Cast |
|---|---|---|
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Photos[]
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