Fine Dining - Cook Out History feat. Scott Philbrook (Astonishing Legends Podcast) [Part One]

Episode Date: October 2, 2024

Coming to you from Greensboro, North Carolina this week! I'm cross-country again as this week I'm covering the beloved Southern burger chain Cook Out with host of the Astonishing Legends podcast, Scott Philbrook Scott talks his history with Cook Out from back when he was in college, as most locations are open until 3 in the morning Learn the history of Cook Out and their expansive menu that sells at a fraction of the cost of most fast food brands' offerings A couple incidents at Cook Out got managers and employees fired for either refusing or giving poor service to the police A Yelper complains of a "chemically" hot dog that's unfit for dogs "Fine" Dining is now on video! Head on over to my YouTube to watch this episode! Music by: James McEnelly (@Ramshackle_Music) Theme Song by: Kyle Schieffer (@JazzyJellyfish) Segment Transitions Voiced by: Sandy Rose "Fine" Dining is on Patreon! Get an extra episode every month (I just put out the Septemburger 2024 Semi-Finals & Finals episode and it's available for FREE! Go hear who won this year's tournament), extended Yelp from Strangers segments every other week, merch discounts, download access to our music including the 7 singles from our Olive Garden musical, and more! Patreon Producers: Joyce Van, & Sue Ornelas   Get the 5 Survival Tips for Casual Dining at www.finediningpodcast.com!   Send in your Cook Out stories at [e-mail].   Follow the show on TikTok and Instagram @finediningpodcast Follow Astonishing Legends on Instagram @astonishinglegends   Let me know where I should go next by leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, PodcastAddict, Overcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. I read every one!   Next week on "Fine" Dining: Cook Out Review [Part Two]! Scott Philbrook joins me to drink cheerwine, devour a top tier milkshake, and chow down on some burgers! Ever work at Cook Out? Send your stories to [e-mail].

On this week's delicious episode of the fine dining podcast Aren't all hot dogs made of chemicals by the way, basically Yeah, and toenails they say and then from the router to the tutors one of those things that they say in the country here Yeah, I haven't heard that. Yeah, that's delightful From this point forward the word cheese will be bleeped because Michael finds it offensive. Hello and welcome back to the Fine Dining Podcast, the search for the most mediocre restaurant in America. I'm your host Michael Ornelas and I am back fresh on the heels of September 2024.

Make sure you head over to Patreon to go listen to who won, who got into the semi-finals, who got to the finals, who won the whole thing. But I'm starting October off with a bang by diving right into a restaurant that'll be a contender in September, 2025. It's a little place called Cookout, based out of Greensboro, North Carolina. I traveled all the way across the country

and I got a man who hosts a podcast called Astonishing Legends, Scott Philbrook. And you yourself are an Astonishing Legend. So thank you. I don't know about that. Thank you so much for coming on to the Fine Dining Podcast and eating cookout with me. Yes, it was my pleasure.

Yeah. If you wanna tell people about your show real quick. Yeah, so Astonishing Legends, we're a paranormal podcast. We're 10 years old this year, so we've been around for a minute. And we have, I guess we just, I just posted our 284th episode. We got over a hundred million downloads since we started.

And I have a co-host, his name's Forrest, he's a good friend of mine. And we've been, we do deep dive investigations into strange and unusual, kind of like for people who are old enough to remember, kind of like Unsolved Mysteries, we touch on all kinds of stuff. Awesome. Well, I figured you seemed like a very appropriate guest,

one, for being based out of Greensboro, but two, it's October, it's the scariest month of the year. Yeah, the October every year is like the Olympics for us, we roll out extra shows with heavy sound design and really creepy stuff. So yeah, it every year is like the Olympics for us. We roll out extra shows with heavy sound design and really creepy stuff. So yeah, it's a great time of year for us. Well, for those of you listening to this podcast for the very first time, welcome.

This show is the search for the most mediocre restaurant in America. I'm basically searching high and low at all these different chains to try and define which one is that perfect middle point, the 5.00 out of 10 dining experience. And I'm doing it because when you give someone a recommendation and you're like, oh, that place is good.

Well, good compared to what? Where does bad become good? I'm finding that nexus point, that fulcrum, if you will. So part one, we're going to cover the history of Cookout. We're going to read some Yelp reviews. And then next week, part two's episode, we'll talk all about our time at Cookout. But in the meantime, let's jump to our intro song and we'll get to it. Your table is ready, follow me. Have you tried our chicken breast? Serving pancakes and ribs,

I recommend the spaghetti. We're here to satisfy, not to impress! Your table is ready! Complementary butter and bread! These walls have growth signs! Knit-knack cowboy hat! Good luck, cat! Altograph guitar! Some grab from your city! Behold the tchotchke of mediocrity!

Fine dining! It's just fine dining! Fine dining! Two letters on the sign are shining. Neon flickering, irregular timing. Identify the perfect fine, She's Pal All right, Scott, so you've been to Cookout before, I'm going to assume. Yeah, I've grown up going to them

because although I live in Greensboro now, I moved away with my wife or fiance at that time. We were gone 25 plus years, but Cookout was here even back then and we would go frequently. And one of the funny things about it is one of the ones that we go to at the front corner of the building

That there's drive-through windows on the front corner and then 90-degree The double the double drive through like a rally that is putting a lot of trust into The average civilian to figure out how to weave through that that always makes me nervous when I go But but it's still it's yeah, I've been going a long time. Yeah, is it a Nostalgic change do you have like an attachment to it or is it just it's a place that is where you live? It's been going a long time. Yeah. Is it a nostalgic change? Do you have like an attachment to it or is it just, it's a place that is where you live? It's a little bit of a personal sense memory situation for me.

It does evoke something for me personally because I equate it with when I was in college, which was a long time ago, but it was a place that I ate a lot when I was, you know, when I was in college and couldn't afford to have much else, frankly, besides Chinese and top ramen. And they're open super late, so. They are, yeah.

You get the munchies or something, it's that you can get down there and get a good burger or an astounding milkshake. Yeah, yeah. Well, we'll talk about the milkshake in a week. Don't you dare bring it up before them. I'm not gonna bring it up again. You shut your mouth.

I brought you here to talk, but you shut your mouth. Yeah. Okay, well, so that's your personal history with Cookout. Yes. Well, do you wanna know all about just the history, history of Cookout? I'm super curious about it. I have some preconceived notions from being in the area

because it's like, it has a little bit of lore in the region. So, I'm curious if any of that lines up. All right, well, we're gonna jump into this week's Eat Deets. Eat Deets. Eat Deets. Eatery details. Founded in Greensboro, North Carolina in 1989,

the year after I was born, Cookout has swiftly expanded across the South, boasting 210 locations to date. From its inception, the chain's signature greeting, welcome to Cookout, may I take your order please, has been a beloved staple contributing to its appeal. That doesn't seem like a creative catchphrase. No, no. That's just welcome to my place, what do you want? Yeah, yeah, exactly. That doesn't seem like a creative catchphrase. That's just, welcome to my place, what do you want?

Yeah, yeah, exactly. It's funny because it's that you say it's an 89 because dating myself, I graduated high school in 87, if you can believe that, in Raleigh, North Carolina. I genuinely can't believe that. Yes, I did. I can't fathom that there was time before me. I know, yeah, exactly.

And it's crazy. I collect cars, I have a few cars, one of my favorite cars from 1990. So it's just dating back right there. But here's the thing I will say. Nissan Maxima? It is a Nissan, it's a 300ZX twin turbo. Oh yeah, and I've had it since 93.

So I was the second owner on that one. I just remember in our family growing up, we had a 1992 or 1993 tan Nissan Maxima. I had that same Maxima, rough year. And I thought it was one of the coolest cars ever as a child, just because it had the little number codes to lock it. Yes, that's right, the keypad.

Yeah, and each button had two numbers and you could make up your code. That's one of the first cars that had that. I thought it was so futuristic at the time. Yeah, yeah. I loved it. The other thing that Maximus all had was a sticker on the back window that said 4DSC,

which stood for four door sports car. Ooh. Ooh, yeah. But the thing, what I was gonna quickly say about Cookout's starting date of 89 is it tracks with me. I was, I started college at NC State University in Raleigh. I wound up finishing in Greensboro, but the first two years I was in Raleigh. So that would be like right when I was a freshman and sophomore in college,

and there was probably a big ad blitz. So I have a feeling it was a big, you were hearing about it everywhere because it was launching back then, which that tracks with sort of how it relates to my personal timeline. You got to start big. Yeah, if you want to, if you want to burst on the scene, which it genuinely seems like they did, and I'll get to it later, but they were only in North Carolina for way longer than you'd expect, given that they're now in about eight or nine states. Yeah, that's interesting to me, yeah. Cookout grills all its burgers and some chicken items

on a real grill, as opposed to like a griddle or whatever, and ensures that the meat is never more than a day or two old. They typically receive daily deliveries of fresh ingredients. I feel like, especially with the veggies, the onions and stuff, they did feel very fresh

when I was eating it. Yeah, okay. I trust that. Yeah. So some of the stuff you find on their website and it's just like, how much of this do I trust? Yeah, right, right, right. Cookout often engages with fans

on various social media platforms, offering opportunities to win free merchandise, ranging from t-shirts to jerseys, cups, or even free food. It's interesting to me that restaurants have fans on social media. I mean, I don't fully understand getting that into a restaurant, especially a chain, that you're interacting with it regularly on social media. So I hate using this word because it feels mean. There might be a generational gap to there because,

I mean, actually, I, you were born in what, early 70s? I don't even wanna say officially on the record. Yeah, that's good though, I'll take it. So I feel like your generation may have been. I'm not a boomer, I'll tell you that. I'm Gen X, I'm Gen X. But I feel like the generation that grew up in the 80s The generation may have been. I'm not a boomer, I'll tell you that. Sure, sure. I'm Gen X, I'm Gen X.

But I feel like the generation that grew up in the 80s is the first one that I feel growing up clung tightly to nostalgia. And as a 90s kid, we're all about it. Oh, that's interesting. And so the restaurants I grew up with have such a carved out spot in my heart and are part of, like, when I look back on my childhood,

it's not just the fandoms I have, it is the restaurants that I would go to regularly. Like, I love Outback Steakhouse. I would follow Outback Steakhouse on social media. Okay, I get it. So, yeah, so for you, it's got that. I get that, that makes sense to me. And so, yeah, there's something about

just like a flashy sign. Yeah. That's like the number one thing that gets me in the door of a restaurant. Do I like your logo? Do I like your sign? Okay, all right. Genuinely, and Outback has updated theirs

and I'm just like, go back. Yeah. Go back to the way it was. Because it's what I remember. Yeah. Not a single, you know, I haven't heard your episode on Outback, I'm presuming you've done one. It was my first episode.

Oh, that was your first, yeah. It's rough. If I'm wrong, you've done one. It was my first episode. Oh, that was your first, yeah. It's rough. If I'm wrong, not a single Australian is associated with that chain. It came out of Florida. Yeah, that's what I thought. It's good, you know what, it's good. Florida, the Australia of the US.

Yeah, yeah, right, exactly. Yeah, it's down under. It's down there, for sure. Yeah, I just always think so. No offense, Floridians, but Bugs Bunny, there's a famous cartoon where he's sawing it off the bottom of the map like an amputation

like oh this this foot got What's some does what's that infection that starts with a G what I think gangrene gangrene? Yeah Florida's like the Mecca of chain restaurants. Yeah. So many started there. Yeah. It's wild. You know, the other place they start, I heard,

was a good test market. And I feel like you would know this, is San Antonio for some reason. I actually don't know that. Yeah, I heard that from friends in Texas. I know you're from Texas. I had a friend in Texas who we were actually, I had gone to visit him in Dallas

and we were going to drive to a cabin on the Frio River. And we did did which is a Long way. It was a long drive. That's the other thing about Texas anywhere else You'd be going through three countries, but I remember we went through San Antonio or by it He goes, you know, this is where they test new chains out big corporations Sure will test a new chain because it's the perfect balance of demographics or something. Okay. Yeah That makes probably kind of like Scottsdale so I was gonna say Scottsdale Arizona is the other place that I think of when it's like

a place you wouldn't expect that's loaded with a vast variety of chain restaurants. Yeah, yeah, is this gonna work? If this works here, we can make it work wherever. We can clone it. Yeah. God help us. There are nearly 40 varieties. Oh, before I move away from it,

speaking of engaging with a social media brand for a restaurant, Wendy's social media game is fired. Well, see, that's the thing. Their tweets are great. No, and you see that, and that pops up on Reddit, so you hear about it in Twitter or X or whatever the hell Musk is calling it now. But like, yeah, when it's funny, when it's a funny account, I get that. They'll start beef with people.

Yeah, if you've got a funny person, no pun intended. And it's frozen, it's never frozen. It's never frozen, they'll never frozen beef. But yeah, so I get that. I like, other times I'm like, oh, this is just a corporation. Like, do I want to have this kind of relationship with a corporation?

And even at the end of the day, even if it is funny, you do have to pull away that veneer of like, it's still a corporation. Yeah, but the other thing for me, and it's interesting, I don't know, I don't know what you know about the milieu of Gen X, but the whole idea was that we were slackers and all that, you know, reality bites and all these movies.

We've taken that ball and run with it. Yeah, okay, okay. We're millennials, baby. Yeah, yeah, yeah, right. So my thing is like, for me personally, I'm wanting to kind of pull back from all that stuff now. Sure. And so I'm wondering if the generations behind us

are doing that or diving into it more. Like I know I got a 15 year old, he is very pointedly has no social profiles and doesn't want to. Interesting. Yeah. I have a 15 year old, I call her my niece. She's like a second cousin once removed, but she's 15 years old, she's my niece basically.

She's been on the show three times. Okay. I had her, we took her to Chuck E. at 13, Twin Peaks at 14. Oh nice. And then Sherry's, I don't think you would know Sherry's out here. No. You don't?

I know Sherry's Berries, but that's an online thing. Sherry's Restaurant and Pies. It's like a cafe, but it has a big hexagonal building. Oh, okay. And they would have like, the right half would mirror the left half, and they would have a kitchen right in the middle. The one we went to didn't have that, and I was kind of bummed. But, you know, at 15 years old, she's all about TikTok. Okay, yeah.

And like nothing else. I think she's on Instagram. Yeah, see, my son was all about TikTok, but then he bailed on it for whatever reason. But it's also, as far as I know, she just consumes it. It's not like, I'm not making stuff on it. Right, and my posting, yeah, my son is like, I kinda wanna be invisible online.

I'm like, okay. I respect it, especially at that age. Yeah. You can always change your mind later, but when you're that age making stuff, you can't always take it back. Yeah, you don't wanna, yeah, you can't get it back. I have drilled that into his head.

Remember, don't put anything in writing on the internet that you wouldn't want read out loud to your parents. Yeah, but also at the time, it's hard to have that judgment. I know, I know, it's hard. Especially if you're ticked off or something like that. I thought of some killer jokes back when I had a Twitter. Yeah, there you go.

I don't know if my parents would like these. Well, it used to be great for that. It used to be a great platform for that, but it's not so much anymore. There are nearly 40 varieties of milkshake flavors at Cookout with options ranging from classic favorites to Southern-inspired delights like chocolate, cobbler, peach. Customers can mix and match flavors

to concoct their own unique blends, which I did. Yeah. And there are about 1,081 possible combinations of flavors for the milkshakes. customers can mix and match flavors to concoct their own unique blends, which I did. Yeah. And there are about 1,081 possible combinations of flavors for the milkshakes. That's a lot. And you know, here's a useless fact, but I briefly took permutations, combinations,

and probability math in college. And I think the way you get to that number for combinations is you multiply, in the case of 40, it would be 40 times 39 times 38 or something. Like the factorial? Yeah, like a factorial, maybe, but I don't know. But that doesn't sound like enough. But 1,000, this would be a huge number.

Because 40 times 40 is already 1,600. Yeah, that doesn't make sense. So 40 times 39 wouldn't. Yeah, no, no, no. So, but they're saying there's 1,000 combinations. Well, so I think it's like. I wonder if they're restricting them. My guess is you can maybe fit up to three in a cup. Oh, yes, right.

So that's a new variable that you got to figure out. Math, boring. I love math. Oh, OK. Genuinely, I'm a math-minded person trying to do artsy things. OK, there you go. For those mindful of their calorie intake,

exercise caution when indulging in the chopped pork barbecue meal at Cookout, which packs a substantial 1,000 calories. This hearty dish isn't just about the savory pork. It also includes sides like coleslaw, fries, and hush puppies, making it a truly caloric feast. Yes, but that's a North Carolina thing. Pork barbecue is a big, big, big, big deal here.

As a Texas boy, I love barbecue. Yeah, but it's different. But, yeah, and I do not discriminate. Like, every region has their barbecue and they'll argue over which is better. Yes. And I'm just here like, I'll just eat it all. Yeah, yeah, it's a huge thing here

and the different styles, there's different high country, low country, you know, where part of the state you're from. But the barbe, that's any kind of chain that's in North Carolina, if they're doing any semblance of fast food, they're gonna put that on their menu no matter what. Almost regardless of their image. Pork barbecue?

Yes. Interesting. Yeah. I was curious about it, but also wanting to include them in September, I was like, I gotta get burgers. Yeah, you gotta do the burgers. You gotta do the burgers.

Well, that's what cookout's known for. But like, I think in North Carolina, when people go to a chain, there's people that are just like, I'm only going here because I want a barbecue sandwich. Makes sense. Yeah. Cookouts menu caters primarily to cravings, of course. Prioritizing hearty options over healthier choices

like fruit or salad. I do feel like they would boo me if I tried to order a salad. Yeah. I got that vibe that they would like. Yeah. Why are you vibe that they would like. Yeah. Why are you here?

Throw. Yeah. Please hold sirs. They reach over to the fountain and then. Right. Yeah. It would bum them out as much it would. I don't understand people who go to a fast food place

and get the salad because it's like. Yeah. You could have just gone elsewhere. Yeah, that's true. Yeah. What are you trying to accomplish? Well, there's salad chains now too. Like, k, I think they do. It's like mostly salads. I don't know. Sorry, Kaba. You're not on my radar.

Some brand awareness problems there. But I mean, they're chains. So at some point I got to try them out. Got to try it out. Unlike many fast food chains that shutter their doors early, Cookout satisfies late night cravings by remaining open until 3 a.m. That's so rough on an employee. It's really rough because what that is is they get done, they've got the place cleaned up, having worked in a fast food restaurant. You got it cleaned up. Which one?

Well, I worked at a Chick-fil-A. That's right. For a long time. And not a long time, sorry, summer job for a couple years when I was in school. But you get it cleaned up and you get your prep done for the next day, probably they do that by like 10, then mop the floors and do all that sanitation stuff. And then they're just sitting around, I bet, until 2.30.

I'll bet you, well, maybe a little run at midnight and then one right before they're about to close. But all the stoners come in. We went to a bit of a unicorn in that there aren't many with dine-in options. Yeah, that's true. Most of them are either a walk-up window or a drive-through. Yeah, yeah.

So I wonder if this one's dining room closes, but the drive-through stays open after a certain point. Oh yeah, I bet it does, I bet it does. A lot of places by me, like Taco Bell's, McDonald's, they do that where it's like we're shutting, we're locking the doors at 10, but come by whenever. Yeah, because people start to lose their judgment past midnight anyway.

You don't necessarily want to have them in the dining room. So I don't drink or anything, and I still feel like low when I go to one of those places that late. I went to a Fat Burger at 1.30 in the morning last week, and I was basically crying while eating it. I was like, why am I doing this? I'm telling you what, man, I love fat burger,

but the fat fries would get me out of bed past midnight. I like their skinny fries. Yeah, oh no, yeah, it's fat fries all the way, dude. Yeah. I don't know, I always just prefer a skinny fry. I don't know if I've tried the fat fries. So it's not a knock on them. It's amazing, like a steak fry.

It's just they're not the style I tend to go for. A fourth of a potato. Yeah, they're so hefty. Thirsty travelers will find Solace and Cookout's drink options, including a huge size that's perfect for long road trips. America, it's the kind where the cup is so big that the top of it is like a water tower and then it has a skinny little butt. So it fits in your cup holder.

Sort of gets in your cup holder, yeah. And it's still a problem. You're still running a real risk of structural failure with the cup. Yeah. Yeah. And it's probably like styrofoam. Yes, exactly. Yeah. And then you look down,

that's one of those things where you look down and it's like sweating because like the drink is actually coming through the styrofoam, which also, by the way, I don't know, in terms of the planet today, I don't know why anyone is doing styrofoam anymore. Still doing styrofoam. which also, by the way, I don't know, in terms of the planet today, I don't know why anyone is doing styrofoam anymore. Still doing styrofoam. Yeah.

Oh, God. There was a place that I covered recently, and I can't recall it off the top of my head, but for one of the restaurants I did, they literally, in my research, were like, oh, Whataburger. Yeah. Texas chain. Yeah, yeah. Texas renowned blue state. Right, right.

Yeah, right. They are like digging their heels in on. Styrofoam. We will do, we will always have styrofoam cups. Yeah, yeah. Screw the environmentalist stance. I mean, it is better at insulating the drink temperature. It gets points for that.

But I will say, I know we're talking about our dining experience in part two, but the food, the containers they gave us today at Cookout were paper, like cardboard thick paper. So points to them for that. Yeah. The drinks, I feel like they were paper too. I think they were.

Yeah, no, they were, they were. I think we would know. We were just there. I know, I know. But it's also this kind of food creates a fog immediately. Yes, it does. Yeah, yeah. One that stays with you all day.

I am actively giving myself Alzheimer's. Yeah, right. Alzheimer's? Alzheimer's? Did I say it weird? You did, but that's one of the early signs. Oh no. While many businesses steer clear of topics like religion and politics, we'll get into that.

In fear of alienating customers, Cookout incorporates Bible quotes on the packaging of its burgers and milkshakes. They've stated this is primarily born from their southern roots. In and out does they have like... Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Just like the passage. It's in the bottom of the cup or something? Bottom of the cup, obviously Chick-fil-A, known, renowned religious ties.

Yes, yes. But not, most places don't do it, but there are some. In the Chick-fil-A stuff, it's funny because that was more about the founder. Yeah. Or I can't remember, his son is more that way than the founder was, because the founder was true at Cathy,

but he died and his son took it over. One of them is the person who kind of ramped that up. Now I can't remember if it was the dad or the son. I think it might be backwards. I think it might be the son that kind of ramped it up. But that's why they've been more trouble lately. Although I think they've kind of, they're trying to go harder in the opposite direction

just to level it. Yeah, yeah, that's true, that's true. And are you familiar with Chewies, the Mexican chain? Oh yes, yeah, from Texas, right, yeah, that's why I know them. Because it's the big crazy one there, right? Like a big, super big one in Austin or Dallas or somewhere? I mean, everywhere is big.

Are they all big or are they huge? No, they're not all huge. Okay, I know, because I remember one specifically that I saw in Texas that was gigantic, kind of like Gilly's sized gigantic. Oh, really? I don't know if I've one specifically that I saw in Texas that was gigantic, kind of like Gillies sized gigantic. Oh, yeah. I don't know if I've seen any that I would call huge, but my perception is off having grown up in Texas

where it's just like they're all- Yeah, everything's big. Everything's, like to a point that it's a parody of itself. Right, right. But they have different prayers on their silverware, like it comes in a little paper bag, but it's in different religions. Oh.

So it's like- Impressive. Regardless of what you are, pray before you eat's in different religions. Oh. So it's like. Impressive. Regardless of what you are, pray before you eat. Right, right, gotcha. Cookout's base menu showcases a variety of grilled hamburgers and sh** burgers, alongside hot dogs, chicken sandwiches, chicken nuggets, chicken fingers,

North Carolina barbecue, and quesadillas. Mm, can't go wrong with quesadillas. That's for the people who have no idea what they want. I have a sh** trauma. Oh, that's right. You have no idea what they want. I have a **** trauma, so. Oh, that's right. You don't like the ****. I don't like the ****. Yeah.

I bleep it, by the way, every time it's said in the show. You know what, that's funny. I was the, oh God, I'm so glad you said that because I was listening to one of your most recent episodes and your guest. Which at this point, we're recording really far ahead. Yeah, yeah, for us, yeah. So, but your guest was just like,

just cussing up a storm. It was hilarious. And then I still bleeped two things. Yeah, and then you bleeped Cheesecake Factory and I was like, why is he bleeping then? I was like, I can't figure, this guy is like, see, everything's an F-bomb and whatever. It was hilarious. But I was like, and you're bleeping,

and I was like, oh, maybe he's worried they're gonna sue him. And I was like, but you mentioned 25 other restaurants. I really couldn't figure it out. And that, I'm so glad you're telling me that now. Chuck E. Cheese. Yeah. Cheddar's actually figure it out. And I'm so glad you're telling me that now. Chucky, cheddar's actually slips by. You're gonna have so many beliefs to do on this one now. Yeah.

And every time I say America, there's Neagle. So do you like, yes, and I heard that too. So you don't like nacho Doritos. I don't. You feel like they're. I see what you're doing. You're just creating work for me. I'm a former editor, so now it's going to be a mission for you, I think.

I just cut the whole segment. Yeah, that's true. That's true. Speaking of cutting the segment, did you cut the d***? American d***. Oh, hey there, bud. We heard you like Dungeons & Dragons. Fancy that? We're your Canadian neighbors, eh? Dungeons & Dragons. And we just started season three,

which means it's the perfect place to start with us. Let me give you a little taste of the show. Cause. How much is a donkey cost? Russ, how much is a donkey cost? Good question everyone wants to know. Is he ever gonna give you up? Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down.

Orcas is gonna rule all and then he won't desert you. Find out why Dungeons and Dragons has been downloaded more than a million times. Start listening to season three today, anywhere fine podcasts are found or at dumdragons.com Hello Christopher, what insanity are you up to today? Oh hey Lydia, I'm downloading some movies. What? People are always telling me that's illegal. Uh-uh, not these. They're all public domain.

Oh look, rescue from Gilligan's Island. Well let me see what you're doing. Oh, you're at archive.org. Well they have thousands of films, TV shows, commercials, radio shows, and books available. Yeah, but there are so many. I wish there was a podcast or something that would discuss these things. You know, give us an idea of what's worth the time. Um, Christopher, there is. We do one. Oh, that's right. We host Orphan Entertainment. Once a month, we pick something and review and discuss it.

That sure is nice of us. Sure. Why don't you click over to Orphan Entertainment and remind yourself a little more about the show. Oh, we'll do. Let's see, that's at orphanentertainment.com and yeah, it looks like we're available on iTunes and Stitcher Radio. Oh hey, can we review the Gillian's Allen movie someday? Mm-hmm, we'll see Christopher, we'll see. A standout item on the menu is the cookout tray, offering combinations of

entrees, sides and a drink or milkshake, providing customers with a complete and satisfying meal. It's a complete, it's satisfying. It is very complete. It might not be able to finish it. It's the thing. I ate like a bird today.

Yeah. I just kind of- I didn't eat a lot of everything. But as I told you, I had a huge fat of spaghetti last night. So, of course, I apologize. As one does. It's still in there. Yeah.

I was carb loading for the walk to the car this morning. I told you I had a huge vat of spaghetti last night. So, sorry. Apologies. It's still in there. Yeah. I was carb loading for the walk to the car this morning. And I went out for Vietnamese food last night. Oh, okay. Oh, there's really good. That's really good here. We're famous for really good Vietnamese food in Greensboro. I enjoyed my fried rice that I got.

My girlfriend got a pho, beef pho. Yeah. So, yeah. Yeah. Good thing to do here. An exclusive offering at Cookout is Cheerwine, a local North Carolina cherry soda Fuh, beef fu. Yeah. So, yeah. Yeah. Good thing to do here. An exclusive offering at Cookout is Cheerwine, a local North Carolina cherry soda typically only found in North Carolina and surrounding states, adding a distinctive regional touch

to the beverage selection. Yes. Which I find to be an interesting thing to point out because if it's local here, it doesn't even feel special to encounter at Cookout specifically. But I'm guessing that it means all the Cookout locations even further away from the Carolinas. Yeah, maybe you have it as a treat. I can see that.

North Carolina has a weird loyalty to Cheerwine. It's very pronounced. I'll give you my thoughts on it in the next episode, but I have a one sentence review of it. Okay. And you're clinging to the edge of your seat now. Yeah, people are, yeah, they're probably gonna wait and listen to this one when the second one comes out

so they can back to back them. I need to know what his take on Cheerwine is. Yeah, but Pepsi was invented in North Carolina and Coke was invented in Georgia. And so there was, for a long time, there was Pepsi Pride kind of thing here. Cheerwine is like the smaller, like underdog, whatever. My college roommate delivered Cheerwine.

And Texas had Dr. Pepper. Yeah, that's right. And the thing is, I'm. And Texas had Dr. Pepper. Yeah, that's right. I'm a huge fan of Dr. Pepper. Dr. Pepper's my favorite soda. There you go, with jinx. I'm drinking a diet Dr. Pepper right now. You owe me a Coke. Yeah, that's not gonna work, is it?

It's the worst thing to jinx on when you're talking about how you prefer a different soda. That was a faux pas. The restaurant didn't expand beyond its home state of North Carolina for its first 20 years, only moving to South Carolina in 2010. 21 years in was the first time they left the state, and now they're in, see if I can say them all,

North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Mississippi, Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Georgia. Do you know what that sounds like? That's, oh, my throat made it weird. I heard it. Yeah, see, that's, thanks for lunch. No, you know what that,. Do you know what that sounds like? That's, oh, my throat made a weird noise. I heard it. Yeah, see, that's, thanks for lunch. No, that, well, you know what that, yeah.

You know what that sounds like? It sounds like, and you can use the weird noise, I don't care, but it sounds like conservative founders wound up selling the business to a venture capital firm that was like, what's happening here? We need to get into other states where the conservative founders are maybe playing it super safe.

Yeah, I'm guessing. I'm guessing. Yeah. And from a business standpoint, I do feel like a lot of chains are doing that now. Yeah. And it's a shame when you see the food quality kind of take a hit because it's like, this is what brought you to the dance. You would, you would hope that that's the thing that stays. Yeah.

But, and I'll say this living in LA, LA is such a, you know, there are no native Angelina's. Everyone in LA is from somewhere else. And so all these chains from different people's homes are opening up, so it has really become a hotspot of variety for chain restaurants. They're opening Bojangles there next year. Like 30 locations in LA next year. Yeah, I know, that is so crazy.

Yeah, and I don't think, I don't know that that's always a good thing, but. Yeah. You're right about the menu taking a hit. I can't stand that. You would think that that's them cheating. I feel like the businesses, the venture capitalists or whoever is investing in these things to expand them,

they're cheating because they're leaning on the brand to cheat out some of the stuff that built the brand in the first place. Right. Which is a bummer, you know? The one that took the biggest hit, and you might know this having lived in LA, Umami Burger?

Yeah, so they sold out. They only had like three locations. So they had... It was like the one in Hollywood, the one in Studio City, and then like... Yeah, there was Santa Monica. Oh, and then Burbank, there was the one near Shoney's or whatever, or Big Boy.

Bob's Big Boy. So they blew up. They ended up having like 20 or 30 locations in Southern California, Chicago, Tokyo, Paris, New York. I didn't know they did that. Oh no, but it makes sense, because I feel like I saw one somewhere in New York and I was like, oh my God, I didn't know they were here.

They blew up. And I was all for it. It was my favorite burger in LA. Every single one has shut down, except for one in Irvine, Paris, Tokyo, and there's like five left. Oh. But I went right when you started being able

to go places again after the pandemic to the one at The Grove. Yeah, The Grove. And it had apparently been sold to Jaden Smith or something. First of all, The Grove and all the restaurants in it are road hard and put up wet. You just go in and there's like napkins everywhere.

Yeah. It's like a disaster. I did the cheesecake factory at the Grove. Oh yeah. It's an experience. Yeah, I bet. And it overlooks the AMC lobby. Yeah, that's not good.

But um, yeah, Umami just, they changed their recipe, cheapened stuff out, they're now a smash burger place instead of like the thick gourmet, which was like, that was the, they changed their recipe, cheapened stuff out. They're now a smash burger place instead of like the thick gourmet, which was like, that was the thing about them was like we do these thick cut gourmet burgers. They had the best bacon, the little bacon cubes, the lardons as they called them.

And then I went in 2021 and it was just like thin strips of microwave like thin bacon. The one in Hollywood that was by Danny Trejo's taco place, that's not an Umami anymore? No. Oh my God, that's depressing. The only one you can find in Southern California is Irvine.

I will say you also needed like five showers after you ate one of those burgers. Like it just explodes all over. You don't know my willingness to just sit in my filth. It's insane how messy those burgers were. But they were pretty tasty. I will say that. Cookout is renowned for offering unbeatable value

with prices so low that they defy belief. Burgers, chicken sandwiches, and corn dogs can be enjoyed for as little as 99 cents, making it a budget-friendly option for diners. Was that true today? How do you know I didn't look at the prices? Everything we eat. But that's because you bought my lunch.

Come on my podcast. Yeah, there you go, Free lunch, free lunch. Burger tray, 7.69. One small burger, cookout style was four bucks. Yeah, that's not 99 cents, but if they're still doing that, because right now everybody's talking about- This research is worth nothing.

Yeah, yeah. Right now everybody's talking about the astronomical. I know McDonald's prices. I just read a thing last night on Reddit that McDonald's prices have doubled since 2014 or something. And like chilies and Applebee's are trying to capitalize by being like, why go there? We're about the same price.

Right, interesting. Come get a sit down experience. Just a quick aside, I know we're not talking about McDonald's, but the new burgers they're doing are super tasty compared to- Are they? Yeah, like there's been a definite change.

I am at my local McDonald's a lot more than I ever have gone to McDonald's in my life. I've kind of only been, I mean, as a kid, I grew up on it, but in recent years, I'm just a, I'll go and get a McGriddle once every six months and I'll cry. They're better. They did something. That's it. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. I did see that there was a revamp.

Yeah, they did. It was a massive rollout, I think, because they had to change their whole thing. Yeah. Like, yeah. So by the time this comes out, I'll probably have tried it. Yeah. Okay. Good. The restaurant itself refers to its signature offering, The Tray, as the time this comes out, I'll probably have tried it. Yeah, okay, good. The restaurant itself refers to its signature offering, the tray, as the best combo in town, providing customers with one entree, two sides,

and a drink, all for $5. Again, mine was $7.99, $8.99. Still not bad. Which is still great. Yeah, not bad. Yeah. This exceptional value has garnered praise from critics, with Vice even describing it as almost obscene.

Ooh, didn't Vice go out of business? Yeah, what did they know? The national value has garnered praise from critics, with Vice even describing it as almost obscene. Ooh, didn't Vice go out of business? Yeah, what did they know? In comparison to other East Coast burger chains like Five Guys, Cookout stands out for its affordability. While a burger at Five Guys could set you back as much as $10 at Cookout, the same amount of money could treat you to a double burger, chicken sandwich,

corn dog, quesadilla, french fries, chicken nuggets, and two milkshakes. That isn't true anymore, but still. Still, it is very affordable. No, Five Guys is very expensive at the moment anyway. Showcasing the restaurant's commitment to offering quality food at wallet-friendly prices. Cookout's main offering is the tray, one main dish,

two sides, and a drink for a low price. Some main dishes are also listed as sides, which might confuse first-time visitors. For example, you can order two quesadillas as a main and another as a side. See, I did get confused about the sides this morning. That is an insane, like, do definitions mean nothing? Is this just the Wild West?

Hey, talk to Starbucks about their drink sizes. I'm still pissed about that. This is anarchy. This is anarchy. Yeah, Starbucks, I don't even bother. I don't know what it is. I can't get there. Every time I'm at the window, I'm like,

Grand Vente, I was like, just the big one. And they always correct you. Yeah, and they're like, sir, that's actually a Vente, oh sorry, all right, whatever. What university did you go to? I don't live here. I don't know your lingo. I'm actually a vintage, I'm sorry, all right, whatever. What university did you go to? I don't live here. Yeah. I don't know your lingo.

You know, I'm a tourist. I didn't learn Italian to pass through Rome for a couple days. It's like, yeah, it's a coffee. Just give me whatever. Yeah. Cookout offers a wide variety of food options. Burgers come in four sizes, small, regular,

huge, and big double. I don't know how people do those. Words I can't fathom coming out of my mouth. Just, I'll get the big double. I can't know how people do those. Words I can't fathom coming out of my mouth. Just, I'll get the big double. I can't. Don't look at me, I'm hideous. I would never be able to finish a burger that big. I can't do that.

It hurts. Yeah. I've accidentally ended it. When I went to Fat Burger at 1AM, I was like, I want a double meat, but I was thinking it would be a small. Yeah. They gave me like the big double meat, and I was just like, this is the size of my head. I'm gonna eat a third of it and be bummed that I have it.

It's tasty, but it's not a good feeling to sit on your couch at 2 a.m. eating a fast food burger. No, it really isn't. At this age, at least. Yeah. So also with the burgers, you can customize them with toppings or choose from four styles. Cookout, cheddar, out west, and steak.

Yeah. You got the steak. I did steak today because it had A1 on it and sometimes I was like, oh, that's fun. I also had grilled onions, which I don't care for, so I left those off, but the A1 was a nice touch. Yeah. Yeah. And I tried the cookout and the out west

and I need to go back for a third later to have my three burgers for September. There you go. So why do I do this? The chicken sandwich has seven variations. Original, barbecue, Cajun, club cheddar. Oh no, club cheddar. That sounds like an awful place for me to hang out.

Original barbecue, Cajun, club, cheddar, homemade and crunchy spicy. I knew one of them was a weird compound word. It's crunchy spicy, not club cheddar. Additionally, there are chicken strips, wraps, and nuggets available. The drink section of the menu is more limited compared to the food options. Cookout offers just four choices. Fresh tea, Coke products, Cheerwine, and water. Cookout has received numerous positive reviews,

but two incidents have brought negative attention to the brand. Uh oh. In November 2019, two police officers were refused service at a cookout in Roxboro, North Carolina, by a cashier who felt uncomfortable serving one of the officers due to a previous citation. So it's like a personal like.

Yeah, that's like. Yeah. Yeah. That's not corporate. Yeah, no, that's like, yeah. Yeah, that's not corporate. Yeah, no, that's not corporate. Yeah, you're not. I'm not giving you French fries. You gave me a ticket.

Can you imagine? How about I'll give you a warning for French fries? No, you expunged my record in our feed, G. Yeah, right, right. Yeah, come back when my record's expunged. It's like you flashed someone. Yeah, right, right. The cashier called another employee to assist,

but both the cashier and the manager working that night were later fired by Cook Out's corporate office in response to the incident. Okay. They're very big, after I read this next one, they're very big on the manager's gotta go to. Right, right, yeah. Man, the buck stops there.

It's the guy with it, when I worked at Chick-fil-A, as I said, I was in high school at the time, actually, the person with the keys was the, that was who had, was in charge. Whoever had the keys, you were supposed to like, be the, lick the boots of that person. Yeah. Yeah.

Gross. Yeah. I hate that phrase. I will always hate that phrase. Yeah, it's not good. Yeah, I know. I don't know why I went there, actually. In the following year,

a similar event occurred at a cookout in Virginia. Social media posts alleged that officers visiting a Rocky Mount location were ignored and experienced long wait times. Wow, the cookouts really don't like the popo. An internal investigation revealed extended wait times throughout the weekend, leading to the dismissal of both the cashier who did not assist the officers and the store's manager by cookouts managing. That one, to me, feels a little less warranteded where it's just like there were long wait times.

Yeah. Yeah. I don't know. That's strange. That's like a Karen situation of like, I don't like this wait. Yeah. Okay. No one likes the wait. Yeah. I love police. I'm going to open with that. Okay. Just a cold open.

Use it. It's good. In October 2020, then Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, you might know him as the current president, made a stop at a cookout in Durham with his granddaughter to get one of their famous shakes. According to Business Insider, Biden opted for a classic choice, ordering one vanilla milkshake and one chocolate. His plan was to mix the two flavors to create a black and white shake.

Mm. I feel like if you had to just guess what Biden ordered. Yeah. That'd be it. Yeah, yeah. It's on brand. And he has openly expressed his love for ice cream once stating, I don't drink, I don't smoke,

but I eat a lot of ice cream. Well, there you go. Relatable. Yeah, I'm with him. Well, I'm not with, but I eat a lot of ice cream. Well, there you go. Relatable. Yeah, I'm with him. Well, I'm not with him because I, well, I don't smoke, but I do drink, so there you go. I don't smoke, I don't drink. I like ice cream.

I love ice cream. It's a problem for me. I think for me, it's like brownies or pie. Oh, okay, that's where you're at. It's harder for me to have ice cream in the house and not have it than it is booze. Oh, okay. Yeah, and I get that.

Yeah. I would love ice cream more if I didn't brain freeze so easily. Oh, okay, so yeah, that's a problem. You should see somebody. I just have a very sensitive roof of my mouth. I have an aunt who said, yeah, to just put your tongue on the roof of your mouth

and makes it go away, but it doesn't work for me. No. And I just straight up look like that for, it stops me in real time for about a minute. Right, right. Maybe two. I've had some very long brain freezes. Yeah, that's not good. It's not fun.

Yeah. But, next time you're in LA, have you been to Van Lewen Ice Cream? No. There's one right next to UCB. Oh, okay, no. Oh, has it been there a long time? No, I don't think so. No, I don't think it was there when I was there. A few years. Oh, okay, no. Oh, has it been there a long time? No, I don't think so.

No, I don't think it was there when I was there. A few years. Yeah, yeah, yeah. On Franklin? Yeah. They have a peanut butter brownie honeycomb ice cream that is the best flavor of ice cream I've ever tasted. Oh, that sounds amazing.

That's my recommendation. All right. Anyways, that is the history of Cookout. That'll do it for this week's Eat Deets. Okay, Scott, so we've covered the history. We know a little bit more about the background of Cookout that'll do it for this week's Eat Deets. Okay, Scott, so we've covered the history. We know a little bit more about the background of Cookout. It's time for the people to hear what we have to think. But before we can do that, we got to head to Yelp

and see what other people are saying about the very Cookout that we went to in this week's Yelp from Strangers. We need a little Yelp, a little Yelp, a little Yelp from Strangers. We need a little yelp, a little yelp, a little yelp from strangers. A one star, two star, three star, four or five-eye. So get a little yelp, a little yelp, a little yelp from strangers. A little yelp, a little yelp.

Give us those complaints while you literally white and die. Yelp! All right, this is Yelp from Strangers, our segment where we turn to Yelp and read out our favorite one, two, three, four and five star Yelp reviews of the very restaurant that we went to. Scott, do you mind if I start us off with a one star review? Please, that seems logical. One star review.

This is from Jeanne or Jean, I don't know. How would you guess? I'm gonna go with Jeannie on that. You think Jeannie? Yeah, well I know a Jeannie and that's how she spells it. I'm actually gonna put- And she's in LA. I'm gonna put the text of how this is spelled on screen.

Yeah, it looks like Jean, but I bet it's Jeannie. Comment below how you think this name would be pronounced. I don't buy Jeannie. Spell it out for him. J, oh yeah, I guess it could be an audio medium too, huh? Yeah, right, that's right. J-E-A-N-N-E. Yeah.

Looks like J-E-AN. Yeah. So I would say G-AN. I think it's G-AN. But then it looks like you're saying JAN but with a weird accent. I put money on being a genie. You put money on it.

Yeah, yeah. I'm poor, so. Yeah. We'll see, we should keep it to milkshakes. They're from Jamestown, North Carolina. They've written 529 Yelp reviews. Oh, that's a very active Yelp reviewer, which by the way, I might add that I feel like

the most active Yelp reviewers are leaving one-star reviews. Yeah. Okay. There's a one-star review from October 4th, 2018. We went here looking for something fast and inexpensive. I was in sort of a hot dog mood, which is a hot dog mood, which is a phrase that honestly,

I've been in a hot dog mood before. How you feeling today, Michael? I'm in a hot dog mood. So I ordered the two hot dogs with chili and coleslaw, a side of onion rings and hush puppies. After all, you can't go too wrong with a hot dog, right? Wrong. To start with the better aspects of the dinner,

the hush puppies were pretty good. The chili and coleslaw, what little there was, were average. All right, that's out of the way. This brings us to the hot dog. I'm old. I've eaten a lot of hot dogs. And this was by far the worst hot dog I've ever had.

My daughter is younger, but totally agreed. I like that she mentions the age of... There's a lot of age stuff going on. She's not as traveled. She's not as weathered by hot dogs as I am. This reminds me of a friend of mine's mom used to go, believe me, I've lived. That's right up there with that.

I'm old. Wait, she didn't say I've eaten a lot of hot dogs, did she? She did. Oh, yeah, there's all kinds of problems with that double entendres everything. All right. It was cooked. Okay, but the flavor was ghastly. Ooh I'm gonna put a little lightning effect right here because it's October man It was like it was composed of chemicals I don't have food review words that I can even use to explain how these things tasted I'm totally against wasting edible food, but this wasn't that.

I consulted with my daughter and we decided that we were even afraid to take them home to the fur babies. Oh, not that they would have eaten them either. So to the trash they went, maybe we just ordered the wrong thing. Maybe the burgers or barbecue are better. They would pretty much have to be. At this point, we're unlikely to find out as even a couple of months later,

writing this review has brought back the taste of those horrible hot dogs. You wrote the Yelp review months later? Yeah, that way to bring it back around there though, Genie. G-Anne. G-Anne? G-Anne? Did she wake up in like a cold sweat and be like, I gotta get this out.

I gotta, 3 a.m., you know, the only light in the room is our computer screen. And suddenly these hot dogs have come back into my memory. I gotta put it on paper. Yeah, wow. I bet she hand wrote it and then had someone transcribe it. Aren't all hot dogs made of chemicals, by the way, basically? It's pig anuses.

Yeah, and toenails they say. And hooves. From the Rooter to the Tudor is one of those things that they say in the country here. I haven't heard that, but that's delightful. I got that from my mother-in-law, God rest her soul. From the Rooter to the Tudor. Three-Star Review All right, you want to keep us moving?

Yeah, so I'm going to go to working our way up, I presume. So I'm doing the, the three star here? Sure. Okay. This is from Just A from High Point, North Carolina. Just A. Just A, let me see if I can do, now I am a North Carolinian,

so maybe I can dial my accent up accurately. Yeah, yeah, yeah. As opposed to really bad. Went through drive-through today for a quick bite while shopping for Christmas. I was not impressed. This cookout has been here for a while, but I had not been yet,

although I had passed it several times. The lady who helped me seemed quite pleasant through the microphone, but when I got to the window, there was no smile and she seemed to hate her job. Dun, dun, dun. I ordered the grilled chicken tray and a sweet tea. This gets you two sides as well as for under $6, which is great.

I don't understand that sentence, Justa. You know, there's a lot of grammar that doesn't exist on Yelp. Yeah, there we go. All right, here are my issues with this though, with an ellipsis. Number one, I was given my tray without a bag and there was all over my box for my fries.

When I asked for a bag, she literally rolled her eyes at me. Seriously? Number two. My girlfriend and I were split on that because I read that to her and she thinks that this woman comes across as Karen-esque by saying that. And I'm actually kind of on her side.

If you ask for a bag and they roll your eyes. Yeah. Like I'm- This is getting pretty messy. That's it, it's messy. Yeah. It's like a-. It's like. And it's not like she made an unreasonable request.

Yeah, maybe not. So, two, my chicken was two, it's a lot of O's, one, two, three, four, there's five O's here, people. Two grilled. It had a very burnt taste. Had I known this, I would have definitely gone back inside and spoke with the manager about her customer service

and my chicken. I am still Sorry this one cut me off go I am still burping chicken Just a I am so sorry that is that's unfortunate. Are you the type who will speak to a manager? No ever Like it has to be extreme. I have been in a situation where I have spoken to a manager. I have as well. Yeah, it does have to be extreme. Yeah, it has to be extreme for me.

I'm pretty tolerant. I'm usually just like, I'm more of a- You're a lobster in a boiling pot? Yeah, no, I'm just like a write it off guy. It's like, is this worth me getting angry about, or can I just write this off and never come here again? I think my thing, I won't talk to a manager over an offense or anything like that most of the time.

I will send back food though. Like I'm not eating a thing that has. No, no, no, I'll send something back that's gross or undercooked especially, like if it's not cooked right or it wasn't what I ordered. I know that there are plenty of people who are very against the notion of sending it back. And literally in my Olive Garden musical episode,

one of the songs is called Send It Back. And it's just about the social contract you have with your waiter of like, do I do the thing? Do I go through with this? It's really not good. I'm not gonna eat more of it. I should. And it's about like building yourself up

to justifying sending it back. Yeah, it's like, it depends on how bad, the bar, and this is a little bit of a pun for sending something, I always think about Bar Rescue, you ever watch that show with Jon Taffer? He saves bars and restaurants that are going under, and there's always a stress test in there

where they bring in a hundred people to order, and it's before he fixes it, and it's such a disaster every time, and the food is so disgusting, and they show the kitchen and all that, and I'm like, well, at least it's not this bad. It's like raw food coming out and that sort of thing. I don't know how that stuff happens.

Yeah, it's where people are just, a lot of people think, oh, I'll open a restaurant. They have no idea how hard it is. Yeah. Yeah. You can go download our full Yelp From Strangers segment at our Patreon. The link for that is in the description of this episode,

or you can go to patreon.com slash fine dining podcast. And we're now offering a one week free trial. what do you have to lose go check it out people have wild opinions and we get to read oh so many of them thanks okay Scott we've covered the history we've covered the Yelp reviews we are all primed to give our review next week on the show but in the meantime thanks so much for coming on. Thanks for joining me at Cookout and sitting through listening to a bunch of facts being just bleated at you. Yeah, it's my pleasure. I enjoyed it.

It was good to get the background out. You know what's funny? And you didn't mention it. I, just quickly, I thought Richard Petty had something to do with Cookout, who is a famous NASCAR driver, he's about 90. A lot of people might not have heard of him at this point, but I thought I could have sworn I heard that he was an investor in that. And I don't think that- My research didn't turn it up. He's about 90, a lot of people might not have heard of him at this point, but I thought I could have sworn I heard

that he was an investor in that. I don't think that came up. My research didn't turn it up. That doesn't mean it's untrue. It just means. Yeah, maybe he's a silent partner. Maybe it's specifically franchises, I don't know. Yeah, there you go.

But yeah, if you wanna give Astonishing Legends one more little plug, tell people where they can find you. If you are into anything paranormal, unusual, cryptids, UFOs, ghosts, and some of history's greatest mysteries, like the disappearance of Amelia Earhart, look for Astonishing Legends, the podcast, wherever you get your podcasts.

We also have a network. We have three other shows, The Midnight Library, Scared All the Time, and Richard Haddam's Paranormal Bookshelf. If you don't like the flavor of our show, you'll like one of those other three. Perfect. And you can follow my show on Instagram and TikTok

at Fine Dining Podcast. I've got a Patreon so you can hear all five of those Yelp reviews, otherwise you just get two. And yeah, so join the Patreon, follow me on social media, interact with me, do whatever you want for the same. Do you have social media that you want people to follow? Yeah, you can find us on X, you can find us on Instagram. We have a Facebook group, a Facebook page.

We have, we're on Discord. and okay, if I leave something out, I'm gonna be in trouble, but I think that's everywhere. This is all just at Astonishing Legends? Pretty much, you look us up, yeah, we show up pretty much everywhere. Just look up Astonishing Legends. Perfect. Well, just stay put, sit there for one week,

we'll be back, we'll ice you out. Okay, oh wait, I'm gonna wake up in a bathtub missing an organ, right? No, no, you'll have your organs. Okay. Oh wait, I'm gonna wake up in a bathtub missing an organ, right? No. No, you'll have your organs. Okay, good, good. Most. Most of them.

Perfect, well, we'll see y'all next week. In the meantime, we're just gonna sit here waiting on our table. Have a fine day. ["Waiting on Our Table"] Waiting on our table, waiting on our table The step is done and we had some fun Now we're waiting on our table, waiting on our table Join us next time we're stuck in line Waiting on our table, waiting on our table

We're so hungry, tummy's grumbling Waiting on our table, waiting on our table We gotta continue our search for mediocrity Yeah Waiting on our table, waiting on our table We'll be waiting and dissipating Waiting on our table, waiting on our table We're sleeping in this week, we're digging in Cause we're waiting on our table, waiting on our table We're shrinking in next week or digging in Cause we're waiting on our table, waiting on our table

We've got an appetite but just sit tight Cause we're waiting on our table, waiting on our table Search will continue when we see you next week He, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he But I'm gonna let you know He, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he,