Top Round Roast Beef with Ike Barinholtz

"Top Round Roast Beef with Ike Barinholtz" is Episode 179 of *Doughboys*, hosted by Mike Mitchell and Nick Wiger. "Top Round Roast Beef with Ike Barinholtz" was released on November 8, 2018.

## Synopsis

The hilarious Ike Barinholtz (*The Mindy Project*, *The Oath*) joins us to review a chain specializing in old school roast beef sandwiches: Top Round Roast Beef. Plus, a lengthy discussion of vulgar experiences and the debut of an all new segment, Mike and Ike's Sick and Twisted Festival of Candymation.

## Nick's intro

The literary remains of John Byron, dating to 1725, contains the first recorded reference to a dish called the Welsh rabbit. The dish has many variants, but is most broadly a cheese sauce poured over toast, speculated to have originated in Wales centuries earlier where it entrenched itself as a beloved comfort food for the peasant class.

By the end of the 18th century, the name 'Welsh rabbit' was transfused into 'Welsh rarebit' - perhaps a quirk of local accents, perhaps a comment on the absence of any rabbit meat in the dish - and the gooey, cheesy toast had become a pub-food staple, a low-cost sponge to soak up tankards of ale.

But despite its simple ingredients, properly preparing the cheese sauce remained a labor-intensive process and in the mid-20th century when a booming post-War economy and innovations in chemistry led to an explosion in food science, Edward Traisman\* of the Kraft Corporation developed a mass-produceable jarred replica called Cheez-Whiz. As with Welsh 'rabbit' distorting into 'rarebit,' 'cheese' was spelled with a 'Z' because it didn't contain any actual cheese, instead a mixture of milk, protein, and Canola oil. Released in 1953, Cheez-Whiz became an instant hit in the UK as a heat-and-serve substitute for the rarebit's traditional Béchamel, or ale-based, sauce, and Kraft took their Whiz to the States a year later.

Americans characteristically developed an affinity to the gooey cheese-like substance and the many rip-offs it would inspire, and Whiz found its most popular usage as part of a sandwich invented in Philadelphia in the 1930s: the cheesesteak.

Originally, the cheese in question was Provolone, which purists still claim is the correct choice, but Cheez-Whiz, or 'Wit Wiz' in the local parlance, quickly became the most popular topping for the meat on a roll sando. In the 1970s, fast-food chain Arby's introduced the Beef 'N' Cheddar, a Philly cheesesteak-adjacent sandwich featuring roast beef topped with cheese sauce on an onion roll. It remains one of their most popular items.

And in 2013, when a quartet of fine-dining chefs and restaurateurs united to open a fast-food joint in a closed donut shop on Los Angeles' La Brea Boulevard, its flagship product was a classed-up Beef 'N' Cheddar. The spot became a hit with the foodie sort for its chef-driven fare, and with the local community for its budget-friendly menu. And today it has expanded in Northern California, Kentucky, and Texas.

And the sauce on its Beef 'N' Cheddar clone?

Unlike the lab-made Kraft product invented to streamline the Welsh rarebit, each batch of their house-made Whiz sauce contains 15 pounds of real cheese.

This week on *Doughboys*, Top Round Roast Beef.

*\*Nick says Edward, but Google tells me his name is Edwin.*

## Fork rating

* Beef On Weck
* Chicken "Cali"
* "Dirty" Fries
* Southern Belle Concrete
 Mike Mitchell
* Beef & Cheese
* Black & Blue
* O.G. Chicken
* Curly Fries
* Turtle Concrete
 Ike Barinholtz
* Curly Fries

Nick shared his order with Evan Susser. Mitch shared with his friend, Meg (i.e., not The Meg).

With these scores, Top Round makes the Golden Plate Club!

## Mike and Ike's Sick and Twisted Festival of Candymation

In this 'new' segment, The Doughboys try different flavors of Mike and Ike's candy: Caramel Apple, Megamix, and Original Fruits.

(It is also a Snack or Wack and a Flavor of the Week segment.)

They rate it on a the usual scale of 'snack' or 'wack.'

 Mike Mitchell
 Ike Barinholtz

Mike and Ike Caramel Apple CandiesMike and Ike Megamix CandiesMike and Ike Original Fruits Candies

## Quotes

**Nick**: I think there's a carving on your door to warn young people away. It's like the Hobo Code.

## #hashtags

* #FinalFantasyBlank
* #Burger
* #HomeFrieHomeGuy vs. #HashtagHashBrownHashBro vs. #LattkeLotGuy
* #KitchenImprovFail

## Photos (via @doughboyspod)

Southern Belle ConcreteBeef & CheeseChicken "Cali""Dirty" FriesCurly Fries and SandwichesO.G. ChickenBeef & CheeseTurtle Concrete