Veggie Grill with Mary Sasson

"Veggie Grill with Mary Sasson" is Episode 344 of *Doughboys*, hosted by Nick Wiger and Mike Mitchell. "Veggie Grill with Mary Sasson" was released on April 7, 2022.

## Synopsis

Mary Sasson (*Robbie*, *College Humor*) joins the 'boys to discuss D.P. Dough and rowing before a review of Veggie Grill. Plus, another edition of Last Meal.

## Nick's intro

"*We will look back on this age of cruelty to animals in horror.*"

This arresting declaration headlines a December 2021 op-ed by New York Times columnist, Ezra Klein. Quoting Klein, "A billion land animals are slaughtered each year for food and, according to some estimates, between 51 billion and 161 billion farmed fish join them." To put those raw numbers in perspective, a 2018 study on Earth's biomass by researchers Yinon M. Bar-On, Rob Phillips, and Ron Milo determined that 60% of all mammals on Earth are livestock bred for meat and dairy, and 70% of all birds on Earth are poultry raised for meat or eggs. The same study estimates that now just 4% of mammals are wild animals.

It's easy to blame consumers, but with a society that's made tasty meat cheap and plentiful, as with most of the world's major problems, the root cause is global capitalism, which has incentivized monstrous practices with animal captivity and slaughter engineered for premium economic efficiency in lieu of humanity.

But fortunately, consumers themselves have shown not just a willingness, but an eagerness to choose plant-based products when made available. In fact, one vegan chain founded in 2006 in Irvine, California has a customer base 70% non-vegetarian. And with meat substitutes improving in quality and declining in price, as well as being socially normalized, a plant-forward future seems inevitable.

But with fast-food chains now offering their own veggie proteins, does a relatively old-school plant-based quick-service concept hold up?

This week on *Doughboys*, we return to Veggie Grill.

## Fork rating

The first time the Doughboys reviewed Veggie Grill was exactly six years earlier to the day, way back in 2016, when Nick gave it 4.5 forks and Mitch gave it 4. It made the Golden Plate Club.

* Orange Chickin' Bowl
* Crispy Cauliflower
* Bowl of Mac & Cheese
* Key Lime Cake
* Cajun Fish Sandwich [Natalie's order]
	+ Wheat Bun
* Bowl of Moroccan Lentil Soup [Natalie's order]
 Mike Mitchell
* The VG Classic
* 7 Layer Bowl
	+ Tex-Mex Taco Meat
	+ Make It A Burrito
* Two Buffalo Mini Wraps
* Large Fries
* Bowl of Mac + Cheese
	+ no Lemon Zest
* Chocolate Parfait
 Mary Sasson
* Santa Fe Chickin' Sandwich
* Greek Chickpea Salad

**Spoonman's Bite of the Night** went to The VG Classic burger.

With these scores, Veggie Grill has been removed from the Golden Plate Club.

## Last Meal

Last Meal is a segment where Mitch comes up with a reason for the guest to be executed, who in turn gets to describe their choices for their last meal.

It is 2025 and there is a STOVID virus spreads to anyone who has touched a Pittsburgh Steelers towel. Everyone from Pittsburgh is being melted down in a steel factory.

Mary, being from Pittsburgh, gets to choose her last meal:

* a very dirty martini
* fish and chips + a hefeweizen beer
* chocolate cake + vanilla bean ice cream
* coffee
* Cosmo / Soco Lime Shot

Fortunately, the Primanti Brothers fly overhead in a helicopter and rescue Mary and her family. Mary is drunk, so the rescue attempt fails, so Mitch and some of his anti-vaxxer friends show up from Quincy and save her. They all get STOVID and die.

## Non-Water Filled Jacuzzi Choices

 Mary Sasson
 jacuzzi.com

## The Feedbag

 Mike Mitchell
* Kraft Single
* salted tomato
* dry rice cake
 Mary Sasson
* Cheez-Whiz

## Photos

Large FriesBuffalo Mini WrapThe VG Classic7 Layer Bowl (Made As A Burrito)Crispy CauliflowerCajun Fish SandwichKey Lime CakeMac + CheeseSanta Fe Chickin' Sandwich, Greek Chickpea Salad, drinkSanta Fe Chickin' SandwichMary's dog in costumes