Kroger with Dave King and Esther Povitsky

"Kroger with Dave King and Esther Povitsky" is Episode 262 of *Doughboys*, hosted by Mike Mitchell and Nick Wiger. "Kroger with Dave King and Esther Povitsky" was released on July 30, 2020.

## Synopsis

Writer Dave King (*The Good Place, Parks and Rec*) and Actor and Comedian Esther Povitsky (*Hot For My Name*, *Esther Club*) return to close out **Grocery Store Month** and help the 'boys review America's largest supermarket chain, Kroger. Plus, another edition of Spoonman's Sip or Ship.

## Nick's intro

If you're not used to the 'up is down'-style language and manipulation of American politics, you might be confused to learn that 'right to work' laws are, in fact, anti-union measures designed to suppress labor power and decrease wages.

The 'right to work' formulation was the creation of a now-forgotten Texas political figure named Vance Muse, a racist anti-Semite closely affiliated with the Klan, who used his business influence to muscle through pet political issues, a sort of proto-Koch Brother. By granting companies tacit union-busting power, 'right to work' laws accomplished Muse's twin goals of crushing collective bargaining and keeping workplaces racially segregated.

So 'right to work' became a rallying conservative cause and is today the law of the land in twenty-seven U.S. states, mostly clustered in the South and Mountain West.

And it's 'right to work' laws that led to the downfall of one of the most influential labor unions in American history, the Amalgamated Meat Cutters, formed in the 20th century, partly as a reaction to the conditions described in Upton Sinclair's muckraking classic, *The Jungle*. Aggressively employing strikes among its multi-racial membership, the AMC was a thorn in the side of American agri-business who'd prefer to treat their workers like the livestock in their factory farms.

And so as Republican legislatures implemented 'right to work' laws in rural states, plants wriggled out of union contracts by relocating to those same states, hiring mostly immigrant, non-Union workers to labor under egregious conditions for minimal pay (including, currently, the risk of COVID).

And so Amalgamated Meat Cutters adapted, merging in 1979 with two other unions to form United Food and Commercial Workers, a move that reflected the U.S.'s shift to a service economy.

And as American labor power has reached a nadir, it is perhaps a hopeful sign that the largest grocery chain in America, founded in Cincinnati in 1883, has a union workforce organized with the remnants of Amalgamated Meat Cutters.

This week on *Doughboys*, our month-long review of supermarket eats, **Friendly Green Grocer Mitch's Grocery Store Month**, concludes with Kroger.

## Friendly Green Grocer Mitch's Grocery Store Month Rules

For this month-long look at grocery stores, The Doughboys take these aspects into consideration:

1. How's it looking? (overall impression/name/mascot/etc.)
2. Parking
3. Produce
4. Original Snacks
5. Frozen Snacks
6. Room Temperature Snacks
7. Check-out
8. Hoity-Toityness
9. Bagging and carts
10. Price

The scoring is not the usual five forks, but out of ten carts. A basket is half a cart.

An average of 8/10 will get into the Green Grocer Mitch's Freezer Club (the equivalent of the Golden Plate Club).

## Cart rating 🛒

As per custom for Grocery Store Month, The Doughboys more or less try to get all Kroger's own brands (i.e., Kroger, Simple Truth, and Private Selection).

	+ Mac & Cheese
	+ Scalloped Potatoes
* Tres Leches Vanilla Cake

**Groceries**
* Kroger Zesty Hot Dill Zingers
* Kroger Blueberry Waffles
* Simple Truth Curry Potato Salad
* Private Selection Fresno Pepper & Manchego Kettle Chips
* Kroger Crunchy Fish Sticks
 Mike Mitchell
	+ Breast and Wing
	+ Onion Rings
	+ Mac & Cheese
	+ Corn Dog
* Tuscan Pesto Salad
* Chicken Salad Croissant
* slice of Oreo Cake

**Groceries**
* Simple Truth Organic Cranberry Apple Kombucha
* Simple Truth Organic Blueberry Ginger Kombucha
* bubly Strawberry Sparkling Water
* Kroger Spicy Boneless Chicken Wyngz
* Kroger Stuffed Jalapeño Peppers with Cream Cheese
* Kroger Self Rising Crust Pizzeria-Style Four Cheese Pizza
* Kroger Deluxe Jammed Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream
* Kroger Powdered Sugar Donut Holes
* Kroger Onion Bagels
* Kroger Whipped Cream Cheese
* Kroger Crunchy Peanut Butter
* Simple Truth Organic Strawberry Fruit Spread
* Private Selection 100% Whole Wheat Bread
* Simple Truth Organic BBQ Potato Chips
* Simple Truth Yogurt Covered Raisins
* Private Selection Tortilla Chips
* Private Selection Hot Salsa
* Grapes
 Dave King
* Watermelon Spears
* Kroger Mini Snowboard Sandwiches
 Esther Povitsky
* Kroger Original Orange Juice
* Kroger Homestyle Orange Juice

**Spoonman Bite of the Night** went to either the Jalapeno Poppers or the Fried Chicken.

The 10 cart average is 3.13 carts, which scales down to 1.56 forks. These scores, all 2 forks or less, also place Kroger in the Broken Plate Club.

## Sip or Ship 🥤🚢

Sip or Ship is the Spoonman version of Drank or Stank, where Mitch alone has a drink and rates it 'good' or 'bad.'

For this episode, Mitch tries an Eazy Teazy Low Calorie Green Tea Ale from Lakefront Brewery in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Mitch thought it was delicious, despite not being a huge fan of green tea.

## Quote

**Nick**: The Bobblehead on the Battlefield.

**Nick**: That's how I plan to die.

**Nick**: Interesting observation. Why do you say that?
**Mitch**: Because of the emoji. What do you think was the most famous vegetable for a long while?
**Nick**: You could say lettuce. You could say tomato, technically a fruit. A lot of people would go with a carrot. I'm not sure if corn is classified as a vegetable, but certainly very popular here in the States.
**Esther**: Corn is a grain. Is lettuce a vegetable?
**Mitch**: Potato, to me, is one of the most famous.

**Nick**: Wow. The Mitch of Beers!

## Related Episodes

* DD. The Great Ice Cream Sandwich Competition
* 259. Whole Foods
* DD. Stephen King's Sierra Mist
* 260. Costco
* DD. Checkout Aisle Bounty
* 261. Albertsons
* DD. Biggie Feedbag XXIII
* 262. **Kroger**
* 262. Kroger
* 71. Baskin-Robbins
* 169. Johnny Rockets
* 262. **Kroger**
* 169. Johnny Rockets
* 262. **Kroger**

## Photos

Fried Chicken ComboFried Chicken ComboTres Leches CakeTres Leches CakeFresno Pepper & Manchego Ripple-Cut Kettle ChipsZesty Hot Dill Zingers and Curry Potato SaladZesty Hot Dill ZingersFried Chicken ComboFried Chicken ComboTuscan Pesto SaladTuscan Pesto SaladChicken Salad CroissantChicken Salad CroissantBBQ Potato ChipsGrapesSpicy Boneless Chicken WyngzCream Cheese Stuffed Jalapeño PeppersSpicy Boneless Chicken Wyngz and Cream Cheese Stuffed Jalapeño PeppersSpicy Boneless Chicken Wyngz and Cream Cheese Stuffed Jalapeño PeppersSelf-Rising Crust Four Cheese PizzaSelf-Rising Crust Four Cheese PizzaOnion Bagel and Whipped Cream CheeseOnion Bagel with Whipped Cream CheeseStrawberry Bubly Sparkling WaterCranberry Apple KombuchaBlueberry Ginger KombuchaArnold Palmer LiteJammed Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Frozen Dairy DessertOreo CakePowdered Sugar Donut HolesYogurt Covered RaisinsStrawberry Fruit SpreadCrunchy Peanut Butter100% Whole Wheat Wide Pan Bread