Taco Bell 2 with Jon Gabrus (LIVE)

"Taco Bell 2 with Jon Gabrus (LIVE)" is Episode 86 of *Doughboys*, hosted by Mike Mitchell and Nick Wiger. "Taco Bell 2 with Jon Gabrus (LIVE)" was released on January 26, 2017.

## Synopsis

For the Doughboys' foray into the Bay Area, actor and comedian Jon Gabrus (*High and Mighty* podcast, *Guy Code*) joins to discuss his favorite restaurant, Taco Bell, and to contemplate mortality. Mitch gets a hometown surprise. Recorded live at the Eureka Theatre at SF Sketchfest.

[Note: *this episode is part of The Spoonister Six, for which Mitch booked all the guests for six episodes. -ed.*]

## Nick's intro

On November 3, 1957, the Soviet spacecraft Sputnik 2 rocketed into orbit. Just 32 days earlier, the launch of Sputnik 1 had blindsided American intelligence and fired the starting pistol in the Space Race. But Sputnik 2 distinguished itself from its unmanned predecessor with the inclusion of a passenger: Laika, a stray dog trained to be the first living being in space.

From the beginning, Soviet scientists had cruelly booked the terrier a one-way ticket, but plans to euthanize Laika by dispensing poisoned food before oxygen ran out went away when the cooling system malfunctioned and the terrified dog cooked to death in her orbiting tomb.

Still, the mission was a scientific triumph and while Sputnik is in the history books, at the time, it's dog-manned follow-up, Muttnik, was an even bigger factor in motivating the panicked U.S. government to act, demonstrating the advanced state of the U.S.S.R.'s space program versus America's non-existent one.

As the Americans formed NACA, later becoming NASA, locations were chosen for its facilities: Cape Canaveral, Florida for its launchpad; Houston, Texas, at the insistence of LBJ, for mission control; and less famously, the Los Angeles suburb of Downey, California, for the construction of modules and rockets. Downey had become one of the nation's most productive aircraft manufacturers during World War II and would go on to assemble craft for the Apollo program and the Space Shuttle.

And Downey also proved culturally influential in its connection to two fast-food juggernauts. It's the home of the oldest operating McDonald's, the first with the famous "golden arches," as well as the birthplace of the world's largest Mexican chain, whose founder claims to have invented the hard-shell taco.

Thirty years after its first location opened, the south-of-the-border franchise made another dog famous: Gidget, the chihuahua cast as a Spanish-speaking dog with a single-minded craving for Mexican cuisine, indicated by her famous four-word catchphrase. Gidget starred in dozens of commercials for the taco chain from 1997 to 2003, vastly elevating its profile in a struggle just as combative as the Space Race: the Fast Food Wars. The canine actor Gidget was euthanized in 2009, but like the canine cosmonaut Laika, is today immortalized for a noble performance in the compulsory service of mankind.

This week on *Doughboys*: yo quiero Taco Bell.

## Fork rating

The first time The Doughboys reviewed Taco Bell was in their second episode, though that review was focused on Taco Bell's breakfast items; Mitch gave it 5 forks and Nick only 3 forks.

* Cheesy Gordita Crunch
* Beefy 5-Layer Burrito
* Quesarito
* Steak Doubledilla
* Double Decker Taco
	+ no lettuce, add shredded chicken & nacho cheese
* Nachos BellGrande
 Mike Mitchell
 Jon Gabrus

The Doughboys made one giant order, getting three of each item.

With these scores, Taco Bell for the first time makes the Golden Plate Club!

## Mitch's Hometown Surprise

Instead of one of their food games, Nick put together a video of Mitch's Quincy Crew.

(There were a few others in the video, but I couldn't catch their name or what they said very well.)

Also, Chankton was in the audience, and Mitch brought him on stage. He talks about how much he loves Chinese food, and recommends the Majestic Dragon in Boston (Wootang's restaurant). He is drunk and rates the Majestic Dragon 8 spoons. Wootang then comes on stage and notes how Wiger does all the work and that he has joined the #BurgerBrigade. He then tries to bring out Joey-o, who stays off stage.

"That went exactly how I expected it to," Nick says about the chaos.

There was supposed to be a Snack or Wack segment here with 7 Layer Dip Tortilla Combos which Nick bought at a truck stop, but they ran out of time. Instead, they tossed them out to the audience.

## Quotes

**Nick**: There's really no piece of counterprogramming that is more directly antithetical to the goals and aims of the Women's March than three white men talking about Taco Bell for 90 minutes.

## Restaurants

 House of Nanking
 Tartine Bakery

## Plugs and Drops

* *Comedy Bang Bang*
* *High and Mighty*
 * *South Park*
* *The Chappelle Show*
* *Seinfeld*
* *The X-Files*
* Mark Snow "Materia Primoris"
 Trevor Jones "Promentory"
 Soundgarden "Spoonman"
 Dropkick Murphys "I'm Shipping Up To Boston"

* Justin Kiley
* Wootang
* Raimondi
* Chankton
* Angelica
* Keefa
* Mikeus
* Joey-o
* Danba
* Susston

## Related Episodes

* 6. TGI Fridays (Feedbag)
* 12. Chick-fil-A (Side of Guys segment)
* 65. Doughlympics: Chipotle v. Del Taco v. Taco Bell
* 86. **Taco Bell 2**
* 87. Taco Bell 3
* DD11. Mama Mitchell (Naked Chicken Chips)
* DD37. Naked Egg Odyssey (Naked Egg Taco)
* DD. My Dinner with Wiger (Nacho Fries)
* 149. The Pie Hole (score revision)
* 156. Taco Bell 4
* 194. Munch Madness: Mouth of the Border Semifinal 1
* 196. Munch Madness: Mouth of the Border Finals
* DD. Snack Attack with Mac
* DD. Double Stacked Dano
* DD. Buff Fries and and Tiny Tacos (Buffalo Chicken Nacho Fries)
* DD. Mount Slushmore (Pineapple Freezes)
* 302. Taco Bell 5
* 305. Taco Bell 7
* 309. Taco Bell 6
* 407. Taco Bell VIII
* 86. **Taco Bell 2**
* 100. Nugget Power Hour
* 133. Torchy's Tacos
* 136. Shipley Do-Nuts
* 138. Whataburger
* 150. The Dopeboys 4/20 Smoketacular
* 163. Mel's Drive-In
* DD. Live from Outside Lands
* DD. Wiger Alone
* 188. Cheba Hut
* 198. Portillo's
* 199. Lou Malnati's
* DD. It's A Wigerful Life
* 241. Mac Attack: Round of 64
* DD. Wige Hard
* DD. The Doughpranos
* 290. Pie Noon: Round 1, Part 1
* 302. Taco Bell 5
* 324. Nathan's Famous
* DD. The Mitchy Clause
* 333. Thighstop
* 348. Cornish Pasty
* 350. D'Angelo
* 351. Kelly's Roast Beef
* 352. Bertucci's
* 358. Burger King 6
* SP3. Ding Dongs or Twinkies?
* DD. Gorko's Planet Clergmas Spectacular
* DD. Energy Drinks
* DD. Rudolph's Roadside