Mr. Pizza with Jesse Thorn

"Mr. Pizza with Jesse Thorn" is Episode 102 of *Doughboys*, hosted by Mike Mitchell and Nick Wiger. "Mr. Pizza with Jesse Thorn" was released on May 4, 2017.

## Synopsis

Guest Jesse Thorn (NPR's *Bullseye; Jordan, Jesse, Go!*) joins Mitch and Wiger to dine at one of the two North American outlets of Mr. Pizza, the South Korean pizzeria with 400 restaurants in its home country. The trio judge the unique potato stuffed crust and bizarre toppings, Mitch calls out Wiger on bagels, and another edition of Drank or Stank has artisan Mountain Dew on the agenda.

## Nick's intro

After the Second World War, the Potsdam Conference subdivided the defeated Nazi Germany into partitions overseen by the victors: the West managed by the United States, United Kingdom, and France; and the Eastern Region handed to the Soviet Union. This birthed the neighboring nations of West and East Germany, which would see decades of conflict until, with German reunification at the beginning of the '90s, the book was shut on this particular chapter of history.

On World War II's Pacific front, the after-effects of a different partition still linger: the 1945 division of Korea into the America-administered South and the Soviet-overseen North, a particularly unfair fate for a people who'd suffered miserably under a nightmarish Japanese occupation.

Koreans would subsequently endure a brutal proxy war between the Cold War's superpowers that killed up to 20% of its population, ending with the people divided between the capitalist democracy, The People's Republic of Korea, and the decidedly-less democratic Democratic People's Republic of Korea, which has endured the totalitarian rules of Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-il, and now Kim Jong-un.

But South Korea, much like its bitter rival Japan, saw explosive economic growth as heavy Western investment helped it modernize into a thriving metropolitan paradise. To this day, Korean importation and reinterpretation of American culture is seen in its passion for PC gaming, the musical genre of K-pop, and, of course, in its cuisine.

In 1990, the same year the Berlin Wall fell, businessman Jung Woo Hyun founded a South Korean chain restaurant serving a dish that would become the adopted national food in the U.S., itself imported from another of the Axis powers, Italy. With such unconventional toppings as cooked shrimp, yams, corn, and cream cheese, this Asian pizzeria thrived and now with about 400 locations in its homeland and two dozen more worldwide, it's the largest pizza chain in South Korea.

But how does it stack up in the States?

This week on *Doughboys*: Mr. Pizza.

## Fork ratings

 Mike Mitchell
 Jesse Thorn
 shared
* Half and Half Pizza
	+ - 1/2 Potato Gold
	+ - 1/2 Shrimp Gold
	+ - Sweet Potato Crust
* Pizza
	+ - 1/2 Sweet and Savory
	+ - 1/2 Surf and Turf
	+ - Hash Browns Crust
* Golden Cali Burger Pizza
* Pepperoni Pizza

**Spoonman's Bite of the Night** went to the Bulgogi Fries.

\*Nick ceded his fork rating to engineer Christian Dueñas.

## ~~Drank or Stank~~ Flavor of the Week

In Drank or Stank, the Doughboys have a drink and decide if it is 'good' or 'bad.'

For this episode, they have Mountain Dew Green Label, Mountain Dew Spiked, and Mountain Dew White Label.

Instead of being rated Drank or Stank, the beverages were given medals (for categorical purposes, consider this a Flavor of the Week).

 Mike Mitchell
 Jesse Thorn

Mtn Dew White LabelMtn Dew Spiked Raspberry LemonadeMtn Dew Green Label

## Quotes

**Mitch:** Our ocean IS better. Atlantic all the way.
**Nick:** It's an ocean!

## #hashtags

* #TeaseYourselfWiger vs. #GoInCold or #PleaseyNoTeasey
* #Doughrea

## Drops and Plugs

 * *The Sound of Young America*
* *Bullseye*
* *Jordan, Jesse, Go!*
* *Judge John Hodgman*

## Related Episodes

* DD42. A Very Doughboys Christmas

## Photos (via @doughboyspod)

1/2 Potato Gold / 1/2 Shrimp Gold Pizza1/2 Sweet and Savory / 1/2 Surf and Turf PizzaGolden Cali Burger PizzaPepperoni PizzaBulgogi FriesBreadTropical Sangria