Maggiano's Little Italy with Kevin Pollack

"Maggiano's Little Italy with Kevin Pollack" is Episode 178 of *Doughboys*, hosted by Mike Mitchell and Nick Wiger. "Maggiano's Little Itlay with Kevin Pollack" was released on November 1, 2018.

## Synopsis

Diving into a chain focused on Italian-American cuisine, the 'boys are joined by Kevin Pollack (*The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel*, *Kevin Pollack's Chat Show*) to discuss their recent experience at Maggiano's Little Italy. Plus, competing impressions, Kevin's stand up stories, and an Oreo-based Snack or Wack.

## Nick's intro

"*I aimed at the public's heart and by accident, I hit it in the stomach.*"

This was author and journalist Upton Sinclair reflecting on the impact of his 1905 novel, *The Jungle*, which described in grisly detail the plight of turn-of-the-century immigrants working in meatpacking plants in Chicago.

The Windy City's massive stockyards were once the backbone of its economy, and Sinclair sought to expose the backbreaking labor that injured and killed its desperate immigrant workforce, who found themselves living in slums and boarding houses.

The novel was a sensation, though it wasn't the labor abuses that horrified readers, but rather the filthy conditions of Chicago's slaughterhouses. Sinclair's visceral prose described human waste and dismembered fingers being ground up with pork and beef, employees sick with tuberculosis coughing up blood while handling meat - even workers who accidentally fell into rendering vats and were boiled alive, their remains sold as lard. Not even Sinclair's controversial socialist politics tempered the general public's universal revulsion and in response President Theodore Roosevelt quickly signed legislation creating what would become the Food & Drug Administration, forever transforming food-safety standards in America. By the turn-of-the-century, Chicago's stockyards would begin to close as meatpacking plants were relocated to rural areas.

Also exiled out to the city limits by modernity were the factories that used to clog the city's air with thick smoke. A neighborhood where many Italian immigrants settled was once known as Smoky Hollow because industrial exhaust often blocked out the sun. Smoky Hollow was re-dubbed River North after its pollution subsided and became known for its art galleries. And it's in this sanitized, gentrified, historically Italian neighborhood that restaurateur Rich Melman, with the punnily-named Lettuce Entertain You restaurant group, opened an Italian-American sit-down joint serving an accessible version of the cuisine's classics.

Designed as a throwback to pre-World War II dinner houses, it was an immediate hit, adding two more Illinois locations in its first three years. In 1995, the red-hot concept was acquired by Brinker International, the parent company of Chili's, and taken nationwide, expanding to over 50 locations today.

And while food sanitation in the U.S. may be much improved versus 110 years ago, working conditions in America's vast food industry, especially in slaughterhouses and on factory farms, resembles all too closely the punishing jungle described in Sinclair's magnum opus.

This week on *Doughboys*: Maggiano's Little Italy.

## Fork rating

* Spiced Shrimp Bruschetta
* Maggiano's Salad
* Parmesan-Crusted Tilapia
* Decaf Coffee
 Mike Mitchell
* Italian Beef Bruschetta
* Candied Smoked Bacon Bruschetta
* Italian Tossed Salad
* Chicken Parmesan
 Kevin Pollack
* Tomato Bruschetta
* Caesar Salad
* Shrimp Fra Diavalo
* Americano
 Jaime Fox
* Roasted Pear Bruschetta
* Candied Smoked Bacon Bruschetta
* Italian Tossed Salad
* Lighter Take Chicken Marsala
 shared
* Bruschetta Bar Tour
* Crispy Zucchini Fritté
* New York Style Cheesecake
* Cannoli Chocolate Cake

## Snack or Wack

In Snack or Wack, The Doughboys have a snack and decide if it is 'good' or 'bad.'

For this episode, they try Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie Oreo.

 Mike Mitchell
 Kevin Pollack
 Jamie Fox

## Quotes

**Kevin**: I feel like 11 minutes would be...
**Mitch**: 9 to 11 minutes.

**Nick & Mitch**: WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWW!

## Related Episodes

* 201. AMC Dine-In