The Unqualified Culinary Critics

0:00:00
Hello and welcome to the Unqualified Culinary Critics. We are a Vegas-based podcast that celebrates food and culture. Join us as we talk about our food and cultural experiences, and we do hope that these stories connect, in some way, to each one of you as well. From writing songs to entertaining viewers with his reviews on movies and music, this artist says it all. He recently launched a podcast called Chips and Talk where he provides unfiltered dialogue about various topics while enjoying his favorite snacks Joining us on this episode. We have Super Jesus Jackson. Super. Thank you so much for coming on

0:00:35
Thank you so much, Ashley and Victoria. I really appreciate the invite Yeah, as the intro suggested we got a YouTube channel pretty much mostly the content there is music analysis and film analysis, occasionally doing video game stuff as well, song covers, all of that. I'm a musician, and I do have that podcast, Chips and Talk, literally get any kind of snack, turn on the camera, talk about what's going on in my life, and I eat the snacks sort of ASMR style. It's kind of weird, not gonna lie, but I guess it works, and sometimes I bring in guests but yeah and then I and if I run out of ideas I pick a random topic and talk about it. That's good like do you keep a list of stuff that you want to talk about or just like pops into your head and you just want to talk about it right the second? It's mostly things that are going on in my life that takes about like 70% of the show essentially and the podcast and then after that I go off on a tangent or I just pick a topic a little bit beforehand. But most of the time, I'm pretty much winging it.

0:01:47
I mean, that sounds like a pretty fun podcast.

0:01:51
Yeah, at first, for like the first 20 episodes, I would go on topicgenerator.com, I got on the internet, and it would just pick me a random topic, and then I would try, it was sort of an exercise for myself, try to talk about that thing or topic for like 30 minutes. Like, find a way to continue talking about it and create different conversational branches from that single topic, and it was very difficult. And then I started being a little bit more lazy and just talking about what I'd been going through and the stuff that's been going on in my life which I think can be more interesting at times and then after that if I can't find anything I'll just pick a random topic and and we'll go from there but yeah it's a it's it's pretty fun. That's good and then have you been making like new music recently? So I am 24 going to be 25 in August and the career world has been quite giving it to me right now. I'll say it like that. My YouTube has taken a step back, definitely. I'm not uploading as often. I try to upload at least once a week, like a video of content, once a week. Podcast video and audio uploaded also once a week. But music has definitely taken a back seat. I've also been doing some more audio stories, which I'm sure Ashley, you're very familiar with. But I've been doing those more on the side, but music, song covers have been taking a step back, and original music as well, just because it's so time-consuming, it requires literally like everything of you, you know, for you to do it, and I just want to keep the YouTube channel consistent, but I don't know, I gotta make some sacrifices at some point.

0:03:30
Is there a medium that you prefer?

0:03:34
Um, yeah, I prefer audio, most of, well actually that's not true. I've always wanted to be a YouTuber. So if I get to be really big on YouTube with video, that would be great. That's like, I guess my want, but if I'm being realistic, I probably would be good at just audio. That would be good too. But I can't lie, I like being on camera. I like being a personality of some kind, but it's tough when you have to edit your own stuff all the time And you can get really burned out of it So but video and and just very engaging video is really my my preferred medium

0:04:15
That's good

0:04:16
All right, so do we have any any more questions for? Super before we head to our main topic for today? Um, no that's it. Okay, so today we're kind of doing a two-parter right now and this is called guilty pleasures. So part one today we will be talking about savories. So without further ado does anybody want to go first about their guilty pleasures? It can, I'll just make it a broad topic so you don't have to narrow it down but if you want you can but yeah anybody want to go first? I think our guest should go first.

0:04:54
Yeah so guilty pleasure savory edition. Okay there's a couple that come into mind but the first one and okay I will say you know I might have a Chips and Talk podcast I might have you know ASMR loving content on my channel but I am not a food connoisseur at all I am the guy that would after work go to McDonald's and think that that's a good meal occasionally. So that's me, but I have been exploring, I have been doing many things, I've been you know trying pad thai and Vietnamese food and so I'm trying to explore you know over my comfort zone if that makes any sense. But I will say for my guilty pleasure savory edition I would say Jack in the Box, their tacos. They are awful, they're terrible, they're bad, okay, but they, when you eat it it's like you're like when you finish it you're like I know I shouldn't have eaten this but I'm good you know and it was fine and it just hits the spot and now I don't drink but I do hear that when you drink afterwards you get one of those tacos, eat a couple maybe, you'll be good. And that's kind of how I, you know, I try to give it the benefit of the doubt because of that. But they are very greasy. I'm not sure. Have you have any of you had Jack in the Box tacos?

0:06:16
Yeah, I did.

0:06:18
Yes.

0:06:19
Yeah, I think you definitely know what I'm talking about. It's like, yeah, it's the grease, like the meat is kind of at the bottom, and it's kind of squishy, and it has terrible cheese on it. It's got some lettuce and some taco sauce, and I'm Mexican, so that taco is not, I mean, well, you know, and so, but it's thin, but it's nice and juicy a little bit, and you eat it, and it's kind of gross, but it just hits the spot, and it's probably the savoriness of it, right? And the fake cheese. I mean, I love fake cheese, okay? I'm sorry. I just, it's great. And I'm sure it's probably real cheese, but I say fake cheese just because, you know, it's a fast food, you know, restaurant. And then it's got some lettuce. So, you know, if you're on a diet, the lettuce is there, so it's not as bad. That's the vegetable?

0:07:08
Yeah.

0:07:09
Oh my gosh.

0:07:09
Yeah, but um... Yeah.

0:07:11
That's usually, I usually pair that after I get like a main meal from them or something. I just get a couple of those and that should suffice. Yeah, no, I'm right there with you. There's something about those tacos, man.

0:07:25
Yeah, yeah, I don't know.

0:07:29
I mean, it's, you feel, that's the whole point of a guilty pleasure, right? Yeah. pleasure, right? You like it but you kind of feel guilty about it, literally. But it's weird, I mean, we could go off on a tangent with this whole guilty pleasure thing because, you know, some people are like, look man, like there's nothing to feel guilty about, right? So just enjoy it. But for me personally, there is a guilt associated with probably even fast food in general when you go about it. Because as you get older, your body can't take fast food as often, or it really shouldn't. When you do do it, and you make that concession to have it, you're like, oh God, this better be worth it. This better be pleasurable. And sometimes it is, but oftentimes it's not.

0:08:15
Yeah, oftentimes it's just like, wow, why did I do that? I didn't have to do that. Yeah, exactly.

0:08:21
Yeah.

0:08:22
Ashley, how do you feel about it?

0:08:24
Regarding the Jack in the Box tacos thing? I haven't had their tacos in a while and I'm getting a little wiser when I say this, but I think that, well, when I was a kid, I'd just eat it and I'm like, okay, okay, I don't have, these are the best now. I've had better tacos than Jack in the Box. Like everybody's saying here, what do you expect? It's fast food. So I have not had their tacos in years

0:08:53
That's probably the best. Yeah. Yeah, that's for the best. It's like I said even for me. It's not my main meal It is it is a side. It's an appetizer and by appetizer I mean, I would eat it after the entree so that's not really an appetizer, but it is for me

0:09:08
Yeah, I would say that one of my, because I don't really eat fast food often. Like literally the only thing I've ever had from Jack in the Box is those tacos and like their curly fries. But I do like Del Taco's burritos, but only because I like getting the mild sauce. Like there's something in that mild sauce that is like so good. And I don't know why like it just is you know and I'm like I'm Mexican too

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So I'm just like I should know better, but that's not gonna stop me

0:09:43
Yeah, I you know

0:09:44
I'm glad you mentioned del taco cuz del taco gets like it just gets a lot of hate You know compared to Taco Bell Taco Bell. I can't go there I can't go I end up in the restroom like you know like in a couple hours I can't do that up until I got was 18. I could eat Taco Bell every day, I'm fine. But after 18, I think my body was like, okay, dude, you can't take this anymore. And so then I just don't have the immune system to deal with Taco Bell anymore. And so I go to Del Taco. And Del Taco, I think they're a little bit more fresh. They have better beans. Their rice is a little bit better. Their chicken's better. Sometimes their cheese isn't melted, which sucks, but I do love their burritos and their epic burritos putting fries in there. It just it's the best I'm a big starch, you know carbs guy like really I just love bread like it just just just pretty stuff So that's great. But yeah, they're their sauces is killer I mean It's it's better than Taco Bell's because I think part of the reason why Taco Bell messes me up is because their sauces but Del Taco I just the it's not I mean I can I can take like the Inferno sauce, like their highest tier. I definitely do that one. And it's spicy I guess, and I'm using air quotes right now. But it's got like, I don't know, that immediate spice that feels good, and it just has a very nice, I don't know, Mexican taste to it, a taco Mexican taste to it. And yeah, you put it on a burrito and it's good. I'm not as guilty about Del Taco, for sure. But that is a good, that's a good establishment to mention.

0:11:18
Yeah, yeah, I mean, like I said, I don't really eat fast food, and like, with Taco Bell, I've literally only gone there once, and I was just like, eh, okay. But like with Del Taco, I literally just go back to the sauce, and like, that's why I feel bad, because it's like, I don't even care about the burrito, about the burrito, I just care about the sauce.

0:11:39
Yeah, I totally, I understand, I totally get it. For me it's the, I like them both I guess, but yeah, it's the sauce really I think is the culprit for many of these, many of these establishments, but I don't know.

0:11:56
Ashley, have you been to Del Taco? I have. I prefer that to Jack in the Box because I believe it's fresh too like you just said so I mean my opinion is like Yeah, like like I just said I prefer that to Taco Bell and don't know Jack in the Box Excuse me because like yeah, it's fresh and but I don't I don't eat fast food every day

0:12:17
Sure, sure that that's a good choice If I might add I actually thought of another this is an honorable mention for my guilty pleasure savory stuff, but it is the hot pockets They're awful. I mean I never I put them in the microwave. I can never get them to cook right I have no idea. I don't know also I'm Mexican so I don't use an oven ovens are like storage like rooms for me like you know for my family We put pots and stuff yeah in there, so I put the hot pocket in the microwave I put in like two minutes or whatever and when I take it out I always burn my finger and it burns my tongue too because the cheese is oozing But it's it's so thin and it's you look at the box and the way that it looks it looks so good And then you get it and you're like this is just terrible Maybe I feel guilty because they gave me a poor product and they lied to me. Maybe it's that

0:13:07
Yeah

0:13:08
the guilt

0:13:10
Yeah, exactly.

0:13:12
Being fooled. I've never had a Hot Pocket before. What about you, Ashley?

0:13:17
I did. I will say I am right with Super on this.

0:13:22
Well, yeah.

0:13:23
I mean, do you like the taste? At least a little bit?

0:13:29
I think the first time I had a Hot Pocket, I wasn't too fond of it, but when I still ate pork growing up, I was like cool with the pepperoni pizza and stuff, but then as I got older, I'm like, oh, this isn't good for me. So I just don't eat it anymore either. But yeah, me personally, if I had to recommend a hot pocket just to try, like you can try it, but you probably might not like it at the end. Just saying Victoria.

0:13:55
Yeah, yeah, there's a lot of foods like that that I need to try. So yeah. try so yeah um is there i think i'm trying to think of another guilty pleasure that i have i was gonna say those like lays lemon chips but i'm like that's not a guilty oh my god and like just putting more like lemon on them and tapatio like those are so good i guess i do feel a little

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bad after eating them because i'm like this is so much salt oh my god that's crazy my dad Used to love and I say he's not like dead or anything, but he's he's not here He used to love lays like lemon or are they is lime is lime, right? I get confused because you know in Spanish, you know, lemon is like, you know, it's whatever Yeah, but I think it's lime because it's the green one and it's It's fine. And the it's yeah, it's bad. Like I remember my dad would eat them, like just he would eat, open the bag, and he would finish it in like 10 minutes. And it was bad, and he would put the, well, it would be salsa valentina, he would do that. Put them all over it, just drain them in that. And I thought, I'm not as into spice as I used to be, just because my stomach can't take it. Maybe my stomach is becoming an American citizen but you know the actual lays lime I mean they're good though maybe it's nostalgia for me I don't know maybe when I was a kid I was like you know and then as I'm older I'm able to appreciate them because I want to connect to that nostalgia maybe

0:15:31
yeah yeah that's true I mean that's important about food is how like it connects you to like different moments in your life and stuff like that. But yeah, I definitely get it. Yeah, with me whenever I eat them, like I, it just reminds me of being a kid, you know, with like my cousins and stuff, because we'd eat those every time we'd go to my tia's house and like, you know, put like tapatio or valentina, which everyone was there. Right. Because I like, you know, I like both of them. So whatever. But yeah, and like us like playing video games, you know, running around the house, doing that sort of stuff, or like on days that we'd go to the pool and have those afterwards. But yeah, but I, the only reason I say they're guilty pleasures is because afterwards I'm just like, I should not have

0:16:13
eaten that much because I always end up eating too much. Yeah, that's a common thing with chips. I'm a big chips, I mean, obviously, I mean, I got a podcast called Chips and Talk. I love chips. They're like my second favorite food, pretty much. So my favorite chips are Cheetos. They're the hot fries. Those are the best. But I would say I remember them better. Ice cream trucks, Mexican ice cream trucks, man, had the best chips. I don't know what it was. Maybe they were expired. I have no idea. But they tasted better. And it's a nostalgic feeling when I eat them now, you know, when I open up a new bag and it's just right, it's not too stale, it's not too new, it's just right. It takes me back to being 11 years old with my dad, when he would buy me those chips.

0:17:00
Mm-hmm. Yeah. Have you tried either of those chips, Ashley?

0:17:06
I don't really remember, but I feel like I have not, but I may have to get back to the two of you on that.

0:17:14
Yeah. Are there, do you have any tips like that where it's like now they're a guilty pleasure but they used to remind you of your, or they remind you of your childhood?

0:17:22
Well, because I grew up in America, I am more like exposed to the American corporations, but as I got a little older, I started going to more of like the Asian markets and they have like their own kind of chips too. So an example and just want to put it out there, nothing is sponsored here. So there's a brand called Calbury I believe and I think they were the people that were responsible for the shrimp chips and I used to like, well I still kind of like eating those but I don't eat it as much as I should, not that I should, but I don't eat it as much as I did in the past. And I guess since we're talking about my guilty pleasure, I'd say that chips is like in there for sure, because I'm like, I don't eat it all the time. I don't do it very often, but I can't help but just eat it sometimes, you know. So like the shrimp chips is they're one of them. But I think that I kind of had to kind of step out of that recently just because I'm trying to transition into a more like healthy, I can't really say organic, but I'm trying to like get off the natural flavors kind of thing or processed foods. But I think that's still a guilty pleasure to me because it's like, this stuff tastes so good but the healthy stuff doesn't taste bad. But well, it tastes bad but not all of them, that kind of thing. But yeah, it's true unfortunately. But I mean I just got to do what's right. But the chips thing, like, I mean, we all know that Frito-Lays, they're involved with the Cheetos and Lay's and all that kind of stuff, right? If I'm, if I'm being correct?

0:18:59
Yeah.

0:19:00
Okay. All right.

0:19:01
Yeah.

0:19:01
But yeah, those are like, kind of, um, the chips here, like, I like Cheetos, I like Doritos, I think my favorite kind of chips, I like it and I just find it so good too but then I'm like okay don't eat so much chips you're gonna spoil your dinner I remember being told that yeah you can't stop yeah it's addicting it really is just eat chips in general and in the fast-food craze as well but I'm like okay well I mean I'm understand more about what a guilty pleasure is just from the two of you because it's more of like it's kind of like that I don't really like it I'm not really supposed to do this kind of thing, but at the same time, it's just, I can't help it, it tastes good, if that's correct. Because in my mind, it's more of like, I'm guilty of eating this, it's just, I want to eat, you know? Kind of, I guess, general, simple kind of thing.

0:19:53
But yeah.

0:19:54
Yeah, yeah, no, I agree. I applaud you, Ashley, for being on a podcast about food and trying to be more healthy about your food choices. That's a great contradiction there, but it'll be interesting, I think, and it has been interesting. But, you know, and especially with a topic like guilty pleasures, it's like you kind of have to talk about the things that you don't want to eat, you know, and the things that are kind of bad for you. And chips are addicting. They are probably genetically modified for you to continue to eat them. And you know what? I'm okay with that. That's okay. If I was making them, I would want to create a product like that. I'm not going to lie.

0:20:33
Yeah. I mean, but there's still healthy options of chips. You can do just like veggie chips and those are, I think those are good. Like I still-

0:20:43
Yeah. Oh, that's an interesting choice. That is a little deceiving though, because there are veggie straws and those taste almost like the hot fries. They almost taste like that. Yes. And it's bad man. Like I would just eat those up and I'm like oh yeah they're veggie straws. They're 30% less fat or whatever nonsense. You know like and like I'm eating them and I'm like ah I feel like I'm still like crossing the line. I feel like I just I'm still doing something bad and I don't know I refuse to believe that there's a that they're making them as good and it's still just as healthy. I'm not sure, I don't know.

0:21:18
Yeah, no, it's definitely, you know, I feel like regardless of whether it's veggie chips or just regular chips, they're still not gonna be the healthiest food there, so I definitely understand that concern.

0:21:30
Yeah, I agree, because I remember I was watching a video, and it was about this guy. He would go to all kinds of stores, and he would be like, okay, these are the things I recommend buying because they're like off of trans fat and natural flavors and artificial flavors etc and he was like don't get the veggie straws because they're not healthy I remember he knows growing up and I we didn't know as we did more well not the research that we got was from him and then we just stopped getting it all together but it's like yeah I'm trying to get off of eating like the the Frito-Lay stuff, but that's a guilty pleasure right there, I just said. But I would say that I remember there's like these banana chips, I believe. You can like pop in and just say the name, but we got those at Costco and I like it. A little addicting to eat, but those are good. And then there's like those Kirkland Kettle chips too. No, those are addicting to me. Yeah, any chips, anything out there is like, like everybody is saying it's addictive,

0:22:27
it's like nonstop and yeah, I just, oh man.

0:22:31
You're a sucker for chips.

0:22:33
I really am, but I don't do it all the time though, too. Yeah.

0:22:38
Yeah, there's some, I'm sorry, go ahead, Victoria.

0:22:41
Oh no, you can go.

0:22:42
No, I was just gonna say that on the healthier chips side, there are these, I don't know what they're called, I don't know, some fancy bougie name or whatever, but you find them in sprouts and whole foods, but they're like apple crisps, you know, like dried apple and like all these like fruit and stuff like that, but they're pretty good, but they're like, I don't know, you look at them and they look like 70 year old chips, you know, like they're all crunkled up and they're all small and they got wrinkles and everything like, but they're, but they're more on the healthier side. Um, but I can't think of the name and I can't think, I don't know if you guys know what I'm talking about. They're in a black bag and they're, they're kind of colorful.

0:23:23
Yeah.

0:23:24
Is it like a black bag that has like, um, shoot a little, it has some white in it, doesn't it?

0:23:31
The bag or the chips?

0:23:32
Yeah. The white, I mean, sorry. The, yeah, the logo I think is in white letters. Yeah.

0:23:40
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, yeah. I know which ones you're talking about. I actually don't like those.

0:23:45
Mmm. Why not?

0:23:47
I don't know. There's just something about like the texture of it, which is weird because I'm a really big texture person. Like, I like textured things. But I don't know. Like, I just... I think it's because it's like so like... This is going to sound stupid, but like, so like dry.

0:24:04
Yeah, no, I think that's a good observation. They're dry. I think that's probably part of the reason why they're healthier, you know?

0:24:10
Yeah, but yeah, I know which ones you're talking about. I just feel like they're gonna cut my mouth.

0:24:16
Yeah, they are kind of sharp. You do have to do that thing sometimes where you grab one and you kind of eat half of it and then you eat the other half. Yeah, it's a struggle eating those. First world problems, chip eating man. I know. Yeah for sure. Yeah. Any other guilty pleasures that we can think of? Oh geez I don't think so I think that's about it I mean I there I don't know I mean a lot of again a lot of my guilty pleasures have a savory addition have to do with fast food stuff just because of the fast food element you know yeah and it's um it is the quality of the food inevitably but I you know what I will say this quickly that Kraft mac and cheese is obviously a staple you know we're around the same age you know we're we've loved Kraft mac and cheese and if you haven't good for you good it's probably for the best but you know when I was a kid, I thought it was great. And then as I got older, I realized just how bad it was, not only like, you know, ingredients wise and all that sodium, but just the taste is not as great. But when you do cook a good batch, like it can be pretty good. But afterwards, I do feel bad not only mentally, but physically sometimes, even after eating Kraft mac and cheese. Yeah. Yeah, that does not surprise me.

0:25:40
I don't know, I always have to add stuff to it.

0:25:43
Because I'm like, I can't eat this like plain like this, man.

0:25:46
Interesting, yeah, you gotta add some sort of meat in there,

0:25:49
too.

0:25:50
I'll add like, real cheese, sometimes, um, what's it called, pepper, just more things.

0:25:57
Yeah, that sounds great. I mean, me being Mexican, we sometimes add Mexican cream to it to make it even creamier. And it- Really?

0:26:05
I've never tried it.

0:26:06
It works, but it's probably even unhealthier.

0:26:07
Yeah, it makes it worse. I guess I gotta try that one day. But yeah, I'll just add other things.

0:26:10
But yeah, I'm right there with you on it, like sometimes even making you like physically

0:26:11
ill. I try not to eat that one too often. Yeah, it's best that you, you know, make spaghetti or make something else. I mean, I'm not a big fan of spaghetti. I'm not a big fan of spaghetti. I'm not a big fan of spaghetti. I'm not a big fan of spaghetti. I'm not a big fan of spaghetti. I'm not a big fan of spaghetti. I'm not a big fan of spaghetti. I'm not a big fan of spaghetti. I'm not a big fan of spaghetti. I'm not a big fan of spaghetti. I'm not a big fan of spaghetti.

0:26:25
I'm not a big fan of spaghetti. I'm not a big fan of spaghetti. I'm not a big fan of spaghetti. often. Yeah it's best that you you know make spaghetti or make some sort of

0:26:34
pasta from scratch or you go to a good Italian restaurant and get a good pasta.

0:26:39
Yeah. Yeah yeah we better off like that. Ashley how do you feel about mac and

0:26:45
cheese? Mac and cheese is my comfort food but Kraft's mac and cheese is not. I'll

0:26:50
there. That was a no-brainer. Yeah, I will say this, Velveeta Mac and Cheese is even worse. I'm sorry Velveeta, I love you, I don't hate you, but your food, my god, the cheese, it can't get any more fake than what

0:27:08
they got in their Mac and Cheese, I'll say that. Yeah, I just kind of abstain from crap stuff right now, like crap basically, the brand itself. I just don't really trust her stuff. Sorry, but not sorry Yeah, I don't blame nobody will end you for that. I'm like on everybody's side here I'm all around but at the same time, you know, I just eat with an open mind But as I get older, it's kind of like okay, let's see, you know Yeah, I feel like as you get older you develop more guilty pleasures because you know, what's right, you know what's wrong. Exactly. And you're like, I shouldn't be eating this, but you're still gonna eat it. Yeah. Alright, so do we have any final thoughts, basically? Yeah, final thoughts. I think we are good. Yeah, I think so too. Alright then, so if that's the case, then we're going to end the episode here. So our questions to you are, what are your guilty savory pleasures you know we want to know and we're not going to judge so if you want to like let us know our Instagram is unqualified culinary critics and then our Twitter is unqclucrit and if anybody wants to follow Super Jesus Jackson what are the best places to find

0:28:20
you on? So I would say youtube.com is the best site. Super Jesus Jackson. There's a band called The Super Jesus, but that's not me. It is Super Jesus Jackson, the way super is spelled normally, Jesus spelled normally, and Jackson as well. J-A-C-K-S-O-N. You can find me there, you can find me on TikTok, same, Super Jesus Jackson. Instagram, at Super Jesus Jackson, and I don't have a Twitter because I don't want to get into drama yet and I am on Facebook as well at Super Jesus Jackson. Sounds good.

0:28:56
Alrighty, so you heard what Super has to say and we hope that you all enjoyed listening. Thank you very much for coming on and we will we'll have you back on

0:29:06
for part two. Sound good? Sounds great. Thank you for having me. Thank you all for part two. Sound good? Sounds great. Thank you for having me. Thank you all

0:29:11
for listening and do take care.

Transcribed with Cockatoo