Welcome to Delicious or Distressing, where we rate recent food memes, videos, and other entertainment news. Last week we discussed the question of whether or not children can legally drink nonalcoholic beer.
Rocky Road with a side of beef, anyone? No, this isn’t Van Leeuwen’s latest gimmicky flavor, but the source of some controversy for Baskin-Robbins. The ice cream chain is facing criticism for including gelatin—notably derived from cows—in Rocky Road without denoting the flavor as a beef product. The omission is troubling for unsuspecting vegetarians, particularly those who don’t eat beef for religious reasons, said Rajan Zed, president of the Universal Society of Hinduism, in critique of Baskin-Robbins. The company has maintained that it’s “compliant with all regulatory standards and strives to provide clear, simple nutrition and ingredient information on menus and labels.”
Also this week, a TikTok influencer is raking in views for chugging liquids in less than 10 seconds, and that feels pretty par for the course. Subway is raffling off $50,000 worth of free sandwiches—on the condition that entrants legally change their name to “Subway.” The uptake is shocking. Lastly, Grub Street’s anti-burrata manifesto has the internet all riled up.
Here’s what’s happening in food moments on the internet this week.
Your favorite ice cream may contain beef
I was a vegetarian for a couple of years—mostly so that I could announce to people that I wasn't eating meat and that I felt incredible. I was feeling pretty superior in those first few weeks until I accidentally ate a piece of crab off a friend's plate without thinking about it. Then a bite of burger because I forgot again. At that point I realized the Parmesan on my pasta was also not vegetarian because it’s an enzyme taken from an animal’s stomach during the butchering process. For me, vegetarianism was more of a state of mind, but for people like Rajan Zed, president of the Universal Society of Hinduism, it's much more important. In a news release, Zed demanded an apology from Baskin-Robbins because the ice cream company included beef products (gelatin) in its Rocky Road flavor, without clearly labeling it as a beef product—meaning it’s not vegetarian. Although Baskin-Robbins said it followed all regulatory labeling protocols, the issue could mean that innumerable vegetarians have been eating beef products for years. Personally, I find this news distressing on two levels. First, that vegetarians may have been unknowingly consuming beef products where they least expect it, and second because I thought everyone knew gelatin came from cows. This news is getting a beefy, cold, creamy 3.9/5 distressing. —Sam Stone, staff writer
A “chugging influencer” is going viral for drinking anything within 10 seconds
I act chill, but I’ve always been competitive—and it absolutely destroys me when someone can do something that I simply cannot. My inner child was deeply triggered this week when I caught wind of the “chugging influencer” who can allegedly drink just about any goblet of liquid in under 10 seconds. I have been struggling to shotgun beers (it just foams out my nose) for more than a decade. Meanwhile, 23-year-old Chicagoan Aidan Parker became overnight-famous for the party trick: After posting a tutorial on TikTok one evening, “I woke up to like a million people who had seen it,” Parker told Caters News. “I sort of let that snowball into being a chugging influencer.”
Parker’s strategy is admittedly a beautiful thing to behold: Eyes bulging like a gecko, he looks up, opens his throat, and makes a glass of blue Gatorade disappear in literal seconds. He does it again with a bowl of red liquid. And again with an entire bottle of Sprite, after eating four bananas. “Do not do this at home,” he says, soda dripping from his face. Parker is no doubt a hydrated wunderkind, but nobody should be sucking down this much food coloring. It might be my jealousy talking, but that’s a 4.7/5 distressing for the chug lord. —Ali Francis, staff writer
Nearly 10,000 people offered to change their names to “Subway” to get free subs for life
Subway is apparently hot shit right now. First, the sandwich chain introduced fresh-sliced deli meat to 20,000 of its stores early this year. And then it rolled out a new line of sandos—with powerful names like Titan Turkey and The Beast—in July. And now it’s managed to convince thousands of super stans to legally change their first names to…Subway. If you wanted free subs for life (more accurately: $50,000 worth of gift cards, according to the fine print) all you needed to do was register your new identity between the 1st and 4th of August. Within the 96-hour window, nearly 10,000 people offered themselves up like plastic-wrapped orbs of Boar’s Head ham. The catch? Only one of the prospective Subways will be announced as winner later this month—and, yes, the $750 legal fee is part of the deal.
Brands have been running email-snatching gimmicks like this since the mainstream-ification of the World Wide Web. At first I was simply floored that so many people would be willing to fall for this one—to go by Subway in exchange for thousands of what I would call mediocre sandwiches. (I once had one at Denver airport that was loaded with ONLY olives and pickles? Simply how did this happen on my watch?) But then I realized: You can just change your name back later, right? Pay the $750, return to your former self, and you’ll still be up $49,250. Props to America’s 10,000 savviest capitalists! 4.5/5 delicious. —Subway (formerly: Ali) Francis, staff writer
The internet is upset about Grub Street’s “burrata is boring” take
I am no stranger to hot takes. In fact, I celebrate them. That's why I was thrilled to see Tammie Teclemariam's piece in Grub Street that asked everyone to slow their roll with burrata. Some people were not thrilled to hear criticism of burrata—after all, what has she done to anyone? The thing is, the cheese itself isn’t the issue; it's the chefs who've begun using it as a menu crutch. Soft, creamy cheese will make most things taste—or at least seem—delicious, but it should be used judiciously. When everything features burrata, it's like nothing features burrata. I, for one, applaud Tammie for speaking her truth. And Stan Twitter can be so toxic, but as far as I can tell no active death threats were made around burrata-gate, so maybe we're moving forward as a society. I'm rating this news a creamy, cheesy 5/5 delicious. —Sam Stone, staff writer