Your Dark Companion Podcast

Your Dark Companion, Mike Rhyner sits down with an all-star culinary and sports lineup: Texas Rangers insider Evan Grant, Dallas restaurant oracle Sarah Blaskovich, and Chef Eric from Dudley’s, who showed up armed with enough food to start a small cult — and possibly overthrow a Chili’s.
Things escalate quickly.
We’ve got Evan trying his first deviled egg EVER (history is made), Mike refusing every egg in existence (including the ones in the room), Sarah dropping restaurant knowledge like it’s classified intelligence, and Chef Eric casually explaining why cows are now eating olives as part of a wellness journey.
Oh — and there’s baseball. Somewhere. Between jalapeño poppers, onion ring ethics, and a heated debate about whether a tomato belongs on a burger (Evan says never, Sarah is personally offended).
It’s loud, it’s passionate, it’s deliciously unhinged…and it may be the first podcast episode in history where food coverage completely hijacks sports talk — and nobody complains.
Pull up a plate.Grab a napkin.Brace yourself for opinions.
⏱️ CHAPTERS00:00 – Lightning, Chaos, and the Cold Open Nobody Planned00:01:02 – We’re Live… Somewhere… Forever… Maybe.00:02:30 – Meet the Squad: Evan Eats, Sarah Writes, Mike Judges00:04:00 – Food Is a Sport Now (Sorry, Cowboys)00:06:10 – The Ranger Beat Writer… Who Might Actually Prefer Dinner00:08:07 – The Legendary Two-Foot Chicken Tender Era00:09:50 – Baseball News Hijacks the Food Show (Briefly)00:12:20 – Enter: Chef Eric of Dudley’s (And the Feast)00:14:00 – Deviled Egg Peer Pressure: The Standoff Begins00:16:20 – HISTORY: Evan Eats His First Deviled Egg00:18:08 – Mike: “Still No Eggs. Forever.”00:19:02 – Texas Twinkies: Bacon, Cheese and Happiness00:21:00 – The Pretzel That Deserves Its Own Zip Code00:24:10 – Chef Credentials: From Foie Gras to Sports Bar Royalty00:28:40 – How Dallas Food Media Accidentally Became a Powerhouse00:32:50 – “Baseball Fans Are Different” and Other Truths00:36:00 – Mid-Show Reads (Yes, They’re Still Here)00:40:27 – Back to Food: Hot Lists, Hidden Gems, and Holiday Picks00:44:09 – The New York Burger Pilgrimage00:46:30 – Burger Wars: The OG vs. The Maverick00:48:50 – Dallas Legends: Goff’s, Burger House, and Milkshake in a Bag00:50:30 – Build-A-Burger: Meat Ratios, Cheese Philosophy, and Acronym Crimes00:54:15 – The University-Level French Fry Symposium00:58:00 – Onion Rings Enter the Conversation (Aggressively)01:00:10 – Cult Language, Secret Food Codes & Fry Science01:02:00 – The Great Tomato Betrayal: Evan vs. The World01:04:01 – Egg Hatred Reaches Sociological Levels01:05:30 – High-End Dining vs. Wednesday Lunch Reality01:07:15 – Restaurants You Can Literally Drive Into (Why?)01:08:40 – $500 Dinners, Fast Food, and Food As Sport in Dallas01:09:40 – The Goodbye… and Mike Announces Pants Removal01:10:05 – Fade Out: Stolen Water Media Approved

Show Notes

Your Dark Companion, Mike Rhyner sits down with an all-star culinary and sports lineup: Texas Rangers insider Evan Grant, Dallas restaurant oracle Sarah Blaskovich, and Chef Eric from Dudley’s, who showed up armed with enough food to start a small cult — and possibly overthrow a Chili’s.

Things escalate quickly.

We’ve got Evan trying his first deviled egg EVER (history is made), Mike refusing every egg in existence (including the ones in the room), Sarah dropping restaurant knowledge like it’s classified intelligence, and Chef Eric casually explaining why cows are now eating olives as part of a wellness journey.

Oh — and there’s baseball. Somewhere. Between jalapeño poppers, onion ring ethics, and a heated debate about whether a tomato belongs on a burger (Evan says never, Sarah is personally offended).

It’s loud, it’s passionate, it’s deliciously unhinged…
and it may be the first podcast episode in history where food coverage completely hijacks sports talk — and nobody complains.

Pull up a plate.
Grab a napkin.
Brace yourself for opinions.

⏱️ CHAPTERS
00:00 – Lightning, Chaos, and the Cold Open Nobody Planned
00:01:02 – We’re Live… Somewhere… Forever… Maybe.
00:02:30 – Meet the Squad: Evan Eats, Sarah Writes, Mike Judges
00:04:00 – Food Is a Sport Now (Sorry, Cowboys)
00:06:10 – The Ranger Beat Writer… Who Might Actually Prefer Dinner
00:08:07 – The Legendary Two-Foot Chicken Tender Era
00:09:50 – Baseball News Hijacks the Food Show (Briefly)
00:12:20 – Enter: Chef Eric of Dudley’s (And the Feast)
00:14:00 – Deviled Egg Peer Pressure: The Standoff Begins
00:16:20 – HISTORY: Evan Eats His First Deviled Egg
00:18:08 – Mike: “Still No Eggs. Forever.”
00:19:02 – Texas Twinkies: Bacon, Cheese and Happiness
00:21:00 – The Pretzel That Deserves Its Own Zip Code
00:24:10 – Chef Credentials: From Foie Gras to Sports Bar Royalty
00:28:40 – How Dallas Food Media Accidentally Became a Powerhouse
00:32:50 – “Baseball Fans Are Different” and Other Truths
00:36:00 – Mid-Show Reads (Yes, They’re Still Here)
00:40:27 – Back to Food: Hot Lists, Hidden Gems, and Holiday Picks
00:44:09 – The New York Burger Pilgrimage
00:46:30 – Burger Wars: The OG vs. The Maverick
00:48:50 – Dallas Legends: Goff’s, Burger House, and Milkshake in a Bag
00:50:30 – Build-A-Burger: Meat Ratios, Cheese Philosophy, and Acronym Crimes
00:54:15 – The University-Level French Fry Symposium
00:58:00 – Onion Rings Enter the Conversation (Aggressively)
01:00:10 – Cult Language, Secret Food Codes & Fry Science
01:02:00 – The Great Tomato Betrayal: Evan vs. The World
01:04:01 – Egg Hatred Reaches Sociological Levels
01:05:30 – High-End Dining vs. Wednesday Lunch Reality
01:07:15 – Restaurants You Can Literally Drive Into (Why?)
01:08:40 – $500 Dinners, Fast Food, and Food As Sport in Dallas
01:09:40 – The Goodbye… and Mike Announces Pants Removal
01:10:05 – Fade Out: Stolen Water Media Approved

Thanks to our monthly supporters
  • Matthew Kamper
  • W hammons
  • B Smith
  • Robert Stoolfire
  • Thaddeus D. Matula
  • Rachel W
  • Scott Lewis
  • John Clayton
  • cody SIMS
  • John Gilbert
  • Robert Saunders
  • Kiffer
  • Sidney Long
  • Pattie Rhyner Davidson
  • David
  • Ashlea Bullington
  • James Corona
  • Gordy
  • John C Caffey
  • Joe Lindsey
  • Cam
  • Jillian Wright
  • Harry Perdomo
  • David Moore
  • Becca Moore
  • Mike Rhyner
  • Becca Moore
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Creators and Guests

Host
Mike Rhyner
Mike Rhyner… "a little on the bumpy side, but rather likable"…so stated famously by a grade school teacher in Oak Cliff, where Mike grew up. A complicated guy, yet a guy who can do long division and remember call strike three to A Rod. Probably best left unattended. Don't expect assistance from him if a medical situation arises.

What is Your Dark Companion Podcast?

"Whatever I want it to be about on a given day; is what it is." Your Dark Companion couples your familiar friends from radio, Mike and Grubes! Mike brings his classic interviews that draw you in, and Grubes—The Devil—drops…well the drops, and throws the occasional grenade. Mike likes to draw on his fascinating acquaintances and friends allowing them to tell their stories as you've never heard them. But he also goes outside his network, sharing Grubes' network, and often outside of both, to bring you those they don't know, but believe have a story that will make you laugh, make you think, think differently, or just entertain you…"that's what we are trying to do here."