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Starring Jordan "Bro" McCray, better known as JB, as her and a weekly guest entertain the listeners with their opinions on everyday things. JB creates a category each episode and ranks all of your favorite things. Tune in for all loads of entertainment, laughs, and hot takes.
0:00:00
You are listening to Top Tier. I'm your host Jordan McCray. I find things and I rank them. We are live. You are listening to Top Tier. And we are live coming to you straight from the Greenspun Hall located in Las Vegas on the campus of UNLV. You are listening to Top Tier. I'm your host Jordan and I'm joined with my guest of the week.
0:00:25
It is your boy Acecat, aka one of the voices of Las Vegas. How we doing?
0:00:30
I'm doing pretty good, thank you for asking. So, what we do on this really cool show is basically I take a category, I find things that fall into that category, and I basically put them into tiers, because ranking things one through 10, one through 15, it's a little tricky, it's a little hard, people might not agree, but I just say, let's do tiers. So first up, we have bottom tier these are the things easily agreed upon that we just don't like it it wasn't a fan favorite it wasn't we didn't even want it in the first place next up we have our mid tier I like to say incredibly mid because these things are incredibly mid they might be good but they're not amazing they're kind of forgettable. And our last tier, top tier. Of course, it has to be the name of the show. And these are things that we absolutely love. We want them again, and fan favorites across the board. All right. So are you guys ready for today's topic? I sure am ready. I'm doing sides. Okay. I was expecting more enthusiasm. Woo, sides, let's go, let's get it.
0:01:41
Thank you, thank you.
0:01:42
I'm ready, Jordan.
0:01:43
Thank you, all right.
0:01:43
We're gonna start with bottom tier as always. And first up, we have coleslaw. Oh yeah, without a doubt. Bottom, bottom, bottom as it goes.
0:01:52
Coleslaw is nasty. It is definitely nasty.
0:01:56
I don't know very many people who would actually eat coleslaw without being forced to eat coleslaw, to be honest. I think I could speak for most people when I say that when you go and you get some Raisin Canes, what's the thing that everyone is doing when you get a box combo? We are subbing out that coleslaw. We are subbing out that coleslaw with an extra piece of Texas toast and a Dr. Pepper. With no ice. With no ice. See, because coleslaw is basically just vegetables and it's put into like this mayo type dressing and then it's just mixed up and then served in of course a small portion weirdly enough and I just don't think it's good. I think a part of it is that first of all the mayo and that it's served ice cold. I think it's just gross.
0:02:51
Okay.
0:02:52
Yeah, I don't think anybody likes it, and I think we, coleslaw's forgettable, so we're just gonna move on. Next up, we have potato salad.
0:03:01
It kinda depends.
0:03:03
Like, it's one of those things where, oh, I only like the potato salad that my mom makes type thing.
0:03:13
And I understand because the thing is, shout out to mama, I know you're listening, my mom makes amazing potato salad. I actually really like her potato salad.
0:03:21
I'm sure she does.
0:03:22
But the thing is, it's like, it's just the dish itself. It's potatoes that are kind of loosely mashed, you know, they're kind of solid, kind of not still and then you add in things like relish and a mustard and I think just the combination of all of these ingredients are just kind of...
0:03:40
Well, when you put it that way, no.
0:03:42
Exactly. It's not the most appetizing thing ever. And I will say I definitely prefer potato salad that is served relatively warm than potato salad that is served ice cold. And potato salad is typically something that's served cold and that's why I'm just, oh, it's not that great.
0:04:04
But at the same time, if you do a hot, I would imagine it would smell horrid.
0:04:08
It's actually pretty good.
0:04:11
If you do it while the potatoes are still warm and then you mash it, it's actually pretty good while it's kind of like fresh warm. I'm not talking like a lukewarm. I'm talking like the potatoes are still warm, you know. You can see the steam coming off the potatoes, mix it all together, you know, eat it immediately.
0:04:29
So it's not like one of those mediocre warms like you just put in the microwave and boom.
0:04:33
Nah, this is fresh warm.
0:04:35
Okay.
0:04:36
There's levels to this, don't you know? Yeah. Alright, but yeah, for those reasons, potato salad, it's kind of a miss for me on most, you know, plates. If I'm making a plate, I can do without potato salad. I can do without it. And then, wrapping up the bottom tier category, next up is Brussels sprouts.
0:04:58
Oh, without a doubt. Without a freaking doubt in my mind.
0:05:02
Should we even explain this?
0:05:04
There are not many vegetables that I would say should not exist, but I feel like Brussels sprouts is just definitely one of those things.
0:05:12
I mean, my mom forced me to eat some vegetables, but even she told me, she was like, I would never force you guys to eat Brussels sprouts.
0:05:21
Brussels sprouts only taste good if you fry it up with some bacon. And you do that so that you only really taste the bacon.
0:05:30
Yeah, because one of the tips that my mom used to do when I was younger, she would have me take a bite of the thing that I actually wanted to eat, like the main entree, and she was like, just mix it up with your vegetable and you won't even taste it.
0:05:42
Exactly. Brussels sprouts, it's not good on its own. If you throw some salt and pepper on it, it's not gonna taste good. You need to do a lot just to hide the weird taste and then they're kinda thick. Sometimes they don't get cooked all the way through at the bottom and it's just like, why? Why would you force your child to eat these. Definitely not. Gotta get TPS on speed dial. Yes. Please, please don't feed your family Brussels sprouts. Why? Why? There's so many other vegetables that are way better than Brussels sprouts. I say that asparagus is way better than Brussels sprouts. Now that I would actually agree with. Right. You know, there are so many other vegetables, like if you need a little green on your plate, please don't choose Brussels sprouts.
0:06:26
Collard greens is the way to go.
0:06:28
All right. So that was everything in the bottom tier category. Just to give you guys a quick little recap, it featured coleslaw, potato salad, and Brussels sprouts. Next up, we have our category that is incredibly mid. So we are going to start off this category with baked beans.
0:06:50
Okay. Now, the baked beans thing,
0:06:54
personally me, I like baked beans,
0:06:55
but it's not something to die for. Again, it's just another one of those things, I only like my dad's cooked baked beans. Any other type of baked beans that I like, it's ugh.
0:07:06
Thing is, is baked beans, I find them to be very delicious. They are very much like your cookout, 4th of July staple. It's like you're at a barbecue, you're probably eating some baked beans, because it just goes so well with all of the other dishes.
0:07:22
It does. You might even put some on your hot dogs. You can use that as a topping. Just put it on your hot dogs.
0:07:27
Yeah, there you go.
0:07:28
Right, and that's the thing. It's like our side dishes, we want it to complement the main super well. But the thing is that baked beans are not always good themselves. I am going to say, if I have ever had your baked beans, I promise you I probably have not liked them. And it's because my mom is the best at making baked beans and I only eat her baked beans. I could say that with my chest.
0:07:55
Have you ever went over a friend's house to eat and the food just ain't no good. I mean the macaroni soggy the peas are mushed and the chicken tastes like wood.
0:08:02
Thank you. Thank you. So yes, I got a sugar Hill gang one time. Thank you for that. I will say that baked beans for the most part. If I, I will be extremely shocked if I actually like your baked beans because my mama shout out to her she makes the
0:08:20
best.
0:08:20
When is she coming to Vegas? I need if you're saying that she's as good as you say she is then I need it for then I need to see it myself
0:08:31
I got there's this running joke that everybody wants to meet my mom I'm not entirely sure why but I will I shall let you guys know well the way you well the way you describe her
0:08:41
I mean, I mean mama McCray if you're listening to this come on out
0:08:43
She's actually always in Vegas. She's always visiting me So I shall let you guys know the next time that she's here. The thing is, is when she's here, she's on vacation mode. So I don't really think that she will be making her famous baked beans. Oh, yeah, I'm sorry. Sorry. Sorry to announce. So sorry. So yeah, that is my spiel on why baked beans are made for me. Next up, we're gonna move on to onion rings. The bread itself is good, the onions no. My thing about onion rings is it's one of two things. They're never in the middle, essentially. It's either the breading is basically non-existent and it's falling off the onion ring and there's really no point, it's just an onion. Or the breading is good, the breading is solid, but when you bite into it, you take the whole onion and then you're just left with breading.
0:09:40
Yeah.
0:09:41
I don't, onion rings, they're so big, you know, you're getting most of those like outer like onion pieces, but you can't really eat them in one go. It's like, I want to take multiple bites of this, but it's not really the ideal way to eat it.
0:09:55
It's not really possible. So what I usually do with onion rings is that I will like peel it a little bit. I will take the onion out and just eat the bread.
0:10:05
That's interesting, but I feel like for a side, there shouldn't be so many steps of how you have to eat it. And that's why I don't like it. Onion rings, they taste great. I love onion rings, especially if it's like on a burger or something, but like actually eating them on a side, they don't stand well on their own. And also if you are not eating those hot, fresh out the fryer, they are not good.
0:10:30
Which place do you think has the best onion rings?
0:10:32
I honestly couldn't even tell you because, especially if we like, we get it for the whole table, we're all kind of splitting onion rings, which also means you only get like two. Um, I couldn't even tell you. I, I, onion rings are such a skip for me because I know that it's not going to knock my socks off.
0:10:51
Okay, all right.
0:10:53
Yeah, and yeah, I just... Onion rings, you're good, but it's just too many steps. Too, too, too much going on. I love the sound effects. Thank you for that. All right, so next up, we are going to move on to mashed potatoes. Okay. Eh. Mashed potatoes could go either way.
0:11:13
Mashed potatoes can very much be done wrong. They can be done wrong.
0:11:17
I don't really want chunky mashed potatoes. If every single part of that potato is not whipped up, it's not amazing. You know, that already, mashed potatoes can be a textural nightmare. And also, it's like, to taste amazing, it doesn't taste amazing on its own. You need mashed potatoes and gravy. You know, so it's like, it already doesn't stand well on its own. And for good mashed potatoes, I need it to be like garlicky and cheesy. And a lot of times it's not that. Especially if you go to a restaurant, most restaurants do not have very good mashed potatoes.
0:12:01
They don't.
0:12:02
Yeah, that's one thing. It's like, if it's on your Thanksgiving table, you either love it or it's forgettable. Like, I don't think mashed potatoes will never be the star of the show. It can never, obviously your sides are not supposed to outdo your main, but like, mashed potatoes for me, like nine times out of 10 doesn't even come close to the main. I want to take a couple bites of the mashed potatoes and then I'm like, okay, I'm good.
0:12:33
That's it.
0:12:33
Yeah. There are some people who got that mashed potato recipe, damn, they got it to a T, but it's still not a standout. Still, it's not amazing. It's good, but it's definitely not amazing.
0:12:51
It's not nothing to die for.
0:12:54
Definitely not. I'm, yeah. All right, we're going to move on to our last item in our incredibly mid category. Are you ready for this, A. Scott?
0:13:05
Yeah, hit me with it.
0:13:07
It's cornbread.
0:13:08
I would have to disagree with you on that, actually. Cornbread, cornbread's pretty good.
0:13:12
Cornbread is good. That's the thing. The mid-category, it's not things I don't like. I like all the things in this category, but it's like cornbread...
0:13:21
So then where are you getting these tears from?
0:13:25
Cornbread are just things that aren't high enough. It doesn't do enough for me.
0:13:30
Cornbread is something... I call it a seasonal side because it only tastes good during a specific season. Like Thanksgiving, I get corn, I get cornbread on Thanksgiving. It's a very Thanksgiving like side.
0:13:45
The thing is, is someone told me it's like the way that the cornbread was cooked also matters. And I agree. You know, I've had different types of cornbread if y'all have ever had some hot water cornbread that mess is so good. But you know, everybody has their own little thing that makes their cornbread so good. You know, I have a roommate, she says, look, I use the cornbread recipe that is on the side of the Jiffy box, and it never comes out the same. And I'm like, Oh, girl, I don't know what to tell you, then. What do you mean it doesn't come out the same?
0:14:18
Are you sure she's doing it right?
0:14:20
I would hope that she's doing it right, because she can cook, but she's just like something about the cornbread. It's either amazing or it's not. And I'm like, yeah, you know, some people like to put a little honey on top, some people like to put a little butter on top, but still neither of those things make it stand out. And then also, have you ever had soggy cornbread? No, and I don't think I want to. Exactly. If that cornbread gets an ounce of some sort of liquid that you don't want it to mix with, it is not good. It is immediately, I'm not gonna say completely ruined, but man, it is just knocked out.
0:14:56
Oh, no.
0:14:56
I don't think anybody wants to taste soggy cornbread. And then that's another thing, I feel like cornbread, you kind of mentioned that it's seasonal, and I would kind of agree that it's kind of like a Thanksgiving side, you know, it's like, does it fit at a barbecue? Kind of not really, like yes and no. It's like cornbread, it's like where is your place? Where is the place that you need to shine? And it's like, it's kind of nowhere. There's no one designated place that's like, oh, this dish has to go with cornbread. It's like, no, cornbread's just kind of something you have here and there. It's not, but it's also not a must. You know, it's not, I need cornbread at my table with my with my meal. It's like no Not really. No, no so I think Cornbread is going to be our wrap-up for the mid the mid tier with a little bow on top Is this the part where we get to the good good? Yes But of course I need to give a recap for my for you know, my listeners I got a little bit of ADHD so your memory is not all the way there.
0:16:04
Or if you're just now joining us, welcome.
0:16:06
Yeah, thank you for listening, I appreciate y'all. So our recap for the mid-category is going to be cornbread, mashed potatoes, onion rings, and baked beans. Y'all are good, y'all are solid, but you're not amazing. Now, we finally get to the good good. Woo! The stuff all you guys are waiting for. Here are our top tier sides. And we're gonna start off, fan favorite,
0:16:31
French fries.
0:16:32
Yes! French fries are a match made in heaven.
0:16:36
I love French fries. And the thing is, it's not any type of particular
0:16:41
French fries for this category. It's any type of French fries, because honestly, they are all good.
0:16:53
French fries is like the one food that you can never get sick of.
0:16:56
Honestly, like your thin cut, you know, your potato wedge type french fry, your sweet potato, your waffle fry, they are all good. They are. You know, that they're crispy, you know, they still got that, like, good potato feel. They're lightly salted, you know, and then also you could dip french fries in just about anything. In just about anything. It's really the perfect side, a perfect side for like, especially a burger. There's a reason why Frank's red hot slogan is, I put that ish on everything. Facts, and you know, that would be a good side for some french fries. That is a good compliment right there. But the question is,
0:17:41
now this has a lot of controversial takes. Jordan, I'm about to put you to the test. What place, this could be a fast food, this could be a restaurant, the best french fries of all time?
0:17:53
That's hard. It is hard. That's why I'm putting you to the test. I love me a good curly fry, and Jack in the Box has some really good curly fries.
0:18:05
Oh, they do.
0:18:06
Honestly, those fries are definitely slept on. If we're talking a sleeper, Jack in the Box. Their curly fries, so good. If we're talking, me personally, I love me a good sweet potato fry. So I see that on the menu, I might just pay that extra dollar for some sweet potato fries. I'm not even gonna lie. If I'm balling on a budget, I'll skip out on it. But, for me, if I just want me a good french fry, I'm sorry, I'm going straight to McDonald's.
0:18:34
Okay, yeah, I can see why.
0:18:36
And you know what? I'm gonna wait for the fries to be fresh. Say, are they hot? Now we're about to drop a batch.
0:18:41
Okay, I'll wait.
0:18:42
No, I don't even do that. At the drive-thru window, I just ask them to get it cooked to order. When I used to work at McDonald's, what I would do is that whenever somebody would either ask for it to be well done, there is an option. You can either ask for it to be well done or you can ask for it to be cooked to order. Whenever somebody would ask for well done fries, I would put some fries, put it back in the oil for about 15, 30 seconds, take them out, and then do the whole spiel. Now the thing about that is that some people like to, some workers like to ration on the fries, which I think is pretty dumb. So what I would do is, especially when somebody gets like a large fry, dude, I'm taking multiple scoops, and if some falls out, here, have some extra fries. You put them in the bag. Same thing with nuggets. If you ask for a 10 piece, I'm putting more than 10 in there.
0:19:30
Not all heroes wear capes. Thank you, AceCat. You're very welcome. Oh my gosh, there is no better feeling than when you have 11 nuggets. Oh, it's my favorite Oh, and then also a scat playing y'all on some game order those fries Well done if you want them fresher or just ask them to make it to order will they listen to you? that's a gamble because it's a McDonald's but That's some game right there use it. So yeah french fries Amazing. So so good when they got that perfect little crisp or seasoned, so good.
0:20:05
And I know you were mentioning when you got the good potatoes and stuff, in and out they prepped the potatoes right in front of you.
0:20:12
Yeah, you know, you could, in and out I'll give them their props, you could tell that it's fresh, but also their french fries, it's just not amazing. If you guys also want some-
0:20:21
It's not amazing, but I also do think it's cool, like, when they run out of fries, it's not like they they go to a freezer and there's already pre-made ones They get actual potatoes. They caught them, you know, and they put them in the fryer And then you can tell that there's definitely standards that in and out, you know
0:20:36
They have to adhere to you know, cuz it's just their company if you guys want to shoot a big in paid
0:20:41
1750 an hour I would expect for them to make it good
0:20:45
Facts though. They got that good pay if you guys will also want some underrated seasoned fries, Carl's Jr. has some really good seasoned fries. All you have to do is sub it for their regular fries. But yeah, I think it's seasoned criss-cut. Their seasoned criss-cut fries are also really good. We're going to move on from french fries, and we are going to talk about baked mac and cheese.
0:21:08
Baked mac and cheese. Okay.
0:21:10
Man. You're talking my language. We're really getting to the good stuff. You are talking my man when baked mac and cheese is done Right where it is not runny. It's got a perfect little firmness to it, but it's not too firm It's still cheesy. You know, you could you know, you got a nice little crispy top and it is so good So good it is I you know, I like things are a little cheesy, you know and baked mac and cheese I argue that this dish can basically be put with any type of meal baked mac and cheese I it's just I need it like I want it I'm like I'm never not gonna say no like why would I say no to mac and cheese like dude big dude big mac and cheese at the black
0:21:54
barbecue it hits different at the cookout it is so good at the cookout and then and then you got all the old heads jamming out to that so R&B talking about some You got the spirit
0:22:08
To the cookout I see you a Scott I see you
0:22:11
The thing is is this new generation y'all better figure out, um, how to make that mac and cheese. Because, the thing is about mac and cheese is that it's really simple. It doesn't need a bunch of extra little ingredients, it doesn't need no spice, none extra. I don't care if you make your back- baked mac and cheese with an egg or without an egg. I don't care. Just, don't mess it up. Don't be doing no extra stuff. Like, it doesn't even need the fancy cheese. All you really need is some Velveeta. That's all you need. Y'all just better get it together. Like, keep it simple and I promise you, you have something special on your hands. Magic, that's what it is.
0:23:02
Magic.
0:23:03
A gift from God. Alright, our next item in the top tier category is gonna be rice.
0:23:09
Rice, okay.
0:23:10
Rice for me is really universal. If we're talking something that you could put with anything, it's rice. And it doesn't even matter the type of rice. You could do some jasmine rice, you got white rice, you got brown rice, you got fried rice. All of it, amazing.
0:23:27
Rice all the way. I do definitely agree that it goes with everything. Like, my mom, when I was younger, she used to make tacos for me, and on the side, most commonly, it would be rice. So it doesn't necessarily you have to have like Chinese food or anything like that to have rice. You could, anything.
0:23:45
I honestly think of so many things that I ate as a kid and it's literally just over rice. You got chicken, over rice. You got beans, over rice. You got pork chops, over rice.
0:23:59
Not only that, not just a side, but it could also be a struggle meal as well.
0:24:04
For real though?
0:24:05
It's like one of those struggle meal starter packs.
0:24:07
Hey, that's how you make fried rice. You get some stale rice, don't throw it out. Just get you some of them little, some onion, some carrots maybe, if you got some peas, you know, scramble up an egg. I know eggs is expensive these days, but boom, you got a whole meal right there. When you go to Panda Express, do you prefer the fried rice or the white rice? I actually get their fried rice fried rice. Yeah, I like doing half and half I like getting their fried rice and then also their chow mein. Okay, so you get the best of both worlds I do. All right. I do and I feel like doing it that way you kind of get more I don't know. Maybe it's a psychology thing, but I just like it that way. I know how I like it, you know Mm-hmm. All right, I think we're gonna go ahead move on from rice and next up this might be a weird one But it's green bean casserole
0:24:55
Actually
0:24:57
Hold on now. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, you you might be cooking. She's cooking. You gotta let her cook. Don't judge me
0:25:03
My mom she decided to get weird She was like guys, I think I want to make this green bean casserole. It's like, okay, but it's actually so good. I mean, I wouldn't eat green beans by themselves, but if you put it in a casserole Exactly. It's like some green beans. I think you add in some cheese and then it's like this mushroom stuff It's like it comes out of a can it sounds so weird But everything works so well together and then you top it with some of those like thin fried onions Yeah, it's actually extremely good. It is. Mama, if you're listening to this, I think I want you to make some for Thanksgiving. I'm just saying. It's for those of you that know, because I know a lot of people probably have never tried it in their lifetime. It's actually really good. Don't judge. Just don't look with your eyes. Just eat it. Just try it. I promise you it's pretty good. And we are actually gonna come up to our last item in our top tier. Wrapping up the whole category is gonna be garlic bread and rolls.
0:26:10
Yes. And personally me, since I'm Italian, I have full approval on garlic bread, garlic rolls, basically anything garlic. You wanna know how Italian I am? My dad, he buys a whole thing of butter and he'll literally put garlic in it. So sometimes when I'm making like croissants or whatever, I like to put butter on it. And so I just try to use the nearest butter that we have in the house. And then I take a bite out of it and I'm like, what is this? And then I find out that my dad put garlic in the butter.
0:26:43
I love that.
0:26:44
I love the homemade garlic butter. That's honestly, you putting the listeners on game because homemade garlic butter is actually really easy to make you know And I love me making I call it like ghetto toast You put some toast in the toaster and then you put like a garlic spread on top of it once it's done and now you Got a gala like ghetto garlic bread. It's Amazing actually really it's so good. And the thing is it's just any type of bread really you got your rolls I know everybody listening loves them them Hawaiian rolls. Those are so
0:27:20
Good
0:27:22
So good, and then you also got just white bread if you're eating fish or some fried chicken What you gonna eat it with some white bread exactly like it's so simple, but it works you know, there's some things in this world that you don't need to touch because it works. And like bread, garlic bread, rolls, white bread, just works.
0:27:42
Now that you got on the topic of bread in general, those Olive Garden breadsticks?
0:27:46
So, you might judge me a little bit, but I've actually never ate Olive Garden. Not once. Not once in my lifetime.
0:27:55
All right, I'm taking you one day.
0:27:57
Okay. It might be, in my opinion, I call it mediocre Italian food, but it's good. If it's good, I'll eat it. Please, please take me on a date to Olive Garden. Oh yeah, I will. I need to experience it one time. Please. All right. So since we are running out of time, that is going to wrap up this top tier episode. Thank you guys all for listening. I appreciate you guys so much. Make sure you tune in every Friday at 6 p.m. I'm going to be on and I'm always going to have a special guest. I want to say a special shout out to AceGat my partner thank you for joining me tonight no thank you for having me yeah a lot of fun super special thank you guys so much I hope all of you guys have a great night thank you so much for tuning in to this episode I appreciate every single one of you I hope all of you guys have a great episode I appreciate every single one of you I hope all of you guys have a great
0:28:45
night
Transcribed with Cockatoo