Month: June 2022

Many of 2022’s most-anticipated shows have already premiered (Stranger Things, Hacks, the Muppets episode of Holey Moley), but don’t forget about Documentary Now!. The mockumentary series on IFC, created by Fred Armisen, Bill Hader, Seth Meyers, and Rhys Thomas, is “basically perfect,” although you can get rid of the qualifier for season three’s “Original Cast Album: Co-Op”: it is perfect (more like Richard KING).

The episode was written by Meyers and John Mulaney, who worked on another episode for season four. It’s based on Werner Herzog’s Fitzcarraldo, which the comedian described on Late Night with Seth Meyers as a “narrative film” about his “actual film crew [moving] a steamship over the mountains of part of the Amazon River, which was very hard and crazy to do.” There’s also a very good documentary about the making of the film, Burden of Dreams. The Documentary Now! episode stars Alexander Skarsgård as a “Werner Herzog-type who is trying to make a CBS network multicam in the middle of suburbia.” He has to “fly in a studio audience from Van Nuys, Calfornia” to make it work.

Move over, Better Call Saul series finale. This Documentary Now! episode is suddenly the TV event of the year. You can watch the Mulaney interview above.

Hello, there! Obi-Wan Kenobi is hot and we love him. Throughout the now many decades of Star Wars (will it ever end etc.), we have seen the Jedi Master in many forms: old man, snarky Padawan, sassy general, meme extraordinaire, sad boy. In honor of Obi-Wan Kenobi, who has the titular role in Disney+’s Obi-Wan Kenobi, here is a ranking of every iteration of Obi-Wan Kenobi, from films to television shows. There isn’t much rhyme or reason to this ranking other than performance, personality, and, perhaps most importantly, hair.

8. Star Wars Rebels (2014-2018) Obi-Wan

Obi-Wan makes a brief appearance in the animated series Star Wars: Rebels. Obi-Wan Kenobi (voiced to near perfection by Stephen Stanton) is almost exactly as he was originally introduced in the original Star War wars film: an old, wise man and mentor with a white beard living in exile on Tattooine. Basically, he’s animated Alec Guinness. The animation style gives him sharper edges that make Obi-Wan look kind of mean. Still love him, though, but last place is where this Obi-Wan belongs.

7. Return of the Jedi (1983) Obi-Wan (Force Ghost)

At the end of Return of the Jedi, Obi-Wan Kenobi appears as a Force ghost which is, apparently, different from a normal ghost. Blue and slightly transparent. Force ghosts are nice and a perfect device for emotional moments, but it does not seem like Obi-Wan’s force ghost can do much besides standing in the distance, staring at Luke Skywalker and his friends.

6. The Phantom Menace (1999) Obi-Wan

The Phantom Menace introduced us to Ewan McGregor’s now-iconic Obi-Wan Kenobi. It wasn’t the best of introductions, though. We all went through an awkward phase when we were teens and young adults, and Obi-Wan Kenobi is no exception. As a young Padawan, Obi-Wan had to have the same haircut as everybody else. His face looked good, but the cut wasn’t the right fit. Young Obi-Wan is a little snarky (“the negotiations were short”) and incredibly rude to droids, but he’s defiant to authority and fiercely loyal to his closest allies. Even though Obi-Wan in Phantom Menace is dozens of parsecs away from who he is by A New Hope, McGregor captured Gunniess’ essence without mimicking him. If Obi-Wan had a better haircut, maybe The Phantom Menace wouldn’t be so bad?

5. The Clone Wars (2008-2020) Obi-Wan

Being attracted to a cartoon is wrong when it’s Space Jam’s Lola Bunny, but it’s completely fine when it is Obi-Wan Kenobi in the television series The Clone Wars. The Clone Wars gives an even deeper, quite necessary look into the brotherly bond between Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi (voiced by James Arnold Taylor), which enhances the overall story, particularly Obi-Wan’s pain after leaving Anakin for dead. On Clone Wars, Obi-Wan is a little bit arrogant and sometimes straight-up rude but his clever quips – often at the expense of his enemies or Anakin – make him hot. I mean… interesting.

4. Attack of the Clones (2002) Obi-Wan

Obi-Wan in his Jesus era. In Attack of the Clones, Obi-Wan has a glow, as if the sun at golden hour is always in front of him. His hair is softer than Baby Grogu coos, his eyes glisten like the Tatooine moons. But it’s not just Obi-Wan’s hair that has evolved since Phantom Menace. Obi-Wan is a little more likely to listen to authority, but he’s a little sassier.

3. Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022) Obi-Wan

The Disney+ series Obi-Wan Kenobi focuses on a broken and emotional Obi-Wan Kenobi years after his life as he knew it is over. Obi-Wan lives with undiagnosed PTSD in a cave on Tattoine and has grown bitter as a result of the Empire massacring Jedi and taking over the galaxy. The sassy, slightly rebellious Obi-Wan who could make light of any moment is gone. For the first time in his life, he is hesitant to help anyone because the person he tried to help the most, Anakin Skywalker, is the reason all of this happened in the first place. But he helps a young Princess Leia and is basically a rugged daddy now. On Obi-Wan Kenobi, Obi-Wan Kenobi has slightly disgusting Kendall Roy sad boy energy that is, for some reason, irresistible.

2. Star Wars: A New Hope (1977) Obi-Wan

Sir Alec Guinness is the Obi-Wan Kenobi blueprint. In his performance in Star Wars, which earned him an Oscar nomination (the only Star Wars performance to do so and, honestly, probably the only one that will ever do so) Guinness brought a mysterious edge to the old guy mentor who dies trope that made the character compelling enough to return in so many Star Wars stories. He also looks good doing it.

1. Revenge of the Sith (2005) Obi-Wan

By Revenge of the Sith, Ewan McGregor assimilated into the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi so well that it looks like he is floating in his signature Jedi robes. Years of training the unpredictable and moody Anakin Skywalker as well as fighting in the Clone Wars have turned Obi-Wan Kenobi into a meme king. He’s sassier than ever, but most importantly he has a new haircut that makes his hair look good enough to eat. Revenge of the Sith is McGregor’s best performance as the character because, for the first time, it shows an emotional Obi-Wan. The pain Obi-Wan experiences in Revenge of the Sith completes the character and the Skywalker saga.

In New York, where I grew up, Wheel of Fortune airs before Jeopardy!. In Texas, where I live now, Jeopardy! comes on before Wheel of Fortune. This is the second worst thing about living in Texas (don’t worry, Ted, you’re number one).

Wheel of Fortune should always air before Jeopardy! because, as current-host Ken Jennings once tweeted, “it’s appetizer – main course.” The silly delights of Wheel of Fortune prepare you for Jeopardy!, which is the “smart” game show — although that supposed intelligence isn’t always on display.

The “Final Jeopardy” category during Wednesday’s episode was “19th Century Literature.” The clue read, “This author first thought of a parrot before choosing another bird ‘equally capable of speech.’” Here’s how it appeared on screen:

So far, so good. But then:

The correctly spelled “equally” now reads “equallly.” A typo isn’t a big deal (and it was cleaned up in the version uploaded to YouTube), but the spelling error is rich coming from a show that recently punished a contestant for an illegible answer. In that case, it was Megan Wachspress who took advantage of the controversial decision. She wasn’t as lucky during Wednesday’s episode: her six-day winning streak came to an end by Jeff Weinstock, a marketing lecturer from Miami, Florida. They both correctly answered “who is Edgar Allan Poe?” but his $11,202 in Final Jeopardy trumped Wachspress’ $7,001.

But with all respect to Jeff, his win isn’t what Jeopardy! fans buzzing.

Jeopardy!: where nothing could possi-blye go wrong.

(Spoilers for Season 3 of The Boys will be found below.)

Amazon’s The Boys is very clearly a satire of superhero culture (and a lot more), as originally conceived by Preacher creator Garth Ennis in the 1990s. In the comic and in the show, Homelander has always been pure evil, but it seems to have taken a long time for the truth to sink in with some far-right fans of the show (who should really dig Soldier Boy, who’s like a time-capsuled MAGA dream come true). Now, how they didn’t realize Homelander’s true nature is beyond me. He left an entire plane full of people to plunge to their deaths. He also rained “little Homelanders” all over unsuspecting civilians. And he’s a rapist and murderer.

This season, Homelander isn’t necessarily any worse, but what he does is a lot more blatant when it comes to the sheer evil inside of his little black heart. And showrunner Eric Kripke has revealed that Homelander will get even hairier, all after he forced a woman to commit suicide (in a very public way) on his birthday and then instructed The Deep to eat his friend, Timothy the Octopus (who was still alive). For some reason, these acts have made Homelander’s true nature (finally) hit home for far-righters who thought he was really cool and some idealistic symbol of patriotism or something.

Yes, that’s correct. According to Twitter user Ryan Broderick, a hot mess has been going on over at a subReddit about The Boys since the Season 3 premiere. “The Boys subreddit is chaos right now,” Broderick wrote. “Threads getting locked, users rage-deleting whole accounts. It’s amazing. Right-wing users are whining about ‘no politics,’ but it’s impossible to talk about the show without them now. Fans who thought Homelander was cool are in a meltdown.”

Those screencaps are too funny, and one can imagine that the mods are truly doing the work. And while all of this happens, people are tickled to death to see the tantrums happening, although it’s very strange because why on earth it didn’t matter that Homelander’s soulmate and girlfriend was an honest-to-god Nazi? Only the super public instance of homicidal sadism against a pretty blonde woman put them over the edge when he made her kill herself. And my goodness, Homelander’s regularly called out by other characters, including Queen Maeve, and it’s strange that they just didn’t get it until now.

Obviously, Twitter is tickled to death about the tantrums. Homelander ain’t the good guy! And he’s only gonna grow more off the hook.

ttps://twitter.com/coil780/status/1538262929677553664

The Boys is currently releasing weekly Season 3 episodes on Amazon.

(Via WGA & Comic Book)

Last night (June 22), Red Hot Chili Peppers performed at Emirates Old Trafford in Manchester, England, with support from Thundercat and ASAP Rocky. Typically, the support acts go on before the headliner (they are called “openers,” after all), but that’s not what happened yesterday.

According to The Independent, signs in the stadium read, “Due to unforeseen circumstances, A$AP Rocky will now play immediately after the Red Hot Chili Peppers.” Indeed, following RHCP’s set, Rocky put on a four-song performance, which technically made him the headliner and Chili Peppers the support act (with an exceptionally long set for an opener).

One fan, journalist Darren Burke, tweeted, “Red Hot Chili Peppers cut short their set tonight so support act ASAP Rocky could play AFTER their headline set. Been going to gigs for 30 odd years and never seen anything like it. Many disappointed fans. Bizarre end to the night.”

A brief fan-shot clip shows Rocky performing as what looks like a good number of attendees face away from the stage and head for the exits, since they presumably already saw what they went to see and didn’t have much interest in sticking around for Rocky, who isn’t musically similar to RHCP.

Claims that RHCP cut their set short to accommodate Rocky seem unfounded, however: Per Setlist.fm, the band had an 18-song set, which is as many (or more) songs than their recent performances have included.

Red Hot Chili Peppers is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

The classic road trip is as American as apple pie, the designated hitter, spray cheese, and treating pets like they’re children. Road trip season means school is over (even if you technically graduated years ago) and there’s nothing on the horizon to worry about except where the next rest area is located so you can stock up on beef jerky, energy drinks, and Flaming Hot Cheetos.

If you’re road-tripping this summer, where better to end up than one of America’s many beer festivals? Trips that end with a frosty IPA, lager, or pilsner are pretty damn tough to beat. Below, we’ve uncovered, the greatest, beer-filled festivals from Washington to Littlerock, California, and everywhere in between running from late June to the end of August.

SAVOR Craft Beer Festival (Washington DC): June 24

If you happen to live in Washington, DC or you’re willing to travel there via car or plane, you should take time to attend the SAVOR Craft Beer Festival on June 24th. The event features a combination of brewing and culinary experiences featuring more than 100 different craft breweries from all over the US.

Here you can sample over 200 different beers. The best part? They’re all paired with small plates of delicious food.

Why you should go:

While many beer festivals are centered solely on the beer with potentially a soft pretzel or hot dog to wash it down. This festival is both a beer fest and a culinary festival.

For more information, visit the official site here.

WeldWerks Invitational (Greeley, Colorado): June 25

Weldwerks is a big name in the craft beer world dropping notable beers like its iconic Juicy Bits. It’s no surprise that the Colorado-based brewery would throw an annual beer festival. June 25th is the 3rd iteration of the event. For $110 you get a commemorative tasting glass to hide in your cupboard, forget about, and never use again. But before that, you get to sample more than 120 beers from 47 different breweries.

There will be food trucks on the scene and 100% of the proceeds go to charity. So that’s pretty dang cool.

Why you should go:

Many beer fans take a trip to Colorado just to visit breweries. Greeley, Colorado’s Weldwerks is one of the best. Taste them alongside scores of others at this festival.

For more information, visit the official site here.

Smuttynose Beach and Brew Fest (Hampton Beach, New Hampshire): June 26

There are few places more worthy of a road trip than coastal New England in the summer. If the beaches, quaint towns, and scenic views weren’t enough, Smuttynose is sponsoring a beer festival in Hampton Beach, New Hampshire on June 26th. The event, sponsored by the iconic brewery and the Hampton Area Chamber of Commerce features more than fifteen breweries, various food trucks, and live music.

That’s the kind of beach party worth road-tripping to if you ask us.

Why you should go:

As if you needed a reason to visit coastal New England in the summer. A trip to this beer festival will be a welcome respite from roadside pie stands, quirky antique stores, and stuffing your face with lobster rolls.

For more information, visit the official site here.

Michigan Brewers Guild Summer Festival (Ypsilanti, Michigan): July 22 – July 23

If your summer road trip takes you anywhere near Michigan, it would behoove you to set aside some time to attend the Michigan Brewer’s Guild Summer Festival in Ypsilanti. Celebrating its 23rd year, this riverside festival features hundreds of beers, lots of different foods, and live music from a slew of Michigan-based bands. It’s a two-day event so if you want you can stop by for one day or just make a whole weekend out of it and sip the frosty brews and listen to the tasty beats for two straight days.

Why you should go:

Michigan is a beer-lover’s paradise. It’s also one of the greatest summer destinations on the Great Lakes. Enjoy the beauty of a Michigan summer while you sample some of the best beers the state (and other states) have to offer.

For more information, visit the official site here.

Great Arkansas Beer Festival (Little Rock, Arkansas): July 23

Arkansas might not be the first state you envision when you think of craft beer, but the Great Arkansas Beer Festival in Little Rock is trying to change that view. This event consists of a mix of Arkansas-based breweries as well as breweries from other southern states. Meet the brewers trying to put Arkansas on the brewing map for only $30 in advance and $40 the day of. In case you have a taste for something a little boozier, there’s also a Margarita Festival (also at the Statehouse Convention Center) on the same day.

Why you should go:

Arkansas isn’t currently a beer destination, but the southern state is a great stop on your summer road trip. Plus, what could be better than a dual festival of beers and margaritas?

For more information, visit the official site here.

Oregon Brewers Festival (Portland, Oregon): July 28 – July 30

While Arkansas isn’t known for its brewing prowess, Oregon absolutely is. That’s why, if you’re anywhere near Portland at the end of July, you should stop by the Oregon Brewers Festival. Returning after being on hiatus for the last two years, this three-day event features more than forty breweries as well as some hard cideries and various food vendors. While it’s free to enter the event, you need to purchase mugs and tickets to sample the beer.

Why you should go:

Oregon is a great state for beer so you know the Oregon Brewers Guild knows how to throw a soiree. It’s worth the trip just to enjoy Portland, one of the best food cities in America. As a bonus, the festival is taking place along the Willamette River and features scenic views of the city.

For more information, visit the official site here.

Mammoth Festival of Beers and Bluesapalooza (Mammoth Lakes, California) August 4-7

By early August, the summer festival scene is starting to wind down. Luckily, the summer itself isn’t. What could be better than a beer and music festival in a mountain resort town in the middle of summer? We can’t think of anything. The Mammoth Festival of Beers and Bluesapalooza features beer from more than 80 different California-based breweries as well as music from Trombone Shorty, Taj Mahal, and others.

Why you should go:

Blues music (and other music) and beer are enough for us to want to get tickets to this California beer festival. On top of that, its setting is the beautiful resort town of Mammoth Lakes.

For more information, visit the official site here.

Barrel & Flow Fest (Pittsburgh): August 13

If you find yourself in or near Pittsburgh on August 13th, we suggest you buy tickets to Barrel & Flow. Barrel & Flow isn’t just a beer festival though. While there will be a lot of beer from amazing, talented brewers, it’s a way to connect the world of craft brewing while being an inclusive showcase of Black breweries (as well as many other breweries), businesses, and artists. So, instead of simply sipping some delicious, frothy beer from well over a hundred well-known breweries, you’ll also get to be immersed in a world of music, art, food, and culture.

Why you should go:

Many beer festivals don’t have much substance besides serving delicious brews and giving patrons a nice buzz. Barrel & Flow Fest is different. It’s a showcase of Black breweries, music, art, culture, and non-profit organizations in an industry that is taking important steps toward diversity.

For more information, visit the official site here.

Extreme Beer Fest (Richmond, California): August 26-August 27

Why not end the summer on an extreme note, right? Who says summer needs to fade away. We prefer to end with a bang. A bang of over-the-top beers. This two-day festival thrown by BeerAdvocate and Dogfish Head Brewery features boundary-pushing, extreme, and unique beers.

We’re talking 150 or more beers from 50 plus breweries from all over the country. So, if you’re into that sort of thing and you live around the Bay Area or want to drive there, this is the festival for you.

Why you should go:

With a name like Extreme Beer Fest you must know this isn’t the usual, fun-of-the-mill beer festival. This is a showcase of wacky, mad-scientist brewers who are pushing the limits of what beer should taste like. Who wouldn’t want to be part of that?

For more information, visit the official site here.

Giveon’s career took a huge turn for the better in 2020. That year, he opened and closed his heart with the world thanks to a standout collaboration with Drake and two EPs: Take Time and When It’s All Said And Done. The two EPs were later combined into one effort, with the addition of one song, for a body of work titled When It’s All Said And Done… Take Time. That project did not stand as Giveon’s official debut album, as that is set to arrive later this week with Give Or Take. During a recent interview on Apple Music, Giveon revealed what he believes is the most important part of his process towards creating music.

“So my process is I really think the story is the most important part,” he said during his conversation with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe. “Simply because I think that’s what’s going to make someone go back to it. That’s definitely what’s going to make me play it over and over again. So I like to have the story first. The thing about storytelling for me is you have to make sure it’s digestible as well.” Later on in the interview, Giveon also took a moment to share his feelings about criticism.

“I think I’m in a space where it’s like, as far as criticism, I don’t know, the world is interesting now because me personally, it’s like, if I’m shopping for clothing, if I don’t like this shirt, I don’t like the tailor and the cut, I’m not going to hold it up and be like, ‘Hey everyone in this store, I don’t like this shirt if you were wondering.’ I’m just not going to pick the shirt up,” Giveon said.

He later added, “As far as criticism, it’s art as well. You know? If I’m telling you a story about my heartbreak, it’s at my discretion. You can’t say, tell me how you got your heart broken in other ways. It’s like, no. Just go listen to something else. I don’t even think anything would be bad necessarily. It’s just either it’s for you or it’s not.”

You can watch the full sit-down in the video above.

Give Or Take is out 7/24 via Epic Records. You can pre-save it here.

Summer is here, and with that comes beach days, music festivals, rooftop bars, and of course, epic summer travel plans. And let’s be honest, one of the best parts of every vacation is snapping some killer photos. Whether you’re one for hotel room selfies, seaside thirst traps, or nailing the local scenery, photos are a key component of every getaway.

After all, taking pictures is the best way to look back years from now and remember all of the incredible travel experiences you had. Plus you gotta flex on Instagram

To help you snap the absolute best photos possible on your next adventure, we spoke with professional photographer and IG sensation Brandon Woelfel. He’s sharing his top tips for capturing epic content on every vacation, no matter where you travel. From embracing spontaneity to researching locations ahead of time, read on for Woelfel’s guide to taking the ultimate summer travel photos.

Scout Locations Ahead of Time

When it comes to vacations, the location can really make or break your trip…the same goes for your content! It can be super helpful to do some research on the area that you’re visiting before you go. Google and travel guides are great sources to research more information on your vacation spot. However, I find that Instagram is an awesome source for finding those hidden gems wherever you might be traveling to.

You can search for hashtags, other creators in the area, and more. This can be a total time saver if you’re looking for something more specific as well. When I went to Paris, I was able to find tons of great location spots using social media; including some of the best spots to take pictures of the Eiffel Tower.

Plan Your Shoot

Once you’ve found the location you want to shoot in, it’s time to do a bit of planning. When shooting outside you’ll want to be mindful of the time of day. You can be at the best location but if the lighting is too harsh, or alternatively too dark, your pictures won’t always come out the way you want them to. Sometimes, you can’t plan your trip around the time you want to shoot, and that’s okay! There are options to work around this. The Nikon Z 7II’s 45.7 – megapixel full-frame sensor and deep dynamic range is amazing for capturing stunning images in low light.

Experiment and Switch Things Up

Something else I try to do when on a trip is play around with my camera and its settings more than I usually would. A vacation is a perfect time to switch things up! You’re in a completely new place and might even find a new aesthetic from trying something new out. Vacations are a time for me to get out of my comfort zone and I try to implement that into my photography as well.

Pack Light, But Bring the Essentials

It’s important to pack light but not forget the essentials. It’s likely that you’ll be out for most of the day so don’t overload on gear. You’ll want to remember things like an extra battery, a backup memory card, and possibly a lightweight tripod. But, keep it light so you don’t find yourself carrying tons of equipment around on your getaway. I tend to leave the props and additional equipment at home for my travels and focus more on the location and subject; even if the model is sometimes just me!

Snap the Scenery

Take advantage of the different scenery. Odds are, you’re probably visiting somewhere that doesn’t look exactly like where you live. Personally, living in New York, I rarely get the chance to photograph the stars. So whenever I’m traveling somewhere a little more rural, I make sure to bring my tripod along. Photographing the night sky can be challenging and finding the right settings can be time-consuming. I’ve found that with the Nikon Z 7II’s 900-second exposure feature, I always walk away with beautiful images of the night sky.

Make Room for Spontenaity

While it’s important to plan for a trip and any photos you may take, it is equally as important to be open to spontaneous opportunities while there! Allow the locals, culture, and weather to dictate and sway your creative process. I try to bring a couple of different lens options for spontaneous photography opportunities like this.

I always try to have a zoom lens with me like my NIKKOR Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S for when I can’t get too close to the scenery I want to shoot. I also recently added the NIKKOR Z 20mm f/1.8 S lens to my camera bag and it has been super helpful for taking photos in tight spaces being a wide-angle prime. Having both of these options at my disposal makes surprise shoots like this that much more accessible.

Seek Out Adventure & Unique Experiences

When I travel I often try to find different experiences to shoot. This can be anything from a pop-up event to a local street fair in the area. In the past, I’ve scheduled some of my trips around these kinds of events. Maybe you want to use your mirrorless Nikon Z FC camera for awesome street portraits at Oktoberfest or catch the vibrancy of Mardi Gras. Having the opportunity to capture these amazing moments of culture is like none other.

Does fast food get any better than when it’s deep-fried? That’s a rhetorical question but if you did answer, it had better have been a resounding and powerful “no!” Sure, you’ve got salads, sandwich shops, and all sorts of bowls offering healthier options that won’t clog your arteries or lessen your life span but where’s the fun in that? The only food for us is the fried stuff. Fried to a crisp, fried to a crunch, fried to the perfect shade of golden brown, and housing flavor that ignites the palate like fabulous yellow Roman candles exploding across your tastebuds like spiders across the stars.

Or something like that.

Really though, fried food is the best. And like all of the best things, it comes with a cost — it’s bad for you. Does that mean we’re going to stop eating it? Nope. But you probably shouldn’t eat fried fast food at every meal, right? You’ve got to pick your spots wisely.

To help you do exactly that, we’re listing the single best deep fried dish — yes, fries and chicken count — at 18 major chains. Like we did with our big burger list we decided to be as comprehensive as possible, so I hit up fellow Uproxx food writers to get their takes on the few establishments I haven’t visited. Ready to dive into the scalding oil? Let’s eat!

Arby’s — Jalapeño Bites

Why It’s The Best Fried Food:

We named these Jalapeño Bites Arby’s best side order, and here they are again repping the brand as the best fried food on the entire menu. We’re not psyched about starting this list with a repeat choice but what can we do? These Jalapeno bites truly are the best fried food on Arby’s menu.

These crunchy poppers are filled with tangy cream cheese and encased in spicy pickled jalapeño before being battered and dropped in the frier. The result is a briny-vegetal flavor bomb with a sweet and spicy finish that is delicious when fresh out of the fryer and still pretty tasty after they’ve cooled.

The Bottom Line:

Arby’s isn’t known for their fried food but they have a few fried bangers on the menu (including mozzarella sticks). If you want the best among these offerings get the Jalapeño Bites every time.

Find your nearest Arby’s here.

Burger King — Spicy Ch’King Sandwich

Why It’s The Best Fried Food:

You could count the number of good food options Burger King has on one hand and you don’t even need to use every finger. I know Burger King fans get their feelings hurt when I roast this fast food chain but the menu at this place is brutal. Burger King is a culinary compromise.

It’s the kind of place you eat at when you need to grab a quick bite before a flight and it’s the closest food place to your terminal. The kind of place you wander into during a road trip because you’re starving and it’s the only roadside option that has a drive-thru.

That said, they do have the Ch’King. The Spicy Ch’King sandwich, despite its stupid name, is delicious and features a legitimately spicy hand-breaded chicken breast filet that delivers on the heat and manages to come across as tender when fresh off the broiler. It’s crunchy, juicy, spicy, everything a good spicy chicken sandwich needs to be topped with tangy thick-cut pickles and a savory comeback-style sauce.

The only thing bad here is the bun!

The Bottom Line:

Burger King has a menu that consists of 98% of food that you should never order, the Spicy Ch’King is in that two percent that can actually be described as “really freaking tasty.”

Find your nearest Burger King here.

Burgerville — Walla Walla Onion Rings

Why It’s The Best Fried Food:

Forget “best fried item,” I’d make the case for these as one of the best items in all of fast food. Made seasonally with Walla Walla’s famed “sweet onions” — notoriously so sweet you can eat them like an apple — and fried golden brown with that sort of pebbly batter that Pacific Northwest diner-style onion rings typically have, these are a goldmine of flavors and textures. You get the fried crispiness and then a totally un-acrid sweet onion flavor. An automatic add-on or pit-stop, every time you’re near a Burgerville.

Er… that is, when the onion rings are in season.

These unctuous, crunchy, sweet onion rings are only available in the peak summer months — roughly early July to late August. And there lies their only problem. They’re so far above every other fast food onion ring that they’ll spoil you for the rest of the year. Rather than order onion rings anywhere else, you’ll be searching websites for the Walla Walla weather in hopes that the onions might come in a few days early.

The Bottom Line:

A true treasure in the fast food universe, only hampered by the fact that the supply is so limited.

Find your nearest Burgerville here.

— Stephen Bramucci

Carl’s Jr. — Hand-Breaded Tenders

Why It’s The Best Fried Food:

This was a truly tough one because Carl’s Jr. has a lot of fried foods, some of our favorites include Criss-Cut Fries, Jalapeno Poppers, Hand-breaded Chicken Sandwiches, and fried Zucchini, but we’ve got to give it to the tenders, they are the best of the best.

These chicken tenders are generously hand-breaded in a garlic and onion powder-dominated flour mix that crisps up nicely and provides a great crunch. These tenders are surprisingly juicy, too — no doubt a result of Carl’s Jr. buttermilk marinade — and that attention to craft is what sets them above the other fried options on the menu.

The Bottom Line:

Crispy, tender, and dippable. Carl’s Jr has some of the best chicken tenders in all of fast food.

Find your nearest Carl’s Jr. here.

Chick-fil-a — Nuggets

Why It’s The Best Fried Food:

As far as I’m concerned, Chick-fil-A is where you go when you want chicken nuggets. These are the best chicken nuggets in all of fast food and in terms of flavors, surpass the Spicy Deluxe Sandwich by being juicier thanks to their bite size. The breast filet in the sandwich can get dry, but these nuggets are always bursting with flavor and taste great dipped in each of Chick-fil-A’s sauce options or completely dry — you can’t say that about a lot of other nuggets!

The secret is in the marinade. Chick-fil-A brines their chicken in pickle juice, infusing a complex salty almost umami-like quality to each bite. The nuggets are also fried in peanut oil, giving them a slight nuttiness and the perfect crispy exterior.

The only thing the sandwich has over these nuggets are that it’s a more substantial and satisfying meal. The nuggs — even with a twelve count — always feel like a side order.

The Bottom Line:

This is the one truly essential item on Chick-fil-A’s entire menu. It takes a really good chicken nugget to top a fried chicken sandwich — this is that nugget.

Find your nearest Chick-fil-A here.

Farmer Boys — Fried Zucchini

Why It’s The Best Fried Food:

Farmer Boys has absolutely ruined other fast food fried zucchini for me. Instead of thin fry-shaped slices, these are made from a single fresh whole zucchini chopped in equal thirds, battered, and fried, resulting in the best fried zucchini you will ever have, fast food or not.

It’s vegetal, surprisingly meaty, and crunchy with a light batter, the closest American fried zucchini comes to zucchini tempura.

The Bottom Line:

Once you have Farmer Boy’s Fried Zucchini you’ll wonder why fried zucchini isn’t even half as good as this anywhere else.

Find your nearest Farmer Boys here.

Five Guys — Salted Fries (/w a side of Cajun Seasoning)

Why It’s The Best Fried Food:

You might be confused by the title here — we are not suggesting that you go to Five Guys and order Cajun Fries. Order the Salted Fries instead, pick up four packets of black pepper, ask for a side of Cajun seasoning, and gently season them yourself. Once you got all the seasoning in, shake the bag, and adjust to taste.

Why do this? Five Guys overseasons (dramatically!) their in-house Cajun Fries. This hack improves them significantly.

You will get the perfect balance of salt, paprika, onion powder, and garlic dusted across a double-friend French fry with a crispy outer texture and a soft buttery inner. This is the best fast food French fry, I guarantee you’ll agree. Seriously, how are you going to get better than an Idaho potato chopped, peeled, soaked, and double fried in peanut oil on-site?

The Bottom Line:

Follow our seasoning tips and turn these fries into the best French fries you’ll ever order from a major chain.

Find your nearest Five Guys here.

Kentucky Fried Chicken — Original Recipe Chicken

Why It’s The Best Fried Food:

This is a no-brainer for me because I’m of the mind that the only reason KFC even exists still is because of the Original Recipe chicken. This is the only thing on KFC’s entire menu worth ordering, those 11 herbs and spices might not make for the crispiest batter (this chicken has absolutely no crunch) but it does make for a very distinct and flavorful bird.

KFC’s 11 herbs include the usual suspects like onion and garlic powder, salt, and black pepper, but there is also some basil, oregano, celery salt, and thyme in here as well, giving this chicken a fragrant floral quality that is completely unique to KFC. I love it.

The Bottom Line:

Never order Extra Crispy. KFC exists for Original Recipe and Original Recipe alone. Looking for the best piece? Obviously, that choice is the leg or thigh, but honestly, get a full 8-piece bucket because the wings and breast are just as juicy and flavorful.

Find your nearest KFC here.

Jack in the Box — Curly Fries

Why It’s The Best Fried Food:

Jack in the Box is always a hard fast food chain for me to review because when I was a kid, this was my place. Something about the weird American Psycho-esque presence of Jack, wearing his business suit in a high-rise office, struck me as very funny and strangely eerie. Which appealed to me as a kid in the ‘90s growing up with an older Gen X brother who was always railing against “the system” while I was just trying to eat in peace.

Sadly, Jack in the Box has changed since those days. They’re cutting corners. They used to operate under the slogan “we don’t make it until you order it,” but now it tastes like they made it an hour before you ordered it because it’s always cold. When Jack in the Box is cold, the grease starts to solidify, and then it becomes inedible and smells spoiled. They’ve also changed the recipes on a lot of their classics, including the tenders, jalapeño poppers, and bacon cheddar potato wedges, making them cheaper and more akin to freezer food.

Still hungry? Good because the curly fries are the one exception to that rule. They taste good whether they’re fresh out of the frier (they never are) or soaked in grease at the bottom of the bag. They have an onion and garlic forward flavor with the right amount of crunch.

The Bottom Line:

Jack in the Box has declined in quality over the years but the curly fries are still excellent.

Find your nearest Jack in the Box here.

McDonald’s — French Fries

Why It’s The Best Fried Food:

As soon as my editor and I conceived the idea for this article, I knew my pick for McDonald’s was going to be the French Fries. Nuggets weren’t even in contention — this is the best dish on the McDonald’s menu. Whether you’re hungry or not, when you’re at a McDonald’s, you get an order of piping hot fries and eat them on sight. Period.

I doubt I have to tell you what makes these fries so good, if there is a single entry you’re reading in this list that is guaranteed to make you nod along in fierce agreement while you read this article on the toilet (we see you, not literally), it’s this one. But just in case you’ve never had McDonald’s fries, I think I know what makes these so special. I swear I can taste the slightest dash of sugar. It makes these salty and crispy fries supremely addicting.

The Bottom Line:

Hot out of the fryer these are very close to the best French fries in all of fast food.

Find your nearest McDonald’s here.

Popeyes — Spicy-Style Chicken

Why It’s The Best Fried Food:

This might come as a shock to some but, as good as Popeyes Chicken Sandwich is (and it is the best) I still think Popeyes’ best contribution to fast food is its spicy-style chicken. This chicken packs a serious kick of heat — it marinates in cayenne seasoned buttermilk that is encased in thick hand-battered seasoned flour, resulting in some of the flakiest, most flavorful fried chicken in all of fast food.

Question: why doesn’t Popeyes batter its chicken sandwich in this same spicy breading and marinade? They have all the ingredients on hand to make their delicious chicken sandwich even better and they don’t do it!

The Bottom Line:

Yes, the sandwich is good, but if you’re only going to eat Popeyes once a year, get a bucket of the spicy fried chicken instead.

Find your nearest Popeyes here.

Rally’s/Checkers — Breaded Cajun Fries

Why It’s The Best Fried Food:

If you’re all about the distinct blend of paprika, onion, garlic, and black pepper that is cajun fries, they don’t get much better than Rally’s. These fries are addicting, they have a super crispy exterior that houses molten hot buttery potato. They’re incredibly greasy, so much so that you can actually squeeze oil out of them, but somehow that doesn’t detract from our desire to want to eat them way too often.

The Bottom Line:

As far as we’re concerned, they’re the reason you choose Rally’s over any other fast food chain.

Find your nearest Rally’s here.

Raising Cane’s — Fried Chicken Tenders

Why It’s The Best Fried Food:

Chicken-fil-A may have the best chicken nuggets in the game, but when it comes to tenders, there isn’t anything better than Raising Cane’s. These chicken tenders are hand-battered fresh daily, using never frozen tenders marinated in a salty lemon brine and breaded in garlic, onion powder, and salt-filled breading.

They set a new standard for chicken tenders that I hope inspires all the other fast food chains to follow suit and give us non-frozen tenders. For an extra dose of flavor, definitely dip these in the Cane’s sauce, which is a savory comeback-style sauce that really helps to elevate these tenders.

The Bottom Line:

To make an already great thing even better, ask for your chicken tenders extra crispy. Because Raising Cane’s tenders are fresh, the coating can sometimes get a bit soggy — ordering extra crispy will ensure you get the crispiest bite.

P.S. Cool it with the photoshop smoke Raising Canes.

Find your nearest Raising Cane’s here.

Shake Shack —Avocado Bacon Chicken

Why It’s The Best Fried Food:

Shake Shack has several really great chicken sandwiches, and very good chicken nuggets, but let’s face it, when you go to Shake Shack, you’re going to order a burger. Ordering anything else feels like a compromise unless you’re lucky enough to eat Shake Shack regularly and you’ve started to stray from the standards. Having said all of that, the Avocado Bacon Chicken sandwich is one of Shake Shack’s best chicken sandwiches. Doesn’t even come close to how good a Shake Burger is, but it’s good nonetheless.

There aren’t enough avocado-topped chicken sandwiches in the fast food space, making this sandwich a bit unique, too. In addition to the fresh slices of avocado, you get thin strips of crispy applewood-smoked bacon, lettuce, and thin dill pickles over a buttermilk herb mayo brushed bun. The chicken itself is very tender, and the breading features a mix of white pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder, with a hint of paprika, which pairs well with the creamy and buttery avocado and smokey notes from the bacon.

The Bottom Line:

One of Shake Shack’s very best menu items, but we wouldn’t suggest this over a Shake Burger.

Find your nearest Shake Shake here.

Sonic —Pickle Fries

Why It’s The Best Fried Food:

The only other repeat entry from our list of the Best Fast Food Side Orders, Sonic’s Pickle Fries are the chain’s best fried item menu-wide. In addition to being unique to the fast food space, these pickle fries just taste great, they’re briny, salty, crispy, crunchy, and fun to dip in everything from bbq sauce to ranch, ketchup, and mustard.

Sonic is the sort of place that is better for side orders and snacks than actual meals, so definitely order a lot of different things, but make sure these pickles fries are on the list if you want the best of the best.

The Bottom Line:

Earthy, briny, vegetal, and unique. Sonic’s best fried food, hands down.

Find your nearest Sonic here.

Wendy’s — Hot Honey Spicy Chicken Sandwich

Why It’s The Best Fried Food:

A lot of fast food chains have tried to jump on the hot honey trend in recent years, and all of them are failures when compared to Wendy’s Hot Honey Spicy Chicken Sandwich. This is Wendy’s best chicken sandwich, it’s savory, super spicy, smokey, and a bit sweet. It has a complexity that other fast food chicken sandwiches don’t have. Popeyes might make the best chicken sandwich, but this holds the award for the most interesting and complex in flavor.

The sandwich features Wendy’s spicy chicken filet topped with pepper jack cheese, applewood smoked bacon, and earthy fried pickle chips, that help to provide a double-dose of deep fried crunch. Wrapping all the flavors together is a sweet and spicy habanero honey sauce, which features fragrant floral notes and some bright citrus undertones. It really provides more flavor than any other fast food chicken in the game.

The Bottom Line:

Wendy’s best fried chicken sandwich and in the running for the best tasting in all of fast food. It’s that good.

Find your nearest Wendy’s here.

Whataburger — Honey Butter Chicken Biscuit

Why It’s The Best Fried Food

Unless there’s a Willie Nelson deep cut I’m not aware of, there’s only one item on the Whataburger menu that has been immortalized in song. That would be the Honey Butter Chicken Biscuit, a favorite among millions of Texans, including Pastor Fred Thomas in his ode to the breakfast and late-night staple, “Something About the Biscuit.” The lyrics:

“Something about this biscuit / It is the best biscuit I know / This honey butter chicken biscuit, I can’t explain / Every time I pass Whataburger, I hear it call my name.”

The greasy diner-worthy biscuit is buttery, and the generous portion of honey butter (everything’s bigger in.. etc.) spread over the deep-fried chicken tastes better than it looks. If all your exes live in Texas (or, um, at least a dozen other states), it’s worth visiting them for the Honey Butter Chicken Biscuit alone.

The Bottom Line:

There’s a reason it’s not called Whatachicken — but the Honey Butter Chicken Biscuit is still a standout.

— Josh Kurp

Find your nearest Whataburger here.

Fans of Lil Tjay were met with concerning news on Wednesday morning as it was reported that the rapper had been rushed to a hospital for emergency surgery following injuries he suffered in a shooting. TMZ was one of the first to break the news and now they have returned with an update on the matter. The publication reports that three people have been arrested in connection with the shooting. In a statement from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, it was revealed that one of the suspects, Mohamed Konate, tried to commit an armed robbery against Lil Tjay and two of his friends at a Chipotle in Edgewater, New Jersey.

The attempted robbery, which went down a little after midnight on Wednesday, resulted in the “Calling My Phone” rapper being shot multiple times, while one of his’ friends was reportedly shot just one time at a nearby Exxon gas station. After his arrest, Konate was charged with three counts of first-degree attempted murder while the other two suspects were charged with second-degree unlawful possession of a weapon.

Hours after news arrived of the shooting and Tjay’s emergency surgery, TMZ reported that he was out of surgery and that he appeared to be doing better. The unfortunate incident for Tjay comes after he collaborated with Kaash Paige for “24 Hrs.”