A restaurant can have a charming exterior and a cozy dining area, but you never really know what’s happening behind the scenes. From the customer’s vantage point, things may look OK, but that alone won’t tell you about the restaurant’s dedication to cleanliness, ingredient quality and culinary best practices.
Many things can go wrong in the kitchen that could turn your nice dinner into a night laying in bed holding your stomach.
Even though culinary standards have been improving in the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that nearly 48 million people get sick from a foodborne illness each year. Of that number, 128,000 are hospitalized and 3,000 die.
Celebrity Chef Robert Irvine has a shorthand that helps him determine if a restaurant will provide a healthy, botulism-free meal: He checks the bathrooms. Irvine is an English celebrity chef and talk show host who has appeared on and hosted a variety of Food Network programs, including “Restaurant: Impossible,” “Worst Cooks in America,” and “Chopped: Impossible.”
“Well, the first thing I look for is, are the bathrooms clean?” he told Business Insider, adding, “Because if the bathrooms are clean, the kitchen’s clean, everything else is clean.”
Irvine believes the bathroom is an excellent indicator of what the standards are like in the establishment. Irvine says that he keeps his home immaculate, starting with the restrooms, “So that’s what I look for when I go to a restaurant.”
The Food Network star also added that he also looks to see if the staff are happy while on the job.
Irvine isn’t the only restaurant expert checking the bathroom before ordering a meal. Liz Weiss, host of Liz’s Healthy Table podcast and blog, does the same. “My biggest red flag when dining out at a restaurant is a dirty bathroom,” Weiss told Food Network. “If the bathroom is a mess, it makes me think twice about the cleanliness and overall condition of the kitchen.”
To further drive home the point, a food inspector went viral last year on TikTok for a video where they share the four places they won’t eat. “I’ve seen a lot,” TikTok user @toofar_north captioned their video, saying they won’t eat at buffets or places with extensive menus, unhappy employees and dirty bathrooms.
I’ve seen a lot. #greenscreen #inspector #healthinspector #tips #restaurant #restauranttips #healthtok #inspectortok #fypp
Why is a large menu a red flag? If a restaurant has a large menu, it could mean that some dishes don’t have a lot of turnover, so they are made with older ingredients that may be unsafe. If there are 100 dishes on the menu, what are the chances that your order hasn’t been cooked in quite some time?
Further, restaurants with large menus may not have the tastiest food because it’s hard to perfect many different types of food. So, it’s probably better to go to a place that does a few things well than 100 things that are just okay. Just makes sure that it has a clean bathroom and that the employees appear to be happy.
A restaurant can have a charming exterior and a cozy dining area, but you never really know what’s happening behind the scenes. From the customer’s vantage point, things may look OK, but that alone won’t tell you about the restaurant’s dedication to cleanliness, ingredient quality and culinary best practices.
Many things can go wrong in the kitchen that could turn your nice dinner into a night laying in bed holding your stomach.
Even though culinary standards have been improving in the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that nearly 48 million people get sick from a foodborne illness each year. Of that number, 128,000 are hospitalized and 3,000 die.
Celebrity Chef Robert Irvine has a shorthand that helps him determine if a restaurant will provide a healthy, botulism-free meal: He checks the bathrooms. Irvine is an English celebrity chef and talk show host who has appeared on and hosted a variety of Food Network programs, including “Restaurant: Impossible,” “Worst Cooks in America,” and “Chopped: Impossible.”
“Well, the first thing I look for is, are the bathrooms clean?” he told Business Insider, adding, “Because if the bathrooms are clean, the kitchen’s clean, everything else is clean.”
Irvine believes the bathroom is an excellent indicator of what the standards are like in the establishment. Irvine says that he keeps his home immaculate, starting with the restrooms, “So that’s what I look for when I go to a restaurant.”
The Food Network star also added that he also looks to see if the staff are happy while on the job.
Irvine isn’t the only restaurant expert checking the bathroom before ordering a meal. Liz Weiss, host of Liz’s Healthy Table podcast and blog, does the same. “My biggest red flag when dining out at a restaurant is a dirty bathroom,” Weiss told Food Network. “If the bathroom is a mess, it makes me think twice about the cleanliness and overall condition of the kitchen.”
To further drive home the point, a food inspector went viral last year on TikTok for a video where they share the four places they won’t eat. “I’ve seen a lot,” TikTok user @toofar_north captioned their video, saying they won’t eat at buffets or places with extensive menus, unhappy employees and dirty bathrooms.
I’ve seen a lot. #greenscreen #inspector #healthinspector #tips #restaurant #restauranttips #healthtok #inspectortok #fypp
Why is a large menu a red flag? If a restaurant has a large menu, it could mean that some dishes don’t have a lot of turnover, so they are made with older ingredients that may be unsafe. If there are 100 dishes on the menu, what are the chances that your order hasn’t been cooked in quite some time?
Further, restaurants with large menus may not have the tastiest food because it’s hard to perfect many different types of food. So, it’s probably better to go to a place that does a few things well than 100 things that are just okay. Just makes sure that it has a clean bathroom and that the employees appear to be happy.
According to Sloane, she was surprised to receive a pitch from Glover to reboot the iconic Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt film. However, Glover was intent on subverting the blockbuster movie by “whole-heartedly focusing on the characters, on their relationship, on their marriage.” More importantly, the two leads would not be insanely good-looking A-listers.
“What would a series feel like if our heroes weren’t the two most beautiful people on the planet, but instead, were two lonely people, two underdogs, wanting more from life than what they currently had?” Sloane wrote. “What if our John and Jane could be anyone, could be you and me?”
She also addressed the “trolls,” who immediately began criticizing the project the second it was announced.
While we asked questions, so did the internet trolls. Once we were announced, we saw the comment, “Who needs this show?” We didn’t blame them. In a culture heavily inundated with remakes, this was a reasonable reaction. No one would need a show that retold the same blockbuster movie. But what we set out to do was to make something wholly original. This show is about a relationship, it’s about being clumsy humans. It’s about being relatable. John and Jane are offered the chance of a lifetime, whole new identities, an opportunity to be super spies. Metaphorically, though, they are C- students being thrown into an AP course. The stylish clothes (they’ll wear them), the iconic, international set-pieces (we’ll have them), the exciting shoot-em-ups (they’ll be there), will all be background to the raw and emotional components of John and Jane navigating the milestones of a real connection. We’ll watch their arranged marriage become something authentic.
And Sloane isn’t kidding about making their marriage more relatable than the film, which saw the ultra-beautiful Jolie and Pitt look absolutely amazing and badass for the entire runtime.
“We’ll experience them saying their first ‘I love you’ and experience them first farting around each other,” Sloane wrote. “We’ll see them engage with in-laws, personal rituals/habits, sex, the topic of kids, jealousy, and eventually using each other’s deepest vulnerabilities as leverage when sh*t hits the fan. All of this while running around the world and completing high risk missions.”
Mr. & Mrs. Smith premieres February 2 on Amazon Prime Video.
Chris Stapleton has become a country music icon over the last decade. He’s also carved out a deep following in the whiskey community as well. Over the last couple of years, Stapleton has partnered with Buffalo Trace Distillery to release single-barrel picks of E.H. Taylor, Jr. Bourbon that have raised tons of cash for charities. They’ve also been excellent whiskeys. This week, Buffalo Trace and Stapleton took their partnership to the next level and (finally) released a new whiskey brand — Traveller Whiskey.
There’s a lot to get into here. First, almost anything new from Buffalo Trace — which also makes iconic labels like Pappy Van Winkle, Weller, Eagle Rare, Blanton’s, and so many more — creates rabid excitement amongst whiskey fans. Second, Stapleton has the perfect level of cool that appeals to everyday music lovers and whiskey drinkers. So this collaboration leaned into exactly that with an American Blended Whiskey at a great price point.
Long story short, Buffalo Trace Master Distiller Harlen Wheatley and Stapleton tasted through 50 different blends before landing on the perfect one for Traveller Whiskey. The best part, this bottle only costs $39. And so far, that price is holding at retail. That’s kind of exciting from a distillery that historically drops whiskey that can cost hundreds of times more than their suggested retail.
So what’s in the bottle exactly? Let’s dive in and answer that!
Also Read: The Top 5 UPROXX Bourbon Posts Of The Last Six Months
This new whiskey from Buffalo Trace is the summation of years of collaboration between Country icon Chris Stapleton and Master Distiller Harlen Wheatley. After testing 50 different blends, this is the one that landed. The whiskey in the bottle is a special blend of Buffalo Trace rye and bourbons that hit just the right note for Stapleton’s whiskey palate.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose leans into rich Buffalo Trace bourbon with a deep vanilla buttercream over soft spiced brandied cherries just kissed with dark chocolate and old oak staves with a whisper of salted caramel.
Palate: That caramel has a hint of sweet corn to it on the palate before the vanilla rushes back in with a creamy lusciousness and layers of winter spices, orchard barks, and musty barrel houses — classic Buffalo Trace.
Finish: The end warms nicely for a moment with plenty of woody winter spice and a touch of grassy rye notes before the lush vanilla, cherry, and oak finish lingers for just the right amount of time.
Bottom Line:
This is a solid new utility whiskey. It works well as a sipper over some rocks or in a cocktail. Think of it as a solid table whiskey to have around for everyday pours after a hard day of work.
Ranking:
88/100: Solid B+!
Where To Buy:
As of now, this whiskey is readily available online at most retailers for its actual MSRP. That was the hope for Stapleton and the brand. This is meant to be an everyday sipper for his fans — and his fans need to be able to buy it for that to happen.
Most social media sites have become bad, it’s just the way the world works now. You’re flooded with too many people talking about too many things, all lacking any sort of context. This is why Letterboxd is the only good social media platform out there: because you only need to talk about movies. That’s it. You can’t even message other people to tell them that their opinions are bad. It’s fool-proof.
The site recently dropped its 2023 Year In Review, which highlighted the highs and lows of last year’s cinema options. Not only that, but the site also confirmed that series logs will be “coming later this year.” This is a controversial topic.
While Letterboxd has exclusively been used for logging movies, it seems like they might venture into bringing TV shows and series onto the platform. Not everyone likes this idea, probably because it would be hard to scroll through your friends reviewing every episode of Vanderpump Rules in hindsight. But if it’s done right, it could be a meaningful way to track your watching habits and organize your favorites.
According to Letterboxd’s tweets, that platform is planning to implement the new feature “in a way that doesn’t disrupt the current experience,” so there will likely be some sort of tab to differentiate between movies and shows.
While we don’t have a release date yet, it seems like this is a pretty big project that will take a lot of time, so for now it’s best if you put all of your TV opinions in a better place, like a locked diary at the bottom of the Hudson River.
The Golden State Warriors melted down against the Denver Nuggets on Thursday night. After going up by 18 points with just under seven minutes to go in regulation, the Warriors were unable to stave off a torrid run by the defending champions. Denver tied things up with just under 30 seconds remaining, while Nikola Jokic hit a jumper from just inside of halfcourt as the buzzer sounded to give the Nuggets an improbable, 130-127 win.
Jonathan Kuminga sat and watched while all of this happened. The No. 7 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, Kuminga went to the bench with 5:48 to go in the third quarter and never came back in. And apparently, frustration is boiling over for the 21-year-old wing, as Shams Charania and Anthony Slater report that Kuminga no longer has faith that he’ll be able to reach his potential so long as he is playing for Warriors coach Steve Kerr — it’s so bad that, per their reporting, a source said that Kuminga observing things on Thursday night was “the straw that broke the camel’s back.”
After the game, Kerr explained why he did not put Kuminga (who had 16 points, four rebounds, and four assists in 19 minutes of work) back into the game, expressing that it “didn’t feel it was the right thing to do.”
Here’s Steve Kerr on the decision not to go back to Jonathan Kuminga for the final 18 minutes tonight. pic.twitter.com/8ydWqtgS3X
This would not be the first time that there are rumors of discontent around Kuminga, as reports on the heels of last season indicated that he would be interested in a change in scenery if the team could not give him a larger role. While he’s posting career-best marks in scoring (12.8 points per game), rebounding (4.1 boards per game), and usage percentage (23.5 percent), there is a clear disconnect between how he is used and what he wants his role to be.
Paramore served — and we mean served — as Uproxx’s December 2023 cover stars, and in doing so, incidentally incited panic that the band might break up. Those who actually read the full feature should have known better, but regardless, a significant chunk of the Paramore fan base is still convinced that their beloved band will soon be no more. So…
Has Paramore Dropped Out Of The Eras Tour?
Not officially, no. Everybody calm down. Swift’s The Eras Tour opener across the UK and Europe is still listed as Paramore on her official website.
“girls i’m afraid that whilst i shall hopefully be shrieking all too well at wembley this summer, it shall be shrieked from the stands!” Peters wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “i am not an eras tour opener! alas the rumours are just rumouring! <3.”
girls i’m afraid that whilst i shall hopefully be shrieking all too well at wembley this summer, it shall be shrieked from the stands! i am not an eras tour opener! alas the rumours are just rumouring! <3
“Really can’t contain my excitement because… we’re adding 14 new shows to The Eras Tour,” Swift wrote at the time. “And I get to travel the world doing shows with @paramore!! Hayley and I have been friends since we were teens in Nashville and now we get to frolic around the UK/Europe next summer??? I’m screaming???”
Really can’t contain my excitement because… we’re adding 14 new shows to The Eras Tour. And I get to travel the world doing shows with @paramore!! Hayley and I have been friends since we were teens in Nashville and now we get to frolic around the UK/Europe next summer??? I’m… pic.twitter.com/kl1aijxR2o
In early November, the final show of Billy Joel’s “record-breaking monthly residency” at New York City’s Madison Square Garden was announced for July 25, 2024. It will also serve as Joel’s 150th time performing at MSG. On Friday morning, January 5, Joel confirmed a slew of 2024 tour dates — seven of them will be at Madison Square Garden, including the aforementioned July 25 finale. Joel will be joined on select dates by Stevie Nicks and Sting.
The first show is scheduled for next week — January 11 at MSG — so, anyone interested in attending will need to act fast on tickets.
How Much Are Tickets For Billy Joel’s 2024 Tour?
It depends on the show. As of this writing, Ticketmaster lists resale tickets for the January 11 show selling anywhere between $190 and $3,577.50. However, StubHub has tickets to the February 24 show in Tampa, Florida for as low as $92. The resale market is always dicey, so the surest way to get a fair price will likely be participating in the Live Nation pre-sale or Ticketmaster public on-sale.
How To Buy Tickets For Billy Joel’s 2024 Tour
Because of Joel’s longstanding residency, Madison Square Garden tickets have been on sale and are re-circulating via resale vendors. But Joel’s newly announced tour dates will receive a Live Nation pre-sale, beginning Wednesday, January 10, at 10 a.m. local time. (According to Consequence, the access code is “CREW.”) The public sale is set for Friday, January 12, at 10 a.m. local time. Find more information here.
What Are The Dates For Billy Joel’s 2024 Tour?
01/11 — New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
02/24 — Tampa, FL @ Raymond James Stadium %
02/09 — New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
03/09 — Arlington, TX @ AT&T Stadium ^
03/28 — New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
04/13 — San Diego, CA @ Petco Park %
04/26 — New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
05/09 — New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
05/24 — Seattle, WA @ T-Mobile Park
06/08 — New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
06/21 — Chicago, IL @ Soldier Field ^
07/12 — Denver, CO @ Coors Field
07/25 — New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
08/09 — Cardiff, UK @ Cardiff Principality Stadium
09/27 — St. Louis, MO @ Busch Stadium %
Glenn Howerton is on a roll. It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia aired its 16th season with a brilliantly dark and hilarious Dennis-focused final episode. Well-deserved awards buzz is building around Howerton’s fantastic turn in tech-biopic BlueBerry (one of President Obama’s favorite films of 2023). Then there’s Four Walls (one of my favorite pours of 2023), the Irish-American whiskey that Howerton launched with his Sunny co-stars Charlie Day and Rob McElhenney.
The whisky smartly launched in a place where the average whiskey drinker can not only afford a bottle but enjoy it when they crack it open. In a whiskey market overloaded with elite bottles that carry price tags that’d make a Rockefeller wince, Four Walls hits high marks for drinkability and findability.
I was lucky enough to sit down with Howerton — an avowed whiskey nerd — to talk about how he wanted Four Walls to come together. The most important thing I took away from our chat was that Howerton deeply cares about whiskey while also wanting you to be able to get his whiskey. Again, smart. And while the whiskey has only launched in a few key markets to get a foothold, it feels like 2024 is going to be a big year for Four Walls “The Better Brown” and we’re here for it.
And look, I get it. I work in whiskey 24/7 and have seen endless celebrity whiskeys come and go. Yes, Howerton knows he’s at an advantage with Four Walls. But Howerton’s deep love of whiskey and a truly deep desire to create something people will love (and that he can be proud to call his own) shines through more than any free marketing from pop culture stardom. This is a passionate whiskey maker creating something that we all can enjoy. That’s exciting so let’s dive in!
Also Read: The Top 5 UPROXX Bourbon Posts Of The Last Six Months
First, I’ve heard through the grapevine that you’re a real whiskey drinker. You’ve spent time learning and enjoying good whiskey for years. Can you walk us through your whiskey journey to Four Walls?
Yeah, this is not a novelty for me. This is my life. I’ve been a AAA massive whiskey fan and whiskey drinker for over 20 years. So my biggest fear in getting into this was that we weren’t going to be able to create something that I would reach for. And I am just honestly blown away that we were able to achieve at this price point. The truth is I’m very, very proud. I actually do get emotional when I talk about it.
it’s your baby
It’s my baby.
You know how hard it is to put a whiskey on the shelf that is both findable, affordable, and good. It’s a hard thing to accomplish. Talk me through the push to make a whiskey for the people that they can actually find and enjoy.
This has kind of become my life right now and I’m very passionate about it. And yeah, it is. Luckily with online retail, we can expand our reach a little bit as we slowly expand and make it into stores and bars all over the place.
Still, you have to start somewhere, so where can you get Four Walls right now?
We’re going to be in stores and bars in Pennsylvania, New York, Florida, and California over the next couple of months and then we’ll slowly roll it out to the other states.
Those are the big ones to start off in. It feels like you’re truly thinking about this for the long run as opposed to just capitalizing and flooding the market.
You know, it’s all a little bit of a testing ground. We don’t want to get out over our skis on this. We want to roll it out slowly. We wanna roll it out intelligently. We want the momentum to build. We’re not trying to sell 100,000 cases in our first year. I think that would be a massive mistake because you can sell 100,000 … but my biggest fear is that those cases just sit there and people don’t drink it. Then in year two, no one comes calling for more. We really, really, really want to win the hearts and minds of people with this.
That’s why we’re rolling it out slowly and trying to be smart and very targeted in our approach.
That’s a nice approach to hear — the opposite of just cashing in is always the way to go when you want to build generational whiskey. I also feel like you could come around to Four Walls without necessarily having to be, how can I put this, in the know about your pop cultural influence?
It was very important to us from the very beginning of Four Walls that this brand needed to stand on its own without us. This needed to be the kind of thing that had such a specific vibe and aesthetic to it. And then obviously the liquid had to be up to snuff and really taste good so that it would be the kind of thing that people would buy even if we weren’t involved.
And, of course, the fact that we’re involved is a turbo boost. We have to be realistic and not pretend it’s not. But I don’t always know why people will find or buy our whiskey. People will buy Four Walls maybe a novelty as an Irish American whiskey. Some people will buy it because they’re big whiskey drinkers. Other people will buy it just because they’re fans and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. But one thing that I’m sure of is that they’re not gonna buy it again if it’s not good.
Four Walls
For sure. Walk me through making a good whiskey.
Honestly, my biggest fear as a whiskey drinker and as someone fortunate enough to enjoy some pretty high-end whiskey, I didn’t want to slip on the quality. I don’t drink that often at home. So when I do, I usually drink really good stuff.
Same. You don’t want to waste that moment on a mediocre pour because that’s your drink or two for the night or maybe even a week!
Exactly. That was my biggest fear — that we weren’t gonna be able to create something that I would reach for but at a price point that is affordable for everybody. And that took some time.
That led you to an Irish American blend, which is heating up right now.
It took a lot of work, tasting a lot of whiskeys, to find the right source for the Irish whiskey and the right source for the rye … and then find the right blend. I know it sounds fun to the average drinker but it took quite a bit of work.
How did you test your blends? I really feel like this is a bartender-forward everyday pour…
We’ve got a master blender working with us and he’s brilliant. Once we’ve narrowed it down internally to four or so blend options, we sent it around to a lot of different bartenders. We asked them to taste it and then mess around with it to make sure that it held up in cocktails. We were looking for an elevated whiskey that held up on cocktails in ways that you know, your traditional Irish whiskey often doesn’t. And no disrespect to classic Irish whiskey, I love a lot of it, but we all know it’s not the cornerstone of whiskey cocktails.
We both know bourbon is having a moment. But y’all went with Irish and Rye as your blend. How did you land on America’s grassier cousin over the sweet tooth of borubon?
You know, more than anything my go-to over the last five years has been rye whiskey, which is another reason why I was sort of insistent upon mixing it with rye. My gut feeling when we started this was that we were going to create something that had the best qualities of two styles of whiskeys. Irish whiskey is, of course, very smooth and easy to drink but also a little sweet. So for me, bourbon didn’t feel like the right fit. I worried about bourbon because I don’t like it when drinks get too sweet.
It was just gonna be kind of sweet on sweet cherry on caramel on honey…
Exactly. I was a little concerned about that. So that’s why we kind of went in the direction of rye whiskey.
Now that you’ve made a whiskey, how has it changed the way that you drink whiskey?
Gosh, you know what? That would be a good exercise. What I have done is put Four Walls up against its closest competitors in a side-by-side with, you know, Bushmills or Jameson. But I haven’t specifically started to compare in terms of drinking other whiskey of all different kinds like blended Scotch and American blends. I think that’s a good idea. I’m gonna do that.
There is some slight chaos going on in the world of Taylor Swift right now, which has led to rumors that recent Uproxx cover star Maisie Peters will be opening for Swift on The Eras Tour later this year.
Is Maisie Peters opening for Taylor Swift on The Eras Tour in 2024?
Nope. Not as of now, anyway.
Today (January 5), Peters tweeted, “girls i’m afraid that whilst i shall hopefully be shrieking all too well at wembley this summer, it shall be shrieked from the stands! i am not an eras tour opener! alas the rumours are just rumouring! <3.”
girls i’m afraid that whilst i shall hopefully be shrieking all too well at wembley this summer, it shall be shrieked from the stands! i am not an eras tour opener! alas the rumours are just rumouring! <3
Swift would certainly be bummed to see Paramore leave the tour, as she wrote when announcing the shows, “Really can’t contain my excitement because… we’re adding 14 new shows to The Eras Tour. And I get to travel the world doing shows with @paramore!! Hayley and I have been friends since we were teens in Nashville and now we get to frolic around the UK/Europe next summer??? I’m screaming???”
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
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