Month: January 2024

Thanks to burger chefs like George Motz, the thin patty of the smash burger, with its crispy-lacy edges, asymmetrical shape, and superior juiciness is everyone’s favorite type of burger right now. We’re not mad at it, while food trends can sometimes get ridiculous (see cereal cafes) a style and method of cooking never really gets old. And if more restaurants and fast food joints experimenting with smash burgers means more smash burgers for us to eat, well… that’s a good thing.

Which is why we were excited when we found out that Jack in the Box has a smash burger now. Sort of. The new Smashed Jack is a quarter-pound burger topped with grilled onions, pickles, and something called Boss Sauce, on a brioche bun. Given the name and the crispy appearance of the patty, it’s easy to assume that this is a smash burger, but according to Jack in the Box’s press release, it’s not, technically.

It is a smash-style burger.

What the hell does that mean? We’ll get into that.

Technicalities aside, it looks like JiB’s Smashed Jack is a hit, apparently the burger is beginning to sell out, and while in our experience it was easy to get (we just picked up two yesterday, no problem) Restaurant Business reports that JiB expects to run out of supplies sometime this week. The burger is available in two form factors, the Classic Smashed Jack, which consists of a single patty, grilled onions, pickles, and Boss Sauce, and the Bacon Double Smashed Jack, which beefs up the sandwich with an additional patty and bacon.

We picked up the Classic to see if this burger lives up to the hype and our expectations of what a smash burger should be.

Smashed Jack

Thoughts and Tasting Notes:

Biting into the Smashed Jack and the first thing you note is that this isn’t a true smash burger. It has a slightly crispier exterior than a typical JiB burger along the rim of the patty, but it doesn’t have that lacy, crispy Maillard crust throughout the whole patty. The quarter-pound patty is completely symmetrical, with even thickness throughout. I’m not sure what JiB means by “smashed-style” but given the lack of marketing that would suggest the beef is fresh rather than frozen, I’m going to assume that means the patties are smashed on the edges before being frozen.

Having said all of that I’m pretty blown away by this burger. It may not be a true smash patty in the tradition of a Shake Shack or Smashburger, but it’s easily JiB’s best burger build and patty. The burger is juicy, with a savory salty flavor that pairs nicely with the double layer of cheese (one above one below), the caramelized quality of the grilled onions, and the smokey tangy medley of flavors that is the Boss Sauce.

The brioche bun, with its buttery flavor and light airy texture, is the perfect vehicle for this build to ride on.

Against contemporaries like the McDonald’s Quarter Pounder, Burger King Whopper, and Wendy’s Dave’s Single, I’d say the Smashed Jack is only bested by the Dave’s Single. But even then, JiB’s Smashed Jack has a few things going for it that the Dave’s Single falls short on. The bun is better and the overall build is better, but Wendy’s beef is just a bit more succulent. So while quality-wise, the Smashed Jack would rank below Dave’s Single for us, you may find yourself enjoying this burger more.

It certainly beats out anything else on JiB’s menu. I’ve tried it all and I promise.

The Bottom Line:

The Smashed Jack is a worthy reason for pulling into the Jack in the Box drive-thru. It’s the best item to hit JiB’s menu… maybe ever.

Find your nearest Jack in the Box here.

The music festival season is going to be interesting: Today (January 16), Phish announced that they are extending their festival portfolio. Come August, Phish’s 2024 Mondegreen Festival will bring music fans to The Woodlands in Dover, Delaware. Across four days (August 15 to 18), Phish will have nature’s stage to perform their discography.

Although the band hasn’t shared any details about other headliners online, they have raved about the event’s add-ons. In addition to the on-site camping option, Mondegreen 2024 will feature interactive fan experiences, curated regional food on-site, and art installations

So how can fans grab their tickets to Mondegreen?

When Do Tickets For Phish’s ‘Mondegreen’ Festival In 2024 Come Out?

On Thursday, January 18, at 11 a.m. ET, travel packages for Mondegreen will go on sale. But admission to the festival won’t be available for purchase until the next day, on Friday, January 19, at 11 a.m. Eastern. On the festival’s official website, it lists each of the three event-specific options for purchase, including general admission, Glen Close, and The Full Monde packages.

The four-day general admission ticket starts at $450. For those wishing to bundle the admission ticket with camping fees, the Glen Close will run you for $750 per person, whereas The Full Monde will cost you $1,525. Find more information here.

Much to the delight of fans, Phish is returning to bring back their festivals. The band announced their new four-day event titled Mondegreen, which will take place on August 15 to 18 in Dover, Delaware.

According to Variety, Mondegreen will find Phish playing across all four days. The festival will also contain “interactive fan experiences, regional food and drink, art installations, and more.”

Tickets go on sale this Friday, January 19 at 11 a.m. ET, along with camping passes. For attendees looking for a travel package, those will be on sale tomorrow (January 18) at the same time.

Mondegreen isn’t Phish’s only date this year either.

Next month, Phish will be heading to Cancún for a three-day run at Moon Palace, which they’ve dubbed “Phish: Riviera Maya.” For those who will be staying in the States, but reside on the West Coast, the popular jam band has a show for you too.

Just a while back, Phish announced they would be the next ones to be gracing the stage at Las Vegas’ unique new venue, The Sphere. They will play from April 18 through the 21st.

Continue scrolling for a complete list of Phish’s upcoming performances. For more information on Mondegreen, visit their official website.

Phish’s 2024 Tour And Festival Dates

02/21-24 — Cancún, MX @ Moon Palace Cancún (Phish: Riviera Maya)
04/18-21 — Las Vegas, NV @ Sphere
08/15-18 — Dover, DE @ The Woodlands (Mondegreen)

Ali Wong and Bill Hader are a Hollywood power couple, but please don’t call them that. At least not to their faces. It would make them uncomfortable.

Before Wong won Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for her performance in Beef (making her the first woman of Asian descent to take home an Emmy for a lead role ever), she spoke to Access Hollywood about her relationship with Hader. “We’re very selectively private,” she said. “We’ve been together for a minute, I guess people didn’t know we were together.” The actress and comedian also explained why she and Hader tend to keep things quiet. “We’re both in our 40s and parents,” she explained.

Wong previously discussed how weird it is that people (and People) cares about her personal life. “It’s so weird. I can’t even explain it. I have never, ever been snapped by paparazzi until this year,” the Tuca and Bertie (RIP) star said. “I was talking to someone recently and they said, ‘I think it’s so alarming when it happens because you feel like you’ve been caught when really, you’re not doing anything wrong.’ It was someone giving me, in hindsight, advice about their former relationship with a famous person.”

OK, but they are very cute together.

(Via Access Hollywood)

Despite several nominations, Ted Lasso did score a win at Monday night’s Emmy Awards, which brought out some mean-spirited trolls who apparently relished in watching the feel-good show go home empty-handed. However, if the haters thought their heckling would get under Jason Sudeikis‘ skin, they were sorely mistaken.

The Ted Lasso star and creator is active on Twitter to the point where he definitely saw some of the smug tweets relishing the Apple TV+ show being snubbed. However, instead of responding, Sudeikis simply liked the tweets, which is reportedly his way of sticking to the show’s spirit by responding with kindness. (Also, letting the trolls know that he’s unbothered by their taunts probably doesn’t hurt either.)

Via Decider:

As a seasoned Sudeikis social media reporter, I’ve previously written about the celebrity’s unique use of the platform’s “Like” feature. For those who don’t know, the 48-year-old father of two frequently favorites tweets that make him feel good — just like the rest of us — but he’s also quick to embrace the haters, regularly smashing the heart button on harsh criticisms of himself and his show. It’s likely that Sudeikis bravely and boldly acknowledges the negativity to gently troll his trolls.

You can see the troll tweets Sudeikis liked below, and he even took the time to like some of the replies, too. The dude had some time on his hands:

(Via Decider, Jason Sudeikis on Twitter)

Following a successful run in 2023, Janet Jackson’s Together Again Tour will return with a vengeance this spring. Today (January 16), the “All For You” singer unveiled the massive 43-date schedule featuring special guest Nelly.

Jackson’s Together Again Tour celebrates many milestones, including the entertainer’s half-century-long career. During the live shows, Jackson will honor the anniversaries of many of her greatest albums (25th of The Velvet Rope, 30th of Janet, and the 35th for Rhythm Nation). With so many iconic records to perform, fans are desperate to get their hands on tickets for the tour.

So, with the Together Again Tour set to launch in March, potential patrons wonder just how much a pair of tickets will set them back.

How Much Are Tickets For Janet Jackson’s 2024 ‘Together Again Tour?’

The official price for the 2024 Together Again Tour list won’t be revealed until the presale on Wednesday, January 17. However, it is safe to assume that tickets could mirror last year’s run. Pulling from Jackson’s concert at The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in Texas, tickets could range from $39.95 to $499.95. On the past event’s landing page, the cost of tickets (not including VIP packages) is broken into three sections.

At the 16,500-capacity venue, the lowest price point was for the lawn area, which started at $39.95. The next price point range for the middle section was listed between $59.95 and $299.95. The pavilion’s final section (pit), nearest the stage, ran ticket holders between $299.95 and $499.95. Again, these prices haven’t been confirmed but are a starting point.

Janet Jackson’s Together Again Tour 2024 presale will begin on Wednesday, January 17, at 10 a.m. local time. The general sale will follow on Friday, January 19, at 10 a.m. local time. Find more information here.

HBO’s True Detective: Night Country premiered over the weekend while throwing back to the first season‘s supernatural-tinged tone with a whole new look. Following stories in Louisiana, California, and the Ozarks, the newest round of episodes take place near the uppermost point of Alaska. The concept of extended night will be familiar to those who remember a certain horror movie called 30 Days Of Nights, which took place in Barrow, Alaska, which is a whole lot like the fictional settlement of Ennis, which is where Night Country takes place.

The atmosphere of prolonged nightfall adds to the eeriness of this season’s mystery, and the show (like the aforementioned movie) bypasses the how, IRL, this area of Alaska experiences a twilight-like Polar Night, so most of the extended nightfall isn’t actually pitch dark. Theatrically speaking, the darkness works out for the story, and fortunately, showrunner Issa López found an appropriate shooting venue outside of the U.S. The lead detectives portrayed by Jodie Foster and Kali Reis are actually chasing these horrors in Iceland, as López detailed to Deadline:

“I was walking hand in hand with Florian Hoffmeister, the DP, who got a nomination [at the Oscars] when we were shooting for Tár, and he’s just incredible. The challenge of shooting in the eternal darkness and in the ice, he’s a man that could do it, only him. The other one is Daniel Taylor, who did the production design and was able to capture Alaska and make it happen in Iceland. So I felt very, very well guarded there.”

Detective Danvers (Foster) and Navarro (Reis) will keep digging up frozen horrors in the coming weeks, as HBO’s True Detective: Night Country continues to air on Sunday nights.

Phish has announced a new four-day festival called Mondegreen, which will take place at the Woodlands in Dover, Delaware on August 15 to 18. It marks the band’s first new fest in nine years, where the band will perform the entire weekend. There will also be “interactive fan experiences, regional food and drink, art installations,” and more, according to Variety.

Here’s what to know about getting tickets to the new event.

How To Buy Tickets For Phish’s ‘Mondegreen’ Festival In 2024

For Phish’s new Mondegreen festival, fans will have the option of either on-site camping or staying in one of the nearby hotels.

Travel packages for Mondegreen will go on sale this Thursday, January 18 at 11 a.m. ET. This will bundle a hotel stay with a General Admission ticket and roundtrip transportation. It includes one hotel room for either two or four people.

The actual passes to the festival can be purchased the following day, on Friday, January 19 at 11 a.m. ET. General Admission starts at $450 for a four-day festival ticket.

If you are looking to camp on the grounds, Mondegreen offers two packages, one for $750 per person (Glen Close) and one for $1525 (The Full Monde). The total price on the site seems to account for two people in the package deal.

And if you can’t make it to Delaware, the band will also be playing at The Sphere in Las Vegas this year.

Find more information on Phish’s website here.

Every week, Billboard unveils the top 10 songs on the latest Hot 100 chart. The most recent rankings, for the chart dated January 20, are out now, so let’s run down who had this week’s biggest hits.

10. Morgan Wallen — “Last Night”

It’s been quite the past year for Wallen’s “Last Night,” just about exactly at this point: The song was released on January 31, 2023 and it’s still in the Hot 100 top 10.

9. Doja Cat — “Agora Hills”

Doja is the only artist with multiple top-10 songs this week, and that’s thanks in part to “Agora Hills” setting a new personal-best placement at No. 9.

8. Teddy Swims — “Lose Control”

Here’s perhaps the most notable entry on this week’s Hot 100, as “Lose Control” is the first top-10 single for Teddy Swims. It’s his first song to crack the Hot 100 at all, actually. It’s been a steady rise to the region, as the track was originally released in June 2023.

7. Tyla — “Water”

Tyla had a breakout year in 2023 thanks to her hit single and that is clearly continuing into 2024, as “Water” matches its all-time high at No. 7 this week.

6. SZA — “Snooze”

“Snooze” never quite hit No. 1, topping out in the silver-medal spot, but the song has maintained a high chart position following its April 2023 release.

5. Doja Cat — “Paint The Town Red”

Doja said what she said, and she’s been saying it for a while now, as “Paint The Town Red” was released back in August 2023 and it’s still in the top 5 on the Hot 100.

4. Zach Bryan — “I Remember Everything” Feat. Kacey Musgraves

Bryan and Musgraves’ collab continues to dominate various Billboard charts, as it’s currently No. 1 on the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs and Hot Rock Songs charts for a 20th week and on the Hot Country Songs for a 16th total week.

3. Tate McRae — “Greedy”

“Greedy” previously reached its current chart peak at No. 3, and that’s where McRae’s hit finds itself this week, too.

2. Taylor Swift — “Cruel Summer”

Swift’s “Cruel Summer” previously enjoyed four weeks at No. 1, and while it’s not on top anymore, the 2019 song is still enjoying significant Hot 100 success.

1. Jack Harlow — “Lovin On Me”

This is the third total week at No. 1 for “Lovin On Me,” Harlow’s 2023 hit. This is tied for his longest stay on top of the Hot 100, as “First Class” was previously No. 1 for three weeks in 2022. His Lil Nas X collab “Industry Baby” also reigned for a week in 2021.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

It’s hard to deny that Marvel’s might is flagging a little. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania came out to middling reviews (from critics) and box office and The Marvels, well, the headline “sh*t the bed” was used on this website to describe the film’s opening weekend box office, and it scans.

Keep in mind, this is all in comparison to the halcyon days of pop culture and box office dominance when Avengers were assembling. Back before previous megastars (Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Scar-Jo) left the building, but those days helped to justify Marvel and Disney’s super scale, with numerous stories spread across TV and film and bazillions of dollars committed to the cause. Without that same caliber of results, is Marvel due to tighten their belt?

While the calendar is looking a little light, with the freshly premiered Echo representing the only Marvel project in the first half of this year, that can be chalked up to the impact of the dual strikes that raged on while writers and actors were waiting on a fair deal. The absence of a second season of She-Hulk? It sounds like you can definitely hang that on budgetary issues, at least according to series star Tatiana Maslany, who said a second season is unlikely, telling the NerdIncorrect Twitch channel, “I think we blew our budget, and Disney was like, ‘No thanks.’”

Now, was She-Hulk extra expensive? Yes. Digitizing Maslany to take the form of the show’s title character and general production of the show reportedly cost $25 million per episode. Was it a success? Unfortunately not. Hang an asterisk the size of the moon on its Rotten Tomatoes numbers because of bad-faith review bombing and sexist nonsense (a pox on comic book shows and films that is going to forever limit their actual cultural reach, especially if it limits the vision of executives), but it also didn’t really register as must-see for viewers with unimpressive viewership numbers. Add all this together and the lack of a second season does begrudgingly make sense from a business standpoint. It’s just depressing, partially because the show’s anti-fans will claim victory, but primarily because She-Hulk was a lot of fun.

I loved what Maslany and company were doing and regard it as one of the best shows from 2022. It’s also the first Marvel show to really hold my attention (because I am the kind of fan who was both THERE for everything Marvel pumped out for more than a decade and BURNT OUT on all of it). Comic book shows and movies can be a vessel for rich stories about heroism, sacrifice, and human limits, but they too often lose the thread on joy and fun. She-Hulk was all-over the road narratively with not always the best CG, sure. But it was also unique and it didn’t take itself or its genre too seriously, a major plus in the midst of all the world building and spectacle in the genre.

While the show is probably (this isn’t an official death certificate, just an acknowledgement of what has seemed more and more likely) done, we do hope we get to see Maslanay in the MCU again. A Deadpool 3 cameo, an Avengers pop-in — something. The show didn’t have a big audience, but it had a dedicated one that deserves a nod.

How Marvel (and DC, with its soon to launch rebooted connected universe) choose to combat any diminished excitement in the marketplace is an open question. She-Hulk was a quirky lawyer sitcom that cost as much as a tentpole movie. Hubris should have gotten a producer credit with that in mind. Risks with that kind of price tag probably aren’t a part of the equation as audiences enter a new phase of interest and excitement with these kinds of projects, but that doesn’t mean people don’t want unique things or for Marvel to take risks. That’s probably exactly what people want.

Marvel Spotlight is, it seems, a golden opportunity toward a strategy that embraces variety. “Grounded” stories, like the just launched Echo that aren’t as wrapped up in continuity red tape. With those kinds of guardrails, creators can have a lot of fun. And so long as expectations match cost, so can the audience, for years to come.

Source: IGN