Beyoncé has announced the launch of her latest perfume, Cé Noir. The perfume is already for sale on beyonce.com, while her Instagram announcement promises that the fragrance will ship in November — giving it enough time to arrive for the holidays. Per Harper’s, the scent is “both floral and gourmand,” with clementine, rose, and honey notes. Fans can get 1.7 oz bottles for $160.
Harper’s Bazaar has a full report on the new fragrance, writing:
The Cé Noir bottle is topped by a half-domed cap, with stairlike edges on its neck and a streamlined engraving of its name on one side. Since the fragrance is developed in France, “crafted and designed by Beyoncé,” and “encased in art,” it’s practically guaranteed to be a standout on your vanity. It is also anchored by a built-in stand for ultimate perfume elevation.
Earlier this year, Beyoncé teased an upcoming hair care line, writing, “I can’t wait for you to experience what I’ve been creating can’t wait for you to experience what I’ve been creating,” on Instagram alongside a throwback photo of herself at her mother’s hair salon. This led to fans believing that she’ll either be offering hair care products or a brand of actual hair for weaves or wigs.
The New York kingpin rose through the ranks in the ’60s, serving as a member of truck-robbing street gangs before helping to orchestrate a hit on the head of the Gambino crime family, Paul Castellano. As Gotti replaced Castellano, he gained more power and attracted more scrutiny from federal investigators — which is what Netflix’s doc covers across three episodes. In the ’80s, Gotti was the most powerful mafia don in New York. Netflix’s series covers that, but the show also breaks down how his hubris helped cause the collapse of the Gambino crime syndicate.
Here’s what happened to John Gotti after his life of crime ended.
What Happened To John Gotti?
Once Gotti usurped the Gambino throne, he became practically invincible, despite authorities constantly surveilling him and slapping him with charges that ranged from assault to racketeering. Most of those didn’t stick, which is how he earned the nickname, “The Teflon Don,” but in the early ’90s, Gotti was betrayed by his underboss Salvatore ‘Sammy the Bull’ Gravano. After learning that Gotti incriminated him in a murder case, Gravano worked with the FBI, providing them with evidence and even testifying against his former boss in court. Gotti received a life sentence for a host of charges that included racketeering, tax evasion, extortion, illegal gambling, and multiple murders.
Gotti spent roughly eight years behind bars, still running the Gambino empire with the help of his son who investigators believed was carrying out orders on his behalf. In 1998, Gotti was diagnosed with throat cancer. He initially had a tumor removed, but when the cancer returned, he was sent to a medical facility in Missouri to serve out the remainder of his sentence. Gotti died two years later.
What Happened To The Gambino Crime Family?
Gotti’s son, John Gotti Jr., and his brother, Peter, ran the Gambino crime family in Gotti’s absence. John was charged with racketeering in the late ’90s and, against his father’s wishes, he pled guilty before serving six years behind bars. The Gambino crime family is still believed to be active in New York, though no one with the name Gotti is now running the operation.
Optical illusions are universally beloved for how they trick our brains and blow our minds. There’s a reason we enjoy magic shows and Escher paintings and are mesmerized by fake oases in the desert. We love seeing things that bend our perceptions of reality, and the science behind the magic always proves fascinating as well.
The Ames window is a pretty well-known optical illusion, but it’s always cool to see. When spun, the angled window appears to oscillate back and forth instead of spin all the way around. But this video adds a twist that makes the effect even more mindbending—our brains simply can’t process objective reality mixed with an optical illusion.
The YouTube channel Curiosity Show explains the science of the illusion and gives a DIY demonstration for making your own Ames window. But wait until the pen gets taped to the window and spun. This is some real-life magic right here. Mind. Blown.
It’s amazing to consider just how quickly the world has changed over the past 11 months. If you were to have told someone in February 2020 that the entire country would be on some form of lockdown, nearly everyone would be wearing a mask, and half a million people were going to die due to a virus, no one would have believed you.
Yet, here we are.
PPE masks were the last thing on Leah Holland of Georgetown, Kentucky’s mind on March 4, 2020, when she got a tattoo inspired by the words of a close friend.
“We were just talking about things we admire about each other and he said, ‘You courageously and radically refuse to wear a mask,’ like meaning that I’m undeniably myself. I thought that was a really poetic way of saying that,” Holland told Fox 13.
So, she had “courageously & radically refuse to wear a mask” tattooed on her left forearm. It’s a beautiful sentiment about Leah’s dedication to being her true self. It’s also a reminder for Leah to remain true to herself throughout her life.
However, the tattoo would come to have a very different meaning just two days later when the first case of COVID-19 was reported in Kentucky.
“It basically looked like I’m totally, you know, anti-mask or whatever, which is not the case,” said Holland.
Now, she was embarrassed to be seen with the tattoo for fear she’d be associated with the anti-maskers who either deny the existence of the virus or refuse to wear a mask to protect others. Either way, it’s a bad look.
So Leah started wearing long-sleeve shirts and cardigan sweaters whenever in public to cover up the tattoo.
On Monday, TikTok users asked each other to share their “dumbest tattoo” and she was pretty sure she had the winner.
In her video, she talks about how her tattoo was about “not pretending to be something you’re not,” but then revealed it to show how — after a historical twist — it made her out to be someone she isn’t.
“I just kind of wanted people to laugh with me because I think it’s funny now, too,” said Holland.
Plenty of people on TikTok laughed along with her with one user suggesting she update the tattoo with the phrase: “Hindsight is 2020.”
“I was dying laughing. I’m like, I’m glad there are people that find this as funny as I think it is,” said Holland.
“It will be a funny story to tell years from now,” she said. “I don’t think it will ever not be a funny story.”
Unfortunately, even when the pandemic is over, Leah will still probably have to explain her tattoo. Because most won’t soon forget the COVID-19 era in America and there’s no doubt many will still feel passionate about those who refused to wear a mask.
“The Carol Burnett Show” ran from 1967 to 1978 and has been touted as one of the best television series of all time. The cast and guest stars of the show included comedic greats such as Tim Conway, Betty White, Steve Martin, Vicki Lawrence, Dick Van Dyke, Lyle Waggoner, Harvey Korman and others who went on to have long, successful comedy careers.
One firm rule Carol Burnett had on her show was that the actors stay in character. She felt it was especially important not to break character during the “Family” scenes, in which the characters Ed and Eunice Higgins (a married couple) and Mama (Eunice’s mother) would play host to various colorful characters in their home.
“I never wanted to stop and do a retake, because I like our show to be ‘live,’” she wrote in her memoir, as reported by Showbiz Cheat Sheet. “So when the ‘Family’ sketches came along, I was adamant that we never break up in those scenes, because Eunice, Ed, and Mama were, in an odd way, sacred to me. They were real people in real situations, some of which were as sad and pitiful as they were funny, and I didn’t want any of us to break the fourth wall and be out of character.”
It was a noble goal, and one that went right out the window—with Burnett leading the way—in a “Family” sketch during the show’s final season that ended with the entire cast rolling with laughter.
In the scene, Eunice, Mama, Dan (an old friend of Ed’s) and Mickey (Ed’s employee at the hardware store) are playing “Password” and the word they’re trying to get their partners to guess is “ridiculous.” Eunice (played by Carol Burnett) gives Mickey (played by Tim Conway) the clue word “laughable,” and after pondering for a bit, he says “elephant.”
Eunice scolds him for his bizarre answer, then Conway launches into a wild ad-libbed story about a circus elephant that goes on and on and on.
Burnett is the first one to lose it. The cast barely keeps it together through the sketch.
But that was just one take. Between takes, the director gave the actors a note: The elephant story would be different in the next filming—and good luck.
The next elephant story was even wilder than the first, and Burnett and Dick Van Dyke couldn’t stop themselves from laughing. Conway himself breaks a couple of times, and even Vicki Lawrence (playing Mama), who famously never broke character, had to hide her face for a moment.
Then, just when they finally got themselves composed and Burnett was able to deliver her line, “Go on, Mama,” Lawrence delivered the most perfectly timed a-bomb and the whole cast exploded:
So delightful. And for an added bonus, watch Vicki Lawrence tell the story about how that scene came about:
Thanks to the release of the new Netflix docuseries, Get Gotti, viewers are finding themselves absolutely riveted by the tale of infamous New York mafioso John Gotti. While older audiences will recognize the events in the three-part series, younger audiences might not be aware that all of this happened in real life.
Despite being a literal crime boss who orchestrated a brutal takeover of the Gambino crime family, Gotti was practically a celebrity in the ’80s, and it didn’t hurt that actual celebrities wanted to hang out with him. According to USA Today, stars couldn’t help but flock to the controversial figure even as he was facing trial for murder and loan sharking. Actor Anthony Quinn, who starred in HBO’s Gotti, showed up to the courtroom at the mob boss’s request, who remained grateful for years.
“He was very nice to me and very kind to me,” Quinn told the Hartford Courant in 1996. “In New York, whenever I went to a restaurant – for years – I would find a bottle of wine on my table from ‘Mr. G.’”
Here’s the official synopsis:
It’s 1985 and John Gotti is the most powerful man in New York; he’s also the most surveilled. His public execution of ‘Boss of Bosses’ Paul Castellano sets in motion a series of events that catapults the young mobster to the helm of America’s most powerful mafia family. As the tentacles of Gotti’s criminal enterprise extend deep into the heart of the city, law enforcement and state prosecutors scramble for their chance to bring the charismatic Godfather to his knees. From the creators of ‘Fear City,’ this three-part series for Netflix chronicles Gotti’s meteoric rise and crashing fall – all told from the very mouths of those who brought him down.
(SPOILERS for Netflix’s Bodies will obviously be found below.)
These days, the Netflix release schedule is a little thinner than usual, possibly due to the Hollywood strikes. However, some sleeper hits are still rising to satisfy bingewatching addicts. In particular, Bodies has captured the attentions of viewers who adore other mind-bending shows like Netflix’s The OA and Amazon’s Undone.
Bodies (co-starring Unorthodox‘s Shira Haas, shown above, who plays Detective Maplewood) dives headfirst into an also mind-melting take on multiple detectives who try to solve (and stop) the same murder in different decades. Somehow, the very fate of Britain lies in the balance of this crime being solved. The series is based upon a Si Spencer graphic novel, and the show was intended to be a limited series, so one shouldn’t expect a followup. With that said, the show actually leaves the door slightly ajar.
To briefly refresh, the series follows the mystery of an unidentified murder victim who is discovered in London, and somehow, this is happening as far back as 1890 and in current times as well as a few other points. Details begin to blend together several times throughout he show, so let’s hash out that ending.
As viewers have already learned, the dead body in question belongs to Gabriel Defoe, who (in the year 2053) tries to shut down a plan by Elias Mannix to travel back to 1890-ish and assume the identity of fallen soldier Julian Harker. In doing so, Harker plotted a cult that would eventually spur a 2023 terrorist attack by his teenage self. Defoe eventually teams up with Detective Hasan, whose son died in that attack. However, the relatively (?) straightforward time-travel business is further complicated by Maplewood, who is, at one point, working at the behest of Mannix.
While Maplewood cannot seem to reconcile that Mannix is responsible for all the havoc, Mannix surfaces and hops in his Time Machine. He’s followed by Defoe, and Maplewood fires her gun just in time to cause Defoe to die in different decades. (Yeah, that was enlightening for her.)
This is where things get extra complicated. Maplewood travels back to 1890 and appears alongside Detective Hillinghead (who found the body, too). Maplewood fills in Hillinghead on what she’s learned. He confronts Harker, and this leads to Harker’s mind being blown. Somehow, this causes Harker to rethink his 2023 plot (which he believes, along with his cult, will actually spark a revolution of human love).
That’s not everything that happens in between, but the ending leads to 2053, where the Longharvest Lane (where Defoe’s body was found) brick wall now contains an inscription that adds Maplewood’s name along with that of Hillinghead and Detective Whiteman (from 1941). The latter has left an indication that Hasan must travel to 2023 and discover another clue. There, Mannix determines to die in order to squash the whole plot of his older self to orchestrate the terrorist act. The plan works, and no bomb goes off. This ends up altering the entire course of time, and Defoe is never found dead on Longharvest Lane in 2023.
So is all well that ends well, and is this truly the conclusion of the story?
No clue. There’s a final tidbit that shows Maplewood as a cab driver in 2023, and somehow, she is familiar with her passenger, Hasan. How she ended up in 2023, we don’t know, and there’s also a visual clue that the Mannix cult slogan is present, too, even though it should have been eradicated in that timeline. Whether or not this points towards ambiguity that we should simply live with, or if the door is kind of open for more, we might never know.
Bodies is currently streaming on Netflix, so get to re-binging.
Cooking fried chicken at home is a sure way to wow at any family meal or party with your crew. Yes, it takes a little bit of time, but the results tend to be spectacular. That means that mastering fried chicken at home is a must for any budding home cook.
Below, we’re going to help you nail easy fried chicken at home. This is a somewhat time-consuming recipe but it’s not that hard. The real key is just taking your time to brine the chicken, dredge, and then fry off in batches. And ho-boy is it worth the effort. And while there are a ton of recipes out there (fried chicken is one of those foods that’s part of almost every culture worldwide), we’re keeping this one very “classic” in the Southern U.S. sense of the dish.
What does that mean, in specific? Buttermilk brining, white flour dredging, and a lot of seasoning both in the meat and in the crispy coating. The best part of that base recipe is that you can go in a lot of directions with the seasoning to make it your own — which your family will adore.
The key steps you always need to adhere to for great and easy fried chicken that’s as juicy as it is delicious are the following:
Always brine overnight — dry brine or wet brine, it doesn’t matter. This will deeply season your meat.
Season the dredging flour too. The meat and breading both need to pop with flavor — a bland dredge will pull out seasoning from the meat.
Don’t over dredge. One run through the flour mixture is enough for crispy fried chicken at home.
Don’t overspend on oil. Standard vegetable oil is fine and costs far less than peanut oil and will yield a very similar result. (You only start to notice a significant difference when you start using animal fats — beef tallow, duck fat, lard, etc.)
140F is safe for food but you want to hit 160F for fried chicken (it’s the right texture and juiciness). Anything over 170F and your chicken will start to dry out significantly.
Always season with salt when it comes off the oil.
Take your time. Good chicken isn’t rushed.
Okay, we have the semantics out of the way. Let’s get frying so that you can really wow your fam this weekend when you bring this amazingly delicious fried chicken to dinner.
Check Out These Other Recipes From Flavored For You:
A quick note on the chicken. I bought a standard fresh whole “fryer” chicken from my local Kroger. It was about $10. You can of course buy a chicken already cut into pieces. Or you can go all legs and thighs. Do what feels right for your family dinner. I also used fresh local buttermilk, but anything in your dairy aisle will do.
What You’ll Need:
Kitchen knife
Cutting board
ZipLock bag
Cookie sheet with drying rack
Wok, large pot, or dutch oven
Slotted spoon/spatula/spider
Method:
The night before you fry, brine the chicken. Using a kitchen knife, remove the spine from the bird. Then use the tip of the knife to cut off the thighs, legs, wings, and breasts. Then cut the breasts in half again and remove the legs from the thighs.
Add the buttermilk, 1 tbsp. salt, plenty of black pepper, 1 tsp. garlic powder, 1 tsp. onion powder, 1 tsp. paprika, 1 tsp. oregano, and a pinch of cayenne to the ZipLock bag and make sure it’s well-mixed. Add the chicken pieces and seal the bag. Roll everything around until it’s nicely coated and place in the fridge overnight.
The next day, get another ZipLock bag ready with the flour, 1 tbsp. salt, plenty of black pepper, 1 tsp. onion powder, 1 tsp. garlic powder, 1 tsp. paprika, and a pinch of cayenne. Make sure the spices and flour are completely integrated.
Grab the bag from the fridge, set up the cookie sheet with a drying rack, and then start the dredging process. Take two pieces of the chicken from the brining bag and place them in the flour and spice mix, seal the bag, and shake until the chicken is well-coated, remove the chicken piece from the bag (shake off excess flour back into the bag), and place the piece on the drying rack. Repeat until all the chicken pieces are dredged and breaded.
While the chicken is resting, heat the oil to 375F (I like to use a wok for plenty of space). Once the temp is hit, gently lay the chicken into the oil (facing away from you). Do not overcrowd the pot/wok/dutch oven — so fry two to four pieces at a time. Each piece will take 6 to 8 minutes to fully cook for the dark meat and wings and a full 10 minutes for the breast pieces.
Set up a new cookie sheet with a drying rack for draining the cooked fried chicken while the first batch is frying.
Use the slotted spatula or spider to flip the chicken if it starts to get too brown on the underside. Remove the fried chicken from the oil (check the internal temp if you’re unsure — you’ll want it to be at 160F as it’ll carry over a few degrees as it rests).
As soon as you remove the chicken, hit it with a pinch of salt.
Repeat in batches until done.
Lastly, serve the chicken with a dipping sauce or hot honey for each guest to add at will.
Bottom Line on the Fried Chicken:
Zach Johnston
Oh, yes. There’s nothing like fried chicken with a crunchy exterior and a delightfully seasoned and juicy interior. That exact piece above came out of the oil at about 158F and hit 162F as it rested (see image below), which is exactly what you want. Look at how juicy it is!
The seasoning came through on the meat very nicely and was accented by a very crunchy and similarly seasoned crust with a hint of spice (I don’t go hard on the cayenne but you can if you want more heat). This was so good that I devoured two pieces before I had to stop myself. There’s something supremely satisfying about home-fried chicken that rocks.
The best part is that the white meat is super juicy and well-seasoned as well. There wasn’t a hint of dryness in a single bite of the whole batch. My family of four killed this batch of chicken in silence around the lunch table.
All told, the prep took maybe 20 minutes (partitioning the chicken and getting it in the brine bag). The actual dredging and frying took another 45(ish) minutes. Really though, you’re going to want to set aside an hour for the whole cooking process. Is it worth it? Hell yes. This fried chicken rules — and is a perfect way to show friends and family that you care.
When was the last time you had a burger from Red Robin? If the answer is “years” or even “decades,” well… you probably haven’t heard that the chain just revamped its burger menu this month. And we’re not talking about adding a few new burgers to the roster — we’re talking big changes here!
New ingredients! New preparation methods! Reimagined builds! These shifts are so radical that unless you’ve been to the restaurant in October 2023, you can’t really say you have any idea of what a Red Robin burger tastes like. Seriously, you’re out of the loop.
Don’t worry if you’re not currently part of the RR Illuminati, though. We’ve tasted them all and we’re breaking down the winners (and losers) for you. But first, let’s talk about some of those changes:
In the past, Red Robin cooked its burgers through some type of conveyor belt oven (you know, like Burger King…). That’s gone now.
Instead, each burger is cooked the way it should be, on a flat-top grill resulting in burgers that are juicier and have that delicious Maillard crust.
They’ve upgraded their bacon, mayonnaise, and produce, brought in new brioche buns.
The brand now has an abundance of housemade sauces.
Looking back to the heyday of chain restaurants, Red Robin has always billed itself as a producer of “Gourmet Burgers.” Having tried the fully updated menu, I can tell you that they’re making good on that promise right now. Here are all 18 of the new burgers, ranked from least successful to most delicious. Let’s eat!
19. Turkey Burger
Dane Rivera
The Build:
Seasoned turkey patty, pepper-jack cheese, chipotle aioli, lettuce, and tomato
Tasting Notes & Thoughts:
The turkey patty is tender with a mildly spicy flavor and a heavy dusting of earthy black pepper. The chipotle aioli emphasizes the mild spice flavor while adding some sweet smokey notes to the mix which pair nicely with the pepper-jack cheese.
Overall, this burger is getting most of its flavor from the spicier elements of the build, while the meat itself is kind of flavorless and neutral. Giving the Turkey Burger the bottom spot feels mean but it is what it is. A real burger is always going to beat a turkey burger — still, if for some reason you’re opting for turkey burgers over the real thing, you’ll be glad to know that the turkey patty can be subbed into any burger on Red Robin’s menu, giving you a nice variety of flavors to explore.
The Bottom Line:
It’s good… for a turkey burger.
18. Red Robin Gourmet Cheeseburger
Dane Rivera
The Build:
Pickle Relish, onion, pickles, lettuce, tomato, mayo, and cheese (I went with American).
Tasting Notes & Thoughts:
There is a strong sweet tang to this burger that hovers over the beef flavor, with a pleasing, acidic aftertaste. It reminds me of the best McDonald’s cheeseburger, but significantly elevated.
It’s a great burger but at the end of the day, it feels a little boring compared to everything else on the menu. If you want a straight-up delicious cheeseburger, start here, but if you want something more interesting or adventurous, every other burger on the menu will get you there.
The Bottom Line:
A standard cheeseburger with a strong tangy flavor. It’s fine but every other burger offers a lot more than this.
17. Monster
Dane Rivera
The Build: Two beef patties, choice of cheese, onion, pickle relish, lettuce, tomato, and mayo
Tasting Notes & Thoughts:
It’s the Gourmet Cheeseburger but with double meat and cheese. The flavor is slightly different from the single patty version, there is less emphasis on that pickle relish tang and a greater focus on the meaty flavor of the beef and the salty flavor of the cheese.
Altogether this burger is beefy and salty with a slight tang and a sweet aftertaste. Still, I’m not in love with this double cheeseburger form factor. Don’t get me wrong, I love a double but this is jaw-dislocatingly-thiccccccc.
The Bottom Line:
Any of Red Robin’s burgers can be given the Monster treatment, which is great if you’re really hungry, but for most appetites, this burger is simply too big. At least it earns its name.
16. Bacon Cheeseburger
Dane Rivera
The Build:
Bacon, lettuce, tomato, mayo, and any cheese of your choice.
Tasting Notes & Thoughts:
Here is the thing, Red Robin has to have a standard bacon cheeseburger. If it didn’t, the menu would feel like it’s missing something. And for a bacon cheeseburger, it’s good, the bacon is crispy, smokey, perfectly cooked, and slightly sweet, and the lettuce, tomato, and mayo combination is classic.
But this is far from the best burger Red Robin serves that has bacon on it. As such, we can’t rank it higher than we have it here.
The Bottom Line:
Your standard bacon cheeseburger. Again, Red Robin is at its best when it’s being adventurous and this is just too by the books to stand out.
15. Red’s Double
Dane Rivera
The Build:
Red’s Secret Tavern Sauce, American cheese, lettuce, and tomato.
Tasting Notes & Thoughts:
It should be pretty clear now that the more basic a burger build is, the lower it’s going to rank on this list, which makes the Red’s Double a bit tough for me to rank. On one hand, the build is too simplistic to be notable, but on the other, the “tavern” form factor is my favorite on the menu.
Red Robin’s ‘Tavern’ burgers feature smaller patties and are served on a sesame seed brioche bun. I like the smaller patties, it helps to create a better bread-to-meat ratio without being too filling and overwhelming.
But the Red’s Double is the weakest burger of the excellent Tavern line. It’s essentially a smaller version of the Gourmet Cheeseburger, featuring the same build in a smaller footprint.
The Bottom Line:
Significantly better than the almost identical Gourmet Burger but the weakest of the Tavern line.
14. Bleu Ribbon
Dane Rivera
The Build:
Steak sauce, bleu cheese crumbles, fried onions, and chipotle aioli.
Tasting Notes & Thoughts:
This one smacks your tastebuds with a sharp tang at first bite. The fried onions add some sweetness and deepen the savory quality of the beef patty, working as a nice counterbalance against all that tang while the chipotle aioli brings in some mild smokey spice that builds on the aftertaste.
I don’t know that I’d ever seek out a bleu cheese burger, but I can’t deny the experience of eating one is incredibly enjoyable.
The Bottom Line:
For hardcore bleu cheese fans. Tangy, savory, and a bit spicy.
13. Whiskey River BBQ
Dane Rivera
The Build:
Whiskey River BBQ Sauce, fried onions, cheddar, lettuce, tomato, and mayo.
Tasting Notes & Thoughts:
Sweet, smokey, and rich, this is a fairly standard BBQ barbecue burger featuring a classic build. Red Robin’s Whiskey River BBQ leans on the sweet and rich side with little to no spice.
The Bottom Line:
It’s a good BBQ burger but Red Robin covers similar ground on a few other builds and does it better than what this offers.
12. Royal Red Robin
Dane Rivera
The Build:
Over-easy egg, bacon, American cheese, lettuce, tomato, and mayo.
Tasting Notes & Thoughts:
It’s breakfast in a burger! The egg ups the savory quality of this burger and pairs perfectly with the crunchy, sweet, and slightly smokey bacon and the beef patty. The lettuce, tomato, and mayo are fine accompaniments, but the real star is that egg, which oozes all over the burger at first bite.
That egg soaks nicely into the brioche bun, resulting in a mess of a burger — given the flavor, we’re willing to give it a pass.
The Bottom Line:
Whether or not you like this burger is going to come down to the egg. If you want an egg on your burger, this is fantastic, and all the ingredients are complementary. If you’re not down for a fried egg on your burger, this isn’t going to win you over.
11. Smashed Avocado n’ Bacon
Dane Rivera
The Build: Smashed avocado, bacon, Swiss cheese, onion, lettuce, tomato, and mayo.
Tasting Notes & Thoughts:
Red Robin’s preparation changes have greatly improved the Smashed Avocado n’ Bacon burger. The old burger used pre-made guacamole that was squeezed out of a pouch but this new version is topped with avocado that is freshly smashed daily in the restaurant, allowing you to taste all that addictive buttery flavor.
That creamy quality pairs nicely with the beef patty and even better with the bacon, giving you a flavor that is buttery, smokey, and wonderfully savory. I like the choice of Swiss here as well, it adds a nice nutty character to the burger.
My only issue is that I don’t think this burger needs the mayo. The avocado does more than enough.
The Bottom Line:
Delicious. Avocado fans rejoice, this is one of the best bacon avocado burgers in the restaurant space.
10. Smoke and Pepper
Dane Rivera
The Build: Black-peppered bacon, cheddar, lettuce, dill pickles, and Smoke & Pepper ketchup.
Tasting Notes & Thoughts:
This burger is deceptively simple. The build suggests that Smoke and Pepper is pretty standard stuff, but everything here is elevated just a bit. The black pepper adds some earthy floral notes to the smokey bacon, and the briney pickles are complemented nicely by the slightly smokey and peppery ketchup.
Each beefy bite has an interesting woody finish to it.
The Bottom Line:
Smokey, floral, and earthy, Smoke and Pepper makes the case that simple black pepper is one of the most underrated seasonings.
9. Sautéed Shroom
Dane Rivera
The Build: Fresh sautéed garlic mushrooms, Swiss cheese, garlic aioli.
Tasting Notes & Thoughts:
A garlicky umami bomb bursting with flavor! The Sautéed Shrrom goes heavy on the mushrooms, it’s hard to taste much else aside from the one-two punch of shroom and garlic, but if you strain to taste the Swiss, you’ll get some of the creamy nuttiness mid-bite. But by the finish that mushroom flavor takes over completely.
The Bottom Line:
Delicious and umami-rich, but if you aren’t in love with mushrooms, you probably won’t like this one.
8. Banzai
Dane Rivera
The Build:
Teriyaki-glazed patty, grilled pineapple, cheddar, lettuce, tomato, and mayo.
Tasting Notes & Thoughts:
Bright, tangy, and sweet, the Banzai burger is super juicy and meaty. The teriyaki is nicely caramelized on the beef which brings considerable brown sugar sweetness to each bite which is balanced out by the bright tangy pineapple notes. The pineapple itself is very fleshy, which gives the burger a nice decadent quality.
Once again, I don’t think Red Robin needs the mayo here, it’s not adding much to the burger and gets lost in the combination of teriyaki and pineapple.
The Bottom Line:
A delicious sweet and tangy burger that is decadent and satisfying without coming across as overwhelming.
7. Haystack Double
Dane Rivera
The Build: American cheese, Campfire Mayo, crispy onion straws.
Tasting Notes & Thoughts:
The build is incredibly simple, you have the American cheese providing some salty notes, the proprietary Campfire Mayo bringing some smokey tang into the equation, and crispy onion straws adding sweetness, crunch, and accentuating the savory beefy quality of the meat patty.
Yes, it’s not as inventive as some of Red Robin’s other burgers, but it’s a delicious double cheeseburger, and when done right that’s hard to beat. Once again, Red Robin’s Tavern line continues to impress me.
The Bottom Line:
One of Red Robin’s simplest burgers, but also one of its most delicious. A standard double cheeseburger that stacks up well against any of your favorites.
6. Cheesy Bacon Fondue
Dane Rivera
The Build:
Bacon, American cheese, mayo, side of Cheesy Bacon Fondue for dipping.
Tasting Notes & Thoughts:
Heavy on the salt and cheesy flavor, the magic of this burger is in the fondue dip. On its own, its a simple bacon cheeseburger, but once dipped the salty and smokey notes are turned up to ten.
The fondue also makes a fantastic dip for french fries.
The Bottom Line:
Super salty with a sweet smoked finish. If you love cheese and bacon, this burger is for you.
5. BBQ Burnt Ends ’n Bacon Burger
Dane Rivera
The Build:
Smoked burnt ends, fried onions, Whiskey River BBQ sauce, cheddar cheese, black peppered bacon, pickles, and mayo.
Tasting Notes & Thoughts:
The initial bite is smokey and sweet before hitting deep beefy savory territory. A bit of earthy brine and sweet and spicy notes from the pickles and onions serve as a counterbalance to the sweetness, taking your tastebuds on a nice journey through several sensations.
The burnt ends add a rich smokiness to the finish and make the whole thing a bit chewier as you’ll find yourself working on the ends long after the beef has melted in your mouth. This burger is only available for a limited time, so if you hit up Red Robin soon, it’s definitely worth the pickup.
The Bottom Line:
Very smoky and sweet, a great take on a barbecue burger and vastly superior to the Whisky River BBQ burger.
4. Pig Out Double
Dane Rivera
The Build:
Bacon, bacon crumbles, brown-sugar-glazed patties, American cheese, lettuce, tomato, and mayo.
Tasting Notes & Thoughts:
The best Tavern-style burger on the menu, the Pig Out Double doubles down on the bacon and beef, resulting in a savory burger that is very sweet with a pronounced smoky finish.
That sweetness comes from the patties being cooked in a brown sugar glaze which deepens the flavor of the beef, adding a richness to every bite that is addicting.
The Bottom Line:
Smokey, crunchy, and sweet, the Pig Out Double is another simple build that delivers flavor greater than the sum of its parts.
3. Scorpion
Dane Rivera
The Build:
Pepper jack cheese, fried jalapeños, Scorpion Pepper sauce, pickles, red onions, lettuce, tomato, roasted garlic aioli.
Tasting Notes & Thoughts:
A strong kick of heat immediately overwhelms the taste buds with a subtle sweet and garlicky finish. All the ingredients in this burger work together nicely, the pepper jack cheese brings on a slight nutty flavor which pairs nicely with the smokey and strong Scorpion pepper sauce, while pickles and red onions bring in some briney sweetness to combat some of the spice.
But be warned, the pickles and onions can only do so much, this burger is dangerously spicy. It’s one of Red Robin’s most popular menu items and it’s easy to see why — everything from the flavor to the crunch of this burger feels designed to please the senses.
The Bottom Line:
Red Robin’s spiciest burger. If you love strong heat and big flavors, this is the burger for you.
2. The Southern Charm
Dane Rivera
The Build:
Brown-sugar-glazed patty, bacon, Whiskey River BBQ sauce, cheddar, caramelized onion, lettuce, and tomato.
Tasting Notes & Thoughts:
As you can tell from the build, the Southern Charm covers a lot of the same ground as a lot of other burgers on Red Robin’s menu, but of all the BBQ bacon burgers on the menu, the Southern Charm does the flavor best.
That’s all because of the caramelized onions. Where the other BBQ bacon burgers go for decadence, adding crispy onions, burnt ends, and any other crunchy and salty ingredients to enhance crunch and flood the tastebuds with salt, the Southern Charm leans on the sweet notes of the Whiskey River BBQ sauce with caramelized onions which deepened the savory notes, and add some natural spicy sweetness to each bite.
The caramelized onions mixed with the brown-sugar-glazed patties is a perfect combination, resulting in a rich beefier burger that melts in your mouth with each bite.
The Bottom Line:
If you love BBQ and bacon, the Southern Charm does it better than any other Red Robin burger. It’s sweet, rich, and wonderfully satisfying bite after bite.
It was nearly a tie between our second place and first place pick but I had to give the top spot to Burning Love. This burger captures all of the spicy magic of the Scorpion but takes a step back from the decadence.
The combination of fried jalapenos and a big grilled jalapeno at the top of the burger adds a mild spice that is wonderfully vegetal and pairs nicely with the smokey notes of the Chipotle aioli, the mild spice of the pepper-jack cheese, and the umami-rich flavors of the house-made salsa.
The mild spice is hot enough to satisfy the tastebuds but not overwhelming to the point that eating the burger feels like a challenge. It strikes a nice middle ground between hot and savory.
The Bottom Line:
Red Robin’s best burger. A gourmet experience that takes the familiar flavors of a great cheeseburger and elevates it to new heights.
Everyone wants to know how long they will live and there are many indicators that can show whether someone is thriving or on the decline. But people have yet to develop a magic formula to determine exactly how long someone should expect to live.
However, a doctor recently featured on the “Today” show says a straightforward test can reveal the likelihood that someone aged 51 to 80 will die in the near future.
NBC News medical contributor Dr. Natalie Azar was on the “Today” show on March 8 and demonstrated how to perform the simple “sit to stand test” (aka sit-rising test or SRT) that can help determine the longevity of someone between 51 to 80.
The test is pretty simple. Go from standing to sitting cross-legged, and then go back to standing without using any parts of your body besides your legs and core to help you get up and down. The test measures multiple longevity factors, including heart health, balance, agility, core and leg strength and flexibility.
You begin the test with a score of 10 and subtract points on your way up and down for doing the following:
Hand used for support: -1 point
Knee used for support: -1 point
Forearm used for support: -1 point
One hand on knee or thigh: -1 point
Side of leg used for support: -1 point
None
— (@)
A 2012 study published by the European Society of Cardiology found a correlation between the SRT score and how long people live. The study was conducted on 2002 people, 68% of whom were men, who performed the SRT test and were followed by researchers in the coming years. The study found that “Musculoskeletal fitness, as assessed by SRT, was a significant predictor of mortality in 51–80-year-old subjects.”
Those who scored in the lowest range, 0 to 3, had up to a 6 times greater chance of dying than those in the highest scores (8 to 10). About 40% of those in the 0 to 3 range died within 11 years of the study.
Azar distilled the study on “Today,” saying: “The study found that the lower the score, you were seven times more likely to die in the next six years.”
“Eight points or higher is what you want,” Azar said. “As we get older, we spend time talking cardiovascular health and aerobic fitness, but balance, flexibility and agility are also really important,” she stressed.
One should note that the people who scored lowest on the test were the oldest, giving them an elevated risk of death.
Dr. Greg Hartley, Board Certified Geriatric Clinical Specialist and associate professor at the University of Miami, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that we should take the study with a grain of salt. “Frailty, strength, muscle mass, physical performance—those things are all correlated to mortality, but I would caution everybody that correlation doesn’t mean causation,” he said.
And of course, the test doesn’t take into account injuries or disabilities that may make doing the test impossible. But one of the study’s authors says that the study is a call to take our mobility seriously.
“The more active we are the better we can accommodate stressors, the more likely we are to handle something bad that happens down the road,” Dr. Claudio Gil Araujo, told USA Today.
This article originally appeared on 3.10.23
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