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Who amongst us hasn’t imagined what it would be like to sit across from Sean Evans in our very own episode of First We Feast’s Hot Ones? Spice fanatics and hot sauce lovers all love to talk a big game about how much heat they can handle — prior to today, I was one of them. I was under the impression that I’d be able to handle the Last Dab without breaking a sweat. Now that I’ve tried Shake Shack’s new Hot Ones Menu, which comes with a packet of The Last Dab Apollo to kick up the heat… well, I’m not so sure.

Beginning Friday, The Hot Ones menu is set to hit Shake Shacks nationwide for a limited time (app users can access the menu today!) and includes a Hot Ones-inspired burger, chicken sandwich, and bacon fries — all featuring a special Hot Ones-inspired Shake Sauce.

We tried the whole menu to see whether it’s worth you taking a trip to the Shack ASAP. Let’s dive in, starting with the star of the show…

Hot Ones Chicken Sandwich

Generally, when we hit full seasonal menus, we save the best for last but I NEED to talk about this chicken sandwich. It absolutely cannot wait until the end of this article. No cap, this is the best chicken sandwich currently in fast food. Yes, that includes Popeyes and this is coming for someone who reviewed the original drop of that very infamous sandwich and has reiterated just how good it is in our giant fried chicken sandwich ranking where Popeyes took the number one spot.

Well, that article is officially obsolete. This is now the greatest chicken sandwich in fast food, hands down. Want to get real? It’s no f*cking contest.

Yes, it’s that good. Better bread (potato roll >>> Popeyes way too dry Brioche), better sauce, cheese (get on this level, Popeyes), bacon, and a way juicier and more tender white meat chicken filet that melts in the mouth. All of the flavors in this sandwich work harmoniously, melding together into this beautiful bouquet of heat, savory, and slightly sweet and tangy flavors.

The sandwich consists of a chicken breast filet breaded in Shake Shack’s lightly and flakey batter, which also serves as a great sponge for the slightly sweet and spicy Hot Ones ShackSauce, with applewood bacon adding a bit more crunch and slightly smokey notes, and a slice of melted Monterey Jack cheese adding a layer of sweet nuttiness. The sauce has that typical savory tangy flavor of the original ShakeSauce but with some added spicy notes that taste a bit like a buffalo sauce — with a lot more depth and less prominent vinegar notes.

Each bite is ecstasy — it doesn’t really deliver on the heat, even if your spice tolerance is low, but that hardly matters considering how savory it is. It’s not just a little bit better than Popeyes sandwich, it absolutely dunks on it. Once this leaves the menu, I don’t know how I’m going to go back to Popeyes and not think about this sandwich.

Hot Ones Burger

The Hot Ones Burger, which I tried as both a single and double, is delicious but I’m not going to lie, compared to the chicken sandwich this doesn’t really taste like anything special. The Hot Ones Spicy ShakeSauce doesn’t pair as harmoniously with the ground beef patty as it does the chicken. Instead, it kind of muddles the savory flavor of the beef. Burgers are rarely less savory and satisfying than chicken sandwiches, but in this case, this burger comes across as a bit lacking.

What’s interesting though is the spicy notes of the special ShakeSauce comes across as a lot spicier here, cutting through as the dominate tasting note. I’m an American Cheese purist when it comes to burgers, but I don’t mind the inclusion of Monterey Jack here instead — it adds a sweetness to this burger which balances out the heat. Salty American cheese might not have done that, so good move on the Shack.

Because overall I felt the burger lacked a bit of flavor in comparison, I used this as an opportunity to utilize a dab of the Apollo packet and I really wish I hadn’t. It’s really f*cking spicy, bringing the sort of heat that makes you feel high and totally shocks your tastebuds into submission. I tried washing the heat down with some Coca-Cola and it literally had no flavor, just a wet sensation on my tongue.

As spicy as it is, what surprised me was just how good the Last Dab Apollo actually tastes. This is by no means stunt food — it starts off sweet and settles into a bitter but interesting earthiness before it overtakes your senses. It tasted so good that I wanted to try more of it to better explore the flavors but… I couldn’t. It was too hot to manage. And I’m not someone who has any sort of aversion to spice. I eat Thai food on the regular, I make my own salsa, and even the Habanero pepper registers more as bright and citrusy to me than it does spicy.

Still, the Last Dab Apollo kicked my ass.

The Last Dab Apollo packet was made in collaboration with Guiness World Record holding chili breeder Smoking’ Ed Currie and features a special crossbreed of Carolina Reapers and Pepper X. From the small dab I had I can tell that this sauce is good and isn’t as vinegar heavy as your typical hot sauce, offering a lot of natural sweet notes, but I found it to almost be inedibly hot.

If you’re up for a challenge, definitely order this but don’t skip out on getting a shake on the side.

Hot Ones Cheese Fries/Bacon Cheese Fries

I’m sorry to end this glowing review on a slightly low note but I will never not have a problem with Shake Shack’s fries. If you like the Shack’s fries, you’ll probably like these, but if you’re waiting for a few ingredients to turn these middling fries into something delicious, keep waiting.

No amount of cheese sauce or Aleppo pepper flakes can turn these mid-tier fries into anything else. The Aleppo pepper dusting is almost flavorless, it adds the slightest amount of heat but not enough to substantially change the flavor, despite how appetizing it looks. While we always appreciate bacon on fries, Shake Shack’s bacon isn’t all that great either, it’s too thin to ever really taste like anything and works better when paired with beef or chicken than it does potatoes.

The real shame is Shake Shack has everything on hand to actually make this good. Instead of cheese sauce, they could’ve just melted Monterey Jack cheese on the fries, which would’ve added a sweet creamy, and nutty flavor instead of an overly salty mess like the cheese sauce does. The fries are already salty Shake Shack, we don’t need more salt. Just think of how good these fries would be if they used melted Monterey and crumbles of Shake Shack’s Angus beef patty in addition to the bacon and Aleppo dusting. You’d have something with a lot of depth of flavor and character, instead of this salty sludge.

Luckily, the fries come served alongside some Spicy ShackSauce which is a must-dip. Like the burger, the heat is a lot more prominent on the fries compared to the sandwich.

The Bottom Line:

You absolutely need to head to Shake Shack ASAP to order this chicken sandwich. Don’t even wait until the Friday release, drive (or walk) to your nearest Shake Shack, park, order this on the app, and walk inside and pick up the best fast food chicken sandwich you’ll ever eat.

Once you’ve tried the sandwich, give the burger a try with the Apollo packet on hand. Shake Shack almost never disappoints, but they’ve truly taken things to another level this time.

Find your nearest Shake Shack here.

No matter who they are or where they’re from, rappers love a good heist movie. Bank robberies form the foundation music videos from rappers from all over the map, from Atlantans like 21 Savage and Gunna to Memphians Key Glock and NLE Choppa, Californians like Nipsey Hussle and YG, and even Brits like Skepta. So when New Yorkers Rowdy Rebel and Fivio Foreign hold up a financial establishment in the video for “Paid Off” from Rowdy’s debut album Rowdy Vs. Rebel, they’re contributing to a long, proud tradition of would-be outlaws doing their best Public Enemies impression.

Decked out in all-black Nike tech fleece sweatsuits — ’tis the season, now we can really start dressin’ — with matching Nike ski caps, the two John Dillingers menace the customers and staff with long guns while their scantily-clad accomplices tote pistols and harlequin masks. I suppose there are no worries about picking those booties out of a lineup — especially since Rowdy and Fivio are apparently in that class of rappers whose idea of a happy ending is the robbers getting away scot-free at the end.

Rowdy is clearly having a lot of fun with this whole “free from prison” thing. Now he only plays a criminal on TV, which seems a lot less risky. You can catch Rowdy (if you can) in his video above.

Sorry to say this, but it has been almost three years since The Good Place ended. Manny Jacinto, who played the dumb but lovable and extremely Floridian Jason Mendoza is coming back to our small screens, but on a big scale. Variety reports that Jacinto has been cast in The Acolyte, a new Star Wars show for Disney+. Since The Good Place, Jacinto has appeared in the Hulu series Nine Perfect Strangers (acting alongside Nicole Kidman’s accent and wig) and Netflix’s Brand New Cherry Flavor. Most recently, the actor had a small role in a big movie called Top Gun: Maverick. Maybe you’ve heard of it?

Jacinto joins an already intriguing cast including Amandla Stenberg (Bodies Bodies Bodies), Jodie-Turner Smith (White Noise), and Lee-jung Jae (Squid Game). The Acolyte has been in the works since 2020. Russian Doll co-creator Leslye Headland will serve as the showrunner.

Official plot details are intentionally unknown, but what we do now is that show is set a century before the events of Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace. It will reportedly “depict the galaxy at the peak of the era of the High Republic, when the Jedi were at their strongest and the Sith were believed to have been eradicated from the galaxy.” With its timeline being a century before The Phantom Menace, hopefully, there will be no Skywalkers involved.

The Acolyte is expected to drop on Disney+ in September 2023.

(Via Variety)

Vladimir Putin’s wealthiest and most powerful allies within Russia are reportedly beginning to turn on him after yet another loss in his war on Ukraine. According to a report by The Daily Beast, a group of officials in St. Petersburg and Moscow have launched efforts to have Putin ousted from office, accusing him of treason and demanding his resignation. They join a number of Russian oligarchs, currently feeling the squeeze on their bank accounts thanks to UN sanctions, in vocally opposing the once fearsome tyrant, signaling a shift in power that many believe will end with Putin’s ouster.

“Putin’s image is tarnished,” Putin’s former speechwriter, Abbas Gallyamov, told CNN. “The next thing which is going to happen in Russian politics within the next like several months, maybe up to half a year, is the elites will start looking for a successor.” In an interview with Puck News, Russian journalist and opposition supporter Yevgenia Albats echoed those sentiments, explaining how Putin has lost most of the oligarchy’s backing because of his assault on Ukraine.

“Even Putin’s oligarchs—their yachts have been seized, their villas in Italy, too,” Albats said. “When I ask them, what percentage [of the oligarchs] support the war? They tell me at most 30 percent support it. That means at least 70 percent are against it. Those are the people who understand their lives are simply over. That’s why I think this can’t last too much longer. This will be a long, hard winter.”

Whether Putin is aware that the writing is on the wall is a different question. Still, he has begun pulling away from his duties in recent weeks, canceling meetings with top military generals after Russian forces continue to sustain heavy losses in Ukraine. Even China, Russia’s biggest ally, is starting to “have concerns” about Putin’s strategy when it comes to his ill-advised war. What’s worse, Russian forces are low on soldiers — having lost tens of thousands of lives early in the conflict — and Putin’s idea to recruit convicts hasn’t helped boost his winning streak. Now, rumors are spreading that the Kremlin may look to launch a “broader mobilization,” or a draft of regular citizens.

“If Putin starts making this national draft, he really faces the danger of riots,” Gallyamov continued. “Russians are not willing to go to wage this war. They are not ready to go and sacrifice their lives, especially at the moment when the Ukrainians are advancing and Russians are retreating.”

It seems like things are going from worse to untenable in Russia, which is bad news for Putin and good news for everyone else, we guess?

The Chiefs and Chargers will meet in what is arguably the best matchup of Week 2 in the NFL on Thursday Night Football, but for those looking to watch the two AFC West favorites do battle, they’ll have to venture beyond the normal TV guide.

Chargers-Chiefs will also serve as the inaugural regular season game for Amazon’s new exclusive contract with the NFL to broadcast their Thursday night games, with Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit on the call in the booth, and Kaylee Hartung handling sideline reporting duties. As such, the game will no longer be simulcast on NFL Network or Fox as Thursday Night Football was in the past, and fans will need to have an Amazon Prime subscription to watch all season.

For those with a subscription, watching will be pretty simple. Games will be available on Amazon.com and the Amazon Prime Video app, with a Prime login, and for any fans looking to just watch a particular game (like, say, Chargers-Chiefs), you can do a 30-day free trial to gain access. It’s certainly going to be an adjustment not having games on network or cable TV for the first time, but with an 11-year rights deal, this is going to be the way of the future for Thursday nights.

In the Blade Runnier Universe, years exclusively end with the number 9, apparently. Amazon just ordered Blade Runner 2099, a series set in the sci-fi/noir franchise to series, Deadline reports. The series is set 50 years after the events of 2017’s Blade Runner 2049, which was directed by Denis Villeneuve and starred Ryan Gosling. That film’s most notable accomplishment, however, is that it won legendary cinematographer Roger Deakins his first (and long overdue) Oscar. Sir Ridley Scott, who directed 1982’s Blade Runner based on Philip K. Dick’s 1968 novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? will executive produce.

“The original Blade Runner, directed by Ridley Scott, is considered one of the greatest and most influential science-fiction movies of all time, and we’re excited to introduce Blade Runner 2099 to our global Prime Video customers,” said Vernon Sanders, head of global television, Amazon Studios, per Deadline. “We are honored to be able to present this continuation of the Blade Runner franchise, and are confident that by teaming up with Ridley, Alcon Entertainment, Scott Free Productions, and the remarkably talented Silka Luisa, Blade Runner 2099 will uphold the intellect, themes, and spirit of its film predecessors.”

In a statement, Alcon Entertainment co-CEOs and co-founders Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson said there is a “very high bar to meet with this next installment. Together with Silka and our partners at Amazon, and Scott Free Productions, we hope that we can live up to that standard and delight audiences with the next generation of Blade Runner.”

There is no word on when the series is expected yet, but the project has been in development since earlier this year.

(Via Deadline)

Hard to believe that it was 26 years ago when Sublime singer and songwriter Bradley Nowell was found dead in a hotel in San Francisco. The band’s legacy has endured over the decades, with Sublime band members Bud Gaugh and Eric Wilson continuing to tour and make music as Sublime with Rome. But the story of the Long Beach band — who somehow managed to fuse rock, ska, reggae, punk, and hip-hop tropes in a way that was 100% not corny — has never been told on the big screen. This won’t be the case any longer as a new Sublime biopic is officially in the works with blockbuster director Francis Lawrence on board for the film.

Lawrence is an interesting choice, considering he’s made his name on big-budget films like I Am Legend and The Hunger Games series. But he’s also been a noted music video director who has worked with the likes of Britney Spears, Green Day, Janet Jackson, and Alanis Morisette. Meanwhile, Ozark’s executive producer and showrunner Chris Mundy is writing the yet-to-be-named Sublime movie.

“Wow—we can’t believe this is finally happening and we couldn’t be more honored and excited to have the great Francis Lawrence and Chris Mundy telling our story,” Bud Gaugh, Eric Wilson, and The Nowells said in a statement reported by Pitchfork. Adding that, “We know Bradley’s talent and spirit will be part of this incredible journey.”

Sublime’s longtime manager Dave Kaplan added, “We’re thrilled Sublime’s insanely cool and important story will finally be told. They were fearless and pioneering in bringing together so many musical genres, cultures, and lifestyles during their short time as a band, and their music is still influencing musicians and artists to this day.”

No word yet on production schedules, etc., but this will be one to keep tabs on for sure.

So far, the musical highlight of September, and probably the year, was the Taylor Hawkins tribute concert in London, as it had both tons of emotion and a star-studded lineup. Heck, Mark Ronson reckons it was “probably one of the greatest rock and roll shows ever assembled.” It certainly brought increased attention to Foo Fighters, who had been understandably absent for most of 2022 following Hawkins’ death in March. Now, that’s reflected on the latest batch of Billboard charts, on which the band has a strong presence.

Foo Fighters dominate the Hot Hard Rock Songs chart dated September 17, as “Everlong” is No. 1 while “My Hero” ranks at No. 3. “Everlong” is also No. 9 on Hot Alternative Songs, No. 11 on Hot Rock Songs, and No. 13 on Hot Rock & Alternative Songs. On those same charts, “My Hero” is at Nos. 14, 18, and 21, respectively.

During the tracking week ending September 8, “Everlong” racked up 4.3 million US streams (up 15 percent from the previous week) and sold 1,000 downloads (up 297 percent). Over the same period, “My Hero” got 2 million streams (up 53 percent) and 3,000 downloads (up 1,597 percent).

This is the third non-consecutive week at No. 1 on Hot Hard Rock Songs for “Everlong,” as it previously topped the chart on April 9 and 16, shortly after Hawkins’ passing.

Congresswoman Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez snatched up her Republican colleague, Clay Higgins, for being “disrespectful” to a female witness during a House Oversight Committee. The witness, environmental lawyer Raya Salter, was pleading with Higgins to recognize that toxic petrochemicals are “killing Black people throughout Louisiana” and to “search your heart” to remedy the situation. Instead, Higgins berated Salter with a condescending lecture that would later put him in AOC‘s crosshairs.

“Everything you have, your clothes, your glasses, the car. You got her on your phone, the table you sit in the chair, the carpet under your feet. Everything you’ve got is petrochemical products. What would you do with that? Tell the world,” Higgins said to Salter who was taken aback by the statement. After later declaring that “the Lord gave us dominion over the planet and the creatures thereof,” Higgins ended the exchange by insulting Salter outright.

“You know what you got, young lady? You got a lot of noise, but you got no answers,” the Louisiana congressman said via Mediaite.

When it was AOC’s time to question Salter, she immediately got to work condemning Higgins’ remarks. “Men who treat women like that in public, I fear how they treat them in private,” AOC said. “We can be better than this.” The New York congressman then apologized to Salter for being subject to the worst “disrespect” that she’s ever seen on the HOC committee.

(Via Mediaite)

Now that the crew at 30 rock has said goodbye to Pete Davidson as he heads off to make a movie about GameStop, some new players have been added to the mix.

At the end of last season, fans said goodbye to long-time castmembers like Davidson, Kate McKinnon, Aidy Bryant, and Kyle Mooney which left the burning question: who is going to be…the funny one? Just kidding! Obviously, because Bowen Yang and NBC King Keenan Thompson are both still around.

Then, earlier this month, it was announced that three more stars, Alex Moffat, Melissa Villaseñor, and Aristotle Athari, would also be saying goodbye to Mr. Lorne Michaels. So, with eight spots to fill, who is up next?

This season, there are four new additions that will make their debut on October 1st. Up first is Marcello Hernandez, a Miami-based writer and actor who was selected for the Just For Laughs showcase earlier this year. Joining Hernandez is Cleavland native Molly Kearney, who uses they/them pronouns, from Amazon’s A League Of The Own and Disney’s The Mighty Ducks.

Micahel Longfellow is also joining the cast after being selected as one of TBS’s “Comics to Watch” at the 2017 New York Comedy Festival. Finally, hailing from Austin, Texas comes Devon Walker, who has written for Big Mouth and Everything’s Trash in the past.

RIP Chad. You will be missed. By someone, probably.