Joe Kinsey
Videos by OutKick
The War On Real Eggs was on display this weekend in Chicago
I’m back from a research mission to Chicago with Mrs. Screencaps to attend the annual National Restaurant Show where companies show off the latest and greatest in food, cutlery, drinks, tech, innovation and solutions to do better business.
Mrs. Screencaps is responsible for designing one of the bigger booths on the floor at McCormick Place, so we head out each year to see her creation come to life.
I tag along because the NRA show is, in my mind, because I love food samples and this place is Costco’s Sample Saturday on the best PEDs ARod ever injected into his ass, or wherever he rammed them into his bloodstream.
Let me make it 110% clear — this might’ve been the most samples I’ve ever seen offered at the NRA show and I’ve been to like 5-6 of these shows. Dare I say it was overwhelming? At one point after the ice cream from Wisconsin, I had to take a break. The samples were piling up and the banana cream ice cream with little chunks of wafers hit me hard.
Yes, I eventually rebounded to hammer a sample slice of pizza, NY Strip chunks and an Icee, but my production level definitely slowed.
My biggest takeaways from the 2023 show:
- Did we really need eggless eggs? Plant-based eggs? Eggs made from processed mung bean? I tried the fake eggs and the only flavor I was getting was from the chunks of red pepper mixed in with the ‘eggs.’ Would I consider buying fake eggs to replace normal eggs I consume? Absolutely not. I’m good. Give me real eggs from a real hen.
- Where were the gelato wholesalers? That’s now two years in a row the Italian gelato brands were nowhere to be found in the two main halls of the show.
- The Chinese Invasion is HERE. I lost count of the Chinese vendors pushing their bamboo cutlery, their food processors, their to-go food boxes, their plates, cups, etc. I’m sure they’re not undercutting American companies. I’m sure all of this is great for American businesses.
- 2022 was all about robots, to-go food lockers, and companies pushing fake, plant-based meat options. All three were cut way back this year. To-go food lockers appear to be dead and there were maybe 2-3 legitimate fry-flipping robots doing their thing.
- Fake shrimp? I didn’t even try the plant-based shrimp. Won’t stand for it. Won’t buy it. The world doesn’t need it. Get this garbage off the market.
- I might need a Slurpee/Icee machine for the basement. The two longest sample lines were for Slurpees and small Nathan’s hot dogs. Seriously, you could grab a pack of hot dogs and warm them up on your Blackstone faster than these people could get to the front of the line to get a two-inch Nathan’s sample. Meanwhile, the line for the prime rib sample was maybe 6-7 people long. Some people have their priorities all out of whack.
- There was one display where a company was promoting the future of the drive-thru experience with a Tesla and a dash display. I didn’t get a good look at the full promotion of what they were up to, but I have to believe we aren’t far off from a touch screen activating when you pull into line that brings up the menu and you just order away. And because it’s 2023, I have to believe payment is made to the fast-food company via this company’s technology of which they take a percentage.
- I had my very first stroopwafel Sunday and it won’t be my last. Are you kidding me? That wafer thing was pure heaven. “That stroopwafel thing was pretty darn good,” Mrs. Screencaps said this morning.
- Whereas in the past it seemed like the push at the NRA show was for robots to eliminate workers at fast-food joints to save costs, the vibe this year is that robots might have no choice but to get off their asses and get to work because of the worker shortage in this country and around the world. Now I’m convinced that robots shouldn’t be feared…as long as we don’t give them weapons.
The Trump Hotel Chicago is legit
I’m not a world traveler like you guys, but I like to think I know a good hotel when I stay in one. The Trump Chicago lived up to the billing. The place didn’t miss on a single thing. It was first-class from the minute we pulled up to the valet. There were no big-timing attitudes, just helpful guys doing their thing.
No, there weren’t murals of Trump everywhere. No, there weren’t campaign signs for Trump 2024.
Yes, we tried the complimentary bottles of Trump Water® and it tasted like your normal H2O.
Yes, I was mesmerized by the TV in the bathroom mirror. Now that’s the touch I expect out of a 5-star hotel. I didn’t even know I needed a bathroom mirror TV until I lived through the experience. I have to say, it’s much easier to get ready for dinner when you can keep track of the PGA Championship in the bathroom.
Thanks, Trump.
IG images not loading on iOS — again
I’m going to let Matt speak for the dozens of people who’ve written in over the last 6-7 days.
• Matt writes:
Hi joe— I’ve tried the last fix that you published a few months ago about deleting the website data in settings and that had been working for me until about 10 days ago.
Now the problem is back and that fix isn’t helping.
Any help you can offer would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you for all you do for us regular guys.
Kinsey:
I can’t remember the reader who solved the issue the last time, but I’m once again asking for the public’s help on this one. One of you must have a solution to make the IGs work again. I’ll tell you what, I’ll send (ONE) item from the OutKick store to whoever solves the issue.
That’s right, on me.
Someone make the IGs Great Again because people are beating me up over this one — again.
That’s it for this morning.
It’s the final week of school around here and I know many of you are busting ass to get everything tied up at work so you can bolt Thursday and not return until after the holiday. Let’s buckle down and get after it for four solid days. Deal?
Email: joekinsey@gmail.com
Clearly, in the case of Elizabeth Hurley, we are all NOT created equally when it comes to gene pools. I know she’s got to spend time in the gym and if she does have plastic surgery, it’s damned good work!!!