Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard - Flightless Bird: Diners

Episode Date: August 2, 2022

This week on Flightless Bird, David sets out to understand what makes the American diner experience so special, by traveling to Reno, Nevada. There he meets the staff of Peg's Glorified Ham N Eggs and meets the regulars who've made the diner their home away from home - including Rainbow Man, a man obsessed with painting human bodies at Burning Man. What makes a diner a diner? How have they changed over the years? David and Monica discuss their various diner experiences, from fights to excessive milkshake consumption. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I'm David Farrier, a New Zealander who ended up accidentally marooned in America, and I want to grasp what makes this country tick. Now New Zealand has a lot of stuff that America has. We have your cars, your TV shows, your movies. We have your cheeseburgers and restaurants, Taylor Swift's and Beyonce's. But one thing New Zealand is missing? Diners. What is the soup du jour?

It's the soup of the day. missing, diners. I think I first clocked diners were a thing when I watched Dumb and Dumber back in the 90s. And of course, they're scattered all throughout American pop culture. The first diner came along about 150 years ago, and it was attached to a horse so they could pull it around the town. Things have changed a lot since then. Diners are a way of life, a place to gather and talk and eat. They feel like a safe space in a world that feels increasingly unsafe. And to think diners were once banned in Buffalo, New York, and Atlantic City because they were considered too rowdy. There are tens of thousands of diners all across the US. New Jersey has the most, with 600, making it the diner capital of the world.

Guy Ferreri's made a career out of documenting diners, 35 seasons and 419 episodes worth. From what I can tell, diners are the fabric that keeps the United States united. So I want to find out how American diners became so entrenched in American life. So slide into a booth and decide how you want those eggs. Because this is the Diner Episode. Flightless. Flightless. Flightless bird touchdown in America. I'm a flightless bird touchdown in America. I'm a flightless bird Touchdown in America

What do you think of diners, Monica? Because you're very used to them. I still find them incredibly novel. I love diners. I have go-tos. The hash browns, smothered, covered, scattered. Yeah. You can only get that at a diner.

I've never seen it at a regular restaurant. In New Zealand, we have Denny's, which is a diner, but is it? That's on the cusp for me. It's the cusp, right? There's levels. There's going to be your hometown diner. We had one called Rexall. Still have it in my hometown. We'll go sometimes when my friend Callie, who lives here, when we're home, we'll go for nostalgia. It's dirty in there. I don't know if I'm allowed to say. No, I think that's part of it, though.

Diners can be a bit run down. They can. That almost adds to its charm, I think. You don't want one that's too crisp. Yes, I agree. I have such fond memories. We would go before our state championship. We went there. We went to Rexall. We like carved up and then ate all that grease and then went and performed great. And from watching American TV, like if I watch Stranger Things or something, I'd assume every child, they go to meet their friends at a diner and they get a big shake and they annoy the waitress and waitresses.

Okay, because you're thinking like Saved by the Bell, you're thinking Peach Pit. That's what I think your childhood was like. I don't like disappointing you, David, but that's like. That's just untrue for a lot of people. And our youth central perk. But that's not a diner. That's a coffee house. But it's a similar vibe because you've got the counter in the Central Perk. So there's that crossover between bars and, I guess, British pubs and diners.

That's kind of like a crossover. Yeah, where there's a fun character behind the counter. Yeah, always a fun character. And the other thing that I love about diners here is the endless coffee. Because your coffee in America is so different to New Zealandaland in new zealand we love a milky coffee so we'll get like a big bowl like latte disgusting no i like children yeah we'll just like fill up on dairy whereas here the idea of having these endless just black coffees is brilliant but But it's endless. And I was really skeptical. I thought I was having to pay for every new coffee that was coming.

But no, it's free. That's incredible. Wait, I'm so excited. So you went to a few. We'll get to, I assume. I've been to a few. Yeah, my local is Fred's and I love Fred's. I love that I can go there at any time of the day.

And the other thing is having a counter. You can go there, and this is very different to New Zealand. If you go to eat at a cafe, which is our equivalent to a diner, you can't really go alone. People see you. It's like going to the movies alone. People are like, oh, you're a loser. Whereas at a diner, because of that counter,

you can go there and it's normal. Yeah, that's true. Is it? Or am I still a loser? No, no, no. You're not a loser. it's okay to eat by yourself okay i eat by myself a lot you're great and i think the counter allows you to do it yeah um yeah then we get into some tricky territory though if you're sitting at the counter are you inviting people to talk to you oh yeah that's a good point because also diners are so social that's what people kind of do

And I like to be silent Oh my god, Dax just said it's the loser parking I already hate it I don't know what that means but I hate it Just a row full of losers No, no I am breaking this stereotype People aren't losers who eat by themselves

They're confident A lot of people who are with other people are very unhappy. Thank you. You can be happy on your own. Yeah. Yeah, thank you. I appreciate that. Next time you go, just call me.

I'll come. Thank you, Monica. I went out and canvassed what other Americans think of diners and generally pretty warm. We don't really have diners in New Zealand. America seems to love them. What is it about the diner that is so loved by America? That's interesting because as an American, I don't know that I would say we are so in love with them,

but there is something really classic about it. It's nostalgic. It takes you back to a simpler time, simpler food. You just always know what you're going to get at any diner. It's consistent. Actually, we just went to a diner this morning for breakfast. They did eggs, hash browns, and bacon. How was it?

It was great. Diners are very classic. Diners? I don't know. It's a good place to go sit down and eat. Good shakes. Yeah, normally they do have good shakes and good cheeseburgers and good fries. It's our attempt to become pubs.

Yeah. But with no alcohol. What can we do. It's our attempt to become pubs. Yeah. But with no alcohol. What can we do? It's still nostalgic. You know, when I go to one, I think of things back in the 60s. I don't think I've gone to a current diner other than Peggy Sue's, that throwback. It was fun.

We enjoyed it. What did you have? Food was terrible. But the ambiance was awesome. It was great. I had a Patty page patty melt. That's delicious. Maybe it was my choice.

It was liver and onions. I think that was good. I had high hopes. Anyway. Liver and onions, I think, was the mistake at any diner. We have a friend who went on a date to a Denny's, actually. Oh, I love this person already. And it was Jess.

And he went at like 1130 at night with this person. It's a late meetup. And then the person ordered salmon. And he was like, Jess was like, no, you can't. You shouldn't order that. But then he didn't want to tell the person what to order. But he was like, that's not really the smart thing. But also don't do that ever.

And then the food was burning. It was like so hot and burning his mouth. And he was screaming. Anyway, he gets himself into lots of pickles. But you have to know what to order at a diner for sure. There's some rogue eyes. Yeah, like you go to a safe space. You go for like eggs and things, omelets maybe, and hash browns. Hash browns, always. Not the liver.

That's the other good thing about diners that I really like. Because in New Zealand, everything kind of shuts, it feels like by 10pm. You're kind of done. You have to go home. Here, diners are open all the time. And I love that if I'm awake at two in the morning, I can probably find a diner. If I'm awake at 6am and I want a coffee, I can find a diner. I never put two and two together that there's no alcohol served at diners. Occasionally, but it's pretty rare. I really like that because it feels like a safe space from drunk hooligans. Exactly. And it seems counterintuitive because it's open 24-7. You think they would have alcohols to attract more people. No, that's what I found out in the early days of diners.

There was this huge worry and they banned them in certain states because they were open all hours. They would just attract the craziest people, people that were wandering around at two in the morning. And so maybe that's part of it. Like no alcohol. It just keeps it family-centric and safe. I don't know. That's just my theory on it all. It is kind of family-centric. It is anti-singles. Oh, no.

We're losers again. We're losers again. I just love them so much. Okay, so both of us clearly need to go on more dates. Are diners a good date location as opposed to a fancy restaurant or something? God, I've never considered it but i think okay what does it say about you haven't you gone on some dates yeah i've been on some dates to diners and i love it if i meet someone and they look down at going to a diner

they're not for me oh i like that yeah has anyone done it has anyone been like no so far everyone loves a diner. Yeah, it's pretty ubiquitous. But also, I feel like if you're dating in America and you're a Kiwi, you can get away with so much. Because they're just like, oh, he's from that weird little island. He doesn't understand things. And especially you, because you look cute and you're wearing fun socks, cute Japanese bag. Oh, thank you. You're a lot of mixed messages.

That's just what you want when you're dating. Mixed messages. I think it depends on what diner you're taking them to. Because if you're going to Fred's 62 or House of Pies for a date. Yeah, it's true. You think those are majorly different? Yeah. Yeah, it's a different, but like Fred's, I mean, it's sort of a hipster diner, isn't it? It has some cachet.

Yeah. That's true. And what's the other one you mentioned, Rob? House of Pies across the street from it. What is that vibe? It's like an old school yeah old school but it is a one-off i think it counts as a diner if it's a one-off it's not a chain denny's it's hard to call a diner because it's a chain waffle house i have a hard time not calling it a diner it's's so dinery. And I was just at one when I was home last, which was a couple months ago. I got a craving for that mug.

Oh, you love a mug. I love a mug. And I wanted a Waffle House mug specifically. So I was like, oh, I should go. And then I walked in and it felt so warm and happy there. And I, of course, was by myself at the bar. Loser. But I was a loser.

No one talked to me, though, which I appreciated. I ordered hash browns, all that stuff. I was like, for a second, I was looking around. I was like, this is not sanitary. Didn't feel clean. Didn't feel clean. It didn't stop me. So, like, on the dates, would you judge them if they were like, ew, it's not clean?

No. These are all the good questions to be talking about. On dates, gauging cleanliness and all this kind of thing. I think they're good discussions to have. Okay. If we were sitting in filth and they were loving it. Yeah, you wouldn't like that, right? I wouldn't like them.

Okay. It seems like you have like a small threshold. I once took someone to McDonald's on a date. Oh, that's cute. And I love that they's on a date. Oh, that's cute. And I love that they were up for that. Yeah, that's cute. I wanted to dig deeper into diners in general. So as usual, I went off and made a little documentary.

And this is my little audio doc. I'd found myself in Reno, Nevada. Motto, the biggest little city in the world. To me, it seemed like a smaller Las Vegas. Walking through various casinos, it seemed like a similar fever dream, just a slightly smaller one. There were still the oversized cocktails, the constant sound of gambling, and plenty of mobility scooters and oxygen tanks temporarily thrown aside for the thrill of a slot machine. All the carpet smelt of smoke. So I wandered outside up the street in search of fresh air and food.

And then I saw it. A thing of beauty in the distance. In the wastelands of Reno. Pegs glorified ham and eggs. I walked inside and I slid into a booth. What's your favourite dish here? Huevos rancheros and French toast. I went against the waitress's good advice and caved to that childish thing I always get at a diner and always

regret. A great big pile of pancakes. Is it always this busy? It's always that busy especially on weekends. We have lots of tourists so they're coming from all over the country here. I guess that's me. A tourist, a stranded tourist, and one that's come to love the American diner. Now the diner wouldn't exist without Walter Scott. 150 years ago, Walter started selling food out of a wagon that he'd drag around Rhode Island with a horse. That wagon had windows on both sides you could walk up to and order sandwiches, eggs and coffee at all hours of the morning or night. His wagon got so popular, he quit his job to run it full time.

Fifteen years after that, a man called T.H. Buckley came along, deciding to start making wagon diners en masse. His were a bit fancier, and in 1893 he patented the diner, which he called the Night Lunch Wagon. The diners got so popular, a New Jersey man called Jerry Mahoney suggested a bold move. Why not drop the wheels on the horse and just have a diner that didn't move? So in 1913, Jerry created the first stationary diner. It cost $800 to make, and it was a revelation. He started shipping diners all across America. By 1950, he owned 6,000 diners across the United States. Diners are such an American thing. Every city has a diner.

What makes diners so special? I mean, the food is amazing. Our cooks put lots of heart into it, and I feel like all the cultures, they appreciate the food. Like, for example, I am Polish, so European people enjoy their meals and having conversation right next to it. So I think that the diners get so popular too because everybody loves breakfast. Nobody wants to make this breakfast. So it's really nice to come out and have a chat with friends. My pancakes had arrived and they were glorious.

The booth I was sitting in was roomy, and there was a nice little floral decoration next to the salt and pepper. I didn't know it when I'd walked in, but I'd stumbled into Reno's Best Diner. Esquire covered Peg's a few years back. I've been to 46 of 50 states, wrote the journalist. I can declare that the best breakfast in America is the one you buy at Peg's Glorified Ham and Eggs. You should get on a plane and go to Reno just to eat there, he finished. I was lucky today because Peg's owner, Jodie Cayley, was working. She tells me that Peg's was started by her parents, so Jodie had started working at another Peg's location

back when she was just 11. She's 56 now, so that makes it 45 years. How do you find good staff at this place? Everyone's so nice. You give birth to them. Teasing. I've got a son that's cooking, and that's my niece right there. Jodie has three kids, and they all work at Peg's, along with other staff like Lina,

the waitress who delivered my hot coffee and pancakes. Lina, L Lena, wave. How long have you been with us, Lena? Six and a half years. Jodie goes around the whole place, yelling at people and making them wave at me. Martin's been here for 23 years. Martin, he's at the end. Martin, wave. Martin. I regretted asking to meet all the staff.

Martin. Diners look on, amused. I feel deeply embarrassed. Martin! Wait. He's busy. New Zealanders hate being the centre of attention. Taylor, Martin, Frank. I've got Smokey in the back, Carlos and Marto.

And Marto's been with me, I think, 16 years. It's like a family. It's like a family, exactly, yeah. How long has this diner been running for? 97. Yeah, it got old here. Do you ever expect when you started this place that you would be here still doing this? I actually did

not start it. My folks did. You took over? And this is them. She gestures to a photo of her parents, Fred and Joanna. They're both beaming. Her nickname was Peg. That's cute, huh? It truly was an American dream for them. They married when it was illegal for them to get married

because it was interracial. We were from Oregon originally, so they had to come to Nevada to get married. And then starting this business, they actually moved here to retire and they got bored. Isn't that fucking mad that in your parents' lifetime it was illegal for them to get married in some states? That's not that long ago.

It was Chinese and Irish. They were a good couple. When they passed on, we were just in the process of expanding to our number four location. So they never got to see it, and it's all ran by my siblings and I, and all their husbands, wives. So it keeps all of us busy. We have nine locations, three in Las Vegas, six local. My middle son works here.

He wants to take over the business. I'm not sure if that laugh bodes well for a son or not. Stay tuned for more Flightless Bird. We'll be right back after a word from our sponsors. Flightless Bird is brought to you by Helix Sleep. Now one of the worst things about accidentally getting stranded here in America was that my bed was back in New Zealand. So after a series of terrible sleeps on couches, I finally found my solution in Helix Sleep. And honestly, it's been a game changer. Helix Sleep has a quiz that takes just two minutes to complete and

matches your body type and sleep preferences to the perfect mattress for you. They've got soft, medium and firm mattresses and ones that cool you down if you sleep hot and mattresses that are great for the alignment of your spine. There's also a Helix Plus mattress for plus size sleepers. I took the Helix quiz and got a mattress that suited my weird side sleeping ways and it was the firmness I needed too. So take the quiz, you order the mattress that you'll match to, and the mattress comes right to your door shipped for free. So just go to helixsleep.com slash bird, take their two minute sleep quiz, and they'll match you to a customized mattress that will give you the best sleep of your life.

Helix is offering up to $200 off all mattress orders and two free pillows for flightless bird listeners at helixsleep.com slash bird. That's helixsleep.com slash B-I-R-D. Go get those two free pillows. I should also mention that Jody's partner Tim works here too. They met three years ago, and he's been working at Peg's ever since. We have such a tight crew. I was in the Marine Corps, and the thing that I loved most about the Marine Corps was everybody in my unit, we could be on patrol.

We didn't have to say anything to each other. We knew what each other were thinking, and we could just get it done. And this is such a tight team that it's the same way. When it's packed here, I mean, people are just elbow to elbow and nobody's ever complained about it being too packed. It was packed when I got in about an hour ago at midday. It's starting to get a little quieter now it's one, but plenty of booths are still packed

and people are scattered along the counter. People come in as regulars, right? This guy comes in a certain time every week. He's here every weekend, usually both Saturday and Sunday. And then the other guy that was sitting next to him comes in almost every week too. We got a lot of regulars. I think it's like a national historical pastime for Americans. They associate it with the 50s and it just keeps rolling on. Diners do keep rolling on, changing along the way, reflecting the changes seen in America over the decades. During World War I, diners catered more for women.

There were more flower pots and so on. In the 1930s, their design became more clean and streamlined, with lots of curves and chrome. Diners survived the Depression because they didn't cost much to run, and they soared after World War II as soldiers flooded back to the US, hungry for stability and warm American food. Then their design shifted again. Lots of tiles and leather booths,

big windows and lots of photos and trinkets on the wall. Everything I see me around here today are pegs. I feel like there's certain things a diner has to have. You have to have booths, you've got to have a counter, the kitchen's got to be like visible, right? You've got to see into the kitchen. Are those the three things? I can't think of anything else. Our menu has been developed just through supply and demand. People, they say, oh, you had that on the special board, and if they ask for it enough, we put it on the menu. So that's how our menu's been driven. To get to the numbers, like I feel like diner food is relatively cheap to source all the bits right

like your eggs and breads and it's not expensive like a steakhouse also i think you know when the economy is not doing well people will afford themselves to have breakfast but they won't go pay for the steak dinner and the expensive wine but breakfast is a staple and everyone kind of can justify it do you have like a favorite memory or a day or something that's happened here that like stands out in your mind? I do it was when we had a casino here it was a show club Marilyn Monroe even played there and so did Sammy Davis Jr. it was the Mapes Hotel and that day they imploded it. You can watch this footage on YouTube. The Mapes is an impressive brown brick building, about 12 stories high. And like any building demolition, watching

it implode is strangely satisfying. Before that explosion back in 2000, the Mapes was a seven minute walk from Pegs, on the other side of the Truckee River. It drew such a crowd, and they did it like seven in the morning. When I got here, I couldn't get in the front door. There were so many people trying to get in. And I walked in, and my folks were still with us, and my dad was working here. And he saw me come in, and he goes,

get to work, get to work, but just to look out his face. He was so happy for it to be so packed. That was pretty cool. Bye, guys. Thank work. But just to look at his face, he was so happy for it to be so packed. That was pretty cool. Bye, guys. Thank you. This whole time we've been talking, Jodie's been keeping an eye on the customers as they come and go. She smiles and waves. She loves this shit.

You know what? You surround yourself with what you like, and it makes your life good. Oh, my gosh. She's really cool, right? I love her. Oh my gosh. She's really cool, right? I love her.

When I wanted a crazy story, I was sort of expecting her to be like, there was this massive fight or something, or something crazy happened. Yeah, because when I was in high school, the Waffle House was the fight zone. That's where people would meet to fight. What? This is like an American movie. What? Friday night after the movies, there's going to be a fight then everyone comes and watches i'm a baby i was always like i hate this would they fight in the parking lot

inside no in the sometimes it would start inside but the main throwing down happened in the parking lot and one time a knife came out i was so scared scared. Oh, my goodness. I know. I was shook, yeah. This was at? Waffle House. Waffle House. Those poor employees. Every Friday, they know there's going to be some high school bullshit happening in their parking lot. Oh, awful.

And they just deal with it. Oh, it sounds intense. Anyway, back at my diner in Reno, Peggy's, I'd spent a bunch of time talking to staff, and I figured it was time to talk to some customers as well. There is a camaraderie to a diner. I think it's why they pop up in films and TV so much. They're places where characters can just sit down and talk. It's where character arcs play out, where plot points are revealed. From Tommy Wiseau in the room. How was work today? Oh, pretty good. We got a new client and the bank will make a lot of money. To that entire episode of Euphoria that was set in a diner.

All those episodes of Twin Peaks. Now I'd like two eggs over hard. Bacon, super crispy, almost burned, cremated. Without diners, we'd miss those key scenes from Training Day and When Harry Met Sally. I'd argue that without them, there might be no Heat, Back to the Future, or Blues Brothers. What they want to eat? The tall one wants white bread, toast, dry, with nothing on it. Elwood. And the other one wants four whole fried chickens and a Coke.

And Jake said to Blues Brothers. Diners are key to American life. They're the place politicians go to meet their constituents because the diner is the melting pot of American culture. Down from where I'm sitting, Laurie's just arrived. She's sitting at her own at the counter with a big pile of food in front of her. Oh, this is beautiful. I've got biscuits and gravy.

And these biscuits are, what, two inches thick and three inches in diameter. Big, beautiful, kind of a comfort food. They look creamy and delicious. They are fantastic. The gravy has just the right amount of sausage in it. Good, flavorful breakfast. I'm traveling across the country from South Dakota to Oregon. America is such a large country that there's such a diversity of people and culture and types of events and personalities and weather, and you can never see it all. This whole time I've been quizzing Laurie about diners,

she's had a fork in her hand with a bit of bacon hanging off the end. She's been sort of waving it about the whole time as she gestures. I decide it's time to release the bacon. I want you to have a bit of that bacon now, and I want you to tell me what it's like. Perfectly done. Lightly crispy. Good salty, smoky flavor. Very good choice for me this morning. I let Laurie eat. She'll be hitting the road again soon. I turn to a couple of guys on our right. They seem to be old friends, chatting away over breakfast. My son told me about this place, and it's excellent,

and the owner is excellent, and the crew is excellent, and the food is real good. Next to him is his friend Dano, who comes here all the time. Peg's is his home away from home. I come here so often, I know just about everybody here. It's almost like going to church almost or something. Go hang out with your friends and get breakfast, get a beautiful breakfast.

In Reno I feel like we're sort of like Reno's kind of like a, this might be offensive to say, it's like a mini Vegas isn't it? It's like a mini Las Vegas. If you come in here a lot like you must have seen some crazy shit going on at times like have you seen anything particularly crazy in here a lot like you must have seen some crazy shit going on at times Like have you seen anything particularly crazy in here? Well, you just bumped into the craziest guy that you've ever met I think So I'm a professional body painter, I don't even know what that involves Can you take me through like a typical?

Oh, you've got some photos here Dano has slid his phone out of his pocket and is now scrolling through hundreds of photos of mostly naked women. They're covered in body paint. My girlfriend. I'm looking at a naked woman who I now guess is Dano's girlfriend. This girl here gave me $100 to paint her. How did you get into body painting? I was at Burning Man and I wanted to get painted.

I finally found somebody that was painting people. And she goes, now when I'm done with you, and I wanted to get painted. I finally found somebody that was painting people, and she goes, now when I'm done with you, I want you to paint me. I'm like, I don't know how to paint. She goes, I'll walk you through it, no problem. So next thing, she takes her shirt off instead of a naked body or a work of art. I'm turning 70 this summer, and I'm the luckiest man in the world. I really am. My girlfriend's in her 40s.

It's the laugh of a man in his 70s who's dating a woman in her 40s, I guess. I get the feeling Dano loves three things in life. Diners, woman, and painting woman. They called me the rainbow man. When my girl and I were at Burning Man, I filled up eight ketchup bottles with different colours of paint. We got naked. We were completely rainbowed out. I'd get all choked up. It's like nothing you've ever seen before in your life. He wipes a tear from his eye.

It was absolutely incredible. I turned to talk to his friend, the guy he was sitting and chatting with before I interrupted them. Is this man sitting next to you, what's his name? Do we just, I don't, we just, yeah. I thought you were like best friends, that's what diners do. I, uh, well yeah, I started showing him pictures and then he was like, oh yeah. I mean, I'd assume they were old friends.

Diners have this amazing ability to bring people together. Because while everyone entering a diner has a vastly different story to tell, everyone is here for the same thing. A comfy seat, some warm, inexpensive food, and if you're lucky, maybe a good conversation with the likes of Jodie or Tim or Laurie or Emma. Or even, if you're really lucky, with the Rainbow Man. This episode makes me love america like feel really proud cool i do think they represent a simpler time everything's so crazy right now and we're living in 2022 we're living in the sim it's a real mess but the diner represents old school, cup of coffee, cheap food.

I don't know. It's nice. Yeah, like almost as well less choices. You know exactly what's going to be there. It's uncomplicated. It is. And life feels way too complicated at the moment. And it's like you walk in there and everything is so, so simple.

Yeah, it's nice. How were the pancakes? The pancakes were so good. As always, I felt like so excited at that first bite. I'll always be like, I'm not going to eat all of them. I'll stop halfway. Yeah, of course. But always finish them and always feel miserable for the rest of the day.

Just like I've got rocks in my stomach. Well, and you did proclaim to us that you feel like you're putting on some pounds. Yeah, I am. Maybe the pancake stacks. Yeah, no, it's bad here. There's a real problem with me being in America now because in New Zealand, I had this pool I'd always go swimming at. And I was eating, definitely eating better.

Here, I'm not doing any exercise. I mean, I'm trying to become American, so no exercise. And just eating pancakes and burgers and pizza. And yeah, I need to start reassessing the way I'm living my life. I think there's an episode in our future on American gyms. I mean, that's terrifying to me. Gym culture. Yeah, gym culture.

And you can't quit the gym. You know that from Friends. Oh, yeah, I do. You know what? I need to go to a gym because it's going to be a problem. I don't want to do that stereotypical thing. Because I've had friends from New Zealand come to America. And they come back and they just have lived the American lifestyle and it has treated them badly.

Anyway, so the pancakes were delicious, but I regretted them. It's the thing as well, in New Zealand, if I went to a cafe in New Zealand with a microphone and I was just walking around interrupting people saying, can I talk to you? They would look at me like I was a lunatic. Right. No one in that diner said no or what are you doing? They didn't even say what the podcast for. I just said it's for a podcast. No questions.

Just sit down and interrupt me. People with families, people on their own, they did not care about talking to some stranger. They're almost there to do that. There's almost an expectation. You go to a diner and see you don't really want to talk to other people. I think a lot of people go there and they do want social contact with people. They love it. Oh, it's a community.

That's lovely. I was in Reno, so I don't know if it's a different vibe there. I'm sure some diners in some states wouldn't be as open. But for the record, I loved Reno. I liked it. I'm going to champion Reno. I think it gets a bad rap. I had a great time there and I love pigs.

Do you think maybe you feel like kinship because Reno is like loser-y? Oh, now you can't join in with him. And just, Dax has been sat there like doing the loser sign on his forehead this whole time. Maybe it is. It's like my little town of losers. And I feel kinship and camaraderie. I can't believe you just, that's brutal. I had to turn.

Monica, that was, I'm stunned. I mean it for real. I mean, like. Oh, great. That was, I'm stunned. I mean it for real. I mean, like, no, I mean, like, maybe you can connect with the vibe of, like, people feel like they're on the outside and they're single and they're losers. The other thing that I like about diners is that they're relatively cheap. Very, I think. I guess we're in LA. Like, you go and eat here sometimes, very expensive.

Yeah. Diners, you're not breaking the bank, are you? No. And there is something else about restaurants here. I mean, I love it. I love the restaurant scene, as does Rob. But, like, you're going to these nice kind of hipster, cool restaurants and you have to like look cute and you have to show up. You got to put some effort in.

Exactly. And a diner, it's like your kitchen. It's just safe. You can go and sweat. You don't have to brush your hair. You look around the Denny's and yeah, it's just a mess. Yeah. It's great.

Salmon everywhere. Salmon stuck to the walls. Just awful. Yeah, you can be casual there. Like, you're not being judged, which I really like. I like that. I also love, and this was something from earlier in the episode, that you can get a really good shake. Because I love shakes.

Classic, yeah. And I do. Why is that funny? Just sitting there on my own with a big shake, sucking it back. Attractive. A whole stack of pancakes and a milkshake. And you're wondering what's happening. Why am I putting on weight?

Why am I getting bigger? It's so strange. What's your flavor? Always chocolate. Always chocolate. But I like that there's a reliable shake there. That's one problem I probably have is I get too many drinks. I have like a coffee going.

I have the shake. Sure. I've got Diet Coke sitting there as well. No water. All those liquids, no water. Yuck. Not crazy. How does IHOP tie into it?

That's not a diner. Is that a restaurant? My mom loves IHOP. It's the same as Denny's. It's restaurant adjacent. It's the same as Denny's. It's restaurant adjacent. It's a chain. Does it have booths at an IHOP? Yeah.

Okay, so it's a diner. You're right. Booths are a requirement, but is it mutually exclusive? In New Zealand, there's no booths to slide into. We're boothless. Oh, my God. Is it a law? It's a law.

No, we just haven't discovered them. We had Burger King for a while, and I think that had booths. That was a big day when Burger King opened. Oh. But I think it's shut down now. Oh. Anyway, we don't have booths. There's nothing more comforting than sliding into a booth, I think.

Something about it is just so good. It's cozy. So cozy. Yeah, it is. I love the round booth in the corner. Oh, yeah. To fit a bunch of people. I love that, too. So good. Oh, I want. I love the round booth in the corner. Oh, yeah. To fit a bunch of people. I love that too.

So good. Oh, I want to go sit in a booth now. We should go in a booth. Maybe we should go to Fred's. I would love to go to Fred's. A couple of losers. A couple of losers. Well, we can't sit together.

Oh, no. We'll sit in separate seats. Separate booths. But be in the same space. Let's do it. We can be two losers together. And we'll still be losers, but people looking at us will think we're less losers.

We got 10% less loser on this episode. 10% more American, 10% less loser. I love it.