Friday Mailbag - 11/6/20
New "20 in 20" episode, Tostitos salsa con queso, and more!
Hello! Welcome to the second installment of the Friday Mailbag. I hope you had a chilled-out, stress-free week. Nothing much happened, so let’s get into it.
20 in 20 EPISODE FOUR is LIVE!
If you’re looking for a nuanced analysis of the election, avoid this week’s 20 in 20 at all costs. If you want to hear me talk about selvedge denim and New Found Glory and–why not–our dumb election, please consider listening to my episode 4. Topics include:
Find that on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Buzzsprout.
AND NOW TO THE MAILBAG…
Loyal N.E.H. reader, Leah, asks:
What makes Tostitos queso so good?
Terrific question. Leah knows that I bring a jar of Tostitos queso to every party I attend. It’s the polite thing to do. Lots of companies make queso dip, so what is it about Tostitos-brand queso that appeals to me?
First of all, Tostitos doesn’t make any claims about using real cheese in their queso. Theirs is a nuclear, melted rubber, sitting-in-a-vat-for-7-hours nacho cheese, and it rules. There’s a time and a place for melting shredded cheddar in a saucepan. That time is literally any weeknight, and that place is your own dang kitchen.
Tostitos queso comes in a glass jar. Glass is a classy and elegant vessel for such low-down goop. An analogous product, I believe, is the Claussen pickle. The extent to which these two products gets elevated by their packaging cannot be measured or understated.
I will occasionally test other brands of queso, but I always come back to my beloved Tostitos.
Loyal N.E.H. reader, Andrew, asks:
What are your thoughts on the sport of polo?
I don’t think I’ve watched even one minute of polo, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like it. The truth is, I don’t know anything about the sport. I don’t know how it’s played, I don’t know the rules, and I don’t even know if Chicago has a polo field anymore.
(Note: It doesn’t, but Oakbrook does. Of course Oakbrook does.)
For most people, polo is more of an idea than a sport. It’s a gin and tonic on a Sunday afternoon. It’s a casual, collared shirt. It’s a way for rich people to while away their hours.
Would I jump at the chance to learn how to play polo? No. Would it be fun to embarrass some Tesla-driving, Submariner-wearing, cocaine-sniffing wealth manager? You bet. Maybe I’ll join a…team. Are there polo teams? Should I become a polo player, and if so, can I wear RRL instead of mainline Ralph?
Got a question? Feel free to comment on this post or e-mail me at newexperimentalhours@gmail.com. Thanks!
Have a great weekend, everybody! Maybe the next time we meet, there will be a new president elect. Who knows.