"Fine" Dining

Author: Michael Ornelas

Comedian Michael Ornelas dives deep into the stories behind your favorite chain restaurants like Cracker Barrel, McDonald's, and Dunkin' before determining if they are better or worse than Chili's: the most mediocre restaurant in America.
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Language: en

Genres: Arts, Comedy, Food

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Papa Murphy's Pizza: A Spiteful Dough Recipe, Food Stamps, and DIY
Episode 3
Wednesday, 4 February, 2026

🍕🔥🏠 Papa Murphy's Pizza: Take 'N' Bake, No Ovens, No Mercy 🏠🔥🍕 This week, comedian Peter Murphy (@peter_murphy) joins me to break down the strange, fascinating history of Papa Murphy's, the pizza chain that refuses to cook your food for you. We dig into how take 'n' bake became the brand's entire identity, why you literally cannot buy a hot pizza there, and how that decision shaped everything from employee working conditions to who can even buy the product. We also check in with the internet, because of course someone on Yelp is furious about flip-flops. 🍕 The Origins of Take 'N' Bake and the Merger That Created Papa Murphy's 🔥 Inventing a Dough That Works in a 425-Degree Home Oven 📈 Explosive Growth Into One of America's Biggest Pizza Chains 🧊 No Ovens, No Cooking Licenses, and a Safer, Cooler Workplace 🧾 Why Papa Murphy's Pizzas Count as Groceries (and What That Means) 🍕 Stuffed Pizzas, "Larger Than Large" Pies, and Other Menu Swings 🎃 Heart-Shaped and Jack-O'-Lantern Pizzas as Annual Traditions 📉 The Mid-2010s Slump and the Challenge of Staying Relevant 📱 Apps, Online Ordering, and the Modern Take 'N' Bake Pivot 🧇 The "Hub of Hacks" Includes Waffle Irons, Football Pepperonis, and Dough Experiments ⭐ Yelp From Strangers Includes a Reviewer Outraged by an Employee Wearing Flip-Flops 💬 COMMENT BELOW: Does take 'n' bake pizza feel convenient or like homework? 📢 SUPPORT THE SHOW & JOIN THE COMMUNITY: 🎉 Patreon (Bonus episodes, extended Yelp segments & more): patreon.com/finediningpodcast 💬 Discord (Food talk, memes, cursed Yelp): discord.gg/6a2YqrtWV4 🎥 Watch full episodes: youtube.com/channel/UCLbraNhL6KhDPkdSWt2yiuw 🔗 All links: linktree.com/finediningpodcast 🎤 Guest: Peter Murphy | IG: @peter_murphy WATCH PETER'S SPECIAL "OUT OF NOWHERE" HERE Patreon Producers: Sue Ornelas & Joyce Van Patreon Subscribers: David Ornelas, Kellie Baldwin, Jeremy Horwitz, Herbert Amaya, Simone Davalos, Scott Bennett, Amy Reinhart, Josef Castaneda-Liles, & Travis Langley Free Patreon Followers: Joe Warszalek, Lauren Cummings, Grace Krainak, Keri Estes, Robert Duran, Patrick Elliott, Michelle Elmer, Dave Plummer, Nicholas Volney, Michael Gerard, Tracy Molino, Phuong Duong, Tyler Robinson, Brandon Gully, Mason Cruz, Michael Milito, Mez, Aaron Hubbard, Steff, Robert McLaughlin, Jewell Hermann, Renae Michael 👉 NEXT WEEK: We actually review Papa Murphy's and put take 'n' bake pizza through the Chili's Test to see how it stacks up against the ultimate casual-dining benchmark.