Shadowing Practice: I Tried Every Viral Restaurant in America - Learn English Speaking with Video
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The food influencers might be lying to us all.
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In fact, some of them get paid just to say good things about a restaurant.
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These people are going viral, making claims that this is the best burger, taco, pizza.
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And their only validation, well, they got millions of views and likes.
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So how can we trust these places are actually good and worth waiting four hours in line just to eat?
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So we're eating at every most viral restaurant across America, from $70 pizzas to Wagyu Philly cheesesteak and even shawarma that makes lines like it's Disneyland.
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Are these people showing us the best food on earth or is this just fake content made for clicks?
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And it all starts in New York City, starting off with a $68 sausage pizza coming from the new pizza shop Ceres,
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which is run by Michelin starred chefs.
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But are there Michelin stars enough to charge this much for a pizza with induja sausage, burrata and aged balsamic?
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Given the price, we better hope this gets at least an A tier.
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Of course, I couldn't do this without bringing back pizza expert Scott Wiener.
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It's very creamy smelling.
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That's a banger.
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I love this because you get this undercurrent of heat the whole time.
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Super light, airy, crisp, quick bite.
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It's just easy to eat.
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It's salty, it's sweet, it's acidic, it's meaty, it's smoky, it's cheesy, it's creamy.
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So many things.
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My first thought is, is this better than Lindistry?
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I think they're in the same echelon of absolute perfection, like precision level, excellence.
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So if you're thinking, oh, I don't want to go to Cirrus because I'm worried about the line, just come.
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So the final rating is S tier.
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Next up the most viral pancakes in the world at Golden Diner New York City.
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I will say visually These look impressive and they smell amazing the lemon zest smell the butter.
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I love that.
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This is like a new universe I feel like I have never experienced this type of pancake before
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You know how they cook these they basically cook it only in one position
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and then they finish it in an oven and then they invert it So there's only one side gets browned.
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I don't know.
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I've waited an hour in line for this.
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Citrus zest is the best I came in expecting to sh on this place.
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This is an example of emphasizing every single one of those elements that make a great pancake to the absolute max.
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I'm shocked.
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Starting off with two S tiers seems unnatural.
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So we have a new taster coming into the fold, and it is my buddy Salt Tank.
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In fact, he has a restaurant of his own that's gone viral for a French dip.
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I'm just going to say right now, I don't want to boost your ego too much.
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You've had it boosted enough over the last couple of years.
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It's seasoned perfectly.
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The texture is f*ing beautiful.
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Soft and creamy on the inside.
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It's not one ounce of dryness in this sandwich.
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It's a beautiful sandwich, really.
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If you haven't been into Salt Hanks, you need to go.
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Salt Hank is a friend, obviously, so he is disqualified due to bias.
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The competition should consider themselves f*ing lucky.
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The Henry's not in this.
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Now, on to the next.
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We have Bradley Cooper.
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Yes, the famous actor who's opened a sandwich spot called Danny and Coops.
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And as you can imagine, there were lines around the block because he was there actually cooking.
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It's a collab with Philly's Angelo's Pizzeria, which is the cheesesteak that won our best sandwich in America.
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Can they sustain the quality here?
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It's creamy, it's juicy, it's lucy, it's goosey.
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Cheers.
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That's just a vehicle for white American cheese.
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It's so good.
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This is my favorite Philly cheesesteak I've ever had by a million light years.
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The bread is beautiful.
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You can taste the toasted sesame, which I love.
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I think it's the best Philly cheesesteak so far because there's another viral cheesesteak in this video, and it happens to be the Los Angeles competitor.
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We've got East Coast versus West Coast now, but we'll get to that later in the video.
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Some restaurants are lacking on the cheese, and they do not skimp whatsoever.
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Are you also noticing the pepperiness?
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There's a lot of black pepper in there.
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The onion comes through.
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The beef comes through.
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It's seasoned perfectly.
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This is better than most of the Philly cheesesteaks in Philly.
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Is it worth it, though?
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You've got an expensive sandwich.
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This is probably the most viral Philly cheesesteak known to mankind.
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Is it worth the hype?
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I'd say yes.
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I'd say yes, absolutely.
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About a thousand percent, yeah.
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Although I'd say it's worth it, the original Angelo's was better.
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And if the original Angelo's is an S tier, that puts Danny and Koops at a solid A tier.
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Now we move on to Halston, Texas.
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But what does Texas go viral for?
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Meat.
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Franklin BBQ is the OG of restaurant hype.
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Even before Instagram or TikTok, people were lining up at 4 in the morning just to try his brisket.
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And after all these years, is Franklin still the king?
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And joining me today is our long -time taster, Vikram, to give us the palate of the people.
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Don't even need a knife.
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Just use a plastic fork.
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That's how good it is.
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Wow.
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That's insane.
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What I'm really loving is, number one, how tender it is.
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The salt on the crust is addicting.
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Brisket is very easy to mess up because really it's just three things.
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Brisket, salt, and you have pepper.
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Everything else is technique and hours and hours of smoking
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and waiting on it and checking it and flipping it and all these things.
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It's perfectly executed.
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Seasoned to the limit with salt.
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The smoke levels are amazing.
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I've had barbecue all over Texas.
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This is always ranking consistently towards the top.
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It's an S.
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Moving on.
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Next up, All Day Pizza.
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They've gone viral for having pizzas supposedly as good as New York City, but in Texas?
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And their current hit is a giant dill pickle pizza.
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Oh boy.
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This is just insane.
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This is a monster.
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I f* with that.
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Yeah, I'm into that.
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Oh my god.
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I think what's really doing it is these breadcrumbs on top.
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Add such a good texture, and it works so well with the crust that's there.
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Crazy textural experience, because you've got the bottom of the crust on these pizzas is like traditional brick oven style, where it's crispy on the bottom, but it's also crispy on the top.
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And then you get the crunch of the pickle.
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This is like the most explosive pizza bite I can think of, and yet it's actually not overwhelming.
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Like, I feel good after eating that.
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Yeah.
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I think pizza purists will have something to say about this.
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I'm very much more on the line of like, is it good, and does it hit on the notes that's required of a great pizza?
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And I think yes and yes.
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Now, despite our high praise, if I were to compare this to the best pizzas I've had, I would have to say this is a strong A -tier.
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Not punching quite as high, but still very respectable, and we move on.
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We're at Phoenicia Bakery.
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This is a bakery.
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It is a grocery store.
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It is also a deli.
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It is also a place that serves chicken shawarma.
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It's viral because of my friend David Douglas.
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One of his biggest videos of all time was about the chicken shawarma.
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We're trying it cheers cheers i gotta say this is actually something
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that i order all the time on uber eats it's one of those like simple things where it's a gift
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that keeps on giving it's healthy chicken filled with fresh vegetables
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freshly made in -house hummus it's good it's like not like
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blow your mind knock your socks off it's just like a place where you can get a healthy meal
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and it tastes good among chicken shawarmas i've had it's not really anywhere near the top it's tasty
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and i think the sauce is really carrying it
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and it needs it
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because the chicken is pretty dry i don't think I'd line up out the door
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or make a drive into this specific spot to get this specific thing.
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This is like, I need a quick lunch that like I can eat and not hate.
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It's not necessarily like a knock your socks off.
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What do you think?
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C, B?
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I honestly am probably thinking C.
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I think this is like mid.
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Yeah, normally it's like a B or an A for me.
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This is definitely a C.
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I'll come to you to grocery shop.
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That I will do.
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Very good grocery store.
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Highly recommend.
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Moving on.
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Now we move on to a Michelin starred barbecue place, Interstellar, for their peach tea glazed pork belly.
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It's a lot.
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Sort of like a visual ridiculousness because you literally get this giant platter of basically a whole pork belly chopped up.
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I can't look at this and question if it's going to be good or not.
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It looks fantastic.
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I'm just going to go in.
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Whoa, that is bonkers.
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That's like eating candy.
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Vic, you don't look like you like it.
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Let's hear it.
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This is an interesting profile to me.
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I think what I'm used to with pork belly is like Asian pork belly.
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And this is just really sweet.
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It works for a barbecue.
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You get a good candied glaze.
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I don't know if I would line up
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and grab this I think this is a cool side to
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have curious to see what you think I love it what
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this reminds me of it's like a Texas version of red cooked pork This is expertly prepared
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but it's also gonna be a make or break for a lot of people because if you don't want like
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Explosive fatty salty literally smashing you in the face.
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You're not gonna like this
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So I think like it really depends on the person do
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I think it's worth waiting in line for him I don't
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know like I feel like this is in between a B and an A I think for you it's a B Yeah, I think it's still very, very good.
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Could either go B, it could either go A.
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It really depends on who you ask.
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I like it.
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That said, in the pantheon of great barbecue, this is a B tier for me personally.
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But now we move on to a true viral legend, the Giant Donut at Round Rock Donuts.
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They've been around for 100 years, so they must be legit, right?
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We pulled up and there's already a line.
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Gonna be a line to the bathroom after eating this.
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This already looks like I'm halfway there, just visually.
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It's just a giant donut.
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I mean, how good is it really?
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Is this really worth standing in line for 30 minutes to
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an hour just to like get a pre -diabetic coma for breakfast?
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I'm gonna go for the chocolate one first, even though it looks a bit like a poopy butthole.
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That's actually pretty fire here.
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You want to swap?
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Chocolate one is better.
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Chocolate one is better.
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Yep.
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The problem with the glazed one is there's so much dough, there's not enough glaze to dough ratio.
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Overall, great donut.
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Like, honestly, no notes, really.
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How much better is it than like any of the other good donut shops, like the local ones that just say donut on the sign, right?
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Like, how much better is this? comparatively not much i don't think i'd wait an hour for this
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if this line was down the road luckily this didn't take too long
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if you want round rock donuts like you're not going to
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get a bad donut it's not going to be anything different than any other good donut you've ever had
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if you've ever had one right like i'd be willing to
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give it a a tier maybe i think it's more b i'm like would i take my friends
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and family here
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and be like guys we gotta go line up not really
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yeah it's a b tier you don't have to go you'll be okay b tier next up another michelin
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and start barbecue spot, but we're not here for brisket.
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We're here for supposedly one of the best burgers in all of America.
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But is it really as good as people say?
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I mean, it's just a burger. That is unbelievable.
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Whoa.
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I don't think anything could have prepared me for what that tastes like.
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It's so juicy, but you still get the crunch of the bun a little bit.
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People have always told me, oh, but you gotta try the burger, you gotta try the burger.
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And that pisses me off when people do that.
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Cause I'm like, it's a burger.
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I'm sure it's great, I just don't need to.
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And I'm realizing that I was a buffoon.
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This isn't just a burger.
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The beef in this is actually fully cooked.
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It's just really high fat.
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And because it's been cured in salt, but more specifically smoked for so long, created a pink cure on the inside of the burger,
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which in turn gives you this smoky, almost pastrami -like flavor.
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It's unbelievable.
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It's so tender, it's so juicy and fatty and perfect, and I don't know, it has me questioning, is this the best burger in America?
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I truly don't think you can get a more flavorful burger.
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You'd be hard -pressed to find one.
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This is an easy for me S -tier.
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I wouldn't wind up for this one.
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No question.
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I'd tell all my family and extended family to come down as soon as they can.
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So, S -tier, we move on.
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As far as I know, there's not a single place in Texas that has traditional barbacoa.
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That was until I saw a Tacos El Grandpa going viral.
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This is a father
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and son duo making hyper -traditional barbacoa in giant pits using up to 8 to 10 lambs per pit.
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Seasoning them simply, wrapping them in mcgay leaves, cooking them for tens of hours.
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So it sounds like they're doing it the right way, but let's see if these lines are really worth it.
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Here we go, we have the taco assembled.
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I'm just gonna go bare bones.
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Nothing but consomme, a little bit of garbanzo bean, no salsa, straight up.
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Cheers.
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Cheers, Josh.
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Bro, that's pretty good.
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The garbanzo beans are insane.
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I mean, it's like ridiculously tender, extremely, extremely juicy.
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Should I go all in on the...
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I want to have some of that, too.
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I want to do some spicy stuff.
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Yeah.
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All right, here we go.
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This is with their spicy salsa matcha.
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Holy shit.
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That is so fucking good.
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Austin is known to have great tacos, but I don't think Austin's taco scene is that good.
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This one place is a huge exception to that.
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Whether you like lamb or not is irrelevant.
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Anybody could come here and enjoy and love this taco.
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It's not gamey.
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It's beautifully fatty.
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Melts in your mouth.
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It's seasoned nicely.
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I don't know anyone that has these insane pit setups putting out a taco like this
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And this video is all about not just things
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that have gone viral What is so good
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that I'm willing to sit in line and wait for a bite of something right?
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There are very few things I hate waiting in line.
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I'm waiting here.
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This is one of the top tacos in Austin So where does that place that on the list?
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I feel like out of everything I've seen we've got somebody here That's been making barbacoa for 45 years
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If there's a weekend available to you and you want an unrivaled taco So you're gonna come here and more importantly, you're gonna be coming to an S tier.
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So we move on.
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So we're two cities down.
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I'm gonna be honest.
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So far these R .O places have been living up to the hype.
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So we're turning up the heat and heading to the city that's built on virality, Los Angeles, California.
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To make this test right, we're putting one of LA's top food reviewers in the hot seat, How Kev Eats.
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He says he never gets paid for reviews.
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I don't take any money for reviews.
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And he's very confident that his palate lives up to the hype.
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So we're specifically testing his viral recommendations.
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I'm going to give the final verdict straight to his face.
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Is this where the internet's food critics finally get exposed?
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And this one's going to be big.
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Cheesesteak bagel showdowns, $80 fish sandwiches.
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And we're starting at the Michelin Bib Gourmand Bia's Tacos.
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Supposedly, Bad Bunny loves this place.
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And when he put it in his Super Bowl performance overnight, this place was a hit.
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So we have their signature tacos with a crispy cheese skirt.
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Now, Kemp was a pretty big fan of this place
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when he tried it the texture of the cheese
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and the beautifully barbecued meat just bounces off your tongue real
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nice definitely a top 10 taco i've had in la let's
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give this a rip it's a little dry i'll give it a little more rib with salsa
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and then we'll move on to the next much better
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so the salsa is actually seasoned really nice
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but this i felt was a little under seasoned it's funny
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the last time it was too limey this time i don't
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think there's enough lime let's do the asada next maybe this mango habanero salsa is my favorite thing here
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because it's really spicy can we just admire their crispy cheese
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on this it's like a potato chip these are good the
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tortilla is nice it's got good elasticity it's got good chew
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the fillings on the other hand i feel like are bland
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that's exactly my take too i think the tortilla is the
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best part i think the cheese skirt is executed quite literally perfectly it's
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so crisp it's not burnt it's got
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that deep salty cheesy flavor the salsa is something you cannot skip it's tough it's in between a b
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and an a now while the texture's all there i did feel
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that the flavor was a little bit muted overall it's just not enough salt not enough depth of flavor.
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And these tacos look like they should punch you right in the mouth.
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I mean this with a lot of love.
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I do think that they are a B.
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We move on.
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We're at Matu Cheesesteak.
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They serve one thing and one thing only.
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A cheesesteak.
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But not just any cheesesteak.
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This is probably the most turnt up cheesesteak you can get.
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This is a 100 % grass -fed New Zealand lagu beef.
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And it's the beef trimmings of one of the finest steakhouses that there is.
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So you have really high quality beef.
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You got Cooper Sharp cheese, grilled onions, a long hot pepper from the East Coast.
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It's on a beautiful, fresh -baked, seated roll.
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It's glistening in the sun.
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It looks good.
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Couldn't this be our first S -tier in LA?
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This is the East Coast vs. West Coast competition we were talking about.
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Rue and Matu live up to the hype, and can they beat Danny and Koops?
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Kevin is setting our bar high.
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Holy f*.
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My eyes are watering.
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It might be because it's really f*ing good, or also because it was really hot and it burned my tongue.
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This is probably the best I've had it.
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I have no notes.
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The bread is f*ing phenomenal.
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It's got the perfect amount of chew.
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It still has that softness that gives away.
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It almost puffs air into your mouth as you bite down into it.
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The cheese is beautifully salty.
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Despite all the cheese and just fattiness going on in here.
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The flavor of the beef shines through everything.
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I mean, it explodes with rich, roasty beef flavor.
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But overall, it's just the balance and the intensity of flavor.
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But number one, most important thing, the one thing I always complain about.
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What about the salt level, Josh?
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And I got to say, the salt level is perfect.
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It is right at the line of where it needs to be.
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For me personally, I think this is better than the Danny and Koops by far.
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I would come here before Danny and Koops 100 times over.
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Danny and Koops is good, just not this good.
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This is an S tier.
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Next we have the cheese store of the rich and famous, or Beverly Hills if you want to call it that.
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This place has gone viral for giving so many free samples you might not have space for their sandwiches.
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You come here, they've got cheese everywhere.
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They've got jams, jellies, every cracker known to mankind.
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You got prosciutto hanging from the ceiling.
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It's the most chaotically beautiful shop I could possibly think of.
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So we're gonna try some cheeses and then we'll see what's next.
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Oh, that makes my toes curl.
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That tastes like brown butter almost.
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But I also like the little protein crystal pops in there, the crunchiness, that's nice.
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Love that, okay, banger.
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Next up, fresh Alpine cheese.
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Wow, holy sh, that's insane.
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And to finish this off, he gave us an 18 -month -old Gruyere.
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Yeah, it like melts.
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You chew and there's like a soft bite to it, and then all of a sudden it just melts like ice cream on your tongue.
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It goes from solid to like cream sauce immediately in your mouth, unbelievable.
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So at the end of the day, this is a cheese store, but they said that their sandwiches will win them the gold.
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Is that true?
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Pretty ballsy for a cheese store to be putting out a hot sandwich.
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Yeah, that's my favorite sandwich here.
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Oh my God, that is beautiful.
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I gotta give that one a clap.
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This is totally different than Matu.
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It's not the same at all, but it has that same like boom effect, where you ate it and you're like being electrocuted by so many beautiful flavors.
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What I love is this like spicy, like tartness from the Dijon mustard that's like perfuming your nostrils and your mouth.
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The onion is just so lightly present.
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It's not in your face, but that rich beefiness, It's creamy.
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Whatever cheese they're using is unbelievable.
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A little funky and cheesy and creamy, almost like a cream sauce.
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Top 20 sandwiches I've ever had.
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I think this is amazing.
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This is an S tier for me.
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Wow, we're doing good here, guys.
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On to the next.
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We've made it to the most viral sandwich shop in the world.
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Period.
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End of story.
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No contest.
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Al Antico Vinayo.
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God, that's a mouthful, huh?
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And we're having the most popular sandwich here, La Paradiso.
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I'm not convinced this sandwich is that great is this all just hype
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because to kev's credit he said he was actually not impressed this was actually my favorite one
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when i had it in florence it's the least favorite one
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i had today let's just go in cheers cheers very sweet
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what are you getting sweet i don't know oh the pistachio
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why is this not popping off for me right now texture
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of the bread is actually fantastic i agree the bread's amazing the sandwich itself is like it's good
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but it's not like blowing me away like i also feel
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like it's 80 percent bread i keep eating it like expecting
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more yeah like you're trying to like find what it's missing
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and it's just keep missing yeah actually yeah
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so much about this sandwich is really fun
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and exciting the bread is amazing the mortadella is great
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but like the best sandwich
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that has lines like for multiple hours on end globally I feel like this one in Italy
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when like the ingredients are at the pinnacle of quality this
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would be significantly better this doesn't really like blow me away
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it's gonna be a B for me like I'm happy with this I can make this at home
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but it's not blowing me away one of the most viral places in the entire video and we've gotta be.
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Next up, Howlin' Rays, who somehow has made a Nashville hot chicken sandwich that's more famous than any
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that I've ever seen coming out of Nashville.
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These guys are viral hall of famers for lighting people's mouths on fire, while also being supposedly delicious.
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Kev says medium is the perfect balance, and he is beyond a stand.
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This is the best sandwich you can possibly get.
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We've got their medium plus Nashville hot chicken sandwich, slaw, pickles, comeback sauce on a buttered bun.
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I'm not gonna lie, this one looks good, but I'm a fried chicken sandwich connoisseur, so we'll see where they land.
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The chicken is a little dry, but not in a way that's like totally taking away from it.
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The bun is immaculate.
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The pickles are perfect.
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I love the sauce on this.
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What I appreciate is the flavor of the actual oil that they dip it in.
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It's not just straight cayenne.
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There's garlic in there.
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There's like fragrant chili flavor, almost like you would get in a chili oil.
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Totally agree.
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The more I get to the center of the sandwich, the more it becomes an S.
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The outside 20 % is just like chicken and bread, but the inside, you get way more pickle.
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You get way more like crunch.
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How one raises a restaurant to me is an S tier, but this chicken sandwich right now is hitting at an A for me.
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I know Kevin was pulling for the S, but I gotta set the record straight on this one.
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We've got four restaurants to go and they're gonna be some of the biggest viral taste tests in America.
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I know we're in LA, but the first one is actually a bagel.
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A lot of people are claiming that this bagel is better than any New York bagel.
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This is still undoubtedly a top three bagel you can get in LA.
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And I feel like I see a new video about them popping off every day.
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We've got two variations we've got the classic lox bagel
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which is lox tomato capers onion pretty typical little olive oil
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but this other one is their honey butter
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which i think is a bit of a sleeper so we'll try these both and see where they land Wow.
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Did you hear the crunch?
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That's insane.
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Before I rate this, bagels are really important to me.
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My dad's from New York City.
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Every year when I was a kid, I would go to New York City, go and get a bagel with my dad.
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It's one of my favorite foods of all time.
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And out the gate, this is far superior to any bagel I've ever had in New York City.
456
And everybody says you can only get the best bagels in New York, I don't think that's true anymore.
457
I'm not even gonna talk about the toppings.
458
The toppings are great and they're amazing, but the bagel itself, the outside, is the most crispy, crackly, little crunchy, almost like a cracker.
459
The inside is so succulently soft and moist, like the finest, like, almost like sourdough bread.
460
You know how it's got that wetness to it?
461
Yeah.
462
And it's just beautifully aerated.
463
It's not dense.
464
The chew is immaculate on this one.
465
Oh, my God.
466
Honey butter.
467
Cheers.
468
All right.
469
That's absurd.
470
It doesn't get better than this for me, personally.
471
This is them flexing.
472
Just honey, just butter, nothing else.
473
They're really letting the product shine for what it is.
474
It doesn't need a ton of toppings because the bagel is so damn good.
475
I have nothing else to say.
476
Immediate S tier, the best bagel I've ever had.
477
It's my favorite place.
478
It's 100 % worth waiting in line for.
479
Just if you're going to do it, buy some extra so you have some take back home.
480
This is a good one for you, Kev.
481
This is making you look good.
482
I have reviewed over three restaurants.
483
All right, on to the next.
484
Quite possibly the greatest chicken shawarma in all of America, Mia Mia Shawarma.
485
They only open two days per week.
486
Not only are their videos getting tons of views, But the line is possibly one of the biggest lines I've ever seen.
487
I mean, even Kevin had trouble speaking after eating one.
488
I don't know.
489
I'm just kidding.
490
That's f*ing crazy.
491
It's the best shawarma I've ever had in my entire life.
492
It's so creamy, not dry at all.
493
The outside is so crispy.
494
A little bit of spiciness.
495
A little bit, yeah.
496
We made a version of this on the second channel with the Mia Mia shawarma guys.
497
Really good.
498
And honestly, the flavor of that did get close to this.
499
But man, it being on the trompo makes such a big difference and also just all the product, everything in here.
500
I mean, since we've had this before and we're friends with them, we are actually disqualifying them from the rating.
501
But I did want to say that this is a place
502
that I really would wait in the line that tells you all you need to know.
503
This next one is the most expensive viral item in this video, and it's just one sandwich for $80.
504
This is the fried fish sandwich from Daybird topped with caviar.
505
Now, despite the steep price, Kev says he was impressed.
506
Yeah, this is the best fish sandwich I've ever had.
507
And I could swim in that tartar sauce naked.
508
I just don't see a world where this lives up to the price.
509
I just spent $170 on this, okay?
510
We're here to put this to the test.
511
I kind of feel the caviar's getting to this stage where it feels a little overrated.
512
This is definitely a marketing play, but I still think it's delicious.
513
That is not just any ordinary tartar sauce.
514
It's a yuzu tartar sauce, so it's gonna be sour, but it's absolutely delicious.
515
All right, I have a lot of thoughts.
516
Let me address the caviar really quick.
517
Completely unnecessary.
518
Completely.
519
It does nothing.
520
Get this without the caviar.
521
If you take away the caviar, it's a pretty good fried fish sandwich.
522
But unfortunately, the fish was under seasoned.
523
It just really didn't hit for me.
524
You couldn't even taste the caviar on this thing.
525
I think it sits at a C tier.
526
And the stakes for Kevin and all these other food critics, influencers everywhere has never been higher than at our next spot.
527
Now, this smash burger Kevin inadvertently made probably the most viral in the country.
528
It is Easy Street Burgers.
529
And Kevin gave it some major love.
530
Back at one of my favorite burger spots, if not my favorite, even Keith Lee went here
531
and loved it this is the best burger i've ever had i want to start with the jalapeno monster
532
because there's nothing you can hide with this there's no bacon that's gonna cover up the flavor
533
or their lack of seasoning
534
if there is lack of seasoning i honestly don't even want
535
to try it i just want to see you try it claiming
536
that these are the best burgers they've ever had i would expect honestly an s tier
537
so this may be the biggest test of the entire video
538
and there's already trouble on the first bite it is missing a bit on salt
539
if i'm being honest with you what i will say I almost don't care, because the texture is unbelievable.
540
The crispness on the Maillard is almost like a cheese skirt level of crunch, and the inside is actually not too fatty, which I really appreciate.
541
I do want to try the bacon warm.
542
Oh, yeah.
543
This is really good.
544
It's kind of what I expected, right?
545
Like, the bacon is leveraging the flavor quite a bit.
546
Had they seasoned this perfectly, this would be the perfect burger.
547
I'm not going to say, oh, it's under -seasoned, therefore it sucks, because it has everything else as dialed.
548
Had they just added a touch more salt, this would be an S.
549
But I'm going to give my honest review usually, when I get a low salt, it usually doesn't break the B tier.
550
It's never happened actually, until today.
551
This, I think, is worthy of an A tier.
552
And if they're hitting it with the salt, it's easy S tier territory.
553
Still remarkable burger.
554
If there was a line, I'd stand in it.
555
But, that being said, we still have a question to answer.
556
I am a little surprised about what I'm about to say.
557
There was an astounding number of winners, which proves one point.
558
Maybe you don't need to be a chef, or have worked in restaurants, or have a professional opinion to know if something is delicious.
559
And there are also tons of people that make videos that are helping restaurants and the restaurant industry.
560
And they're actually lifting them up in a way that I think we've never seen before.
561
At the end of the day, it's not a restaurant that goes viral.
562
It's the people behind the scenes, the hard work and passion that goes into making food worthy of millions of views.
563
Love ya, subscribe, bye.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “I Tried Every Viral Restaurant in America”. This video has 563 sentences and 5641 words to shadow. The speech runs for 24:54. The speaker talks fast, about 227 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. Only 78% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| sandwich noun | /ˈsæn(d).wɪd͡ʒ/ | A dish or foodstuff where at least one piece, but typically two or more pieces, of bread serves as the wrapper or container of some other food. |
| tier noun | /ˈtɪɚ/ | A row or range, especially one at a higher or lower level than another. |
| viral adjective | /ˈvaɪɹəl/ | Of or relating to a biological virus. |
| burger noun | /ˈbɝ.ɡɚ/ | A hamburger. |
| taco noun | /ˈtɑkoʊ/ | A Mexican snack food made of a small tortilla (soft- or hard-shelled) filled with ingredients such as meat, rice, beans, cheese, diced vegetables, and salsa. |
| flavor noun | /ˈfleɪvə/ | The quality produced by the sensation of taste or, especially, of taste and smell in combined effect. |
| cheesesteak noun | A Philadelphia snack food consisting of chopped steak and melted cheese in a bread roll. | |
| cheers | /t͡ʃɪəz/ | A common toast used when drinking in company. |
| creamy adjective | /ˈkɹiːmi/ | Containing cream. |
| doughnut noun | /ˈdəʊnʌt/ | A deep-fried piece of dough or batter, usually mixed with various sweeteners and flavors, often made in a toroidal or ellipsoidal shape flattened sphere shape… |
| shawarma noun | /ʃəˈwɑɹmə/ | A Middle Eastern sandwich-like wrap of shaved lamb, goat, chicken, turkey, beef, or a mixture of these. |
| crispy adjective | /ˈkɹɪs.pi/ | Having a crisp texture; brittle yet tender. |
| salsa noun | /ˈsɑl.sə/ | A spicy tomato sauce of Mexican origin, often including onions and hot peppers. |
| hype noun | /haɪp/ | Promotion or propaganda, especially exaggerated claims. |
| caviar noun | /ˈkæv.iˌɑɹ/ | Roe of the sturgeon or of certain other large fish, considered a delicacy. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| come through verb | To come into a room or other space through a door or passageway. | |
| line up verb | /laɪnˈʌp/ | To align; to put in alignment; to put in correct adjustment for smooth running. |
| put out verb | To blind (eyes). | |
| bounce off verb | To test (ideas) on someone. | |
| bring back verb | /ˈbɹɪŋ bæk/ | To fetch something. |
| come down verb | To descend, fall down, collapse. | |
| cover up verb | To conceal or disguise. | |
| give away verb | To make a gift of (something). |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- I've waited an hour in line for this.
- Are you also noticing the pepperiness?
- I mean, how good is it really?
- Did you hear the crunch?
- You know how it's got that wetness to it?
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Conditional sentences if + clause, will/would + verb — a condition and its result | If there was a line, I'd stand |
| Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — an action that started earlier and is still going on | That's been making · have been living |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | have never experienced · I've waited · You've had |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | is run · is disqualified · been cured |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 176 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, don't, we're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: shawarma /ʃəˈwɑɹmə/, variation /ˌvɛəɹiˈeɪʃn̩/, smash /smæʃ/, recommendation /ˌɹɛkəmɛnˈdeɪʃən/, shine /ʃaɪn/
- Long words — get the stress right: unbelievable /ˌʌnbɪˈliːvəbl̩/, beautifully /ˈbju.tɪ.fə.li/, supposedly /səˈpoʊ̯.zɪd.li/, barbacoa /ˌbɑː(ɹ)bəˈkoʊ.ə/, immaculate /ɪˈmæk.jʊ.lət/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like sandwich, tier, viral.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.