March 1, 2018 • 15 mins
If chugging mead at Medieval Times and downing burgers at Johnny Rockets feels tired to you, check out these wacky theme restaurants from around the world. Will and Mango explore what happens when you surprise diners with regular earthquakes, and why filling your cafe with giant David Copperfield statues might not be the smartest thing.
Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Guess what will what's that mango? So today I lost
half an hour looking up team restaurants that I definitely
don't want to eat at. Have you heard of the
Disaster Cafe? I haven't, but I have to admit I'm intrigued.
So what happens at the Disaster Cafe? So this is
a failed restaurant concept from Spain, but it's so great.
So when you walk in, you travel down to the
(00:21):
depths of the earth, as they put it, and get
seated in this cave like area. And the first thing
most patrons noticed is that all the weight staff is
wearing these hard hats like construction cats. And then when
you order your food, the trays are all super super heavy.
But the entire concept of the place is that sometime
during your meal, you'll actually experience a simulated earthquake that
(00:42):
measures seven point eight on the Richter scale. All right,
so let me get this straight. I'm actually paying to
eat and feel an earthquake at the same time. And
why is it a seven point eight? I think because
that's the optimal earthquake setting for maximum dining enjoyment. But no,
I have no idea. But but the whole concept is
that you don't know when the earthquake is actually gonna happen,
(01:04):
So I guess it's for thrill seekers, or maybe for
people who love playing Russian Roulette over a fine meal.
So I have to know that was was the food
any good? Yeah? Apparently the food is great. And like
most theme restaurants, business was initially strong because of the buzz,
but eventually the novelty wore off, and the fact that
the drinks build all over the place regularly and you
couldn't wear nice clothes there took its toll. So I
(01:26):
guess the owners snuffed out their beloved disaster cafe. But
today's Nine Things is all about theme restaurants, because even
if we don't want to eat at them or invest
in them, we definitely want to talk about them. Let's
dig in. Hey, their podcast listeners, welcome to Part Time Genius.
(02:03):
I'm Will Pearson and is always I'm joined by my
good friend Mangueshot Ticketer, or at least halfway joined by
Mangeshot Ticketer. I'm in New York waiting on Mango and
Tristan to come up here tomorrow. Now, Mango, I have
to know, is is Tristan sitting behind the glass, and
if so, what is he doing today? He is indeed
sitting behind that glass, and today he's looking at recipes
from his Bubba Gump Shrimp Company cookbook. Wow, he's always
(02:25):
up to something interesting. Hey, that's perfect because I don't
know if that still exists up here in New York,
but if it does, we definitely have to take him
over there and just just drop him off. I don't
want to go in, and we'll drop him off at
the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company. So now today, Mango, we're
talking about theme restaurants. So I'm curious, what are your
feelings about theme restaurants? You know, I was thinking about
this earlier. I'm actually kind of conflicted because I mean,
(02:48):
they're they're obviously tourist trots, and I feel like there
was an age when I was super into them, right
like maybe when I was eleven or twelve, I was
all about going to like hard rock cafes and Planet Hollywood's.
Then if there was, I don't know, like a Hedgehog
cafe in my neighborhood, I'm sure I would have begged
my parents to go. But then you kind of age
out of them, right like like medieval times and where
(03:09):
you want to get dragged as an angsty teen unless
you're into like dragon con or Renaissance fairs. And then
you get a little older and it's exactly where you
want to drag your nephews or nieces. I mean I
subjected my little nephew Ryan a ton of things that
he wouldn't want to do, Like what what do you mean?
Like I forced him to go to that Ninja cafe
in New York. Yeah, they're They're all those like secret
(03:33):
hiding spots and the ninja's jumped out at you and
like clouds of smoke and the sushi comes on a
bed of dry eyes, so it's all smoky too. And
I think the weirdest thing is that the ninja's come
around to your tables to do card tricks. Well, speaking
of magic, I do know you wanted to talk about
your favorite magic cafe, and that's David copper Fields Magic Underground, right,
(03:55):
that's right. So you know when I was a kid,
I mentioned this to you, but I David Copperfield and
we actually went to see him when he came to Wilmington's.
My my mom used to take the specials on TV
so we could watch them, and I had, of course
heard about his legendary statue of Liberty trick. That's where
he made it disappear on TV, right, Yeah, that's right.
And over the years, of course I saw him more
(04:16):
as a character than that cool magician you love as
a nine year old kind of more of a job character.
But apparently in the mid nineties he spent three years
trying to launch copper Field's Magic Underground restaurant, and the
plans were so elaborate. So apparently the first one was
supposed to be in Times Square and it is just
too good. So I'm actually gonna read you the description
(04:36):
from the New York Times article about it. So, the
designs from the Times Square restaurant called for a heroic
forty five foot figure to stand astride the front entrance,
flanked by a pair of eighteen foot gas torches. Neon
signs were to erupt every hour in a ninety second
light show, with lights proclaiming the site copper Field's Magic
Underground emerging from the display. So it's already ridiculous, right,
(05:00):
And then you get inside. They're supposed to be a
seventy foot atrium with gargoyles perched on steel trusses in
a style Mr Rockwell called industrial Gothic. Diners were to
sit on terraces, nestled around a model to the statue
of Liberty's torch and to the eye, banquettes and a
bar would levitate, while a section of diners would suddenly disappear,
and once an hour a death saw would appear to
(05:21):
cut a diner and a half. Everywhere there would be
what became known as the David's large scale likenesses of Mr. Copperfield.
I mean, it is so amazing, And apparently it was
like a thirty thousand square foot place, and the New
York Times rights the restaurant's greatest trick was making thirty
four million dollars of investment money disappear thirty four million
(05:42):
dollars and nothing ever came of this. That's not amazing,
That is that is an impressive trick. All right, Well,
here is a place I'm fascinated by. It's called oh
now Are in Montreal, And when you go in, you're
actually asked to surrender anything that glints light, so we're
talking watches, phones, anything like that, and then you're let
into this completely dark room where you eat your meal
(06:03):
and the experience is supposed to be incredible because all
your other senses are heightened when you're just focusing on touch, smell,
and hearing. So I'm curious about this, dude. People ever
get scared of the dark or uncomfortable when they're there? Well, actually,
that feeling of discomfort is part of the experience. You know.
People occasionally will want to leave because they're scared of
the dark, and then they'll be calmed down by the
(06:25):
weight staff. But you know, the really interesting thing about
the place is that all the weight staff is blind,
and the proceeds from the restaurant go to the local
groups that support the visually impaired. And the whole idea
is that people initially go to the place because of
the novelty of it, you know, or because the food
is actually supposed to be really good. But from the
articles I've read, they've really come away from the experience
(06:46):
with more empathy and kind of this appreciation for how
the visually impaired navigate the world. That is awesome. Well,
I've got to say the next theme restaurant on my
list has a far less humanitarian mission. It's a place
I have no intention of going and it's called Taiwan's
Modern Toilet Restaurant. So I read the section on the
(07:06):
website about it that says business philosophy and direction, and
it says in April two th six, all Mordern restaurants
changed their name to Modern Toilet Restaurants. In the future,
a greater range of washroom facilities will greet new customers
and old friends alike. So what's the story behind. I
don't know. I guess it's just good branding. But apparently
(07:28):
it started because an owner was reading his comics on
the toilet and inspiration struck and the shop began as
actually as an ice cream parlor where they served chocolate
only ice cream and put the scoops in these squat
toilet containers, and for some reason people went wild for it.
And then I expanded to like a full restaurant where
you got hot pot and mini commodes. I I really
(07:50):
don't get this, but according to the site, I know
that they've launched over sixteen places, and apparently there was
even like a short lived one in Vegas where you
could sit on a throne as you ate from a
tin year throne, but for some reason it didn't take off.
I can't imagine why. I'm it just seems like such
a brilliant business model. All right, Well, here is a
fun one. If you're tired of watching the pit master
(08:11):
at a barbecue restaurant do his work or board by
the local hibachi chef, you need to head to the
El Diablo restaurant in Spain. And that's where the chefs
actually cook over an active volcano. So I don't get it, Like,
what is it with Spain and all these disaster restaurants,
Like first the earthquake thing, now we're real volcano. I
have no idea, but this one actually does sound pretty fascinating.
(08:32):
And it's not like those viral videos of people cooking
steak over lava. It's more just a giant grill over
a four hundred and fifty degrees celsius fire pit in
the ground. But it's still pretty cool. And in the
view from the place it's actually on a national park
and it's supposed to be just stunning. Man, well, I
can definitely see the feel of that. Well, if we're
(08:53):
going for something scarier, I think we should move from
volcanoes to Spain to Japan's alcatraz e Er restaurant. But
it sounds a little bit weird, but but what is it?
It's so weird and again, not a restaurant I would
ever go to, but it's fun to talk about. So
according to Atlas Obscura, this place is a kitchy horror
themed restaurant. Instead of being sort of playful horror, you know,
(09:15):
like like Beetlejuice or something, it's it's more of a
jail slash haunted mental institution live. So you go in
and you get thrown on the floor of a cell
with some drinks, and to get any more service you
actually have to rattle the bars and yell desperately, which
sounds terrible, and then the drinks coming heads, which is,
you know, kind of tacky but okay, But this is
(09:37):
the most terrifying part to me. Every so often, killer
clowns come out to harass you and a friendly. They
take people to the middle of the room and then
manhandle them and poked them with fake syringes. It just
sounds awful to me. Yeah, I was. I was okay
with the general idea until you got to the killer
clowns cooking with fake synches. But what I'm curious, like,
(09:57):
what are the reviews like, do people like it? I
think they're pretty med from the most part. Like most
people say, the food is good and the service is terrible,
but you shouldn't go in the afternoon because the scaring
is sort of halfhearted them. That's good to know. Well,
here's one that I don't know if it counts as
a theme restaurant, but it's from North Korea, so I
(10:17):
do want to talk about it. So, I mean, I
realized it's a little late to discuss this, but what
are you using as your criteria for a theme restaurant?
All right, Well, so the definition I've found says it's
where the concept of the restaurant takes priority over everything else.
So it could be the architecture or maybe the feeling
or some novelty aspect like killer clowns, poking with sorrentious.
(10:39):
But I think North Korea's pizza restaurant does count though,
because it's a manufactured experience of the West that it's
supposed to be novel there. Okay, so so what's it like? Well,
apparently it's really weird. Kim john Ill spent ten years
trying to get it up and running. He brought an
Italian chefs to train the cooks. He imported cheese and tomatoes.
(11:00):
They made these very specific rules, like the exact measurements
that one olive should be from another, and supposedly they
worked over and over to perfect the recipes. But I
read this one review on Epicurious. It says this. It says,
the whole thing is supposed to be someone's idea of
New York or Italy, but the olive oil is rancid,
the pizza tastes like cardboard and flavorless. Maybe the whole
(11:22):
idea is propaganda to give the West a bad name.
But the best part is that at the end of
every night to North Korean lounge singers come out and
seeing off key Frank Sinatra tra tune. For anyone who
needs another reason not to go to the US, that's ridiculous. Well,
I know we've got two more restaurants to go, but
why don't we tackle those after the break? Welcome back
(11:56):
to part time genius, who were talking theme restaurants so
will So far you've talked about cooking over a volcano
and visiting North Korea for what sounds like pizza and
possibly food poisoning and a horrible lounge act. It almost
feels like you're going for a disaster tame here. So
how are you going to close this out? Well, I
did have that one touching story about the totally dark restaurants.
(12:16):
You gotta give me some credit for that. But but
you're all right, I'll try to make up for it.
So I've got one that's sure to keep you relaxed,
and it's my Hico Mono a k a. Tokyo's Hammock Cafe.
And I think part of the appeal of the cafe
is that if you're visiting and kind of running around
the city NonStop, this is the perfect place to kick
your feet up and get a drink. And in fact,
(12:37):
there actually isn't a single chair in the place. It's
just hammocks. So that reminds me of my favorite place
that used to be in the Empire State Building. It
was like a nap store where you could go in
and take ten or twenty minute naps in these space
egg ponds. It was so great. Yeah, exactly, But but
actually there's one catch to this place that there is
a time limit on how long you can stay. And
(12:58):
if the restaurant is big, see your cap to a
ninety minute time still too bad. Yeah, I don't not
ninety minutes feels like enough time to have a nice nap.
But uh, I mean, I really do like hammocks, but
I hate falling asleep around other people, and I'd have
such a hard time not falling asleep if I nestled
into one. But I do like that idea. Okay, So
(13:19):
here's my last theme restaurant, and it's also from Japan.
Have you heard of the Future Sweets Factory and Santa City, Japan?
I haven't even heard of Santa City. What what is this?
So this place is it's kind of like a kid's
only Willy Wonka factory for pastries and it sounds amazing.
So apparently no one over twelve can go in. And
this famous pastry chef started because he remembered a time
(13:43):
in Japan when kids could run wild and be kids.
But in a growing city, he felt like there wasn't
enough for them. So parents actually leave their kids at
the door, and then the kids go in and they
watch chefs work with crazy robots and making new types
of inventions and delicious sweets. But the other part of
the whole experience was that the chef thought that parents
weren't talking enough to their kids, like they were always
(14:04):
on social media or doing work on their phones. So
the only way you can actually find out what sort
of fun and mischief happens inside is to ask your
kids about the experience. And I guess I have a
conversation over some of the delicious pastries they bring out.
I love that well. I think after your talk of
ice cream, toilets and psycho clowns, you've totally redeemed yourself
with this one, Mangoes. So I think I'm gonna give
you today's trophy and thank you so much. That's it
(14:27):
for today's nine Things, Mango. I look forward to seeing
you and Tristan up here tomorrow, and I can't wait
to see the look on Tristan's face when he gets
to go to Bubba Comstrom Company, when he just gets
draft off there. All right, we'll be sure to check
back in tomorrow. We'll be back with a full length episode.
Thanks so much for listening. The brok
Guess what will what's that mango? So today I lost
half an hour looking up team restaurants that I definitely
don't want to eat at. Have you heard of the
Disaster Cafe? I haven't, but I have to admit I'm intrigued.
So what happens at the Disaster Cafe? So this is
a failed restaurant concept from Spain, but it's so great.
So when you walk in, you travel down to the
(00:21):
depths of the earth, as they put it, and get
seated in this cave like area. And the first thing
most patrons noticed is that all the weight staff is
wearing these hard hats like construction cats. And then when
you order your food, the trays are all super super heavy.
But the entire concept of the place is that sometime
during your meal, you'll actually experience a simulated earthquake that
(00:42):
measures seven point eight on the Richter scale. All right,
so let me get this straight. I'm actually paying to
eat and feel an earthquake at the same time. And
why is it a seven point eight? I think because
that's the optimal earthquake setting for maximum dining enjoyment. But no,
I have no idea. But but the whole concept is
that you don't know when the earthquake is actually gonna happen,
(01:04):
So I guess it's for thrill seekers, or maybe for
people who love playing Russian Roulette over a fine meal.
So I have to know that was was the food
any good? Yeah? Apparently the food is great. And like
most theme restaurants, business was initially strong because of the buzz,
but eventually the novelty wore off, and the fact that
the drinks build all over the place regularly and you
couldn't wear nice clothes there took its toll. So I
(01:26):
guess the owners snuffed out their beloved disaster cafe. But
today's Nine Things is all about theme restaurants, because even
if we don't want to eat at them or invest
in them, we definitely want to talk about them. Let's
dig in. Hey, their podcast listeners, welcome to Part Time Genius.
(02:03):
I'm Will Pearson and is always I'm joined by my
good friend Mangueshot Ticketer, or at least halfway joined by
Mangeshot Ticketer. I'm in New York waiting on Mango and
Tristan to come up here tomorrow. Now, Mango, I have
to know, is is Tristan sitting behind the glass, and
if so, what is he doing today? He is indeed
sitting behind that glass, and today he's looking at recipes
from his Bubba Gump Shrimp Company cookbook. Wow, he's always
(02:25):
up to something interesting. Hey, that's perfect because I don't
know if that still exists up here in New York,
but if it does, we definitely have to take him
over there and just just drop him off. I don't
want to go in, and we'll drop him off at
the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company. So now today, Mango, we're
talking about theme restaurants. So I'm curious, what are your
feelings about theme restaurants? You know, I was thinking about
this earlier. I'm actually kind of conflicted because I mean,
(02:48):
they're they're obviously tourist trots, and I feel like there
was an age when I was super into them, right
like maybe when I was eleven or twelve, I was
all about going to like hard rock cafes and Planet Hollywood's.
Then if there was, I don't know, like a Hedgehog
cafe in my neighborhood, I'm sure I would have begged
my parents to go. But then you kind of age
out of them, right like like medieval times and where
(03:09):
you want to get dragged as an angsty teen unless
you're into like dragon con or Renaissance fairs. And then
you get a little older and it's exactly where you
want to drag your nephews or nieces. I mean I
subjected my little nephew Ryan a ton of things that
he wouldn't want to do, Like what what do you mean?
Like I forced him to go to that Ninja cafe
in New York. Yeah, they're They're all those like secret
(03:33):
hiding spots and the ninja's jumped out at you and
like clouds of smoke and the sushi comes on a
bed of dry eyes, so it's all smoky too. And
I think the weirdest thing is that the ninja's come
around to your tables to do card tricks. Well, speaking
of magic, I do know you wanted to talk about
your favorite magic cafe, and that's David copper Fields Magic Underground, right,
(03:55):
that's right. So you know when I was a kid,
I mentioned this to you, but I David Copperfield and
we actually went to see him when he came to Wilmington's.
My my mom used to take the specials on TV
so we could watch them, and I had, of course
heard about his legendary statue of Liberty trick. That's where
he made it disappear on TV, right, Yeah, that's right.
And over the years, of course I saw him more
(04:16):
as a character than that cool magician you love as
a nine year old kind of more of a job character.
But apparently in the mid nineties he spent three years
trying to launch copper Field's Magic Underground restaurant, and the
plans were so elaborate. So apparently the first one was
supposed to be in Times Square and it is just
too good. So I'm actually gonna read you the description
(04:36):
from the New York Times article about it. So, the
designs from the Times Square restaurant called for a heroic
forty five foot figure to stand astride the front entrance,
flanked by a pair of eighteen foot gas torches. Neon
signs were to erupt every hour in a ninety second
light show, with lights proclaiming the site copper Field's Magic
Underground emerging from the display. So it's already ridiculous, right,
(05:00):
And then you get inside. They're supposed to be a
seventy foot atrium with gargoyles perched on steel trusses in
a style Mr Rockwell called industrial Gothic. Diners were to
sit on terraces, nestled around a model to the statue
of Liberty's torch and to the eye, banquettes and a
bar would levitate, while a section of diners would suddenly disappear,
and once an hour a death saw would appear to
(05:21):
cut a diner and a half. Everywhere there would be
what became known as the David's large scale likenesses of Mr. Copperfield.
I mean, it is so amazing, And apparently it was
like a thirty thousand square foot place, and the New
York Times rights the restaurant's greatest trick was making thirty
four million dollars of investment money disappear thirty four million
(05:42):
dollars and nothing ever came of this. That's not amazing,
That is that is an impressive trick. All right, Well,
here is a place I'm fascinated by. It's called oh
now Are in Montreal, And when you go in, you're
actually asked to surrender anything that glints light, so we're
talking watches, phones, anything like that, and then you're let
into this completely dark room where you eat your meal
(06:03):
and the experience is supposed to be incredible because all
your other senses are heightened when you're just focusing on touch, smell,
and hearing. So I'm curious about this, dude. People ever
get scared of the dark or uncomfortable when they're there? Well, actually,
that feeling of discomfort is part of the experience. You know.
People occasionally will want to leave because they're scared of
the dark, and then they'll be calmed down by the
(06:25):
weight staff. But you know, the really interesting thing about
the place is that all the weight staff is blind,
and the proceeds from the restaurant go to the local
groups that support the visually impaired. And the whole idea
is that people initially go to the place because of
the novelty of it, you know, or because the food
is actually supposed to be really good. But from the
articles I've read, they've really come away from the experience
(06:46):
with more empathy and kind of this appreciation for how
the visually impaired navigate the world. That is awesome. Well,
I've got to say the next theme restaurant on my
list has a far less humanitarian mission. It's a place
I have no intention of going and it's called Taiwan's
Modern Toilet Restaurant. So I read the section on the
(07:06):
website about it that says business philosophy and direction, and
it says in April two th six, all Mordern restaurants
changed their name to Modern Toilet Restaurants. In the future,
a greater range of washroom facilities will greet new customers
and old friends alike. So what's the story behind. I
don't know. I guess it's just good branding. But apparently
(07:28):
it started because an owner was reading his comics on
the toilet and inspiration struck and the shop began as
actually as an ice cream parlor where they served chocolate
only ice cream and put the scoops in these squat
toilet containers, and for some reason people went wild for it.
And then I expanded to like a full restaurant where
you got hot pot and mini commodes. I I really
(07:50):
don't get this, but according to the site, I know
that they've launched over sixteen places, and apparently there was
even like a short lived one in Vegas where you
could sit on a throne as you ate from a
tin year throne, but for some reason it didn't take off.
I can't imagine why. I'm it just seems like such
a brilliant business model. All right, Well, here is a
fun one. If you're tired of watching the pit master
(08:11):
at a barbecue restaurant do his work or board by
the local hibachi chef, you need to head to the
El Diablo restaurant in Spain. And that's where the chefs
actually cook over an active volcano. So I don't get it, Like,
what is it with Spain and all these disaster restaurants,
Like first the earthquake thing, now we're real volcano. I
have no idea, but this one actually does sound pretty fascinating.
(08:32):
And it's not like those viral videos of people cooking
steak over lava. It's more just a giant grill over
a four hundred and fifty degrees celsius fire pit in
the ground. But it's still pretty cool. And in the
view from the place it's actually on a national park
and it's supposed to be just stunning. Man, well, I
can definitely see the feel of that. Well, if we're
(08:53):
going for something scarier, I think we should move from
volcanoes to Spain to Japan's alcatraz e Er restaurant. But
it sounds a little bit weird, but but what is it?
It's so weird and again, not a restaurant I would
ever go to, but it's fun to talk about. So
according to Atlas Obscura, this place is a kitchy horror
themed restaurant. Instead of being sort of playful horror, you know,
(09:15):
like like Beetlejuice or something, it's it's more of a
jail slash haunted mental institution live. So you go in
and you get thrown on the floor of a cell
with some drinks, and to get any more service you
actually have to rattle the bars and yell desperately, which
sounds terrible, and then the drinks coming heads, which is,
you know, kind of tacky but okay, But this is
(09:37):
the most terrifying part to me. Every so often, killer
clowns come out to harass you and a friendly. They
take people to the middle of the room and then
manhandle them and poked them with fake syringes. It just
sounds awful to me. Yeah, I was. I was okay
with the general idea until you got to the killer
clowns cooking with fake synches. But what I'm curious, like,
(09:57):
what are the reviews like, do people like it? I
think they're pretty med from the most part. Like most
people say, the food is good and the service is terrible,
but you shouldn't go in the afternoon because the scaring
is sort of halfhearted them. That's good to know. Well,
here's one that I don't know if it counts as
a theme restaurant, but it's from North Korea, so I
(10:17):
do want to talk about it. So, I mean, I
realized it's a little late to discuss this, but what
are you using as your criteria for a theme restaurant?
All right, Well, so the definition I've found says it's
where the concept of the restaurant takes priority over everything else.
So it could be the architecture or maybe the feeling
or some novelty aspect like killer clowns, poking with sorrentious.
(10:39):
But I think North Korea's pizza restaurant does count though,
because it's a manufactured experience of the West that it's
supposed to be novel there. Okay, so so what's it like? Well,
apparently it's really weird. Kim john Ill spent ten years
trying to get it up and running. He brought an
Italian chefs to train the cooks. He imported cheese and tomatoes.
(11:00):
They made these very specific rules, like the exact measurements
that one olive should be from another, and supposedly they
worked over and over to perfect the recipes. But I
read this one review on Epicurious. It says this. It says,
the whole thing is supposed to be someone's idea of
New York or Italy, but the olive oil is rancid,
the pizza tastes like cardboard and flavorless. Maybe the whole
(11:22):
idea is propaganda to give the West a bad name.
But the best part is that at the end of
every night to North Korean lounge singers come out and
seeing off key Frank Sinatra tra tune. For anyone who
needs another reason not to go to the US, that's ridiculous. Well,
I know we've got two more restaurants to go, but
why don't we tackle those after the break? Welcome back
(11:56):
to part time genius, who were talking theme restaurants so
will So far you've talked about cooking over a volcano
and visiting North Korea for what sounds like pizza and
possibly food poisoning and a horrible lounge act. It almost
feels like you're going for a disaster tame here. So
how are you going to close this out? Well, I
did have that one touching story about the totally dark restaurants.
(12:16):
You gotta give me some credit for that. But but
you're all right, I'll try to make up for it.
So I've got one that's sure to keep you relaxed,
and it's my Hico Mono a k a. Tokyo's Hammock Cafe.
And I think part of the appeal of the cafe
is that if you're visiting and kind of running around
the city NonStop, this is the perfect place to kick
your feet up and get a drink. And in fact,
(12:37):
there actually isn't a single chair in the place. It's
just hammocks. So that reminds me of my favorite place
that used to be in the Empire State Building. It
was like a nap store where you could go in
and take ten or twenty minute naps in these space
egg ponds. It was so great. Yeah, exactly, But but
actually there's one catch to this place that there is
a time limit on how long you can stay. And
(12:58):
if the restaurant is big, see your cap to a
ninety minute time still too bad. Yeah, I don't not
ninety minutes feels like enough time to have a nice nap.
But uh, I mean, I really do like hammocks, but
I hate falling asleep around other people, and I'd have
such a hard time not falling asleep if I nestled
into one. But I do like that idea. Okay, So
(13:19):
here's my last theme restaurant, and it's also from Japan.
Have you heard of the Future Sweets Factory and Santa City, Japan?
I haven't even heard of Santa City. What what is this?
So this place is it's kind of like a kid's
only Willy Wonka factory for pastries and it sounds amazing.
So apparently no one over twelve can go in. And
this famous pastry chef started because he remembered a time
(13:43):
in Japan when kids could run wild and be kids.
But in a growing city, he felt like there wasn't
enough for them. So parents actually leave their kids at
the door, and then the kids go in and they
watch chefs work with crazy robots and making new types
of inventions and delicious sweets. But the other part of
the whole experience was that the chef thought that parents
weren't talking enough to their kids, like they were always
(14:04):
on social media or doing work on their phones. So
the only way you can actually find out what sort
of fun and mischief happens inside is to ask your
kids about the experience. And I guess I have a
conversation over some of the delicious pastries they bring out.
I love that well. I think after your talk of
ice cream, toilets and psycho clowns, you've totally redeemed yourself
with this one, Mangoes. So I think I'm gonna give
you today's trophy and thank you so much. That's it
(14:27):
for today's nine Things, Mango. I look forward to seeing
you and Tristan up here tomorrow, and I can't wait
to see the look on Tristan's face when he gets
to go to Bubba Comstrom Company, when he just gets
draft off there. All right, we'll be sure to check
back in tomorrow. We'll be back with a full length episode.
Thanks so much for listening. The brok
Part-Time Genius News
Hosts And Creators
Will Pearson
Mangesh Hattikudur
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.