I got to write something very fun this week! It was mostly about pretzels, but it was also, to a lesser extent, about the villain in The Karate Kid Part II. 

Hello, by the way. This is Andrew, from TBTL. I hope  this email finds you well.

My dear friend (and former Taste Bud) Rachel Belle writes a bi-weekly newsletter of her own. It’s a companion to her TV segment The Nosh, which airs on the Seattle-area PBS station. It’s about food and cooking and culture and laughs.  

Rachel asked me if I’d answer a few questions for the Q&A section of her newsletter, and I said of course I would! I figured she’d send me a set of standard questions that she asks everyone, but I was delighted to find that she focussed specifically on my interests: Local eateries, dive bar culture, cleaning and -- of course -- the best and worst pretzel shapes available at the grocery store.

I sat down to answer Rachel’s questions on Tuesday morning. I figured it would take me about 30 - 45 minutes to answer them. Friends, I spent all damn day writing my responses. It was such a fun exercise! And while I don’t want to fully abandon my trademark humility here, I will say I’m pretty darned happy with how it turned out.

So, I know I’ve been suggesting a lot of fine newsletters to you recently, and I hope I’m not pushing my luck here. But if you’d like to read what I wrote, please check-out The Nosh Newsletter. I don’t know when, exactly, my piece will run, but sometime in the near future, I believe. So if you sign-up now, hopefully you’ll see my Q&A pop-up in your inbox soon. 

Oh, and regarding the Karate Kid  Part II? Well, you’ll have to subscribe to find out what that’s all about. 

I need to leave things there today, since I’m getting this newsletter out the door so late. But thank you so much for reading, as always. Even though I can’t scoop Rachel’s newsletter by reprinting my pretzel ranking here, I’m happy to rank other things just for you! You can email me here if you have anything you’d like me to organize from best to worst. Or even worst to best. I do it all the different ways. 

Have a great weekend, everybody! Luke and I will talk to you on Monday. 

-- Andrew

What’s your name and where do you live? 
Kelsey Plaggmier. Grass Valley, California.

When did you start listening to TBTL? How did you find the show?
I had a long commute in 2013 and heard Luke plug TBTL when he was on Wait Wait. I ditched the commute but have been listening ever since!

How would your friends describe you?
Thoughtful, organized, creative and kind.

What was your favorite cereal when you were a kid?Is it still your fav? 
Cracklin’ Oat Bran. I would have rolled my eyes at this, but now as I approach middle age it’s become a favorite dessert cereal.

What food do you love to eat the most of?
I’m powerless to those little bite-sized mozzarella cheese balls with some olive oil and salt.

What’s the best or worst nickname you ever had?
When we were first dating, my husband started calling me “Deets,” and it stuck. It’s now my favorite nickname, especially when I hear my daughter say it in her little voice.

If you could play one song on TBTL, what would it be?
Boogie Man by Vulfmon

What’s a special skill that you have?
Finding the right size container for leftovers.

What’s a skill you *wish* you had?
Singing in harmony.

If you were driving down the street and you saw Luke and Andrew on the sidewalk, what would you yell at them as you drove past?
“TBTLLLLLL!”

Hey, it’s Andrew here again. Just a reminder that you can find ourTen of the Week form here! If you’ve never been a TOTW before  (or if it’s been a really, really long time) fill out our little questionnaire. And check out ourTen of the Week archive here!