Help Us Make Fun of Comedians Struggling to Pronounce Imo's

One thing you don't expect upon turning on a favorite comedy podcast is for your ears to be assaulted by the sounds of people struggling to pronounce your hometown's beloved food and landmarks.

Yet, that was the horror that met me when I hit play on a recent episode of the Doughboys this morning and heard the co-host, actor Mike Mitchell (The Tomorrow War, Love), and guest, comedian Mike Glazer (Weed and Grub), trying to say Imo's. Deep breath.

For the uninitiated, the Doughboys are a surprisingly popular podcast featuring two guys and their guests reviewing chain restaurants. It's in that "funny people talking" podcast genre. This episode, "Crumbl Cookies with Mary Jane Gibson and Mike Glazer," was actually the 4/20 episode (I'm behind, I know; being a managing editor is bizzy).

The incident starts with Mitchell and co-host Nick  Wiger introducing Glazer. He mentions he's from Missouri and, apropos of nothing, says that his first summer job was working the cash register at an Imo's.

"Wow!" Wiger says.

Mitchell responds, with appropriate pronunciation, "Emo's pizza."

Then Glazer steps in it.

"It's something ... " he responds. "Emo's versus Eye-mos. I think it's Emo's." You think? Dude. YOU ARE A NATIVE ST. LOUISAN WHO EVEN WORKED AT IMO'S! The horror.

"You worked there," Wiger says, the hint of a disapproving question in his voice. We are also disapproving.

"I wasn't good at it," Glazer says. We noticed.

"Do you know what the St. Louisan pronunciation of it is because I forget if it's Eye-mos or Emos. I forget which one," Mitchell says. "But they get mad at you, like every other local. They're just like, 'You got it wrong. We're mad. ... So you're about to be fucking crucified."

Yeah, Mike Glazer, you did get it wrong, and we are mad. Eye-mo's?? Prepare for St. Louis to find you social medias and have opinions. Take a look at the commenters on this site. The Lou doesn't hold back.

Frankly, I was about to delete the podcast from my phone, but a few things saved it from my anger. First, Glazer admits to spending that summer selling weed behind Imo's, thus explaining his faulty memory. Second, when asked if he liked the pizza, Glazer responds, "I loved it," and goes on to say, "Provel is delicious." OK, maybe you are from the 314.

Then Glazer's co-host, the perfectly named Mary Jane Gibson, describes her revelation upon trying toasted ravioli.

"The counter person found out that it was my first time at — I'm gonna say Emo's hard and strong  — at Imo's, and the counterperson, who I think also enjoys the reefer because she looked pretty happy, and she found out it was, and she deposited a toasted ravioli into my outstretched hands like I was taking communion for the first time, and I ate it hot sitting right at the counter."

Finally, Mitchell says he'd like to try St. Louis pizza under the arch. "Doughboys live under the St. Louis Arch. What do you think — arc, arch, arch?"

OK, actually the jury is still out.

(Just kidding, the RFT will eat pizza with you under the Arch any day. And, FYI, your embed option is broken.)

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