Sam Goldberg's Interest in Restaurants Led Him to Create 'Respect the Chain,' Which Intertwines Food and Pop Culture

Growing up, Sam Goldberg always had an idea he would be a part of the food world one day, especially after frequently visiting Planet Hollywood as a kid.

"The restaurant was intertwined with food and pop culture. From the moment you walked in, movie memorabilia adorned the entire place, and action stars like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone would be featured on the big screens throughout the restaurant. And, of course, they served Cap’N Crunch chicken fingers, which are exactly as they sound – chicken coated in Cap’n Crunch. They were so delicious that my mom got the recipe and would recreate them for me at home. This is when my love for food began," Goldberg exclusively tells OK!.

But throughout the pandemic, Goldberg started noticing chain restaurants were stepping up with incredible deals, prompting him to think about a whole new idea he could execute himself.

"I thought I should share some of the amazing deals so people were aware of the menu items!" he says, which is how his brand Respect the Chain came to life. "In my first episode, I highlighted Morton's Steakhouse, which was offering a Wagyu hamburger for just $13. The first episode aired on April 30, 2020, from the Morton’s Steakhouse in Midtown New York. After we highlighted menu items, we began to go inside of the kitchen with chefs and create the restaurant signature menu item."

He continues, "I grew up loving chain restaurants and felt that they didn’t get the respect they deserved. I noticed that most food shows rarely highlighted chain restaurants. I always thought to myself, 'I would love to get an inside look at The Cheesecake Factory kitchen and see how the dishes are prepared or watch Panda Express create their famous orange chicken.' I also noticed that whenever I would suggest a chain restaurant, people would dismiss the idea just because it's a chain. In my opinion, a restaurant becomes a chain because it was in such demand that they needed to create multiple locations. Respect the Chain started to show people that chain restaurants deserve respect, too."

While researching concepts and ideas for the show, Goldberg realized that he could likely get celebrities on board with the concept since they're also fans of chain restaurants. "For example, Kevin Hart created the plant-based restaurant Hart House, Mark Wahlberg has Wahlburgers, and Danny Trejo has Trejos Tacos in Los Angeles. We recently spoke with Jason Mraz. Did you know he has a farm where he grows avocados and distributes them to Chipotle? The next time you order guacamole at Chipotle, you could be eating one of Jason’s avocados!" he notes.

"It seemed as though celebrities loved food as much as we did, which is when we decided, in addition to highlighting chain restaurants, that we should also incorporate celebrity interviews revolving around food," he shares.

Since then, Goldberg has had the luxury of spending time chatting with celebs over a drink or some delicious food. "We drank White Castle Beer with Hoda Kotb on the red carpet, did bone broth shots with Bert Kreischer, had octopus with Erin Moriarty (Starlight from The Boys) because of that famous octopus scene with Chase Crawford, spoke with Jason Mraz about how he sells avocados to Chipotle, and, of course, spoke with the hysterical Phil Rosenthal about Somebody Feed Phil," he says.

"Additionally, many celebrities have created liquor brands, such as Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul with Dos Hombres Mezcal, and they have both been on the show. We sampled Four Walls Irish American Whiskey, created by the cast of Always Sunny in Philadelphia, with Charlie Day and Glenn Howerton. We also had the opportunity to speak with Eva Longoria about her brand Casa del Sol Tequila," he adds.

So far, Goldberg's favorite interview has been with Rosenthal because he agreed to reenact a scene from Curb Your Enthusiasm with him. "I hope we did Larry [David] proud!" he quips, adding that he'd love to chat with Gordon Ramsay one day.

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Check out Respect the Chain here.