This episode kinda started off on the wrong foot, without an intro or a couch gag. I have seen episodes with a greatly abbreviated intro and a super-short couch gag, but I can't remember ever having seen one without either, just a title card announcing the show. (I tried searching online to find out when this has happened, and found many lists of couch gags, but no lists of the opposite. Trivia fans, weigh in!) 

 

They don't cut the intro without good reason, and in this case the episode was so chock full of material that it sometimes threatened to burst at the seams. The entire episode had a harried air, as if it had been sped up 10% just in order to cram it all in there. More "blink and you'll miss it" moments than a dozen other episodes combined. (Scrolling past on a list of Yelp-style reviews is Marge's comment, "I used to feel guilty about eating veal, but now I just think of it as the baby corn of the beef world.")

 

This episode pits "fun dad" against "boring mom." It's territory that the show has covered before several times, but it didn't feel stale. The script managed to connect this standard trope to A) the "foodie" movement, and B) the insanely complex and vibrant world of food blogging. Giving Marge her own food blog was a nice touch, too. I find the idea of Marge writing a food blog endearing, and not just because she's such a horrible cook. 

 

The first "stop this crazy thing" scene happens when Homer takes the kids to a video game conference. (Named E4, with the fourth E being for "expensive"). I basically laughed at everything that I managed to spot before it whipped off-screen. 

 

Later, Marge and the kids end up at an Ethiopian restaurant (it doesn't really matter how). Marge screws up her courage to try the craziest thing on the menu, and the next thing you know, they're all foodies. I love the idea of the Simpsons dining at an Alinea-style molecular gastronomy restaurant. Somehow it was even funnier that they liked it.

 

The only wrong note in the show is when Marge lies to Homer. Instead of inviting him to the restaurant, she accidentally sends him to a meth lab. The honor for the best "I'm in a meth lab but I don't know it" has to go to American Dad, with King of the Hill in second place. Homer blundering his way through a cooking operation is definitely a distant third.

 

But who cares? Along the way we get a musical number by Tim and Eric about food blogging sung more or less to the tune of "Empire State of Mind," including a chorus line of famous chefs. SO GREAT.