21 foods that make us think of “Saturday Night Live” sketches

On “SNL” back in the ‘70s, Dan Aykroyd appeared in a phony infomercial for a product called the “Bass-o-Matic.” To the shock and amusement of the audience, the appliance was nothing more than a blender that Aykroyd put whole fish into, and blended until smooth. The ad also included a spokesmodel that drank the pureed result from a glass. It was so iconic that Akyroyd reprised the role 40 years later!

When we see a big brownie, we can’t help but think of the “Brownie Husband” sketch from “SNL.” In this fake commercial, Duncan Hines has supposedly made a new product for single women called Brownie Husband, and it’s basically 90 seconds of Tina Fey hilariously spooning and caressing a giant, man-shaped, caramel-filled brownie.

To feature Mike Myers’ impression of a Long Island accent, “SNL” first had him play a character named Paul Baldwin, the host of a talk show called “Coffee Talk,” but Baldwin was quickly replaced by a woman named Linda Richman, whom Myers also played. Richman took calls, constantly professed her love for Barbara Streisand, and said a mixture of real and fake Yiddish words and phrases like “verklempt” and “he developed shpilkes in his genechtagazoink.” However, we remember her most for saying various good things are “like butter,” but pronounced “buttah.” 

The most memorable part of Chris Farley’s Matt Foley motivational speaker character is the fact that he lives in a van down by the river. But some folks forget that just before stating that bit of residential info, Foley says he is 35 years old, thrice divorced, and eats “a steady diet of government cheese.” When we see a big block of processed cheese, we can’t help but think of Foley—and Farley.

For such a simple series of sketches, “The Olympia Restaurant” has had a lasting effect on pop culture. The simple premise is that the diner’s employees diligently listen to their customers’ orders, but then tell them they only have cheeseburgers (pronounced “cheeburger”), they don’t have fries (“no fries, chips!”), and they don’t serve Coke (“no Coke, Pepsi”). If a customer protests the suggestion of a cheeseburger—because it’s too early in the day, for instance—the Greek manager (John Belushi) would point out all the customers currently eating cheeseburgers with the now-famous line: “Cheeburger, cheeburger, cheeburger, cheeburger…”

Does anyone remember the fake commercial for a Gatorade-like sports drink called “Cookie Dough Sport” from a 1997 episode of “SNL”? With a soundtrack of “Love Hurts” by Nazareth, athletes are shown competing in various sports while drinking raw cookie dough from a bottle or pouring it on their faces. It’s an obscure skit, but we can’t help but think of it now that numerous edible cookie dough products actually exist.

Have you ever wanted caffeinated coffee and you got decaf instead? That’s what happened to Chris Farley’s character in an “SNL” sketch that spoofed hidden camera commercials. He did not take it well, flipped over the table, attacked the server, and needed to be subdued by several people. We’ve never looked at decaffeinated coffee or instant coffee crystals the same way.

A viewing of the “Delicious Dish” sketch—in which Alec Baldwin plays a baker named Pete Schweddy who is the guest on an NPR show hosted by Margaret Jo McCullin (Ana Gasteyer) and Terry Rialto (Molly Shannon)—is mandatory during the holiday season. We can’t help but crack up listening to the characters talk about Pete’s “Schweddy Balls,” a category of desserts that include popcorn balls, cheese balls, and rum balls. Of course, there are puns a-plenty, especially when Pete takes his desserts out and the hosts start describing them in a way that would sound very confusing (and borderline obscene) to radio listeners.

Trips to Dunkin’ have been a little funnier in recent years, as we can’t help but think of Casey Affleck portraying a stereotypically obnoxious blue-collar Bostonian in a fake commercial on “Saturday Night Live.” Affleck’s character busts on his buddy gives a glimpse of his cracked phone screen, tries to skirt the store’s no-smoking policy, and in the final scene, he hurls a full cup of coffee at the windshield of a yuppie who dared to insult him, while yelling, “Go back to Starbucks!”

It’s not so much just french fries but sharing french fries that reminds us of the “Gap Girls at the Food Court” sketch. The series of Gap Girls skits were basically just an excuse for Adam Sandler, David Spade, and Chris Farley to dress up like women, but there’s a great part in the aforementioned installment where Farley’s character is chomping on a shared plate of fries, Spade’s character says “I thought we were all trying to lose weight,” and Farley responds by grabbing him by the neck and shouting in a deep voice: “Lay off me, I’m starving!”

Pouring gravy onto a plate of food will always remind us of the fake “SNL” commercial for a product called “Crystal Gravy.” Not only does the ad begin by stressing how critical natural things are, but it eventually shows people digging into food covered in a clear gel-like substance, in an obvious parody of the transparent soda Crystal Pepsi that was released around the same time in the early ‘90s. We’ve thought of Crystal Gravy even more recently because it looks so much like hand sanitizer.

Will Ferrell’s impressions of longtime Chicago Cubs announcer Harry Caray became legendary in the ‘90s. Ferrell’s Caray would rant, rave, and ask odd questions like, “If you were a hot dog, and you were starving, would you eat yourself?” He also once asked Jeff Goldblum if he would eat the moon if it were made of barbecue spare ribs.

“Lazy Sunday,” The Lonely Island’s first SNL Digital Short, is all about two friends (Andy Samberg and Chris Parnell) and their quest to get cupcakes from Manhattan’s Magnolia Bakery and see “The Chronicles of Narnia.” We’ve had these tasty treats before, and can confirm they’re worth trying! 

“SNL” spoofs oat cereals twice. First, in 1989, Phil Hartman starred in an oat bran cereal commercial for a product not-so-subtly called “Colon Blow.” Then, in 2000, a wife (Ana Gasteyer) served her husband (Will Ferrell) “Cracklin’ Oat Flakes,” which is a cereal spiked with ecstasy. In short, it turned an average day at the office into one hell of a psychedelic trip.

Usually, Darrell Hammond’s crude impersonation of Sean Connery stole the spotlight in “Celebrity Jeopardy” sketches starring Will Ferrell as Alex Trebek—but that wasn’t the case when Tom Hanks hosted “SNL” in 2013. Hanks played an inept version of himself that kept mistaking his pen for a microphone, became caught in a dry cleaning bag, and got his hand stuck in a pickle jar.

We can’t hear the words “Polish sausage” without thinking of Chris Farley’s character in the “Bill Swerski’s Superfans” sketches. These skits involved Farley, Mike Myers, Robert Smigel, and a guest actor (Joe Montegna, George Wendt, etc.) playing passionate Chicago sports fans who have unrealistic beliefs about their teams (and Bears Head Coach Mike Ditka), as well as unhealthy diets that give the gang frequent heart attacks. In one segment that guest starred Michael Jordan, Jordan began talking about his foundation, and Farley’s character (in voiceover) was revealed to be daydreaming of “Polish sausage…Ditka…Ditka…sausage…Bears.”

In a spiritual sequel to the aforementioned Dunkin’ Donuts commercial spoof, “SNL” also made a fake Sam Adams beer commercial, this time starring Bill Burr. Burr’s character is just one of a handful of “Real Bostonians” who are asked to sample Sam Adams’ new “Jack-o-Pumpkin Ale.” In typical commercial fashion, the group all says they love the taste of the new brew, except for Burr, who says, “What the —- is that?”, chugs the entire pint, and describes it as the beer that sits in your fridge for eight months until a friend comes over willing to drink anything.

One of our favorite musical numbers in the history of “SNL” sketches is Adam Sandler’s “Lunchlady Land,” featuring Chris Farley as the enthusiastic, dancing lunch lady. The song mentions foods like hoagies, grinders, navy beans, meatloaf sandwiches, and a smorgasbord of others, but the star food is the Sloppy Joe. In the end, the Lunchlady even marries the Sloppy Joe (Kevin Nealon), has six kids, and lives happily ever after in Lunchlady Land.

There are two “Saturday Night Live” sketches that tacos make us think of, and both of them are commercials. The first features Derek Jeter talking about a fake Mexican restaurant he owns called “Derek Jeter’s Taco Hole,” which is just a silly way to embarrass the former Yankee shortstop. The second is also for a Mexican joint, called “Taco Town,” which stars Andy Samberg, Bill Hader, and Jason Sudeikis. In a spoof of Taco Bell’s over-the-top creations, Taco Town has a taco that’s wrapped in so many different layers (including several tortillas, a crepe, a whole pizza, and a blueberry pancake) that it comes with its own tote bag!

There’s a trio of Totino’s Pizza Rolls commercial spoofs on “SNL.” All three star Vanessa Bayer as a cliche commercial housewife, but go on slightly different journeys. The first one started as a regular Totino’s ad but ended up actually being about a “Totino’s Super Bowl Activity Pack,” which includes little toys and games to help women pass time while their husbands watch the big game—an obvious parody of male-centric advertising. The second took a dark turn when it was revealed the men are cheering and reacting to a TV that isn’t even on, and the whole thing was actually an X-Files promo, and the third involved a passionate love affair between Bayer’s character and the sister (Kristen Stewart) of one of the guys watching the game. 

Preparing a whole turkey or chicken—annual holiday traditions—always conjures up memories of Dan Aykroyd impersonating famous TV chef Julia Child on “SNL.” The sketch starts as a straight parody of Child, who is showing her viewers how to bone a chicken. Suddenly, the chef cuts “the dickens” out of her finger, and blood begins spraying wildly on the food, the countertop, and the chef. She unsuccessfully tries to call for help using the TV kitchen’s prop phone before eventually passing out from blood loss.