The New Rory & Mal podcast celebrated Thanksgiving with a special Friendsgiving episode featuring hosts Rory, Mal, and Demaris trying vegan versions of traditional holiday dishes. What started as an experimental culinary adventure quickly descended into comedic chaos as the crew discovered that not all vegan food is created equal.
Mal ordered several vegan dishes from a local spot, marking his first time trying food from this particular restaurant. As a vegan for five years, he wanted to share the experience with his co-hosts, ordering mac and cheese, jerk mac and cheese, Brussels sprouts, barbecue wings, greens, and spinach.
The hesitation was immediate. Rory expressed concern about eating impossible meat, while Demaris remained skeptical from the start. The mac and cheese with plant-based ground beef drew comparisons to unseasoned hamburger helper, earning tepid reviews of “not terrible” but definitely “not good.”
Things took a turn for the worse when they tried the jerk mac and cheese. Rory’s face said everything before words could, describing it as “so bad” and calling the white sauce possibly the worst he’d ever tasted in his life. Demaris doubled down after one bite, confirming the nastiness.
The vegan barbecue wings fared no better. After trying them, Rory declared that some animals should die, refusing to eat food designed to look like chicken when it clearly wasn’t. The crew stuck with the regular mac and cheese as the only palatable option, abandoning the rest of the spread.
Despite the failed food experiment, Mal shared his path to veganism. He stopped eating red meat in 2005, then gave up chicken in 2018 after experiencing a visceral reaction every time he ate it, his mouth would water like he was about to throw up, and he felt like he was biting into human flesh.
He went pescatarian for two years before getting tired of constantly eating salmon. Meeting a West Indian vegan chef in 2020 changed everything. The quality of that meal prep showed him vegan food could actually be satisfying, launching him on a journey to discover spots and recipes that worked.
Now five years in, Mal occasionally cheats with a slice of regular pizza every five or six months, but mostly sticks to plant-based eating. He acknowledged this particular meal was “fast food vegan” rather than the higher quality options he typically enjoys.
The conversation shifted to how each host spends Thanksgiving. Demaris revealed she’s in charge of the mac and cheese every year, while her aging mother handles the pound cake, potato salad, and dressing. The responsibility of feeding the family has become her honor and burden.
Rory discussed doing rounds between his house, his godfather’s Italian family gathering with 45 people and 15 kids, and his cousin’s house. He emphasized wanting his daughter Amara to experience big, festive holidays with lots of children rather than small, quiet celebrations.
The hosts shared memories of Thanksgiving leftovers, with Rory defending his tradition of making turkey sandwiches with cranberry sauce spread like mayo on rye bread, plus a light touch of mashed potatoes for texture. The crew debated proper leftover etiquette and whether certain combinations were acceptable.
Mal opened up about attending Mark Twain, a school in Rockville, Maryland for wayward kids from sixth grade through his senior year. Classes had just six students, a teacher, and a security guard. Half the school lived in group homes.
He entered as a class clown with ADD but left more aggressive and anxious after experiencing violence, including getting jumped by multiple kids from the same group home. The experience taught him about human nature early and strengthened his mental toughness, though it came at a cost.
Rory shared about his uncle “One Beer Charlie,” who shows up every Thanksgiving with a single tall can of beer and immediately asks people to put their dogs away despite bringing no gifts, toys, or contributions to the meal.
Demaris recounted an unsettling Uber ride where the driver called her a “good girl” after she complied with his request to put on her seatbelt. The phrase, delivered while looking in the rearview mirror, made her deeply uncomfortable but she felt unable to report it without seeming like the problem.
She also shared a dentist visit where the professional commented on her lack of gag reflex during a procedure, leading to jokes about uncomfortable power dynamics when medical professionals cross professional boundaries with inappropriate observations.
The conversation took an awkward turn when Mal asked Rory about the possibility of his divorced parents rekindling physical intimacy. Rory admitted hoping so, even getting candid about wishing his mother would relax during his high school years.
The hosts agreed that hate is actually one of the most intimate emotions because it requires so much emotional investment. Being indifferent is easy, but hating someone means they occupy significant mental and emotional space.
When asked what they were thankful for in music this year, Mal praised Mass Appeal’s Legend series for its attention to detail and incredible albums, specifically highlighting the upcoming Nas and DJ Premier collaboration. He also gave credit to Drake’s 100 Gigs livestream experiment for being visually and sonically clear, representing something different from an artist of that caliber.
Rory kept it simple, saying he was most grateful for the Clipse album despite it leading to him being clipped out of context online. Getting music from one of his favorite groups at that quality level made his year.
When asked about Tyler the Creator winning Apple Music’s Artist of the Year, both hosts responded with casual acceptance. Mal adopted a new philosophy of not questioning these decisions, asking who he is to dispute what recording industry professionals decide.
Rory predicted GloRilla might be his artist of 2025, appreciating the way she’s living out her rap career trajectory.
The vegan Friendsgiving ended with promises to try better vegan spots in the future and an invitation to a Leon Thomas concert that nobody wanted to attend. Demaris insisted she wasn’t going despite Mal’s attempts to put her name on the list, leading to jokes about her actual plans for the evening.
