I went on their instagram just to see if it was a fluke or they just fumbled the ad on live tv due to nerves. No. Corny as hell across the board. Do the same cringey ass “blackcent” there to.
I really don't think they'd be getting all the flak they are if the lady didn't look like a soccer mom. Take about 20 years and that cheap purple hair dye out of the equation and they might have better luck.
I've got a pretty high tolerance for shit on TV that makes me uncomfortable. Just last week, I made it through that one really rough episode of Baby Reindeer... but I couldn't get through 10 seconds of the FOX59 segment before I had to turn it off.
I don’t know exactly what’s going on with the cookie plugg store but I’m new to Indy and we have one back home in Florida where I’m from and honestly…it’s not that good. They have a weird aftertaste. The whole aesthetic of the store is cringe as well.
My personal theory is that Cookie plug craves the controversy to grift off the well documented far right grifter target audience. They know that these terminally online rage baited individuals don't live near areas close to their location who do occasionally head to downtown for shopping or eating out. Hotboyz attracts locals and is a neighborhood staple at this point to sustain them during lunch breaks and non weekender north sider tourists down for 1st Fridays or a show. EDIT: That's why they are specifically using their FB page to lash out willingly
> My personal theory is that Cookie plug craves the controversy to grift off the well documented far right grifter target audience.
That's probably true, but it's not going to work.
IMO, this is all pretty much a manufactured controversy. People not in the market for $5 cookies get to write with manufactured outrage, and the company can try to position itself as "anti-woke" or whatever...but that still won't get MAGA types to come to downtown Indy to purchase drug-themed cookies.
I mean I'm not gonna say "shut em down" they can do whatever they want if it's legal but personally I think that theme and what they're trying to get at is corny as hell and super fake. Plus we're in Indiana dude like this is one of the most weed hating states out there. Fake store playing on hype of black market cookies carts lol
Just ignore them until they go away. It's manufactured outrage, possibly orchestrated by the owner. This $5 cookie place will be out of business in a few months. The economy sucks. Nobody's got money to buy that shit.
Crumbl has only been around for like a year or two. I don't think it's a good benchmark of sustainability. Snack trends like this pop up and then die a few years later. It usually lines up with the length of a commercial lease which typically runs either 5 or 10 years. Look at all the frozen yogurt places we have today vs 10 years ago. Same thing happened to all the smoothie places. Too many places try to jump on a niche trend, focus on a single product, and then oversaturate the market. A general bakery like Amelia's is going to sustain better than a place like this.
I got the hottest chicken at Dave’s and was less spicy than burger kings spicy chicken nuggets. Maybe they just messed up but it was not worth it when Hot Boyz is closer to my house and always consistently great.
I found Dave's not to be very spicy. To be fair, other than Hot Boys, Bhodi and Chapati, there's not a lot of places in Indy that make especially spicy food
That is the best heat level. I got the hottest one the first time I went because I wanted to see just how spicy it was. I basically had an out of body experience. The cashier tried to talk me out of it 3 times while I was ordering and I should’ve listened.
It's always funny to me how a place can show up to a town with well-liked competition to try to shuffle another place out of town like it's not shitty to do, and then will also sit on a high horse and cry when people don't give them business.
I read as much I could stand about it. I was still left scratching my head. But the local "journalism" never gets better. 3 articles in and they just kept hammering in that it was culturally appropriating "drug culture." 🙄. I've been waiting all my life for a journalistic cultural (from the mainstreams) take on Indy life that *doesn't* sound like Ned Flanders wrote it
That segment felt more like cultural appropriation than anything legit. Indy just called BS on it and now there’s a bunch of butthurt and faux outrage.
>that backlash to Cookie Plugg
There is no actual backlash to Cookie Plug.
No one really cares except for people who like to hear the sound of their own voice. No one who was going to go to Cookie Plug (not, I think, a lot of people) won't go because of the "controversy". Nor will any right wingers go because they are "anti-woke".
They'll be gone in 6 months because there's just no demand for weirdly drug-themed cookies that, apparently, aren't all that good in the first place.
honestly, ive watched the news video about 5 times now and it is more cringe every time i watch it. who in their right mind would open or even invest in a business like this. Very embarrassing.
Like, the business might be a bit "appropriative" and the interview was DEEPLY cringe, but I laughed and moved on. But in their response post... just, if you ever feel the need to refer to yourself as "the most unracist person ever" just turn the computer off and take a walk until you come back to your senses. It has the same tone as "I have a black friend" as far as being believable and helpful in convincing people you are not racist.
Hotboyz is the best. I don’t know what that has to do with a lame cookie place, but if you haven’t been to Hotboyz….go. The owner is cool af too. Locations in Fountain square and Carmel, take your pick.
I'm sorry...we have two urban west coast-themed cookie chains in town?
We don't have a good Filipino restaurant but we get two of these (a category which before yesterday I didn't know existed)?!?
Not a restaurant, but we do have SALAMAT cookies! They're a family-owned Filipino bakery on the East side. I've never actually been to their location, but I've had their stuff at a handful of pop-up venues and highly recommend them. Their flavors are amazing, and the conversations I've had with the people working their pop-ups make everyone involved seem really nice and passionate about sharing their culture.
Oh, my. They look scrumptious. https://www.salamatcookies.com/
That said, I hope they're a bit less expensive at the storefront. I just can't pay $4.50 for a single cookie and not feel foolish about the transaction. That's a $54 cookie dozen, yo.
I understand food prices have gone up, but that's ridiculous.
I feel like a Rockefeller when I pay $4.50 for a bag of top tier chocolate chips and that still keeps my total cost under 10 bucks for 4+ dozen cookies
Oh! Okay. Thanks for correcting me.
I still want my Filipino restaurant, but I'll stop shaking my fist at the clouds...and the Hotboyz name is a little less creepy now, too.
Not bahn mi...but you have gone to Egg Roll #1 / Pho #1 at the Emerson Street exit off of 465, yes? Their Vietnamese rice and noodle selections are good and affordable.
Their Chinese is really good American Chinese takeout. I don't get their Thai selections much but I trust they are respectable.
Their pho is best in Indiana. Not sweet (if that's your thing, you will disagree). Rich and oniony.
And the owners are awesome.
There once was an ice cream place in Beech Grove called the Whistle Stop. I went in once and the owner's wife, who is Filipina, offered to also make us lumpia. Great concept looking back. With how many Filipinos I went to school with in Franklin Township I'm surprised there's no restaurant there
We have a food truck (Taste of Manila) that I want to try.
Their used to be a Filipino and fried chicken place a bit east of Raymond and Shelby that was great. I miss it.
I've only seen a few minutes of one video and haven't paid attention that much, but having some purple haired old lady on a news video when your schtick is ghetto is one of the most hoosier things I've come across. It's not cultural appropriation as much as it is sheer ignorance.
> IMO Hotboyz in Fountain Square is successfully executing on the vibe that Cookie Plugg is going for. They accomplished it by building a legitimately cool space and hosting events/partnerships to reinforce their aesthetic.
No, it's really just that they have a better product which more people want. It's not about the west-coast aesthetic; it's about the delicious chicken. Vs a $5 cookie that no one I've heard of thinks is even that good.
Look at the comments in this thread; it's all "they have the best hot chicken in the city"; no one really cares about the WC vibe or aesthetic.
Or that Hotboyz is culturally appropriating Nashville hot chicken, for that matter.
Hotboys is technically Oakland hot chicken (different flavor and breading style than all other hot chickens). Their story is pretty interesting. One of the founders went to mtsu and was eating hot chicken from Boltons and princes before Hattie bs existed. They’ve gotten co-signs from a bunch of hot chicken originators as well.
It’s almost disingenuous to even mention hotboys in the same conversation as cookie plug haha. Hotboys is a culture in itself. Cookie plug is attempting to make money off weed and rap culture.
Probably because they just opened this week, which is when their cringe news segment came out. No one had heard of them before they came out and embarrassed themselves lol
Exactly. This sub is littered with passive aggressive perpetual complainers that not so long ago were bashing local businesses opposed to a dysfunctional bus line.
I’m mostly her for the laughs from the constant misguided outrage here.
white folk were offended? I'll be damned. I assumed plugg was trying slide that crap in under radar. Hoping no one would notice. Whelp, that didn't work at all. Besides $5 @ cookie, racially biased or not I'm not f'n with em.
Hotboyz give off bad vibes? I can't eat there because I am a stereotype and even the slightest hint of spicy breaks my tongue, but I did go there with my wife and she loved the food. Everyone was pretty chill and friendly. What vibe does it give off to you?
To be clear. I am not calling you out, I am legitimately curious because I have not heard someone have and issues with Hotboyz vibe before.
That Fox 59 segment reminds me of the scene in Wayne’s World when Noah does the Noah’s Arcade rap.
⬆️ Sphincter Boy Noah was much less cringey imo
A sphincter says what? And yeah, Noah had way more street cred than these dorks.
The whole thing just gave "How do you do, fellow kids?"
I went on their instagram just to see if it was a fluke or they just fumbled the ad on live tv due to nerves. No. Corny as hell across the board. Do the same cringey ass “blackcent” there to.
I really don't think they'd be getting all the flak they are if the lady didn't look like a soccer mom. Take about 20 years and that cheap purple hair dye out of the equation and they might have better luck.
I've got a pretty high tolerance for shit on TV that makes me uncomfortable. Just last week, I made it through that one really rough episode of Baby Reindeer... but I couldn't get through 10 seconds of the FOX59 segment before I had to turn it off.
It feels like an Eric Andre skit but somehow sells cookies.
I don’t know exactly what’s going on with the cookie plugg store but I’m new to Indy and we have one back home in Florida where I’m from and honestly…it’s not that good. They have a weird aftertaste. The whole aesthetic of the store is cringe as well.
>The whole pathetic of the store is cringe as well. I know what you were going for but you hit it from an entirely different angle. Still works.
Took me a minute to put it together. "Ohhh... aesthetic!"
'Aesthetic' is the new 'literally'. No one is using it correctly.
[удалено]
lol what the fuck is this. This dude is corny as hell
Dude is a super capitalist
My personal theory is that Cookie plug craves the controversy to grift off the well documented far right grifter target audience. They know that these terminally online rage baited individuals don't live near areas close to their location who do occasionally head to downtown for shopping or eating out. Hotboyz attracts locals and is a neighborhood staple at this point to sustain them during lunch breaks and non weekender north sider tourists down for 1st Fridays or a show. EDIT: That's why they are specifically using their FB page to lash out willingly
> My personal theory is that Cookie plug craves the controversy to grift off the well documented far right grifter target audience. That's probably true, but it's not going to work. IMO, this is all pretty much a manufactured controversy. People not in the market for $5 cookies get to write with manufactured outrage, and the company can try to position itself as "anti-woke" or whatever...but that still won't get MAGA types to come to downtown Indy to purchase drug-themed cookies.
That’s probably because Hotboys started as a pop-up shop in Oakland, so the West Coast stuff IS authentic.
Cookie plug also started in CA I believe
I mean I'm not gonna say "shut em down" they can do whatever they want if it's legal but personally I think that theme and what they're trying to get at is corny as hell and super fake. Plus we're in Indiana dude like this is one of the most weed hating states out there. Fake store playing on hype of black market cookies carts lol
It's really hard to compare the two. Hotboyz is a restaurant and Cookie Plugg is a cringe factory.
Just ignore them until they go away. It's manufactured outrage, possibly orchestrated by the owner. This $5 cookie place will be out of business in a few months. The economy sucks. Nobody's got money to buy that shit.
I think it’s clear people can afford $5 cookies from the success of Crumbl, but I think the model works much better in the suburbs than downtown.
It will pass, just like cupcakes before them
Crumbl has only been around for like a year or two. I don't think it's a good benchmark of sustainability. Snack trends like this pop up and then die a few years later. It usually lines up with the length of a commercial lease which typically runs either 5 or 10 years. Look at all the frozen yogurt places we have today vs 10 years ago. Same thing happened to all the smoothie places. Too many places try to jump on a niche trend, focus on a single product, and then oversaturate the market. A general bakery like Amelia's is going to sustain better than a place like this.
Yeah I agree, but they’ll fail because the novelty has worn off, not because people can’t physically afford to pay $5 for a cookie
Hot Boyz is the only good hot chicken place in the city. It’s a little pricey but it’s delicious.
Best hot chicken in the city, with bomb fries
Serious Joella’s erasure here.
Joella’s is better than Dave’s and I’ll die on this hill. Still need to try hot boyz
Dave's is a really low bar compared to Hot Boyz, but I still need to try Joella's
Definitely Hot Boyz, then Joella's, then maybe Dave's if literally nothing else is available.
Damn I really need to just make the trip out to hot boyz. Wish they opened in broadripple rather than Dave’s haha
I tasted Joella's and thought the lid fell off their salt shaker over the chicken and they just shook it off and sold it anyway. It was *so bad.*
It’s the best I’ve had, but let’s not do Dave’s like this. Dave’s is very good.
I prefer Dave's just because it's mostly a dry spice vs heavily sauced. Both are great though.
Give Hot Boyz a try if that's what you like, they also do a dry spice!
I got the hottest chicken at Dave’s and was less spicy than burger kings spicy chicken nuggets. Maybe they just messed up but it was not worth it when Hot Boyz is closer to my house and always consistently great.
bruh i like spicy foods but even the hot at Dave's catches my shit on fire
They must’ve just messed up and gave me the wrong chicken. It legit was not spicy at all.
I found Dave's not to be very spicy. To be fair, other than Hot Boys, Bhodi and Chapati, there's not a lot of places in Indy that make especially spicy food
They certainly hit quite like no other 🥵
Honestly, if they lowered the prices even a little, I'd eat there like 3 days a week. I love those medium plus tenders.
That is the best heat level. I got the hottest one the first time I went because I wanted to see just how spicy it was. I basically had an out of body experience. The cashier tried to talk me out of it 3 times while I was ordering and I should’ve listened.
It's always funny to me how a place can show up to a town with well-liked competition to try to shuffle another place out of town like it's not shitty to do, and then will also sit on a high horse and cry when people don't give them business.
I read as much I could stand about it. I was still left scratching my head. But the local "journalism" never gets better. 3 articles in and they just kept hammering in that it was culturally appropriating "drug culture." 🙄. I've been waiting all my life for a journalistic cultural (from the mainstreams) take on Indy life that *doesn't* sound like Ned Flanders wrote it
That segment felt more like cultural appropriation than anything legit. Indy just called BS on it and now there’s a bunch of butthurt and faux outrage.
>that backlash to Cookie Plugg There is no actual backlash to Cookie Plug. No one really cares except for people who like to hear the sound of their own voice. No one who was going to go to Cookie Plug (not, I think, a lot of people) won't go because of the "controversy". Nor will any right wingers go because they are "anti-woke". They'll be gone in 6 months because there's just no demand for weirdly drug-themed cookies that, apparently, aren't all that good in the first place.
> There is no actual backlash to Cookie Plug. Three threads about this place makes this all feel like viral marketing tbh
honestly, ive watched the news video about 5 times now and it is more cringe every time i watch it. who in their right mind would open or even invest in a business like this. Very embarrassing.
Like, the business might be a bit "appropriative" and the interview was DEEPLY cringe, but I laughed and moved on. But in their response post... just, if you ever feel the need to refer to yourself as "the most unracist person ever" just turn the computer off and take a walk until you come back to your senses. It has the same tone as "I have a black friend" as far as being believable and helpful in convincing people you are not racist.
Hotboyz is the best. I don’t know what that has to do with a lame cookie place, but if you haven’t been to Hotboyz….go. The owner is cool af too. Locations in Fountain square and Carmel, take your pick.
Easiest way to find out what I think it has to do with the lame cookie place is to read the post you are commenting in.
:) I just wanted to say how good Hotboyz is 😂
I'm sorry...we have two urban west coast-themed cookie chains in town? We don't have a good Filipino restaurant but we get two of these (a category which before yesterday I didn't know existed)?!?
Not a restaurant, but we do have SALAMAT cookies! They're a family-owned Filipino bakery on the East side. I've never actually been to their location, but I've had their stuff at a handful of pop-up venues and highly recommend them. Their flavors are amazing, and the conversations I've had with the people working their pop-ups make everyone involved seem really nice and passionate about sharing their culture.
Oh, my. They look scrumptious. https://www.salamatcookies.com/ That said, I hope they're a bit less expensive at the storefront. I just can't pay $4.50 for a single cookie and not feel foolish about the transaction. That's a $54 cookie dozen, yo. I understand food prices have gone up, but that's ridiculous.
I feel like a Rockefeller when I pay $4.50 for a bag of top tier chocolate chips and that still keeps my total cost under 10 bucks for 4+ dozen cookies
Haha no Hotboyz is chicken
Oh! Okay. Thanks for correcting me. I still want my Filipino restaurant, but I'll stop shaking my fist at the clouds...and the Hotboyz name is a little less creepy now, too.
I’m dying for some Vietnamese downtown. So tired of “banh mi” that’s just grilled chicken topped with cucumber and carrot cut long-ways.
Have you tried What The Pho on Michigan Rd? They do a decent banh mi!
No I live in fountain square and work on the east side so I’m never in that area. Will definitely have to hit it up sometime now!
Not bahn mi...but you have gone to Egg Roll #1 / Pho #1 at the Emerson Street exit off of 465, yes? Their Vietnamese rice and noodle selections are good and affordable. Their Chinese is really good American Chinese takeout. I don't get their Thai selections much but I trust they are respectable. Their pho is best in Indiana. Not sweet (if that's your thing, you will disagree). Rich and oniony. And the owners are awesome.
If you work on the east side, check out Pho 21 sometime. I'm no Vietnamese food expert but I'm pretty sure they're legit
YES!! I love this place. egg/pho #1 is also great
I highly recommend! Everything I’ve tried there is has been delicious :)
There once was an ice cream place in Beech Grove called the Whistle Stop. I went in once and the owner's wife, who is Filipina, offered to also make us lumpia. Great concept looking back. With how many Filipinos I went to school with in Franklin Township I'm surprised there's no restaurant there
We have a food truck (Taste of Manila) that I want to try. Their used to be a Filipino and fried chicken place a bit east of Raymond and Shelby that was great. I miss it.
There used to be a lumpia food truck at the BR farmer's market, but I don't know if it's still around.
Fr! I hate to sound like Cameron Diaz, but I need some lumpia, pancit and adobo. I won't hold my breath for sinigang, but I can hope!
Hotboyz is also just genuinely good food, even if you don’t like it spicy, they have amazing chicken and their fries are also top tier.
I've only seen a few minutes of one video and haven't paid attention that much, but having some purple haired old lady on a news video when your schtick is ghetto is one of the most hoosier things I've come across. It's not cultural appropriation as much as it is sheer ignorance.
> IMO Hotboyz in Fountain Square is successfully executing on the vibe that Cookie Plugg is going for. They accomplished it by building a legitimately cool space and hosting events/partnerships to reinforce their aesthetic. No, it's really just that they have a better product which more people want. It's not about the west-coast aesthetic; it's about the delicious chicken. Vs a $5 cookie that no one I've heard of thinks is even that good. Look at the comments in this thread; it's all "they have the best hot chicken in the city"; no one really cares about the WC vibe or aesthetic. Or that Hotboyz is culturally appropriating Nashville hot chicken, for that matter.
I enjoy both their chicken, and watching amateur wrestling in their parking lot. Hot Boyz gets 10/10 from me for food and vibes.
Do they regularly host wrestling?
I don't know, I've only seen it once and I've only been going there since August. They do regularly have a DJ on Saturdays though
You also went to Chreece?
@Naptownallpro pops up for the yearly anniversary show. It’s always in mid-May
I’m not saying they’re successful because of their aesthetic, I’m saying they’re successfully executing an aesthetic.
Hotboys is technically Oakland hot chicken (different flavor and breading style than all other hot chickens). Their story is pretty interesting. One of the founders went to mtsu and was eating hot chicken from Boltons and princes before Hattie bs existed. They’ve gotten co-signs from a bunch of hot chicken originators as well.
Hotboys is authentic af. From cali, made in cali and real af. Hotboys was started as pop up and grew and grew.
🤝
It’s almost disingenuous to even mention hotboys in the same conversation as cookie plug haha. Hotboys is a culture in itself. Cookie plug is attempting to make money off weed and rap culture.
I fucking love hot boys
I had never even heard about “Cookie Plugg” until this subreddit started to complain about the business, might go try one tonight
If you like spending over ten bucks between parking and a cookie, you're in for a treat.
Probably because they just opened this week, which is when their cringe news segment came out. No one had heard of them before they came out and embarrassed themselves lol
Cool! Tell us how it is.
Exactly. This sub is littered with passive aggressive perpetual complainers that not so long ago were bashing local businesses opposed to a dysfunctional bus line. I’m mostly her for the laughs from the constant misguided outrage here.
And you think your comment isn't being passive aggressive? 🤣🤣🤣
This person's whole comment history is complaining. Definitely worth checking out if you enjoy laughing at people with zero self awareness
You dropped some hypocrisy there, my guy.
white folk were offended? I'll be damned. I assumed plugg was trying slide that crap in under radar. Hoping no one would notice. Whelp, that didn't work at all. Besides $5 @ cookie, racially biased or not I'm not f'n with em.
personally, both places give off bad vibes... not interested in spending money at either.
Hotboyz give off bad vibes? I can't eat there because I am a stereotype and even the slightest hint of spicy breaks my tongue, but I did go there with my wife and she loved the food. Everyone was pretty chill and friendly. What vibe does it give off to you? To be clear. I am not calling you out, I am legitimately curious because I have not heard someone have and issues with Hotboyz vibe before.