Entertainment
Jeff Daniels' Favorite Sandwich Is Insane And Very Delicious, I Tried It And Improved It
By Robert Scucci
| Published
Back in February, Jeff Daniels (best known for Dumb and Dumber and The Newsroom) revealed what he believes to be the best sandwich during an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. During the infamous “Colbert Questionert,” Daniels laid it all out to a shocked audience after letting out a long sigh and starting with, “I’m going to go with a personal favorite.”
He then went into great detail describing the sandwich, which consists of pita bread, creamy peanut butter, cheddar sour cream Ruffles, and “your favorite barbecue sauce.” Daniels said his favorite is “Sweet Baby James,” but no such brand exists, so it’s safe to assume he meant Sweet Baby Ray’s and misspoke in the heat of the moment.
He was exacting in his instructions, explaining how only half of the pita bread gets covered with a quarter inch of creamy peanut butter, which is then topped with crushed chips. The next step is to slather the whole thing with sauce, fold it over, and go to work. Every food blogger I follow has tried the “viral sandwich,” and I usually avoid these trends because I have better things to do with my time.
Something about this mix of sweet and savory got my attention, though, so I had to make one myself and see what all the fuss was about. I also took a page from the Sandwiches of History playbook, hosted by the legendary Barry Enderwick, who reviews recipes as written but also likes to “plus them up” with extra ingredients to see if they can be improved.
So without further ado, here’s my review of the Jeff Daniels Sandwich, along with some late-night, cabinet-raiding culinary insanity.
The Jeff Daniels Sandwich
My first thought about the Jeff Daniels Sandwich is that he picked very distinct flavor profiles that could go one of two ways. Either it works perfectly, or it falls apart completely. Following his instructions, I grabbed pita bread, Ruffles, Sweet Baby Ray’s, and used the 64-ounce jar of creamy peanut butter already in my house because my kids are goblins and go through alarming amounts of it. I prefer chunky, but that’s beside the point.
While I’m not exactly a fitness guru, I do track my activity with a FitBit and try to hit around 20,000 steps and 5,000 calories burned a day. I also eat once a day because it makes tracking macros easier. Intermittent fasting keeps things simple, especially when I get reckless with late-night snacking, something I do often.
This works out nicely, because a six-inch pita, roughly three tablespoons of peanut butter, 11 cheddar and sour cream Ruffles (what they consider to be a single serving size), and two tablespoons of Sweet Baby Ray’s comes out to about 650 calories. I didn’t use a food scale, so your results may vary. For context, the Jeff Daniels Sandwich I made has roughly the same caloric content as 2.7 glazed doughnuts from Dunkin’.
It also clocks in at about 18.5 grams of protein, 73.5 grams of carbs, and five grams of dietary fiber.
As for the taste, I don’t know any other way to say it. Jeff Daniels knows what he’s doing. I have no insight into his personal life, but I imagine this sandwich came together under very specific circumstances. He name-drops Ruffles and specifies cheddar and sour cream. He calls out creamy peanut butter and Sweet Baby Ray’s as favorites. Given how messy this thing is, pita bread feels less like a preference and more like the only logical thing holding it together.
That said, this doesn’t feel like a desperation snack. Jeff Daniels is a successful actor. His pantry is probably well-stocked. The enthusiasm he shows when describing it tells me the first time he made this, he was either half asleep or operating under the influence of some late-night cravings that can only be achieved under a specific set of extra-curricular activities. I’m not saying anything definitive, but it takes one to know one.
Jeff Daniels Sandwich SCORE
The flavors are sharp, distinct, and constantly competing. My tastebuds were in shock at first. The crunch of the chips against the creamy peanut butter makes your jaw work. Then the cheddar and sour cream hits. Then the barbecue sauce takes over. Then you’re back to peanut butter. As you keep going, everything starts to come together, and suddenly it clicks. It’s an elite combination of sweet, savory, and texture. It checks every box.
I Had To “Plus It Up”
As a fan of Sandwiches of History (I trust Barry Enderwick with my life), I had to plus up the Jeff Daniels Sandwich, and I put some real thought into it. The original is built on bold, accessible flavors, so I stuck to ingredients you’d realistically have on hand. I added mini pepperonis, chopped green onions, dill pickle, and hot honey, because that’s what I had lying around.
I also buttered and grilled the pita before assembling everything to give it a crispy, warm exterior.
I’ve been a musician most of my life, but this might be the first time I’ve legitimately felt like an artist. The original Jeff Daniels Sandwich is solid. I had it after my daily run as a recovery meal, but 650 calories wasn’t going to cut it. My version came in closer to 900, so between the two, I was covered, and slightly ashamed of myself.
I’m not saying the Jeff Daniels Sandwich should be part of your daily routine. But the original version that blew up online is undeniably good. It’s filling, and it feels like you’ll need a nap when you finish it.
My variation of the Jeff Daniels Sandwich SCORE
My version, though, is one of the best sandwiches I’ve had in at least a year. Mixing hot honey with the Sweet Baby Ray’s adds a kick. The pepperoni and green onion sharpen the sweetness of the peanut butter. The pickle cuts through the blandness of the pita bread, and grilling the bread before assembly is a power move I’m still proud of.
I’ve got to hand it to you, Mr. Daniels. You created a monster, but I’ve seen the light. Thanks for sharing this and completely wrecking my diet for the next several days while I figure out what to do with the rest of this pita bread.
Entertainment
Wordle today: Answer, hints for April 19, 2026
Today’s Wordle answer should be easy to solve if you can never sit down.
If you just want to be told today’s word, you can jump to the bottom of this article for today’s Wordle solution revealed. But if you’d rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.
Where did Wordle come from?
Originally created by engineer Josh Wardle as a gift for his partner, Wordle rapidly spread to become an international phenomenon, with thousands of people around the globe playing every day. Alternate Wordle versions created by fans also sprang up, including battle royale Squabble, music identification game Heardle, and variations like Dordle and Quordle that make you guess multiple words at once.
Wordle eventually became so popular that it was purchased by the New York Times, and TikTok creators even livestream themselves playing.
What’s the best Wordle starting word?
The best Wordle starting word is the one that speaks to you. But if you prefer to be strategic in your approach, we have a few ideas to help you pick a word that might help you find the solution faster. One tip is to select a word that includes at least two different vowels, plus some common consonants like S, T, R, or N.
What happened to the Wordle archive?
The entire archive of past Wordle puzzles was originally available for anyone to enjoy whenever they felt like it, but it was later taken down, with the website’s creator stating it was done at the request of the New York Times. However, the New York Times then rolled out its own Wordle Archive, available only to NYT Games subscribers.
Is Wordle getting harder?
It might feel like Wordle is getting harder, but it actually isn’t any more difficult than when it first began. You can turn on Wordle‘s Hard Mode if you’re after more of a challenge, though.
Here’s a subtle hint for today’s Wordle answer:
To rise.
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Does today’s Wordle answer have a double letter?
There are no recurring letters.
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Today’s Wordle is a 5-letter word that starts with…
Today’s Wordle starts with the letter T.
The Wordle answer today is…
Get your last guesses in now, because it’s your final chance to solve today’s Wordle before we reveal the solution.
Drumroll please!
The solution to today’s Wordle is…
STAND
Don’t feel down if you didn’t manage to guess it this time. There will be a new Wordle for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we’ll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints. Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today’s Strands.
Reporting by Chance Townsend, Caitlin Welsh, Sam Haysom, Amanda Yeo, Shannon Connellan, Cecily Mauran, Mike Pearl, and Adam Rosenberg contributed to this article.
If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Not the day you’re after? Here’s the solution to yesterday’s Wordle.
Entertainment
Hurdle hints and answers for April 19, 2026
If you like playing daily word games like Wordle, then Hurdle is a great game to add to your routine.
There are five rounds to the game. The first round sees you trying to guess the word, with correct, misplaced, and incorrect letters shown in each guess. If you guess the correct answer, it’ll take you to the next hurdle, providing the answer to the last hurdle as your first guess. This can give you several clues or none, depending on the words. For the final hurdle, every correct answer from previous hurdles is shown, with correct and misplaced letters clearly shown.
An important note is that the number of times a letter is highlighted from previous guesses does necessarily indicate the number of times that letter appears in the final hurdle.
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If you find yourself stuck at any step of today’s Hurdle, don’t worry! We have you covered.
Hurdle Word 1 hint
The edge.
Hurdle Word 1 answer
BRINK
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Hurdle Word 2 hint
Moody.
Hurdle Word 2 Answer
POUTY
Mashable 101 Fan Fave: Nominate your favorite creators today
Hurdle Word 3 hint
America’s bird.
Hurdle Word 3 answer
EAGLE
Hurdle Word 4 hint
A platform.
Hurdle Word 4 answer
FORUM
Final Hurdle hint
Cheapskate.
Hurdle Word 5 answer
MISER
If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Entertainment
Star Trek’s Most Ambitious Villain Helped Create The Franchise’s Most Complex Hero
By Chris Snellgrove
| Published
When Star Trek: Voyager first came out, the most fascinating character was the Doctor. While Robert Picardo’s performance was superb, it’s fair to say this character was mostly fascinating on a conceptual level. We had seen things like hypercompetent Starfleet captains and exotic aliens before, but what we hadn’t seen was a fully holographic chief medical officer. Voyager’s Emergency Medical Hologram seemed like the perfect embodiment of the Star Trek ethos. He’s a technological strange new world and new life, all rolled into one.
However, what casual audiences didn’t realize is that the Doctor wasn’t completely unique. Long before Picardo’s character ever sawed bones in the Delta Quadrant, Captain Picard dealt with another extraordinary hologram: Moriarty, the brilliant foe of the famous investigator Sherlock Holmes. Over on The Next Generation, Geordi LaForge accidentally created this villain as a sentient hologram when he asked the holodeck to create a challenge worthy of the android Data. Later, Star Trek: Voyager executive producer Jeri Taylor revealed that, in-universe, the holographic Doctor was created because Starfleet took advantage of the same accidental breakthrough that created Moriarty!
It all started in “Elementary, My Dear Data,” the Next Generation episode in which the titular android and Geordi LaForge recreated Sherlock Holmes’ adventures on the holodeck. Thanks to his positronic brain and his encyclopedic knowledge of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Holmes novels, Data is able to easily solve every mystery that is thrown at him. That’s when Geordi makes a seemingly simple request. He asks the Enterprise computer to develop a holodeck foe that could actually defeat Data, one of the smartest beings in the entire galaxy.
The computer obliges and creates a sentient version of Moriarty, Sherlock Holmes’ greatest foe. Following Geordi’s instructions, the Enterprise computer included much of Data’s vast programming, which resulted in the holographic character becoming self-aware. Moriarty ended up threatening the Enterprise on two different occasions, and Picard eventually got rid of him by trapping the unknowing villain in a simulation where he thought he had left the holodeck and could explore the stars. This was meant to be a happy ending for Moriarty, but in the show’s typically bleak fashion, Star Trek: Picard later showed us a different, more hostile version of this character created by a malevolent Section 31 AI.
How A Villain Created A Hero
What does all of this have to do with Robert Picardo’s holographic Doctor on Star Trek: Voyager? Elementary, my dear reader! Very early in Voyager’s development (the show didn’t even have a name yet), executive producer Jeri Taylor was inspired by Moriarty to create a new character. As reported in A Vision of the Future-Star Trek: Voyager, Taylor wrote down notes for a holographic doctor “who, like Moriarty, has ‘awareness’ of himself as a holodeck fiction. He longs for the time when he can walk free of the Holodeck.”
A few days later, she wrote down additional notes that contain a startling bit of Star Trek lore. “The Holo-Doctor represents a new, state-of-the-art technology which has capitalized on the serendipitous incident which created Moriarty, and has programmed a holographic character which has self-awareness of his situation and limitations.” While Moriarty is name-dropped on Voyager a couple of times, the show never mentioned what Taylor’s notes seem to confirm: that Lewis Zimmerman could never have created the Emergency Medical Hologram program if not for Geordi LaForge accidentally creating Moriarty on the holodeck.
From Villain To Leading Man?
If that’s not strange enough, there was a period of time when Voyager’s producers were considering making Moriarty a mainstay character on the show. As reported in Star Trek–Where No One Has Gone Before, Taylor’s notes mentioned that “everyone agreed that was a little too broad, and we couldn’t figure out why anyone would take him along.” After dismissing the idea, they decided “that having a holographic doctor with the full consciousness of being a hologram might be fun, and we’d never done anything like that before, except for Moriarty.”
There you have it, gentle reader. Without the character of Moriarty on Star Trek: The Next Generation, we’d never have the Doctor on Voyager. In this way, Trek’s most ambitious villain helped create the franchise’s most complex hero. Thanks to Jeri Taylor’s notes, we also know that, in-universe, Lewis Zimmerman would never have been able to create the Doctor if not for Geordi accidentally creating a sentient Moriarty so Data could have fun. In retrospect, this does make Zimmerman’s arrogance that much weirder. After all, he has a lot of attitude for someone who owes his entire career to the two biggest book nerds in the galaxy!
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