Craigslist and bagged lunch are two things that probably shouldn’t be in the same sentence together—like, ever. But one adventurous content creator from New York has been ordering lunches off of Craigslist, and he seems to be holding up just fine.
Kyle Marcoux (@thevulgarchef), aka the “Vulgar Chef,” is the creator and a connoisseur of chaotic budget meals. The recipes all look pretty terrible: Think “Twinkie Hotdog” or “Thanksgiving Sushi,” and you get an idea of the palate he’s working with.
The Italian Combo
Recently, Marcoux took to ordering lunches off of Craigslist, and the results have been mixed. “Fingers crossed that it’s not as bad as the last one,” he says as he opens “Part 4” of his Craigslist tasting series. With over 2 million video views, it seems the internet is hoping for something, too.
As he’s unpacking the meal, he reads aloud what each dish is. He’s got cookie dough cannoli, lime-apple lemonade, a supreme pizza Italian hero, garlic parm pizza bites, and birria tortellini. He loves the tortellini; it’s cheesy with meat in the mix, too. Then he tries the pizza bites, which are “just pizza rolls,” he says. But he’s not upset about it.
Both the lemonade and the cannoli are deemed highly acceptable. But the real pièce de résistance is the sandwich. Initially, he thinks it’s just a typical Italian sub. That means Genoa salami, boiled ham, mortadella, and capicola on a soft sub roll. Red wine vinegar, pickled pepperoncini, lettuce, and onion are also traditional.
But upon closer inspection, he realizes that the bread isn’t just bread; it’s actually all the normal Italian sandwich meats, marinara, and the bread is an entire small pizza. It’s basically an Italian sub wrapped in its own personal pan pizza. He screams his approval. Then Marcoux marches across his living room and shouts to his kids that they should try it.
“Genius,” he says of the sandwich experience.
Wait, Where Did He Get Lunch?
The comments section is a mash-up of hungry folks checking their Craigslist for meals, those who are concerned for the TikToker, and those who barely remember the site still exists.
“Had to rewatch because halfway through it hit me he said Craigslist my brain thought marketplace,” admitted Elliot (@elliotcoon).
Then Frank.rlaw (@frank.rlaw) couldn’t get over one of the dishes. “Them selling you seasoned pizza rolls has me dyingggg lol,” she said.
Marcoux replied, “Listen I ain’t mad about it.”
And Wandering_around (@wandering_around4) is ready to convert to the Craigslist way. “I hate to admit this but that looked so good I’m about to go check my craigslist for dinner,” they said.
“The level of danger associated with this sort of consumption intrigues me,” another wrote.
“I just don’t have this level of trust….” another commented.
Moiiixo (@moiiixo) noted that “giving your children a juice off Craigslist is def a choice.”
Again, Marcoux quipped, “Don’t be upset that I am a better parent than you.”
Is Craigslist The Hot New Lunch Spot?
Because Craigslist is largely unregulated, there’s a decent likelihood that you’re taking a chance when buying from individuals on the site. You never know about a stranger’s home kitchen cleanliness protocols, after all. And though it might feel like a new, economically necessary trend, it’s actually something that’s been around for millennia. Enterprising home cooks have long hawked their wares outside of established structures.
BroBible reached out to Marcoux via email and on TikTok direct message. We’ll update this if he gets back to us with tips on finding Craigslist treats.
@thevulgarchef Italian combo lunch off of Craigslist. This went much better than the first meal we tried.