Last year, Conan O’Brien embarked on a food-filled trip to Italy with his worldly friend Jordan Schlansky, so it’s only fitting that the late night host would return the favor by taking his producer to his favorite Italian restaurant: the Olive Garden.
“Listen, I am here to teach you,” Conan says Jordan after ordering a pair of Italian margaritas for the table. “I am the master and you are the student. I am Yoda and you are… not really Luke Skywalker, you’re more like a sickly Chewbacca.” The pals enjoy some unlimited breadsticks — “We’re going to need two more plates of these,” Conan remarks — and Jordan tries, unsuccessfully, to pass long some menu corrections to the waiter.
After helping the waitstaff sing “Happy Birthday” to another table, and discussing how this meal is unlike any they had in Italy, Conan takes the cheese grater and makes it rain all over their food, including the complimentary suitcase full of breadsticks. “My favorite Italian phrase is ‘cheese it up,’” O’Brien says, with cheese grater in hand. Jordan looks mortified through much of this meal, but Conan is clearly having a blast at the O.G.
This funny segment is part of the new half-hour iteration of Conan, which is now airing weeknights at 11 p.m. on TBS. And if you want to see more of Conan and Jordan’s adventures through the world of Italian food, the excellent “Conan Without Borders” episode chronicling their trip to Italy is now available to stream on Netflix.
• Conan Takes Jordan Schlansky to His Favorite Italian Restaurant [YouTube]
