Bill Oakley has written a lot of jokes about food. In fact, you’ve probably laughed at one he penned for shows like “The Simpsons,” “Futurama,” “Portlandia,” “Regular Show,” or “Disenchantment.” The Emmy award-winning television writer and producer argues that food’s commonality makes it a strong vehicle for humor — universality is often the most fertile ground.
“There’s so few things these days that all people have in common,” he said. “If you’re talking about some TV show that’s on Netflix, maybe 95 percent of people have never heard of it, but everybody’s heard of the hot dog, the hamburger, [and] pizza.”
Food also gave the writers room — and the audience — something in common with Homer Simpson.
Oakley’s interest in food, specifically unique, regional foods, expands beyond sitcom writing. Recently, he’s been a contributor to the History Channel’s “The Food That Built America” and KATU Lifestyle’s “Afternoon Live. He’s collaborated with high-profile chefs, including Robert Irvine and J. Kenji López-Alt, and since 2018, Oakley has been posting fast-food and snack reviews on his Instagram.
His latest project, “An American Culinary Curiosity Dinner,” was inspired by regional dishes he ate while traveling around the country over the last few years. During those travels, he visited cities he hadn’t been to before, and for each trip, he asked his Instagram followers for suggestions. That’s how he found out about unusual regional dishes, like Ohio Valley-style pizza, a variant served in Pittsburgh that involves cold, rather than baked, cheese.
“There are hundreds of these kinds of dishes all over America that are only served within a couple of miles of the place where they originated,” Oakley told Rough Draft. “Some of them are extremely weird, and I wanted to try them all.”
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Oakley partnered with several restaurants around the country, serving as stops on his Culinary Curiosity Dinner tour. He hosts and emcees the dinners, which offer a multiple-course, surprise menu as well as a surprise food gift from Oakley to take home. So far, he’s hosted dinners in Portland, Oregon, Austin, Texas, Cincinnati, Ohio, San Diego, California, and Greensboro, North Carolina.
Oakley’s curiosity dinners aim to introduce people to regional foods they might otherwise not try. A curiosity dinner on the West Coast, for example, may include dishes from Rhode Island, New York, South Carolina, or St. Louis. The first curiosity dinner in Portland, Oregon, opened with a peanuts and Coke amuse bouche.
Ohio sauerkraut balls, fried sauerkraut filled with bits of pork or bacon and onion — or sausage and cream cheese, if they’re Cincinnati-style — served with a dipping sauce, are a prime example of a curiosity dinner course, as well as one of the tour’s most popular dishes.
“The menu is mostly things from far away,” Oakley said.
Oakley’s next curiosity dinner takes place at Southern Belle in Atlanta’s Poncey-Highland neighborhood on Tuesday, July 22, and will feature a seven-course dinner from executive chef and owner Joey Ward. While two courses will feature Ward’s personal ode to the Atlanta area, the rest of the menu steers away from the South, per the criteria set for a Culinary Curiosity Dinner hosted by Oakley.
“Any time I travel to a new city, I must seek out the local specialty dishes. My culinary curiosity has been with me since I was a child. I love the idea of Bill’s series because it rings true in my own life,” Ward said of hosting Oakley’s curiosity dinner at Southern Belle. “I match his enthusiasm for hyper-regional cuisines and I am excited to put my personal twist on dishes inspired by my Atlanta roots.”
Ward added that people attending the dinner will enjoy the element of surprise while also walking away with the history of each dish served.
The Atlanta curiosity dinner will be the most elevated event on the tour, Oakley noted.
“It’s a far more upscale version,” he said. “Joey has a reputation that precedes him and I expect that he’s going to have some incredible takes on these unusual dishes.”
Oakley was introduced to the South as a child. “I came with my family when I was like five or six,” he said. “I used to come to South Carolina every summer, and I know we came to Georgia.”
Oakley moved to the region as a teenager and even attended high school with Stephanie Stuckey, CEO of Stuckey’s Corporation, who introduced him to Ward.
Unfortunately, Oakley hasn’t had many recent opportunities to try Atlanta’s food. His last visit to Atlanta coincided with Hurricane Helene’s passage through Georgia last fall. He recalled eating a chicken tender Publix sub — “It was terrific” — and a Krystal delivery. “Everything else was closed because there was a hurricane going on,” he said.
This time around, Oakley wants to at least try a couple of Atlanta classics, such as The Varsity, and enjoy some late-night wings.
Atlanta Culinary Curiosity Dinner at Southern Belle takes place on July 22. Two seatings at 5:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. Tickets are $180 per person, excluding tax and beverages. Due to the surprise element of the menu, food allergies and special diets cannot be accommodated.
