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What's the--
[LAUGHTER]
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I'm Justin Warner.
This is John Lutz.
And today we're going to eat what's left of the universe.
Today, we're here to talk about Earth X.
I love it.
- I'm going to put these down. - All right.
Cool. - Thanks.
Thanks. So Earth X--
JOHN LUTZ: Yes.
JUSTIN WARNER: --is kind of like this dystopian interpretation
of the Marvel Universe.
How do you feel about dystopian interpretations?
I think that they are very timely and scary.
Well, let's have a nice dystopian dinner, shall we?
I'd love it.
If we're going to eat this good at the end of the world,
I think we're doing all right, because we've
got those mushrooms there.
I think I'm all good.
We've also got these guys.
Have you ever had them before?
This is a sunchoke.
Oh, yes.
I have had those.
I do not like them.
OK, great.
Well, we're batting 1,000 here on Eat
What's Left of the Universe.
What I like about these is I think
that the average person in a dystopian world would say,
it's just a bone.
Right.
Right?
But us, being smart scavengers--
We know that that's kind of food.
Starvers can't be choosers.
These, maybe you know them from your childhood.
JOHN LUTZ: Dandelion greens.
JUSTIN WARNER: Yeah, they're bitter.
They are bitter.
But I'm OK with that, I think, because I'm getting old
and my tongue is dying.
Is that arugula? JUSTIN WARNER: It's watercress.
JOHN LUTZ: Oh, watercress.
It looks like a weed.
I don't think most people would stumble upon a patch of this
and say, well, that looks like salad.
Right.
JUSTIN WARNER: What about these good guys?
JOHN LUTZ: I think they're sea beans.
- Have you ever tried them? - I haven't.
They're pretty amazing, in that they're kind of
like salt, without having to go through the process
of making salt.
- Whoa. - Yeah, right?
That's insane.
That's nature.
And then, we've got the insects.
These here are silkworm pupa.
Here, we have some black ants.
Then, we have some wasps.
And then lastly, we have some grasshoppers
that we've de-legged, because grasshopper
legs are no fun to eat.
JOHN LUTZ: Gotcha.
So somehow, we're going to assemble
this into something edible.
OK.
OK?
Can I try one of these bugs without cooking it?
Yeah.
Or is that a bad th-- like, want to try one of these.
I'll do it with you, yeah.
Oh, my, they're falling apart as I pick it up.
Right?
Yum.
Not bad, right?
Mmm.
I'm going to get to work on this stuff.
In the meantime, why don't you talk
to us about your relationship with the Marvel characters?
JOHN LUTZ: I would say that I'm always--
I've always been a bit of a nerd.
The first comic books I did ever get were the New Mutants.
JUSTIN WARNER: Oh, yeah, I love them.
JOHN LUTZ: They were all not the standard
bigger comic book characters.
Right.
And the New Mutants, especially, I
feel like, if you're in a transitionary phase,
and you're a teen, you know, you're
dealing with a lot of the same issues
that they're dealing with.
Exactly.
But here we are in dystopia, dealing with this.
People love you and know you as a character in 30 Rock.
JOHN LUTZ: Yes.
And that character happens to share your name.
Is that, like, your dystopian version of you?
Or is that just you?
I-- no, I hope it's not me.
He did play a writer on a comedy show that was named Lutz
while I was a writer on a comedy show named Lutz,
so it's pretty close.
But he was a lot more sad than I am.
I also don't wear a bra.
That's the only difference.
Something tells me that in Earth X
it doesn't matter what you wear.
JOHN LUTZ: I hope not.
Obviously.
I wonder what my superpower would be in Earth X.
What do you think it would be?
JOHN LUTZ: Bad breath?
I kind of like that, actually.
I'm using this device to shave the sunchokes
into some hot oil.
JOHN LUTZ: Now, that already smells good.
And like I said, I'm not a fan of these.
Well, you know, I'll tell you man, fat helps, in all cases
and in all things.
That's what I always say.
We're basically just going to fry these up
until they turn into chips, essentially
fry the life out of them.
Was it grim?
Was that grim?
I was going for grim.
You've done a lot of improv.
Yes.
Do you think your improvisational skills could
save you, or at least help you, in the event
of an Earth X dystopian future?
Of course.
I could distract people with my object work.
Wait, what's that?
Well, when you improvise, you don't have anything on set.
Right.
So you basically, you know, you're holding a cup
like this, drink like that.
What I do is just like now, you're mesmerized.
I am.
- And then I run away. - Got it.
Yeah.
JUSTIN WARNER: So look, these are starting to get bubbly.
JOHN LUTZ: I love it.
JUSTIN WARNER: And we're starting to cook a lot
of that moisture out of them.
And that means that they're going to be crispy.
I'm going to set these aside, over here,
and let them continue to cook, and work on the rest of it.
Great.
So I'm going to work on these mushroom.
Yes, great.
In the interim, why don't you show off some of your skills?
Oh, you want me to make improv--
improv soup? - Yeah, will you?
Sure.
Oh, this is a great day.
All right.
I'm going to get some carrot right here.
All right.
I'm very impressed.
Yep.
It is impressive.
Let's see.
You know what this is?
A fishing worm?
No.
It's chicken stock in a can.
Chicken stock, like, you did the little--
you did the little thing.
I know, you probably make your own, yeah.
Yeah, you probably make your own.
So this is cheating.
So I'm just getting like a little bit of caramelization
and crispiness, like, see that brownness
we've got going on there?
Yeah, me too. That--
Yeah, you're doing great.
Watch this.
Whoa.
Yeah.
There you go.
No, you're better at it than me.
No, I'm not.
I-- how could we tell?
Exactly.
Object work comedy.
JUSTIN WARNER: This is so great.
This is what the internet wants.
JUSTIN WARNER: So, look, we're journeying through this forest
of ingredients right now.
I'd like to know about what your journey from teenager who just
learned how to drive and is reading New
Mutants to where you are now.
I basically kind of floundered around in school
for a long time, until I realized
that I wanted to do comedy.
So I called my parents up, said I'm
going to graduate from college and move to do improv.
And they were a little wary of that.
Right.
My dad, actually, was the one who
said, go for it, because he said,
don't ever live with regrets.
And he came to hundreds of my improv shows.
- Really? - Yes.
I love it.
He loves comedy, too.
So wait.
This is the--
JUSTIN WARNER: Dandelion greens. JOHN LUTZ: Dandelion greens.
- Yeah. - Mushrooms.
Yeah, they take some time to break down,
these dandelion greens.
They are pretty tough.
That's why I let goats eat them.
But there are no goats left.
Except for the superpower goats, right?
Exactly, yeah, the dystopian goats.
Let's make a little vinaigrette to liven this up, shall we?
JOHN LUTZ: Yes, please.
You're going to put a little kimchi in there.
But then the vinaigrette is going
to be with the kimchi juice?
Yes.
JOHN LUTZ: Yes.
JUSTIN WARNER: So I feel like we're
going to get a lot of nutrients and stuff
from this that'll keep us alive.
So you want me to whisk?
Yes.
I'll drizzle.
Have you ever had an end of the world moment on stage?
Yes.
I split my pants on stage once.
- Oh, man. - Yeah.
I did that at a food event the other day.
It really sucked.
So let's add this in there. JOHN LUTZ: Great.
Oh, yeah, those sea beans.
We're going to finish with these sea beans.
Love it.
JUSTIN WARNER: And so they're going
to add some greenness and crunchiness to this to this
and plenty of salinity.
Now, a bevy of bugs.
A bevy of bugs.
Now, I'm assuming Antman here ain't going in.
No, he's not.
He's plastic.
So you want me to just--
Yeah, go for it.
All right.
JUSTIN WARNER: Here's some silkworm pupa.
I don't know.
JOHN LUTZ: Here's some ant pupa.
I'm going to try one of these wasps.
I like that they're sweet, right?
They're not bad.
None of these bugs are bad.
JUSTIN WARNER: And these are grasshoppers.
They're almost slightly sour, lemony.
Those I don't like.
Bugs are bad.
I'm going to play this up.
And I'll meet you at the table of taste.
Swipe up.
All right, we've survived this long.
Let's taste it.
Let's do it.
- Cheers? - Cheers.
Here's to it.
It's really good.
There is definitely a wasp, and some ant,
and grasshopper in this one.
Yes.
So I'm going to get that.
I couldn't taste of the grasshopper.
You know, it's weird.
I think that the sourness that we were experiencing
in the grasshopper, which we found to be somewhat
unpleasant, has now been masked and replaced by the far
more palatable and familiar.
- I found it. - Oh, it's there?
It's there.
It came in at the end.
So what's it like writing for Seth Meyers?
What are your people like?
What's your team up like?
Is it apocalyptic?
Or is it perfectly normal?
Everybody's really good at their job.
And we all do different things.
We all have our own superpowers.
Got it.
You know, like, some people write the monologue jokes.
Some people write the sketch stuff.
Some people write the closer look.
But everybody gets along really well.
And it's an amazing--
it's an amazing place to work.
That's awesome.
Yeah.
Well, that's all the time we have,
period, because it's the end of times.
That didn't land.
Well.
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