"yep"

the food: Animated Sustainable Food

the song: "Yahoos and Triangles" (King of the Hill theme) by The Refreshments

How good is King of the Hill? We love it because it hits the nail on the head when it comes to  small Texas towns and Texas state-of-mind. I grew up about 80 miles west of Garland, which is Mike Judge's old home and the real life inspiration for Arlen. KotH is so dead-on that it sometimes surprises me that non-Texans like it. But they do. If the show has created any stereotypes about beer sippin', alley standin' Texans I'm ok with that. Because I honestly feel like I know these people in real life.

King of the Hill was canceled by the evil Fox network after 12 years to make room for another Seth MacFarlane show (really), but thankfully it is in heavy syndication. Just when I think this show can't get better, I stumble upon an episode about the sustainable food movement. In "Raise the Steaks," Hank joins an Arlen food co-op after he discovers they have the best steaks in town. This episode is brilliant- it touches on everything from back yard chicken coups to pretentious hippies to the notable difference (and inherent problems) in "Big Organic" food production. Pretty complex themes, there. And this was in 2007!

After the food co-op has been bought out by the Mega-Lo-Mart, the Hill family sits around the table picking at their tasteless meat and vegetables. Hank tells them to just hurry up and eat, because maybe they will forget what real food tastes like. It's funny because it's true. 

Way to go, King of the Hill. You managed to tackle possibly the most important issue in America today without compromising the humor and heart of the show. And you didn't even need a sado-masocistic talking baby to do it.

~eeg