Kevin Pang’s latest bite into food media: NBC’s ‘Poochie & Pang (eat Chicago)’

A Wilmette food critic’s newest creation is now part of Chicagoland’s diverse programming menu.

Kevin Pang has developed and co-stars in “Poochie & Pang (eat Chicago),” a new show from NBC that is available on YouTube and on Sunday evenings on NBC Chicago.

The 22-minute program follows Pang and Roberta “Poochie” Jackson, the face of Chicago icon The Wiener’s Circle, as the odd couple try their favorite dishes across Chicagoland while enjoying hijinks along the way.

“It’s the most fun professionally I’ve ever had working on the show,” Pang said. “It’s the type of show I’ve always wanted to make. … It’s really an incredible gift to make exactly the type of show that conforms to your sense of humor and sensibilities.”

That is high praise coming from Pang, who spent years as a food writer with the Chicago Tribune, founded and wrote for digital food website The Takeout, hosted award-winning food podcast “Proof” and developed a Youtube food show, “Hunger Pangs,” with his father.

With the new project, he teamed with longtime friend Matt Knutson, a producer who formerly worked on “Chicago’s Best” and “Windy City Live.” Pang said it is a shame that Chicago, “one of the great food cities in the world,” he said, no longer has a dedicated food program. Pang and Knutson took on that challenge and also saw an opportunity to create a Siskel-and-Ebert-type vibe with Pang and Poochie, with Pang in the more formal role, a la Gene Siskel, and Poochie representing the more casual working class, as Roger Ebert did.

But that is likely where the shows’ similarities end. During their adventures, Poochie and Pang spend plenty of time in and around local food spots, tasting and talking about food, but Pang said the show features a hearty helping of sketch comedy.

For instance, in Episode 3, much of which is filmed in Wilmette, the duo venture to the Baha’i Temple where Poochie appears to have an epiphany regarding her trademark playfully abrasive behavior toward Wiener’s Circle customers. The epiphany does not last long.

In another sketch this season, Poochie and Pang take some batting practice with a softball made out of ground beef.

“It’s inspired by the same sense of humor as like Conan O’Brien, Bozo the Clown and ’80s and ’90s nostalgia kids shows — music montages and weird costumes … visual sight gags,” Pang said. “To be able to do that kind of show, to have freedom to write bits and have the utility of a food show and make a show on NBC exactly the way we want to make it is a lot of fun.”

In the first season, Poochie and Pang focus on burgers, and in the third episode, the pair stops by Wilmette’s Pit & Tap, a Texas barbecue joint. But Pang said he’s a big fan of the restaurant’s ATX burger, which is a double smash burger with Swiss cheese, fried onion strings and a black truffle spicy aioli, according to the Pit & Tap menu.

For more information on “Poochie & Pang (eat Chicago),” visit the show’s YouTube page, where you can watch Episodes 1 and 2. Episode 2 will also premiere on NBC at 11:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 1. Episode 3 will be available online next week and on TV on Dec. 8.

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