[PULSING MUSIC] VO: This program is brought to you by the members of WCNY - thank you!

VO: The William G Pomeroy Foundation helps people celebrate their communitys history by providing grants for historic markers and plaques nationwide.

Information about Pomeroy Foundation grants and partnership opportunities is available at WGPFoundation.org Bear Creek: gourmet burgers, craft beers, custom twists on classics and desserts.

More on Facebook and Instagram at BearCreekRestaurantInc Feed the bear!

[BEAR ROARING] MATT: Spatchcock Funk in the house -- our house, and your house too.

You know where the party's at?

Wherever you're at.

We're gonna teach you how to throw the best parties, the best dinners, the best get-togethers.

All you need are the people that you love, and we'll take care of the rest.

Spatchcock Funk.

Dope food, strong drinks, great stories.

[90s rock guitar music] >> We throwin' it back, y'all.

When it's time to turn things up and lift some spirits, sometimes you've got to turn back the clock.

There's a special vibe that nostalgia brings out in all of us, that historic energy, that retro feel.

Even from a time you might not have been on earth yet, there's no shame in that game.

Some studies show that nostalgia helps our mental health, and we all about anything that helps people get up and stay up.

A great way to connect with others is to connect with our past.

And that's a great way to throw a party too, baby.

Build it around a time in history, the clothes, the music, them drinks, the grub, and of course, the people.

So for us, one of our favorite times was the 1990s.

High hair, neon colors, hip hop, hard rock, grunge, awesome food, and super rad parties.

So it's time to go back in time.

Time to run it back.

Yo, is this party going to jump?

Definitely yes.

This is the Throwback Throwdown.

[90s rock guitar music] [instrumental hip hop music] MATT: Yo, you want to have a party celebrating a time period?

You need a drink that reps the vibe.

So when we were youngins in the 90s, we'd cruise around in our backpacks with those little plastic pouches you'd stick a sharp little straw into, and that's what we're doing here.

So we are making the Capri Cold Medina.

Went online, got some pouches, put some stickers on it to rep our brand.

You should do this for your parties too, because it's a lot of fun.

So we've got our pouches.

Now this drink, actually, is named after a 1988 song, Funky Cold Medina by our boy, Tone Loc.

So that song was from the 80s, but it lived into the 90s because the Beastie Boys would make a drink backstage, a version of a Fuzzy Navel they call the Funky Cold Medina.

Now the song is fun, but the song implies you've got to get people drunk to have sex.

We do not condone or support that at the Funk.

You want to get people naked and have sex?

Be funny, show a lot of respect, be cool.

That's how it's done.

To make this drink, we're going to batch it, because we're going to pour it out of a pitcher, easier to assemble.

Each individual one has around 5 ounces.

So we're going to make 6 drinks in our pitcher.

So we're going to put in around 24 ounces of an orange drink, the type that you can buy off the rack, not refrigerated, you know what I mean?

Once you've got that in there, we're going to put 7 and 1/2 ounces of vodka.

Then we add in 2 1/2 ounces of peach schnapps.

We're going to go about 2 ounces of some fresh orange juice.

The acidity really brings this drink kind of together and makes it more than just a bunch of booze.

Give it a couple of stirs.

Let's get pouring.

Pour some sugar on me and pour this drink in here, so get your pouch nice and open.

And the bottom of it will expand as you fill it with liquid.

You're going to go about 3/4 of the way, because then it'll open itself up.

[hip hop beats] Now you got it sealed, and you can take this wherever you want to go.

But let's try it too and make sure everything worked out.

Get our trusty little straw.

[hip hop beats] You gotta fight for your right to party.

[hip hop beats] [instrumental rock music] MATT: The '90s gave rise to handhelds, baby.

Gaming devices, phones, all that stuff.

So we're going to make a killer handheld appetizer.

We're making Cool to the Max Shrimp.

So the first thing, though, let's talk about shrimp itself.

When you buy shrimp, they have different sizes.

These are U16 shrimp - that means it takes under 16 to make a pound, that's how they get the size.

So sometimes people tell you the size - it's not the size of the shrimp, it's the motion of the ocean, but that's in the bedroom.

The size matters in the kitchen.

If we were going to make popcorn shrimp, we'd use U51s, little tiny baby ones.

If we were making a giant grilled shrimp, we'd use U12s, which are super colossal.

U16s are jumbo shrimps.

They're perfect for handheld things to dip.

So what you're going to get them is raw like this.

And then how you really de-shell a shrimp, take it, take a pair of scissors, slide it up and cut most of the shell out.

You can take a toothpick or some other tool like that, and you're going to de-vein it, which is really kind of scraping out their excrement a little bit.

Right, then you chuck that.

Then you've got your shell.

And it just opens from the back, grip it by the tail, a little squeeze.

Sometimes people like their tail squeezed.

Get that.

And now you've got the full shrimp.

And the reason why we're not leaving the tail on is some people put the tail on dishes, we don't love that because then all of a sudden you've got to take it out.

And it really - just one less thing.

So those are our shrimp.

Once we've got that done, we're going to pat and drop paper towels and leave them.

Cool to the Max Shrimp needs a cool dip, and this dip is a bacon chili remoulade.

The key ingredient are bacon bits.

Bacon bits, like me, were invented in the '70s, but didn't come to prominence until the '90s.

We've got 1 cup of mayonnaise.

We add in our 1/4 cup of bacon bits.

Then we're going to add in 3 tablespoons of a good Greek yogurt.

Next, 2 1/2 teaspoons of Dijon mustard.

We add in 1 tablespoon of green chilies out of a can that we've drained and chopped up.

2 cloves of minced garlic, a teaspoon of smoked paprika, 1 teaspoon of chopped up fresh rosemary, and 2 teaspoons of chopped up fresh thyme.

Mix this all together until you don't see any more of the dry parts.

Then we just refrigerate it until we're ready to dip.

Here comes the cool part, making the Cool to the Max Shrimp themselves.

So we've got our raw shrimp.

We're going to take some pepper and hit each side with a little bit of pepper, a little bit of salt, a little bit of granulated garlic.

Then we're going to flip them and hit the other side.

The killer ingredient here are tortilla chips, ranch-style tortilla chips, you know the types we get.

We've got a bag of those, crushed them up.

This becomes the crunchy, delicious, beautiful coating.

So crush those up.

Then take 3 eggs with a dash of salt and pepper and mix that up and a thing of flour.

Take our shrimp and about 2 cups of flour, as much as you need.

Put it in there.

Coat it evenly, even along the back.

Drop into our eggs mixture.

Get both sides with the eggs on it.

And kind of get the bottom of it, too.

Shake off the excess.

Then into the chips.

We're going to fry these at 350 degrees for 3 or 4 minutes.

[instrumental rock music] Super cool - Cool to the Max Shrimp.

Take them out of the fryer, hit it with a little salt, take some ranch salad dry seasoning.

You can get it right in the salad dressing section, and lightly hit it a little bit with that.

Then we like to take some fresh lime juice, a little bit over the top.

Take one of these beauties, dip it into our remoulade.

[instrumental rock music] Cool to the max.

MATT: Just hopped out of the Delorean because we are back in time.

Some vintage shopping because we're going to throw this party all the way back.

[rock music with vocals] THOMAS: Hello, welcome to Just Rose Vintage.

Any questions or concerns, please ask me.

ALEX: Oh, you're the guy in charge, awesome.

JUSTIN: That's my little helper.

ALEX: So we're throwing this '90s party.

JUSTIN: Okay.

ALEX: And everyone's got to wear not like Halloween costumes, but like vintage garb.

JUSTIN: Yeah, yeah.

ALEX: Is this a vintage store?

JUSTIN: Oh, yeah, man.

MATT: This is where it's AT, dude.

JUSTIN: This is a place to be.

We specialize in '80s and '90s, early 2000s pop culture.

Everything from old music, movies, sports, a little bit of everything, your graphic tees, your windbreakers, if you want to fight the wind, you know, jerseys.

ALEX: Dude.

MATT: where do you get all this incredible stuff, bro?

ALEX: I'm rocking the Oprah shirt.

JUSTIN: Oprah!

You get a shirt, you get a shirt!

It's all hand curated from local thrift stores, estate sales, garage sales.

Different countries from all over the world.

I actually have a guy in Albania who goes to it for me, and I get boxes from him.

MATT: That's crazy.

ALEX: Do you have like people in their 90s who pass away and they're rockin' like old Beavis and Butt-Head shirts?

JUSTIN: [laughing] Yeah, man, that is the best part.

Like, I didn't know grandpa had this.

MATT: They're bidding on engagement rings, he's like, I want the Beavis and Butt-Head thing!

ALEX: Dude, I got two options here.

JUSTIN: The Kraft cheesasaurus rex guy!

ALEX: Cheesasaurus rex.

MATT: Oh, that's pretty dope, that's super cool.

ALEX: Awesome, which I might buy just to wear.

JUSTIN: But this one, man.

ALEX: Spring break, this is retro.

JUSTIN: Look at the font, look at the color, it's a single stitched t-shirt.

Everything was made differently, it was made better.

MATT: Yeah, dude.

JUSTIN: It's better quality.

ALEX: It's got a little Spatchcock vibe.

JUSTIN: It's definitely a Spatchcock vibe.

MATT: I love it, I love it.

I'm looking for something like rock and roll-ish, I prefer black, t-shirt, you know what I mean?

JUSTIN: Like faded, nice.

MATT: Faded, stressed.

JUSTIN: Small sleeves for your big biceps, yeah, I got you.

What about Axl Rose?

MATT: Yo, Use Your Illusion tour, dude, sheesh!

GNR, baby.

MATT: Oh, man, yes, that is what's up.

MATT: I love Axl Rose.

JUSTIN: See the fade on it?

ALEX: You got the USA pants to go with it?

MATT: Yeah, the shorts, too?

JUSTIN: You need Vanilla Ice vibes going on here, man?

MATT: Yeah, this is awesome.

JUSTIN: I think that's the one, man.

ALEX: Let's do it.

JUSTIN: All right, let's ring it up.

[instrumental electronic music] MATT: The main course tonight is video rental pizza.

Something everybody can have a slice of, be free to do their things, play their games, party, dance.

It's awesome.

And you know the stuff with pizza, man.

Remember renting video games, videos from the store, coming home, sliding that in, just having a night.

Well, you also go to that place with the red and white checkered tablecloths, they made those pizzas just for you.

About this big, that perfect pan crust, that's what we're doing.

We are going to make that type of pizza today.

It's easy to do at home, and it's just straight awesome.

So let's rent some pizzas out.

We're about to make things live because we've got a live ingredient here.

We're going to take first 1 1/3 cup of warm water, at least 120 degrees.

We're going to add in 1/4 cup of non-fat dry milk, a tablespoon of granulated sugar, 1 package of rapid yeast.

Whisk that up.

So we're going to let this rest for about 5, 6, 7, maybe as many as 10 minutes until you start to see a bunch of little bubbles in it.

That means the yeast is getting active in here, so set that aside.

We're going to start making this dough, and we're going to make it right.

You can do this on your own with mixing bowls and on a floured surface, but we're going to use a trusty mixer here.

So we've got 4 cups of all-purpose flour.

We've got a whisk attachment in here, so we're going to mix that with 2 tablespoons of olive oil.

And 1/2 teaspoon of salt.

We're going to mix this really evenly.

[mixer whirring] Got this mixed up.

We're going to throw in our trusty dough hook.

So we're going to take our now risen yeast mixture, pour it in, and we're going to let this thing go for about 10 minutes.

Our dough is just how we want it to be.

So we're going to take it, roll it in a ball, and this is enough dough for three pizzas, so we're going to have three pizzas, cut them up into four slices, you can have a party.

So take this big ball of dough, cut it into thirds.

We've got a 3 x 8 inch cake pan.

This is critical to getting that super beautiful crust.

Equally as critical is getting the buttery, greasy goodness that comes into this awesome crust.

So we took 1/4 cup of vegetable shortening, you could use lard too if you're really feeling aggressive.

And 1/4 cup of ghee, which is clarified butter.

We're going to take this after we mix it up with our hands and really get our hands into it, and we are going to generously coat the entire, entire pan.

Like you want to see it on there.

Take your beautiful cake pan, set it aside.

Now you can do one of two things.

You can take this ball of dough, set it in here, put a towel over it, and let it proof for an hour and a half.

Or, want to save some time, you can turn it into your crust itself right now.

So we're going to do that.

We're going to flatten it out, keep rolling it until we get it to the size a little bit bigger than the bottom of the pan.

Try to center it and push up the crust, the dough rather, so it forms into the crust, up the sides as much as you can.

Now cover it with a towel and let it sit out in a warm place somewhere in the room for an hour and a half under a towel.

We've got this beautifully risen dough ready to go.

We're going to take it one more time with our hand and flatten it out and press up against the sides and you're going to see that it's starting to get closer to the top, just how that dough should look to make our beautiful crust.

It's time to start topping this pizza.

You know, our boy Leonardo, his brother Michelangelo, they'd be pumped about this pizza.

We've got our sauce and we're going to put in maybe as much as 1/3 to 1/2 of a cup of this chunky sauce in there.

Spread that around the bottom.

Now we took 4 cups of mozzarella cheese, 1 cup of shredded asiago and 1 cup of shredded parm and mixed them all together, and that becomes our cheese mix.

So we're going to just really, really get this in there and go at least 1/4 to 1/3 of a cup.

Now we're going to take some dried Italian seasoning and just sprinkle it over the top.

Now this beauty is ready to slide in the oven.

It's going to go in there for 14 minutes till the crust is golden brown.

Keep an eye on it, but that's what we're looking at - the cheese bubbly, 14 minutes.

We've taken out of the oven after 14 minutes and it's looking beautiful.

But we want to go one more step.

You can mix either a couple tablespoons of melted butter or olive oil and minced garlic and we're going to brush the crust with that mixture and put it back in the oven for a minute or two.

Yo, rent to own, this pizza is ready to go.

I'm going to cut it into four slices.

[wordless electronic vocals] Let's get a bite of this.

Mmm, Great pizza.

Cowabunga, dude.

[instrumental rock music] MATT: All right, for a banger 90s party, you need a super sweet treat that also doubles as a nice little snack.

And that's got to be a slam dunk.

So these are the Alley Oops.

Fun little tiny sugar cookies that we're going to dip in a beautiful frosting.

You know the type, when you were at school, lunchtime, your mom packed 'em in the bag for you, maybe late night at home, got the munchies.

Either way, we're going to make this thing jump.

We're going to take 1 stick of room temperature softened unsalted butter and put it into our mixer.

We're going to take 3/4 cup of granulated white sugar and put it in there.

Then we're going to put it on low, raise it up, and beat it until it's a good creamy mixture.

[mixer whirring] Once we've got this mixture all creamy and good, we're going to add in 1 large egg and then 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract and 1/2 teaspoon of lemon extract.

And we're going to mix it again for another minute.

[mixer whirring and rock music] This is all mixed up, our wet part.

So now it's time for the dry ingredients.

We're going to take 3/4 cup of cake flour into a bowl, a full cup of all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon of baking powder, 1 teaspoon of cornstarch, 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda, and then we're also going to throw in 1/2 teaspoon of salt.

We're going to evenly mix that up and we're just going to add it to the wet ingredients.

Now we're going to put it on low for 1 minute and then high for 1 minute.

[mixer whirring and rock music] We got our dough out of the mixer, a piece of parchment paper on a cookie sheet.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

You're going to take a little tiny ball of this, about the size of a chickpea, and you're going to roll them out into these balls and put them onto your parchment paper.

Then you're going to squish them down with your fingertip until it gets about the size of a quarter.

These aren't going to spread out very far, so they're not going to really take up a lot of space after they grow out, after they cook up and heat up.

So we're going to lay them all across, about five or six in a row, all the way down.

We have our cookie sheet ready, now it goes in the oven for 8 minutes.

Now it's time to make the frosting.

The first thing we're going to do is we're going to take 2 sticks of room temperature unsalted butter and put it into our mixer.

Now we're going to beat that until it gets creamy.

So raise up, put it on low.

[mixer whirring] While it's mixing, we're going to add in 1/4 teaspoon of salt.

It's going to go in there, it's going to be a right balance of salt to the fattiness of the butter.

When you're building something, you've got to take care with it.

The 90s, I mean, we're still alive because someone built us with care.

So we're going to now add in 3 cups of confectioner sugar, that good powdered sugar.

We're only going to add it in about 1/2 cup at a time.

Once we see one half cup is evenly mixed in, we'll add to the next half cup until we've got it all in there.

[mixer whirring] We've got this buttery, sugary mixture going on.

It's almost a frosting, but we're not quite there yet.

We're going to put some heavy cream in it.

So we've got 3 tablespoons of heavy cream.

We're going to mix it on low and we're going to add in 1 tablespoon at a time, slowly.

[mixer whirring] We've got the cream mixed in thoroughly.

We're going to add in 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.

Now we're going to turn it up and mix it much faster for about 30 seconds.

[mixer whirring] Now our frosting is looking great, but we want to make it look even better.

We're going to add 1/4 cup of rainbow sprinkles.

It takes us back to the day where we saw those in our little lunch packs, but also all the cool sports jerseys at the time.

In the pro basketball leagues, baseball leagues, all that stuff, were wearing these wild, crazy colors, so we're going to mix that in and really get this thing going.

[mixer whirring] We got rainbow frosting ready to take on some dunk action.

So the Alley Oops is one of these beautiful little cookies in this frosting.

Bringin' back the 90s in waves.

[instrumental rock music] MATT: Yo, let's talk about some 90s memories, alright.

I think about one that always comes to my mind.

I was a youngin', a teenager, like 12, 13, I got my first big boy BMX bike.

So there was a house being built in a neighborhood that of course we weren't allowed to go to, so we went.

ALEX: Three wheels or two wheels?

MATT: Two wheels.

I took the training wheels off, training wheels were off.

So I pumped my legs, got up this big hill, go down this huge jump, went up and I flipped in the air and landed directly on my head and easily got a concussion.

STEPHANIE: Explains a lot.

MATT: And you know you're not telling your parents about that, so.

ALEX: First of many?

MATT: First of many what?

ALEX: Concussions.

MATT: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

APRIL: [laughing] What do you mean?

ALEX: That's a weak way to get a concussion.

MATT: A weak way to get a concussion - dude, I flipped a bike line onto my head.

ALEX: Back in the day, I hit a cookie sheet to the head in backyard wrestling.

MATT: What?

ALEX: Multiple times.

Took my mom's cookie sheets out of her cabinet.

MATT: Multiple times!

ALEX: We'd go back and they'd make really loud sounds, but they wouldn't hurt.

So we'd hit each other in the head with it and - APRIL: So then I don't think that's concussion-worthy.

STEPHANIE: I was just going to say - APRIL: If it didn't hurt.

ALEX: No, no, because it got there.

Yeah, no, it felt like you just got - MATT: After 30 of them, it was a concussion.

ALEX: And I would stick them back in the cabinet and my mom would take them out and they'd be completely dented.

APRIL: She'd go to make her baklava.

MATT: Why is your little kid's head shape on the top of this cookie sheet?

APRIL: Diane went to make her baklava and said, What is this?

ALEX: But that's cool, too, that's a cool story.

MATT: All right, how about you, you got any?

MARCO: It's pretty crazy, I miss the '90s.

Man, I was a party animal in the '90s.

I remember one of my first parties in the '90s, I was just throwing them back, having a great time.

And then next thing I know, wake up in the kitchen, I'd wet myself.

Kevin's 5th birthday party was crazy.

[laughter] MATT: Sometimes you've got to take a few steps backwards to take a big leap forward.

Throwing together a fresh new remix on an earlier time can help you bust out of a rut, get your mind right, and get your groove on, too, baby.

So, y'all, we're busting out some old-school memories to make some new ones, and we're making them count.

To keep our mental health and our brains nice and spry, sometimes a stroll down memory lane can really get your heart running, get them wheels upstairs turning, get that ticker pumping, and that bass bumping.

So shave those lines on your dome, fire up the vintage games and the vintage gear, and get in the mix like that fire mixtape you made for your crush back in the day.

Yo, hold up.

Yo, look at my jams on the 1s and 2s, Spatchcock out.

[rock music with vocals] VO: The William G Pomeroy Foundation helps people celebrate their communitys history by providing grants for historic markers and plaques nationwide.

Information about Pomeroy Foundation grants and partnership opportunities is available at WGPFoundation.org Bear Creek: gourmet burgers, craft beers, custom twists on classics and desserts.

More on Facebook and Instagram at BearCreekRestaurantInc Feed the bear!

[BEAR ROARING]