History YMMV / GoodEats

** In the 2000 episode "A Grind is a Terrible Thing to Waste," Alton discusses how the hamburger may once have been America's trademark cuisine but has since been degraded to fast food fodder. Since that episode aired, burgers have undergone a renaissance, becoming cuisine once again.
** In the 2001 episode "Scrap Iron Chef", Alton competes with a sweet old lady in an Iron Chef spoof. Four years later Alton became the host of Series/IronChef America.

** In the Amber Waves episode, he praises the manager of the homebrew shop he visits. A year or two later, Marietta Homebrew Supply closed down because the manager in question was embezzling thousands from the family that owned the shop.

* MemeticBadass: [[http://www.wherethehellwasi.com/categories/foodstuff-fluff/good_eats_amazing_feats.html Alton Brown once got carried away slicing carrots, and julienned his cutting board. Undaunted, he sauteed the splinters in olive oil and spices -- and they were delicious.]]
** To Alton, Louis Pasteur ("King Louie") is this. The man ''did'' once take down a Food Police helicopter with a flamethrower.

* FunnyAneurysmMoment / HilariousInHindsight:

* FoeYay: Alton and W. In "Behind the Eats", Alton's mailman reads a letter aloud, asking whether W is Alton's wife. (See WriteWhoYouKnow, on the main page.)

* {{Shipping}}: A lot of fans seem to ship Alton/[[{{Tsundere}} W]]. The knowledge that the former is married does not dissuade them one bit. This was lampshaded in the behind-the-scenes episode, believe it or not; the mailman bringing AB his fan mail comments on all the letters [[FoeYay asking if W is AB's wife]].

* {{Squick}}: The Season 12 episode "Oh My, Meat Pie" was a parody of ''Theatre/SweeneyTodd''. Yes, folks, a '''''Sweeney Todd'''''-inspired episode, '''''on a cooking show.'''''
** Doesn't make it less awesome though. Indeed, [[CrossesTheLineTwice in an odd way, it makes it even more awesome]].

** The corresponding recipe in the Good Eats cookbook dutifully lists "1 1/2 pounds ground shepherd" among the ingredients for shepherd's pie (with a note suggesting ground lamb or mutton as a substitute should shepherd be unavailable).

** W's {{Leitmotif}} theme music is a riff on Monty Norman's ''Franchise/Jamesbond'' theme music.

* {{Jerkass}}: Occasionally Alton himself, though intentionally invoked for comedic effect.
** Cocoa Carl is a more straight example.

* HarsherInHindsight: In the Amber Waves episode, he praises the manager of the homebrew shop he visits. A year or two later, Marietta Homebrew Supply closed down because the manager in question was embezzling thousands from the family that owned the shop.
** In the return, in fall 2019, Alton did a post apocalyptic parody episode which starts with a global pandemic, and involved him making sourdough bread. In 2020, the COVID pandemic struck the world, which also caused a lot of people to try to make sourdough at home while quarantining.

** The ''Good Eats'' theme done "Tubular Bells" [[note]]the theme from ''Film/TheExorcist'' by Music/MikeOldfield[[/note]] style for the episode "Give Peas A Chance".