Springfield has been invaded by many things: monorails, yearly Halloween curses, Mapple, and the Leftorium are just a few of the things to come to the city the Simpsons have dealt with. Now, the greatest threat to Homer’s way of life has appeared: food hipsters.
It all starts innocuous enough, with a box of donuts appearing at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant. Gummy worms, churro chunks, and bacon top donuts, while Lenny enjoys a Russian Nesting Donut. Homer’s love of donuts leads him to discover they were dropped off, but came from Devil Donuts. A quick helicopter flight with Chief Wiggum finds the food truck selling these being sold out.
Introduce Terrence, the guest character for the episode voiced by Fred Armisen. After a quick offering of a Beer Keg Donut prototype to Homer, they quickly become friends. Terrence reveals he left Portland because it became too commercialized (“some restaurants have two locations; not near my kids”). Homer begins dressing like him (with a chained wallet, Marge declares “you look like a barista!”).
Soon, problems arise. Marge is criticized for her use of formula (“corporate chemical cocktail”), and a food festival has replace the burning tire pile, complete with home-brewing stands. By the end of the story, a compost pile threatens to destroy the town. “Your organic, all-natural lifestyle has doomed us all!” Homer declares, until the explosion is subdued by Marge’s formula.
It’s a riff on Portlandia, food hipster culture, and more in only the way The Simpsons can handle it. The episode, “The Day The Earth Stood Cool”, should be on Hulu soon enough.