Food Court - Justice, Served Cold

S2 Episode 1 - Potato Chip Clash by Food Court

While most wouldn’t count gas station cuisine among their options for “fine” dining, many people across this great land whet their whistle and sate their stomach on food found in the meager aisles of your nearest convenience store or service station. However, the gas station – whether it be frequented by the hungry traveler, the long-haul trucker, or the drunken party-goer, appeals to the most fundamental aspects of the American appetite.

Often considered the humdrum, bottom-shelf food of preppers and worthy only of mixing into mayonnaise, canned fish has often had a bad rap in American culinary tradition. However, while most stop at the 80-cent can of chunky, catfood-inspired tuna, the world of canned fish extends far beyond the dull can sitting in back of your pantry shelf. But which fish can best? Which fall flat? We’ll find out, when our judges enter the culinary courtroom.

Cheese lovers, tired parents, and stoned teenagers around the globe have long rejoiced in the ritual preparation of pot of Macaroni and Cheese – the simple, yet delectable dish that drenches the palette in savory cheesy flavor. Most will immediately recognize the iconic Kraft brand blue-and-yellow box, but do scrappy up-and-comers have what it takes to dethrone the king of queso? We’ll find out when our jury enters the culinary courtroom.

Everyone has a preference when it comes to the order of operations for sandwich fillings. Meat up, veggies down? Or Veggies up, meat down? Condiments on one, or both sides? If only one, condiments top, or bottom? Very little critical attention has been paid to these foundational differences in sandwich construction, and today we’ll find out which prevails in court of law.

America’s number one selling candy is Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. For ages, the iconic two-cup pack was the only way to consume these milk-chocolate meets peanut-butter masterpieces, but in recent years Reese’s has branched out to include new varieties such as the Big Cup™, minis, and seasonal variations like “ghosts”, “trees”, “hearts”, and “eggs”. Can the original product hold up to these flashy new contenders?

Everyone loves cheese on a cracker, but what people really love is cheese IN a cracker.

In America, land of the free and home of the brave, it has long been a goal to have a hot slice of pizza in the belly of every man, woman, and child. We moved one step closer to that goal in the 1960s with the mass-market availability of frozen pizza. The modern day has seen a massive number of frozen pizzas on the market – white sauce, red sauce, BBQ, personal size, bite-size, and even formerly premium features like stuffed crust all grace grocery store shelves. But which frozen pizza is top dog?

There is an amazing amount of variety in citrus fruits, from the tangy tartness of the grapefruit to the simple sweetness of the navel orange. In modern grocery stores, consumers are greeting by a bounty of orange and orange-ish fruits of similar shapes but vastly different flavor profiles. Fad diets have been built around them, balanced breakfasts have been comprised of them, but which citrus fruit reigns king among them all?