Thai food had been on our list for quite some time, but we could never agree on 2 places to battle it out. When we finally decided to follow through, Vivian loudly voiced her go-to place and we Yelped for the second, which Mo had tried in the past. Ready, set, match.

We battled Dusita Thai in Santa Clara vs Papaya Thai in Milpitas. We decided that a typical meal would include a Pad Thai and a Curry (after a painful vote, we finally decided on yellow curry). As one would expect, most Thai restaurants know what they're doing -- you can't go wrong with Thai food -- and the vote was pretty difficult for all of us.
For some, the Pad Thai was an easier vote. Cameron enjoyed the noodles from Papaya Thai more, and felt that the enhanced fish sauce flavor added a nice touch. It was a clear choice for him. Vivian and Michele were the outliers, voting for Dusita for the Pad Thai.

The curry was a unanimous vote for Dusita, although most argued that the vote was close. Elba felt that the Dusita curry had a nicer kick and was creamier, while the Papaya curry was slightly more water-y.

We finished the battle for overall favorite, which resulted in a tie. Some Thai places are better at one dish, while some are better at another. It ultimately depends on preference.

We sometimes end the meal with a non-voted addition to reward ourselves for the hard work we put on our tastebuds. This time around we ended with delicious mango and sticky rice. As is his name, Mango Mo is quite particular about his mangos and complained and complained about them being too soft. Michele had had enough and shouted "you'd rather eat a rawer mango?", to which Cameron replied "Rawr." That was the end of that.


The Foodie Report:
Cameron > Papaya for Pad Thai, Dusita for curry
Elba > Papaya for Pad Thai, Dusita for curry
Michele > Dusita for both
Mo > Papaya for Pad Thai, Dusita for curry
Vivian > Dusita for both
Celebrity Guest > Papaya for Pad Thai, Dusita for curry

Yup, we did it. We had a showdown between the two most popular late-night, 2am-drive-through, I-wouldn't-be-eating-this-if-I-was-sober foods-- the ever greasy, questionably meaty, salty, minimally (if even) nutritious drive through taco.



It's no surprise that the $1.19 Taco Bell taco beat the 2 for a dollar tacos from Jack in the Box with a vote of 5 to 1 (Thanks, Elba for straying from the majority). But why was Taco Bell so superior? We felt it was fresher, if fresh can be used to describe such foods, had normal looking cheese unlike the triangle of American cheese on the Jack taco, and was far less greasy.

On further discussion of the greasiness of the Jack in the Box taco, Mo reminds Michele that "they're infamous for grease," to which Michele counters "it looks like a frozen burrito... like a taco cookie." Well said, MicLo, well said.



Elba, the only Jack in the Box lover we had today would like to note that she enjoyed the fake cheese on the taco: "I like fake everything". Hm.

The Foodie Report:
Cameron > Taco Bell
Elba > Jack in the Box
Michele > Taco Bell
Mo > Taco Bell
Vivian > Taco Bell
Celebrity Guest > Taco Bell

Bon Apetit,
FFF

Needless to say, we were a little ambitious on this one. We know what you're thinking. Four different places for wings!? But don't worry, we didn't stop there. No. We thought it'd be important to try two flavors from each. Yes, 8 wings each at minimum. And that's not counting the need for seconds when the vote is just so close. And, to top all that, because Cameron is a picky one, we had to get both wing in, and boneless. Thanks, Mean Cam! After this food fight, we instilled the unwritten rule of limiting it to two restaurants per fight.



We chose one spicy flavor, and one fun flavor from each. Here is what we ordered:
Wingstop: Garlic Parmesan, Original Hot
Wing Box: Maple + Sea Salt, Malaysian Lemongrass
Smoke Eaters: Trippin' Teriyaki, Traditional (Spicy)
Buffalo Wild Wings: Asian Zing, Lemon Pepper



The verdict? 4-3-0-0. But who's the winner? Drum roll please! dundundundundundun


WINGSTOP! Wingstop had 4 votes, Wing Box had 3. Now this was a tough one, and a large part of the vote falls to personal preference. Wing just may be one of those things that depend on each person's taste. Also keep in mind, that if we had to vote for a second place winner, we unanimously chose Buffalo Wild Wings.


Why did we like Wingstop? We thought it was the juiciest chicken and had the best ratio of sauce to chicken. The breading was still crispy and not too heavy. The Wing Box lovers enjoyed the dryer drumsticks and dryer flavoring. The flavor combinations from this restaurant are definitely unique and deserve merit based on the delicious combinations they have concocted. Buffalo Wild Wings was slightly less juicy, slightly heavier breading, and too heavy on the sauce (you would think that'd be a good thing, but we though it was too overpowering). Smoke Eaters had great flavors, but was a little too dry for our liking. The breading was also a bit much.


The Foodie Report:
Cameron > Wingstop
Elba > Wing Box
Emily > Wing Box
Michele > Wing Box
Mo > Wingstop
Vivian > Wingstop
Celebrity Guest > Wingstop


Bon Apetit,
FFF

Today, we put pizza to the test. But not just any pizza, build your own pizza. Each of the foodies customized their own pizza for this battle, because why not. Some of our orders came out as intended, while a couple weren't quite what we asked for, but we did our best to compare accordingly.  A couple of the pizzas also got a touch burnt (we understand as our order may have overwhelmed the pizza makers), but we worked around it. For your reference, Mod is the smaller pizza.

Em's order:
Mod: Mod red sauce, garlic rub, mozzarella, parmesan, asiago, pepperoni, italian sausage, bacon, meatballs, green bell peppers, tomatoes, roasted red peppers, pineapples, mushrooms, black olives, ranch swirl, roasted garlic, and chopped basil
Pieology: pizza sauce, herb butter, parmesan, mozzarella, ricotta, bacon, pepperoni, meatball, sausage, black olives, mushrooms, pineapple, basil, garlic, green peppers, black pepper, ranch dressing

Miclo's order:
Mod: Garlic rub, mozzarella, grilled chicken, artichokes, red onion, mushrooms, black olives, bbq swirl
Pieology: Herb butter, mozzarella, chicken, artichoke, black olives, mushrooms, red onions, bbq sauce

Cameron's order:
Mod: Mod red sauce, garlic rub, mozzarella, parmesan, gorgonzola, asiago, feta, pepperoni, Italian sausage, bacon, canadian bacon, chorizo, spinach, cilantro, roasted broccolini, pesto drizzle, roasted garlic, rosemary, chopped basil
Pieology: pizza sauce, herb butter, gorgonzola, parmesan, feta, mozzarella, ricotta, bacon, ham, pepperoni, sausage, spinach, basil, cilantro, garlic, pesto sauce

Mango Mo's order:
Mod: Mod red sauce, garlic rub, olive oil, mozzarella, (double everything following) green bell peppers, spinach, pineapples, red onion, mushrooms
Pieology: pizza sauce, herb butter, olive oil, mozzarella, (double everything following) mushrooms, pineapple, spinach, green peppers, red onions

Lil Viv's order:
Mod: Mod red sauce, mozzarella, parmesan, pepperoni, Italian sausage, spinach, pepperoncini, peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, cilantro, buffalo sauce swirl
Pieology: pizza sauce, parmesan, mozzarella, ricotta, pepperoni, sausage, spinach, cilantro, pepperoncini, tomato, buffalo sauce

Elba's order:
Mod: Mod red sauce, mozzarella, asiago, pepperoni, green bell peppers, mushrooms, black olives, roasted broccolini, dollops of Mod red sauce, roasted garlic
Pieology: pizza sauce, Daiya mozzarella, parmesan, pepperoni, black olives, mushrooms, green peppers, Kalamata olives, ranch dressing

As you can see, among the 6 of us, we clearly tasted a breadth of flavor combinations. While we all loved the variety offered at Pieology, and specifically found the ricotta to be delicious, we agreed that the quality of Mod offerings exceeded that of Pieology. Mod won this fight 5 to 1. The pepperoni and sausage were more flavorful, the crust was crispier, and the sauce tastier. Mod, if you are reading this, please extend your menu to include ricotta and some other fun flavors :).