July 28, 2020 • 34 mins
This week on Food Court with Richard Blais the hosts of the podcast Two Old Queens have brought a fast food case fit for a drive thru. Comedian and writer Mark Rennie believes that McDonald's is the iconic choice whereas actor and writer John Flynn would rather have it his way over at Burger King. This one's a Whopper folks (or a Big Mac, I'm not playing favorites). Tune in to find out who wins- will it be the clown or the crown?
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
Creamy, creamy, crunchy food Court, food Court, food Court with Blaze,
Argue in the food court cook with Blaz. All right,
(00:33):
welcome to food Court, a production of I Heart Radio.
I am Richard Blaze, and I will be your host
and your judge with the Noki cutter gabble, and I'll
be here from my cool home courtroom that now, like
everything else in my life, exists over zoom. I will
settle your food fights and you will still have to
live with my verdicts, but for now from a safe
(00:53):
social distance. Joining us in the court. Today, we have
two men who have had a podcast together called Two
Old Queens. Were they searched for the gayest movie ever made,
based both on their opinions and a Byzantine ranking system.
They're old, They're queens. There's two of them. It's Mark
Renny and John Flynn. Hello, thank you, thank you, won,
(01:15):
thank you for giving me the the the energy there
on what was the second take? But people don't need
to know that. I'm glad you're perfectly now. Listen, guys,
how long have you known each other and how did
you meet? I guess we've known each other for about
seven years now, something like that. I moved out here
with my husband, and it was one of those things
that we had a lot of mutual friends and every
single one of them was like, oh my god, you
two have to meet you guys have to hang out.
It was like a weird, non sexual blind date that
(01:37):
people sort of try to set us up on, as
it were. And I think the first time we hung
out was that really hung out just the two of us.
Was that a Hot Chip concert? Hot Chip concert? Yeah,
you know Broadway? I know Hot Hip and John Wick movies.
So perfect. It's the perfect balance. Isn't there always pressure
when there's sort of like you have to meet this person.
Isn't there like a pressure to automatically connect with that person? Yeah,
(02:00):
And it can feel weird. I think. I think it's
especially weird when you're older to make friends when you're older,
you know what I mean. It always feels like weird
to be like we should hang out and you're like, hey, buddy,
I've got my life figured out. I don't need new
friends right now, even especially even so especially in this
time where we're on zoom and like we we're just
meeting now, but like every time and I'm and I'm
assuming this will be the case unless you guys don't
like me that at the end, I'm like, I'm so glad,
(02:22):
Like I'm so glad we did this, Like I have
new friends now for sure, Like you never regret making
a new friend, I don't think unless they betrayed, this
is never a bad thing. But then where they ever
friends mysteries or if they don't like the thing that
you're arguing, and that could be the case today. The
two of you have brought a fun debate to my court,
(02:44):
one that I wasn't expecting. But now that it's here,
I can't deny the importance of it. With all the
things going on in the world today, is a very
important topic. It will be a fast food case fit
for a drive through and maybe a clown or a
king perhaps. But before we get into that, let's get
to know each other a little better. Mark, how would
(03:05):
you describe your eating habits in general and what are
some of your go too I love anything frozen at
Trader Joe's. That's to go to you can't go wrong.
I love there's a place called Hail Mary and at
Water that does the best pizza, very good, very good pizza.
So I actually don't eat fast food a lot, so
like when I do, it's a treat, and normally when
(03:27):
I do, it's Taco bell Um. We're connecting right off
the bat by the way, and I producer Krista, who
doesn't usually get involved, she's like throwing up she's in.
But I two things that I love, and I'll be honest,
Taco bell and Trader Joe's. I also has very low
standards when it comes to food, so I'm always like,
this is fine. It's like, you know what I mean,
I'm a I'm easily impressed, so like I want if
(03:48):
I ever cook something, I really want people to like it.
But I also have very low standards, so it's kind
of I love that, especially since I revealed right before
that that I'm a big fan of those things. Mark,
what's one of your This is just me because, like
you know, the Trader Joe's sort of culture, Like we're
always looking for, like what's the next thing that someone's
obsessed with. What are some Trader Joe's obsessions you have? Well?
(04:10):
I love that their aesthetics seems to be steampunk and
Hawaiian shirts. I don't know what those two have to
do with each other They have a great pistachio array.
You could get the salt and pepper. Sometimes they have
a lot. I did recently get their take on pringles,
and it made me nauseous, so I don't recommend those.
I love a heretic. I love a hummus. They have
a in the refrigerated section of black bean and jack
(04:32):
cheese burrito. I take the extra step and put it
in the oven for twenty eight minutes. Some people can
microwave it, but I want to have the time burrito
on the outside. I this is me cooking. I like
it's twenty eight minutes. Is also a very specific time. Well,
it's to thirty. I you know, thread the needle enough
that you've dialed it into Oh, when I make Kraft
(04:54):
mac and cheese, do you think I need to read
how the ingredients? No? I know it. Oh, I love
that we're on sidebar all. Do you but Kraft mac
and cheese? Do you go whole cheese packet? Or of
course I didn't. Why wouldn't you? What are you saving
the other half for? Yeah? What are you doing? Making
an art project is more a shot at my wife,
who like thinks it's a little bit more nutritionally balanced
if you only go half to pass. If you're concerned
(05:16):
about nutrition, you shouldn't be eating craft Magna cheese in
the first place. This is true. This is true. Listen
my TJ's tip real quick, please, there's a garlic spread
and planting chips that are just a mark. You're also
passionate about movies. What are some of your favorite movies
of this moment? Maybe this moment or no historic God?
(05:37):
I love the Alien franchise. I love uh, I love
what do I like? I love a Douglas Cirque movie.
We just watch Treemale Trouble, John Waters movie Transcendent. I
would say, yeah, I don't know. I like. I have
like a pretty wide swath of interest. I like your
action movies. I like your high art, I like your documentaries,
I like your whatever you got. I'll watch a Pixar
(05:59):
even want to Pixar Dane to watch Inside Out. Wow,
you must like feeling things, I guess. Yeah. Oh my gosh, John,
what about you tell us about yourself and what are
some of your favorite movies and what are other things
you and Mark maybe haven't agreed on historically? Huh, that's
tough to say. Well, historically. Mark and I. In fact,
(06:20):
when we were asked to do this, we had a
hard time because we kept bringing up a topic and
then we both agreed on the same topic. We we
were just both felt on the same side of it.
So we're pretty We're very similar in that we're pretty like,
not too fussy, pretty easy to please. Cooking wise, I'm
a terrible cook. Luckily, my husband is a very good
cook and comes from a family a very very exceptional cooks,
and so my favorite meals or whatever he wants to make.
(06:42):
I've actually, since we've been in l A, I have
never been inside of a Trader Joe's because I've never
had to do any grocery shopping whatsoever. But in my defense,
my husband does not know, he's never done laundry or
knows how to use a vacuum, so it does work.
It's a bounty. But as for like together you make
one woman, yep, and we still don't make as much
as we do separately. As man, thank you? What is
(07:05):
I don't know? What are some of we we tend
to get along with most things. What are some other
things we don't like or we disagree with? You? Like
a walnut and a brownie and I don't that's what
did a walnut ever do to you? Dude? You just
like it's very soft, easy, like nothing to to work
with in a brownie. It's like tree bark that adds nothing,
and it's just like it's just a road. What do
you just otherwise you're just eating like a like a sponge,
(07:25):
like just like a like there's nothing there. Are you
complaining about vanilla ice cream too soft? Well, if you
put something vanilla ice cream, I wouldn't get upset. I
wouldn't be like, ah, we put this nut in this
ice cream. Give me out of here. The gabble coming
down before we've even started. In all fairness, I rarely
(07:45):
do I like give my opinions or thoughts before we
even start, but I have to say I am pro
walnuts and break you. This is an East Coast thing.
It might be all right, So listen. This is for
both of you. Obviously. What is or maybe one of,
or a couple of the gayest movies you've found so far? Well,
Female Trouble. Trouble is pretty good, huge Greece to muppets
(08:08):
take Manhattan was the top one for a long time.
Very gay. The cameos alone, the cameos alone. You've got
lives in l A. You've got Joan Rivers Rivers, Gregory
Hinds never hurt, Stabney Coleman. Thank you couldn't begger than that. Yeah, Cats,
Cats does well. You know pretty much anything with anything
a musical tends to get pretty gay. Bradley Cooper is
(08:29):
a Star Is Born has actual drag queens in it. Oh,
I love that. A matter of fact, there's a there's
a hot meme going around on TikTok with Bradley Cooper
rolling down his window. Oh yeah, yeah, and I'm trying
to shoot that later today. So thank you for the inspiration.
Pushing me. Sounds like you've got a packed a pump
that up your list. I also love that, like like
two of those movies, The Muppets Take Manhattan and Greece too.
(08:52):
I feel like we're in the early stages of when
cable first happened, and they have some of the first
movies I've ever seen on cable as a kid. So
I've watched them hundreds of times. Yeah, because they were
on every afternoon exactly, and we had no options back then,
right we we we all just watched Grease two and
Muppet Stig Manhattan all of the time. Okay, so here
we go. Listen. Now, I know you're both friends with
Julian Amy, who brought the case of Cilantro into this court.
(09:15):
It's very controversial. Where do you both fall on that argument?
I like Cilantro, that's great, and Rice right, I mean it,
What do you want someone say? It's the walnuts to
the brownie of rights? Really I wouldn't. But but other
more ship tooth. Well, if your teeth are you don't
have to shell Cilantro. I have to labor to eat this.
(09:38):
Just offer yourself up. I asking you to to shell
a walnut and then put in a brownie and then
eat it. Someone else has done that. Word it is
inherently a walnut. By existing is asking you to shell
up what it has been put in a brownie. It
has been shelled. There's nothing more it needs you to do.
This is a false argument anyway. I'm not one of
those people who make it. Think it tastes like soap. Well.
(09:59):
One of the of the arguments against Cilantro is that
it's actually a DNA genetic thing that gets people to
not like it, that this taste for cilantro is not
even a choice. It's just something that's inside of our DNA.
But luckily we're not arguing that case today, Mark, we
are arguing something that you brought to the court. Tell
us a little bit in a sentence or two about
the case you've brought in front of us. Well, i'm
(10:21):
talking pro McDonald's. I think if we're talking fast food. First,
first of all, out of the gate, we all fast
food is. But if you're gonna have fast food, you
might as well have the true icon. Like when you
think fast food. If this was family feud, the first
thing that would the number one answer is McDonald. If
you need to tell aliens what fast food is, you
would send them McDonald. If you ask anyone, what is
(10:44):
the number one past food? It is. Okay, you're getting
already into your argument. It's very impassioned right there. I
don't do anything, Richard Black obviously not. I also now
want to I'm just curious, like what would be the
three x is of a family feud? Like what wouldn't
be on the board, But someone would say the Starbucks
(11:06):
at a target target that would happen, all right? So
that means that John you do not believe that this
is no I am arguing for Burger King as a
superior fast food option. I mean, all of the arguments
that Mark made certainly are valid and have their their strengths.
But are you eating food based on what you would
give to aliens? Are you eating food based on what? What? How?
(11:27):
How something well places on family feud? I mean, if
that's how, if that's how you want to eat, you
go to McDonald's. I love it. You two are obviously
used to disagreeing and arguing a bit with each other,
and I do have to get something out of the
way as a judge. Again, this is gonna going to
be based just off of the actual cases that you
put in front of us, not based off of my
personal opinions. But I do think to be a fair judge,
(11:48):
I should right now let both of you know that
my first job was out of McDonald's. And okay, it
has been documented that I believe the Whopper might be
the best fast food sandwich. Okay, so that I'm giving
you no hint as to which way I'm gonna go.
Basically that is well documented. To thank you on her,
we acknowledge your potential biases and are comfortable for sins
(12:11):
that being said, I am not going to refuse myself.
We are going which has only happened once on food court.
All right, so here we go. Before I get into
your arguments here in my courts, I like to have
a quick trivia round before we get into the debate.
The winner of the trivia around gets a real gift.
They get to decide the order that you will present.
So how are we doing? We're feeling good about the
(12:33):
general rules here. Yes, just so our audience knows who
is chiming in mark. You've been asked to come up
with a buzzing sound. What will you be using for
a buzzer sound today? I have a Tibetan prayer bell. Okay,
I can very loud. Sorry, I like it. I like
how you could have also, you could have just said bell,
(12:54):
but you really like it's it's excuse me, lad, it's
a Tibetan prayer bell. Look at that, Okay, Tibetan prayer bell. Honestly,
it's the best looking buzzer someone's brought to one of
these Zoom corp. I needed it for a sketch, so
I went to a scourings and this was the cheapest
one sketch first, and didn't just have a bell and
go I gotta write a sketch off of this beat. Correct.
(13:17):
Rarely are the buzzer so curated, John, What about you?
What's your buzzing sound? I have a harmonica that I
will be using today, so I'm gonna try and test
it from away from the mic. Okay, how's that is? That?
Make it crazy? I love it? I love it. These
are the best sounds we've had. We should just stop
right here, I will say, John. I mean not that
I'm too much of a competitor, but I've competed on
(13:39):
a number of things in the reality TV world. Probably
gonna take you an extra half a second to get
the harmonica ready to make the sound. Well, I'm gonna
I plan on inhaling as soon as you start your question.
So it's like when you have your your finger halfway
down the buzz are already on Jeopardy. I like that
you had a strategy already. Here we go, let's get
into it. Question one. There will be three questions. What
(13:59):
is the least popular item at McDonald's according to eat
this not that dot com? That is Mark? I didn't
hear the bell, but I saw a shake. He didn't. Oh,
I'm gonna say filet of fish. Mark, your love of
McDonald's has proven that you know a lot about the topic.
It is filet of fish, all right. The salads too,
(14:21):
better than filet of fish. Quick little sidebar. In my
first position at McDonald's, I was the poissagna, which means
fish cooking French. Is that how they're calling at McDonald Well,
now I've kind of thrown the title back on it
since I've become a serious It was at McDonald that
you've now added something to my bed. I really appreciate that.
(14:42):
And the first batch of filet of fish I sent
out as a young cook, I forgot to put the
top buns on it, and people were coming back through
the drive through like you gave me an open faced
filet of fish deconstructed. Maybe yes, little did I know
that that was my calling to be an avant garde
chef and McDonald's, you know one of those fell chefs.
Are you are your phone? If I had to recreate
(15:05):
the flight fish sandwich, there'd be a tartar sauce foam.
That sounds crazy, It does, it does alright. So Mark,
you're up by a point. We're heading into question two.
This is multiple choice according to Eater. Sorry, I'm just
giggling because John's ready to chime and he's ready to
play that harmonica. According to Eater, what country has the
greatest whopper selection ever? A? India, b England, see Japan.
(15:33):
That is Mark getting the bell in first. I'm gonna
say Japan. Japan is not the correct answer. You can
steal it away. I'm gonna say, there's the harmonica. I'm
gonna say India. The answer is India. That makes sense, John,
you are correct. India. They have veggie whoppers, chicken whoppers,
a mutton whopper, which I have to taste at some
(15:53):
point in my life. They're very popular. They cater to
clientele obviously that doesn't eat beef. They also have a
fried pineer sandwich. It's just essentially breaded and fried cheese
on a bun with pickles and sauce. And I want
to go to India for many reasons, but now I
want to go because added to the list, I know
I want to eat a mutton whopper. Okay, here we go.
So the interesting thing here. I love when it works
(16:14):
out like this, I don't have to do any judge shenanigans.
It's all tied up one one. Question three, what movie
featured a full dance sequence set? Yes, Mark, with enthusiasm,
Mac and me. Mac and me is correct. I'm hearing
that it was not well received this moment. No. I
think it was like an e t rip off. I know,
a kid in a wheelchair gets pushed down a cliff.
(16:37):
So there's that dance sequence to look forward to. Yes,
and I think it was also well known for its
elaborate product placement McDonald's and Coca Cola products. So that
means that Mark, you have one the trivia around two
to one. You get to make the biggest decision, really,
the only decision that has to be made today. Do
you want to present your case first or second? I
(16:57):
mean you gotta go second, because that never chose to
go first actually in the last episode re recording. And
you'll be happy to know that did not work out. Okay,
thank you. I'm feeling very confident forward. Okay, So Mark,
that means you're going to be arguing for McDonald's. You're
going to take the baseball strategy and be the home team.
You're gonna talk second. That means John is going to
(17:19):
be talking about Burger King first. But before we get
into our arguments, here's a break from our sponsors. All right,
we are back here in the food court to recap today.
We have the case of McDonald's versus Burger King, and
(17:39):
two comedians and podcast host Mark and John are here
to battle it out. Each of you will have three
minutes to state your case. During this three minutes, you'll
have the time to tell your opponents everything that's great
about why you are arguing your case. Do not go
low or hit below the belts. You'll have a chance
for a vicious rebuttal after through these three minutes. Does
(18:00):
that make sense? It does? Okay, here we go. So
up first, this is going to be John representing Burger King.
Let me get our clock set up. Your time starts now. Okay,
there are many fast food chains in the world, but
there's only one that wants you to have it your
way and they want you to feel like a king
while you're doing it. And in fact, they want you
to feel like a king so much that they give
(18:22):
you a crown every single time you step into their store.
That's right, Burger King, we're talking about Burger King. It
is the home of the whopper, the undisputed king of Burger's.
Anywhere you go in the world, you can order a
whopper and people know what you're talking about. You don't
have to call it a royal with cheese or something else.
You can get it a whole lot of different ways.
You get it mutton, we've learned and get it with
just cheese and pickles. And also now they have introduced
(18:42):
the impossible whopper, the impossible meat. It's delicious. If you
tried it, you can't taste the difference. It's got that
lovely smoky flavor that you get from Burger King. You
feel like you're at a barbecue. You feel like someone's
really put some love into this burger. And of course
it's not just the burgers. We're talking about the chicken.
How do you want your chicken? You can get it
so many different ways. You can get it in nugget form.
You could get it in a long and narrow sandwich
if that's how you like to eat your chicken. If
(19:03):
you like it in a narrow form, you could have
it at grilled spicy jalapeno. You can get it like
it's a burger but it's chicken. It's all there. And also,
since we're talking about the sandwiches, we gotta talk about
the buns. I want those sesame seeds. Give me those
nice little pops of flavor, that nice little something for
my teeth and my tongue to play with. I don't
want just a soft, whatever, bland, spongy bun. I want
something that's got a little texture to it. Speaking of texture,
(19:25):
Burger King in their fries, I mean they're always inventing.
They're always innovating, they're always trying something new. They're always
listening to what we the people who want and giving
it to us. And then I think one of the
things I think is most important and delightful about Burger
King is their product high ins. They started that they
really pioneered at the beginning. They have all the Star
Wars movies. Glasses. You want those, you gotta go to
(19:46):
Burger King. They took over the Disney contract right when
Disney was hitting their stride Aladdin, Beauty, the Beast Lion
King toy story that all happened when they joined with
Burger King. Is that a coincidence? I don't think so.
So that is why I think of all the fast
food chains that exist in the world today, Burger King
is it. They're the king. It's all about the burger,
and the whopper is the king. There is no fast
(20:08):
food burger that is better than the whopper, and that
is that is my statement. I give my time back
to the room so many points in such a short
amount of time. Thank you coming prepared, giving us lots
to think about. Is is Burger King the apple of
fast food their innovators. I don't think I would have
said that until I heard you talk about it. Sesame seeds,
(20:29):
I don't know. There might be some McDonald's items that
have sesame seeds, uh, And this one I was not
ready for. If you like long narrow sandwiches, yeah, you
can't get those that. There's a niche group I know
out there that does only like long narrow sandwiches. And
that's because Burger King also listens to the people. John,
That's what you've let us know. Thank you there for
(20:50):
the people and global at the same time, because you
can go anywhere and everyone knows what a whopper is
well stated. A good first rounds can tell Mark is
not only it at all, and I can tell he's
ready to respond to you. But this is not going
to be the rebuttal. This is just mark your time
to tell us why McDonald's is awesome. You're ready to go? Yes,
all right, your three minutes start now. The word icon
(21:13):
gets tossed around a lot, but there are a few
icons in our world, and one of them, as I
said before, is McDonald's as a true American success story
started by noted crook Ray Kroc. And why is it
an icon? You gotta talk about the Big Mac. I mean,
everybody knows the song to beef, patty special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles,
onion on a set, some me seed bun so. Yeah. Also,
(21:36):
you know what else has has to be the quarter Pounder.
If you don't like the Big Mac, you got the
quarter pounder. Oh and when we think fast food fries,
the one we think of is McDonald's. Everyone. If someone
else has McDonald's french fries, you want some of those fries.
When Disneyland sold fries in their theme parks, they sold
McDonald's fries. Oh and you want to filet a fish,
You want McNuggets, you want an apple pie? How about
(21:59):
these be meals? When you think of a kid's meal,
isn't the word you think of a happy meal? Oh
and don't get me started on the Coca Cola. People
say it tastes better than at other places. That's because
it does. Other restaurants get their soda syrups and plastic bags,
but Coca Cola sends it to them in stainless steel tanks,
preserving the flavor. I don't know if that's true, but
(22:20):
it sounds true. I'm pretty sure it is. Let's say
it is. Um Internet said it was. Oh and I
haven't even gotten started on the desserts, the ice cream,
the hot fudge, nuts in the Sunday Oh, breakfast egg McMuffin.
John didn't mention breakfast once. I'll save that from my rebuttal.
And then also there's the Golden Arches, a true American icon.
(22:41):
More people know the Arches than they do the Crucifix.
And I think that's great. Finish this song for me,
bought up, Up Up. We're loving it. And when Morgan
Spurlock wanted to make a very obvious documentary about fast
food being bad for you, did he go to anywhere else? No,
you had to do it at McDonald's and don't even
get me started on our good friends Ronald McDonald brim
(23:02):
is the hamburglar true American icons we're filling out the
trivial pursuit six piece pie. I see my time and
there it is not quite not quite speechless. Is McDonald's
the iconic brand that Mark is saying it is? Or
is Mark just the ultimate American consumer? I don't know
(23:27):
those mutually exclusives. They can both be true. This is true,
This is true, but a lot of great points. Does
Disneyland Did they serve McDonald fries? That is something producer
Kristin will have to fact checked, as well as the
stainless steel vats of Coca Cola coming in. I got
three different search results for that. Okay, we have search
results for that, but I do I have heard of
(23:47):
I did not think I was going to hear the
calibration of the CEO two that goes into the carbonated beverages. Also,
Mark giving us potentially the first audio clip that I'd
like to use on TikTok sometime, which is the two
all beef patties, special sauce lets, cheese, pickles, onions on
a sesame seed bun, which will be happening at some point. Wow,
(24:09):
when I think fries, I do think McDonald's. This one
is close. It is time now for our second round.
Will it be McDonald's or Burger King. This means, John,
you'll have two minutes now to let us know why
you're not loving McDonald's. You ready to go? I'm ready,
all right, John, Your two minutes start now. Sure. The
word iconic does get used a lot these days, like
(24:29):
when describing McDonald's Bill Cosby the movies of Mirrormax. That
just because something's iconic doesn't mean that it should be
celebrated or that it's potentially better than anything else. Yeah.
I didn't mention breakfast because I don't eat breakfast. And
I think it's interesting that in all of your goings
on you didn't talk about the food. You didn't talk
about the burger itself. All fast food they're built their
(24:50):
their cornerstone is the burger and the big Map. The
Big Mac is useless. It's soft, it's sort of not exciting.
My teeth always feels softer after McDonald's. Is that a thing?
It is a thing. And also McDonald's, let's face it,
these days, they don't want to be McDonald's anymore. They
want to be a Starbucks. They're all they're doing is
like just selling coffee. They're making everything a kiosk. They
don't want to have people there. And the thing about
(25:11):
McDonald's is there's a lot of blood on their hands.
There's just a lot of blood on their hands as
a company. Yes, you've got supersize of me. You've got
their Monopoly game that was just riddled with scandal. They're
constantly in fights with their employees about minimum wage. One
of their old CEO said, it's cheaper to buy a
thirty robotic arm than it is to hire an employee
who's inefficient making fifteen an hour bagging French fries. That's
(25:32):
a CEO of that company talking about his employees that way. No, sir, no,
I will not eat at your restaurant. I don't care
your friend. And also, let's be honest, the fries and
McDonald's are very hidden miss and also the fried the
shelf life of the fries, Like if you go through
a drive in, you can't let those fries wait until
you get home because they will be garbage. They will
be useless, they will be soft, they will be potato
(25:54):
wee and gross and weird, and yeah, McDonald's is just
it's just too obvious. It's two on the nose. It's
too give me something interesting. I want an independent film.
I don't want to just see some I don't want
to see, uh, the iconic Forest Gump again? Who life
is a box of happy meals or kids meals? Thank
(26:14):
you really doubling down on burger King being for the people,
blood on your hands. And probably the most interesting part,
I think that was when you said my teeth always
feels soft after I eat McDonald's. I was like, yeah,
it's not just me. Nope, it might be right. Robots
came into this, CEOs came into this, a big stand
(26:36):
against McDonald's. Mark you ready to reply? Yes, okay, here
we go, Mark your two minutes starts now. I didn't
have to say that McDonald's tastes good because everybody knows
it tastes good. It's great. You know what McDonald's tastes good.
It's got that tang. Oh, and don't you want to
talk about labor issues? I just just right now googled
Burger King labor issues and the National Labor Right Relations
(26:59):
Board issue to rule ling affirming a twenties six ruling
against Burger King that they violated their workers rights. And yes, wow,
Burger King offers the phenomenal thing called substitution. So does
McDonald's Burger King. You can have it your way, all terrible,
they have the beyond burger. Yes, they were also sued
because it's grilled on a grill where they also grilled meat.
And you're talking about, oh, you get chicken in different forms?
(27:20):
Heard of a chicken McNugget? I don't want to narrow
sandwich one? Am I a giraffe in the fries you mentioned?
Always inventing, always innovating, always failing. I did a search
result for why are Burger King and then the auto
reply fillins where? Why are Burger king nuggets so bad?
Why are Burger King restaurants closing? Why are Burger King
fries so bad? Why are Burgering burgers always cold? White,
(27:41):
Burger King always out of onion rings? Why are Burger
King's closing? And the product hians you mentioned, Oh they're
uh Aladdin lion King toy. Sorry all the heyday was
twenty years ago. And when you say it's all about
the burger, excuse me your privilege is showing McDonald's off
for your coffee in the morning so you can go
(28:02):
up and work like a dog to support Burger King CEO.
How nice, will violate your labor rights. So yeah, I
think McDonald's is delicious. Everyone loves the mcflurry, don't tell
me they don't. And also they got the best coke
zero in town. Yeah, so that's all I yield my time.
It is getting heated, nearing a flame broiled temperature. Perhaps
(28:27):
excuse me, just I'm just using it as a temperature
reference mark, perhaps unintentionally reminding me that Burger King has
onion rings. Have you had them? They're awful? No, they're great.
I don't like onion rings, but they're better than you.
Don't know what you're talking about? Breakfast? Is it? Breakfast
is such an important meal, so many things to think
(28:48):
about right here. I did not think that this was
going to be as close as it is. Is it?
The iconic brand of McDonald's with all of their the
hooplah and the press and just everyone knows me to
Donald's is great, right. I love McDonald's. I worked there,
McDonald's fry. It probably is like what you think of
when you think of French fries. They have songs and
(29:09):
and and jingles that you remember Burger king John making
the case that it's for the people, their innovators dropping
probably one of the most important things. It's the flame broiling,
It's the flavor. This is food Court. This isn't icon courts.
Thank you what that's not what I was told lots
(29:29):
to think about. I will head to my chambers, which
is right off screen over here, and I will be back.
And as they do that, here's a word from our sponsors. Gentlemen,
back from my chambers. Lots to unwrapped, if you will.
(29:53):
I think they both have items that are wrapped. This
is a moment where you can leave us with some
of your last thoughts. If you want to pop up
your case in a minute or so, now is the
time to potentially persuade me to go in the other direction. John,
any last words, last words, just that I think I hope,
I hope that you recognize that it is food Court
and it is the flavor that is what is most paramount,
(30:14):
not the imagering, not the name calling that some people
on this podcast have stooped to. Thank you, Mark. The
last words, yeah, I would say if this. If we
were talking whopper versus Burger King, you might have a case,
but we are not. We are talking whopper versus Big mag.
If we're talking that, you would have a case. But
this is McDonald versus Burger King. All burger King has
(30:34):
is the whopper. Everything else is crap. McDonald's has an
array of things that you you will find something you
like there, and to me, that is the essence of
fast food. Okay, strong last words here coming from John
and Mark. They argue on their own podcast. Dare I
ask which concept is gay or burger King or McDonald
(30:57):
or food court or to al Queen's. I mean McDonald's
does have that tiddled with germ are. Yeah, well that's
why burgering doesn't have them. All. Right, here we go.
This has been tough. This is a I will reveal
it in a bit, but this is the first time
that this has happened. But I will remind you what
this is in a second. The case of burger King.
(31:20):
John represented, Mark represented the case of McDonald's. Which one
is a better fast food restaurant? Wow, I don't know
so many things going for burger King. On the McDonald's side, absolutely,
it is an icon. You know the jingles, you you
know some of the sandwiches. When you think fries, I agree,
you think McDonald's fries. This one was very tough, and
(31:42):
to be honest, it was decided in the the last
dying embers of this case. This was the first case
that was decided in the final last sentence arguments and
the case of which fast food restaurant reigns supreme in
food court. The winner is it's Mark and McDonald's. Thank you,
(32:11):
John playing us out, as said Harmonica Tune, and I
am revealing this again just to get behind the scenes.
It happened in the last in the last sentence where
you really drove it home that we are not arguing
the whopper versus the Big Mac. We are arguing the
totality of the concept. And with that being said, not
(32:32):
because of my previous affiliation with McDonald's Mark, McDonald's, I
appreciate the fair judgments. Congratulations, Congratulations, listeners, Listen, what do
you think? I know you have a lot to say
about McDonald's and or Burger King because I hear it
each and every week. While you can let me know
on Twitter and Instagram at Richard Blaze or on TikTok
at Richard Blae Official. Gentlemen, thank you so much for
(32:54):
such a hard fought case. Thanks for joining me in
my courtroom. For more, Mark and John please check out
there podcast two Old Queens. Wherever you get your podcast.
You can find Mark on Twitter at Mark Rennie, R
E N and I E. And you can find John
on Twitter at J Fly nine nine. Thank you so much, gentlemen,
Thank you for having us. Thank you. This has been
so much fun. We'll have to do it again. Listen,
(33:16):
I'm asking I would like you to come on again
in a future episode, but argue as a team. Are
you down with their other Teamle's toast? Thanks so, unless
it's toast versus non toast, you got a toast? I
Got a toast. Food Court is a production of I
Heart Radio. I'm Richard Blaze. My producer is Crystal by Mahi.
Food Court was created by our executive producer, Christopher hasiotas
(33:38):
the rest of my food Court clerks or Gabrielle Collins,
David Wasserman, and Jasmine Blaze. Our theme songs by Jason
Nei Smith. For more podcast from My Heart Radio, visit
I Heart Radio Apple Apple Podcast or wherever you listen
to your favorite shows. Chris was a blast. Did some
(34:00):
one in this kitchen put sugar and the corn bread
Creamy, creamy, crunchy food Court, food Court, food Court with Blaze,
Argue in the food court cook with Blaz. All right,
(00:33):
welcome to food Court, a production of I Heart Radio.
I am Richard Blaze, and I will be your host
and your judge with the Noki cutter gabble, and I'll
be here from my cool home courtroom that now, like
everything else in my life, exists over zoom. I will
settle your food fights and you will still have to
live with my verdicts, but for now from a safe
(00:53):
social distance. Joining us in the court. Today, we have
two men who have had a podcast together called Two
Old Queens. Were they searched for the gayest movie ever made,
based both on their opinions and a Byzantine ranking system.
They're old, They're queens. There's two of them. It's Mark
Renny and John Flynn. Hello, thank you, thank you, won,
(01:15):
thank you for giving me the the the energy there
on what was the second take? But people don't need
to know that. I'm glad you're perfectly now. Listen, guys,
how long have you known each other and how did
you meet? I guess we've known each other for about
seven years now, something like that. I moved out here
with my husband, and it was one of those things
that we had a lot of mutual friends and every
single one of them was like, oh my god, you
two have to meet you guys have to hang out.
It was like a weird, non sexual blind date that
(01:37):
people sort of try to set us up on, as
it were. And I think the first time we hung
out was that really hung out just the two of us.
Was that a Hot Chip concert? Hot Chip concert? Yeah,
you know Broadway? I know Hot Hip and John Wick movies.
So perfect. It's the perfect balance. Isn't there always pressure
when there's sort of like you have to meet this person.
Isn't there like a pressure to automatically connect with that person? Yeah,
(02:00):
And it can feel weird. I think. I think it's
especially weird when you're older to make friends when you're older,
you know what I mean. It always feels like weird
to be like we should hang out and you're like, hey, buddy,
I've got my life figured out. I don't need new
friends right now, even especially even so especially in this
time where we're on zoom and like we we're just
meeting now, but like every time and I'm and I'm
assuming this will be the case unless you guys don't
like me that at the end, I'm like, I'm so glad,
(02:22):
Like I'm so glad we did this, Like I have
new friends now for sure, Like you never regret making
a new friend, I don't think unless they betrayed, this
is never a bad thing. But then where they ever
friends mysteries or if they don't like the thing that
you're arguing, and that could be the case today. The
two of you have brought a fun debate to my court,
(02:44):
one that I wasn't expecting. But now that it's here,
I can't deny the importance of it. With all the
things going on in the world today, is a very
important topic. It will be a fast food case fit
for a drive through and maybe a clown or a
king perhaps. But before we get into that, let's get
to know each other a little better. Mark, how would
(03:05):
you describe your eating habits in general and what are
some of your go too I love anything frozen at
Trader Joe's. That's to go to you can't go wrong.
I love there's a place called Hail Mary and at
Water that does the best pizza, very good, very good pizza.
So I actually don't eat fast food a lot, so
like when I do, it's a treat, and normally when
(03:27):
I do, it's Taco bell Um. We're connecting right off
the bat by the way, and I producer Krista, who
doesn't usually get involved, she's like throwing up she's in.
But I two things that I love, and I'll be honest,
Taco bell and Trader Joe's. I also has very low
standards when it comes to food, so I'm always like,
this is fine. It's like, you know what I mean,
I'm a I'm easily impressed, so like I want if
(03:48):
I ever cook something, I really want people to like it.
But I also have very low standards, so it's kind
of I love that, especially since I revealed right before
that that I'm a big fan of those things. Mark,
what's one of your This is just me because, like
you know, the Trader Joe's sort of culture, Like we're
always looking for, like what's the next thing that someone's
obsessed with. What are some Trader Joe's obsessions you have? Well?
(04:10):
I love that their aesthetics seems to be steampunk and
Hawaiian shirts. I don't know what those two have to
do with each other They have a great pistachio array.
You could get the salt and pepper. Sometimes they have
a lot. I did recently get their take on pringles,
and it made me nauseous, so I don't recommend those.
I love a heretic. I love a hummus. They have
a in the refrigerated section of black bean and jack
(04:32):
cheese burrito. I take the extra step and put it
in the oven for twenty eight minutes. Some people can
microwave it, but I want to have the time burrito
on the outside. I this is me cooking. I like
it's twenty eight minutes. Is also a very specific time. Well,
it's to thirty. I you know, thread the needle enough
that you've dialed it into Oh, when I make Kraft
(04:54):
mac and cheese, do you think I need to read
how the ingredients? No? I know it. Oh, I love
that we're on sidebar all. Do you but Kraft mac
and cheese? Do you go whole cheese packet? Or of
course I didn't. Why wouldn't you? What are you saving
the other half for? Yeah? What are you doing? Making
an art project is more a shot at my wife,
who like thinks it's a little bit more nutritionally balanced
if you only go half to pass. If you're concerned
(05:16):
about nutrition, you shouldn't be eating craft Magna cheese in
the first place. This is true. This is true. Listen
my TJ's tip real quick, please, there's a garlic spread
and planting chips that are just a mark. You're also
passionate about movies. What are some of your favorite movies
of this moment? Maybe this moment or no historic God?
(05:37):
I love the Alien franchise. I love uh, I love
what do I like? I love a Douglas Cirque movie.
We just watch Treemale Trouble, John Waters movie Transcendent. I
would say, yeah, I don't know. I like. I have
like a pretty wide swath of interest. I like your
action movies. I like your high art, I like your documentaries,
I like your whatever you got. I'll watch a Pixar
(05:59):
even want to Pixar Dane to watch Inside Out. Wow,
you must like feeling things, I guess. Yeah. Oh my gosh, John,
what about you tell us about yourself and what are
some of your favorite movies and what are other things
you and Mark maybe haven't agreed on historically? Huh, that's
tough to say. Well, historically. Mark and I. In fact,
(06:20):
when we were asked to do this, we had a
hard time because we kept bringing up a topic and
then we both agreed on the same topic. We we
were just both felt on the same side of it.
So we're pretty We're very similar in that we're pretty like,
not too fussy, pretty easy to please. Cooking wise, I'm
a terrible cook. Luckily, my husband is a very good
cook and comes from a family a very very exceptional cooks,
and so my favorite meals or whatever he wants to make.
(06:42):
I've actually, since we've been in l A, I have
never been inside of a Trader Joe's because I've never
had to do any grocery shopping whatsoever. But in my defense,
my husband does not know, he's never done laundry or
knows how to use a vacuum, so it does work.
It's a bounty. But as for like together you make
one woman, yep, and we still don't make as much
as we do separately. As man, thank you? What is
(07:05):
I don't know? What are some of we we tend
to get along with most things. What are some other
things we don't like or we disagree with? You? Like
a walnut and a brownie and I don't that's what
did a walnut ever do to you? Dude? You just
like it's very soft, easy, like nothing to to work
with in a brownie. It's like tree bark that adds nothing,
and it's just like it's just a road. What do
you just otherwise you're just eating like a like a sponge,
(07:25):
like just like a like there's nothing there. Are you
complaining about vanilla ice cream too soft? Well, if you
put something vanilla ice cream, I wouldn't get upset. I
wouldn't be like, ah, we put this nut in this
ice cream. Give me out of here. The gabble coming
down before we've even started. In all fairness, I rarely
(07:45):
do I like give my opinions or thoughts before we
even start, but I have to say I am pro
walnuts and break you. This is an East Coast thing.
It might be all right, So listen. This is for
both of you. Obviously. What is or maybe one of,
or a couple of the gayest movies you've found so far? Well,
Female Trouble. Trouble is pretty good, huge Greece to muppets
(08:08):
take Manhattan was the top one for a long time.
Very gay. The cameos alone, the cameos alone. You've got
lives in l A. You've got Joan Rivers Rivers, Gregory
Hinds never hurt, Stabney Coleman. Thank you couldn't begger than that. Yeah, Cats,
Cats does well. You know pretty much anything with anything
a musical tends to get pretty gay. Bradley Cooper is
(08:29):
a Star Is Born has actual drag queens in it. Oh,
I love that. A matter of fact, there's a there's
a hot meme going around on TikTok with Bradley Cooper
rolling down his window. Oh yeah, yeah, and I'm trying
to shoot that later today. So thank you for the inspiration.
Pushing me. Sounds like you've got a packed a pump
that up your list. I also love that, like like
two of those movies, The Muppets Take Manhattan and Greece too.
(08:52):
I feel like we're in the early stages of when
cable first happened, and they have some of the first
movies I've ever seen on cable as a kid. So
I've watched them hundreds of times. Yeah, because they were
on every afternoon exactly, and we had no options back then,
right we we we all just watched Grease two and
Muppet Stig Manhattan all of the time. Okay, so here
we go. Listen. Now, I know you're both friends with
Julian Amy, who brought the case of Cilantro into this court.
(09:15):
It's very controversial. Where do you both fall on that argument?
I like Cilantro, that's great, and Rice right, I mean it,
What do you want someone say? It's the walnuts to
the brownie of rights? Really I wouldn't. But but other
more ship tooth. Well, if your teeth are you don't
have to shell Cilantro. I have to labor to eat this.
(09:38):
Just offer yourself up. I asking you to to shell
a walnut and then put in a brownie and then
eat it. Someone else has done that. Word it is
inherently a walnut. By existing is asking you to shell
up what it has been put in a brownie. It
has been shelled. There's nothing more it needs you to do.
This is a false argument anyway. I'm not one of
those people who make it. Think it tastes like soap. Well.
(09:59):
One of the of the arguments against Cilantro is that
it's actually a DNA genetic thing that gets people to
not like it, that this taste for cilantro is not
even a choice. It's just something that's inside of our DNA.
But luckily we're not arguing that case today, Mark, we
are arguing something that you brought to the court. Tell
us a little bit in a sentence or two about
the case you've brought in front of us. Well, i'm
(10:21):
talking pro McDonald's. I think if we're talking fast food. First,
first of all, out of the gate, we all fast
food is. But if you're gonna have fast food, you
might as well have the true icon. Like when you
think fast food. If this was family feud, the first
thing that would the number one answer is McDonald. If
you need to tell aliens what fast food is, you
would send them McDonald. If you ask anyone, what is
(10:44):
the number one past food? It is. Okay, you're getting
already into your argument. It's very impassioned right there. I
don't do anything, Richard Black obviously not. I also now
want to I'm just curious, like what would be the
three x is of a family feud? Like what wouldn't
be on the board, But someone would say the Starbucks
(11:06):
at a target target that would happen, all right? So
that means that John you do not believe that this
is no I am arguing for Burger King as a
superior fast food option. I mean, all of the arguments
that Mark made certainly are valid and have their their strengths.
But are you eating food based on what you would
give to aliens? Are you eating food based on what? What? How?
(11:27):
How something well places on family feud? I mean, if
that's how, if that's how you want to eat, you
go to McDonald's. I love it. You two are obviously
used to disagreeing and arguing a bit with each other,
and I do have to get something out of the
way as a judge. Again, this is gonna going to
be based just off of the actual cases that you
put in front of us, not based off of my
personal opinions. But I do think to be a fair judge,
(11:48):
I should right now let both of you know that
my first job was out of McDonald's. And okay, it
has been documented that I believe the Whopper might be
the best fast food sandwich. Okay, so that I'm giving
you no hint as to which way I'm gonna go.
Basically that is well documented. To thank you on her,
we acknowledge your potential biases and are comfortable for sins
(12:11):
that being said, I am not going to refuse myself.
We are going which has only happened once on food court.
All right, so here we go. Before I get into
your arguments here in my courts, I like to have
a quick trivia round before we get into the debate.
The winner of the trivia around gets a real gift.
They get to decide the order that you will present.
So how are we doing? We're feeling good about the
(12:33):
general rules here. Yes, just so our audience knows who
is chiming in mark. You've been asked to come up
with a buzzing sound. What will you be using for
a buzzer sound today? I have a Tibetan prayer bell. Okay,
I can very loud. Sorry, I like it. I like
how you could have also, you could have just said bell,
(12:54):
but you really like it's it's excuse me, lad, it's
a Tibetan prayer bell. Look at that, Okay, Tibetan prayer bell. Honestly,
it's the best looking buzzer someone's brought to one of
these Zoom corp. I needed it for a sketch, so
I went to a scourings and this was the cheapest
one sketch first, and didn't just have a bell and
go I gotta write a sketch off of this beat. Correct.
(13:17):
Rarely are the buzzer so curated, John, What about you?
What's your buzzing sound? I have a harmonica that I
will be using today, so I'm gonna try and test
it from away from the mic. Okay, how's that is? That?
Make it crazy? I love it? I love it. These
are the best sounds we've had. We should just stop
right here, I will say, John. I mean not that
I'm too much of a competitor, but I've competed on
(13:39):
a number of things in the reality TV world. Probably
gonna take you an extra half a second to get
the harmonica ready to make the sound. Well, I'm gonna
I plan on inhaling as soon as you start your question.
So it's like when you have your your finger halfway
down the buzz are already on Jeopardy. I like that
you had a strategy already. Here we go, let's get
into it. Question one. There will be three questions. What
(13:59):
is the least popular item at McDonald's according to eat
this not that dot com? That is Mark? I didn't
hear the bell, but I saw a shake. He didn't. Oh,
I'm gonna say filet of fish. Mark, your love of
McDonald's has proven that you know a lot about the topic.
It is filet of fish, all right. The salads too,
(14:21):
better than filet of fish. Quick little sidebar. In my
first position at McDonald's, I was the poissagna, which means
fish cooking French. Is that how they're calling at McDonald Well,
now I've kind of thrown the title back on it
since I've become a serious It was at McDonald that
you've now added something to my bed. I really appreciate that.
(14:42):
And the first batch of filet of fish I sent
out as a young cook, I forgot to put the
top buns on it, and people were coming back through
the drive through like you gave me an open faced
filet of fish deconstructed. Maybe yes, little did I know
that that was my calling to be an avant garde
chef and McDonald's, you know one of those fell chefs.
Are you are your phone? If I had to recreate
(15:05):
the flight fish sandwich, there'd be a tartar sauce foam.
That sounds crazy, It does, it does alright. So Mark,
you're up by a point. We're heading into question two.
This is multiple choice according to Eater. Sorry, I'm just
giggling because John's ready to chime and he's ready to
play that harmonica. According to Eater, what country has the
greatest whopper selection ever? A? India, b England, see Japan.
(15:33):
That is Mark getting the bell in first. I'm gonna
say Japan. Japan is not the correct answer. You can
steal it away. I'm gonna say, there's the harmonica. I'm
gonna say India. The answer is India. That makes sense, John,
you are correct. India. They have veggie whoppers, chicken whoppers,
a mutton whopper, which I have to taste at some
(15:53):
point in my life. They're very popular. They cater to
clientele obviously that doesn't eat beef. They also have a
fried pineer sandwich. It's just essentially breaded and fried cheese
on a bun with pickles and sauce. And I want
to go to India for many reasons, but now I
want to go because added to the list, I know
I want to eat a mutton whopper. Okay, here we go.
So the interesting thing here. I love when it works
(16:14):
out like this, I don't have to do any judge shenanigans.
It's all tied up one one. Question three, what movie
featured a full dance sequence set? Yes, Mark, with enthusiasm,
Mac and me. Mac and me is correct. I'm hearing
that it was not well received this moment. No. I
think it was like an e t rip off. I know,
a kid in a wheelchair gets pushed down a cliff.
(16:37):
So there's that dance sequence to look forward to. Yes,
and I think it was also well known for its
elaborate product placement McDonald's and Coca Cola products. So that
means that Mark, you have one the trivia around two
to one. You get to make the biggest decision, really,
the only decision that has to be made today. Do
you want to present your case first or second? I
(16:57):
mean you gotta go second, because that never chose to
go first actually in the last episode re recording. And
you'll be happy to know that did not work out. Okay,
thank you. I'm feeling very confident forward. Okay, So Mark,
that means you're going to be arguing for McDonald's. You're
going to take the baseball strategy and be the home team.
You're gonna talk second. That means John is going to
(17:19):
be talking about Burger King first. But before we get
into our arguments, here's a break from our sponsors. All right,
we are back here in the food court to recap today.
We have the case of McDonald's versus Burger King, and
(17:39):
two comedians and podcast host Mark and John are here
to battle it out. Each of you will have three
minutes to state your case. During this three minutes, you'll
have the time to tell your opponents everything that's great
about why you are arguing your case. Do not go
low or hit below the belts. You'll have a chance
for a vicious rebuttal after through these three minutes. Does
(18:00):
that make sense? It does? Okay, here we go. So
up first, this is going to be John representing Burger King.
Let me get our clock set up. Your time starts now. Okay,
there are many fast food chains in the world, but
there's only one that wants you to have it your
way and they want you to feel like a king
while you're doing it. And in fact, they want you
to feel like a king so much that they give
(18:22):
you a crown every single time you step into their store.
That's right, Burger King, we're talking about Burger King. It
is the home of the whopper, the undisputed king of Burger's.
Anywhere you go in the world, you can order a
whopper and people know what you're talking about. You don't
have to call it a royal with cheese or something else.
You can get it a whole lot of different ways.
You get it mutton, we've learned and get it with
just cheese and pickles. And also now they have introduced
(18:42):
the impossible whopper, the impossible meat. It's delicious. If you
tried it, you can't taste the difference. It's got that
lovely smoky flavor that you get from Burger King. You
feel like you're at a barbecue. You feel like someone's
really put some love into this burger. And of course
it's not just the burgers. We're talking about the chicken.
How do you want your chicken? You can get it
so many different ways. You can get it in nugget form.
You could get it in a long and narrow sandwich
if that's how you like to eat your chicken. If
(19:03):
you like it in a narrow form, you could have
it at grilled spicy jalapeno. You can get it like
it's a burger but it's chicken. It's all there. And also,
since we're talking about the sandwiches, we gotta talk about
the buns. I want those sesame seeds. Give me those
nice little pops of flavor, that nice little something for
my teeth and my tongue to play with. I don't
want just a soft, whatever, bland, spongy bun. I want
something that's got a little texture to it. Speaking of texture,
(19:25):
Burger King in their fries, I mean they're always inventing.
They're always innovating, they're always trying something new. They're always
listening to what we the people who want and giving
it to us. And then I think one of the
things I think is most important and delightful about Burger
King is their product high ins. They started that they
really pioneered at the beginning. They have all the Star
Wars movies. Glasses. You want those, you gotta go to
(19:46):
Burger King. They took over the Disney contract right when
Disney was hitting their stride Aladdin, Beauty, the Beast Lion
King toy story that all happened when they joined with
Burger King. Is that a coincidence? I don't think so.
So that is why I think of all the fast
food chains that exist in the world today, Burger King
is it. They're the king. It's all about the burger,
and the whopper is the king. There is no fast
(20:08):
food burger that is better than the whopper, and that
is that is my statement. I give my time back
to the room so many points in such a short
amount of time. Thank you coming prepared, giving us lots
to think about. Is is Burger King the apple of
fast food their innovators. I don't think I would have
said that until I heard you talk about it. Sesame seeds,
(20:29):
I don't know. There might be some McDonald's items that
have sesame seeds, uh, And this one I was not
ready for. If you like long narrow sandwiches, yeah, you
can't get those that. There's a niche group I know
out there that does only like long narrow sandwiches. And
that's because Burger King also listens to the people. John,
That's what you've let us know. Thank you there for
(20:50):
the people and global at the same time, because you
can go anywhere and everyone knows what a whopper is
well stated. A good first rounds can tell Mark is
not only it at all, and I can tell he's
ready to respond to you. But this is not going
to be the rebuttal. This is just mark your time
to tell us why McDonald's is awesome. You're ready to go? Yes,
all right, your three minutes start now. The word icon
(21:13):
gets tossed around a lot, but there are a few
icons in our world, and one of them, as I
said before, is McDonald's as a true American success story
started by noted crook Ray Kroc. And why is it
an icon? You gotta talk about the Big Mac. I mean,
everybody knows the song to beef, patty special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles,
onion on a set, some me seed bun so. Yeah. Also,
(21:36):
you know what else has has to be the quarter Pounder.
If you don't like the Big Mac, you got the
quarter pounder. Oh and when we think fast food fries,
the one we think of is McDonald's. Everyone. If someone
else has McDonald's french fries, you want some of those fries.
When Disneyland sold fries in their theme parks, they sold
McDonald's fries. Oh and you want to filet a fish,
You want McNuggets, you want an apple pie? How about
(21:59):
these be meals? When you think of a kid's meal,
isn't the word you think of a happy meal? Oh
and don't get me started on the Coca Cola. People
say it tastes better than at other places. That's because
it does. Other restaurants get their soda syrups and plastic bags,
but Coca Cola sends it to them in stainless steel tanks,
preserving the flavor. I don't know if that's true, but
(22:20):
it sounds true. I'm pretty sure it is. Let's say
it is. Um Internet said it was. Oh and I
haven't even gotten started on the desserts, the ice cream,
the hot fudge, nuts in the Sunday Oh, breakfast egg McMuffin.
John didn't mention breakfast once. I'll save that from my rebuttal.
And then also there's the Golden Arches, a true American icon.
(22:41):
More people know the Arches than they do the Crucifix.
And I think that's great. Finish this song for me,
bought up, Up Up. We're loving it. And when Morgan
Spurlock wanted to make a very obvious documentary about fast
food being bad for you, did he go to anywhere else? No,
you had to do it at McDonald's and don't even
get me started on our good friends Ronald McDonald brim
(23:02):
is the hamburglar true American icons we're filling out the
trivial pursuit six piece pie. I see my time and
there it is not quite not quite speechless. Is McDonald's
the iconic brand that Mark is saying it is? Or
is Mark just the ultimate American consumer? I don't know
(23:27):
those mutually exclusives. They can both be true. This is true,
This is true, but a lot of great points. Does
Disneyland Did they serve McDonald fries? That is something producer
Kristin will have to fact checked, as well as the
stainless steel vats of Coca Cola coming in. I got
three different search results for that. Okay, we have search
results for that, but I do I have heard of
(23:47):
I did not think I was going to hear the
calibration of the CEO two that goes into the carbonated beverages. Also,
Mark giving us potentially the first audio clip that I'd
like to use on TikTok sometime, which is the two
all beef patties, special sauce lets, cheese, pickles, onions on
a sesame seed bun, which will be happening at some point. Wow,
(24:09):
when I think fries, I do think McDonald's. This one
is close. It is time now for our second round.
Will it be McDonald's or Burger King. This means, John,
you'll have two minutes now to let us know why
you're not loving McDonald's. You ready to go? I'm ready,
all right, John, Your two minutes start now. Sure. The
word iconic does get used a lot these days, like
(24:29):
when describing McDonald's Bill Cosby the movies of Mirrormax. That
just because something's iconic doesn't mean that it should be
celebrated or that it's potentially better than anything else. Yeah.
I didn't mention breakfast because I don't eat breakfast. And
I think it's interesting that in all of your goings
on you didn't talk about the food. You didn't talk
about the burger itself. All fast food they're built their
(24:50):
their cornerstone is the burger and the big Map. The
Big Mac is useless. It's soft, it's sort of not exciting.
My teeth always feels softer after McDonald's. Is that a thing?
It is a thing. And also McDonald's, let's face it,
these days, they don't want to be McDonald's anymore. They
want to be a Starbucks. They're all they're doing is
like just selling coffee. They're making everything a kiosk. They
don't want to have people there. And the thing about
(25:11):
McDonald's is there's a lot of blood on their hands.
There's just a lot of blood on their hands as
a company. Yes, you've got supersize of me. You've got
their Monopoly game that was just riddled with scandal. They're
constantly in fights with their employees about minimum wage. One
of their old CEO said, it's cheaper to buy a
thirty robotic arm than it is to hire an employee
who's inefficient making fifteen an hour bagging French fries. That's
(25:32):
a CEO of that company talking about his employees that way. No, sir, no,
I will not eat at your restaurant. I don't care
your friend. And also, let's be honest, the fries and
McDonald's are very hidden miss and also the fried the
shelf life of the fries, Like if you go through
a drive in, you can't let those fries wait until
you get home because they will be garbage. They will
be useless, they will be soft, they will be potato
(25:54):
wee and gross and weird, and yeah, McDonald's is just
it's just too obvious. It's two on the nose. It's
too give me something interesting. I want an independent film.
I don't want to just see some I don't want
to see, uh, the iconic Forest Gump again? Who life
is a box of happy meals or kids meals? Thank
(26:14):
you really doubling down on burger King being for the people,
blood on your hands. And probably the most interesting part,
I think that was when you said my teeth always
feels soft after I eat McDonald's. I was like, yeah,
it's not just me. Nope, it might be right. Robots
came into this, CEOs came into this, a big stand
(26:36):
against McDonald's. Mark you ready to reply? Yes, okay, here
we go, Mark your two minutes starts now. I didn't
have to say that McDonald's tastes good because everybody knows
it tastes good. It's great. You know what McDonald's tastes good.
It's got that tang. Oh, and don't you want to
talk about labor issues? I just just right now googled
Burger King labor issues and the National Labor Right Relations
(26:59):
Board issue to rule ling affirming a twenties six ruling
against Burger King that they violated their workers rights. And yes, wow,
Burger King offers the phenomenal thing called substitution. So does
McDonald's Burger King. You can have it your way, all terrible,
they have the beyond burger. Yes, they were also sued
because it's grilled on a grill where they also grilled meat.
And you're talking about, oh, you get chicken in different forms?
(27:20):
Heard of a chicken McNugget? I don't want to narrow
sandwich one? Am I a giraffe in the fries you mentioned?
Always inventing, always innovating, always failing. I did a search
result for why are Burger King and then the auto
reply fillins where? Why are Burger king nuggets so bad?
Why are Burger King restaurants closing? Why are Burger King
fries so bad? Why are Burgering burgers always cold? White,
(27:41):
Burger King always out of onion rings? Why are Burger
King's closing? And the product hians you mentioned, Oh they're
uh Aladdin lion King toy. Sorry all the heyday was
twenty years ago. And when you say it's all about
the burger, excuse me your privilege is showing McDonald's off
for your coffee in the morning so you can go
(28:02):
up and work like a dog to support Burger King CEO.
How nice, will violate your labor rights. So yeah, I
think McDonald's is delicious. Everyone loves the mcflurry, don't tell
me they don't. And also they got the best coke
zero in town. Yeah, so that's all I yield my time.
It is getting heated, nearing a flame broiled temperature. Perhaps
(28:27):
excuse me, just I'm just using it as a temperature
reference mark, perhaps unintentionally reminding me that Burger King has
onion rings. Have you had them? They're awful? No, they're great.
I don't like onion rings, but they're better than you.
Don't know what you're talking about? Breakfast? Is it? Breakfast
is such an important meal, so many things to think
(28:48):
about right here. I did not think that this was
going to be as close as it is. Is it?
The iconic brand of McDonald's with all of their the
hooplah and the press and just everyone knows me to
Donald's is great, right. I love McDonald's. I worked there,
McDonald's fry. It probably is like what you think of
when you think of French fries. They have songs and
(29:09):
and and jingles that you remember Burger king John making
the case that it's for the people, their innovators dropping
probably one of the most important things. It's the flame broiling,
It's the flavor. This is food Court. This isn't icon courts.
Thank you what that's not what I was told lots
(29:29):
to think about. I will head to my chambers, which
is right off screen over here, and I will be back.
And as they do that, here's a word from our sponsors. Gentlemen,
back from my chambers. Lots to unwrapped, if you will.
(29:53):
I think they both have items that are wrapped. This
is a moment where you can leave us with some
of your last thoughts. If you want to pop up
your case in a minute or so, now is the
time to potentially persuade me to go in the other direction. John,
any last words, last words, just that I think I hope,
I hope that you recognize that it is food Court
and it is the flavor that is what is most paramount,
(30:14):
not the imagering, not the name calling that some people
on this podcast have stooped to. Thank you, Mark. The
last words, yeah, I would say if this. If we
were talking whopper versus Burger King, you might have a case,
but we are not. We are talking whopper versus Big mag.
If we're talking that, you would have a case. But
this is McDonald versus Burger King. All burger King has
(30:34):
is the whopper. Everything else is crap. McDonald's has an
array of things that you you will find something you
like there, and to me, that is the essence of
fast food. Okay, strong last words here coming from John
and Mark. They argue on their own podcast. Dare I
ask which concept is gay or burger King or McDonald
(30:57):
or food court or to al Queen's. I mean McDonald's
does have that tiddled with germ are. Yeah, well that's
why burgering doesn't have them. All. Right, here we go.
This has been tough. This is a I will reveal
it in a bit, but this is the first time
that this has happened. But I will remind you what
this is in a second. The case of burger King.
(31:20):
John represented, Mark represented the case of McDonald's. Which one
is a better fast food restaurant? Wow, I don't know
so many things going for burger King. On the McDonald's side, absolutely,
it is an icon. You know the jingles, you you
know some of the sandwiches. When you think fries, I agree,
you think McDonald's fries. This one was very tough, and
(31:42):
to be honest, it was decided in the the last
dying embers of this case. This was the first case
that was decided in the final last sentence arguments and
the case of which fast food restaurant reigns supreme in
food court. The winner is it's Mark and McDonald's. Thank you,
(32:11):
John playing us out, as said Harmonica Tune, and I
am revealing this again just to get behind the scenes.
It happened in the last in the last sentence where
you really drove it home that we are not arguing
the whopper versus the Big Mac. We are arguing the
totality of the concept. And with that being said, not
(32:32):
because of my previous affiliation with McDonald's Mark, McDonald's, I
appreciate the fair judgments. Congratulations, Congratulations, listeners, Listen, what do
you think? I know you have a lot to say
about McDonald's and or Burger King because I hear it
each and every week. While you can let me know
on Twitter and Instagram at Richard Blaze or on TikTok
at Richard Blae Official. Gentlemen, thank you so much for
(32:54):
such a hard fought case. Thanks for joining me in
my courtroom. For more, Mark and John please check out
there podcast two Old Queens. Wherever you get your podcast.
You can find Mark on Twitter at Mark Rennie, R
E N and I E. And you can find John
on Twitter at J Fly nine nine. Thank you so much, gentlemen,
Thank you for having us. Thank you. This has been
so much fun. We'll have to do it again. Listen,
(33:16):
I'm asking I would like you to come on again
in a future episode, but argue as a team. Are
you down with their other Teamle's toast? Thanks so, unless
it's toast versus non toast, you got a toast? I
Got a toast. Food Court is a production of I
Heart Radio. I'm Richard Blaze. My producer is Crystal by Mahi.
Food Court was created by our executive producer, Christopher hasiotas
(33:38):
the rest of my food Court clerks or Gabrielle Collins,
David Wasserman, and Jasmine Blaze. Our theme songs by Jason
Nei Smith. For more podcast from My Heart Radio, visit
I Heart Radio Apple Apple Podcast or wherever you listen
to your favorite shows. Chris was a blast. Did some
(34:00):
one in this kitchen put sugar and the corn bread
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