Best Food: Burgers Vs Pizza

Would you rather eat a patty medium rare or a slice with all the fixins? Welcome to WatchMojo.com and in this instalment of Versus, we’re pitting burgers against pizza to determine which is the ultimate comfort food. Round 1: Ease of Cooking Burgers can be found at just about every cookout and family barbecue, and even when you’re working with fresh patties, just about anyone can grill them up with relative ease. As for finishing touches, transforming that hamburger into a cheeseburger is as simple as adding a slice of cheese shortly before taking the patty off the grill. After cooking, assembly is a quick process and usually consists of stacking the burger between two buns with lettuce, tomatoes, and condiments, like mayonnaise, mustard, relish and ketchup. It’s a straightforward process... but one tasty end result. Pizza is easiest prepared in an oven, usually on a baking stone, or a metal tray. After preparing the dough, stretch it into a large circle or rectangle, leave a raised edge that will become the crust, and apply the sauce. Cover it with cheese, add the toppings of your choice, and then just pop it in the oven and wait. After that, the only thing left to do is choose how many pieces to slice it into and… how many you’re going to eat! This one is a clear victory for burgers. With a much less intensive preparation and assembly process, it’s no wonder they are so commonly prepared - everywhere from big gatherings to lazy weekend barbecues. WINNER: Burgers 1 / Pizza 0 Round 2: Healthy Options While the traditional burger patty is seen as fattening, a number of delicious substitutes exist, with turkey serving as a popular lean meat option. Veggie, tofu and the increasingly popular Beyond Meat-type burgers are widely available for those that don’t eat meat, and with a little culinary wizardry, can deliver a taste that rivals conventional beef. However, perhaps the best healthy option for burger fans is the buffalo burger: made from American bison instead of cow, it contains less cholesterol and fat, and is actually considered by many to be superior in taste. And, for those that want to skip the carbs in burgers, “protein style” is a popular option available almost anywhere, where lettuce replaces the bread buns. Likewise, there are a number of ways to make a pizza healthy. Many vegetarian toppings are just as popular as their meat counterparts, including tomatoes, mushrooms, olives, peppers, and - depending who you ask - pineapple. Vegans can enjoy the traditionally cheesy dish thanks to dairy-free cheese substitutes or by keeping it simple with margherita pizza. With an abundance of crust options, including cauliflower-based ones for the carb-conscious, or gluten-free for the gluten intolerant or those with celiac disease, as well as countless nutritionally-minded sauces, and smart toppings to choose from, there are many ways to make a pizza that will satisfy your cravings while keeping the guilt factor to a minimum. If you’re looking for a food that sacrifices less taste for healthiness, and offers you more healthy options across the board… we have to once again give it to burgers. WINNER: Burgers 2 / Pizza 0 Round 3: Fine Dining Options Burgers are a comfort food staple on menus at all manner of restaurants, but high end options are nothing short of delicious. Should you find yourself eating out at a fancy joint, but you’re watching your wallet, these make for a great choice. Artisanal burgers are often crafted with care and made with the best ingredients available, and yet, because of a burger’s place in pop culture, they’re still among the more affordable things on the menu. Bear in mind, burgers at restaurants almost always come with a side of some sort, and though fries are the default, a fine dining establishment will likely elevate the fries or offer a creative substitute for added tastiness. Although it’s not quite as widely available as a burger, pizza is quite common at nicer restaurants and every self-respecting Italian restaurant, from mom and pop joints to the most high end eateries. In fact, many gourmet restaurants are centered around pizza, and their menus reflect that. These fine dining establishments are innovators when it comes to pizza, constantly innovating and offering new and exciting kinds of pies. However, the traditionalist shouldn’t fret, as many Italian restaurants will offer thin crust and deep-dish classic or pizzas tying back to their Italian roots, like Neapolitan pizza. While burgers put up a good fight, pizza wins this round to stay in the competition by offering a variety of appealing fine dining experiences. WINNER: Burgers 2 / Pizza 1 Round 4: Variety / Toppings Burgers are made up of a few key elements, and each can be taken in a number of delicious directions depending on the establishment or your personal tastes. In fact, burger customization has even become a popular restaurant concept, with the rise of “Build your own burger” joints. Many restaurants have taken this model to the extreme, providing wild choices at every level, offering all kinds of cheese, patties and buns, as well as interesting toppings, like avocado and egg. When it comes to building burgers, we’re living in a strange and exciting new age. Of course, if you want to talk endless variety, look no further than the topping combinations available on pizza. With dozens of vegetables, meats and cheeses to choose from, pizza is a dream for those that want to try something different every time. And yet, the risk of a bad combination of toppings remains relatively low. Although pizza is a strong contender based on toppings alone, customization need not end there: bread options include such tantalizing variations as thin crust, deep dish and stuffed, while those happy to experiment with sauce can try buffalo, barbecue, Alfredo, or for the truly adventurous… peanut butter! Pizza is the obvious winner here, tying it up at two apiece. WINNER: Burgers 2 / Pizza 2 Round 5: Fast Food Options Pizza Hut, Domino’s, Papa John’s and Little Caesar’s are just a few of the many household names in the fast food pizza game. While pizza on the whole offers a lot of variety, most of the major chains have the same customizable options, meaning that a pizza built to your tastes can be ordered almost anywhere. What really sets pizza apart from other types of fast food, however, is delivery. Revolutionized by Domino’s with the cardboard box in the ‘60s, delivery is now a staple of the industry, available at virtually every fast food pizza place. Perfect for anyone not wanting to leave the house, delivery makes pizza THE fast food for parties or a lazy movie night. Compared to pizza, fast food burger chains tend to be more diverse, with each brand offering its own signature style. Popular burger chains also tend to dwarf their pizza equivalents, with Pizza Hut being arguably the only franchise to operate on the same level as burger giants like McDonald’s, Burger King and Wendy’s. And while pizza may have delivery, burgers have the drive-through. Sure, they do force you to leave the house, but since there are so many of them, it often won’t take more than a few minutes to get to the closest location. Perhaps the burger’s biggest strength however, is its long history in the industry. Quite simply, no menu item is more synonymous with fast food than the burger. Although convenient, pizza delivery can take time, while a drive-through is minutes away. Because of this, the wider variety among burger chains, and its iconic fast food status, we’ve gotta give the point to burgers! WINNER: Burgers 3 / Pizza 2 It was almost a tossup, but in the end pizza just couldn’t stack up against burgers, which take the win! Did we make the wrong call? Any way you slice it this was a tough one, so be sure to debate it in the comments and of course, don’t forget to subscribe to WatchMojo.com for more entertaining versus battles.