Munch Madness: Little Caesars vs. Papa John's with John Gemberling

"Munch Madness: Little Caesars vs. Papa John's with John Gemberling" is Episode 144 of *Doughboys*, hosted by Mike Mitchell and Nick Wiger. "Munch Madness: Little Caesars vs. Papa John's with John Gemberling" was released on March 8, 2018.

## Synopsis

Actor and comedian John Gemberling (*Broad City*, *A Futile and Stupid Gesture*) returns to help Mitch and Wiger judge the first round of **Munch Madness**, their annual chain restaurant tournament, as pizzerias Little Caesars and Papa John's go head-to-head. Some avocado oil chips get taste-tested in another edition of Chips Inhale: Res-Chew Rangers.

## Nick's intro

1959: Mike Ilitch, a Marine Corps veteran and retired minor-league baseball player, partners with his wife Marian to open a pizzeria in suburban Detroit.

1984: a pizzeria is opened in Jeffersonville, Indiana by John Schnatter who, like many rich capitalists who hold themselves up as paragons of the meritocracy, was able to start his business because of financial aid from his father.

As the Ilitches turned their Motor City original into a value-oriented nationwide pizza chain, they would also become extraordinary philanthropists, running a charity that provides 'hot and ready' food to disaster-struck areas, launching a foundation that helps veterans rejoin the civilians workforce, and personally paying the rent of civil-rights hero, Rosa Parks, until her death.

    Meanwhile, as Schnatter's pizza chain expanded beyond the borders of the Hoosier State, so too did his legal troubles and P.R. struggles as his company was hit with numerous lawsuits for unpaid wages and false advertising and deal with its plastic surgery-scarred CEO publicly whining about paying for his employee's health insurance and how protests against police violence impacted his bottom line.

But there are no bonus points for corporate ethics here in Kitchen Stadium. It's all about the taste of that zesty pie. Will it be the chain with the absurdist commercials and the toga-clad cartoon mascot whose catchphrase is "Pizza Pizza"? Or will it be the corporation whose ads feature alleged PED-user Payton Manning and Schnatter himself, who combines the acting talent of M. Night Shyamalan with a physical appearance of a melting wax figure of Rob Lowe?

This week on *Doughboys*: the third match-up of the quarterfinal round of **Munch Madness: The Tournament of Chompions: The Slice Is Right: CEO Region** - Little Caesars *vs.* Papa John's.

*Let's a-go!*

## Munch Madness 2018 Rules

Rules:

1. Pizza only. Sides stay on the sidelines, drinks stay in the Gatorade jugs on the sidelines.
2. Level playing field, all things equally matched.
3. From each chain, sample one cheese pizza on default crust and one wildcard pizza.
4. The ratings are out of 10 college basketball scholarships, and they rate: overall, appearance, cheese, sauce, crust, toppings, X factor.
5. The winning pizza is sent to the Leaning Tower Of Pizza, to feed the engineers who are straightening it out. The losing pizza goes to The Eiffel Tower, because they don't like pizza there.

## The Slice Is Right: CEO Region 🍕

Little Caesars had not appeared on *Doughboys* priors to this episode. Papa John's had not been reviewed yet either, but it did compete in the Pizza events of the 2016 Doughlympics.

The order for this episode was:

* Little Caesars Classic Cheese
* Little Caesars 3 Meat Treat
* Papa Johns Cheese Pizza
* Papa Johns The Meats Pizza

Little Caesars wins and advance to the next round!

## Chips Inhale: Res-Chew Rangers 🐿️

In this segment, The Doughboys have a bunch of chips and they eat them all.

For this episode, they try three flavors of Kettle Brand Avocado Oil Chips: Chili Lime, Tropical Salsa, and Hawaiian Barbecue.

They all liked Hawaiian Barbecue the best, and Tropical Salsa least.

Kettle Tropical Salsa Potato ChipsKettle Chili Lime Potato ChipsKettle Hawaiian Barbecue Potato Chips

## Quotes

**Nick:** They're good, versatile spices. They use them in a lot of recipes.
**John:** There's a lot of times when you say stuff, where I'm like "Am I missing context here? Is there reasons for this interjection?"

**Nick:** What?
**Mitch:** "I lost my other window here."
**Nick:** Right. What scenario would... Maybe if a hurricane was blowing through your house and one window was blown out and then you blew out the other one. That would be the only context.
**John:** He could be talking about a window of opportunity.
**Mitch:** OH SHIT.

## Related Episodes

* DD. Food Court Region
* 144. **CEO Region**
* DD. Class Struggle Region
* 145. Semifinals Match 1
* DD. Fat Chance Kitchen Semifinals
* 146. Semifinals Match 2
* DD. Fat Chance Kitchen Finals
* 147. Finals
* 146. The Slice is Right: Semifinals Match 2
* DD. The Slice is Right: Fat Chance Kitchen Finals
* DD. Little Caesar, Big Game
* 191. Little Caesars
* 317. Little Caesars 2
* 144. **The Slice is Right: CEO Region**
* DD. The Slice Is Right: Fat Chance Kitchen Semifinals
* 183. Papa John's
* 213. Shaquille's
* DD. Puppa Shaq's
* 288. Papa John's 2
* DD. BOWL: Toilet Bowl Region
* 403. Ledo Pizza (Snack or Wack)
* 144. The Slice is Right: CEO Region
* DD. Mac Attack: Round of 32 (Part 1)

## Photos (via @doughboyspod)

Little Caesars Classic CheeseLittle Caesars 3 Meat TreatPapa Johns Classic CheesePapa Johns The Meats Pizza