GMM 2381: Hard Rock Cafe vs. Dave & Busters Taste Test | FOOD FEUDS

I like my dinner with a side of fun! – Let’s talk about that. (light music) Good Mythical morning. – When you’re looking for a night out with the family, what do you gravitate towards? Dinner in an arcade, perhaps? Like Dave & Buster’s? – Or maybe a rocking dinner at a music themed hotel restaurant and casino chain is more your vibe. Vacation spot favorite, like Hard Rock Cafe? – For me, I was just thinking Carrabbas. – Well, the real question is when you want dinner with that little bit of extra family-friendly oomph, who has the better food? – Mm-hm. We’re about to find out. It’s time for “Food Feuds!” Dave & Buster’s versus Hard Rock Cafe! – [Stevie] All right boys, you know how this works. You’re gonna taste and rate similar foods from each restaurant in multiple head-to-head rounds. The winning restaurant at the end will be dubbed the Entertainment Eatery of Excellence and will win a chance to sponsor a future “GMM” episode. Up first we’re starting off with a little appetizer action of flatbread for the table. You’ve got Dave & Buster’s Double Pepperoni Flatbread on Rhett’s side for $12.50, and Hard Rock Cafe’s Pepperoni Flatbread for $15.99. – I can’t help but, no, something feels different. Something feels off. Don’t we usually have people bring us this food? – No, never. – It’s always been like this? – Yeah. And if you go to a Dave & Buster’s, you’re very likely to see a Hard Rock Cafe next door, or vice versa. – They frequent the same corners. – Just like here in Hollywood, this is a real choice that we’re about to help you make. – Let me say, I’m a huge pepperoni fan. I haven’t really eaten at Dave & Buster’s ever, and I didn’t know that they did little pepperonis on top of big pepperonis, and now I’m very, very excited. – That’s quite a gimmick, isn’t it? That’s fun, ’cause they taste different. – They taste pretty good. The little one tastes smaller. – [Link] Mm-hm. And then these- – [Rhett] These are floppier. – This is more of like a super flatbread sitch. Tastes good. Now, does it taste better if you’re looking at a Pete Townshend guitar hanging on the wall in a glass case with like the fingerprints and the mouth prints of toddlers all along the bottom portion? Probably. (crew member chuckles) – But that’s the thing we can’t think about. It’s not about the fact that you can go see that guitar. It’s not about the fact that you can go play Whac-A-Mole right after you eat this. You know what I’m saying? – Just makes me want to just go hard on some Skee-Ball. – [Rhett] I like this a lot better than that. – You go for the 100s on the Skee-Ball or not? Because that’s a strategic move. – I just try to stay online, ’cause if you stay online- – I go for the fifties. you score. You know what? – These are better. I love the approach to the pepperoni. It’s not like great pizza on a scale of all pizza, which is how I’m rating this. – But you’ve never had- – But it’s pretty good. – Pepperoni with bigger pepperoni underneath. – I’m gonna give it a solid seven. – I, yeah, I’m gonna boost it from a six to a seven, just because of the gimmick. – You were thinking six already. – Yep. And I’m adding the one, so that’s a seven for me too. Over here, I mean, it is what it is. – It feels pretty like low effort, you know what I’m saying? We call that LE. – I gotta give it a four. – I don’t wanna go all the way to three, because I don’t wanna start them off on the wrong foot, so I’ll agree. – Well, you gotta be honest. You gotta give ’em the score they deserve. – It’s a three. – There it is. – It’s a three. Sorry, Hard Rock. (upbeat music) – [Stevie] Next we’re going with the bacon cheeseburgers offered at both establishments. – Oh yeah. – You have a Dave & Buster’s Beast Mode Bacon Burger for $15.95, and Hard Rock Cafe’s BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger for $19.99, and each comes with a side of fries. – It’s crazy how similar they look. – They’re definitely taking notes from each other. – I mean, this one’s just got like the onions on it, but this one is not, it’s going hard on the bacon. – It tastes like what it looks like, if that makes sense. Pretty good. – It tastes pretty good. – But still kind of tastes like one of those restaurants where if you were just to go like get a cheaper burger at Shake Shake, it would be twice as good. Do you know what I’m saying? Like, it’s not a bad burger. It’s not tasteless, but it’s not a style of burger that I’m into is the most. – I got nothing to complain about. I just got nothing to brag about. – You fist bumping? – No, I’m trying to put the rest of this fry back. – Boy, you can, you can keep it out there. I don’t care. – Keep it? Let’s go for this. I mean the fries- – The fries are not great. – [Link] These fries are bigger. – Link, do you know why Dave got to put his name first? Not that we would have an opinion on something like that. – Reverse alphabetical order. – They flipped a coin. – [Link] They flipped a coin? – Maybe that’s what we should have done. – Are you complaining? – No, I’m just saying for your sake, maybe that’s what we should have done. – No, I’m fine saving the best for last. – Oh. – I think Dave & Buster’s is right. Buster and Dave’s is not as good on the mouth. “Dave and,” it’s easy to follow Dave with an and, but “Buster’s and,” you gotta go (Link exaggerates consonant sounds) You gotta, (Link exaggerates consonant sounds) you gotta go around that way. Do you know how Hard Rock and Cafe decided who went first? – [Rhett] Coin flip. – Coin flip. It was 1971 founded in Mayfair, London was the first one. Interestingly enough, in 2007, that’s a year, the Seminole tribe of Florida acquired the Hard Rock brand. – The whole brand. – The whole brand. It owns all of it. Casinos, restaurants, I don’t know, community baths? I don’t know what else they have these days. – They got community baths at Hard Rock? I gotta go back. – Mm-hm. Mm. – That’s a lot better burger. – Mm-hm. And it’s a much better fry, Hard Rock. – These fries are like- – Texas route. – Crazy. – Overall, it could be worse, but it could be a lot better. I give this a five. – I’m gonna give it a six. But yeah, I think this is kind of surprising. This might be the thing that I’m recommending, especially when you got all of these fried onions on there. I know it’s a gimmick, but it- – It really does something, doesn’t it? – It really does work. I’m gonna go all the way to eight. – That’s what I was gonna say. – [Link] Because the fries had some attention too. – I’m giving that Hard Rock burger an eight. Never thought I’d say that. – Mm-hm. (upbeat music) You like to drink your drinks from something with a wide mouth? (Rhett chuckles) Well, you’re in luck. – I do. Look at the mouth on this. Look how wide it is. Yes. – It’s a Nalgene. Official, always hydrated Nalgene. 32 ounces! This is the whimsical Beastiary style that features mythical beasts. Featuring some new and some, some old and some new mythical beasts. We invented some mythical beast for this. – Nice. And then this one’s just kind of the plain Mythical “Always Hydrated” version. And this is Nalgene brand, so it’s legit. It’s the real deal. You’re not gonna get any sort of weird stuff seeping into your drinkage and- – No weird stuff. – Good for the environment. Drink up, mythical.com. – [Stevie] So we have some steaks here, boys. On Rhett’s side is the Dave & Buster’s 14 Ounce Ribeye for $25.95, or $1.85 an ounce. It comes with garlic mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus. And on Link’s side is the 16 Ounce Ribeye from Hard Rock with, for I would, I wanted to like get rid of the Cafe to be cool, but then it tripped me up when I was- – Yeah, you really got tripped up. – [Stevie] Yeah. – They’re the same thing! – [Stevie] For, well, one’s bigger for $38.99, or $2.40 an ounce, and that has Yukon Gold mashed potatoes and fresh vegetables. – Yeah, they’re golder. – They’re Golder. – And this is green beans, not asparagus. – Well, would it change your mind if I told you that in 2009 David & Buster’s sponsored a tour for the band Bowling for Soup? – Huh. Nope, that didn’t do anything. – [Rhett] That didn’t do anything for you? – That makes me want to run to play video games. Run away from the table. – [Rhett] That’s not a great steak. – I mean, are you really ordering a steak at Dave & freaking Buster’s? – Somebody is. – It’s hard to mess up mashed potatoes. – [Rhett] Potatoes are pretty good. – [Link] That asparagus is thoroughly cooked. I got nothing great to say about that. – Which actually, I know it’s not as good for you, but I like it when they cook it. I don’t like those little al dente things. – Yeah, that’s true. – But I didn’t like that steak. – [Link] Let’s go over here to Hard Rock. I remember the first Hard Rock Cafe I ever went to. – [Rhett] Myrtle Beach. – Was the freaking Myrtle Beach pyramid! An Egyptian pyramid right there on the Myrtle Beach. – Boy, I tell you, just a clash of cultures. – And you had to wait a long time to get in, too. I’m talking a of couple hours. – That’s a way better steak. It doesn’t look better, – Mm-hm. but it tastes better. It’s better flavored. These are golder. – I mean, when there’s no video games to distract you, only memorabilia, I think you gotta do better with the higher end stuff. – Both of the potatoes are good. I will say that. – Yeah. These feel like they’re gonna be better, ’cause they’re a little bit darker. – I’m gonna start over here. I’m gonna- – Did you have the beans yet? Yeah. They weren’t that great. I’m gonna give this a four. I’m just going with a four. I just, I can’t give it better than that. – I’m gonna give it a five, because I actually think the sides are pretty good. Those green beans are not great. – [Link] No, they’re not. – Potatoes are good. The steak is better, but it’s not that much better. I’m gonna give it a six. It’s not that much better. I mean, there’s so many better steaks out there. – But look at that guitar on the wall. I’m gonna give it a six, too. I tried to help, but it didn’t help. (both chew) And here we are, just continuing to eat the steaks though. – Yeah, yeah, yeah. (crew laughs) (upbeat music) – [Stevie] And last but not least, some nice dessert to wrap things up. On Rhett’s side is the Dave & Buster’s Strawberry Shortcake with whipped cream, strawberry puree, strawberries, and fresh mint for $10.95. And on Link’s side is Hard Rock Cafe’s Homemade Apple Cobbler, an old-fashioned apple cobbler with warm Granny Smith apples baked until golden brown and topped with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce for $10.99. – This is intriguing. This is as expected. – I mean, strawberry shortcake- – It’s pretty good. – Not really anything I would ever order, but if I did order it, I would hope it was this good. I mean this is pretty good, but- – It’s very light. – Let me, I might be able to change things for you even more. – Okay. A group of people known as Advantage Players frequent Dave & Buster’s using their arcade game skills to rack up tickets on games to trade for prizes that can be sold for cash. It’s said that the best among them can make, listen to this, can make up to $50 worth of merchandise in an hour. – In an hour? – Link, in an hour. $50 an hour? – $50 an hour. And now this is probably the best time to tell you that I’ve been asked to be a part of this group, and I’m seriously considering it. – Based on your Skee-Ball skills or? – I’ve been getting calls from the Advantage Players for years and now is my announcement. I didn’t think it was gonna happen like this. I’m officially retiring from “Good Mythical Morning,” and you can catch me at your local Dave & Buster’s. – Just throwing the Skee-Balls? – 50 bucks an hour. – So you’re taking the tickets, you’re getting the prizes. – I don’t know yet. – And then you’re, – I don’t know. selling them. – I just was like, yes, I’m in. I’m retiring. I’m done with this BS. – You’re selling ’em in the parking lot? Are you selling ’em on eBay? It’s like for the kids who were disappointed- – I’m just ready to learn. – I think there’s a market. – I hope it’s the way that you’re talking about it. – Right, right. I’m happy for you, dude. I really think this could be a better utilization of your skills. – Well, if you- – They have food there. – If I’m being honest with you. – Be honest with me. – What I’ve been thinking is that I get in first. – Are you gonna get me in on this? – I’m not saying maybe two months, three months tops. I’m doing it alone. And then I- – Okay. I slyly one night and say, “Hey, have you heard about my friend Charles?” – He’s an Advantage Player. – “I believe he could also be a part of this team. “I believe he can pull $45, $46 an hour.” – Yeah. Yeah, yeah. I only aim for the hundreds though, so I’m very wild in my performance. – Don’t rain on my parade. I’m asking you to be a part of it. – I thank you for that. I’m just being honest about my technique. I’m not gonna not be a hundred guy. – Okay. All right. Whatever. We’ll talk about it later. – Now this one just seems like it’s gonna, it could just wow us. I hope it does, ’cause nothing has today. – Those potatoes were pretty good. – Except for that news you just gave me. – Yeah, right. – I mean, you’re retiring from the show. – Well, you just kind of nudged. – Yeah. – I was gonna do this, gracefully grab. Oh, look at that. – Hold on now. This is some good stuff. – [Rhett] Is that apple? – [Link] Yeah, that’s what she said. Granny Smith apples. – I was just thinking about- – I didn’t say, “That’s what she said.” I said that’s what she said. – Oh, it’s different. Yeah. Yeah. “That’s what she said.” – Mm-hm. See, when I actually eat that ice cream, I have to let it melt in my mouth before I chew. – [Rhett] Good man. – [Link] I’m an Advantage Player. – Yeah. I’ll tell them that. I’ll let them know that he has trouble with eating- – Biting cold things. – Biting cold things. And they’ll be like, it’s probably, they’ll probably think it’s fine. They’ll probably be like- – I don’t know how great this is in a normal world, but I’ve been sucked into the world of Dave & Buster’s and Hard Rock Cafe and I think this is the best thing I’ve ever eaten. (crew laughs) It’s good. But yeah, we need to start over here. Let’s give this, – Oh, I got some mint. a non-complaint average score of five. – I just ate the garnish. Straight. Two mint leaves. – Two? – Oh. Does that change your score? – Six, yeah. – Oh really? – Six. It went up? – Yeah, it was a five originally. That’s pretty good, man. – I’m gonna give this an eight. – Me, too. That’s what I was gonna say. Oh, eight. – That’s fine. That’s fine. That’s fine. So where does that bring us? – With a score of 51 to 45, Hard Rock Cafe comes out on top. Dave & Buster’s took that first round, but it was all Hard Rock. It was so hard from then on. Now worth mentioning, Hard Rock Cafe is more expensive, right? But we’re just telling you which one tastes better. – Yep. Yep. – So- The Entertainment Eatery of Excellence is Hard Rock Cafe today. You’ve won the chance to sponsor a “GMM” episode. – Do it. Push a shout out to the Seminole tribe of Florida. You made a good choice- – Here we are. We’re ready. back in 2007. – We’re ready. – Thanks for subscribing and clicking that bell. – You know what time it is. – Hi, I’m Abigail. – And I’m Aayln. – And we’re from Indiana, which kind of sucks, but everything’s okay, ’cause we’re on vacation. – [Both] And it’s time to spin the Wheel of Mythicality! – Did they say, “We’re from Indiana, which kind of sucks?” – Yeah, they did. – Well, you said it. Click the top link to watch us figure out how to spend our arcade tickets in “Good Mythical MORE.” – And to find out where the Wheel of Mythicality’s gonna land. – [Rhett] It’s a menagerie of Mythicality with the perfect drinkability. Shop the Mythical Beastiary Nalgene bottle, now at mythical.com.

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