"MMX: Wendy's vs In-N-Out Burger with Jon Gabrus and Betsy Sodaro" is Episode 488 of Doughboys, hosted by Nick Wiger and Mike Mitchell. "MMX: Wendy's vs In-N-Out Burger with Jon Gabrus and Betsy Sodaro" was released on March 27, 2025.
"Get ready for 5 hours of chaos." - @doughboys.bluesky.social
Synopsis[]
Jon Gabrus (@gabrus, Action Boyz) and Betsy Sodaro (@BetsySodaro, We Love Trash) join the 'boys LIVE from Headgum Studios to talk The Monkey, snow sports, favorite burgers and fried chicken spots [before] tackling the Final Region of Munch Madness X: The Tournament of Tournament of Chompions of Chompions.
[This episode was recorded live as a pay-per-view webstream on March 26, 2025. The stream did include a pre-show and post-show segment. The pre-show was a Fat Chance Kitchen battle, which you can read about here; the post-show consisted of Nick and Mitch and Susser answering listeners' questions live on air. Neither will be released as official podcasts, however. - ed.]
"Hallechewyah" by Nick & Mitch[]
Leonard Cohen "Hallelujah"
| “ | I heard there was an old Commish That never would pass up a dish |
” |
Nick's intro[]
March 2016: the first ever Doughboys' Tournament of Chompions, Munch Madness: Burger Brawl, concludes with Golden State institution In-N-Out Burger besting then-upstart New York City export Shake Shack in a bun-on-bun battle.
March 2017: the Tournament of Chompions establishes itself as an annual tradition, and Munch Madness: Chicken Fight ends with a pivotal battle in which Columbus, Ohio’s own Wendy’s defeats the pre-chicken sandwich pride of New Orleans, Popeye’s.
Then, we do seven more of these. But none of them ended up mattering, whether the winner was given to the Cenobites to convert them to Catholicism, or force fed to Austin Butler to shake him out of character as Elvis/Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen. Because as the Tournament of Tournament of Chompions of Chompions reaches its climax, after witnessing the shocking ejection of both Taco Bell seeds, it’s those first two winners who are the last chains standing.
Will In-N-Out Burger be “in” and prove that it really is what a hamburger’s all about, or be “out” and relegated to regional curiosity?
Will the house that Dave Thomas built once again hoist its namesake prize - the most prestigious trophy in chain restaurant podcasting, the Dave Thomas Cup - or will this Cinderella story end with a little redheaded girl losing her glass slippers?
Both chains were founded by Christian conservatives and are beloved by Christian conservatives - namely, me and Mitch. And they’d better hope Almighty God is on their side tonight!
The winner will be given to the first organism who dared to emerge from the sea to stride upon land and inspire them to return to the sea and create an underwater utopia, transmuting Earth into Mearth.
The loser? Won’t have that happen.
One of these restaurants will become the only canonical reheat Chompion!
This is for all the Dough, boys!
There’s only one word that can possibly convey the gravity of this moment: WOW!
This week on Doughboys… live from Headgum, the FINALE of Munch Madness Ten: MMX: The Tournament of Tournament of Chompions of Chompions: TOTCOC: In-N-Out Burger vs. Wendy’s.
Ring the damn bell!
*dong*
Comclave[]
A Comclave had been taking place at the Fatican CIty over the past few episodes of MMX, and white steam finally was released, meaning a new Commissioner had been chosen!
Shartinel Noid, Commissioner Susser, Deputy Commissioner Lu
Before Deputy Commissioner Yusong announces the Comclave's decision, Shartinel Noid sings a song of worship:
| “ |
Have a large pizza |
” |
Deputy Commissioner Liu announces that the new Commissioner is named Shartinel Mario, who is actually Commissioner Evan Susser II.
Commissioner Susser Permanente never actually died, and will be going by Commissioner Evan Susser II from now on. Nothing changed!
[This bit also won a Peabody Award.]
MMX Rules 📜[]
The rules are:
- There are no rules.
- There actually are some rules.
- Everyone is here! Every winner of every Tournament of Chompions will be represented.
- You gotta dance with the one that brought you: if a restaurant has multiple categories of food on its menu, only the category it qualified for, is eligible.
- One On Fun: every match-up is one on one, with each guest getting to pick one item from the competing chains. You cannot consider bites from other people's meals.
- Sauce is at a Loss: you can use sauce, but you cannot evaluate sauce in your review. (Roger Rabbit: No talk of the dip.)
- The Dais is Denied: Amelia, Emma, and Casey cannot be considered on the Tournament.
- Tie Goes to the Runner: if there is a tie, the guests can do a footrace around the Headgum studio to decide the winner. (Or they can let the Dais decide, which is the one time rule 7 can be broken.)
- Hate has no Plate Here: Chick-fil-A is officially banned from the Tournament. (It didn't qualify.)
- I'll Have What He's Having: The Commissioner reserves the right to have one of the Doughboys' exact meal.
- For the Finale, any item from the restaurants can be considered.
MMX Finale[]
Lonely and Horny
| guest / host | Wendy's order | In-N-Out order |
|---|---|---|
| Nick Wiger |
|
|
| Mike Mitchell |
|
|
| Jon Gabrus |
|
|
| Betsy Sodaro |
|
|
Spoonman's Bite of the Night goes to the Black and White Shake at In-N-Out. Gabrus' Bite of the Night went to the Flying Dutchman, and Betsy's was the Hamburger.
Nick made a second trip to Wendy's, as well.
Mitch's Ring Camera[]
Mitch's phone alerts him to an intruder in his backyard. Justin, from the Ring Camera security, calls him, to notify him that they are contacting local law enforcement. Mitch says he's not at home, but is out recording a podcast with Nick. Justin, asks for Nick's full legal name, which is Nicholas Frank Wiger, but sometimes he goes by Frank:
Let Me Be Frank 🌭[]
The Lovin' Spoonful "Summer in the City"
| “ |
Hot dog simmer in the city |
” |
Elvis Presley "Hound Dog"
| “ |
You ain't nothin' but a hot dog |
” |
Oasis "Wonderwall"
| “ |
Today was gonna be the day |
” |
Forrest Gump
Anyway, like I was saying: hot dogs are the fruit of the land.
You can barbecue it. Boil it. Broil it. Grill it. Sautee it. These are hot dogs. Chili dogs. Chili cheese dogs. Pan-fried, deep-fried corn dogs, fried. There's Chicago-style dogs. New York-style dogs. Coney dogs. Dodger Dogs. Fenway Franks. DC half-smokes. Sonoran dogs. Franks and beans. Carolina Slaw dogs. Hot dog sandwich.
That's about it.
In this segment, Mitch searches Google for 'hot dog' and Nick uses Google Co-Pilot and discovers the latest news about hot dogs. They then discuss!
- First up, Nick finds an article debunking that the NY Mets were selling twelve hot dogs in a baseball helmet for $12.
- Nick also notes a story about Dog Haus expanding to Ohio.
- Mitch grabs this article about the food selection at Yankees Stadium.
- Mitch also reads about Portillo's and BJ Novak in this article.
- Mitch mentions an article about a Hawaii hot-dog joint.
- Nick also finds a story about a Massachusetts hot-dog place that will have a Fenway Park theme.
Heart of a Chompion 💗[]
As they do at the end of most tournaments, the Doughboys select a winner of the Heart of a Chompion Award.
This year's nominees: delivery drivers, George Foreman, Jared Fogle, Jared Foggle (the Reddit mod), Wendy, Gemi, white boards, Mitch's Ring chime, David Lynch, and Doughboys' listeners.
This year the Heart of the Chompion award goes to toilets!!
Congratulations to toilets.
*flush* *flush* *flush* *flush* *flush* *flush* *flush* *flush* *flush* *flush*
MMX Finale Results[]
The winner will be given to the first organism who dared to emerge from the sea to stride upon land and inspire them to return to the sea and create an underwater utopia, transmuting Earth into Mearth.
| guest / host | winner |
|---|---|
| Nick Wiger | Wendy's |
| Mike Mitchell | Wendy's |
| Jon Gabrus | In-N-Out |
| Betsy Sodaro | Wendy's |
Congrats to Wendy's for winning MMX: The Tournament of Tournament of Chompions of Chompions!!
"We are the Chompions"[]
Queen "We are the Champions"
| “ |
We are the Chompions, my friend |
” |
Roast Spoonman[]
Evan Susser
| “ | Heaven Susser | ” |
–Danny | ||
Quotes[]
| “ | Nick: Let's talk about Taco Bell. everyone: *howls like a wolf* |
” |
–The Doughboys | ||
| “ | I hate that shit! I hate people dipping their fries into shakes. | ” |
–Mike Mitchell | ||
| “ | Me and Betsy are gonna get matching Taco Bell tattoos. We were inspired by Wiger Tiger Thigher. We're torn between a Cheesy Gordita Crunch and some Bell representation. | ” |
–Jon Gabrus | ||
Drops and Plugs[]
| reference | notes |
|---|---|
| Wayne Brady stuff | in Mitch's drop (by Ian B) |
Related Episodes[]
Photos[]
