Places: Wendy's and Burger King
Item: Chili
Price: 99 cents each

In winter, you need homey, hearty, substantial food that warms you to the core. Since the Lunch Guys don't cover oatmeal, we went for chili. But the options at national chains are surprisingly limited since chili isn't really fast food. Yet if done correctly, it should be as fast as a bowl of soup.

While real chili doesn't include beans or hamburger (the meat is usually chunks of steak or brisket), Wendy's seemed to start using leftover, broken and factory-second hamburgers to make chili. Burger King followed suit, and the rest is either history or mystery. We went to find out.

Tom: Both dollar cups are nearly identical from the outside, but they couldn't be more different on the inside. While Wendy's was smooth, subtle and, dare I say, refined, Burger King's was harsh and disjointed.

Like fine wine, chili needs time. Wendy's tasted like the ingredients had been blended together forever. Its blend of chili-powder, cumin and tomato ran over my tongue like a Texan tidal wave. Burger King's, on the other hand, tasted like flame-grilled hamburgers tossed into a chili-tomato sauce. Wendy's chili had a consistent texture of finely ground beef and tomato to create a stew thick enough

version -- even if it put (much needed) hair on my chest.

Tom: I'm not sure what about Burger King's grill marks appealed to you. It's like seeing a net on your Filet-o-Fish. Make no mistake, neither of these chilis is good enough to ever be served in Texas (or even the bordering states). That aside, at least Wendy's is passable. Crumble a couple saltines and add the spicy chili sauce you can request, and you'll have something that tastes good enough to eat again. At Burger King, I think the burgers were better off uncrumbled.

Chris: Whatever you say about them, the problem with both is that one cup of chili does not a lunch make. Luckily, Wendy's has the baked potato, perfect for sponging up the chili for a real meal. I teamed up my BK chili with a side of onion rings and "zesty" dipping sauce, then combined it all in one mushed-up extravaganza. Chili connoisseurs may frown, but I'm all sweaty smiles.

Rating: 3 sporks (out of 5) each

Food Facts: BK Chili (8oz.):190 calories (37 percent from fat), 8g fat, 3g saturated fat, 17g carbohydrates, 13g protein, 1040 mg sodium

Wendy's Chili (8oz.):200 calories (23 percent from fat), 5g fat, 2g saturated fat, 17g carbohydrates, 21g protein, 870 mg sodium

E-mail The Lunch Guys:
tomandchris@thelunchguys.com

to eat with a fork. Burger King's had big chunks of burger and tomato in a liquid so thin you needed both a fork and a straw to do it right. Most of the time chili recipes are secret because chefs don't want others copying their versions. My hunch is Burger King's recipe is a secret for another reason -- because no one would ever want to steal it.

Chris: This is the scene I picture in the Burger King kitchen after I ordered the chili: "Dude, somebody just ordered chili!" "Dude, why would we have any chili?" "Dude, I don't know. Just rip up that Whopper, mush some tomatoes and throw these magic beans from my pocket in there."

But, Dude, the result was chili-rific. With a 10-to-1 burger-to-broth ratio, it's one chunk of tomatoy, spicy meat after another. And I'm not kidding about the ripped up burger -- I saw the telltale grill marks on these thumb-sized pieces. With Wendy's, I picture some exec enlisting a Texas chili champ to cook up their 99-cent cup, only to say, "Shazam, that's way too hot and flavorful! Let's water that down for middle America." While Wendy's mutes the taste of real chili, it also downsizes the meat. I've had pieces of ground pepper that were bigger. The extra scoop of beans lends it needed heft, but I'd rather have the original chili