Jam or marmalade?Marmalade is made from citrus fruit and keeps the peel in.
Omelet or scramble?
Runny yolk or firm yolk?
Sausage links or sausage patties?
Syrup on top or syrup on the side?
Yogurt parfait or smoothie bowl?
Show all 140 questions (124 more)
Lunch and dinner 18
Baked ziti or stuffed shells?
Beef burger or veggie burger?
BLT or club sandwich?
Bone-in wings or boneless wings?
Chicken pot pie or shepherd's pie?Shepherd's pie has no pastry: the lid is mashed potato. Many cooks say lamb makes it shepherd's and beef makes it cottage pie.
Clam chowder or corn chowder?
Fish tacos or fish and chips?
Fried chicken or grilled chicken?
Grilled cheese or sloppy joe?
Meatloaf or pot roast?
Medium steak or well-done steak?
Pepperoni pizza or plain cheese pizza?
Pulled pork or brisket?
Quiche or frittata?A quiche is savory custard in a pastry case. A frittata has no crust and starts slowly on the stove.
Red sauce or white sauce?
Stir-fry or curry?
Sub sandwich or wrap?
Tuna melt or patty melt?A patty melt is a beef patty, melted cheese and caramelized onions between griddled bread, usually rye.
Dishes from around the world 17
Baguette or focaccia?
Bao buns or banh mi?Bao are filled Chinese buns, usually steamed. A banh mi is a Vietnamese sandwich on a short, crisp baguette.
Carbonara or Bolognese?Carbonara is cured pork, hard cheese, eggs and black pepper. Bolognese is a slowly cooked meat sauce.
Empanadas or samosas?Both are filled turnovers. Empanadas are baked or fried. Samosas are the fried turnovers of the Indian subcontinent, with older roots in the Middle East and Central Asia.
Enchiladas or tamales?An enchilada is a tortilla rolled around a filling under sauce. A tamale is corn dough steamed in a husk or leaf.
Gazpacho or minestrone?Gazpacho is a cold soup of raw blended vegetables from southern Spain. Minestrone is a thick Italian vegetable soup.
Gyro or falafel wrap?
Jollof rice or jambalaya?Two one-pot rice dishes: jollof from West Africa, jambalaya from Louisiana.
Kimchi or sauerkraut?Kimchi is Korean: salted, fermented vegetables, most often napa cabbage, usually with chili and garlic. Sauerkraut is shredded cabbage fermented with salt.
Miso soup or wonton soup?
Naan or pita?
Pad thai or pho?Pad thai is a stir-fried rice noodle dish from Thailand. Pho is a Vietnamese soup of broth, rice noodles, herbs and meat.
Paella or risotto?Paella comes from Valencia in Spain, and the toasted rice crust on the bottom of the pan is called socarrat.
Pierogi or gnocchi?Pierogi are filled dumplings tied most closely to Poland. Gnocchi are small Italian dumplings, often made with potato.
Shawarma or souvlaki?Shawarma is shaved from a slow-turning vertical spit. Souvlaki is small pieces of meat grilled on a skewer.
Teriyaki or tempura?Teriyaki is grilled or broiled under a sweet soy glaze. Tempura is dipped in a thin batter and deep-fried.
Tikka masala or butter chicken?
Sides, sauces and toppings 18
Baked mac and cheese or stovetop mac and cheese?
Baked potato or baked sweet potato?
Black beans or pinto beans?
Blue cheese dip or ranch dip?
Bread with butter or bread with olive oil?
Brussels sprouts or asparagus?
Caesar salad or Greek salad?
Cilantro on everything or hold the cilantro?
Corn tortillas or flour tortillas?
Extra cheese or extra sauce?
Fries with ketchup or fries with mayo?
Green beans or peas?
Honey mustard or yellow mustard?
Pesto or marinara?
Raw onions or grilled onions?
Sourdough bread or wheat bread?
Steamed broccoli or roasted broccoli?
Vinaigrette or creamy dressing?
Desserts and baking 18
Banana split or hot fudge sundae?
Black licorice or red licorice?
Buttercream frosting or cream cheese frosting?
Cannoli or eclair?
Chocolate cake or red velvet cake?
Chocolate mousse or crème brûlée?
Churros or beignets?Both are fried dough. Churros are piped into the oil in ridged sticks. New Orleans beignets are cut in squares and dusted with powdered sugar.
Fudge brownie or blondie?A blondie is built on brown sugar and vanilla in place of chocolate.
Gelato or frozen yogurt?
Lemon bars or Key lime pie?
Macarons or macaroons?A macaron is two almond meringue shells around a filling. A macaroon is a chewy mound, today most often coconut.
Mint chocolate chip or cookies and cream?
Peach cobbler or apple crisp?A cobbler is covered with batter or biscuit dough. A crisp has a crumbly streusel topping, often with oats.
Pecan pie or sweet potato pie?
Pie crust or pie filling?
Rice pudding or bread pudding?
Snickerdoodles or sugar cookies?
Sorbet or sherbet?Sorbet has no dairy. Sherbet has a little: 1 to 2 percent milkfat.
Drinks 16
Black coffee or cream and sugar?
Bubble tea or slushie?
Chai or matcha?
Cola or lemon-lime soda?
Crushed ice or ice cubes?
Dairy milk or oat milk?
Decaf coffee or regular coffee?
Espresso or cold brew?Cold brew soaks coarse grounds in cool water for 12 to 24 hours.
Fruit punch or pink lemonade?
Green tea or black tea?
Hot coffee or iced coffee?
Latte or cappuccino?The same espresso underneath. A latte is the larger drink with more steamed milk, and a cappuccino carries a thick cap of foam.
Milkshake or ice cream float?
Smoothie or fresh-squeezed juice?
Sweet tea or unsweet tea?
Water with lemon or plain water?
Snacks and party trays 16
Barbecue chips or sour cream and onion?
Cheese and crackers or chips and dip?
Deviled eggs or pigs in a blanket?
Edamame or roasted chickpeas?
Fruit snacks or fruit leather?
Jerky or sunflower seeds?
Kettle chips or wavy chips?
Kettle corn or caramel corn?Kettle corn is popped with the sugar, salt and oil all in the pot, which leaves a thin sweet crust.
Peanut butter crackers or cheese crackers?
Pistachios or cashews?
Pretzel rods or pretzel twists?
Rice cakes or graham crackers?
Salt and vinegar or plain salted?
Spinach dip or French onion dip?
Trail mix or mixed nuts?
Veggie tray or fruit tray?
At the table and in the kitchen 21
Appetizer or dessert?
Baking or cooking?
Booth or table?
Breakfast in bed or brunch out?
Cast-iron skillet or nonstick pan?
Clean the plate or box up half?
Dinner at five or dinner at eight?
Dressing tossed in or dressing on the side?
Drive-thru or dine in?
Eat on the patio or eat inside?
Family-style platters or your own plate?
Finish one food first or rotate around the plate?
First one finished or last one eating?
Foods can touch or foods stay apart?
Meal prep on Sunday or cook fresh nightly?
Packed lunch or cafeteria lunch?
Potluck or catered meal?
Read the whole menu or pick in ten seconds?
Salt before tasting or taste, then salt?
Slow cooker or air fryer?
Twirl the spaghetti or cut the spaghetti?
How this list was compiled: Written for this site; nothing was copied from another list. Every card is a pair of options of one to four words, so both fit on a button. The deck is food only: dishes, drinks, snacks and the habits people have at a table or a stove. Foods are named generically, with no brand, restaurant or product names. There is no alcohol on any card, no eating dares and nothing about dieting, weight or what a player can or cannot eat. Each pair was read against the site's family-safe rule (nothing sexual, no alcohol or drugs, no self-harm, no dares, no risky food, nothing illegal, no real people, no put-downs), and the whole list was run through a word blocklist and a brand-name list on 2026-09-19 and came back clean. Every pair was compared on 2026-09-19 with every other deck on this site, including the food groups of the this or that questions list and the this or that generator list and all of the food would you rather questions list: no pair appears in any of them. No card has a right answer. Easy, Medium and Hard are our judgment: easy is a taste most people know at once, medium takes a beat, and hard is a habit or a loyalty that people defend. Twenty-four pairs that are easy to mix up carry a one-line note in the printed list. Each note was checked on 2026-09-19 against the English Wikipedia article for the food it describes (for example https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherbet_(frozen_dessert), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macaron, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macaroon, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shepherd%27s_pie, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patty_melt, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cobbler_(food), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_crisp, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paella, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cappuccino, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_brew_coffee and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kettle_corn; the rest are the articles titled Marmalade, Quiche, Frittata, Pad thai, Pho, Enchilada, Tamale, Empanada, Samosa, Pierogi, Gnocchi, Teriyaki, Tempura, Baozi, Banh mi, Carbonara, Bolognese sauce, Kimchi, Sauerkraut, Jollof rice, Jambalaya, Shawarma, Souvlaki, Gazpacho, Minestrone, Churro, Beignet and Blondie (confection)). Recipes vary by region and by family, so the notes describe the usual form of a dish, not the only one. Corrected: the samosa note first said samosas come from the Indian subcontinent. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samosa was read again on 2026-09-19: its infobox gives the place of origin as Central Asia and the Middle East, its history section says the South Asian samosa is believed to derive from a medieval Middle Eastern precursor that was baked, and that the Central Asian samsa reached the Indian subcontinent in the 1200s or 1300s; its lead calls today's samosa a fried Indian subcontinent turnover. The note now says only that. Licence: own work
How it works
These this or that questions stick to food: 140 short pairs in 8 groups, from French toast or crepes to Twirl the spaghetti or cut the spaghetti. Every press is one vote, so hand the phone around and the card tallies the table. The full list sits under the deck, where 24 look-alike dishes carry a one-line note.
Read the full guide
Deal a pair and let the table vote
The deck opens with a pair already dealt. Pass the phone so each person presses a side, or read both aloud and press once per raised hand. Next question deals a new pair.
Settle a group order in ten pairs
Ordering for a crowd? Pick Lunch and dinner or Snacks and party trays, run ten pairs and press once per raised hand: Pepperoni pizza or plain cheese pizza, Veggie tray or fruit tray. The winning sides are the order. For talk, not a menu, At the table and in the kitchen holds 21 habits: Foods can touch or foods stay apart.
Dishes from around the world pairs 17 sets of neighbors, such as Pierogi or gnocchi, and 12 carry a note. Vote first, then find the note in the list.
Waiting for a table? The 49 Easy pairs take a second each. The 32 Hard ones are loyalties people defend: Crispy bacon or chewy bacon.
Teaching English? Each pair is a sentence frame: "I prefer sorbet because..." The list's notes explain words such as socarrat, the toasted crust under a paella.
Questions and answers
What is the difference between sorbet and sherbet?
Sorbet has no dairy, while sherbet has a little: 1 to 2 percent milkfat. The deck has 24 pairs like that, each with a note in the list. A macaron is two almond meringue shells around a filling, and a macaroon is a chewy mound, today most often coconut. Each note was checked against the Wikipedia article for its dish.
What if a player cannot eat one of the options?
Nobody eats anything here, so the vote is about taste, not lunch. A player who avoids a food can pick the side that sounds better, or pass while the host presses Next question. Nobody has to explain a pass. At the table and in the kitchen asks about habits, not ingredients.
Can I copy these this or that food questions into a slide?
Yes. Pick a topic, press Copy the list and paste its pairs, one per line. They are original to this site, so use them in a slide, a poll or a lesson plan. No brand or restaurant is named, and no card involves alcohol or eating dares.