Rock, Paper, Scissors, Eat: Answering the question “What do we want to eat?” with the simple and well-known game

by Caroline Gould

Whether it’s deciding on where to get a meal or even just picking up a coffee, tensions between my friends and I can get tight. Someone’s either indecisive, or set on exactly what they want. Or you struggle finding a medium between that friend who doesn’t want to share their opinion even though they desperately want Chipotle — okay fine, that’s me — and the one who happens to be driving and already knows which way they’re turning the wheel. 

Upon seeing a new trend become popular on TikTok showccasing a Rock Paper Scissors challenge between two people, each representing a food option, I knew I had to try it out to answer the award-winning question — what do we want to eat?

And it did. Everyone was able to throw out an option, we were able to quickly decide with the peaceful battle of fists and no feelings were hurt. We decided to go for three rounds — drink, food and dessert. Here’s how it went:

Assistant Online Editor and junior Kate Heitmann and I would be the first to hash it out and decide which drink would tickle our taste buds on the Saturday afternoon. Upon a discussion between the four of us competing, we decided that I would represent coffees from Hattie’s Fine Coffee in Corinth Square, and Kate would represent bubble teas from Bruú Cafe on the plaza. 

I punched down a rock. Kate laid down paper. She won, without my Hattie’s enthusiast feelings being tarnished. 

We headed to the Plaza to stop by Bruú, where I got a passionfruit tea that paired nicely with the warm-for-January weather. Bubble teas in hand, we decided who would be facing off for our meal — writer and sophomore Greyson Imm, along with photographer and junior Sabrina Dean stepped up to the plate, no pun intended.

Sabrina decided to represent Jun’s Japanese Restaurant on State Line Rd. for sushi and dumplings, against Greyson who was playing for Strang Hall in Overland Park for a mix of everything. After the anticipation of the pounding of palms against fists, Sabrina had won, and to Jun’s we went.

As I split pork gyozas and spring rolls, we chatted about where to go next for the final round — dessert.

From the start, I’d been adamant about playing for my favorite peanut butter and nutella cookie from the French Market in The Prairie Village Shops, and I stuck to my ways. The other popular opinion was ice cream, which Kate decided to represent in the duel. After contemplating between probably ten different nearby ice cream parlors, she decided on the Fairway Creamery, located in nowhere other than Fairway on Mission Rd.

Once again, I was defeated. My dreams of eating a peanut butter cookie that day were gone, but my hopes were still high as everyone was satisfied with the outcome of the game. 
As everyone struggled to choose between the 15 or so different flavors, I was simply glad that our restaurant decisions today hadn’t been that strenuous.