House of Doggs, Matts' Beignets in Food Court Wars

Two local two-person teams competed for a chance to win a free one-year lease in the Grand Traverse Mall food court at a taping yesterday of the Food Network's reality competition show Food Court Wars. Between 200 and 300 attendees came out for the taping at the mall, which pitted House of Doggs - presently located on Union Street in downtown Traverse City - against Matts' Beignets, a new start-up. Each team served three menu items: House of Doggs served a Broccoli Cheese Dog, Fusion Dog and Slaw Dog, while Matts' Beignets served Original, Banana Split and Black Forest Cake beignets.

Every attendee was given $15 in tickets by producers to purchase food items from either or both food stands. The food stand with the most tickets at the end of the taping day was declared the winner. Producers yesterday did not publicly reveal the winner of the show, but said the winning team would be revealed when the episode airs on the Food Network in February.