Clash of the RealiTitans: Project Runway vs. Top Chef

It's no surprise that Project Runway and Top Chef, two fantastic reality competition shows, are often compared. They are very similar. For example, both found success on the Bravo Network (though Project Runway has since moved to Lifetime, much to my chagrin). Both feature relatively unknown chefs/designers, giving them the opportunity to compete for the opportunity to become a household name in their field. Both feature weekly eliminations carried out by tough expert judges. Both tend to include weekly special-guest judges. And the list of similarities goes on. However, if you could only watch one of these shows (which I really don't recommend as both are great), it may be a tough call deciding which is better. So, I have gone ahead and done the work for you, weighing the merit of these two shows based on five different categories: the cast, the viewer experience, the judges, the competition, and the final challenge. And with that, let the battle begin!

Cast: 
While both shows find success in giving us memorable characters to either love or hate, I have to give the nod to Top Chef here. The contestants on PR seem to always be cut from the same cloth: the girls are all kind of distant and artsy, and the guys are all kind of, well, flamboyant. On TC, however, the roster is generally much more diverse, and therefore more characters tend to stand out as memorable. For example, on this past season of TC, we were treated to the hard-as-nails Jennifer, loud mouth Mike I., lovable fat kids Kevin and Eli, annoying-yet-sympathetic Robyn, and the list goes on (let's not forget the brothers Voltaggio and the unsung heroes Ash and Ashley). However, on this season of PR, contestants Janeane, Anna, Maya, and Amy might as well all be the same (non)character. The only standouts are the hilarious Anthony, alternative Seth Aaron, and uber-bitch Mila (oh, and Ping; bitch was crazy). When it comes down to it, variety is the spice of life, and PR's cast simply doesn't have it.
WINNER: Top Chef
 
Viewer Experience:
One of the more rewarding parts of watching these shows is being able to pass my own judgments about the contestants' work products, and then watch as my prediction either clash or coincide with the judges' decisions. However, I find it much easier and more rewarding to do this while watching PR than TC. Food and clothes are two very different animals. With the garments made on PR, you see exactly what the judges are seeing, and you don't need to be a fashion expert to reach your own conclusions about what looks good and what doesn't. However, TC doesn't really allow for the same process. You can't judge food just by looking at it; you need to taste it to really know how good it is. As such, you are often left to simply listen to the judges' reaction and opt to either trust them or not. This is not nearly as interactive as the PR experience. Also, many of the ingredients and techniques used in TC sound like complete gibberish to me, so I can't even imagine what some of the dishes taste like (I mean, what is tarragon, anyway?).  
WINNER: Project Runway

The Judges:
Tough call here. Both shows have interesting and capable expert judges. Padma and Heidi serve equally as smart, sexy host/judges. Tom Colicchio and Michael Kors are both seasoned, successful experts with biting criticism. However, it is at the third tier (professional critics) that PR wins this category. Nina Garcia of Marie Claire magazine is leagues better and more fun to watch than Gail Simmons of Food & Wine. In fact, Nina is almost as tough and as mean as Michael, while Gail's comments are generally forgettable. And while Toby Young's visits to the TC judges' table are a nice relief, they are far too infrequent, and thus the PR judges (and ever-present "mentor" Tim Gunn) come out on top.  
WINNER: Project Runway

Competition:
Much how TC's varied cast gives it the win in the first category, it's varied challenges give it the win here. Episodes of PR often playoff in exactly the same manner. Regardless of the actual assignment, the PR contestants wake up, meet with Heidi who send them out to Tim where they get their assignment, briefly stop off at Mood to pick up fabric (where Tim always shouts "thank you Mood" in the same exact way), then head to the work room at Parson's, and then on to the runway. And it's the same thing, every time. With TC, the challenges place the contestants in a much more varied array of locations and situations. This past season, we've watched as the contestants cooked out at a poolside bachelor/bachelorette party, sweated over a grill in the middle of a desert, used military-sized appliance cooking at a Naval base, and so on. And with other fun mainstays like the weekly "quick fire challenges" and the fan-favorite "restaurant week," TC's actual challenges are generally much more diverse and interesting, and therefore more fun to watch.
WINNER: Top Chef

The Final Challenges
For PR's finale, the remaining three designers are asked to create a full, cohesive line of garments which get shown at New York City Fashion Week in front of a large audience including friends, family, and fashion professionals. For TC's, the final two or three chefs are tasked with cooking their own mulit-course dinner, which is served to and judged by a table filled with some of the most famous chefs and food critics. While both are sufficiently challenging and good tests of the competitors' abilities, PR's final challenge is much more of a grand spectacle, and thus wins out over TC's more low key finale.
WINNER: Project Runway

The Verdict
In truth, both of these shows are exciting, interesting challenges between some very talented, unknown contestants. If you aren't watching both, you are doing yourself a great disservice. But the point of this article was to choose a winner. And with a score of 3-2, the answer is clear...
OVERALL WINNER: Project Runway