I ate everything at the Costco and Ikea food courts, and there's one big reason why you should go to one over the other

Irene Jiang / Business Insider

I went to the food courts at Costco and Ikea in Brooklyn, New York, to see how they compared.

• Costco and Ikea are two warehouse stores that both furnish and feed America.
• I went to the Costco and Ikea food courts in Brooklyn, New York, in order to see how the experiences compare.
• Costco's quality was more consistent overall, and it really excelled at providing cheap, filling fast food.
• However, Ikea's best dishes blew Costco's out of the water, and Ikea generally offered more balanced meals and nutritional variety.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Costco and Ikea are two warehouses that Americans can count on to help fill their homes and their guts without breaking the bank.

Sure, the American middle class may be in decline, but at least you can always count on a $5.99 plate of Swedish meatballs at Ikea or a $1.50 jumbo hot dog at Costco.

Ikea and Costco are yang and yin, blue and red, foreign and homegrown. So in a battle of the food courts, which will win?

Will it be Costco, the warehouse-store-next-door? Or will it be Ikea, the intriguing Scandinavian warehouse?

Read more: I ate everything at Costco's food court, and it was clear that its trendiest items are also its worst.

Let's go on a journey through the belly of the warehouse-food-court beasts. There, the truth will become clear.

Listed prices are from the Brooklyn locations of each store.