Souplantation: The Land of Bottomless Carbs

Last week, I visited Souplantation in the city of San Bernardino. I'd previously visited another location of the restaurant in Fullerton, but the experience was very similar. The decor of the restaurant is bright and quiet, with clean tables and a selection of buffet foods that tilt heavily to the side of carbohydrates.

Arranged like a soup kitchen with a long salad line, this is the Land of Carbs! Soups, salads, breads, pastas, potatoes, and soft-serve ice cream, all on an unlimited tap. It's not bad at all, but if you want more meat you better go elsewhere. The food tastes a bit better at Souplantation, but I prefer the wider selection at Hometown Buffet. Souplantation may offer Dreyer's brand soft-serve, but I think the no-name version at other buffets goes down just as nicely.

 

My meal included a heaping plate of salad, two baked potatoes, three bowls of soft-serve ice cream, a plate of pasta with tomatoes, two bowls of soup (beef chili was awesome - vegetable barley was okay), four muffins (pecan, blueberry, and oat bran), two chocolate brownies, and four plates of cheese bread (which looks and taste a lot like thick-crust pizza). I drank two cups of Diet Coke with my meal. I felt very full afterwards, but I must admit I felt okay until I drank that second glass! 

My favorite of the meal was the Pizza-ish bread, which tasted way better than some other legitimate pizzas I've eaten. The only gripe I had was the thickness of the bread. Then again, there was a very bready aspect to the entire meal at Souplantation. This place must make loads of money, considering how inexpensive white flour must be. 

Carbs, carbs, and more carbs! 

Double Trouble in Simi Valley

There's a few of those old-time diners out there. It's a great change of pace from the mass production food machine we call fast food.

Late in 2009, I ventured into Simi Valley and visited Scheck and Shay's Rockin' Diner. It has all the charm of those old 1950s burger-and-shake style places, right down to the colorful decor and salt shakers. The only thing that's out of place is the self-serve soda machine, but then the server explained to me that the location had formerly been a Fatburger. Go figure!

I found out about this place via the Eatfeats blog, which serves as a massive directory for all food portions large and beyond. I rely upon Eatfeats to find lots of my eating challenge locations. It's always safer to call ahead, though, because quite often the business in question may be defunct or the challenge item no longer offered on the menu.

Circumstances did not disappoint on this excursion. Scheck and Shay's Diner serves up a massive burger called "Da Bomb," billed on the menu as the biggest burger in the city. I don't know if that's literally true, since I did not really frequent every burger venue in Simi Valley. I simply trusted the hyperbole of the menu and made my choice.

I went all out, ordering the burger in its "Double Trouble" version, meaning that they add a second meat patty. The burger was definitely big, as the photo indicates. It really needs the steak knife to keep it from falling into a messy pile. Topped with cole slaw, American cheese, tomato, avocado, and an onion ring, it was simply delicious. The fries were awesome as well, though the "fry sauce" I was offered was certainly a new experience for me. The server called it a "Utah thing," but I'm pretty sure that the saucy concoction he brought me (ketchup with mayo, probably) has been eaten outside of Utah many times.

I needed around 8 minutes to finish the actual burger. I didn't want to go faster because it just tasted SO GOOD. I'm sure the fat content was extremely high. The server remarked that this burger was probably "a little bit much," but I wasn't complaining. It may have offered about one pound of beef. I think the overall package added a lot to the basic burger flavor.

I'm intrigued by the potential speed contest that was held last July featuring this burger. That was to celebrate the anniversary of the restaurant. Maybe they'll hold it again this year. I was told that the consumption record was about 2 1/2 minutes, which seems doable.

I could have good reason to visit Simi Valley again this summer.

An Appointment with the Doctor

Every once in a while, I like to eat some spicy food. I'm not a masochist or anything, but I enjoy it a little bit when the food's so hot I can barely eat it. There must be some kind of sick thrill there.... but I know I'm not alone. Lots of people like their food hot. Otherwise, restaurants and sauce companies wouldn't waste their resources marketing their hot products. You don't produce what don't sells.

Luigi Ortega's is a small restaurant in Downtown Pasadena. It's right there on Colorado Boulevard. This place has a good location, amidst a number of other dining options and shopping facilities, but street construction can make getting to it a bit difficult. I hope you have an easier time on the streets of Pasadena than I did.

 
The ambiance of the eatery is friendly and peaceful. There's an aura of early 20th century Chicago, thanks to newspaper clippings and memorabilia scattered all over the walls and tables. It's not bad at all. I was reminded of Portillo's in a good way.

Luigi Ortega is basically a fusion restaurant that mixes Italian and Mexican cuisine in a semi-fast food format. I was intrigued by some of the irregular menu items: kangaroo burrito, alligator taco, turtle taco.... I was definitely intrigued, but they would need to wait for another visit.

Instead, I was there to sample Dr. Death's Suicide Pie: a 8" inch thin-crust pizza accompanied with jalapeno peppers, habanero peppers, hot tomato sauce, pepperjack cheese, and a specialty sauce that was supposedly as concentrated as an entire bottle of Tabasco. I was hungry and nervous all at one moment.

I've eaten spicy things before, and on a 10-point scale this interesting concoction probably deserves an 8.5 or 9. Ghost chili is still the king of heat. I only needed 8 minutes to finish this pizza, and only because I needed a good dose of water and napkins to keep me going. My lips were scorching. The different peppers and sauces complemented each other well. Anyone who loves spicy food would do well to visit Luigi Ortega's and pay the doctor a visit.

The Joys of Raw Fish

Sushi Delight is a small Japanese restaurant in Lomita, California... right along the Pacific Coast Highway. It was tough to find because of all the nearby construction that was happening. Let it be known that GPS is not really so helpful when the roads are being torn up!

I still managed to find my way there one Friday evening. Pictured above is their massive "Godzilla Roll." It resembles chunks of burrito more than any real sushi dish... but it really is 4 lbs of sushi! Priced at $34.99, it is currently only available as a single-diner challenge item. Five guys can't just walk in there and hope to share a bargain sushi meal, because as we know, legitimate sushi does not come cheap!

The Godzilla Roll was huge. This was not my first time dabbling in raw fish, but I'd never gorged on it before hitting this challenge. I remember tearing through spicy tuna, shrimp, lobster, and at least a dozen other ingredients. The mixture of flavors may not have been optimal, but it was a hell of a lot of food!

Even a single portion of the roll looks huge. I tackled 12 of the 14 sections in 30 minutes. You get an hour for this challenge, so I was making excellent time. The taste became increasingly bland as the time wore on, but I made the all-clear at the 39 minute line. I think using a fork was a smart move, but I probably could have done better if I used my hands.... then again, I was in a classy restaurant. No need to look like a savage while virtually inhaling raw seafood.

The management came out to congratulate me on my performance. They could not believe I had really eaten the whole dish.... which, at that point, was a familiar story I was used to hearing! Sometimes you can't help but impress.... I was the 4th person to accomplish this task, out of dozens of attempts. I received the meal for free and got a nifty T-shirt advertising the restaurant and its massive Godzilla Roll.

Anyone who thinks they can destroy 4 lbs of sushi in 60 minutes needs to get to this place! The staff was friendly, the decor was relaxing, and the challenge item was unique.

Like I always say: food always tastes better when it is free!

A Game Challenge

 Those old Chuck E. Cheese commercials had a jingle. They promised a restaurant experience where a kid could be a kid. Whatever that means. There's a few establishments where an adult can be a kid as well.

That is, if you define "being a kid" as stuffing your face and playing lots of video games!

Gameworks, a chain throughout the United States, provides just that. It's a mixture of a video arcade with a small eatery. They mostly sell fast-food style items. They also feature a small bar for the over-21 crowd.

And yes, I was there because they have an eating challenge. If you can stomach a 20 oz cheeseburger with a side of fries (or salad, if you're trying to make it healthy), you get a free $10 game card to use after your meal. The combo costs $14.99, so if you succeed - it's like getting a massive rush of food for $5. Not bad at all.... if you wanted to play $10 worth of games.

1 1/4 pounds of beef is not that much for me, so I chomped through the burger in very short order. The meat was juicy and greasy, and the flavors of the cheeses were a nice mix. The fries were sparse and few.

I should have got the salad.

The Day After

After a big meal, it can be hard to face the next morning. This heavy feeling throughout your midsection makes it difficult to just get up and seize the new day. A friend in professional competitive eating told me it's like going through a hangover. A food hangover.

You don't really feel like eating, or doing much of anything, but life is rolling on. There's not much choice but to get up and live life.... even if life feels temporarily heavy and sluggish.

So what do you do? How do you get back on track after consuming 8 senseless lbs of grub? First, you just eat a lot less for the next couple of days. You eat with strict focus: lean, light, low-calorie foods, to keep your digestive system going. You must stay well-nourished regardless of how you feel. I like protein shakes, coffee, milk, raw vegetables, and cottage cheese. I also drink generous amounts of water to keep myself hydrated. And finally, I exercise (as I always do) at a high level of intensity for the next few days to make use of the excess calories that I've consumed.

It's usually about a day or less before I feel right again. I've found that my recovery times have shortened in the past year.... which I believe is a good development for any "athlete" in this sport. It's wonderful to feel full, but even better to feel right.  

2010: Nathan's in Las Vegas was Energetic!

The 10-minute hot dog speed contest held this last week, May 6, right outside the NY-NY Hotel and Casino was simply exhilarating. There was excitement on-stage: how many hot dogs would the professional newcomer Ben Monson consume? Would the other guys push him to his limits? I had little doubts about Ben's win, but I was wondering how many dogs and buns I would put down.

In my mind, I was pushing to hit 15-20 hot dogs and buns. Given my track record, I knew it was ambitious. Hot dogs are a difficult food to eat quickly, since the two components really need to be eaten separately. The strategy element can be difficult to pull off when you're under the gun and the seconds are ticking by!

I managed to finish 12 hot dogs and 11 buns in the 10-minute contest. That was good enough for 4th place out of 12 total competitors, which I thought was a decent result. The three men who finished ahead of me were all signed pros at one time or another, so their ability is hard to question. I just need to kick it up a notch if I want to hang with them at speed consumption!

In all honesty, I didn't like the particular hot dogs used. Maybe it was just the cooking.... I don't know. They had a thick skin on them, were hard to rip apart and chew, and felt very greasy. I needed a lot of water to get that stuff down. I was so thirsty afterwards (think: salt overload) that I probably drank a full gallon of water. My stomach wasn't entirely full, but I was glad the contest was over.



You can't see me in the video, because I was standing at the extreme left end of the stage.

All in all, I had a great time out there - and you know I'd do it again! Let's just hope I can do it better next time out. And once again, my thanks to the crowd. It wouldn't have been the same without them.

The View from the Stage is Incredible

There's nothing like viewing the world from the contest stage.

 
Shakespeare once wrote that all the world's a stage, and the people on it are merely players. That may be. During a speed eating contest, there is a very real stage... and a fortunate dozen souls get to occupy it, fighting for a small piece of glory.

The rush of performing in front of an enthusiastic, cheering crowd almost escapes description. There's a tremendous rush of adrenaline. You feel this urge to give the people what they want, pull out all the stops, and put on a display worthy of their time and attention.

 I can only imagine what it feels like to achieve victory in these conditions.... to have people celebrating your name in a public gathering. I've been thrilled to pull off challenge victories in small restaurants, with maybe a dozen individuals singing your praises.

As an afterthought.... is it just me, or is there something odd about people treating a speed eating contest as if it were some kind of sporting spectacle?

The number of people who came out to watch the 2009 Nathan's Famous qualifiers in Las Vegas, NV and Tempe, AZ was simply astounding. No more than high hundreds probably, but they made the contest a true thrill. I felt less like a messy eater and more like an entertainer. The crowd is in my gratitude for that.

Will I ever be victorious on the contest stage? Can I pull out all the stops, and blow past my formidable rivals? I don't know right now. But I'll certainly put forth my damned best, with so many people watching!

Hot Dog Speed Run

I've been practicing for the upcoming Nathan's 2010 Hot Dog Eating Contest Qualifiying Circuit.....



This was the first time I actually recorded myself attempting to "speed eat," though other people have recorded me participating in eating contests.

Looking at my video, I realize that I spent way too much time on the buns. I'm going to have to get better about that during my next practice session.

I managed to eat two hot dogs and buns in 1:20, which would be extrapolated to 15 hdbs (the semi-official abbrieviation for hot dogs and buns in the eating world) in the ten minute contest run. This assumes I can maintain a constant speed for the duration of the contest. Some people actually speed up as a contest goes on. I gotta hope for that!

I figured it made sense to practice with a small number of hdbs, since otherwise I'd be ingesting huge amounts of calories for no real benefit.

My goal on the contest stage is to put away 15-20 hdbs. I'm hoping I can get there!

Let's Drink to That!

This may be a blog about eating challenges, but I can't resist mentioning my favorite drink: coffee.

I could drink it by the carafe, and on a couple occasions I have! Those were mostly slow days at work, when someone made too much coffee in the morning and I really didn't have much to do but sit down and drink it.

As for drinking contests, I haven't really heard of any. The IFOCE doesn't arrange them. I certainly don't condone them,  since there have been incidents of people dying while consuming too much fluid. There's that nasty business of messing up your body's electrolyte balance with too much water - which can be lethal.

It's not uncommon for a couple of guys to set up a spontaneous drinking contest, but I don't care for those either. I love the taste of coffee. I don't see any point in tossing it down the gullet, especially when it's hot. My personal record for coffee consumption is about 15 cups in one day. That occurred during a very stressful time in my life. Obviously I don't have any issue with handling caffeine. I've never known what the "jitters" are all about. These days, for health reasons, I've cut back to my typical 2-3 cups.

Favorites of mine are dark roast, and those flavored coffees with cinnamon or chocolate flavors. I never use creamer or milk.. Those interfere with the pure coffee experience.

My favorite moment to drink coffee is in the morning. I love it when it's barely cool enough to sip, but still scalding hot. It reminds me of the old medieval punishment of drinking boiling lead, and I can only imagine how hellish that must have felt. I'm not pushing it - I've burned my tongue on coffee before, and I hated that sensation. I can't imagine what it's like to feel your esophagus melting.

Besides, I'll need my esophagus in good working order to continue taking on eating challenges.