Voodoo

Things have taken a negative development at Sushilicious since the previous week. Despite already making an appointment for Friday, I was asked to reschedule because of fears regarding the lunch rush and the pressure on the kitchen staff. Those concerns are serious - how can you do an eating challenge if the restaurant can't accommodate you? Unfortunately, the men's plate record has jumped up to 60. I believe it can be topped, but it's a lot tougher than it would have been last time around.

Since I haven't written about any challenges lately, I will leave some remarks about an interesting donut shop I visited during the Summer of 2009.

Voodoo Doughnuts, with two locations in Portland, Oregon, has a reputation for good confections and an off-beat sense of humor. I arrived in the evening during the weekdays and was greeted by a crowd. After inquiring, I discovered that none of us were from Portland! We were all answering the distant call to try something different.

If you watch Man v Food on the Travel Channel, you'll recall that meandering food host Adam Richman visited this snack hole during the program's first season. They showed you how doughnuts are made, which I thought was pretty cool. This shop has lots of interesting doughnut varieties: The Black Top Mafia, Cock N Balls (dont' ask, because I don't remember and I didn't buy it), Portland Creme Pie (which is supposedly the official doughnut of the fair city), and finally the biggest doughnut you'll ever see in your life, the Tex-Ass Doughnut:

This is what it looks like on a table, next to a nickel - or dime, not really sure, but you get the idea.... the sucker is huge. I think it's roughly the equivalent of six ordinary doughnuts. It was thick, sugary, and heavy.

Any guesses on the nutritional damage? I'd put it around 2500 calories, or enough to power you through an entire week of gym sessions. It's mostly flour and sugar, meaning it was rather airy, but I still believe it weighed about a pound. If you think that ain't much, try going home and eating an entire loaf of white bread doused in confectioner's glaze. It's definitely a rush!

And yes, Voodoo Doughnut's does have an eating challenge associated with the Tex-Ass Doughnut - but you need to go when there isn't an incredible crowd clamoring for sweetness. You have to consume the entire monster dessert within record time - currently about one minute - with nothing but a dixie cup of water to assist you. If you succeed, the doughnut is free and you become the new champion.

Of course, the memorable Tex-Ass Doughnut only costs around $4, so losing this challenge certainly wouldn't spell financial ruin. I remain untested, though I certainly would have tried if the opportunity was open to me. I suppose there's always another chance for Portland?

If nothing else, Voodoo Doughnuts came across as very original. Their product easily surpassed the quality of any doughnuts I'd eaten in Southern California for many years - and for size? I think you'd better not mess with Tex-Ass.

Happy Halloween!

Sushilicious?

A new eating challenge appeared on eatfeats this week. Sushilicious, a sushi restaurant in Irvine, has begun honoring customers who can consume more sushi than any diner before them.

The restaurant recognizes separate male and female champions. The (current) male record stands at 38 plates, while the female champion burned through 20 plates to claim her title.

If you can top the current champion, you get your entire meal for free - including all the plates you eat on top of the current record. There's a certain incentive to gorge on this challenge if possible.

It's an interesting challenge, because it's not strictly about time or speed. You just need to outdo the reigning champion in terms of volume. Obviously, eating quickly will help reach your goal in less time - and increases one's odds of being able to establish a truly impressive plate count.

It's a conveyor belt sushi restaurant, so the good thing is you'll always have food to grab. You won't be held up by prep times necessarily. As of this moment, patrons are only limited by a one hour time limit, whatever their stomach can hold, and how fast they can convey the food there.

The mystery factor is how much "food" might constitute a plate. This restaurant sells sushi rolls, hand rolls, nigiri, and other fare you find in sushi bars. Not all plates are equal in terms of weight or item count, but all plates will count equally toward your plate count. There's room for some eating strategy.

I'm considering visiting this place on Friday. The challenge plays to a lot of my strengths, especially in terms of mass consumption and distance eating. I also enjoy eating raw fish.

Here's to hoping I can set a new record!

Endless Shrimp....

For about two months, Red Lobster has been offering an "Endless Shrimp" promotion at virtually all of their chain locations. For $15.99 plus tax and tip, you get the luxury of sampling five varieties of shrimp concoctions until you've had your fill.

I went with a friend to the Red Lobster in Cerritos after we unsuccessfully attempted to corner the White Rabbit Food Truck for their 6-lb burrito challenge (more on them and their shenanigans in a future post). We were disappointed and incredibly famished, so we decided to inflict our stomachs upon the promise of unlimited seafood.

Since Red Lobster is a traditional sit-down restaurant, one's access to the food is limited by the wait staff and the cooking line. If you get a kind and agreeable server - as we did - you'll be in for a good time. She definitely deserved the tip she received. She brought us 18 orders of shrimp apiece, and that really hit the spot on a hungry night.

I say "orders" as opposed to "plates" (which is my typical metric for tabulating food at buffets) because the plates and portions used by Red Lobster are small. They start you off with a side salad, baked potato, and two entrees. Then you receive one entree at a time until you're satisfied.

I started off with Parmesan Shrimp (in the dish), which was an incredibly rich way to start. The Shrimp Linguine Alfredo was also rich but heavy. Anyone looking to get that "full feeling" from this promo needs to load up on the linguine, because the fish portions just aren't that massive.

Like my friend said over the meal: "I have this theory that the body can't absorb more than 2000-3000 calories in one sitting." I sure hoped he was right, because with all of this oil and butter we were probably putting down 700-800 calories per order!

The only issue I can raise with this promotion is the lack of variety, being as it is limited to five choices: Parmesan Shrimp, Garlic Shrimp Scampi, Shrimp Linguine Alfredo, Garlic-Grilled Shrimp, and Hand-Breaded Shrimp. But - for $16 and the convenience of having someone else cook and present the food - it's tough to complain. We would have liked some coconut shrimp though.

Then it was on:

Hand Breaded Shrimp with cocktail sauce (think bready and low cost)

Garlic-Grilled Shrimp on a bed of vegetables and rice. This was really lean and flavorful. I'd say it was my favorite of the night.

Garlic Shrimp Scampi. The oiliest, but possibly the most delectable. I wouldn't have eaten it if I wasn't at Red Lobster. It tasted similar to the Parmesan Shrimp.

Now that we had sampled all five varieties, it was time to chow down on some repeats and see what "Endless Shrimp" really meant in a chain restaurant.

Another skewer of grilled... skimpy with the rice.

Four skewers at once! This technically counts as four separate orders of shrimp. We averaged 9-10 shrimp pieces per skewer. On this plate alone I got at least 35-40 pieces of shrimp.

Shrimp Linguine Alfredo, in generous form! We needed that!

Five skewers means five orders! Looking a bit done, but still worth eating. This plate contained at least 40-45 pieces of shrimp. They skimped on the accompanying rice, but we weren't exactly complaining (okay, we were complaining a bit. It would have been nice if they provided more side items to vary the seafood consumption).

Two orders of hand-breaded, for a change of pace

And finally:

One last order of that rich Garlic Shrimp Scampi.

We estimated our total food consumption at approximately 5 lbs each. We ate identical orders, but I saw little point in taking photos of my friend's food, since it would have been completely redundant.

The experience was satisfying on the whole. My friend joked with the server about dessert - suggesting Shrimp Ice Cream Sundaes - but nothing much came of it. It would have been interesting, that's for sure.

The White Rabbit might have disappointed us, but the Red Lobster came through!

Facing Sancho's Challenge

Up in the high desert city of Hesperia, a small new restaurant named "Sancho's Tacos" has opened up. They haven't been around long, but I like their chances. The windows outside are extremely colorful, and the inside looks cozy. I'd say their menu offerings are authentic. They have lengua on the menu (tongue, for those of you who don't hable espanol), which is a definite plus in my book. If I have a hand in crafting my last meal on Earth, lengua will be in it.

But enough about lengua for now, we're supposed to be discussing Sancho! Sancho's offers a restaurant eating challenge - billed on the menu as a 4-lb burrito with the meat of your choice - that must be completed in 30 minutes. If you finish, the meal is on the house, your mugshot goes up on the Wall of Fame, and you get a nifty T-shirt advertising the nice little eatery on the long dusty road. Fail and you'll shell out about $20.

Unfortunately, your meat choices are limited to ground beef, steak, chicken, or carnitas. No lengua on this one. Oh well.... dream deferred, right? I went with chicken because past experiences have told me it is pretty easy to eat quickly. The cool thing is the burrito can be customized - if you don't like beans, you can swap it out for larger portions of cheese, rice, and the other stuff. I get it as is, because I like all the ingredients and I want to keep the challenge legit.

I'm suspicious as the burrito comes out. This looks a bit much for 4 pounds! Unless it's mostly hollow on the inside.... the server tells me that it's really just over 5 lbs. Is this a case of deceptive advertising? I'll let you be the judge. I came here to eat, and I'm going to let my eating speak for itself.

The inside of the burrito was stuffed with chicken, pinto beans, lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, red rice, guacamole, cilantro and this bold enchilada sauce. I found the tortillas to be rather dry. I didn't enjoy the enchilada sauce much, as it tasted incredibly tangy. Not a bad meal at all. I was aiming for the 15-20 minute mark, but I got it done in 27 minutes. I was a bit disappointed. This was my first burrito in awhile, so perhaps I fell out of practice.


I became the second person (male) to complete this challenge in the time limit, and all I got was a full stomach and a T-shirt! I'm definitely going back to this place. The staff was friendly and warm, with better food to boot. Anyone who has a hankering for a burrito challenge needs to try this place out.

And in due time, my next post will FINALLY materialize: The Adventures of Endless Shrimp at Red Lobster!