Getting Pregnant

El Nopal Mexican Restaurant, located in West LA, offers a signature item called the Pregnant Burrito. The name draws different reactions from people, but it is definitely one of the more interesting things I've come across.

Take 12 oz of white-meat chicken, onions, avocados, and lettuce.... wrap it in a tortilla. Then douse the whole thing in red sauce and sprinkle cheese on top. You now have a Pregnant Burrito.

Before visiting their establishment last year, I scanned through Yelp reviews and discovered that they had instituted an on-going, no-time limit eating challenge featuring this bloated burrito. If you could best the standing consumption record by at least one-half burrito, you would be crowned "El Nopal Pregnant Burrito Eating Champion." Your meal would be on the house, and you would get a special golden restaurant t-shirt. Sounded pretty good.

Yelp reviews at the time indicated that the record currently stood at 2.5 burritos, but that was a bit out of date. Turned out the latest champ had downed 3.5 Pregnant Burritos, so I would need to put away 4 for a shot at posterity. I wasn't expecting that going in... still, thinking back to some of the other challenges I completed, I knew I stood a decent chance.

The restaurant was dark and cozy. I liked the environment... staff was friendly, chips and salsa were on point, though pretty much everyone wrote me off as having no chance of breaking the Pregnant Burrito record.

As usual, the first installment tasted really good. I appreciate avocado, and the chicken was really lean. But eating the same thing repeatedly always leads to the law of diminishing returns: less and less satisfaction from each new burrito consumed.

Even chocolate eventually tastes like asphalt. Extensive buffet experiences confirm this.


Some burritos look neater than others. Presentation counts for less during a challenge, but clearly this fourth burrito was totally soaked in cheese... therefore it probably also weighed more than the previous burritos. Consistency was an issue that came to mind, but I couldn't let those thoughts deter me. I needed to finish.

(Note: challenge pregnant burritos must be ordered with chicken and all fillings, but other meats are available for ordinary consumption... I tried to get a different meat choice, but the manager refused my attempt at variety)

These burritos must have weighed 2 lbs apiece, if not more. By the time I swallowed the last bite, the only thought crossing my mind was relief. The manager offered to give me another burrito, to see if I could press the record higher - but I politely declined.

4 Pregnant Burritos was enough for me that day. I needed just over one hour, which I didn't think was totally awful. It might have helped if they agreed to bring them all out at once... instead of one at a time as I finished them. The kitchen was not very fast towards the end.

Overall, I enjoyed the experience. This was the first time a restaurant challenge had involved the title of "champion." I wasn't sure how to handle it. Silence was my method. In fact, I don't think anyone ever knew I held the record at El Nopal.

My record stood from September 27, 2009 until mid-May 2010 when Jarrod set the new record at 4.5 burritos. My 7+ month reign was over, but my hat was off to the new man. That was no easy feat.