Sugar High

Anyone got a sweet tooth? Jimano's Pizzeria in Bakersfield offers one of the few "sweets" challenges available in Southern California.

People are particular when it comes to the way they test themselves with food. Some eaters prefer challenges that test their capacity. Other love heat. You have the dairy crowd, with their milkshakes and ice cream. A large crowd eats for pure speed.

There are other challenges that seek out the sugar psychos. I must admit that I fall into that group. If it's got a ton of sugar, I'm there.

Meet "The Beauty." This is a 3 lb chocolate brownie topped with 12 scoops of golden vanilla ice cream and whipped cream. What could be better than this?

You get 30 minutes to ingest this sweet mountain to get your picture on the Wall of Fame and win a T-shirt describing how you were "Tempted by the Beauty."

I was tempted all right. The brownie came to the table warm. It was gooey, chocolatey, and delectable. The worst part was figuring how to eat the hardened edges quickly.

My meal started with a fork, but after a bit I started to tear off chunks of the huge brownie with my hands. The ice cream was effective at softening up parts of it, but the ice cream vanished quickly. After a solid 15 minutes, my brain was on a sugar high. The urge to stand up and run a mile was very hard to control. Jittery, I plowed on to the amazement of the folks at the next table.

At 20 minutes, it was all over. Jimano's Pizzeria had their "first official" winner of the Beauty Challenge on June 18, 2011 (they weren't sure). They took my photo, but I was "flying" so high it barely registered with me. Made sure I got my shirt and I was on the road again.

Two hours later, I arrived at the Prickly Pear Cantina in Danville, CA and polished off their 5 lb burrito challenge in 30 minutes... but more on that in the next post.  There's an interesting tale there.

Please forgive the irony of me wearing a "Bodybuilding.com" T-shirt while I eat 9 lbs of food.