Prickly Pear Burrito

A few hours after getting a 4+ lb sugar high in Bakersfield, I was ready to eat some Mexican food in Danville.

Here's their challenge:  a 5 lb burrito, complete with two types of meat, cheese, rice, salsa, and covered in more sauce and glazed with sour cream. They'll give you an hour to take it down. If you fail it's about $20. Since this was the day's second challenge (back in June 2011), I knew it wouldn't be a blitz.

Things proceeded at a brisk pace. Eating dessert before the main course offers a strange perspective, like you entered the store through the exit door. I didn't feel full but I wasn't famished either. There was plenty of room to store this delectable burrito. As I was eating, a very large man walked up to me and told me that he thought I could do it, and that he'd buy me a drink if I won. Well, eating challenges sometimes bring up strange offers in people...

And when I say he was big, height was part of the description. The guy was at least 6'9, taller than Ben Monson, and probably the tallest human being I'd ever up close. While I was continuing to chomp away, the server informed me that the gargantuan man was actually a member of the Oakland Raiders football team, and dined there frequently. Wow.

That wasn't the only interesting detail about this challenge. As I got close to a finish, a large group of diners suddenly stood up in their chairs and started clapping and cheering. They wanted to see a win! This wasn't something I'd encountered before. It made me a little nervous, but I concentrated on my plate.

Oh, and I can't forget the diner who suddenly ran up to my table, grabbed my camera and starting snapping pictures of me eating. That was both weird and appreciated.

When it was all over, the manager gave me a baseball cap advertising his restaurant. Several staff members congratulated me, and that's when I revealed my previous dessert challenge of the day.

Shock and awe just about sums it up.