Riding the Sunset

If you can eat a 3 lb sandwich in short order, Hollywood's Sunset Deli may have a free meal waiting for you. Their Challenger Sandwich normally costs $30, but finish faster than the current champ your meal is on the house, along with a cool shirt, and your pic on the wall of fame and website. You also earn the right to create a sandwich to be placed on the menu. 

The sandwich comes with several cuts of meat and your choice of cheese. If you have any issues regarding taset or diet, they will gladly sub out one food for more of another. 3 lbs is not going to be a huge test for a serious eater. The issue is getting over the time limit. When I visited last February, the record was 19 minutes, held by a local customer.

My strategy was simple. Use the soda that comes with the meal to moisten the bread and push through the massive meat pile. 19 minutes was not a huge hurdle to climb and I was able to finish just over 16 minutes. The staff could tell I was on my way to a win early on, though they hoped I could do it sub-15. Everything was delicious. I think my only regret was that there wasn't more food to be eaten.

And yes, you do need to eat the pickle to be counted a winner. Time stops when the last bite is swallowed. Whatever glory I earned from this challenge was fleeting. Kevin Ross, newly independent, recently visited the restaurant and topped my time with a finish under 11 minutes.