There's Always A Catch

You can't read it, but the list of OMG Champions at The Catch is short. Unitary. The lone wolf is Tom Gilbert, a professional eater residing in Las Vegas. He's a quiet man, but he can eat like a freak. Two years ago that prowess garnered him a $500 payout.

Photo courtesy T-Vo facebook

This is what the 8 lb OMG burger looked like when I attempted it in the summer of 2009. It's certainly huge. Whoever puts it down deserves the prize. Tom earned good money for less than 30 minutes of work. Of course, Tom's victory was not without consequences. The Catch of Anaheim decided to limit who could be eligible for the cash prize.

In short, if you have any competitive eating experience whatsoever, you can't play. Maybe you completed a 4 lb burrito challenge at a restaurant across town. Or, maybe you won a 3 minute hot dog eating contest in San Diego. You won't be allowed to compete for the prize (they take your ID and google you). The logic isn't totally there. If I can eat 1/2 lb of hot dogs in 3 minutes, does that automatically mean I'm guaranteed to eat 8 lbs of hamburger in one hour?

Clearly, it's an attempt to protect the house. The OMG Challenge is actually a scam masquerading as a legitimate eating challenge. Anyone who stands a chance of actually finishing it isn't allowed to go for it. Ironically, serious eaters like Stephen Obar and Stephanie Torres have previously come up short against it.

On New Year's Eve, 2011, my friend "The Spicialist" decided to try his hand at the burger. After a long spell, the manager returned with his ID and determined he had participated in a 5-minute taco eating contest and was therefore voided from the $500 prize. Unfortunately the manager was rather rude and belligerent in his explanation of the facts. I didn't see the need for that. We weren't there to rob the place. We were there for a fun night. If we can't play, just say so kindly.




My friend was undeterred. We got a crowd here, it's New Year's Eve, so let's put on a show.. if he could finish the 8 lb burger in one hour, it would be free. No $500 prize, but an eating challenge nevertheless.

The burger that emerged from the kitchen was no 8 lb OMG. It was considerably larger, anywhere from 10 lbs on up. The Spicialist fought valiantly but he stopped after eating half in about 20 minutes. He proceeded to toast us with a bottle of Tabasco.




Well, it was still a fun night. The leftover burger tasted great but the service was lackluster overall. I couldn't believe how hard it was for our party to get water or have our drink orders serviced. The management clearly held a grudge against us over the challenge situation. Even Pho 87 didn't treat me so roughly. I won't be going back, and there's no "catch" to that.




You can count on a group of competitve eaters to have a good time, even in the midst of defeat. Friends, food, hot sauce, air hockey, arcade games, claw machines, and Dance Dance Revolution. What more could we ask for?

Happy New Year indeed.