Cheesesteaks Return to Corona

There may not be blood, but there will be cheese. Philly's Best of Corona is celebrating its 6th anniversary with another cheesesteak eating contest.

Southern California's crop of competitive eaters will be congregating for this cheesy affair. Mary Bowers, Kevin Ross, Frank Paulin, Matt Cohen, The Spicialist, and I will eat all we can for 10 minutes. At the end, Corona will crown a new cheesesteak eating hero.

Noticeably absent is Johnnie Excel. He's the local hero, with a record of 7.25 cheesesteaks in 10 minutes. I hear there's a bonus on the line if any of the competitors can break his record. Otherwise, the contest will provide the winner with $50 cash and a gift certificate.

Cheesesteaks are fast becoming a favorite of mine. Let's see if I can top 5 sandwiches this time (though I wouldn't mind eating 8). This has been a strange month for me. Normally known for doing challenges, I've snuck in four contests in February.

Is this a sign of things to come? What else does 2012 have in store, besides unanswered questions?

Charity Cheesesteaks in Corona

Last Saturday was fun in an interesting way. Philly's Best of Corona, working with Johnnie Excel, set up a cheesesteak eating contest outside of the local Sam's Club. Johnnie's role (mostly) was to draft Southern California's competitive eaters for the cause.

In the first round, we had Frank Paulin, Matt Cohen, Mary Bowers, The Spicialist, and I vying to see who could eat the most 10" cheesesteaks in ten minutes. We functioned as a draw to get people out there, watching and donating. Proceeds would benefit the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

The second round was interesting. Would-be participants would make donations in order to play, and their prize was the chance to square off against store champion Johnnie Excel, who won several cheesesteak contests at the Corona location of Philly's Best last year. A special prize awaited anyone who could break Excel's record 7.5 cheesesteaks in 10 minutes.



Well, it turned out that no one could touch Johnnie's 2011 record. The first round of the contest was won by The Spicialist with 5.5 cheesesteaks, edging me out by one sandwich. It wasn't a terible result. This was my first cheesesteak contest and The Spicialist generally holds a distinct advantage in speed over me (choking on my first bite notwithstanding). At one point I was down two whole sandwiches. Congratulations are in order for victory. He scored a gift card.

Johnnie absolutely dominated the second round. He took it home with 6.25 sandwiches, but you can't convince me he was giving it his all. The donors weren't able to threaten his record in the least, but they had a lot of fun, including one man who succumbed to a "liquid laugh." Excel received the other gift card.

It was all for a good cause. This was my first experience with a competitive eating event related to charity and I will make sure it's not my last. In a strange way, this reminds me of that bumper sticker urging you not to make a ride in the hearse the only time you cruise in a Cadillac.

The aggregated results:

1) Johnnie Excel    6.25 cheesesteaks
2) The Spicialist     5.5
3) Naader Reda      4.5
4) Matt Cohen        3.75
5) Frank Paulin      3.5
6) Mary Bowers     2

The rounds were held about 80 minutes apart. Some of us joked that I could have joined the second round, but better judgment prevailed.

Johnnie Excel and I will post videos of the contest to YouTube soon.

Corona's Best

The above photo has nothing to do with the current post. Please excuse its presence here. I didn't have a picture of a cheesesteak handy,

This Saturday, an earthquake is shaping up in Corona, CA. The local Philly's Best is working with Johnnie Excel to set up a charity cheesesteak eating contest to benefit people living with MS. And that's cool. It's great to see competitive eaters giving back, and even greater to be a part of it.

Details are still hazy. What's in the offing, however, is the first big confrontation between Southern California's independent competitive eaters in 2012. Excel himself hasn't participated in a contest in months. His record of 7.5 steaks in 10 minutes is on the line.

Matt "Sweet Tooth" Cohen is looking to start the year strong after capturing Farrell's Ice Cream Eating Championship in 2011. Mary Bowers is looking to further her mark on the scene after debuting at the West Coast Hot Dog Eating Championship last year. Kevin Ross (with recent contest wins in wings and sushi) and "The Spicialist" are other possible contenders.

This will be my first short contest of 2012. I'm looking to use the opportunity to gauge my performance against Johnnie Excel. We clashed in 8 short-game contests last year, and Excel came out ahead every time. He's the only remaining independent eater in the area that I've never bested in a contest. So, there's a goal for 2012.

Earlier today, I also realized that Johnnie is one of the few eaters who doesn't have a nickname. I'd like to nominate the appelation "Iron Fist." Last year he had a lock (or damn strong claim) on virtually every contest he participated in. He's collected a lot of souls. Shattered a few dreams. Johnnie "Iron Fist" Excel has a certain ring to it.

On Saturday, will the "Iron Fist" swing high and crush the field? Or, will a veneer of rust allow a new cheesesteak champion to rise up?

Video: Kobayashi Takes the Stage

The Derby Deli brought a great contest this year, replete with custom logos for all the eaters and new rules for tallying consumed hot dogs and buns.

All food "debris" left on plates, inside drinking cups, on and below tables was collected, strained, and weighed against competitors' totals. Eaters were also given separate drinking vessels for "dunking" and drinking. The new rules brought an element of science to the proceedings. Eaters would only get credit for legitimate consumption.

Takeru Kobayashi, the event headliner, entered the packed area to great fanfare and applause.



He crushed the competition with 49 hdbs in 10 minutes, but was a distant mile from the projected target of 70 dogs and buns. Defending champ Tom Gilbert ate 29 and "Furious" Pete finished with an angry 25.

Well, there's always next year.