It was an incredible way to end 2010... at least from a consumption standpoint.
It was over two years since I last visited a friend living in Phoenix, AZ. I thought New Year's Eve would be the perfect opportunity to sneak in a visit. He always got a kick from my massive eating habits, so it looked like the best of both worlds. Friends and food.
The drive to Phoenix irritated me slightly because I lost an hour when I crossed state lines. But no matter, since I would get that hour back when I returned home. We met up around 3:00 PM and immediately took off for Tucson east on the Interstate 10.
So after seven total hours of driving - and a load of interesting conversation - we arrived at Lindy's on Fourth in Tucson.
Their challenge is the 12-patty OMFG Burger... that's 3 lbs of post-cooked beef, 1 lb of cheese, vegetables and bun. It's about 4.5 lbs of life-shortening goodness. Eat it in 20 minutes and it's free. Man V Food fans know that Adam Richman needed more than 40 minutes to get it done.
This challenge almost didn't happen. Turns out that Lindy's closes at 5 PM on New Year's Eve, and we walked in the door at 4:30. The server told us that there wouldn't be enough time to do it.
No. I drove too far for this. I insisted
boldly that I wouldn't need 20 minutes. That was a bit on the confident side for me, but the tactic worked. We got the burger.
True to my word - but tired from the drive - I delivered a 14 minute victory.
A $30 monster burger on the house... certainly tougher than the Colossus Burger in Henderson from the week before. I think the pound of cheddar cheese was the difference maker.
No one on the staff believed I stood a chance of winning, but I made a quick impression. Turns out only 3-4% challengers pull off the win. Once again I fall into elite, disgusting company.
As luck would have it, ABC-9 news reporter Jessica Chapin happened to be dining at the next table and decided to use my experience for a
New Year's Eve news story. It was my first opportunity to be interviewed by the media after a food challenge.
Well... that was certainly new for me.
Next on the evening's agenda was the Sugar O.D. Challenge at Something Sweet Dessert Lounge, also in Tucson. I received my order exactly one hour after finishing the OMFG Burger.
What's in the Sugar OD anyway? 4 huge brownies, 4 huge chunks of cheesecake, 4 scoops of ice cream, whipped cream, cherries, and chocolate sauce. The staff insists it weighs 8 lbs, but I believe it's really more like 5-6 lbs. Whatever! It's huge!
And get this: it's tallied up at roughly 9,000 calories. Dangerously underweight individuals need to flock to Tucson immediately and try this thing out. It's $30 if you fail, but challenge winners get a refund and a free t-shirt.
It turns out that I depleted the brownie supply with this order. A night of close calls, indeed.
Out of some 98 attempts, I became the fourth person to take down the sugar overload. And whoa - I was 'flying' by the end. You get 45 minutes to take the challenge, but I only needed 30. My challenge time was the longest on record, but then again I went in with a heavy stomach. I'm not ashamed of my performance at all.
It was a heck of a night. Ridiculous. A fitting way for me to end 2010.
My next post will reflect on what I've done in the last year, and my hopes for 2011.
Happy New Year!
