Tacos With Kobayashi

The upcoming taco eating championship this Saturday is drawing a lot of controversy. The second annual Kobayashi Taco Challenge in Huntington Beach (Chronic Tacos) is criticized for being a lop-sided contest. It's hard to dispute that point.
Takeru Kobayashi, as defending champion, faces little threat from the field joining him in competition. His most famed and arguably accomplished rival will be "Furious" Pete Czerwinski. Despite their several clashes in recent years, Pete hasn't come close to besting Koby yet.

The rest of the field is rounded out by Southern California regulars and one eater traveling a medium distance. Damon Wells, Shawn Kirby, Jimmy Lin, Frank Paulin, Aaron Ybarra, Matt Cohen, John Rivera, and I form a collegial group of locals who routinety participate in contests. None of us is expected to touch Koby's numbers.

Even Stephanie Torres, the lone female eater, All Pro Eating's top-ranked woman, and winner of a recent string of contests, isn't expected to threaten "The Tsunami." Among the rest of us it is a race for second, third, and fourth. The press release didn't mention prizes or other eaters because those details probably hadn't been finalized at the time (I've been in contact with promoters).

Some criticize the rest of the table as punching bags for Kobayashi, a skilled man who simply can't find legitimate competition outside of Major League Eating. I'd respond that only one man in the world offers Koby decent competition, and there's no way for them to compete.

I'd also respond that most of MLE's roster serves as punching bags for Joey Chestnut, a man who dominates the sport and rarely loses. Only Pat Bertoletti routinely threatens Chestnut and even then rarely beats him. In the world of All Pro, Eric Dahl typically the contests he's in. And of course, in WLOCE Dale Boone is the big impact player who trounces the opposition.

So, why do the rest of us share the table with such dominant speed eaters? There's the thrill of competition, the adrenaline rush of the stage, the specter that these events are helping develop the sport of competitive eating, and that participating in these events gives them public legitimacy. You need a dominator like Kobayashi to help bring massive attention to an event.

We could always boycott the event. But if I had to pick between eating lunch at home, and eating lunch on a stage with Kobayashi in front of a crowd, the choice isn't hard. I certainly won't gain anything by staying at home. The event is happening anyway. Kobayashi is entertaining a waiting, captive audience and he will get paid. The rest of us may as well get what we can from it.

Veterans and critics within the competitive eating bubble may condemn what Koby does, but the general public will always remember him as the face of the game - the man who doubled the Nathans hot dog total in 2001 and had the bravado to battle a bear.

An Open Challenge

Originally, this blog post was going to describe a few challenges I completed in January. A conversation with a friend today changed my mind.

Chick-Fil-A at the La Habra Marketplace holds its chicken nugget eating contest three times per year. The next contest is sometime in May. I've won the local championship four times running, eventually doubling the house record from 106 to 212 nuggets. That's nearly 8 lbs of greasy, salty chicken.

Compared to most eating contests in the US, the format of this one is unique. It's two drawn-out hours of consumption. You get twenty nuggets to start, and ten more every time you clean your plate. It's about endurance and resillience as much as it is eating.

Along the way, I've gotten past some formidable talent. That led me to wonder who might challenge me in the next contest. If there's going to be a contest, you might as well use it to prove something. Breaking my own record has become unimaginative. Local competitors, like Johnnie Excel and The Spicialist, have shown little taste for the grease and salt.

That's when the idea hit me. Maybe it's time to provide an opponent with the incentive to provide competiton. Talking it over with The Spicialist, I came up with the idea of offering an independent eater reimbursed travel costs and a small cash prize - say $150 or so - if they come to the next nugget contest and defeat me.

It's a bold idea. I hope someone takes it seriously. Though the offering isn't excessive, it's more than what many challenges or contests pay. Ideally, I'd want to face someone that's never competed with me, or whom I've never beaten in competition.

Stephanie Torres could head the list of favored opponents, but technically we can't compete against each other since the contest features separate gender divisions. Maybe the restaurant would be willing to make an exception. Given our history, it would be an interesting confrontation. Our capacities over the long haul are similar. I snuck past her in the Lone Butte 30 minute Heavyweight Burger Championship last Summer, but she's defeated me in every short game contest we've had.

The list of independent eaters I've never defeated is quite long. The most interesting candidates, to my mind, would be "Furious" Pete Czerwinski or Randy Santel.

Many people have asked me if I could beat "Furious" Pete in a contest (call it the YouTube effect. Normally I wouldn't put myself in his league). He's fast as hell, but I think I'd have a shot in a longer contest or in a contest featuring disgusting foods. Since I don't think Pete would come on "Wreckless Eating" and throw down with live superworms, two hours of nuggets might be the equalizer. This is a rather small venue for him though. 

The other golden candidate would be Randy Santel. I would lean toward Randy because both he and I started in competitive eating via restaurant challenges. Regardless of our other endeavors, we remain challenge specialists. We've never faced off in a contest and never met in real life. I believe the confrontation would be epic. Legendary. The four-time champ against Atlas and Zeus, with everything on the line.

Of course, these are all pipe dreams. The great likelihood is that this entire blog post will be ignored. I'll go back to writing about other challenges and restaurants I've visited, and life will go on. Sometimes, you have to let an idea express itself. Go big or go home.

If any eater (anyone at all) wants to pursue this concept, you can contact me on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, or directly through this blog. There are certain legal components that I'd be responsible for, and I accept that. Let's see if we can't make the next nugget contest exciting.

Team Pizza Preview

Haven't written anything in awhile. Fixing that now. I've completed a few big challenges recently. Last week, I raised the Denny's pancake gauntlet set by Johnnie Excel from 41 to 43 cakes. Two nights ago, I joined "Furious" Pete at the Brand Steakhouse in Las Vegas and we ate 120 oz steaks. I became the first person to complete the 120 oz steak challenge for a second time. Yesterday, I joined "Juan More Bite" Rodriguez and we became the first and second guys to complete the 4-foot burrito challenge at Coconut's Beach Bar and Grill in Vegas. Juan holds the record at 16 minutes, and I trailed behind at 24.

All that aside, I'm excited for the future. I'm excited for pizza. This Thursday, a team of High Desert eaters is coming back together for another pizza challenge. John Rivera of Joshua Tree will be coming out to Rancho Mirage to join me for a massive 20" BBQ Cheeseburger Pizza. The challenge is hosted by Waters Cafe inside a casino.

What does it weigh? Who knows what it weighs. I've seen different notes, going anywhere from 6 lbs to over 10 lbs. We won't let those questions get us down. Our goal is to be the first team to defeat this challenge under the 30 minute limit.

It's gonna be cheesy, it's gonna be greasy, but most of all it's gonna be good.

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.

Preview: West Coast Hot Dog Eating Championship 2011

The field posing with hot dogs

Tonight's the night. In Mission Viejo, possibly the largest gathering of eating talent outside of an IFOCE event will congregate at the Derby Deli to determine the West Coast Hot Dog Eating Championship. 

 

Who do we have here? The best independent talent in Southern California, mixed up with some of the best talent the eating world has to offer. Anyone who believes that an independent contest is lame, subpar, or merely features a big dog beating up on barflies, better open up their eyes and take notice. 

 

Look at the list...

Takeru Kobayashi

Tom Gilbert

"Furious" Pete Czerwinski 

Dale Boone

Richard LeFevre (not pictured) 

Kevin Ross 

Johnnie Excel   

Aaron Ybarra

Naader Reda

Mary Bowers (making her debut) 

With the exception of the lone female in the contest, every person billed approaches the table with considerable experience. Every rank in the contest will be hard fought. On the line is eternal glory, $10,000 and a bunch of trophies.

I'm looking for Kobayashi to eat 70 hdbs or more. Even if he doesn't, it's going to be a hell of an event. And the interplay between Tom Gilbert and "Furious" Pete, who went into sudden death to decide last year's title, will be electrifying. 

 

Could we possibly see an upset tonight?