Pancake Marathon

Chicken nuggets for two hours has been done before. Can I do the same with doughy, bready pancakes?

That's on the menu tonight. Last week, Johnnie Excel dined on 41 all-you-can-eat pancakes at Denny's and dared me to raise the bar. Let's see if I can take it to 50, which roughly equates to 9.4 lbs if you believe the menu.

Since there aren't many restaurant challenges left for me in Southern California, personal challenges and "buffet bests" look like a nice alternative.

If technology cooperates, I will live-tweet results on my Twitter feed @Freak8r tonight.

Pancakes... why does it have to be pancakes? Just kidding, this is one food I really love.

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?

Raising the Bar

The bar was set at 41 pancakes last night. Johnnie Excel and I have started this game of one-upsmanship recently, and it shows no signs of vanishing into the cold night.

It started a long time ago, really. We were curious as to who would win a capacity battle between the two of us. Unfortunately, differences in our skill sets made most comparisons impossible. Excel does well in speed contests, whereas I achieve my best in longer competitions.

We discussed meeting at a buffet. Nothing really came of that (yet). We clashed recently at Chick Fil A's nugget eating contest, but that really wasn't a fair test. Chicken nuggets aren't Johnnie's favorite food and the salt content deterred most participants from going for broke.

But pancakes are a whole other matter. We both love them. Luckily, Denny's runs a $4 promotion for all-you-can-eat pancakes. Finally, there's a potential proving ground for us.

Last year, I was featured in the local Yucca Valley newspaper for eating 33 pancakes at Denny's in 90 minutes. Now, Johnnie has raised the bar to 41 hotcakes in two hours. Can I push it to 45?

And yes, those are pictures of hot dogs up above. I will leave the symbolic meaning up to you.

Interesting Results

Yesterday's chicken nugget eating contest wrapped up in under two hours. I won the contest for the fourth time with a record total of 212 nuggets, exactly double the 106-total my predecessor posted in the very first Chick Fil A (La Habra) contest.

The new women's division crowned a brand new champion in Cheyenne. She ate 50 nuggets and outlasted several talented opponents. After the contest, Cheyenne told me she decided to enter the contest after reading one of my old blog post's about Chick Fil A. Well, those were certainly very kind words. There was something cool about getting someone new into competitive eating.

Now, onto the interesting details of the contest. My main competition in the event was Johnnie Excel. At the start, he dominated the proceedings by eating 50 nuggets at a very brisk pace. I was behind Excel for quite awhile. He pushed me to eat aggressively. Johnnie slowed down around 100 nuggets, mostly because they were incredibly hot. I also believe that the sodium overload was setting in.

When Johnnie was almost at 120 nuggets, I was nearly at 130. This was 30 minutes into the event. I hadn't expected to take the lead that soon, knowing how quickly Excel can eat from past experiences. He decided not to drag out the two hour contest and stopped eating after 120 nuggets. This would actually be good enough for second place. In all honesty, the nuggets were viciously salty and greasy. It's not the type of food you want to eat for the long haul. One day, we will have a true capacity battle with a more palatable food.

This contest reflects a major accomplishment for me. It's my first-ever contest victory over Excel, though I would characterize it as a forfeit win. Johnnie was not maxed out when he stopped. Salted out maybe, maxed out no. I'm going to have to work very hard if I want to best Excel in another competition, short game or long.

Third place went to John Rivera, who ate 110 nuggets in his first-ever eating contest. He represented the High Desert well. There were people there cheering for him and he had a great time. I'm looking for him to do more damage in future competitions. His speed with hot dogs isn't bad at all. Fourth place went to The Spicialist, who ate 100 nuggets in a very non-serious effort. In fact, he ate 20 nuggets hands-free and doused several of his nuggets in ghost pepper flakes.

Though I broke my own previous record by 6 nuggets, I was not full at 212. The Spicialist told me not to go further, mostly because of the vast sodium intake I was dealing with. That, and to leave more ground to cover in future contests. There were still 20 minutes to go and I have no doubts that 230 was within my ability. Next time!

Special thanks go to Frank Paulin, who put up a personal best of 90 nuggets in his third appearance at a Chick Fil A contest. He weighed samples of nuggets and determined that I ate nearly 8 lbs. His share was 3.3 lbs.

John Kim participated as well. He ate 40 nuggets but didn't push himself to any limits. I'm looking forward to participating with him again next month at RA Sushi. Mary Bowers was on her way to winning the women's title but suffered an unfortunate reversal of fortune after consuming 50+ nuggets early on.

A little salt on an open wound perhaps, but she was a good sport about it. She finished the day smiling, which is more than I could say for myself.

Looking Down the Pike

When 2012 started, there were a few goals floating in my mind. One was to find an eating challenge that would defeat me. In that aim, I have succeeded. The first fail of 2012 was spectacular. It warrants its own post and there will be pics and video of it.

Closer at hand now is the Chick Fil A nugget eating contest this Saturday, in La Habra. I'm the three-time defending champion with a house record of 206 nuggets. My competition this time is impressive: Johnnie Excel, The Spicialist, and quite possibly Tom Gilbert. I will consider it a major triumph if I win. I don't doubt the 206 nugget record will be shattered by more than one of us.

My minimum goal is to put away 230 nuggets in the two hours. I am linking a charitable donation to my performance in the nugget contest, so I'm hoping my fellows and my own internal drive push me to put up a huge number.

And beyond that, I haven't forgotten that February is National Pancake Month. I'm hoping to do something outrageous in that vein before the Ides of March are upon us.

But first... chicken nuggets await.

Nugget Bowl

Once again, we find ourselves on a winding road heading to the next confrontation. This Saturday is Chick-Fil-A of La Habra's first nugget eating contest of 2012.

The contest is special for me because I'm going in as the champion. That's not something I can say often. My specialty in competitive eating is challenges. Few contests match my skill set for eating over a long period, but this one fits the bill. It's two hours of drawn-out nugget eating.

But two things make this contest unique. The first is the creation of a separate women's division. Mary Bowers is making her nugget debut this weekend, and barring an appearance by Stephanie Torres or Jessica "The Queen of Cuisine," I expect her to take home the title.

The second factor of interest is the stacked field I face in this contest. The three contests of 2011 attracted little attention, but my 206-nugget house record is bringing eaters out of the woodwork. Frank Paulin and The Spicialist are returning for another contest. The Spicialist proved my biggest threat ever in the last competition, downing 197 nuggets before calling it quits.

John Rivera of Joshua Tree is making his contest debut at Chick-Fil-A. His strong skill enabled him to topple my Hogzilla burger record at the Route 62 Diner in Yucca Valley twice. In fact, he is their current champion at 16 patties (4 lbs). No doubt, he will do some damage this weekend.

John Kim, who participates in various Southern California eating contests, will also be present. There's also a chance we could see participation by Stephen Obar and various members of Wreckless Eating.

However, that doesn't fully describe the magnitude of the threat facing me this time out. Johnnie Excel has decided to make his debut at the nugget contest this weekend. A long awaited capacity battle between us now looms.

I won the nugget title 3 times last year, but Excel may take it all away. He holds a 9-0 record against me in eating contests. The best chance I have against Johnnie is in a long distance contest such as this, where his edges in technique and speed are minimized.

No doubt it will be a close battle in La Habra. Johnnie Excel always takes his contests seriously. I will fight hard to keep the title a fourth time, establish a new record, and finally get a win over the most dominant eater in Southern California.



Winging It

Photo courtesy Wingstop Socal facebook


This Saturday looks to be another gathering of the greats in Southern California. Wingstop is hosting a chicken wing eating championship at its Irvine location this Saturday at 1:30 PM. How many wings can you eat in 90 seconds?

Survivors from the qualifying round advance to a 30 second championship round. The winner receives free plane tickets. Runner-up wins a year's supply of chicken wings. Everyone who participates gets free lunch and a T-shirt (particulars still unclear at this point).

I'd like it better if this were a 90 minute contest. The event has already caught the attention of speed demons Johnnie Excel, Kevin Ross, and the Spicialist. It wouldn't be a surprise if Frank Paulin or Mary Bowers showed up as well, as they are Orange County locals.

All five of the previously mentioned competitors have picked up wins in wing eating competitions in the past few months. This will be my first serious shot at a wing contest. I won't make any predictions, because 90 seconds is intense enough to favor any of the people I listed. It's near a university, so I'd expect some collegiate wing eaters to show up too.

It's going to be a fun sprint. It's always nice to hang out with friends. Fortunately for me, it's early enough in the day for me to find something else to eat later.

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?

Coming Up Short

A commenter on Eatfeats wondered if I've ever lost an eating challenge. There have been a few. In all but one case, I've managed to go back and avenge my defeat. Over time, my speed and capacity skill set have improved and that has led to stronger results.

I've never lost a heat challenge. I've never lost the second or third challenge I've attempted on the same day.



My challenges are lost when the time limit is excessively short or when I choke (literally). Rice has posed the greatest difficulty for me where speed eating is concerned. The Bikkuri Don, a 5 lb sashimi and rice bowl available at Wakasaya in Los Angeles, proved elusive for me within the 15 minutes. Last month, I conquered it in 10. That's evidence of progress.

The team 36" pizza (in the video at the top) met its end when I returned with Johnnie Excel as my partner the following month. Aaron Ybarra is an excellent speed eater, but the pizza was simply too massive for us to complete as a team. I'm also suspicious that the crust was thicker when I tried it with Aaron. 



File photo courtesy J. Excel's Facebook

To date, the sole challenge that has eluded me is the 3-foot Philly cheesesteak at Big Mike's in Hermosa Beach. My old stab at that behemoth sandwich came in November 2010. The last bite was in my mouth at the 30 minute mark but the manager refused to take it. I think I'm due for a rematch.

A future post will discuss that 3-foot sammich in detail. There's tons of photos, as well the story of a friend who completed it right after I failed and made me look like a chump. Such is life.

Hope everyone's ready for a new year!

Burger War

This Saturday at 7PM, Lumpy's Diner in Antioch will host a true gastrointestinal joust. Their 3rd annual Burger Eating Championship will gather the best collection of independent talent since the Derby Deli's West Coast Hot Dog Eating Championship last month.

Competitors have twelve minutes to eat as many burgers as they can. The winner walks away with a custom champion's belt and a handsome cash prize of several hundred dollars. Last year's runner-up, Johnnie Excel, looks to promote to the top slot in 2011.

So who's going to give Johnnie some competiton? There are a few names on the list. Dax Swanson, who's been on a strong run lately, will be there to represent Norcal. Mary Bowers, a recent entrant to the California competitive eating scene, will be appearing in her third contest this Saturday and promises to bring "elegance and etiquette" to the sanctioned insanity.

I will be competing as well, making this the eighth time in 2011 I've shared a contest stage with Excel. It's ironic but I've competed against him more than any other eater. One of these days (or so I vow) I will catch him.

So who else might be playing? There will be plenty of local players to represent the neighborhood. But, other names like Greg Moss, Kevin Ross, Tom Gilbert, and even Stephanie Torres come to mind. We'll have to see how things shape up Saturday night.

Let the burger bash begin.

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? 

2011 Rock The Tot

Three hours after finishing the Killer Burrito at Chile Red, it was time for a tater tot eating contest. The location was Bar Louie in Arcadia, some 30 miles from Rancho Cucamonga.

The contest is held annually in April at every Bar Louie location in the United States. Every location crowns a champ, and the champ with the highest total is declared the national champion.

The staff was incredibly pumped up for the contest. There was a small crowd gathered, and a long table across from the bar was arranged for the participants to stand behind. We would have 6 minutes to devour as many tater tots as possible. They provided us with ketchup, water, and a paltry amount of napkins.

The contest format played to the absolute opposite of my strengths. 6 minutes is a sprint. I'm more of a marathon runner, from an eating standpoint. All I could hope was that I would be able to outlast the local competition, and that there were no Johnnie Excels hiding in the woodwork.

As a side note, Excel dominated the contest at the Anaheim location with a winning total near 5 lbs. You can read a summary of his contest experience here. He had a close battle with Aaron Ybarra, another talented eater with speed skill.

So... 6 minutes to get through as many 1 lb baskets of tots as possible. That's the gist of it. The bell rang and we were off.

My strategy was CRUSH-BITE-DRINK-SWALLOW. The manager was doing play-by-play commentary during the contest and said he had never seen anyone eat the tots like that before.

Well, it worked for me that night. I was the only competitor (out of 8) to finish two baskets and start on the third. The winning total was 2 lbs and 6 ozs, a low figure when compared to other tot-rockers across the United States. Second place finshed two baskets (2 lbs), and third place was right on his heels.

The $250 Bar Louie gift card, restaurant t-shirt, and makeshift title belt were a nice score.

It was a very exciting night. And a damn close finish. I'm hoping to come back to next year's contest and put up a considerably better total in the 6 minutes.

No pre-contest burrito next time!

Big Bowl of Pho

Johnnie Excel recently blew through the 4 lb Pho Challenge at the original Pho Garden location in a record 13 minutes. The challenge is offered at the various Pho Garden locations in the Bay Area. I had the pleasure of mastering this massive dish in March 2010 at the Mountain View location.

The bowl comes out boiling. You have one hour to wade through the hot, salty beef-base Vietnamese soup known as "pho." The challenge bowl comes packed: 2lbs of various cuts of meat, and 2 lbs of semi-transparent noodles. Luckily you don't need to drink the broth to win. Winners receive their meal free and get to keep the monumental bowl. It remains on my coffee table as a testament to my digestive system.

My thoughts on this challenge? It's one of the more interesting ones I've taken on, but more and more restaurants are trotting out their own versions of the pho challenge. At least it wasn't another burger or burrito.

The cuts of meat involved are not typical fare for the Western consumer. You'll find flank, tendon, cartilage pieces, meatballs, sirloin strips, and other chunks I can't readily describe. The noodles are straightforward. There's just too damn many of them. Imagine cooking two packs of spaghetti and downing them in one shot.

How did I feel afterward? Not full. These pho challenges have never pushed me to the limit. But, since they're loaded with 2 lbs of pasta, I'm in carb city and I know better than to slam a quart of ice cream in celebration. I remember sweating profusely after the challenge was done.

Just let it settle. The bowl is probably the "coolest" part of this challenge.

Sweet in San Diego

The Cravory hosted its inaugural Cookie Eating Championship this past Sunday (February 13) at the Hillcrest Farmers' Market in San Diego.

Parking was absolutely terrible. You can't fault the event promoters for that. The city needs to address the reality that the area needs more parking for its popular weekend farmers' market scene. It took me 45 minutes to find a spot, and even then I had to trek a half-mile on foot.

Festivities were set to start at noon. I was a bit late, but luckily they waited for me. The Cravory provided us with 50 cookies divided into 4 flavors.

14 Red Velvet - red cookies with white chocolate chips. Really dense.
12 Peanut Butter Overload - really dense and chunky.
12 Birthday Cake - light, but covered in frosting and sprinkles
12 Pancakes & Bacon - crunchy, according to Matt Cohen. I didn't eat one.

The competition was fierce. Mario and Cindy participated as local heroes, but Johnnie Excel and Matt Cohen are no strangers to the table. Matt established a string of first-place finishes the last couple years in indy contests. He is a dangerous force in very short sprints.

Excel had a breakout debut year in 2010. His victories in independent contests and challenges has been nothing short of noteworthy. He is a strong eater with no clear weaknesses.

We were given 10 minutes to eat as many cookies as we could. I don't usually participate in speed contests, but it was cookies! This would be sweet. I do well with sugars and how often do you get to chow down on designer cookies for free?

The contest got started before any of us really realized it. We were given two dunking cups full of water, and the judge refilled them as needed during the ten minutes.

These cookies didn't soak very well. The Red Velvet was particularly difficult to get down. At the two minute mark, Excel had a lead of at least 5-6 cookies. Damn this guy was quick! He never really slowed down. I pushed myself hard for the remainder of the contest.

The Top 3: Johnnie Excel with 28 cookies, 24 for me, and 18 for Matt Cohen.


This was a great improvement for me, in terms of speed eating. I got pretty close to Excel. He's no joke. He's got a great CE future ahead of him.

The local eaters, Mario and Cindy, tied for 4th place with 12 cookies each. I gotta pay them my respects for getting involved in this craziness. Sweet, sweet craziness.

Matt Cohen enjoyed the contest, but I believe he had an off-day. They don't call him the "Sweet Tooth" for nothing!

If you find yourself craving some cookies, you need to check out the Cravory. They have some great food and put on a good show. Can't wait 'til their next cookie championship!

The 20K Club

Insomnia strikes at inopportune moments sometimes. I figured I may as well do something productive.

This post is a reflection on the "20K Club," an informal competitive eating association borne of a Facebook conversation between Johnnie Excel and Matt Stonie regarding the feasibility of consuming 20,000 calories in one sitting.

That's a hell of a lot of calories to put down in one run. For the sake of perspective, 4 lbs of peanut butter would only get you to 11,000 calories.

Come to think of it, there's many of us who might have yet to enter the 10K Club. It's tough to say... but plates like the one pictured above might certainly help.

That's a heap of soft serve ice cream buried under five dense pieces of cheesecake. It reminds me of those ridiculously oversized dessert plates you would see on Ben Monson's bodybuilding.com page, though clearly Ben did it bigger.

You're gonna need to eat several of these plates to even remotely approach 20k. Maybe you could try candy bars - between 90 and 100 would take you to 20,000 calories.

The 20K Club has some rules in place that make the task even more daunting. For example, you can't simply eat large quantities of calorie-dense ingredients such as butter or mayonnaise to achieve high totals. You have to consume actual foods or ingredients assembled into legitimate dishes. Foods used must also be sourced from nutrition labels so that the calorie counts may be verified. And: the consumption must be captured on one continuous video clip for posterity.

That's complicated enough. And pretty straightforward.

There's many ways to enter the hallowed Hall of Fame (which is still barren). Do 11 lbs of animal crackers sound good to anyone?