12 Egg Omelet - Biggest in California?

The picture speaks for itself. There's a lot of egg there. Lots of chili, cheese, onions, mushrooms, potatoes, and biscuit too. Anyone who watches Man V Food will recognize this as the "Ironman Challenge" from the Broken Yolk Café. They take their food challenge very seriously over there.

How seriously? They keep a "Wall of Fame" for winners in the dining area, and a "Wall of Shame" for losers near the bathrooms. The location of the "Shame" wall is fitting, because more than a few of them have probably ended up in the bathroom before leaving the establishment entirely. Take a look:

That's the infamous Wall of Shame. Some got a lot closer than others. I feel for people who attempt food challenges and can't complete them. It's like climbing a mountain and stumbling right as you reach the peak. I've stumbled more than a few times myself.

And here's the happier, hallowed "Wall of Fame." This is the one you want to be on. Diners get to see this one as they peruse the menu and decide what they want to eat. Molly Schuyler is featured prominently, because she is a world-class eater who can demolish one of the challenge platters in mere minutes. She holds the restaurant's time record (across all locations, if I'm not wrong) and is the only person to eat two - TWO - in one sitting.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention which location I visited. I was in Bakersfield, on my way up north to visit the Fresno Zoo and tackle a couple of giant burritos in central California. It was a warm December morning. The staff was incredibly friendly and cordial. The manager was accommodating, even helping me relocate to a table that would allow for better lighting and filming.

I'm proud of this video. The production was fun, my DSLR camera got some decent close-up shots, and I was able to put together something that is a step above most of my work. If you aren't too worried about the number of eggs, go ahead and check it out!

A Cheesy Introduction

The real question is: would you eat that?

Broken Yolk Cafe

thebrokenyolkcafe.com

3300 Buena Vista Rd, Bakersfield, CA 93311

(661) 695-9655

Big Food Favorites on YouTube - Part One

For no reason at all, here's a run through of 5 favorite old videos I've done. Have you seen them all?

 

Hershey’s Ultimate Chocolate Lovers Challenge - I tried to eat 15 chocolates while lying down. Smart? You decide?

Jay Leno Challenge - I tried to complete the Fatburger Triple Kingburger Challenge faster than Jay Leno, who apparently did it in five minutes flat.

 

McDonalds 20 Hamburger Challenge- so I spent one night trying to eat 20 normal hamburgers. But don't tell me you didn't try to do the same thing at least once in your life!

Cinco de Mayo Challenge - I try to eat 5 jars of mayonnaise, which is just plain idiocy.
 

 



And finally, there was the Burger King Menu Eaten in 3 Minutes... I mean, the Dollar Menu Eaten in 3 minutes. I'm proud of this one.

 

 

I'm proud of all of my video work, but this just really tickled my fancy - looking back. Hope you enjoy em! Stay in School, Don't Do Drugs, and Eat Like a Freak!

3 Men, 21 lbs of Pudding

Have you ever had the urge to gather up two of your buddies, crack open three huge cans of pudding, and see who could eat the most in 30 minutes?

Yeah, the thought has struck my mind from time to time. Fortunately no one has taken me up on the offer. Those oversized industrial cans of pudding probably aren't that tasty.

Enter the illustrious characters of Wreckless Eating. These guys specialize in eating the disgusting and the unexpected. Think of them as the forgotten segment of competitive eating. Most of us want to eat a ton, and preferably quickly, but these guys really just want to shock you. I'm developing a taste for it. Fear Factor meets Man V Food.

Matt Zion, Chris Wreckless, and Havik endured a long distance battle to determine WE Pudding Champion of 2012. I was sidelined from the challenge mostly because my specialty is mass consumption. My role in the video is limited to coaching.

But, there's a silver lining. I got in the golden line: "Go 'Til You Blow," which may become the new mantra of competitive eaters everywhere. Anyone who's been involved in an eating contest knows what I'm talking about.

Nobody Woks in San Diego

For some reason, the lyrics to that 80s song "Walking in LA" stuck in my head when I was thinking of writing this post. That's how I arrived at the cheesy title. Anyway, a couple weeks ago I began my 2012 eating challenge schedule with a stop in San Diego on 01/03. I'd be meeting Matt Cohen for an interesting lunch.

J-Wok is located in downtown San Diego. Parking in the area is difficult as usual. By difficult, I mean everything is metered or in paid lots or structures. The restaurant itself was incredibly crisp and clean inside. I think I would have eaten off the floor, but I wouldn't recommend it.

It's hard enough finding an eatery with one eating challenge. J-Wok has two on the menu. The first is the 5 lb Pad Thai Noodle challenge, then with only one previous finisher and a record time of 35 minutes. The second challenge is the Man Vs Wok Spicy Challenge, featuring 30 Thai chilies ground into a small bed of noodles. Eat it in 15 minutes and its on the house.

We decided to order both challenges at once. This was definitely a first. Our server was taken aback, but the request was no real problem. In about 30 minutes we were facing four large bowls of delicious food.



It was an interesting situation. Since we were ordering two challenges together, management was lenient and gave us a 75 minute time limit for both challenges. The more pressing question was deciding which bowl to start with - the big one, or the hot one? Matt and I decided to begin with the 5 lb challenge.

This was my first encounter with a Pad Thai dish. I liked it, though obviously eating 5 lbs of anything is not going to be pedestrian. I needed 15 minutes to get through it, utilizing plenty of fluids, which set a house record at the time.

Then it was on to the spicy challenge. This dish was something else entirely. In hindsight, it was probably a mistake ordering it. Each bite was incredibly hot, and it only increased in intensity. The 5 lbs of food in my stomach prevented me from moving at top speed.. it was torment for lunch.

Something in my head told me not to quit. So I fought. Every bite a battle, saturated with either soda or water. The back of my throat burned, my tongue throbbed, my eyes watered, my nostrils flared (you get the idea)... but somehow I couldn't stop. If I was about to die eating, Cohen was about to die laughing. The expressions on my face were beyond description and I couldn't see them.

And it was all over. The burning sensations were excruciating for several minutes afterward. After the fire finally subsided, the staff congratulated me on what they considered to be an impossible victory. No one had ever taken on both challenges back to back, let alone completed them. 2-0 was a good way to begin the year.

But, as they say, all glory is fleeting. The following week my time record on the 5 lb Pad Thai Challenge was broken by Kevin Ross. He only cut me down by 30 seconds, but no matter. Kevin's the new man to beat.

So how did I round out my evening in San Diego? With a little more phood. A search on Yelp turned up a pho eating challenge at a restaurant called Top 10 Oriental Restaurant. This eatery intrigued me immediately. The name struck me funny at first, but I was more impressed by the fact that this place served both sushi and pho. Those are two of my favorites.

The challenge here is called the Big Stomach Challenge. That's pretty straightforward. Completely consume a Super Pho Bowl, including the broth, in 30 minutes to win a spot on the Wall of Fame and a $5 gift card for next time.

The pho was really hot. You don't get you any cooling time before the clock starts, and since the bowl is filled to the top you really can't dump in much ice to help lower the temperature. I made it a leisurely meal, only burning myself as required. There might be a house record but I didn't ask. My bowl was empty in 20 minutes and I hobbled out of there.

It's too bad they didn't have a sushi challenge.

7+ lb Bundle of Joy

It looks like a cake. That is, if you're familiar with cakes stuffed with rice and meat and wrapped in seaweed. The oversized musubi pictured above is known as the Stan-Musubi, named after the owner of Ola's Hawaiian BBQ in Fullerton.

The disclaimer I signed before taking the challenge in November 2011 listed the big musubi at over 7 lbs. It's got a ton of rice, which I usually don't handle well. Inside the rice you'll find chicken and beef. You get 35 minutes to eat your way to a free meal.

A group of us went together (names withheld to protect the guilty). It took the kitchen awhile to prepare all the food, but it was honestly delicious. This is a challenge that I'd do over if I could. Free food rocks, but awesome food is a step above.

From musubis, the night led us to a very non-food based situation complete with laughter and arm wrestling.

It's not clear to me how to follow up a story like arm wrestling. At least no one was seriously hurt.. a classmate from high school refused to arm wrestle me because of all the horror stories he heard associated with the activity. 

If you liked that video, watch out! Competitive Eaters Gone Wild Part II is in development.

97 and 3

A tabulation of my restaurant challenges for the year 2011 returned a figure of 100. The number came as a surprise. I didn't think it would be that high, but statstics don't lie. 97 of them were answered successfully while the remaining 3 required two tries to get it right.

So which challenges did I fail? Well, two of them were mentioned recently. There was the 36" team pizza at Big Mama and Papa's Pizzeria in Los Angeles, as well as the 5 lb Bikkuri Don Bowl at Wakasaya in Little Tokyo. The third was the 5 lb cheesesteak challenge at McGonagle's in San Diego.

Two bites in, I blocked up my throat with cheesesteak as I pushed myself to go at top speed. That was an incredibly disappointing finish. Management called a disqualification as I cleared my throat with a full plate of food. During my revenge tour I went more slowly and cautiously toward a victory.

A 97% success rate isn't perfect, but I won't complain. This count of 100 challenges does not include contests or my 20K calorie bowl, or similarly non-sanctioned challenges. The count only includes eating challenges sanctioned by restaurants in which a refund or prize was offered for finishing the food in question.

It was a big year. My most publicized challenge of the year was the 4 lb Brahma Bull sandwich at Rib Line in San Luis Obispo, CA. which was showcased on Man v Food Nation. My favorite challenge was the 120 oz steak at the Brand Steakhouse in Las Vegas, NV.

I've had several days in which I completed two challenges, and in one instance I managed to complete three. My biggest single challenge of the year was probably the 28" 2-topping pizza at Valentini Pizza in Victorville, weighing in at 12 lbs.

My most controversial challenge was the 10-12 lb Phozilla bowl at Pho 87. The restaurant refused to give me the prize jackpot after labeling me a "professional eater" and citing my appearance on Man v Food. Then, the restaurant listed my name on the website as a challenge winner and then just as mysteriously pulled it down. At least they agreed to refund my $32 for the challenge.

Well.. it's been a year. I met several new eaters (The Spicialist, Mary Bowers, Juan Rodriguez, Chris Wreckless), deepened friendships with others, debuted on Wreckless Eating and had a background role on Bones.

In a change of pace, I've created a video compiling my challenges for 2011 and forecasting a banner year ahead.

Happy New Year.

Video: Back in Bakersfield

This post is dedicated to Dave "US Male" Goldstein and Aaron Wakamatsu. It's good having friends who are supportive and ask lots of questions.

It's about my second stop at the Bullshed Bar and Grill in Bakersfield. My last visit was in late June, when I was heading north and conquered their burger challenge in about 32 minutes. 2.5 lbs of meat and 2.5 fries is considerable.



If I estimate the original challenge meal at 7 lbs, the new formulation had to be over 8 lbs. The management was concerned that too many people were walking away with a free meal, so they stepped up the difficulty considerably.

Instead of a patty stack with a sweet small bun, we now had a massive beef pile on an oversized dense bun. It was like eating a meatloaf sandwiched between two loaves of bread. I'd never encountered such a big bun before.

It was a fight putting down that huge bun. I needed to soak it in a ton of water because it wasn't softening like most breads. Damn you flour! Why do you hate me so? At least the vegetables were fresh and the meat was incredibly rich and well-seasoned.

And the fries... I wish they weren't part of the challenge. After the huge dose of bread, they didn't seem appealing to me. It was a hard fight getting through all the starch.

For the first time in a long time, I had a buzzer beater finish. The owner demanded that I finish every last crumb and I got in the last bite at minute 44. That will teach me to choose my breads and starch challenges well.

So there you have it, the Second Battle of Bull Shed. I don't think I'll ever be doing this challenge again. Best of luck to whoever takes on this beast challenge in the future. I'd rather ride the mechanical bull.

Video: 20,000 Calorie Challenge

Finally, here's the video of the 20k calorie challenge. Some referred to it as the 20k intestinal run. Trail mix was simply a bad choice for a volume challenge. The pumpkin ice cream made the experience palatable at least.

The video is more or less a parody of "Epic Meal Time" crossed with Man v Food. My students did a good job asking questions and providing commentary during the challenge. This production will likely serve as the starting point for a multimedia club at my school. Hopefully we will find more interesting things to record besides food.