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.

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?

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.

Getting Fat in Burbank

Last Saturday was epic by any standard for consumption. Fatburger in Burbank hosted a 12-patty, 6 lb burger eating contest. Ok, so maybe it's a quasi-challenge as well. This beast is four times the size of the standard Triple Kingburger Challenge. The first competitor to completely annihilate their burger tower would win $50, basically refunding the purchase price of $29 and putting some $20 in the pocket. Competitive eating isn't always about the money. Sometimes, it's about the eating.

6 lbs of ground beef is no mean feat. The contest was open to the public, but as of high noon only two people had shown up. I was there, and so was Mary "I Like 'Em Hot" Bowers, in her third appearance at an eating contest. A local man named Luis was convinced to join us. Surely, he is a brave man.

We conducted some pre-contest interviews, we sat down, and all of a sudden we were eating. This would be the single largest portion of ground beef I would attempt to consume in a meal. Luis was the first man to drop out, and in stunning fashion, his daughter took his place and conitnued to eat for several minutes. The father-daughter team finished half.

Mary refused to quit. Her progress became muted as time passed, and after finishing about the half the tower she stopped the experiment. 3 lbs of beef is still excellent. It's early for Mary, and judging from my own trajectory, she's got better days ahead in this game.

In all honesty, I was suffering after finishing 5.5 lbs of beef. It was so greasy! The last half pound was a ketchup-laden, Coke-soaked struggle. One staff member poked fun at me for twirling the last few pieces in my hand. I didn't want to eat, but at that point, it wasn't about eating. It was time to win.

It was all over at 32 agonizing minutes. There was no time limit, no incentive to rush, but in those final minutes I wish I'd stepped it up from the get-go. That's another challenge-contest for the record books.


Next year, when they host the contest again, Fatburger in Burbank is aiming for a company record: 20 patties. 10 lbs of ground beef. We'll see if I can survive that.

But one thing's for sure: Luis and his daughter unexpectedly shared a wonderful and entertaining experience. I'm not a gambling man, but I hope they come back to the table. They had too much fun out there.