Prickly Pear Burrito

A few hours after getting a 4+ lb sugar high in Bakersfield, I was ready to eat some Mexican food in Danville.

Here's their challenge:  a 5 lb burrito, complete with two types of meat, cheese, rice, salsa, and covered in more sauce and glazed with sour cream. They'll give you an hour to take it down. If you fail it's about $20. Since this was the day's second challenge (back in June 2011), I knew it wouldn't be a blitz.

Things proceeded at a brisk pace. Eating dessert before the main course offers a strange perspective, like you entered the store through the exit door. I didn't feel full but I wasn't famished either. There was plenty of room to store this delectable burrito. As I was eating, a very large man walked up to me and told me that he thought I could do it, and that he'd buy me a drink if I won. Well, eating challenges sometimes bring up strange offers in people...

And when I say he was big, height was part of the description. The guy was at least 6'9, taller than Ben Monson, and probably the tallest human being I'd ever up close. While I was continuing to chomp away, the server informed me that the gargantuan man was actually a member of the Oakland Raiders football team, and dined there frequently. Wow.

That wasn't the only interesting detail about this challenge. As I got close to a finish, a large group of diners suddenly stood up in their chairs and started clapping and cheering. They wanted to see a win! This wasn't something I'd encountered before. It made me a little nervous, but I concentrated on my plate.

Oh, and I can't forget the diner who suddenly ran up to my table, grabbed my camera and starting snapping pictures of me eating. That was both weird and appreciated.

When it was all over, the manager gave me a baseball cap advertising his restaurant. Several staff members congratulated me, and that's when I revealed my previous dessert challenge of the day.

Shock and awe just about sums it up.

Sugar High

Anyone got a sweet tooth? Jimano's Pizzeria in Bakersfield offers one of the few "sweets" challenges available in Southern California.

People are particular when it comes to the way they test themselves with food. Some eaters prefer challenges that test their capacity. Other love heat. You have the dairy crowd, with their milkshakes and ice cream. A large crowd eats for pure speed.

There are other challenges that seek out the sugar psychos. I must admit that I fall into that group. If it's got a ton of sugar, I'm there.

Meet "The Beauty." This is a 3 lb chocolate brownie topped with 12 scoops of golden vanilla ice cream and whipped cream. What could be better than this?

You get 30 minutes to ingest this sweet mountain to get your picture on the Wall of Fame and win a T-shirt describing how you were "Tempted by the Beauty."

I was tempted all right. The brownie came to the table warm. It was gooey, chocolatey, and delectable. The worst part was figuring how to eat the hardened edges quickly.

My meal started with a fork, but after a bit I started to tear off chunks of the huge brownie with my hands. The ice cream was effective at softening up parts of it, but the ice cream vanished quickly. After a solid 15 minutes, my brain was on a sugar high. The urge to stand up and run a mile was very hard to control. Jittery, I plowed on to the amazement of the folks at the next table.

At 20 minutes, it was all over. Jimano's Pizzeria had their "first official" winner of the Beauty Challenge on June 18, 2011 (they weren't sure). They took my photo, but I was "flying" so high it barely registered with me. Made sure I got my shirt and I was on the road again.

Two hours later, I arrived at the Prickly Pear Cantina in Danville, CA and polished off their 5 lb burrito challenge in 30 minutes... but more on that in the next post.  There's an interesting tale there.

Please forgive the irony of me wearing a "Bodybuilding.com" T-shirt while I eat 9 lbs of food.