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.

Yummy Grub

Yummy Grub, an ice cream and sub sandwich restaurant in Sun City, hosted its second annual ice cream eating contest yesterday.


Things were a bit disorderly at first. There didn't seem to be any competitors on hand. Entry fees were still up in the air. Prizes were unknown. All we knew is that there would be an adults' division and a children's division, with a grand prize to the winner of each.

The format was originally billed as hands-free, which would have been unique for me. I don't participate in many formal competitions, so either way I was looking forward to a new experience. My hands-free contests have been limited to small events at the Orange County Fair in years past. I've done a plate of caramel corn and a huge Texas doughnut. Those didn't go so well.


When it turned out there were only two competitors on hand - Matt Cohen and I - the manager gave us alternative contest options. It would be first to finish in any case. Instead of a hands-free 3-scoop contest, we could alternatively hold a contest with a 32 oz ice cream sundae or a huge root beer float mixed with 32 oz of ice cream.


We went with the ice cream sundae option. 32 oz of our choice of ice cream topped with chocolate sauce, strawberry slices, and banana pieces. I went with vanilla, Matt chose strawberry, and a third last-minute entrant chose chocolate. We paid $5 to participate. So details were settled.


There were no names or introductions. Just a lot of flash photography. Rules were pretty simple. We had to eat with spoons, cups could not be lifted off the table, and the first to completely finish the contents of the cup would be declared the winner.

After a simple countdown, we were going. Plastic spoons are a little delicate for working with semi-solid ice cream. I went about it much the same way I attacked the Kitchen Sink in Walnut Creek. Scoop, bite, swallow.

Matt's technique was solid. He seemed to create a continuous stream of consumption, almost as if he were drinking the sundae. His experience with sweets and ice cream shone through vibrantly. In less than two minutes he was scraping the bottom of the cup with his spoon.

"How much more do I gotta go? I can keep going here!"

And with that, the contest was over. I had a few ounces to go. Couldn't resist finishing even though there was nothing on the line. Our third competitor left the table shortly.

"Sweet Tooth" always does a fine job in these sprinting competitions. I have a lot of work to do if I want to offer him a serious threat in that field.

The grand prize, as it turned out, would be a store coupon and your picture on the wall (in the middle of a paper plate you could decorate with drawing instruments). It was more about the thrill of competing than anything else.

The ice cream was made on-site, too. It was excellent. We'll see if they bring it back next year!