Farrell's 2012 Professional Eater's Contest

On July 15, Farrell's Ice Cream Parlours will bring back its annual Ice Cream Challenge for the third time. The event will be staged in Downtown Brea, along Birch Street. It will last all day and include community events.

For eaters, the actual event should be described as a contest. There will be a stage and several divisions in contention. The winner of each division will win a trophy and a year's supply of ice cream.

However, things are a little bit different when it comes to the brand new professional eaters' division. I discussed different ideas with Farrell's marketing team for months and, along with Matt Cohen, we finally came up with the current format.

Left: I hold all 3 ribbons signifying my prior completion of all 3 "Bellybuster" sundaes, making me a Triple Crown Champion. Right: Matt Cohen hoists the 2011 Men's Trophy

To qualify as a professional eater you'd need to consume a Pig's Trough (6-scoop sundae) in the fastest time possible. The 8 quickest qualifier times would then take on the 6 lb, 30 scoop Zoo Sundae at the final. Whoever finishes their Zoo first will win $500 and a year's worth of free ice cream.

So far, three people have qualified for the professional eater's division: Damon Wells, Kevin Ross, and myself. Matt Cohen (last year's men's champion) will qualify this Thursday night at a special event in the Mission Viejo location. Anyone else who wants to play has until July 5 to qualify for any division. You can stop by any location in Southern California to do so.

A Freak will also be appearing at the special event Thursday night in Mission Viejo. Cohen and I will be participating in a special radio broadcast with Tim Conway. My role is part of a donation fundraiser, in which donors give cash and guess my finish times on all 3 Bellybuster sundaes (basically all 6-scoop sundaes). The donors who most closely guess my times will win prizes.

The final event will benefit Children Hospital of Orange County and the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Hopefully more people come out and eat for a cause. The pro division still has four empty slots!

The Farmhouse

Some restaurants fully resemble the things they're named after.

The Farmhouse is a traditional American-breakfast/lunch restaurant that looks like.... a farmhouse! There's even a huge statue of a rooster to the right of it. I nabbed a photo, but I don't know if anyone actually wants to see a picture of a huge male chicken. It was just a statue anyway.

This place is located in Banning, CA, right off the Interstate 10... think 20 miles east of Redlands. There's signs along both sides of the freeway telling you how to get here. One sign said that this restaurant was award-winning. I hoped that meant the food tasted great, not merely that this restaurant did a good job of grabbing hungry travelers along the busy interstate.

There's a Denny's right next door, but I didn't drive here to eat at Denny's. The food at this location had to be more original and local. Inside, the Farmhouse looked like one of those traditional diners with loads of memorabilia all over the walls. It reminded me of a farm from the inside as well. One humorous sign along the wall informed me that "whining was not allowed."

I came to the Farmhouse to sample their Justin Burger, the biggest sandwich on the menu, named after a local marine and featuring one full pound of ground beef. It comes with any side, and I decided to go with chili con carne for a change of pace. I bet they served decent french fries though.

The Justin Burger was certainly stacked high, but that's the nifty illusion that crisp lettuce provides. This situation always reminds me of those TV commercials and billboards that showcase absolutely mammoth fast food burgers. Just crush down the lettuce, and you'll have a perfectly manageable meal. Done and done.

Getting to the burger pictured above, I must say that it looked, smelled, and tasted like an oversized, higher-quality Big Mac. That's not a knock by any stretch, since I grew up on Big Macs and have always loved their flavor. The side salad and chili were decent, but nothing extraordinary. It's a huge offering but definitely not impossible. I bet lots of diners finish this attempt at a monstrosity.

Your prize, if you can finish the Justin Burger, is an oversized cookie from their dessert station. It's not much of a prize, but then again, the burger is not much of an challenge!

I opted for an oatmeal cookie. It was sweet and moist, and a nice if calorific way of capping off a large burger. Anyone who wants to try a different dining experience needs to check out the Farmhouse!