Concluding Cheesesteaks in Corona

Here is the assembled cast from yesterday afternoon's cheesesteak contest. We're smiling after the rumble, but there was a definite battle at the table.

Some contests go off without a hitch. That isn't always the case, unfortunately, but we still manage to have a good time no matter what's going wrong.

OK, so here's the rundown. It was a 10 minute contest. We would eat all the 10" cheesesteaks we could, and the winner would get $50 cash, a $25 gift card to Mill Creek restaurant, and a gift card to a local racing track. Nothing for second prize and below but a free meal.

The food looked incredible and tasted memorable. However, there wasn't enough pre-made to handle the action of the contest. We started with three sandwiches apiece. Once things got going, the kitchen had to rush to get more food to us. Some of the competitors were true sports. When it was clear that Kevin Ross and The Spicialist were clearly ahead, and food wasn't ready to keep their pace, the others gave them their spare sandwiches.

Matt Cohen, Mary Bowers, and especially Frank Paulin deserve major credit for being team players. Frank spent the last 1:10 of the contest without any extra food placed in front of him. It definitely hampered his performance in my mind.

The rules of the contest did not suit me well. Dunking was forbidden. I don't do well in picnic-style events for that reason. Getting down 4 sandwiches was a fight. In fact, Cohen was level with me until the last few moments, when I chipmunked half a sandwich. He wasn't happy about that.

Mary also struggled with the no-dunk rules. The only guys who weren't affected by the contest format were The Spicialist and Kevin, who managed to pack in 5.5 sandwiches each when the time stopped.

It looked like a tie for first place. And this is where the biggest controversy of the day occurred. The owner of the restaurant naturally holds full discretion over the contest. Seeing that The Spicialist swallowed his food first, he was awarded the tie-breaker win. This surprised Kevin. And, of course, those of us with serious eating contest experience were taken aback as well.

The whole issue stemmed from a lack of clarity regarding the rules for a finish. Part of the problem was that every cheesesteak contest held at Philly's Best in Corona in 2011 was dominated by Johnnie Excel. No one got close to Johnnie, so the winning decision was clear.

But this time, mere bites separated a champion from merely a full stomach. Had Kevin known about the swallowing provision (cleared mouth), I have no doubts he would have made a stronger effort to power down that last mouthful. We were all under the impression that they were counting empty plates to tally results. I expected an eat-off.

That being said, The Spicialist fully deserved to win. He's put in a lot of hard work recently, and proven that he has the tools needed to do well in competitive eating. Results are showing for him far and wide. He put in a winning number yesterday.

Hot words followed the decision, but fortunately better judgment prevailed, things were smoothed over, and all was well. Just so there's no confusion, the tension was not between the two top competitors. The conflict was limited to the nature of the contest decision. It's unfortunate that these things happen, but they do.

That's another eating contest behind us. We're all looking forward to the next one. If nothing else stands in the way, Southern California's finest could clash over corndogs at the Redondo Beach kite festival in two weeks.

Corona Cheesesteak Results 02/26/12

1T)  The Spicialist           5.5 sandwiches* declared champion
1T)  Kevin Ross               5.5
2)    Naader Reda             4
3)    Matt Cohen               3.5
4)    Frank Paulin             3.25+ * no food for last 1:10
5)    Mary Bowers            2.5

A Challenge To-go

Photograph courtesy Matt Cohen

Everyone's telling me about it. Dine 909 tweeted it to me last Friday, Dax Swanson told me over Twitter this evening, and Matt Cohen messaged me the picture about it in the afternoon.
Visit any participating Togo's sandwich shop in Southern California and you can take on the Pounder Challenge. Eat a family sized pastrami sandwich in 30 minutes or less to win a limited edition T-shirt and a certificate of completion.

What you won't get, win or lose, is a refund. This sandwich will set you back $21.95. Still, it looks like fun for someone wanting to try their hand at a first challenge. It's probably no more than 3 or 3.5 lbs.

What strikes me is how rare it is to find a chain offering an eating challenge. What's next, a Monster Big Mac challenge at McDonald's?

3 ft of Cheesy Hell

This is the 3 foot cheesesteak challenge from Hermosa Beach. It's sold at Big Mike's Subs for $30, and you get 30 minutes to devour it. Winners get a t-shirt, a mention on the wall of fame, and a gift certificate for $30.

It's no easy feat to eat this monstrosity. In fact, when I visited this place November 2010, I didn't manage to win this food fight. I had the last bite in my mouth at the 30th minute. The manager refused to call it. Oh well. I'll be back, and next time it won't be close. It's rare that I speak with such boldness but 2012 calls for new directions.

Finishers of the sandwich are elite company of the competitive eating world. Damon Wells and Ben Monson finished it prior to become Major League Eaters. Right after I failed it, Stephanie Torres finished it to become the third successful challenger. Elite company indeed. If I could eat hot dogs like any of them I'd make more of an impression.

So it goes. And next time I go, I'll be taking that grey t-shirt with me damnit.

Dan's Super Subs

Though there's a much bigger and more recent story I could be writing about, I'm tired. So I'll just resort to a story I mentioned on my "roadmap" a few posts back.

Dan Super Subs in Woodland Hills offers a straightforward submarine sandwich eating challenge. Order and eat any two jumbo 13" sandwiches in one hour to get your name on their wall of fame. Women have the option of eating one jumbo sub and one regular (8") sub to enter the wall of fame.

I visited in January 2010 when I happened to be in the area. As far as challenges go, there is nothing difficult about this one. I went with one hot sandwich, pastrami, and one cold sandwich, turkey. The total weight of the two sandwiches could not have exceeded 3 lbs.


Think Subway, just fresher and about an inch longer. The pickles on top were a nice touch. The hot sandwich went down faster, but in all I didn't need more than 22 minutes to finish. It was a leisure stroll down the espohagus.


There is special recognition provided for male and female mass consumers... but I wasn't interested in going for the house record at the moment (I believe it currently stands at 5 sandwiches). I was dealing with a recent traumatic experience, and for a awhile considered quitting this activity altogether. Small victories (and good friends) encouraged me to stay in it.

Stephanie Wu recently visited Dan's Super Subs during an eating roadtrip and took over the women's house record with 3 jumbo subs. I applaud that win. She also reported on a revamped prize structure... which may be enough to convince me to visit again if I'm near enough.

The manager was really friendly, the staff neat and professional. It's a small shop, but I see them taking their business far. Here's to a second location!