500 Adrenaline Adventures (Frommer's) - Lois Friedland [196]
Jalapeño Eating Contest, U.S.A.: Laredo, Texas, and Chicago vie for the honor of hosting this contest, which is sponsored in part by La Costeña Mexican Foods. Pat “Deep Dish” Bertoletti, a Chicago hometown hero, currently holds the world record, consuming 266 of the little green spitfires in just 15 minutes. www.ifoce.com.
The Wing Bowl, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.: While eating contests aren’t really known for their decorum, the Wing Bowl may take the prize for the raunchiest competition. The extreme partiers start in the parking lot, where orange traffic cones are routinely used as beer funnels, and drunken fans screaming profanities and throwing trash and food are the norm—spectators in the front rows are advised to wear rain ponchos as a result. http://wingbowltickets.ticketwarehouse.com.
A Local State Fair, U.S.A.: The contest here is between you and your arteries—which will give out first? Vendors today compete to see who can come up with the most hedonistic fare. You have three choices of serving style: Deep-fried, on-a-stick, or deep-fried and on-a-stick. The Wisconsin State Fair is the reigning heavyweight champion with chocolate-covered bacon—yes, on-a-stick—and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches that are dipped in pancake batter and deep-fried. The Iowa State Fair touts chocolate-covered key lime pie on-a-stick and fried pickles on-a-stick. Not to be outdone, Minnesota offers a deep-fried Norwegian banana split.
Krystal Square Off, Chattanooga, Tennessee, U.S.A.: The purse for eating the greatest number of little square hamburgers in eight minutes has been increased to a whopping $50,000. Contestants must participate in regional qualifiers, and they’ll then have to face Joey Chestnut and Takeru “Tsunami” Kobayashi, who routinely trade first and second place titles at this battle royale. www.krystalsquareoff.com.
Nisei Week Festival Gyoza Eating Championship, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.: Also called potstickers, gyozas are tiny, tasty fried dumplings that are a delicious staple of Japanese and Chinese cuisine. So it should be easy to eat, say 200, right? Just ask Sonya “The Black Widow” Thomas, a petite 99-pound (45kg) champion eater who, in 2006, downed 210 in 10 minutes, only to be shut out by Joey Chestnut, who scarfed down 212. Chestnut currently holds the world record at 231 gyozas, but Pat Bertoletti gets hungrier every year and, as the world’s second-place record holder, is always nipping at Chestnut’s heels. www.niseiweek.org.
World Grits Eating Championship, Bossier City, Louisiana, U.S.A.: Grits are the comfort food for millions of Southerners. Harrah’s, the gaming industry giant, and the International Federation Of Competitive Eating (IFOCE) have joined forces to create the World Grits Eating Championship at Harrah’s Louisiana Downs. This is a real heavyweight brawl: At the 2007 competition, Pat Bertoletti engulfed 21 pounds (9.5kg) of grits in only 10 minutes, the most food by weight ever consumed by anyone at an eating contest. www.harrahs.com.
Best in the West Nugget World Rib Eating Championship, Sparks, Nevada, U.S.A.: Ribs are the kind of food that nobody really gets enough of—sweet, succulent, meaty and oh-so-rib-sticking good. At the Best in the West Nugget Rib Cook-Off, you won’t have to stop, until the buzzer sounds and time’s up. The world record-holder, Joey Chestnut (yes, again) consumed 9.8 pounds of these delicious meat sticks, defeating up-and-comer Rich LeFevre, who broke his left front tooth in the rapid-paced competition. Do you think that slowed him down? No—he just swallowed the tooth and kept munching. Now that’s the stuff of champions. www.janugget.com.
World Deep-Fried Asparagus Eating Championship, Stockton, California, U.S.A.: Folks gather at the Stockton Asparagus Festival