Has anybody ever attempted an eating challenge?

[OCGuy81]

The Big Texan steakhouse in Amarillo is probably familiar to any road enthusiasts, as the home of a 72 Oz steak that's free if you can eat it in an hour or less.

Have you ever taken on something like this?

I've never wanted to punish myself that much, but there's one I've attempted.

- in Portland, OR there's a restaurant called Salvador Molly's. They have a Great Balls of Fire challenge. If you can eat 5 habanero fritters, you get your picture on a wall. I made it through just 2.   

[Scott5114]

Never actually done it, but there was a pizza place in Purcell, Oklahoma that featured something similar to the Big Texan, but with an enormous pizza. It was so big they allowed two people to eat it as part of the challenge. We were going to get a couple of guys together to make the attempt, but never managed to do it before the place shut down.

[Big John]

In college, I won a Jello eating contest.  Each got a full extra big plate full of Jello cubes and I finished my plate first.

[Roadgeekteen]

I could do it, I eat a ton.

[OCGuy81]

Never actually done it, but there was a pizza place in Purcell, Oklahoma that featured something similar to the Big Texan, but with an enormous pizza. It was so big they allowed two people to eat it as part of the challenge. We were going to get a couple of guys together to make the attempt, but never managed to do it before the place shut down.

That's nice they let you have help with it! I did something similar the morning after a friend's bachelor party in Seattle. I can't recall the place but it's a 12 egg omelette. Between 6 of us it was very manageable

[hbelkins]

No, but I got into a bit of a contest with some friends at a Pizza Hut buffet when I was in college. I had to quit at 21 pieces of pizza. I think the winner ate 23. Now, I'd be lucky to get three or four pieces down.

[OCGuy81]

No, but I got into a bit of a contest with some friends at a Pizza Hut buffet when I was in college. I had to quit at 21 pieces of pizza. I think the winner ate 23. Now, I'd be lucky to get three or four pieces down.

Oh man! I miss when Pizza Hut had buffets! I think there's some that still might.....

[SkyPesos]

Not myself, but I remember like 2 years when eating challenges were popular on Youtube for some reason and I found a couple of people doing the giant dumpling challenge in some restaurant in Japan.

[hbelkins]

No, but I got into a bit of a contest with some friends at a Pizza Hut buffet when I was in college. I had to quit at 21 pieces of pizza. I think the winner ate 23. Now, I'd be lucky to get three or four pieces down.

Oh man! I miss when Pizza Hut had buffets! I think there's some that still might.....

The one that used to be in the town where I work had the lunch buffet, but unfortunately they closed last year (they were one of the NPC-owned franchises that got shut down. The closure came as a complete surprise to local management, as they had been doing well financially.

The one in Morehead that I referenced had a dinner buffet; not sure that it was nightly but possibly once or twice a week. There's no way I could have eaten that big of a lunch and been worth a dime that afternoon. I had trouble staying awake in some of my PM classes as it was, and that was with either no lunch, or a light lunch back in my dorm room.

[kphoger]

I went out with co-workers to a Pizza Hut buffet once for lunch break.  I snarfed a bunch of pizza, hardly had anything to drink and no salad, then had to go home from work a little while later and curl up in a fetal position with gall pain.

When I was in high school on a field trip of some sort, our bus stopped at Pizza Hut on the way back.  A bunch of us had a slice-eating competition.  I think the winner ate 11 slices, but I wasn't far behind.  Then I sat right behind the rear axle of the school bus for about 100 miles or so.  Ugh!

[CtrlAltDel]

An eating challenge like the Big Texan? No.

An eating challenge like the Nathan's Hot-Dog Eating Contest? No.

An eating challenge like Fear Factor? Also, no.


The most I've done was a spontaneous bet on whether or not I could eat an large pizza by myself during a pizza party in high school. I did, and regretted it for the rest of the day. For better or worse, I did keep it down, though.

[index]

If not eating for two and a half ish days on some sort of special prep medication because you have to get some invasive internal imaging procedure is an eating challenge, then yes, I've attempted one.

[wanderer2575]

About a dozen years ago, I did a two-pound corned beef sandwich challenge at a local deli (which has since gone out of business, though I'm sure that's coincidental).  For my successful effort I won the sandwich free of charge, a cheap t-shirt, and a bad cellphone photo of myself posted by the front door.  The whole experience was quite anticlimactic:  The waitress was all "meh" when I said I wanted to do the challenge, and certainly there was no crowd of staff and customers cheering me on like you see all the time on Man vs. Food.

[webny99]

About a dozen years ago, I did a two-pound corned beef sandwich challenge at a local deli (which has since gone out of business, though I'm sure that's coincidental). 

Actually, even before your post, I was thinking that maybe it isn't coincidental. Food challenges have a lot negative connotations, and I've never heard of a place that does a food challenge thriving for decades and being a popular destination. It seems more like a desperate publicity stunt to get people in the door. If you've got a very successful restaurant going, why bother offering something that many potential customers would find off-putting?

[wanderer2575]

About a dozen years ago, I did a two-pound corned beef sandwich challenge at a local deli (which has since gone out of business, though I'm sure that's coincidental). 

Actually, even before your post, I was thinking that maybe it isn't coincidental. Food challenges have a lot negative connotations, and I've never heard of a place that does a food challenge thriving for decades and being a popular destination. It seems more like a desperate publicity stunt to get people in the door. If you've got a very successful restaurant going, why bother offering something that many potential customers would find off-putting?

I get your point, but I dunno in this case.  The challenge was barely promoted (I knew about it only because it was shown on the menu) and the staff was anything but enthusiastic about it.

[webny99]

Actually, even before your post, I was thinking that maybe it isn't coincidental. ...

I get your point, but I dunno in this case.  The challenge was barely promoted (I knew about it only because it was shown on the menu) and the staff was anything but enthusiastic about it.

Yeah, I was referring more to in general, obviously I can't say for sure about that case specifically.

[GCrites]

About a dozen years ago, I did a two-pound corned beef sandwich challenge at a local deli (which has since gone out of business, though I'm sure that's coincidental). 

Actually, even before your post, I was thinking that maybe it isn't coincidental. Food challenges have a lot negative connotations, and I've never heard of a place that does a food challenge thriving for decades and being a popular destination. It seems more like a desperate publicity stunt to get people in the door. If you've got a very successful restaurant going, why bother offering something that many potential customers would find off-putting?

The Thurman Cafe in Columbus Ohio has been open since 1942 and has the Thurminator Challenge for a burger with two 12oz patties and toppings. Key distinction here is that if you finish the sandwich it is still full price. They do put your picture on the wall.

[GaryV]

How is it that this post was not started by bandit, and has not even attracted bandit to post?

[kphoger]

With bandit's health issues, I can only that, if he had participated in an eating challenge, he'd have keeled over by now.  Since he's presumably still alive, I must assume he hasn't participated in one.

[zachary_amaryllis]

never tried one, but i think i'm up to it were the challenge presented to me. i am a great ocean liner of a man, and can really pack it in should i decide to.

not a big steak eater, but i do have a penchant for spicy/hot food so i think that would be my personal butter zone.

there used to be a place here called 'cluck-u' chicken, a 'wings' kinda place that had this sauce you could get that would melt the paint off your car i imagine, that had a challenge like that.

[kurumi]

Five of us went to Iguana's and three of them split two 5-pound Burritozilla (18-inch burrito) for (doing the math) 3.33333333 pounds each. I enjoyed the front-seat view as I savored my small meat-only pollo asado with jalapeños and orange sauce. Sometimes the only way to win is not to play (and those 3 guys were age 25 or so and the other 2 of us were not)

[triplemultiplex]

[webny99]

i am a great ocean liner of a man

I've used a great variety of expressions to describe myself, but this might be my new all-time favorite! 

[CapeCodder]

There was a pizza place here on the cape called Scotty's that had the Fatthew Challenge. You won $100 if you could eat it in an hour. The Fatthew was a calzone that was stuffed with french fries, chicken fingers, and mozzarella sticks. The finished product weighed a hefty five pounds iirc.

I did it twice.

And won twice.

The key was to smoke some weed first, then wait for the munchies to hit.

[Scott5114]

The key was to smoke some weed first, then wait for the munchies to hit.

Performance-enhancing drugs, huh?