Competitive Eating

Fort Worth Man Ate 20 Hot Dogs in Five Minutes to Win Kobayashi's State Fair Hot Dog Contest

I've learned a few things from competitive eaters lately. There's some interesting psychology at play in the sport, which arise from two opposite camps: some take a certain laissez-fair approach, while others embrace the masochism for all its worth. See Also: Interview with Kobayashi Makes sense, ... More >>

How a Moose Preps for a Hot Dog Eating Contest: A Psycho Death Run

So, how does one prepare to eat over 20 hot dogs in five minutes? Two 45-minute psycho runs on an empty stomach, is always a good start. Alex Perez is semi-pro. The "Moose," as he's known to be called by maternity ward nurses (he was a big baby), is the ex-Marine of Mexican, Guatemalan and Japanese ... More >>

Before His State Fair Battle, Kobayashi Talks Eating Raw Cow Brains, Battling Bears

The competitive eater and hot dog champion of the galaxy, Takeru Kobayashi (Kobi), is in town for the State Fair. This morning I met him and his people for a little chat. First things first: nicest guy. Just really so polite and nice. He looks intense and insane in some of his pictures, but that's ... More >>

Kobayashi to Judge Hot Dog Eating Contest Friday at Fair

This Friday, October 12, world champion competitive eater Takeru Kobayashi will judge an amateur competitive Hofmann's Hot Dog eating contest at the State Fair. The challenge takes place on the Chevy Main Stage at 4 p.m. The first place winner will receive $1,000, second place $500 and third $250. ... More >>

City of Ate Dominates Cedar Hill Enchilada-eating Contest

In every eating contest, there comes a moment when I suddenly realize just what I'm doing. It usually follows a particularly difficult bite, after I try to force down just a bit more than I can swallow and it rests against the back of my throat and I come this close to choking and coughing it across ... More >>

Oysters, Won't You Walk With Us?

At ZestFest, Some Very Spicy Wings, Followed Closely by a Trip to the Bathroom

I'm not sure the men's restroom is where you want to spend a significant portion of your time at a Fiery Food convention, but that's where I ran into Justin Sewall. Someone was retching behind the closed door of a stall, and Sewall was hunched over a sink, staring at himself in the mirror like a vet ... More >>

"Eater X" Dominates Again at the Lewisville's Tamale Eating Championship

​Behind the counter of every Taco Bell, there's a slew of people who fancy themselves champions of food, but once a year in Lewisville, the real champions arrive, ready to relieve suburban Dallas of its tamale population. Last Saturday was yet another such occasion, with a healthy roster of new T ... More >>

Winstar Hosts Another Nathan's Qualifying Contest This Weekend, Now With a Prize for Top Women's Finisher

Patrick MichelsThis weekend, Adrian "the Rabbit" Morgan looks to improve on his 20.5 hot dog performance at Winstar last year. With less than a month left before this year's Nathan's Famous hot dog eating championships at Coney Island, just a handful of qualifying contests remain for big eaters hop ... More >>

Mattito's Bob Armstrong Queso Eating Contest Returns, Without Last Year's Winner

Patrick MichelsTheresa Fullen celebrates her win at last year's Cinco de Mayo bash. A year ago today, Mattito's in Uptown burst onto the local competitive eating scene with its first ever Bob Armstrong queso eating contest -- a five-minute race to down as much of the famous mix of cheese, ground bee ... More >>

Get Shuckin' Excited For Oysterfest This Weekend

Fishcitygrill.com​If oysters are an aphrodisiac, then there will be plenty of horny folks at Fish City Grill (2323 N. Henderson Ave.) and Half Shells in Plano (5800 Legacy Drive) this weekend. Both restaurants are hosting Oysterfest, a celebration of meaty mollusks that features an eating com ... More >>

Pat Bertoletti Claims Major League Eating's Wingstop Title With, Officials Say, 288 Wings

Photos by Patrick MichelsTop-ranked eater in the world Joey Chestnut ate 8 pounds of wings in 12 minutes last night -- good enough for third place.​Last night at Victory Plaza, Major League Eating finally made good on its promise to bring the country's top eating talent to Dallas for a wing-eating ... More >>

Free Weekend Events Worthy Of Some SPF

Daniel DaughertyGet 'em while they're cold.​Hope you've got your sunscreen and a good appetite because you're going to need both if you want to enjoy the best events this weekend. There are plenty of outdoor happenings you won't want to miss, but you may need more than sunscreen for one of them. ... More >>

In Grand Prairie This Year, Pickled Quail Egg Eating Contest Could Be A Tucker Family Affair

Daniel DaughertyLester Tucker works his magic back in 2009.​Every eating contest is brutal in the end, but some sound harmless enough right up until you're in the thick of the competition. How bad, for instance, could a few sandwiches hurt? Turns out, plenty. But sometimes there's a contest -- an ... More >>

At Jersey Mike's Last Night, Observer Eaters Were No Match for Mighty Challenger Ed Dravecky

Maybe you noticed Elizabeth's post about the Observer-sponsored eating contest at Jersey Mike's last night. As many of you noted in the comments, that topless photo of Jack Nicholson was pretty hard to miss. As promised, a few of us here at City of Ate -- this highfalutin' James Beard Award&nb ... More >>

The Observer and Jersey Mike's Team Up for a Sub Showdown

We promise that all competitors will be clothed tomorrow night.​We here at City of Ate love a good challenge, more so if it benefits a great cause that helps save children's lives. That's why the Observer has partnered with Jersey Mike's Subs (5521 Greenville Ave.) to host a competitive eatin ... More >>

Wing Eating Challenge Rescheduled for April

The Wingstop World Wing-Eating Challenge, iced-out during Super Bowl week, has been rescheduled for Apr. 13. ​The contest at American Airlines Center's AT&T Plaza will coincide with another sporting event, although one of considerably less significance than the Super Bowl: The Challenge will ... More >>

Weather Freezes Plans for Wing Eating Contest Tonight

If you'd planned to drink free wine at Sigel's tasting event this afternoon, or meet up with Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples at the Walmart near Cowboys Stadium, forget it: Those events have been canceled in deference to the weather. A number of local restaurants and coffee shops are also sitt ... More >>

The Biggest Sports Event in Dallas Next Month: Major League Eaters Are Headed to Wingstop

Patrick MichelsAt a tamale eating contest in 2006, Joey Chestnut reacts predictably to spending any time at all in The Woodlands.​Maybe you've heard: Dallas is going to be crawling next month with fans, good-timin' party lovers and the elitest of the elite pro athletes the country has to offer.Not ... More >>

On a Wing and a Pour

Competitive eater “Nasty” Nate Biller chases the dream of athletic glory, one distended stomach at a time.

In the Battle Between Jimmy John's and the World's Toughest Eaters, the Sandwiches Have Already Won

Photos by Patrick MichelsNate Biller, left, and Pat Bertoletti do their best to keep up with the local sandwich assembly talent.​As we mentioned last week, if you're headed to the fair looking for a corny dog contest this year, you'd better be ready to find your own challengers and drop nine ticke ... More >>

The State Fair Eighty-Sixes Its Corny Dog Contest, But the Pros Are Coming for a Sandwich Race on Sunday

Patrick MichelsThird-ranked Pat Bertoletti claimed the world waffle eating title at the State Fair of Texas back in 2007. He's back eating sandwiches this Sunday afternoon.​It's tough to know just how to feel about this year's competitive eating lineup at the State Fair of Texas. On one hand, on t ... More >>

No Mysteries, No Surprises as "Eater X" Edges Sonya Thomas for Lewisville Tamale Title

Photos by Patrick MichelsSonya "the Black Widow" Thomas puts away one of 56 tamales she ate Saturday -- good enough for second place.He set the world tamale-eating record here three years ago, downing 71 in a 12-minute bout on the steps of Lewisville City Hall, and even with a dozen fewer tamales la ... More >>

This Saturday, Competitive Eating's Top Ranks Tackle Lewsville's Hot Tamales

Patrick Michels"Nasty" Nate Biller, Texas' top-ranked eater, will try and keep the tamale title in-state this weekend.​If you're planning on packing on a few extra pounds of fat and grease this weekend, odds are you're headed to the state fair. But up in Lewisville Saturday afternoon, a chosen few ... More >>

Hungry For Freedom? Libertine Still Accepting Entrants For Sunday's 'Brass Knuckle Corndog Beatdown'

​Nothing screams "America -- fuck yeah!" like a corn-dog eating contest. Is there another country where revelers would celebrate the brave patriots who fought for its freedom with a monstrous display of gluttony? Is there anything more American than the corn dog, that creation of chemicals, vaguel ... More >>

Sean "Flash" Gordon Wins Big at the Nathan's Famous Contest in Oklahoma, Where Even the Hot Dogs Are Tougher

Photos by Patrick Michels.Sean "Flash" Gordon puts away another dog at the WinStar World Casino yesterday. In 10 minutes, he ate 23.5 dogs and buns. Check out our slideshow for more shots from the contest.The beer may run a little weaker in Oklahoma, but yesterday's big eating contest at WinStar Wor ... More >>

At WinStar's Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Qualifier This Weekend, Crazy Legs Conti is the Man To Beat

Patrick MichelsCrazy Legs Conti in 2007 at a blueberry pie eating contest in Brownsville, Ore. Competitive eating is a hard-hearted mistress, courted by many but gracing few with even a moment of her fickle affection. Most who enter a contest never do so again, and even those who do usually manage ... More >>

Kolaches, Klobase and 'Cue: A Brave Combo at Ennis' National Polka Festival

Photos by Patrick MichelsAmanda Johnston, right, claimed the first girls' kolache eating title at Ennis' National Polka Festival over the weekend.Sam and Bradley Chmelar, hulking twin terrors of the Ennis eating world, were ready to dominate the National Polka Festival's team kolache eating contest ... More >>

Queso By the Pound: At Cinco de Mattito's, the First Bob Armstrong Dip Champion

Photos by Patrick MichelsTeresa Fullen downed 2 pounds, 14 ounces of queso to claim the first Mattito's Bob Armstrong title.This year's Cinco de Mattito's party featured a mechanical bull, a live band that played "Smooth" at least twice in 20 minutes, and the first annual Bob Armstrong queso eating ... More >>

October's Best Food Photography on City of Ate

Sara KerensDragonflyWe mentioned Dave's trip to C.T.'s Real Deal BBQ in South Dallas yesterday, where he dove into some mean brisket and fried catfish -- and you'll find the rest of those shots in this week's Dish slideshow. Herein you'll also find dishes fit for carnal temptation sandwiched betwee ... More >>

Breakfast of Champions: Wednesday Morning Hot Wing Challenge

All photos by Danny FulgencioRudy "the Civilian" Almaguer, who trained for the event with a visit to Plucker's last weekend.​ When we got word that WFAA's Good Morning Texas was looking for suckers contestants to enter a televised wing eating contest, it sounded like the right time to reshuffle th ... More >>

At the Pole

Dallas, We Have a New Corn Dog Eating Champion. So Proud.

Local Office Space Fan Now Gets Shot at Movie-Watching World Record

Nathan Does Nathan's: Some Big Bites From a "Nasty" Wiener Win in Plano

You're a Wiener, Day Four! Meat "The InTimmidator" and The Rookie Vet

You're a Wiener, Day Three! Meat "Nasty" Nathan, No. 30 ... In the World!

You're a Wiener, Day Two! Meat the Man Known As "Meat Sweat"

You're a Wiener, Day One! Today, Meat the Nathan's Hot Dog Rookie.

Holiday Feast

Dog Show

An all-day tribute to batter-dipped meat on a stick

Stuff It

Plus: Liberal Libations

Wing Nut

Tired of covering the action, our sportswriter shoots for gluttonous fame