Sports
American Burrito to Host Second Annual Eating Contest [VIDEO]
Contest is slated for Monday, 3 p.m. in New City
It was about seven months ago when Wolfman and the Giant faced off in New City in a fierce food battle that saw Wolfman jump out to an early lead, but hit a wall and ultimately lose the eating contest to the local legend.
“I saw the Giant struggling with his two hawks,” said Max Crisp, a witness to the epic showdown.
“The Wolfman took one last look at all he had left and he just couldn’t bring himself to finish it, and he hit a wall. What happened right to his right was the Giant, and the Giant looked at his despair, grabbed both hawks and just went to town on it.”
Crisp is the owner of in New City, also the setting for the Giant-Wolfman battle earlier this year. On Labor Day last year, Crisp hosted his restaurant’s , which by eating the five-pound burrito filled with rice, pinto beans, cheddar cheese, brisket, pulled pork, chicken, pico de gallo and lettuce rolled up in three tortillas and topped with sour cream and guacamole in 12:43.
After winning the contest, Giant, who also occasionally goes by Dalton Jobson, actually started working in the kitchen at American Burrito. Crisp said he would pay $500 to anyone who could beat the Giant in a contest to see who could eat the All-American Burrito faster. Crisp said his co-worker told him it was looking like he would have to get his checkbook out, but ultimately Giant scored the come-from-behind win.
“He was killing it and got about three-fourths of the way through the burrito and then just stopped,” said Jobson of Pawling. “He just couldn’t get anymore down.”
Giant and Wolfman will square off in a rematch on Monday at 3 p.m. when they both compete in American Burrito’s .
“Labor Day just seemed like a good holiday for an eating contest,” Crisp said. “There wasn’t much else going on and so I thought it was a good day to hold our contest.”
While it will be a chance for round two in the Wolfman-Giant rivalry, they will have some tough competition on Monday. At least one professional eater, Connecticut’s Jamie McDonald, will also be in the competition. Crisp said McDonald reached out to him on Facebook about the competition and even stopped by earlier this year.
“He asked me a bunch of questions about the contest and finally decided to stop by one day to check out the place,” Crisp said. “He stopped in a bit after 11 one morning, right after we opened, and said he was going to give the All-American Burrito a try. At 11 in the morning, just a try. He ate the whole thing and absolutely crushed the record. The craziest part of it: he stopped in on his way to New Jersey for a wing-eating contest.”
Crisp said McDonald finished the burrito in 7:45, which is still the record. Since American Burrito opened, 40 people have tried to eat the All-American, but only eight have succeeded. At last year’s contest, of the seven competitors, only three finished. All eight who finished have their faces painted on the Wall of Fame.
This summer alone, Crisp has won meatball and hot dog eating contests, as well as setting a restaurant record in England for eating a 72-ounce steak in 17 minutes.
As of Wednesday, Crisp said he had four people signed up for the contest, which costs $25 to enter. The winner gets $300. Crisp added that he told McDonald that all competitors who entered last year were just amateurs, so it might be easy for him since the contest is still just starting out. McDonald told Crisp that he heard from three or four other professional eaters who might stop by Monday and compete.
A new wrinkle in this year’s contest, Crisp said, is an additional challenge for the winner. The winner has the option of attempting to eat a second five-pound burrito after the competition. If the competitor finishes it, he or she will get an additional $500. If the competitor doesn’t finish the second burrito, it will cost $100 from the initial prize money. Crisp said McDonald told him he thinks it can be done.
Jobson said he doesn’t think he could do it. Still, he’s looking forward to Monday for a few reasons.
“Last year’s contest was really fun and it’ll be cool to get to see some friends and co-workers I haven’t seen in a while,” he said. “Plus, the food there is really good. I haven’t had it in a few months because I don’t live in the area anymore, so I’m excited to get to eat there again.”
