Man vs. Food

Some of you may know that I am quite a big fan of the show “Man vs. Food”. The host Adam Richman can be kind of goofy and some of the small videos in between segments are a bit silly but when it comes down to, the food looks delicious and for the most part, the challenges look fun.

So here is my list of 15 of my favorite foods, restaurants and challenges that MvF has done over the past few years. I hope to one day try all of them but thats a lot of traveling and a lot of food. Alas, here is my list starting with my favorite type: Pizza

PIZZA

ATLANTA

Pie in the Sky

The biggest pizza I have every seen. This thing weighs 11 pounds and is 30 inches. It is covered with roni, beef, sausage and more and you need a partner to finish it. Over 400 people have tried to finish it and only six have done it. Who’s with me?

HARTFORD

Randy's Wooster Street Pizza Shop

This pizza is 4 pizza doughs that is filled with meats, cheeses and veggies and weighs over 10 pounds. Its like a giant calzone.

BOULDER

Beau Jo's

This pizza is a like a giant bread bowl of goodness. It's pretty much just a pizza crust bowl filled with sauce, cheese, veggies, meats. Everything.

BURGERS

ATLANTA

The Vortex Bar & Grill

This place had a huge variety of odd burgers to try including a favorite of mine: A cheeseburger held together by 2 grilled cheese sandwiches.

MINNEAPOLIS

5-8 Club and Matt's Club

This is a classic in Minneapolis so much that two places are known for it. The 5-8 Club and Matt's Club both serve different versions of this burger. Essentially its a burger but instead of the cheese on top, the cheese is inside the burger. Its a nice little twist and it looks delicious.

TUSCON

Lindy's on 4th

Theres nothing that really seperates this burger from others except the fact that it is 12 patties stacked on top of each other and held together by a skewer. It's called the OMG burger and I would love to ETSOOI (Eat The Shit Out Of It).

SANDWICHES

CLEVELAND

Melt Bar & Grilled

This place specializes in various gourmet grilled cheeses. They have all kinds including Tuna Melt, Peanut Butter and Banana and this monster of a challenge. It has 14 different types of cheeses including such cheeses as feta, blue cheese, gouda and others. It weighs in at 5 pounds and also comes with fries and cole slaw. Tell me that doesn't look awesome.

PHILADELPHIA

Tony Luke's

Tony Luke's has become the preeminent steak and cheese place in Philly after taking over for Pats and Gino's (neither of which I care for). They are popular enough to have a place inside Citizens Bank Park where the Phillies play. Here you can take the Tony Luke's challenge that is 2 and half pounds of beef, a pound of cheese, fried onions on a 20 inch roll. Yikes.

NEW YORK CITY

Kat'z Deli

This place is a classic in NYC having been around since 1888. They serve everything from corned beef, knishes, hot dogs, roast beef and my favorite, pastrami. Having gone there last year, I would love to go once a year. I ordered the pastrami, below, and it was the best I've ever had. It melts in your mouth and is stacked quite a few inches high. Completely worth the wait in line.

RANDOMS

PHOENIX

Alice Cooperstown

Alice Cooper opened this place in Phoenix and is actually parters with the Big Unit, Randy Johnson. Together, the created a hot dog affectionately called, The Big Unit. This is a one pound, 22 inch hot dog on a french baguette, yes a baguette. You can have it topped with chili, cheese, beer sauerkraut and more.

LAS VEGAS

NASCAR Cafe

This was on one of the first episodes I ever saw of MvF. I fell in love right away. This is called the Big Badass Burrito. It is loaded with everything from beef, beans and rice to guac, cheese and salsa. It weighs in at 6 pounds and if you finish it in an hour, you get to ride the NASCAR roller coaster for free, for life. I would suggest not going on it as soon as you finish eating.

ST. LOUIS

Pappy's Smokehouse

St. Louis is known for its BBQ and this place looks like it doesn't disappoint. The thing I liked the most is that their challenge resembles one that I wish to do in Portsmouth at Muddy River. Pappy's challenge includes 6 pounds of meat including pulled pork, beef, chicken, ribs and four sides. Check back later this summer to see details on my challenge in Portsmouth.

BREAKFAST

NEW JERSEY

Broken Yolk Cafe

Not a lot of good things come from Jersey but I would be wiling to travel there to try and eat this breakfast challenge. This is a 12 egg omelet filled with chili. That is my selling point. I loooove chili so if some eggs are holding the chili goodness, so be it. Oh yeah and on top of that you need to eat a mound of home fries and two biscuits. Those biscuits will really kill ya.

DESSERT

SAN FRANCISCO

San Francisco Creamery

What's all this food without some delicious dessert? And whats a better dessert than ice cream. Here we have the Kitchen Sink. Imagine eating a 2 gallon sundae that included 8 softball sized scoops of ice cream, all your choice, 8 servings of whipped cream and 8 different toppings like sprinkles and cherries. If you eat this entire thing, you get free ice cream for a year.

Some good headlines...

I figured I’d take this time to try and get this blog going. A lot going on and as usual, I have my own opinions on a few things.

Lets start with my buddy Mel Gibson. Wow. Amazing right? You just don’t expect this shit to come out of peoples mouths. There are so many things to say I just don’t know where to start. Well why not start at the racial remarks. Here’s the thing. If this guy hadn’t used two racial slurs during his ranting and raving, would people be as upset? Would she have even released the tapes at all? That brings up the question of why she recorded the conversations. I suppose some will say its to have proof of his rage and anger but that really wont do much but embarrass him like it has. I am in no way defending this douche, but lets remember that this is Hollywood and gold diggers are out there. And again, I am not defending the guy in anyway, I am simply saying this is f’ed on so many levels.

Another quick point I think should be pointed out was just yesterday Switzerland said it would not extradite Roman Polanski to the US and that he would be released as a free man. Now lets review. Mel Gibson is a racist. Plain and simple. Roman Polanski is a rapist. Plain and simple. Mel Gibson will most likely never make a film again because he decided to open up his trap and show his true colors. Hollywood fawns over and fights to work with Roman Polanski, a man who raped a 13 year old girl. Oh wait, he drugged her first too. Lets weigh this out. Racist or rapist. Hmm. Again, not defending Mel Gibson but I wish Hollywood would treat them at least the same and shun both.

While we are on the race issue and while discussing douche bags, one of my favorite douche bags of all, the “Reverend” Jesse Jackson decided to jump into the news this week. Why do you ask? Well because theirs a chance to stir up racial tensions that weren’t there. After the Lebron James debacle, the Cavs owner Dan Gilbert spoke out strongly against the “King” in which he pretty much called him out for quitting, for screwing over Cleveland (a team that picked him and Lebron had no choice to go to 7 years ago) and pretty much calling him a dick head. I thought the letter was a little much since really, the Cavs would be shit still if it weren’t for James. No one was itching to get season tickets before he showed up but thats another rant. My issue is when Jackson comes out and starts saying Gilbert put Lebron in harms way and spoke like a “slave owner”.

Really?

I mean, fucking really?

Pardon my language but I don’t understand how this man still has people listening to him and is still able to get in the news. I don’t think anyone would even think about it being a racial issue until this jackass opens his mouth. He creates drama where there is none. He is never held accountable when he is wrong and lets remember how much of a hypocrite the good “Reverend” is. He preaches family values and then as a child out of wedlock. Thumbs up my friend. I think one of the smartest things Obama did when running for president was separating himself from Jackson and super DB Al Sharpton. Sorry if this blog swayed a bit towards the race issues but hey, it got me writing again.

I promise the next one will be a bit more lighthearted.