I have had a week to think about the results of last weekend's hot dog qualifier in Apple Valley Mn. I won the 10 minute event by consuming 41 hot dogs and buns. It's a lot less than I'm hoping to eat at the 4th of July contest, but I now have a spot, and improving on qualifier numbers always occurs as a massive surge of pure electricity and adrenaline is channeled from the crowd at Coney. Out of all the contests this is the grand pappy of them all. And from them all it's my least favorite. They are no krystal burger, that's for sure. Numerous reasons account for this the combo of carbs and proteins can be nauseating when eating just 1; it takes pure determination and focus to break the flavor barrier as well as the necessary capacity and speed. The circus surrounding the eating makes for a memorable event that is branded into my frontal lobe. Before, and after are the fun times for me. Until I figure out how to have a breakthrough I will be going into it knowing that there is no chance I can top Joey or Kobe. I have not yet figured out how to maximize my capacity with those garlicky and greasy tube steaks. And I don't feel that any of my past performances exhibited my best eating. On every other annual contest I know what a good and bad contest feels like, never have I had that feeling upon reflection of a failure to top 50 frankfurters and buns.
The dogs in Apple Valley were room temperature and which is consistent to a majority of circuit food. The ideal or elusive perfect food temperature for a contest is likely 95 degrees, it's nearly impossible to achieve. Some sponsors manage and it's always a treat to eat those foods. Normally on that subject an outdoor festival in California will sport food around blood temperature. This was not the case on that chilly Minnesotan spring day as the temperature broke around 50 degrees with a slight breeze and drizzle. It slowed the dogs speed down to a crawl as I was not eating more than 6 in any given minute while my best with decent dogs tops out at 10-12. This led to a struggle where my brain was quite vocal in forcing every ounce of strength I had into the normally easy reflex of swallowing those dogs. I can only say that they will be much faster at the finals. And I am pleased with the performance based on the minimal level of preparation as well as the circumstances. Under these pretences, it compares to eating a casing filled with left over gristle from ye old 96er but not having the luxury of knowing John Candys' sweat seasoned it. On a normal day they could be the best hot dogs.
I was surprised to find a vast following of supporters, kickball all star, groupies, and creepy stalker types. It's expected in big cities and contests but is surprising considering the location, a cub foods parking lot. The mayor turned up as well as the twins closer (at an autograph table). To have him ask me questions about my sport made me realize that this could actually be considered one, (of course I have to say that because I compete in it).
The media response was great following the contest. To know it was picked up nationally was a good feeling. The best feeling of all was discovering it was played on the national Mexican networks. My Latino friends remarked that I looked like I was struggling through the clip. I can only imagine how terrible I must have looked trying to eat those chilly dogs. Hopefully there was bilingual banter about the gringo loco, el diablo or pollo loco. All names I was called in Cancun while sporting the Mohawk. I am trying to get a video from the contest posted this week. If you want to check out my webpage for pictures (as I can post an unlimited amount) from a majority of contests go to;
www. myspace.com/deepdishpat
-chow,
Eat up eat well
Patrick Deep Dish Bertoletti
The dogs in Apple Valley were room temperature and which is consistent to a majority of circuit food. The ideal or elusive perfect food temperature for a contest is likely 95 degrees, it's nearly impossible to achieve. Some sponsors manage and it's always a treat to eat those foods. Normally on that subject an outdoor festival in California will sport food around blood temperature. This was not the case on that chilly Minnesotan spring day as the temperature broke around 50 degrees with a slight breeze and drizzle. It slowed the dogs speed down to a crawl as I was not eating more than 6 in any given minute while my best with decent dogs tops out at 10-12. This led to a struggle where my brain was quite vocal in forcing every ounce of strength I had into the normally easy reflex of swallowing those dogs. I can only say that they will be much faster at the finals. And I am pleased with the performance based on the minimal level of preparation as well as the circumstances. Under these pretences, it compares to eating a casing filled with left over gristle from ye old 96er but not having the luxury of knowing John Candys' sweat seasoned it. On a normal day they could be the best hot dogs.
I was surprised to find a vast following of supporters, kickball all star, groupies, and creepy stalker types. It's expected in big cities and contests but is surprising considering the location, a cub foods parking lot. The mayor turned up as well as the twins closer (at an autograph table). To have him ask me questions about my sport made me realize that this could actually be considered one, (of course I have to say that because I compete in it).
The media response was great following the contest. To know it was picked up nationally was a good feeling. The best feeling of all was discovering it was played on the national Mexican networks. My Latino friends remarked that I looked like I was struggling through the clip. I can only imagine how terrible I must have looked trying to eat those chilly dogs. Hopefully there was bilingual banter about the gringo loco, el diablo or pollo loco. All names I was called in Cancun while sporting the Mohawk. I am trying to get a video from the contest posted this week. If you want to check out my webpage for pictures (as I can post an unlimited amount) from a majority of contests go to;
www. myspace.com/deepdishpat
-chow,
Eat up eat well
Patrick Deep Dish Bertoletti
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