I'm excited today. A group of guys at work have decided to put together a pretty sweet wager. They have all decided to go to In and Out Burger today for lunch. The bet - Each of them will attempt to eat a 20x20.
Twenty beef patties with twenty slices of cheese on one bun. The final wager is, as of yet, undecided. But it doesn't appear that money is the goal. It's simply man pride. Personally, I doubt I'll participate (but I am considering the option). One dude just drove home to get his digital camera.
More to come after the event - I figure I'd let you in on the anticipation early on. I hope you're half as excited as I am about this.
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The Competition
Seven of us headed over to In and Out Burger around 11:40 am. It's an old fashioned kind of burger place. (Well, sort of - They do have a double drive thru). There's no seating (or ordering) inside and they pretty much just serve burgers, fries, soft drinks and shakes. The two original combatants were the only ones who decided to partake in the eating competition. The rules were simple. One hour. Whoever eats the 20x20 the quickest, or eats the most, and keeps it down for the remainder of the hour, will be crowned the champion. (No money was wagered, but each of the spectators offered to give $5 to the winner to cover the cost of the $23 burger.)
We parked and walked up to the outdoor window to order the 20x20 burger. We were informed that they now limit their burgers to 8x8. Ok, simple enough. "Two 8x8's and One 4x4. No onions." The rules would remain the same - only one bun needed to be eaten with the 20 patties and 20 slices of cheese. Due to the lunch rush and the size of the orders, we waited around for more than 20 minutes. The temperature where I work got up to 98 degrees and we were seated outdoors without any shade. That's not exactly eating competition type weather.
I wish I could describe the trash talking and posturing. Marlon appeared more confident in his words. But Alex stood up on the bench numerous times, posing for the audience.
Marlon got his makeshift 20x20 at 12:20 pm. Alex received his 5 minutes later. As Alex sat down, the competition began promptly at 12:28 pm.
Within the first 3 minutes, Marlon had a commanding lead, already plowing through his first 8x8. Alex was trailing significantly, but appeared to be on a steady push for the finish line. In a very unorthodox move, Marlon moved onto the 4x4, saving an 8x8 for last.
12:37 pm - Only 9 minutes into the competition, Marlon, obviously showing signs of fatigue, had finished his 4x4. 12 patties down. 8 to go. Alex wasn't too far behind, starting his second 8x8 and nearly finished with patties 9 and 10.
The health and well being of the competitors started to become a factor. The sweat beads were not simply due to the near-100 degree heat. The beef and the cheese were at play here.
12:42 pm - Marlon's pace has slowed to a crawl. He's working on patty number 15, when slow and steady Alex ties things up.
12:43 pm - Alex finishes the 16th patty and takes the lead. Alex stops for a minute. He looks up. And he begins the "I'm gonna be sick" motion. Marlon immediately jumps up from the table, taking his remaining 5 patties and bun with him. This is most definitely the turning point in the match. Marlon is obviously startled by Alex's psych out. Marlon decides to stop eating, hoping that Alex will literally "lose his lunch".
12:45 pm - Alex has the equivalent of a double double left. 2 beef patties. 2 slices of cheese. And a full bun. He goes for the patties and cheese, leaving the bun for last.
12:46 pm - Marlon meagerly starts on his 16th patty, as Alex goes for patties 19 and 20 together.
12:47 pm - Only 19 minutes into the competition - Marlon throws in the towel, claiming cheese discomfort. And gives the 20x20 challenge victory to Alex. Alex claims victory, one patty and one bun short of a complete 20x20. Alex is also redeemed from his inability to eat a 4.5 pound bunt cake earlier in the year.
Pictures will be forthcoming (probably next week). When I woke up this morning, I was upset that I had to go to work. But this made me day. Hell, it made my week. Even better? I didn't participate and can happily go on with my weekend, bowel obstruction free.
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While we're talking food - The 15 most popular ice cream flavors. Sloth would be proud with Rocky Road on the list. Chuck, on the other hand, will have a tough time finding Mississippi Mud or Chocolate Eruption.
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Update - I think I have the NATO phonetic alphabet memorized.
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Apparently 14 percent of US workers have the option of telecommuting and don't do it. Only 2 percent telecommute full time and 9 additional percent telecommute part time. I don't know what their problem is. If I had the option of telecommuting, I'd be in the office... oh... just about... never.
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