As a final tidbit celebrating the 4th of July, last and certainly LEAST is a mention of Nathan’s Annual Hot Dog Eating Contest. I felt compelled to post something on this gluttonous insanity for the following reasons: this is a website related to NYC topics (from the high-brow to the low-brow) that I believe will be of some interest, however passing, to you; secondly, from all the worldwide interest it attracts, I’m possibly the only person completely uninterested in this gourmand chaos.
Anyway, you may be pleased to know (you could have knocked me over with a hot dog bun) that champion hot dog eater Joey Chestnut reclaimed the peculiarly coveted top spot in the contest, after finishing in a tie with arch rival (and fellow lunatic) Takeru Kobayashi, victorious in a five-dog eat-off.
They were both in the dead heat of gastronomic frenzy, bolting down 59 frankfurters in 10 minutes (I don’t eat that many in a year) and found themselves in a tie-breaker situation. Both contestants had to gorge down another 5 dogs, which put their total hot dog intake at 64 each, and were left rather delirious when the fun ended.
The fabulous Kobayashi’s six-year winning streak, and virtuosity at the art of disappearing hot dogs, was shattered last year by a three hot dog loss to Chestnut. He had hoped to reclaim the throne this year but…alas.
While this event was held in Coney Island since 1916, the regulation time for the contest probably got lost in the fumes of sizzling hot dogs. For the longest time a 12-minute, instead of the original and official time of 10-minutes, was observed. This year the contest’s time limit was once again set at 10-minutes.
And everyone lived happily ever after for awhile.
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July 8th, 2008 - 3:36 am
The hot dogs look so tempting but what a glutton! Good Grief! I’d probably settle down for a cup of coffee.
July 8th, 2008 - 7:15 am
I’ll definitely share the coffee with you, Scratch. But I would indeed require a couple franks to go with it…along with a milk shake. After all, this is Nathan’s: famed and legendary in the annals of NYC, in spite of this silly event. Thanks.