Question of the Day — 15 Oct 2014

You're not mistaken in your recollection. On July 4 of this year, 28-year-old Las Vegas resident Miki Sudo, who had recently completed her rookie year as a professional competitive eater, stunned three-time reigning champ Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas by taking the women's championship crown at Nathon's Famous annual hot dog-eating contest on New York's Coney Island, downing 34 dogs in 10 minutes. Although a relative newbie to the pro circuit, Sudo is already ranked #4 in the world of Major League Eating.

Strangely enough, it all started out as a joke-turned-dare, as she explains on her Facebook page, when in December 2011, someone put her up to the challenge of taking local Vietnamese restaurant Pho 87's "Phozilla" challenge, which comprises 10 lb. of rice noodles, beef, and broth (more of that to come). To everyone's amazement, she completed the challenge in well under the (then) allotted 87 minutes (see below for an upate) to become the Las Vegas branch's first victor and earning herself the jackpot prize of $1,510 cash, not to mention a featured spot on their neighboring billboard. From there, Miki has gone on to eat her way through many incredible edible feats, more than a few of which have been accomplished here on home turf (she puts a whole new spin on the concept of Eating Las Vegas!)

With its love of superlatives, it seems appropriate that Sin City is home to more than a few food challenges, earning us some well-deserved spots on Travel Channel's "Man vs Food." While a few former dining dares have bitten the dust since our last comprehensive survey, back in February, 2013, new gauntlets have since been thrown down, based on volume, heat, or a combination of both. So, whether you're a carnivorous gros gourmand, or a deceptively petite sweet-treat vacuum cleaner, if you're up for a challenge, we're pretty sure that Las Vegas can accommodate your appetite -- and you might even get a free t-shirt!

Las Vegas actually hosts a number of seasonal gastronomic challenges, including the recent customary Oktoberfest pretzel-eating showdown at Ellis Island, not to mention the upcoming (Nov. 8) annual Fresh 52 Farmers Market Harvest Festival jerky, hot wing, and pie-eating contests at Tivoli Village. (Sadly, the former celebrity Shuck & Swallow oyster-eating spectacle was discontinued after four years when FIRSTFood closed at Palazzo in 2012.) What follows, however, is what we believe to be the definitive list of ongoing/constant eating challenges around town. If anyone out there knows of one we're missing -- or if you've tackled any of them yourself and lived to tell the tale -- then please drop us a line. (For details of previous over-sized offerings, now discontinued, including those at the now-shuttered LBS Burger and Anime Ramen restaurants, check out the QoD Archives for 2/11/2013; 3/18/2011; and 7/24/2009, all of which also carry their own in-between updates -- including input received direct from local legend herself, Miki Sudo.)

• Born and Raised Tavern (7260 S. Cimarron Rd.): Take the "Bar Gamble" and eat 15 sliders (choose from beef, chicken, turkey, pork, or salmon), plus fries, in under an hour and win a T-shirt; fail and get a $50 bill. (The menu warns: "Vegas wasn't built on winners," and terms include not being able to leave the table until the task is accomplished, especially not to go to the bathroom.)

• rm Seafood (Mandalay Place): For a novel twist on the standard gorge-yourself food challenge, here you can try out "Rick’s Tasting Game," which features a scoop each of 16 different ice cream and sorbet flavors, ranging from savory to sweet. Identify all of them correctly and it's on the house; otherwise, it's $18. (This challenge has been around for awhile, but we hadn't heard about it the last time we covered this topic.)

• Citizens Kitchen & Bar at Mandalay Bay has substituted Chef Brian Massie's former "Muffaleta Challenge" (a gargantuan $135 sandwich, designed to feed six people) with the "24 sliders in less than 24 minutes" throwdown. Succeed, and Chef will tear up the check and honor you in the Hall of Fame; fail and, well, you know how it goes...

• Herbs & Rye (W. Sahara at Valley View): This restaurant used to have two ribeye challenges: the "King Kong" 60-ouncer, with three sides, for $160; and the original Nectaly's, which weighed in at 120 ounces, plus three sides. If you finished that monster solo, it wasn't just on the house -- they'd actually pay you $200! But the restaurant has since downgraded its death-defying challenge and the 60-ouncer is now known as the "Nectaly's Challenge," which still comes with three sides. Billed as a "steak for five," it's held steady at $85 since we last revisited this one back in 2013 and if you can manage it solo within an hour, it's on the house and your bloated mugshot will be placed on the proverbial Wall of Gluttony Fame.

• Naked City Pizza (inside Moondoggies bar): This pizza-joint-inside-a-bar concept, which has been featured by Food Network and for which we have an exclusive LVA-member deal in the 2014 Member Rewards Book, boasts a Frickin' Huge Pizza Challenge, which is actually a two-person contest, so bring a hungry friend. Your mission: to complete a house "Frickin' Huge EL Pizza," which must have four toppings on it (you can do half-and-half if you and your partner have different tastes). The pizza has a pre-cooked weight of 10 lbs and if you conquer it within the 30-minute window permitted, it's on the house, plus you win a t-shirt and a photo on the Wall of Fame. Lose and you get a bill for $37.50 and a spot on the Wall of Shame. The record to beat, as far as we know, is just over seven minutes (and yup, that's Miki in that picture, natch).

• Rounders (west-side locals bar with locations on W. Flamingo and Blue Diamond): This popular bar has a kitchen at both venues and is home to the "Atomic Wing Challenge." Eat 12 of their hottest wings in 15 minutes and they're on the house, plus you win a commemorative T-shirt and a spot on the Wall of Flame [sic]. Be warned: The wings are coated liberally with a SUPER-hot blend of ghost chilies, habaneros, AND jalapenos and are described on the menu as "seriously hot. Eat at your own risk. Management assumes no responsibility."

• Graziano's Pizza: This challenge is, like Naked City's, intended for two people (a foolhardy soloist once tried it and, not surprisingly, only made it halfway through). It's a 24" 10-pounder ($47-worth) with 13 toppings (you can skip a maximum of two toppings if there's something one or both of you just can't stand, but you have to include at least 11) and, in order for it to be free, you MUST finish in 45 minutes. According to the helpful member of staff we last spoke with, "You are rewarded with a stomach ache, a free t-shirt each, a photo in the Hall of Fame, and -- here's the best bit -- two large pizzas on the house (so you can bring your friends back to brag about your accomplishment.)"

• The Longhorn Casino (5288 Boulder Highway) serves a one-pound "Monsterburger" that costs $9.99. You still have to pay even if you finish it, but there's no time limit and your accomplishment is recognized with a certificate.

• At the gourmet end of the spectrum, Brand Steakhouse at the Monte Carlo is home to Chef Brian Massie's first (see above) and "Ultimate Steak" challenge. An entrée available for two (40 ounces for $99), for four (80 ounces for $185), and for six (120 ounces for $270), it's served with potato gratin and two signature sauces and if you eat the 120-ouncer all by yourself, and within an hour, it's on the house. A few people have completed the challenge, but when we once asked Chef Massie if he'd ever tried it himself, he replied in the negative, emphasizing that he had no intention of ever even attempting it. (He's a wise and charming man who definitely knows his beef; such a shame he's evidently a subconscious sadist!)

• Toby Keith's I Love This Bar and Grill (Harrah's) boasts the "Big Dog Daddy 100 oz. Challenge." The dish features a 32-oz. Angus beef burger, 10-oz. burger bun, four ounces of cheese, four ounces of lettuce, tomato, and onion, and a 2-oz. pickle, not to mention 16 ounces of seasoned freedom fries and 32-oz. Coors Light, for $35.99 (it was $29.95 last time we researched this). If you finish it all by your lonesome, however, you're awarded with a t-shirt, a photo on the inevitable Wall of Fame, and a Twinkie (which, a waitress kindly explained to us, you are not obliged to eat right then on the spot. That's thoughtful.) There's no fixed time limit, within reason -- they estimate it will take between 90 minutes and two hours -- but there's also no discount.

• Sammy Hagar's Cabo Wabo Cantina in the Miracle Mile Shops entered the food-challenge fray back in 2010 with their "Can't Drive 55" Dollar Nachos. This "appetizer" is piled high with 20 toppings, including chipotle sauce, queso, mixed cheese, black beans, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, olives, poblano peppers, pickled and fresh jalapenos, taco meat, carnitas, fajita chicken, carne asada, shrimp, sour cream, salsa, guacamole, and pico de gallo. It's available on request for $55, but if you can finish the eight-pound dish solo in less than 55 minutes, it's free, plus you'll be inducted into Sammy Hagar’s Macho Nacho Hall of Fame and receive a complimentary Cabo Wabo T-shirt (presumably in an extra-large size, regardless of what shape you were when you walked in).

• Hot heads can check out the "Death Wing Challenge" at Diablo's Cantina at Monte Carlo: Eat 20 "Death Wings" with Diablo's signature XXX-rated hot sauce in 20 minutes, survive, and be immortalized on the Wall of Fame. There's a Wall of Shame for losers. (The former 4-pound burrito challenge, which filled the gap left by the passing of the NASCAR Cafe and its famous burrito dare, has long been discontinued. But for those curious, it came with a choice of beef, chicken, or pork, plus beans, cheese, and red rice. It cost $40 but you received a free t-shirt for successfully devouring it solo.)

• Take the "Devo Hat Challenge" at '80s-themed I Love Yogurt (11700 W Charleston): Eat 100 ounces of frozen yogurt and toppings in 30 minutes and it's free, plus you get your photo on the wall; fail, and it's $19.84 (geddit?).

• Pho 87 Vietnamese restaurant (3620 S Jones Blvd.) challenges diners with a HUGE bowl of pho, consisting of two-and-a-half times their regular large size pho, and including 1.5 pounds of beef and 1.5 pounds of noodles . It's $50 to order but if you finish in the allotted 1987 seconds, with no outside help, it's free, plus you keep the bowl, your face on the neighboring billboard, and whatever the progressive jackpot stands at -- currently $1,637!

• Windy City Beef N Dogs (7500 W Lake Mead Blvd, Ste #10) features the Sears Tower Challenge. Their 7 lb beef-and-sausage combo comes with cheese, hot & sweet peppers, and side of fries, and is regularly priced at $40. You have 30 minutes to devour this meal in order to get the tab waived, the t-shirt, and that picture on the Wall of Fame.

• Sonio’s (3900 w. Charleston Blvd.) is home of the 10-pound "Get Beefed" challenge. This $40 2-foot-long Italian sandwich is filled with spicy beef on top of a 2-pound bed of Greek fries, and garnished with spicy homemade Giardiniera (HOT pickled veggies). There's just a 30-minute window permitted to scarf this monster and win your place on the Wall of Fame, plus a t-shirt and your sandwich on the house.

• La Salsa Cantina (3785 Las Vegas Blvd S, Ste #1500) features the El Champion Burrito Challenge. This $25 burrito weighs in at just over 2 pounds but, in an interesting twist, it comes accompanied by a 48 oz margarita and contestants must finish everything in one sitting to qualify for the obligatory free t-shirt (there's no discount on the meal).

• The Pub at Monte Carlo (3770 Las Vegas Blvd. S.) features the "Eight-Pound Burger Challenge" for $29, served with a 32 oz beer. You must eat and drink everything in 45 minutes or less, and you cannot leave the table for any reason. The prize includes your meal on the house, a t-shirt and the whole photo/Wall of Fame thing. For some expert tips on how to accomplish this particular quest, check out the ubiquitous Ms. Sudo in action, setting a new record last February.

• Last, but by no means least, allow us to present an LVA favorite, in the form of Mint Indian Bistro (730 E. Flamingo). This awesome establishment serves authentic Indian cuisine and is home to a great lunch buffet. We have an exclusive coupon in this year's Member Rewards Book (as an aside, this Brit. writer can't believe more of you haven't used it, at least judging by our current Reader Poll. It's only just a little east of Silver Sevens and is hands-down the best Indian food I've ever had in the U.S., plus it's very veggie/vegan/gluten-intolerant friendly, so go and try it with our dining discount -- not valid for the bargain lunch buffet -- before it expires at the end of the year!) Due praise aside, the one item on the menu that we definitely would NOT recommend anyone trying is the "Inferno Curry." Unlike the majority, this is not a volume-based challenge -- simply finish one regular-sized bowl and you will not only receive your meal for free, but the house will show its admiration (or perhaps sympathy) by rewarding you also with a $50 gift certificate, plus the obligatory mugshot on the wall. Take our advice, however, and use our coupon to enjoy any of the other items on the menu of the only Indian restaurant ever to have made it onto the Eating Las Vegas "Essential 50" list, where it remains for the second year running. That's right, you don't have to take our/my word for it -- check out what John Curtas has to say on his ongoing EatingLasVegas blog "Essential 50" 2014 countdown.