Eating is one of the most basic functions of the human body. Proving how superior you are is one of the most basic functions of a man. The sweet spot that lies in the middle is, of course, eating challenges.
Challenging a man at eating, something he was programmed to do, seems silly. But it's when that man is on his quarter pound of stomach-pulverizing meat or a bite of searing spices measuring in at one million Scoville heat units that the challenge starts to take a toll.
Many restaurants offer challenges that shake the foundations of eating and reshape the principles of what it means to be a man. Those who fall leave many heads shaking in disappointment, but those who bask in the warm light of gorged victory are truly champions among men. Luckily for all of Gainesville's manly citizens, plenty of local establishments have eating challenges to make anyone falter.
El Cinco Loco
The owners at 101 Cantina, 1632 W. University Ave., were redoing their menu and saw an opportunity for a bright shining star of pure burrito glory. Cantina's five-pound burrito behemoth, named "El Cinco Loco," is filled with queso, rice, black beans, lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream and your choice of beef, pork or chicken.
If someone is brash enough to take on the challenge, they must complete the quest in one hour without the familiar comfort of a bathroom.
Only three out of the 30 people who have tried the monstrous meal have managed to vanquish it. The fastest time one person ever finished the challenge was 17 minutes, and he weighed in at only 150 pounds.
"It looks a lot bigger than it really is," said Adam Culpepper, manager at 101 Cantina.
Culpepper said the key to getting the burrito to five pounds while still keeping the price at $25 is a lot of rice, which also fills a person up quickly.
All who finish the challenge receive a T-shirt, a picture on 101Cantina.com, and a $50 gift card to the restaurant.
Ghost Chile Pepper Dawg
Gator Dawgs wields a fiery sword of vengeance in the form of a hot dog. After seeing ghost peppers used on the show "Man v. Food," Otis Britt, owner of Gator Dawgs and creator of the most diabolical hot dog in Gainesville, decided to bring some into his kitchen.
The challenge at Gator Dawgs, 1023 W. University Ave., mandates that the competitor ingest a hot dog covered with a sauce made from ghost peppers, three chicken strips and one bowl of nachos. One drop of the ghost pepper extract used to make the sauce measures in at one million Scoville heat units.
"It will kill you," Britt said simply. "Your lower intestine will melt."
Britt said the burn people feel normally lasts about 20 minutes after ingestion. While in the kitchen one day, Britt's son accidentally got some of the extract on his shirt - and within two days found the color of his clothing eaten away by the suicidal sauce.
The extract is used as the base for a tear gas in India, Britt said. On the bottle containing the scorching potion there are five warnings to agree to before purchase. The fifth warning reads: "I am not inebriated or otherwise not of a sound mind, and I am fully able to make a sound decision about the purchase of this product."
The eight victors who have finished the challenge have their photographs on the walls of Gator Dawgs. Those who have fallen victim to the challenge have had to be carried out, tended to with purple lips. Most say the challenge lasts hours after the last bite, as their insides have to deal with the uncomfortably hot extract.
The Gator Cup Burger Challenge
The new burger on the block hails from Daytona Beach, but has not had much trouble making Gainesville its home.
The "Gator Cup Burger Challenge" now resides in the newly opened Endzone Sports Bar & Grill, 1209 W. University Ave.
The burger weighs in at a gut-busting two pounds and is accompanied by a deceptive side of french fries. There is no time limit in which the competitor must finish the $25 burger. All 10 competitors who have taken the challenge so far have been victorious.
Those who conquer the burger receive a "Gator Cup Burger" T-shirt in addition to a spot on the in-house trophy and a picture on the Endzone website and Facebook page.
The Inferno Pizza
If you were to choose a slice-of-life moment and equate it to a slice of Pazza Bistro's Inferno Pizza, it would be the spiciest moment of your entire existence.
Only 53 people have survived the Inferno Pizza at Pazza Bistro, 3841 SW Archer Rd., but 355 have fallen to the spice of this parching pie.
The challenge started just over a year ago, and Marc Perotti, owner of Pazza Bistro, said it only came into being because of the small market of students who would be willing to try it.
This pizza has "ghost pepper everywhere," Perotti said. A homemade hot sauce of jalapenos, habaneros and ghost peppers replaces traditional tomato sauce. Sitting atop the hot sauce lays eight habaneros, four jalapenos and three ghost peppers. Covering the combination of peppers is another homemade sauce of cayenne pepper, vinegar and more ghost peppers, thus bringing the heat level to extremes unknown.
Each contender is allowed 20 minutes to finish the challenge, though Perotti said if the pizza is not eaten by the 10-minute mark, most don't finish. Only one cup of water, with any ratio of ice to water, is allowed, but no napkins or silverware can be used.
Perotti said that 75 percent of those who attempt the 12-inch inferno pizza challenge vomit, win or lose. One poor soul was sick for 18 hours and had to call in sick to work the next day. Another contestant had to have an ambulance called because he "thought he would die," Perotti said.
If the challenger overcomes the blistering pain, they earn a spot on the "Wall of Flame," free soda for life and a key chain. The record for finishing the challenge is three and a half minutes.
