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Long time Chicagoist readers know that we're big fans of Chicago's own competitive eater Patrick "Deep Dish" Bertoletti. Perhaps the fact that he can wolf down over 4 pounds of chicken wings or 49 hot dogs and remain so thin is an inspiration for our metabolism. His mohawk and outgoing personality don't hurt, either.
So we're proud to announce that Deep Dish continued his reign of gormandizing terror this weekend by winning the Acme World Oyster Eating championship belt. Bertoletti easily beat second place finisher "Crazy Legs" Conti by consuming 35 dozen oysters in only 8 minutes. Yikes. We once managed to put away two dozen oysters at Hugo's, but a) it wasn't in 8 minutes, and b) there was a large quantity of gin martinis involved. What's more amazing is that his latest accomplishment isn't even Bertoletti's best:
"I could probably do a couple dozen more, especially if they were charbroiled," said Bertoletti, who holds the endurance oyster-eating record, having downed 53 1/2 dozen in 2007 before calling it quits. "Although they're great raw."
[Trib]
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America ... FUCK YEAH!
debbie downer coming here ... but these things just disgust me. first for the idea of it all ... eating like that. but also for the sheer gluttony of it all. i know americans are not by far the only countries that participate in and gain glory (?) from these contests, but it just seems so crass and unnecessary given the fact that at best, many people (including people in america) can't even put food on their table. at worst, you have countries of people who are literally starving.
What's with the red hands in that photo? They're kinda creeping me out.
that photo is from a red hot eating contest in NJ
Smussy, aren't there far worse atrocities going on in the US (and the world) than 15 people eating as much food as possible in 12 minutes?
I understand your argument & disdain for the events, but let us have our bread & circuses (together!). Competitive eating certainly isn't the cause of world hunger.
IFOCE (the governing body) also donates money to hunger related charities throughout the world.
i never said the contests were the cause of world hunger ... c'mon. but i think it's just gross. and it's just so terribly indicative of the bloated american ideal of consumerism to the extreme. it seems we'll have to agree to disagree.
Smussy: I share your thoughts about this stupid form of "sport." Christ, how pathetic this activity is.
I agree with you smussy. Yech. I can't believe that competitive eating has a governing body. Maybe this can be one of the new sports if Chicago gets the olympics.
I wonder what people in Haiti and Bangladesh think about this, given the food crisis that exists all over the world. There's riots going on over there...