Tomorrow's big showdown is set, with reigning Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Champions Joey Chestnut facing off against six-time champ Takeru Kobayashi in the battle of who can devour-and keep down-more hot dogs in 10 minutes. The two, along with other contestants, were weighed in today. Kobayashi is 165 pounds while Chestnut is 230 pounds. Last year, Chestnut set the new world record by eating 66 hot dogs--66 hot dogs equal to about about 14.5......

George and Richard Shea, the two brothers who run the annual Fourth of July hot dog eating contest at Nathan’s on Coney Island, are considering changing the duration of the competition from 12 minutes to 10 minutes, and some competitive eaters are finding the new rule hard to swallow. George Shea told the Brooklyn Paper that the change is being weighed after an investigation into the traditional time limit unearthed a 1986 Times article that......

We hope the following doesn't put anyone off their appetite before they've even had a chance to tuck into their Thanksgiving feast, but we have to describe what champion eater Tim Janus managed to consume in a publicity feast for charity. In the course of 15 minutes, Janus gobbled down the following:A 10-pound turkey Four pounds of mashed potatoes Three pounds of cranberry sauce Two and a half pounds of green beans This was accomplished......

While the residual mustard stains have barely dried from last week’s extremely popular Hot Dog Eating Contest at Nathan’s Famous, it seems like the realm of competitive eating in NY has reached an overdue “I’m full” saturation point. So it’s only in the interest of each borough having its own event that we bring you this next story- the 4th Annual Dumpling Eating Contest, taking place on Sunday August 5th as part of the Hong......

It's our favorite July 4th tradition, this side of smiley-face fireworks: The Annual Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest, held at Nathan's in Coney Island. And this year's competition is particularly tantalizing: Current champion Takeru Kobayashi has been having jaw pains, while Joey Chestnut broke the hot dog eating record, by scarfing down 59.5 at a June event. So we shall begin our liveblogging, and Jen Chung and Tien Mao will be providing other commentary......

Oh no! Could it be? Is the rematch between Takeru 'Tsunami' Kobayashi and Joey Chestnut in doubt? Last year at the Nathan's annual 4th of July Hot Eating Contest, Kobayashi narrowly defeated Chestnut to win the Mustard Belt for the sixth year in a row. Defending his title next week may not be possible for Kobayashi. First, his mother passed away in March, causing the Tsunami to take a sabbatical from training. Now, news......

DISCUSSION: The one and only, legendary Kirk Douglas will be talking with Columbia undergraduate film studies director Annette Insdorf tonight. The 90 year old has a thing or two to say about life, and some stories about his own (the man survived a helicopter crash, for goodness sake), so listen up youngins. 8pm // 92nd St Y, Kaufmann Concert Hall [1395 Lexington Ave] // $25 THEATER: Curtains, the murder-mystery musical comedy by John Kander and......

Some high school reunions spurs thoughts of regret and schadenfreude. The 10 year high school reunion for some Regis High School alums prompted a group of classmates to attempt to ride break the record for fastest ride through the NYC subway system. Stefan Karpinski, Andrew Weir, Bill Amaosa, Jason Laska, Michael Boyle and Brian Brockmeyer teamed up to ride the subways starting yesterday afternoon at Rockaway Park station, and should be ending around 3PM......

Tomorrow is one of the biggest sporting events of the summer. The 2006 Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest is less than 24 hours away, and it's truly being billed as an international match-up. Reigning champion - and world record holder for chowing 53.5 hot dogs in 12 minutes - Takeru "The Tsunami" Kobayashi of Japan returns to defend his five consectuive titles against American challenger Joey Chestnut. Chestnut, who......

Gothamist likes its pickles, but we're not quite sure if we like them quite as much as Arnie "ChowHound" Chapman, who won Carnegie Deli's annual pickle eating competition. There's no information out there just yet about how many pickles he ate and exactly what kind. Because everyone knows that half-sour are easier to eat than those extra-sour pickles. ChowHound, who hails from Amarillo, Texas, supposedly trains by eating a head of cabbage and speed......

Wednesday night we celebrated the release of Eat This Book! by Ryan Nerz on the (still enclosed) rooftop of The Delancey, savored cupcakes from Sugar Sweet Sunshine and watched our first professional eating contest. From left, we saw "Crazy Legs" Conti, Eric "Badlands" Booker and Tim "Eater X" Janus eat as many mini cupcakes as possible (without water!) in 2 minutes. At 29 tiny frosted cakes, New York's own (and a crowd favorite) Badlands won,......

It's already underway at Artie's Delicatessen, but you might be able to hurry uptown to catch the Golden Palace Thanksgiving Invitational presented by the International Federation of Competitive Eating (IFOCE). Eight competitors, each of whom was invited to participate, are competing to be the first to devour a 10-pound roast turkey in 12 minutes. Joey Chestnut, who according to IFOCE is "arguably the most promising rookie eater of all time" will compete against Sonya "the......

When most people see forty nine hot dogs, it's usually behind the counter at Gray's Papaya. But at Coney Island yesterday, it was the gold standard, as the reigning world hot dog eating champion, Takeru Kobayashi, won his fifth consecutive hot dog eating belt at Nathan's, eating forty nine hot dogs in twelve minutes. And Gothamist thought our acid reflux this weekend was bad! The 27 year-old Kobayashi didn't beat his world record of 53.5......

April 16th: Brewtopia World Beer Festival. This brewfest features unlimited samples from over 300 of the world's finest craft beers. Who can resist? If you're still wavering, you might want to know that the event's organizers will be making a donation to Citymeals-on-wheels, which provides hand-delivered meals to homebound elderly New Yorkers. Convinced yet? Tickets for each session are available online at www.brewtopiafest.com or by phone at 877-772-5425 and are $40 in advance and $50......

Crazy Legs Conti, Competitive Eater...

Gothamist can hear the longing strains of Carly Simon, as we anticipate the festivities to come this Sunday, September 26th at the 30th annual Atlantic Antic. Brooklyn's grand-daddy of street fairs, from 10am - 6pm, the Antic will take over a 1.5 mile stretch of Atlantic Avenue between Hicks Street and Fourth Avenue in Downtown Brooklyn, offering visitors a melting pot of feasting options, trinkets galore, live music, live dancing, and even a bevy of......

Takeru Kobayashi has done it again. He has defied physics (though maybe not gastrophysics) by chowing down 53.5 hot dogs in twelve minutes to a new new world record in hot dog eating, breaking his 2002 record of 50.5 hot dogs. Kobayashi told the crowd, "I feel wonderful." American challenger (and a conductor for the 7 train) Eric Booker tied for 5th place with 27 hot dogs, explaining his digestion, "I was at the point......