The epic battle of wills between Major League Eating and major league eater Takeru Kobayashi has not cooled since the hot-dog eater went to jail last July 4. Hidden by the League's announcement of a new ladies-only hot dog eating contest was the fact that Kobayashi, a six-time world champion, has been removed from the league's "Wall of Fame." Worse, he's been replaced by no less than Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas, who has never won the competition (but has eaten a terrifying 41 dogs and buns in ten minutes). more ›

Training for the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest yet? If you're a woman, you could just be that much closer to the a crown! Because according to George Shea, chairman of Major League Eating, stuffing your face with hot dogs is basically like tennis. “Leading sports organizations including the NCAA, USTA and professional golf have long had separate championships for men and women,” he said in a statement. “Sonya Thomas has been called the Michelle Wie of Brie and the Mia Hamm of Ham, but she’s never been called Nathan’s Famous July Fourth Champion. Perhaps this is the year she secures that title." more ›

Earlier this week we learned that this year's Nathan's Famous July Fourth Hot Dog Eating Contest would be lacking in both vuvuzelas and Takeru Kobayashi, meaning Joey Chestnut is a shoe-in for winning the competitive eating contest (this would be his fourth consecutive title). But why no Kobayashi? Early rumors mentioned a problem in contract negotiations, and now the Daily News reports on the finer details. more ›

Joey Chestnut is now well on his way to a Kobayashi-like dynasty after winning his third consecutive Nathan's Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest. Chestnut jumped out to an early lead on his archrival Takeru Kobayashi and never looked back on his way to a new record of 68 hot dogs in 10 minutes. Kobayashi did everything he could to hold pace with Joey Jaws, setting his own personal record with 64 1/2 dogs—both men eclipsing the mark of 59 they both hit to send them into overtime a year ago. Chestnut even broke the 2007 record of 66 dogs that he set back when the old rules gave competitors an extra two minutes in regulation. more ›

Yesterday's Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest had a lot to live up to after last year's heavily-hyped and record-breaking victory that saw Joey Chestnut bring the Mustard Belt back to America by snapping the six-year victory streak of legend Takeru Kobayashi. How did they manage to top it? Overtime! more ›

The air at Coney Island is charged as the annual Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest will be underway in moments. Contributor Billy Parker is on the scene and tells us the Nathan's "Franksters" (hot dog mascots) had a dance "to the death": "The old Frankster had serious moves, while a newer Frank was booed." Tien Mao, hot dog enthusiast, and I will also be chiming in. more ›

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 Kong Dragon Boat Festival in Flushing. For all of those who watched Joey Chestnut eat 66 weenies last week and exclaimed, “Hell, I can do that,” here’s your chance: the Dumpling Eating Contest is accepting registrants until the end of the month. Dumplings used in the competition are of the chicken and vegetable variety; according to the contest’s poster, current records are “Man- 49 pcs., Woman- 33 pcs.” at the two minute mark. So, um, let’s go ladies! Sponsors for the contest include Chef One Dumplings and the Tai Pan Bakery in Flushing, whose Village Voice listing says features “innovations like “Special Taste Mixed Hot Dog.” more ›

The hot dogs were barely digested when Takeru Kobayashi threw down the proverbial gauntlet for next year's Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest. After being handed defeat by Joey Chestnut in this year's contest, Kobayashi looked at Chestnut, pointed and yelled, "I will definitely beat him next year." Chestnut broke his own world record and Kobayashi's Coney Island record yesterday by eating 66 HDB (hot dogs and buns) and brought the Mustard Belt back to the United States. Kobayashi finished with 63 HDB and wasn't disqualified despite what looked like a reversal of fortune. George Shea said, "If it were to come out of his mouth or out of his nose and fall on the table, it would have been considered a reversal of fortune." Ah ha! Liquid which clearly squirted out of Kobayashi's mouth and then through his hands does not count. The contest was so close that judges had to count the scraps left on the plates of Kobayashi and Chestnut for the final count. more ›

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 during the competition from time to time. more ›

Competitive eating powerhouses convened in front of City Hall today to be weighed in for tomorrow's Nathan's Famous July Fourth Hot Dog Eating Contest. Six-time winner and current mustard belt holder Takeru Kobayashi weighed in at 154 pounds while Joey Chestnut, who broke Kobayashi's hot-dog eating record by keeping down 59.5 hot dogs at an Arizona event last month, weighed in at 215 pounds. more ›

A look at some noteworthy television this week: more ›

Nathan's better get their beef remnants and buns ready, because Takeru 'Tsunami' Kobayashi is coming to the shores of Coney Island. At least that's what Kobayashi's manager says. If you've been following along, you know that Kobayashi, the reigning champion and six time Mustard Belt winner of the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest, has experienced some hiccups in his training for the July 4th competition. After one week of training, he developed jaw arthritis. Ever the competitor, Kobayashi said that he would come to honor his mother, who passed away in March. more ›

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 comes from Kobayashi's blog (bad translation) that he's got a bout of jaw arthritis! Apparently Kobayashi can only open his mouth big enough to fit a finger and the injury happened just a week into training. more ›

-- And in international news, globetrotting chef Tony Bourdain is trapped in Lebanon! Yikes. more ›

Little did Nathan's Famous know 90 years ago when starting its International July Fourth Hot Dog Eating Contest that a slight (well, less slight than five years ago) Japanese man would smash recods and win year after year after year in the new millennium. Takeru "The Tsunami" Kobayashi won his sixth straight Mustard Belt, after chowing down 53.75 hot dogs. The NY Post called Kobayashi the "Bun-Zai" Warrior while the Daily News reports that second place hot dog scarfer, American Joey Chestnut who ate 52 hot dogs, blamed the Coney Island humidity on falling back (which is exactly what we predicted!). more ›

Gothamist has decided to liveblog this year's Nathan's Famous July Fourth Hot Dog Eating Contest. Jen and Tien will be providing color commentary; Tien will also be attempting to eat hot dogs competition-style more ›

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We're not sure why, but there's always been a special in Gothamist's heart for eating competitions. While the most famous eating contest in the world is more than a month away, there was another eating competition involving hot dogs this afternoon. In Red Hook this afternoon, Schnack held its 2nd Annual Schnack Stahl-Meyer Hot Dog Eating Contest. The six competitors on hand were each given one 30" Stahl-Meyer hot dog baked on a French bread bun from Caputo's Bakery. [Gothamist later tried a portion of the hot dog and it was quite tasty, but 30"?!? No way.] Estimated normal dog equivalent - 6-7 normal hot dogs, 2.5 foot long hot dogs. more ›

May 27: Habana Outpost's Grand Reopening more ›

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 drinking a gallon of water every day. That's some serious training. Currently ranked at 24 by Speedeat (who knew), ChowHound is not affiliated with the IFOCE, but the AICE (Association of Independent Competitive Eaters). The fact that their are two rival competitive eating organizations makes Gothamist think of endless possible competitions. They can have all types of wrestling competitions - sumo, Greco-Roman, "professional", and jello (the loser would be forced to eat all the jello at the end). amNewYork has an excellent gallery of all the pickle gluttony. Note the florescent color of those shirts. Were they supposed to look like the pickles the contestants were eating or radioactive material? more ›

The nice weather always seems to bring about crazy events, like tonight's Love Ahoy party. That's right, tonight the S.S. Hot Yacht will be docked at Galapagos and filled with bachelors, ladies and some of your favorite locals. more ›

- And the London explosions have shocked the world more ›

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May 25: "Belly" Dancing -- North African Food and Wine Pairing more ›

Gothamist's suggestions for July 4th from last year. more ›