Results tagged “nathans”

       

Yesterday the top dogs of competitive eating faced off at the scales. Reigning champ Joey Chestnut and six-time winner Takeru Kobayashi were weighed in prior to their annual July 4th Nathan't Hot Dog showdown tomorrow. Chestnut, 25, came in at 218 lbs, to his 31-year-old competitor's 132 lbs. The two have faced off four times, with each taking home the belt twice, so this year will be a tie-breaker. Chestnut currently holds the world record, with his 2007 performance of eating 66 hot dogs in 12 minutes

The holiday weekend has all but started, which means the countdown is on to the 94th Annual Nathans Hot Dog Eating Contest. Tens of thousands will be watching Takeru Kobayashi and reigning champ Joey Chestnut shove the sticks of mechanically recovered meat down their throats. The current record stands at 66 hot dogs, and analysts have posted odds on the contest, in case you're, like, betting on this or something.

Odds for the Winner of the 94th Nathans Annual Hot Dog Eating Contest

Continue reading "Hot Dog Eating Contest Season Begins (Now With Elephants)"

With opening day around the corner, both Yankee Stadium and Citi Field are brimming with elaborate dining options. People are asking whatever happened to peanuts and Cracker Jacks, some more whimsically than others. The food news has been piecemeal for the most part but is picking up steam now: A menu preview with photos (think pulled pork) accompanied a Times article about Citi Field Tuesday, while Grub Street got first dibs on the Brother Jimmy’s BBQ Yankee Stadium menu (think pulled pork and fried pickles) yesterday. The combined food service operations at both stadiums encompass what might be the equivalent of 20 or 30 non-stadium restaurant openings, highbrow and otherwise.

The Brooklyn Paper and The Post are making waves today with sensational headlines about Nathan's Coney Island flagship being doomed by the city's final rezoning plan for the area. But as we cautioned yesterday, this is pure speculation, based on assumptions that the rezone will raise the value of Nathan's property so high that the owner will be tempted to sell. Nathan's CEO Eric Gatoff released this statement this morning: "We remain committed to Coney Island in the long-term and we fully intend to maintain our historic flagship restaurant at 1310 Surf Avenue... As to the latest report issued by the City, we believe the information relating to Nathan's Famous is being misinterpreted and that there is no intention to replace or demolish our flagship location." So everybody calm down; there's certainly plenty to get worked up about on Coney Island right now, but Nathan's Famous lips and assholes will available on Surf Avenue for a long time to come.

    

It looks like would-be Coney Island developer Joe Sitt has gone all Henry F. Potter this Christmas, sending workers out last night to put up "For Lease" signs on boardwalk properties owned by his company, Thor Equities. A commenter on the Coneyisland.com message board snapped some photos last night and this morning, depicting the signs above such indispensible boardwalk mainstays as Nathan's and scruffy dive bar Ruby's Bar & Grill.

After last year's Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest, six-time world hot-dog-eating champ Takeru Kobayashi declared: "I will definitely beat him next year." His opponent, Joey Chestnut, had won by eating 66 HDB (hot dogs and buns) to Kobayashi's 63. Despite not earning his way in to the contest as a regional qualifier, last year's loser be on hand this year in an attempt to earn back the title.

Therefore all qualifying rounds will last just 10 minutes this year, and the ultimate July 4th battle will likely be shortened to that time as well. The change has outraged reigning champ Joey Chestnut, who didn't edge out six-time champ Takeru Kobayashi until the last few minutes of last year’s contest. Chesnut calls the change “ridiculous.”

Now that an appeals court has ruled that the city can start requiring chain restaurants to prominently display their calorie information, Nathan’s has begun tossing up their stats just in time for summer at Coney Island. Kinetic Carnival notes that the Nathan’s basic hot dog has just half the calories packed into a Big Mac from McDonald’s.

Open wide for the forthcoming Nintendo Wii game Major League Eating, which lets players compete as some of the most famous speed eaters in the world, like Takeru Kobayashi, six-time winner of Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating contest. If the game turns out to be half as fun as this promotional trailer, there’s going to be a lot of virtual binging going down this summer.