Apparently, it’s extreme eating season. For those with bottomless stomachs, three eating competitions this month offer a chance to eat far more than your fill of tater tots, Italian ice, and burgers. The portions are big, but then so are some of the prizes. Eat your heart out:
Where: Bar Louie, 701 7th St. NW
The Food: Tater tots
When: Sept. 19 (tonight) at 8 p.m.
The Contest: There will be a team relay race (four people) and solo competition. The relay team will have to consume four pounds of tots in the fastest time possible. In the solo contest, competitors have to eat as many tots as possible in three minutes.
The Prizes: The winning relay team will get free tots for a year plus “Rock the Tot” champion t-shirts. Solo winners will receive a $250 Bar Louie gift card, trophy, T-shirt, and free tots for a year. The top five local winners will also receive airfare and hotel accommodations to attend a national competition in Cleveland on Oct. 5. The winner of that eating contest gets $500 cash and free tater tots for life.
Registration: Head to rockthetot.com to sign up. Participants should register and arrive by 7:30 p.m.
Where: Taylor Charles Steak & Ice at the H Street Festival (Gospel Stage)
The Food: Italian water ice
When: Sept. 21 at 3 p.m.
The Contest: Buckets of lemon water ice will be placed in front of contestants, and whoever eats the most in five minutes wins.
The Prizes: A very large rib-eye, a $150 gift card to Taylor Charles Steak & Ice, and an industrial-sized can of Cheez Whiz.
Registration: Email Doug Rashid (dr@taylorgourmet.com) to enter. Spots are going fast!
Where: BGR The Burger Joint at Taste of DC festival on Pennsylvania Ave. NW
The Food: Burger
When: Oct. 13 at 2 p.m
The Contest: Three teams of four will have nine minutes to eat a mega-burger with a nine-pound patty piled with cheese, two heads of lettuce, eight tomatoes, three red onions, four whole pickles, plus BGR’s mojo sauce. The whole thing weighs 15.4 pounds. The team that finishes first or eats the most will be named the winner.
The Prizes: A five-night trip for four to Mexico and BGR gift cards. A donation for breast cancer research will also be made in the winners’ names.
Registration: “Like” the competition on Facebook, then submit your captain’s name and email along with the names of the rest of the team. The teams will be asked to submit a Tweet-length “ode to the awesomeness that is the burger.” The public will then vote for the teams they want to compete, and three groups will go on to the contest. Participants must be at least 18 years old.
UPDATE: But wait! There’s more:
Where: Smoke & Barrel, 2471 18th St. NW
The Food: Tacos
When: Sept. 19 (tonight) at 8:30 p.m.
The Contest: Eat six tacos in the fastest time possible. There will be a pork round and a tofu round with ten contestants each.
The Prizes: Free tacos for a year during Smoke & Barrel’s Taco Tuesday nights
Registration: Submit your name at the bar by 7:45 p.m. The names will be drawn raffle-style at 8 p.m. to determine who participates.