Randy and I have a favorite restaurant in Port Charlotte. Called Buffet City, it’s a buffet (of course) that is primarily oriental, with an incredible sushi bar (about 40 feet in length), a hibachi grill, and 7 huge buffet tables.
Their advertising claims they have over 300 menu items. I believe that’s true though I’ve never counted them. Unlike other oriental buffets we’ve visited, Buffet City’s beautiful chandeliers are sparkling clean, and your shoes don’t stick to the floor. The senior weekday lunch buffet is $12.99 and between 2 and 4 pm that includes a bottomless non-alcoholic beverage. We eat there 2-3 times a month and enjoy each time as much as the first.
I was talking to a good friend who’s lived in Port Charlotte for 12 years about it. She’d never heard of it. We might not have either, but shortly after we moved to Florida, we were looking for a good Mexican restaurant. On our way to Plaza Mexicano, recommended by a Home Depot employee (don’t ask), we saw a billboard for the newly opened Buffet City. The car almost drove itself there. Randy and I are buffet (especially oriental) addicts and aficionados. We’ve never looked back from Buffet City which is about the best buffet we’ve EVER been too. Only recently, after nearly 2 years, we finally found a Mexican restaurant we liked. For those who care, it’s a local chain, all with Tequila in all their names…Blue Tequila, Pink Tequila, Lime Tequila and Pineapple Tequila.
But back to Buffet City. This good friend and her husband went there on my enthusiastic recommendation. They reported they didn’t like it at all and would never go back. I was shocked. I could understand if they didn’t like oriental food, but that wasn’t it at all. They were turned off by how many people were there and by how much food everyone ate. Good thing we didn’t go with them. We ARE those people. I can’t go to a regular oriental restaurant anymore (Chinese, Thai, Japanese, etc.) and feel like I got enough to eat. It never occurred to me to notice or care about what other people eat at any restaurant. Watching people eat is not, after all, a spectator sport.
Oh, wait…
On the 4th of July we were invited to our neighbors for an afternoon of food and fun, typical 4th of July fare. We arrived with our contributions of potato salad and cole slaw, and the burgers and dogs were already on the grill. Playing on the big screen (and I do mean big screen….it’s 82 inches) was the 4th of July Annual Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest. Inexplicably, everyone there was engrossed in watching this contest. There was all the hype leading up to a big-league sporting event…and then the 10-minute main event. That 10 minutes may be the most disgusting 10 minutes I’ve ever had the displeasure of experiencing. I couldn’t watch. I couldn’t look away. Ick, ick, ick, ick!! Seeing people literally stuff and power-push food into their bodies through their mouths is an image I’ll spend the rest of my life wishing I could forget. It was, honestly, repulsive. If you can stomach it (haha!), you can watch a replay at the link above or on the photo for this post.
But here are some fun facts about the annual Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest.
- It started on July 4, 1916 on Coney Island when 4 immigrants, arguing about who was the most patriotic, decided to settle the issue with a hot dog eating contest.
- Today 40,000 people attend the annual event and it’s broadcast on ESPN (proof that it IS a spectator sport) to over 2 million people.
- The world record is held by an average size, mild mannered, 40ish, former civil engineer named Joey Chestnut, who in 2013, downed 73 hot dogs (WITH buns). Chestnut also won this year, but with only 62, didn’t come close to his record.
- Competitive eaters train. They practice stretching out their stomachs by drinking gallons of milk or water in a short amount of time. Ick, ick, ick, ick! No word yet of the long term effects for competitive eating “athletes”, though there is some speculation that they must be very careful about eating outside of competition because they can no longer tell when they’re “full.”
OK, disgusting, yes. But disgustingly interesting too. And you know me…intensely curious. I started researching a bit for this post and found all kinds of history and fascinating information. I won’t rehash most of it in this post, but if you can’t look away either, start with this article: The Extreme Sport of Competitive Eating. There’s an International Federation of Competitive Eating, known colloquially as Major League Eating (MLE) , a world body which oversees all professional eating contests. It holds approximately 70 events annually. The Nathan’s Hot Dog event is at the top of the pile, but other top 10 annual eating contests are tacos, wings, gyoza (huh?), gyros, oysters, and deep-fried asparagus. Who knew?
MLE’s website (www.majorleagueeating.com) will show you, among other things, who the top 50 ranked eaters are in the world and the current records for eating everything from crawfish to turducken. Joey Chestnut not only holds the world Nathan’s Hot Dog Record, but world records for eggs, asparagus, pulled pork sandwiches, Taco Bell tacos, chicken wings, Krystal’s hamburgers, meat pies, corned beef sandwiches, shrimp wontons, gyros, Philly Cheese Steaks, funnel cakes, fish tacos, traditional 3-inch tortilla tacos, mutton sandwiches, jalapeno poppers, pepperoni rolls, pork roll sandwiches (4-oz), Twinkies, boysenberry pie, burritos, horseshoe sandwiches, San Pedro Fish Market Shrimp, canteen sandwiches, tamales, grilled cheese sandwiches, gyoza, pastrami, gumbo, ice cream sandwiches, poutine, shrimp cocktail, Hostess donuts, salt potatoes, whole turkey, pierogi, White Hut cheeseburgers, Pizza Hut P-Zones, Kolache Factory kolaches, brain tacos, croquetas, apple pie, pepperoni rolls, 2-foot pizza slices, carnitas tacos, brisket BBQ beef sandwiches, Eggo style waffles, Ramen noodles, and cherry pie.
Joey Chestnut is the world’s #1 ranked eater. I’m sure his mother is proud. Chestnut reported a few days ago that he made more than $500,000 last year as a competitive eater. I guess the American dream is not dead after all. I wonder if Joey grew up craving the attention of people to watch him stuff hot dogs down his gullet. Probably not because, after all, he did finish college with that civil engineering degree.
Americans are bizarre. Making sport of engorging on weird food is as American as it gets. And I can’t necessarily say that’s a good thing.
P.S. Almost 2 weeks post second surgery. All seems well. Thank you all so much for the prayer and concern. I think I’ll finally be able to go in the water again in another week or so. Good thing too because it’s dang hot here this year.
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