Sadie gave a wonderful review of the events of the weekend, but after looking at Valerie's Pictures, I was inspired to give my thoughts. I read the previous post right after it was posted, so this will probably sound almost exactly the same.
So I woke up bright and early, before my alarm went off at 5am on Saturday morning. Sadie was already on the road and I anxiously packed way too many warm weather clothes and tried to kill time waiting on her. Sadie got to Asheville to pick me up, and we were off on I-40, but not without stopping for an egg and cheese biscuit on the way from Bojangles. I don't need to go into how delicious it was because we have only discussed it a million times on this blog and every day of our lives.
We got to Chattanooga amidst a downpour and road construction and ate our first Krystal in a very long time. I opted for the crispy onions on my Krystal and that was quite possibly the best slider I have ever eaten in my entire life.
I'm going to skip on to the fun things. At 6pm on Saturday night we went to the Krystal Square Off Reception and ate delicious pineapple and spinach dip with pita bread. They revealed the eater's jerseys which I thought looked very sharp. It was interesting to be behind the scenes, being a Business student, I was particularly impressed by the marketing strategies that Krystal has obviously mastered and I'm very curious to how they fit such an expensive event into their budget! (and that was my "business woman's special.")
Anyway, after the reception, we followed in a convoy to a Krystal where we could eat anything we so chose. I got the oreo caramel milkquake. It was delicious. We also kept getting sweet bites shoved in our faces and could not deny those tasty balls of fried dough. Sadie and I both thought our stomachs were going to explode when we got back to the hotel Saturday night. I tried on my Krystal Counter shirt and got alittle nervous because my stomach was so full, it almost didn't fit! Luckily, a night's sleep will always shrink my food-baby down to normal.
I'm going to skip on to the contest...
After looking at Val's pictures, and watching the replay later on Sunday, it has finally set in that I have finally been at a eating competition where Kobayashi won! After these past few years of our ventures into the world of competitive eating, we finally see the man who sparked our interest years ago dominate it almost brings a tear to my eye. He is back. 2010 should be a very interesting year in the CE world.
It was fun to be a counter, but I do kind of wish I could have seen the comeback as an onlooker.
Okay, you can read anything else about our trip in the post below here. I still have not completely caught up on my rest from the weekend and I'm back in the real world of waking up early for school and work and homework and no more fun in a land where it is over an hour drive to the next Krystal!
Jamie
Showing posts with label Krystal Square Off. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Krystal Square Off. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
Krystal Square Off--2009
This picture pretty much sums up my shock of what went down on Sunday at the Krystal Square Off. Kobayashi is back, yall.
This year, our journey to Chattanooga started bright and early on Saturday morning. We fueled our bodies with food from the ever-delicious Bojangles; eating enough to hold us until we made it to Chattanooga. The ride started out pretty pleasantly until we got to Knoxville, then it started raining. Like a lot. We had to make a pit-stop right outside of Chattanooga to buy a raincoat for fear that this rain trend would last all weekend. We also hit up our first Krystal during this stop, excited to try some new products (well, new to us at least): the Crispy Onion Krystal and Sweet Bites. Oh.My.God. The sweet bites were out of this world delicious. Honestly, how can you go wrong with fried dough? The Crispy Onion was great too--a nice additional taste and texture to an already delicious little burger. Dark storm clouds still surrounding us, we decided just to suck it up and drive and hopefully check in to the hotel early. After almost getting the car stuck in a flooded Chattanooga street, almost running about five stop signs, and almost ruining the transmission of my car, we made it to our destination and could (luckily) check in early.
We thought we would just relax in the room and maybe take a nap, but we were anxious to get out and about in Chattanooga. Even though it was raining, we still wanted to make the most of our trip. We decided against going to Rock City, frankly because we didn't want to pay money to be miserable walking around in the rain. Instead, we hopped on the bus and rode to the NorthShore District. At the time we didn't realize this but we were riding the bus with some of Kobayashi's entourage, sans Kobayashi. Anyway, the rain let up a little and we were able to walk around to some shops at the NorthShore. Getting hungry again, we decided to try out Clumpies for ice cream. Clumpies was really cool--they microbatch their ice cream so it is of a good (and deliciously creamy) quality and use more butterfat than most ice creams. I sampled the Animal Cracker flavor, but something about blue ice cream freaks me out. We ended up opting for scoops of Butterfinger and Espresso Chocolate Chunk--both were great!
After our adventure to the NorthShore, we went back to our luxury accommodations (aka the Days Inn) to relax before the real fun was to begin. Around 6:00, we made our way across the street to the Sheraton Read House as we were invited by none other than Kenny Hammontree of Krystal himself to pick up our Krystal Counter shirts/attend the pre-KSO reception. This was really cool because we were among the first to see the new jerseys for the contest (a baseball style shirt) and really see what goes down the night before a big contest. After all of the rules were discussed, everyone was invited to go on the annual 'night before Square Off' trip to Krystal. We tagged along and gorged ourselves on Milkquakes, cheese Krystals, and even more Sweet Bites. I hate that I did not get any pictures of this event, but it was very interesting to see that although many eaters claim they don't eat the night before a contest, the majority couldn't pass up a few bites of food or sips of Milkquakes. I might be mistaken but I believe I saw Sonya Thomas eat three Big Angus burgers.
The morning of the contest, we once again had our traditional City Cafe chocolate chip pancake breakfast-this time omitting the whipped cream. As usual, it did not disappoint. We met up with Valerie at Greyfriar's and caught up with her over an iced mocha. This girl has some dedication. After working all evening in Chicago, Valerie left in the middle of the night again this year to make the ten hour drive to Chattanooga only to turn around and go back later that afternoon. Making our way down to the river front, it was time to begin our bunnette duties for the 2009 Krystal Square Off. Being assigned count for Eater X (Sadie) and Tim 'Gravy' Brown (Jamie), we were excited for the day to begin.
After meeting the other girls, though, we realized we missed an important memo. We weren't blonde. Every single Krystal Counter (except for one) had long blonde hair. At least that made us easier to spot on the TV broadcast! Even though we weren't in the blond-tourage, we still did our bunnette/counter duties with smiles on our faces--passing out thundersticks, cheering for the sackful challenge, shaking our pompoms on stage--we were regular-old-fashioned cheerleaders.
The stage entrance was interesting this year; if you couldn't see it on the live broadcast the eaters were raised on a lift to come up from the ground to the stage--nice touch, Krystal! The contest was about to begin and we were ready to start counting burgers for X and Gravy. During the contest, we pretty much zoned out on everything except for the judges so we would be sure to get the right points on our counter cards. You could tell even from behind the eaters that things were getting tense in the middle of the stage. At the countdown from 10, people were yelling and screaming for Kobayashi in the audience. The next thing I knew, Kobayashi was slamming his fists on the table, water was flying in the air, and a shocked look was on many faces (...including my own). Kobayashi freaking won! Not only did he win the Krystal Square Off, he dominated it. Eating 93 Krystal/Big Angus points, Takeru Kobayashi is now the new Krystal Champion. This was the first contest we had ever been to where Kobayashi took first place, so that was pretty darn exciting. Coincidentally, it was also the first contest we have ever been to that Joey Chestnut didn't win. I guess you could say we were good luck for him...until now.
The rest of the results are as follows:
Kobayashi 93
Joey Chestnut 81
Pat B. 76
Humble Bob 71
Sonya Thomas 65
Hall Hunt 60
Eater X 59
Erik The Red 58
Gravy Brown 52
Buffalo Jim 50
Badlands Booker 47
12th Man 8
...yeah, our predictions were pretty off.
After watching the re-play of the broadcast back into the hotel room, it was insane to watch how it all actually went down. Kobayashi inhaled those burgers. He didn't even look like he was chewing. He went on that stage with his new hairdo and ripped abs and literally made those burgers his bitch. I have a feeling things are going to be interesting over the next few months in regards to rankings and wins. God I already can't wait for the showdown at Nathan's!
We made the smart decision to spend Sunday night in Chattanooga as opposed to previous years of driving back home immediately after the contest, getting home in the middle of the night. Since we had some extra time in town, we made our way to the Bluff View Arts District of Chattanooga. Finding ourselves hungry again, we found Tony's Pasta Shop and Trattoria. This was a neat little restaurant with inside and outside seating. They had a nice variety of pastas, the prices were decent, the portions were just right, and the food was really good.
Meeting up with a few of the eaters later, the rest of the night was filled with some very interesting moments--from encountering a shady guy with a dog, witnessing beer chugging challenges, the resurgence of a germ-filled breathalyzer, shutting down two restaurants, roaming the deserted Sunday night Chattanooga streets, and eating mediocre biscuits & gravy with new friends, I'd have to say overall, it was a very fun night.
750-something miles, only a few hours of sleep, many hamburgers, sweetbites, and beers later, we are back in the great state of North Carolina--back to the old grind of work and school. It was an awesome trip, I only wish we had taken more pictures! The pictures we did take can be found here. Once again, we can't wait till next year. The Krystal Square Off just gets better every year!
--Sadie
This year, our journey to Chattanooga started bright and early on Saturday morning. We fueled our bodies with food from the ever-delicious Bojangles; eating enough to hold us until we made it to Chattanooga. The ride started out pretty pleasantly until we got to Knoxville, then it started raining. Like a lot. We had to make a pit-stop right outside of Chattanooga to buy a raincoat for fear that this rain trend would last all weekend. We also hit up our first Krystal during this stop, excited to try some new products (well, new to us at least): the Crispy Onion Krystal and Sweet Bites. Oh.My.God. The sweet bites were out of this world delicious. Honestly, how can you go wrong with fried dough? The Crispy Onion was great too--a nice additional taste and texture to an already delicious little burger. Dark storm clouds still surrounding us, we decided just to suck it up and drive and hopefully check in to the hotel early. After almost getting the car stuck in a flooded Chattanooga street, almost running about five stop signs, and almost ruining the transmission of my car, we made it to our destination and could (luckily) check in early.
We thought we would just relax in the room and maybe take a nap, but we were anxious to get out and about in Chattanooga. Even though it was raining, we still wanted to make the most of our trip. We decided against going to Rock City, frankly because we didn't want to pay money to be miserable walking around in the rain. Instead, we hopped on the bus and rode to the NorthShore District. At the time we didn't realize this but we were riding the bus with some of Kobayashi's entourage, sans Kobayashi. Anyway, the rain let up a little and we were able to walk around to some shops at the NorthShore. Getting hungry again, we decided to try out Clumpies for ice cream. Clumpies was really cool--they microbatch their ice cream so it is of a good (and deliciously creamy) quality and use more butterfat than most ice creams. I sampled the Animal Cracker flavor, but something about blue ice cream freaks me out. We ended up opting for scoops of Butterfinger and Espresso Chocolate Chunk--both were great!
After our adventure to the NorthShore, we went back to our luxury accommodations (aka the Days Inn) to relax before the real fun was to begin. Around 6:00, we made our way across the street to the Sheraton Read House as we were invited by none other than Kenny Hammontree of Krystal himself to pick up our Krystal Counter shirts/attend the pre-KSO reception. This was really cool because we were among the first to see the new jerseys for the contest (a baseball style shirt) and really see what goes down the night before a big contest. After all of the rules were discussed, everyone was invited to go on the annual 'night before Square Off' trip to Krystal. We tagged along and gorged ourselves on Milkquakes, cheese Krystals, and even more Sweet Bites. I hate that I did not get any pictures of this event, but it was very interesting to see that although many eaters claim they don't eat the night before a contest, the majority couldn't pass up a few bites of food or sips of Milkquakes. I might be mistaken but I believe I saw Sonya Thomas eat three Big Angus burgers.
The morning of the contest, we once again had our traditional City Cafe chocolate chip pancake breakfast-this time omitting the whipped cream. As usual, it did not disappoint. We met up with Valerie at Greyfriar's and caught up with her over an iced mocha. This girl has some dedication. After working all evening in Chicago, Valerie left in the middle of the night again this year to make the ten hour drive to Chattanooga only to turn around and go back later that afternoon. Making our way down to the river front, it was time to begin our bunnette duties for the 2009 Krystal Square Off. Being assigned count for Eater X (Sadie) and Tim 'Gravy' Brown (Jamie), we were excited for the day to begin.
After meeting the other girls, though, we realized we missed an important memo. We weren't blonde. Every single Krystal Counter (except for one) had long blonde hair. At least that made us easier to spot on the TV broadcast! Even though we weren't in the blond-tourage, we still did our bunnette/counter duties with smiles on our faces--passing out thundersticks, cheering for the sackful challenge, shaking our pompoms on stage--we were regular-old-fashioned cheerleaders.
The stage entrance was interesting this year; if you couldn't see it on the live broadcast the eaters were raised on a lift to come up from the ground to the stage--nice touch, Krystal! The contest was about to begin and we were ready to start counting burgers for X and Gravy. During the contest, we pretty much zoned out on everything except for the judges so we would be sure to get the right points on our counter cards. You could tell even from behind the eaters that things were getting tense in the middle of the stage. At the countdown from 10, people were yelling and screaming for Kobayashi in the audience. The next thing I knew, Kobayashi was slamming his fists on the table, water was flying in the air, and a shocked look was on many faces (...including my own). Kobayashi freaking won! Not only did he win the Krystal Square Off, he dominated it. Eating 93 Krystal/Big Angus points, Takeru Kobayashi is now the new Krystal Champion. This was the first contest we had ever been to where Kobayashi took first place, so that was pretty darn exciting. Coincidentally, it was also the first contest we have ever been to that Joey Chestnut didn't win. I guess you could say we were good luck for him...until now.
The rest of the results are as follows:
Kobayashi 93
Joey Chestnut 81
Pat B. 76
Humble Bob 71
Sonya Thomas 65
Hall Hunt 60
Eater X 59
Erik The Red 58
Gravy Brown 52
Buffalo Jim 50
Badlands Booker 47
12th Man 8
...yeah, our predictions were pretty off.
After watching the re-play of the broadcast back into the hotel room, it was insane to watch how it all actually went down. Kobayashi inhaled those burgers. He didn't even look like he was chewing. He went on that stage with his new hairdo and ripped abs and literally made those burgers his bitch. I have a feeling things are going to be interesting over the next few months in regards to rankings and wins. God I already can't wait for the showdown at Nathan's!
We made the smart decision to spend Sunday night in Chattanooga as opposed to previous years of driving back home immediately after the contest, getting home in the middle of the night. Since we had some extra time in town, we made our way to the Bluff View Arts District of Chattanooga. Finding ourselves hungry again, we found Tony's Pasta Shop and Trattoria. This was a neat little restaurant with inside and outside seating. They had a nice variety of pastas, the prices were decent, the portions were just right, and the food was really good.
Meeting up with a few of the eaters later, the rest of the night was filled with some very interesting moments--from encountering a shady guy with a dog, witnessing beer chugging challenges, the resurgence of a germ-filled breathalyzer, shutting down two restaurants, roaming the deserted Sunday night Chattanooga streets, and eating mediocre biscuits & gravy with new friends, I'd have to say overall, it was a very fun night.
750-something miles, only a few hours of sleep, many hamburgers, sweetbites, and beers later, we are back in the great state of North Carolina--back to the old grind of work and school. It was an awesome trip, I only wish we had taken more pictures! The pictures we did take can be found here. Once again, we can't wait till next year. The Krystal Square Off just gets better every year!
--Sadie
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Predictions and a picture.
After much deliberation, we have decided on our predictions for the 2009 Krystal Square Off:
1. Joey
2. Humble Bob
3. Pat B.
4. Kobayashi
5. Sonya
6. Hall
7. Eater X
8. Gravy
9. Erik
10. Badlands
11. Buffalo Jim
We really don't know how the numbers for Joey and Kobayashi will compare since they didn't have to qualify without dunking, so we didn't predict the amount of Krystal Points...just the rankings. After Humble Bob's performance this weekend in burritos and grits, how could we not put him (almost) at the top? We have high hopes for him again this year at Krystal. We also have a gut feeling Pat might have an edge over Kobayashi this year. As the qualifiers have shown X, Hall, Sonya, and Tim B. will probably have close totals but Sonya will prevail. To come to this decision, we thought about qualifier totals, access to Krystals for practice, and overall non-dunking performances. We'll see next week how close our predictions were. What do you think will happen next Sunday?
--Sadie and Jamie
In other news:
In honor of his victory today, a picture from last year...
1. Joey
2. Humble Bob
3. Pat B.
4. Kobayashi
5. Sonya
6. Hall
7. Eater X
8. Gravy
9. Erik
10. Badlands
11. Buffalo Jim
We really don't know how the numbers for Joey and Kobayashi will compare since they didn't have to qualify without dunking, so we didn't predict the amount of Krystal Points...just the rankings. After Humble Bob's performance this weekend in burritos and grits, how could we not put him (almost) at the top? We have high hopes for him again this year at Krystal. We also have a gut feeling Pat might have an edge over Kobayashi this year. As the qualifiers have shown X, Hall, Sonya, and Tim B. will probably have close totals but Sonya will prevail. To come to this decision, we thought about qualifier totals, access to Krystals for practice, and overall non-dunking performances. We'll see next week how close our predictions were. What do you think will happen next Sunday?
--Sadie and Jamie
In other news:
In honor of his victory today, a picture from last year...
Picture from: KSO Blog: 5 Questions with Eater X
So are we shaking hands? doing a low-high five? Who knows, but it was exciting to see my picture on the KSO blog on Friday.--Sadie
Friday, September 18, 2009
Life.
Hello World! We have been out of commission as of recent--but fear not, we have not dissappeared forever.
A few quick updates:
-Jamie has started her third year of college; being a full-time student, is working 3 jobs (at the student health center, at the mall, and at a costume shop)
-Sadie is teaching high school full time, taking two graduate classes, and is in the process of becoming a certified personal trainer.
-Both of us are trying to find the time for sleep, a social life, and sanity.
We are, however, very excited to be taking a few days off of life next weekend to again make the drive to Chattanooga for Krystal Square Off (how could we miss it!??!??). Holy crap, we cannot believe it is next weekend! Where has the time gone?
Keeping up with our yearly tradition (well, it is only the second year we've done this, but who's counting?) we have for you our top reasons to be excited for the KSO this year:
-Obviously the new rules: No dunking!?!? The contest will be very exciting and tense this year
-Our new driving route: Instead of taking the interstate the whole way from North Carolina to Chattanooga, we are going to drive through the curvy mountain roads. The distance is shorter!
-Krystal Blitz/Big Angus Burgers: We're ready to taste some new Krystal products
-Rock City: Seeing as it will be the third consecutive year of being at the KSO, we want to do some "Chattanooga-ish" things. We both have been to Rock City, but it has been like 10+ years. We want to go back and see Fat Man's Squeeze and Lover's Leap.
-The City Cafe: Sticking to our pre-KSO breakfast at the City Cafe, we are CRAVING chocolate chip pancakes.
-Two Hungry Bunnettes??: You'll just have to tune in on Sports South next Sunday to see :)
A few quick updates:
-Jamie has started her third year of college; being a full-time student, is working 3 jobs (at the student health center, at the mall, and at a costume shop)
-Sadie is teaching high school full time, taking two graduate classes, and is in the process of becoming a certified personal trainer.
-Both of us are trying to find the time for sleep, a social life, and sanity.
We are, however, very excited to be taking a few days off of life next weekend to again make the drive to Chattanooga for Krystal Square Off (how could we miss it!??!??). Holy crap, we cannot believe it is next weekend! Where has the time gone?
Keeping up with our yearly tradition (well, it is only the second year we've done this, but who's counting?) we have for you our top reasons to be excited for the KSO this year:
-Obviously the new rules: No dunking!?!? The contest will be very exciting and tense this year
-Our new driving route: Instead of taking the interstate the whole way from North Carolina to Chattanooga, we are going to drive through the curvy mountain roads. The distance is shorter!
-Krystal Blitz/Big Angus Burgers: We're ready to taste some new Krystal products
-Rock City: Seeing as it will be the third consecutive year of being at the KSO, we want to do some "Chattanooga-ish" things. We both have been to Rock City, but it has been like 10+ years. We want to go back and see Fat Man's Squeeze and Lover's Leap.
-The City Cafe: Sticking to our pre-KSO breakfast at the City Cafe, we are CRAVING chocolate chip pancakes.
-Two Hungry Bunnettes??: You'll just have to tune in on Sports South next Sunday to see :)
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Thursday, August 13, 2009
8/13
Happy Birthday, Trey!
My husband, Trey turned the big 25 today and we celebrated by going out to Chili's. Usually, I do what I can to avoid places like Crapplebees/Chili's/O'Charleys/etc. but this new 3 courses, two people, $20 thing is too good of a deal to pass up. You get one appetizer, two entrees, and a dessert to split for $20! The portions aren't even smaller than usual. We got the molten chocolate cake for dessert and it was very fulfilling for my chocolate & ice cream needs.
I found this at KrystalSquareOff.com. This was the first big contest Jamie, Trey, and I ever attended:
Can you find me? KSO4 in 2007--A fun time. Forever surrounded by stupid thundersticks.
--Sadie
My husband, Trey turned the big 25 today and we celebrated by going out to Chili's. Usually, I do what I can to avoid places like Crapplebees/Chili's/O'Charleys/etc. but this new 3 courses, two people, $20 thing is too good of a deal to pass up. You get one appetizer, two entrees, and a dessert to split for $20! The portions aren't even smaller than usual. We got the molten chocolate cake for dessert and it was very fulfilling for my chocolate & ice cream needs.
I found this at KrystalSquareOff.com. This was the first big contest Jamie, Trey, and I ever attended:
Can you find me? KSO4 in 2007--A fun time. Forever surrounded by stupid thundersticks.
--Sadie
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Krystal!!
KSO VI Announced the new rules for 2009. Big move by Krystal, and I'm excited. No dunking? Seriously?! This is going to be interesting, in a good way. All I keep thinking about is the funnel cake eating contest when Ryan Nerz briefly announced that dunking would not be allowed; talk about terrified competitive eaters! Maybe it was because they were not prepared, in which case Krystal has given ample time for preparation but still, this is huge! Also, they have implemented another twist that I am almost positive was inspired by Super Mario Brothers. Each eater will have five of Krystal's new Angus Big Burgers. These burger are the equivalent of five average Krystals, and the eaters will be able to eat these at any point in the contest in order to boost up their count. All I have to say about that, is that Krystal will need some very good Bunnettes for this change, and I think Sadie and myself are perfect candidates (cough!cough!).
I'm excited. Krystal, you never disappoint and I am way excited for the trip to Chatty!
Jamie
I'm excited. Krystal, you never disappoint and I am way excited for the trip to Chatty!
Jamie
Friday, April 10, 2009
ahh...sweet memories
After a restless night of tossing and turning, I woke up to find this link to Wicked PR's Krystal Square Off pictures on eatfeats. Looking back on these pictures brought a smile to my face and joy to my heart :)
In other news, we FINALLY have school spring break this coming week and I will be visiting that wonderful southern wonderland known as Myrtle Beach. I have a feeling we will make a Krystal trip, since there is one in Murrell's Inlet...about 20 minutes from Myrtle Beach. Ahh I can't wait! There really is nothing in the world like Myrtle Beach days filled with 99-cent natty light on draft, watching Beach TV-Channel 33, and taking in all of that South Carolina sun. Myrtle Beach does a body good.
--Sadie
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Pics & Vids
Krystal!!!!
Our traditional chocolate chip pancake breakfast
Jamie, Badlands, and Sadie
Kobayashi & his bunnette, Sadie!
More Pictures (I will try to post more pictures directly to the blog but it is going at an ungodly slow speed right now, so click on the link if you want to see the rest)
Our videos from the weekend:
Eater Introductions
The Krystal Square Off 5
Badlands Booker's 2nd Song
Krystal Square Off 5
Re-Occurring Themes of our Krystal Square Off 5 Weekend:
gasoline, food, meeting cool people, and oh yeah… KOBAYASHI!
Our journey to Chattanooga started on Friday morning when Trey and I left Mooresville in the pouring rain to head towards the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. Well, I guess the real journey started a few days before when we went through the emotional torment of deciding whether the gas crisis in Charlotte was going to keep us away from Chatty…obviously it did not.
Anyway... Trey and I picked up Jamie in Asheville around noon on Friday and set out on our second annual expedition to the Krystal Square Off. Since the Asheville Krystal had recently closed, we had to snack in the car to hold our hunger until we found a Krystal—which to our luck, would only be about an hour away in Newport, TN. The Krystal in Newport was cool--kind of like a Cook Out or Checkers if you are familiar with those--there was no dining room and there was a drive in on both sides of the restaurant. Bottom line of our lunch stop: We ate lunch in Newport, God's Storehouse is in Newport (see pictures), we found a gas station in Newport, the rain stopped in Newport and the sun started to shine a little. We love this town!
After a few hours of driving, we finally arrived in Chattanooga and checked into the Day's Inn and tried to figure out how we would spend our time in the city. After checking out some websites (chattanoogafun/eatfeats/etc.) we just decided to have a fun night out in Chattanooga on Friday. There was some motorcycle thing going on Friday night so we saw what that was all about out on our way to the Big River Grille/Brewery for some food and drinks. The food was ok, but the Oktoberfest beer was divine.
On Saturday, we went to the Krystal on Cherokee Ave (which is the oldest Krystal still open, we think) and ate breakfast and decided to explore Chattanooga some more. We found this cultural fest going on near the water front and spent some time hanging out in the North Shore district of the city, which is really eclectic and interesting. The highlight of Saturday, however, was going to the Hixson Krystal (a few minutes outside of Chattanooga) for an eater autograph session + some free food samples!
We were pretty freaking excited going into the autograph session, because we knew that the time had come for us to finally meet Takeru Kobayashi. We've met most of the other eaters before at some point in time, but this was the big one, the one we have been wanting to see in real-life for a long time; we were finally going to meet the guy who ignited our interest in competitive eating. We got to the Hixson Krystal before the eaters did so we just hung out and sampled some milkquakes and stuff. We when they arrived, some pictures were taken and then Kobayashi, Pat Bertoletti, Joey Chestnut, and Humble Bob signed some autographs. We got in the autograph line (ok...we kind of started the line I guess…) and met Takeru Kobayashi and even got him to sign our Kobayashi trading cards. It was pretty thrilling. We also got to see the other eaters—-who we also really love :-).
One of the turning points of the day, though, was when I met Tiffany, who works for Krystal. Tiffany was helping with the autograph session in Hixson, and coincidentally, was the person who was in charge of the bunnettes. I was able to talk to her at the autograph session and asked her who I would be flipping for at the Square Off. She asked me who I’d like to flip for, I said Kobayashi, and the rest is history. September 27th, 2008, I became Takeru Kobayashi’s official 2008 Krystal Square Off Bunnette and I will forever live my life by the mantra: ask and ye shall receive.
I spent the rest of the day doing whatever I could to get my mind off of the Krystal Square Off because I was really getting anxious and nervous about being on stage (and behind a legendary eater, nonetheless). So, we ate some DELICIOUS pizza at Lupi’s downtown, had some Chocolate Therapy at Ben & Jerry’s, and checked out a band, Harper, on the waterfront. The band was actually pretty cool—the lead singer was Australian and played a didgeridoo, which ruled. We called it an early night and watched Sister Act 2 on TV. I doped up on some Advil PM and slept like a baby.
Sunday morning, Trey, Jamie, and I went to the City Café (adjacent to the Days Inn) for our second annual traditional Pre-KSO Breakfast of Chocolate Chip Pancakes. They were quite possibly some of the best pancakes I’ve ever had in my life, but I was pretty anxious to get the day started so I couldn’t finish them. Jamie, the president of the Clean Plate Club/amateur competitive eater, ate all of hers. After breakfast, we checked out of the hotel, packed up the car, and made our way down to Ross' Landing.
I hung out with Jamie and Trey for a while, scoping out the activities of the event, and went with them to find an up-close seat for the contest. After we sat down, we realized we were right behind Val, another competitive eating fan, who drove 10 hours just for the contest! It was nice to finally meet her in person after reading her stuff and looking at her pictures for a while. It was also fun to hear/see the Marshall Tucker Band play before the contest (ok it was also fun to see the mullet-clad MTB fans there too. Can I get a hell yeah for southern rock!?)
My bunnette duties officially started at noon; I helped hand out pompoms and thundersticks and balloons to the eating fans. Around one, we went and met the eaters on the water front to cheer them on as they walked to the stage for their introductions. I thought it was really cool that they came in by boat...it just kind of made me concerned for the ones who may get motion sick. ah well, it probably wasn't a long boat ride.
One of the highlights of the pre-contest was Badlands Booker's rapping! Until Sunday, I'd never gotten to see Badlands perform in real life so it was cool to see him from backstage. We were really excited to meet him too, and I must say...he is one cool dude.
The contest itself is all kind of a blur to me; it came and went so fast. I mean, at one point I was standing in the line getting ready to get on stage after the eater introductions, and the next thing I knew, I was up there flipping numbers to 86 (which was later reduced to 84). Thank goodness my wonderful husband Trey was there to video. It was so awesome to be on stage, though, being right in the middle of the action. Joey ended up winning, Pat came in second, and Kobayashi came in third. I was disappointed Kobayashi lost, but honestly, the whole thrill of just being there really overcame the disappointment. From what I could tell from behind the eaters, it seemed to me that Joey was pushing through faster and was on the track to winning throughout the whole contest. I was surprised, however, that no one beat the 100 mark; I expect to see 110+ burgers eaten next year!
After the contest was over, Trey, Jamie, Val, and I hung around to take a few more pictures. We also got to meet Rick Russo and his wife Sherri, SuperPaul, and a few others we hadn't yet met in real life. It sucked that we had to run off so fast after the contest; we'd have loved to spend another night in Chattanooga, but we had to make the 7 hour drive back home, back to the real world once again.
Overall, it was a great weekend; maybe the best weekend I've had in a while, but how could it not be good when it is based entirely around the mass consumption of burgers? This weekend couldn't have been possible without the fine folks at the Krystal restaurants we stopped at throughout the weekend, Brian and Tiffany who hooked me up with the bunnette gig, the people at Ford for building a car that can take us to many eating contests on decent gas mileage, and most importantly, Jamie and Trey my two compadres/fellow fans/sister & husband being the best travel buddies ever. I already can't wait until next year! Check back in with us soon, maybe Jamie will post with her opinion/thoughts from an audience point of view :-)
Sadie
gasoline, food, meeting cool people, and oh yeah… KOBAYASHI!
Our journey to Chattanooga started on Friday morning when Trey and I left Mooresville in the pouring rain to head towards the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. Well, I guess the real journey started a few days before when we went through the emotional torment of deciding whether the gas crisis in Charlotte was going to keep us away from Chatty…obviously it did not.
Anyway... Trey and I picked up Jamie in Asheville around noon on Friday and set out on our second annual expedition to the Krystal Square Off. Since the Asheville Krystal had recently closed, we had to snack in the car to hold our hunger until we found a Krystal—which to our luck, would only be about an hour away in Newport, TN. The Krystal in Newport was cool--kind of like a Cook Out or Checkers if you are familiar with those--there was no dining room and there was a drive in on both sides of the restaurant. Bottom line of our lunch stop: We ate lunch in Newport, God's Storehouse is in Newport (see pictures), we found a gas station in Newport, the rain stopped in Newport and the sun started to shine a little. We love this town!
After a few hours of driving, we finally arrived in Chattanooga and checked into the Day's Inn and tried to figure out how we would spend our time in the city. After checking out some websites (chattanoogafun/eatfeats/etc.) we just decided to have a fun night out in Chattanooga on Friday. There was some motorcycle thing going on Friday night so we saw what that was all about out on our way to the Big River Grille/Brewery for some food and drinks. The food was ok, but the Oktoberfest beer was divine.
On Saturday, we went to the Krystal on Cherokee Ave (which is the oldest Krystal still open, we think) and ate breakfast and decided to explore Chattanooga some more. We found this cultural fest going on near the water front and spent some time hanging out in the North Shore district of the city, which is really eclectic and interesting. The highlight of Saturday, however, was going to the Hixson Krystal (a few minutes outside of Chattanooga) for an eater autograph session + some free food samples!
We were pretty freaking excited going into the autograph session, because we knew that the time had come for us to finally meet Takeru Kobayashi. We've met most of the other eaters before at some point in time, but this was the big one, the one we have been wanting to see in real-life for a long time; we were finally going to meet the guy who ignited our interest in competitive eating. We got to the Hixson Krystal before the eaters did so we just hung out and sampled some milkquakes and stuff. We when they arrived, some pictures were taken and then Kobayashi, Pat Bertoletti, Joey Chestnut, and Humble Bob signed some autographs. We got in the autograph line (ok...we kind of started the line I guess…) and met Takeru Kobayashi and even got him to sign our Kobayashi trading cards. It was pretty thrilling. We also got to see the other eaters—-who we also really love :-).
One of the turning points of the day, though, was when I met Tiffany, who works for Krystal. Tiffany was helping with the autograph session in Hixson, and coincidentally, was the person who was in charge of the bunnettes. I was able to talk to her at the autograph session and asked her who I would be flipping for at the Square Off. She asked me who I’d like to flip for, I said Kobayashi, and the rest is history. September 27th, 2008, I became Takeru Kobayashi’s official 2008 Krystal Square Off Bunnette and I will forever live my life by the mantra: ask and ye shall receive.
I spent the rest of the day doing whatever I could to get my mind off of the Krystal Square Off because I was really getting anxious and nervous about being on stage (and behind a legendary eater, nonetheless). So, we ate some DELICIOUS pizza at Lupi’s downtown, had some Chocolate Therapy at Ben & Jerry’s, and checked out a band, Harper, on the waterfront. The band was actually pretty cool—the lead singer was Australian and played a didgeridoo, which ruled. We called it an early night and watched Sister Act 2 on TV. I doped up on some Advil PM and slept like a baby.
Sunday morning, Trey, Jamie, and I went to the City Café (adjacent to the Days Inn) for our second annual traditional Pre-KSO Breakfast of Chocolate Chip Pancakes. They were quite possibly some of the best pancakes I’ve ever had in my life, but I was pretty anxious to get the day started so I couldn’t finish them. Jamie, the president of the Clean Plate Club/amateur competitive eater, ate all of hers. After breakfast, we checked out of the hotel, packed up the car, and made our way down to Ross' Landing.
I hung out with Jamie and Trey for a while, scoping out the activities of the event, and went with them to find an up-close seat for the contest. After we sat down, we realized we were right behind Val, another competitive eating fan, who drove 10 hours just for the contest! It was nice to finally meet her in person after reading her stuff and looking at her pictures for a while. It was also fun to hear/see the Marshall Tucker Band play before the contest (ok it was also fun to see the mullet-clad MTB fans there too. Can I get a hell yeah for southern rock!?)
My bunnette duties officially started at noon; I helped hand out pompoms and thundersticks and balloons to the eating fans. Around one, we went and met the eaters on the water front to cheer them on as they walked to the stage for their introductions. I thought it was really cool that they came in by boat...it just kind of made me concerned for the ones who may get motion sick. ah well, it probably wasn't a long boat ride.
One of the highlights of the pre-contest was Badlands Booker's rapping! Until Sunday, I'd never gotten to see Badlands perform in real life so it was cool to see him from backstage. We were really excited to meet him too, and I must say...he is one cool dude.
The contest itself is all kind of a blur to me; it came and went so fast. I mean, at one point I was standing in the line getting ready to get on stage after the eater introductions, and the next thing I knew, I was up there flipping numbers to 86 (which was later reduced to 84). Thank goodness my wonderful husband Trey was there to video. It was so awesome to be on stage, though, being right in the middle of the action. Joey ended up winning, Pat came in second, and Kobayashi came in third. I was disappointed Kobayashi lost, but honestly, the whole thrill of just being there really overcame the disappointment. From what I could tell from behind the eaters, it seemed to me that Joey was pushing through faster and was on the track to winning throughout the whole contest. I was surprised, however, that no one beat the 100 mark; I expect to see 110+ burgers eaten next year!
After the contest was over, Trey, Jamie, Val, and I hung around to take a few more pictures. We also got to meet Rick Russo and his wife Sherri, SuperPaul, and a few others we hadn't yet met in real life. It sucked that we had to run off so fast after the contest; we'd have loved to spend another night in Chattanooga, but we had to make the 7 hour drive back home, back to the real world once again.
Overall, it was a great weekend; maybe the best weekend I've had in a while, but how could it not be good when it is based entirely around the mass consumption of burgers? This weekend couldn't have been possible without the fine folks at the Krystal restaurants we stopped at throughout the weekend, Brian and Tiffany who hooked me up with the bunnette gig, the people at Ford for building a car that can take us to many eating contests on decent gas mileage, and most importantly, Jamie and Trey my two compadres/fellow fans/sister & husband being the best travel buddies ever. I already can't wait until next year! Check back in with us soon, maybe Jamie will post with her opinion/thoughts from an audience point of view :-)
Sadie
Thursday, September 25, 2008
nervous.
Can we make a 700 mile-round-trip pilgrimage to Krystal during a major gas shortage?
this is just our luck.
EDIT 9/26/08:
Screw the gas shortage. We're going anyway! It might take us forever to get there if we have to wait in a line for 2 hours to get gas, but it will be worth it!
this is just our luck.
EDIT 9/26/08:
Screw the gas shortage. We're going anyway! It might take us forever to get there if we have to wait in a line for 2 hours to get gas, but it will be worth it!
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Bad News/Good News
Bad News:
We didn't win the Chattanooga VIP vacation, however, the people who won seem pretty cool though. I guess we will be back to the ol' Days Inn this weekend instead of the Sheraton :-)
Good News:
I am going to be a Bunnette/Krystal Counter Card Girl!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh my God! This is really happening! Yet another reason why I love Krystal!
I emailed Krystal this summer to find out how I could become a bunnette...and I kind of forgot I even did that. Then, I got an email earlier this week from Brian, a Krystal PR dude, saying that he still had my email from this summer and that he had a spot for me as a Krystal Counter.
AHhh! I love this guy and Krystal and I am way excited to do my bunnette duties on Sunday afternoon.
I don't know who I'll be counting for yet, but if I find out before the contest, I'll be sure to let you know. Don't forget to watch Sunday at 2:00 on FSN!
Jamie, Trey, and I have decided to ditch school/work on Friday and head on up to Chattanooga and actually do some touristy things this year instead of driving up one night and coming home the next day. Hopefully there will be gas in Tennessee, but if we get stranded and have to miss another day of work, I don't think I'll be too sad.
See ya in Chatty!!
Sadie
We didn't win the Chattanooga VIP vacation, however, the people who won seem pretty cool though. I guess we will be back to the ol' Days Inn this weekend instead of the Sheraton :-)
Good News:
I am going to be a Bunnette/Krystal Counter Card Girl!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh my God! This is really happening! Yet another reason why I love Krystal!
I emailed Krystal this summer to find out how I could become a bunnette...and I kind of forgot I even did that. Then, I got an email earlier this week from Brian, a Krystal PR dude, saying that he still had my email from this summer and that he had a spot for me as a Krystal Counter.
AHhh! I love this guy and Krystal and I am way excited to do my bunnette duties on Sunday afternoon.
I don't know who I'll be counting for yet, but if I find out before the contest, I'll be sure to let you know. Don't forget to watch Sunday at 2:00 on FSN!
Jamie, Trey, and I have decided to ditch school/work on Friday and head on up to Chattanooga and actually do some touristy things this year instead of driving up one night and coming home the next day. Hopefully there will be gas in Tennessee, but if we get stranded and have to miss another day of work, I don't think I'll be too sad.
See ya in Chatty!!
Sadie
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Reasons to be excited for the Krystal Square Off...
- THE MARSHALL TUCKER BAND is playing there. Krystal, you got it right this time. I wasn't really feeling the opening band last year, but this year will rule.
- Chattanooga is the best town ever. The city provides free public transportation!
- There is nothing better than a Tennessee night in the fall.
- The Days Inn has a Krystal view!
- Takeru Kobayashi. Our lifelong goal of seeing him in real life will finally be achieved.
- FREE KRYSTALS FOR ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sunday, August 24, 2008
I really love how Krystal puts so much detail and emphasis to the Krystal Square Off and the qualifiers preceding them. I just read the article about Humble Bob's qualifier, and was pleased to seethe full results of the qualifier, professionals or not. Although Nathan's will always be the biggest, Krystal will always have my heart. I am beyond excited for KSO V, however, I doubt I will be attempting a qualifier this time. I have a very difficult time imagining dunking a full Krystal Burger in to a liquid. Dunking a bun is one thing, but dunking bun, meat, onions, mustard and whatever else goes on those delicious little sliders is just something I could not bring myself to do. Its a shame that I can't even remember what is on a Krystal since the only establishment left in North Carolina (which happens to be where I live, Asheville) closed this summer. It has been far too long since I've enjoyed the tiny food. I will just have to gorge myself the weekend of KSO V to last for another year.
Although there is no Krystal, there is a Dairy Queen. I made the venture to DQ today with my gift card in hand. I swayed from my usual Chocolate Extreme (or some other chocolate filled blizzard) and opted for the small, chocolate dipped cone with chocolate ice cream and it was divine.
All for now,
Jamie
Although there is no Krystal, there is a Dairy Queen. I made the venture to DQ today with my gift card in hand. I swayed from my usual Chocolate Extreme (or some other chocolate filled blizzard) and opted for the small, chocolate dipped cone with chocolate ice cream and it was divine.
All for now,
Jamie
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
I love krystal.
The Krystal Blogger put a link to the HungrySisters on their blog!
also, they had a link to these pictures
that were taken at the Square Off. Apparantly, these fans were right beside of us. I suppose we were too caught up in the excitement of Humble Bob's surprising upset to realize they took a picture of yours truly. (Humble Bob handed out the posters we're holding, pretty good idea on his part if I do say so myself)
also, they had a link to these pictures
that were taken at the Square Off. Apparantly, these fans were right beside of us. I suppose we were too caught up in the excitement of Humble Bob's surprising upset to realize they took a picture of yours truly. (Humble Bob handed out the posters we're holding, pretty good idea on his part if I do say so myself)
Monday, November 12, 2007
KSO Pics part DEUX:
Trey, Sadie, CRAZY LEGS CONTI, Logan, and Jamie before the contest
Eat those KRYSTALS!!!
A job well done.Saturday, November 10, 2007
Pictures from the Krystal Square Off
Logan & Trey at our First Krystal Stop in Asheville NC (10/28/07)
The Stage is Set!
Chocolate Chip Pancakes at The City Cafe in Chattanooga
Who knew Heaven was located in the City Cafe?
OFFICIAL FANS OF THE KRYSTAL SQUARE OFF
Jamie enjoying her free Krystals
Sadie and Trey with KRYSTAL.
Another Fan
Line for autographs
Friday, November 9, 2007
Krystal Square Off--2007
Hey! We are Sadie and Jamie, the HungrySisters. For years, we have been obsessed with food. I know, it is somewhat weird, but we really do love food. Food is our hobby, our joy, our entertainment. We like to eat and cook and watch people eat and cook. Food has always been a big part of our lives--which is why we decided to create a blog. A food blog.
One of our biggest food obsessions is Dairy Queen. We are absolutely, 100% addicted to Dairy Queen Blizzards and could both eat them for every meal if it wouldn't have such a tremendous effect on our waistlines. Someday, we dream of owning our own Dairy Queen franchise and bringing Blizzards into the lives of those who just don't experience them enough.
Our other big food obsession is Competitive Eating. We have been following the Nathan's Hot Dog contest for years. We've seen the documentaries on TV and have witnessed a few amateur contests. We recently attended the Krystal Square off in Chattanooga, which was one of the highlights of both of our food-driven lives. We read all of the websites and blogs, and keep up with the IFOCE rankings. Competitive Eaters are our favorite athletes. We dream of attending the Nathan's Hot Dog Contest next July, and if we can save up enough money this year, we plan on making that dream come true.
The next few entries will probably be used to update on food events of our lives from the past--because some are very noteworthy but occurred in real life before we decided to create a foodblog.
The following post was copied and pasted from Jamie's post on our Family's Yahoo Group:
October 29, 2007
Last night, Sadie, Trey, Logan and I got back from our journey to Chattanooga to see the World Krystal Burger eating championship, the second best eating competition in the world! We were excited to say the least.
Saturday morning, Sadie and Trey picked up Logan and me from UNCA, and we set off to go, stopping at the Krystal in Asheville for breakfast in order to set the mood for the trip. I ate an original BREAKFAST SCRAMBLER which was delicious and Sadie ate a Chicken Biscuit--the chicken was dipped in sausage gravy. Delicious.
On the way to Chattanooga, we stopped for lunch at another Krystal (right outside of Knoxville) where all four of us enjoyed Krystal Burgers. We also sampled some of the new chicken sandwiches. When we got back on the interstate, we saw a sign for Mayfeild Dairy Farms and tours, so we decided to stop there. We took a free tour of the factory, where they filled the milk cartons, made ice cream etc. We didn't get free ice cream, but we bought some and it was delicious. I had a cookies and cream milkshake and Sadie had a scoop of birthday cake ice cream.
We finally got back on the road and eventually arrived in Chattanooga. We checked into our hotel, which to our surprise was right beside the Krystal Headquarters! We stayed in the Days Inn Rivergate. Great location--right downtown--and the price was right. We explored the town and rode around just for fun on the free city-transit buses. BTW, CHATTANOOGA RULES.
We ate dinner, not at Krystal, though. We went to TGI Fridays instead. Our waiter, though, was wearing a Krystal Square Off T-shirt. We ended up watching part of Road Trip on TBS and fell asleep pretty early.
The next morning we were ready for the festivities to begin. We ate breakfast at this awesome cafe connected to our hotel. Sadie and I both ordered Chocolate Chip Pancakes. After breakfast, we checked out of the hotel and walked to the riverside where the contest was to take place. We arrived about 2 hours early, but we didn't have anything better to do, so we watched the Krystal People set up the area for the contest. While we were waiting, we met Crazy Legs Conti!!!! It was the coolest thing ever. It was our first encounter meeting a real-live competitive eater; one who we have seen on TV many, many times. Very exciting!!!
At 12, they opened everything up and began serving free Krystals and apple turnovers (which were delicious). We ate and walked around to the different games and activities that were taking place. We played blackjack and all won free Krystal coupons (and I won a free t shirt for getting 21 :]) and we bought fan t shirts to commemorate the day. Eventually, we had all gotten free t shirts by playing games--in addition to the ones we bought.
Around 1:30, we knew it was time for the eaters to come in and sign autographs, and we seriously couldn't wait to meet all of the eaters. We started the line as the eaters paraded in convertibles down the street. They came to the autograph stand one by one, starting with the ones who ate the least burgers to qualify.
Trey, Logan, Sadie and I were completely star stuck as we went down the line and talked to the celebrities. We got all of their autographs, and took some pictures with a few of them. They were all really nice, friendly people. I guess its because they are just normal folks who like to eat. When the competition was over they had to go back to their normal lives.
Anyway, after getting autographs, we got seats 2 rows back and waited for everything to start. There was an amateur contest with teams of two trying to see who could eat 12 krystals the fastest. Logan and I tried to enter, but they chose the contestants at random, what a letdown.
Finally, the cameras were on and the contestants came onto the stage! George Shay, who is one of the coolest men in the world, did a great time of "prepping the audience" before the contest began.
The contest started and it was pretty intense; everyone had hopes of breaking the 100 mark, because last years champion, Kobayashi, won with eating 97 Krystals. Speaking of Kobayashi, we were pretty let down that he wasn't at the contest. He initially got us interested in the sport of competitive eating. Maybe we'll get to see him at Nathan's in July.
Anyway, the crowning moment of the contest was when Joey Chestnut broke the 100 mark and stopped for a brief moment to smile. That was just awesome. Joey ended up winning the contest, eating 103 burgers, followed by Humble Bob in 2nd place, and Pat Bertoletti in 3rd.
After the eight minutes were up, we walked back to where the eaters were and talked to a few of them as we ate some left-over Krystals. It was a day I don't believe any of us will forget. The coolest part about it was that we could just go back stage after the contest and see our heroes, the gurgitators we admire and respect. There was no security to keep us away. Competitive eating is the best sport in the universe.
On the way home, we stopped at 3 more Krystals between Chattanooga and Asheville. We couldn't wait to get home and watch the ESPN recording and the video Sadie made of the trip.
Next Stop: NATHANS? WE HOPE SO.
One of our biggest food obsessions is Dairy Queen. We are absolutely, 100% addicted to Dairy Queen Blizzards and could both eat them for every meal if it wouldn't have such a tremendous effect on our waistlines. Someday, we dream of owning our own Dairy Queen franchise and bringing Blizzards into the lives of those who just don't experience them enough.
Our other big food obsession is Competitive Eating. We have been following the Nathan's Hot Dog contest for years. We've seen the documentaries on TV and have witnessed a few amateur contests. We recently attended the Krystal Square off in Chattanooga, which was one of the highlights of both of our food-driven lives. We read all of the websites and blogs, and keep up with the IFOCE rankings. Competitive Eaters are our favorite athletes. We dream of attending the Nathan's Hot Dog Contest next July, and if we can save up enough money this year, we plan on making that dream come true.
The next few entries will probably be used to update on food events of our lives from the past--because some are very noteworthy but occurred in real life before we decided to create a foodblog.
The following post was copied and pasted from Jamie's post on our Family's Yahoo Group:
October 29, 2007
Last night, Sadie, Trey, Logan and I got back from our journey to Chattanooga to see the World Krystal Burger eating championship, the second best eating competition in the world! We were excited to say the least.
Saturday morning, Sadie and Trey picked up Logan and me from UNCA, and we set off to go, stopping at the Krystal in Asheville for breakfast in order to set the mood for the trip. I ate an original BREAKFAST SCRAMBLER which was delicious and Sadie ate a Chicken Biscuit--the chicken was dipped in sausage gravy. Delicious.
On the way to Chattanooga, we stopped for lunch at another Krystal (right outside of Knoxville) where all four of us enjoyed Krystal Burgers. We also sampled some of the new chicken sandwiches. When we got back on the interstate, we saw a sign for Mayfeild Dairy Farms and tours, so we decided to stop there. We took a free tour of the factory, where they filled the milk cartons, made ice cream etc. We didn't get free ice cream, but we bought some and it was delicious. I had a cookies and cream milkshake and Sadie had a scoop of birthday cake ice cream.
We finally got back on the road and eventually arrived in Chattanooga. We checked into our hotel, which to our surprise was right beside the Krystal Headquarters! We stayed in the Days Inn Rivergate. Great location--right downtown--and the price was right. We explored the town and rode around just for fun on the free city-transit buses. BTW, CHATTANOOGA RULES.
We ate dinner, not at Krystal, though. We went to TGI Fridays instead. Our waiter, though, was wearing a Krystal Square Off T-shirt. We ended up watching part of Road Trip on TBS and fell asleep pretty early.
The next morning we were ready for the festivities to begin. We ate breakfast at this awesome cafe connected to our hotel. Sadie and I both ordered Chocolate Chip Pancakes. After breakfast, we checked out of the hotel and walked to the riverside where the contest was to take place. We arrived about 2 hours early, but we didn't have anything better to do, so we watched the Krystal People set up the area for the contest. While we were waiting, we met Crazy Legs Conti!!!! It was the coolest thing ever. It was our first encounter meeting a real-live competitive eater; one who we have seen on TV many, many times. Very exciting!!!
At 12, they opened everything up and began serving free Krystals and apple turnovers (which were delicious). We ate and walked around to the different games and activities that were taking place. We played blackjack and all won free Krystal coupons (and I won a free t shirt for getting 21 :]) and we bought fan t shirts to commemorate the day. Eventually, we had all gotten free t shirts by playing games--in addition to the ones we bought.
Around 1:30, we knew it was time for the eaters to come in and sign autographs, and we seriously couldn't wait to meet all of the eaters. We started the line as the eaters paraded in convertibles down the street. They came to the autograph stand one by one, starting with the ones who ate the least burgers to qualify.
Trey, Logan, Sadie and I were completely star stuck as we went down the line and talked to the celebrities. We got all of their autographs, and took some pictures with a few of them. They were all really nice, friendly people. I guess its because they are just normal folks who like to eat. When the competition was over they had to go back to their normal lives.
Anyway, after getting autographs, we got seats 2 rows back and waited for everything to start. There was an amateur contest with teams of two trying to see who could eat 12 krystals the fastest. Logan and I tried to enter, but they chose the contestants at random, what a letdown.
Finally, the cameras were on and the contestants came onto the stage! George Shay, who is one of the coolest men in the world, did a great time of "prepping the audience" before the contest began.
The contest started and it was pretty intense; everyone had hopes of breaking the 100 mark, because last years champion, Kobayashi, won with eating 97 Krystals. Speaking of Kobayashi, we were pretty let down that he wasn't at the contest. He initially got us interested in the sport of competitive eating. Maybe we'll get to see him at Nathan's in July.
Anyway, the crowning moment of the contest was when Joey Chestnut broke the 100 mark and stopped for a brief moment to smile. That was just awesome. Joey ended up winning the contest, eating 103 burgers, followed by Humble Bob in 2nd place, and Pat Bertoletti in 3rd.
After the eight minutes were up, we walked back to where the eaters were and talked to a few of them as we ate some left-over Krystals. It was a day I don't believe any of us will forget. The coolest part about it was that we could just go back stage after the contest and see our heroes, the gurgitators we admire and respect. There was no security to keep us away. Competitive eating is the best sport in the universe.
On the way home, we stopped at 3 more Krystals between Chattanooga and Asheville. We couldn't wait to get home and watch the ESPN recording and the video Sadie made of the trip.
Next Stop: NATHANS? WE HOPE SO.
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