NYC 2010

Lessons learned from this trip:

-I would be worth the extra money to take a direct flight after a night of mayhem.

-US Air Shuttle gives free beer and wine.

-In the future, if it is 100 degrees, sunny and no breeze I will not be standing outside for 5 hours.

-There is no really good place to see the contest at the actual contest. Honestly, you’re probably better off watching it on TV... but that’s no fun :(

-You know you are a special breed of girl when you spend a weekend in New York with the gals NOT drinking martinis and going shopping, but instead spent it watching an eating contest and tossing back tequila.
-It is funny when you get personally introduced to others as 'Hungry Sisters' and 'Silly America'
-We (Sadie, Jamie, and Carrie) can actually go on a trip without getting into one single fight!

This year we opted out of the ‘Great American Road Trip’ and flew to New York City for the event of the year: the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest. Lots of controversy surrounded the event this year, from rumors of cheating to contract disputes.

What we did:

We got to NYC on Friday around lunch, and immediately set out for some pizza. We found a little hole in the wall pizza place and it was quite delicious. After walking around Times Square, we headed back to the hotel to meet Valerie, our roommate for the weekend! None of us really had any plans going into the trip, so we just kind of played it by ear.

That afternoon, we decided to go out to Hoboken to find the Cake Boss, but our plan failed. I think a show was being filmed and the line was really long to get in…so we saw the outside of Carlo’s Bakery. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to eat any of the Cake Boss’s baked goods, BUT our hotel had free warm chocolate chip cookies waiting for our consumption in the lobby, and that was awesome.

Friday evening, we tried to go to Bamn, an automat, but it ended up being closed. We did find a good little burger restaurant Mark, that has a simple menu: sliders, fries, and drinks.  They even have a Guinness milkshake but we didn't indulge.  We also and had our first Pinkberry experience in East Village, so the night ended up being pretty awesome! We even walked into a filming of ‘Curb your Enthusiasm’ around Washington Square, so that was pretty cool too.

(...we really are hungry. always...)

Saturday, we had our NYC tourist-y day and tried to do as many cheap/free things as we could. We rode the Staten Island Ferry (for free), we had a picnic at Union Square park (cheap), we toured the Brooklyn Brewery (free), and we sampled Brooklyn Beers (not free but delicious). We were going to go mess around in Central Park and find scenes from Home Alone 2 and Enchanted (free), but we were tired, so we just sat and watched people in the park. We met up with Valerie again and we went to the hotel, basked in the glory of the air conditioner. That night we ate at this Mexican restaurant, Cancun, and wandered around Times Square.

Sunday, we woke up around 7, had some breakfast at the hotel, and set out for Coney Island. We got there around 8:45. We got close to the front, but our location was pretty crappy.  We were around some interesting folks: two crazy dudes who kept invading our space and some Jersey Boys with their guidette girlfriends.  You probably saw them if you watched the broadcast on TV. They were cool and all but we couldn’t really see around them. By about 10, it started getting a little bit miserable; it got hot.  Really hot. I expect this weather here in North Carolina, but not in New York! I guess all of ya’ll northerners got a taste of what it’s been like here for about a month and a half.

Anyway, the  pre-contest festivities occurred--neat eating contest, circus things, trampoline people, Badland's rapping, etc. (you know, the usual...).  The contest started and was over before we knew it (also...the usual).  Joey Chestnut won by eating 54 hot dogs and buns.  To be completely honest, the contest was kind of anti climactic this year. We all knew who would win since Kobayashi was out of the picture.  Speaking of, at the end of the contest, while we were still standing there watching, Kobayashi jumped on the stage and got arrested, and somehow WE MISSED IT.  THE WHOLE DERN THING.  We didn’t even find out that this went down until like 15 minutes later.

We headed over to Ruby’s to sit down and finally feel a cool breeze...and finally found out about Kobayashi's escapade. When we got there the power was off and it was actually cooler outside than inside (and it was like 96 degrees outside). The power came back on while we were there (yay!) and a crazy drunk man gave Jamie money to play some jamz on the jukebox (yay!), I drank the most refreshing $2.00 bottle of water of my life (yay!), and all became right with the world once again.

Sunday night: the after party! What can I say that wasn’t said last year? It was fun and is always nice to get to hang out with people you only get to see two or three times a year. Tequila shots flowed like water and we supposedly walked back to the subway like zombies while cursing the name of Joey Chestnut who yelled at Valerie. haha.  It was (apparently) a fun trip to the back hotel.  The next morning's McDonalds brunch of chicken nuggets and french fries were just what we needed to recover from the night o' fun and prep for the day o' travel. The flights home kind of sucked; it was a little shaky from NYC to D.C. and then we had to layover for three hours in D.C. yuck.

We had an awesome time in the big apple, but were all three pretty glad to be back in home.  Being in somewhere as crazy and busy as New York City really makes you appreciate simple, small-town life in the south....but, of course, we do hope to be back next year!

Thoughts on Kobayashi:

From the beginning of the whole contract dispute, I have always had thoughts that this might just be a publicity stunt.  I've watched enough professional wrestling to know a 'work' when I see one.  I mean, when you think about it, and as much as I hate to say it, the whole Kobayashi controversy was what made the contest; what everybody was talking about the next day.  With the whole resistance to the police officers and all of these 'Free Kobi' websites, it almost seems too dramatic to be true.  But a small part of me thinks it is true.  Ahh.  I don't know.  I guess only time will tell and we'll see how this all unfolds! 

The rest of our pictures: NYC 2010 Photo Album

Related Items:
Carrie's thoughts and her new travel blog

Silly America & Val's Photos/Blog

Our favorite video commentary of the Kobayashi arrest

Day 6: 4th of July!

Yet another early start for us on our trip, but it was easy to get out of bed knowing what was to come on this 4th of July. Bagels in hand, we got on the subway again for the long journey to Coney Island. We got to Surf & Stillwell around 8:40 Saturday morning, trying to scope out a good spot to stand for today's momentous event. Gates were set up all around the stage area so no one was really allowed to get close to the stage. Around 9:30 security opened up those gates to let in the masses and we fought our way to the front like crazy women fight for a free snow globe on the day after Thanksgiving. We ended up getting spots right in the spray zone and were surround by fans from all over the country who soon became our friends for the day. A couple from California right in front of us came to cheer on Kobayashi. Some Pennsylvania boys beside of us were die hard Joey Chestnut fans who came to NYC without telling their parents, hoping they wouldn't be spotted ESPN.

Nathan's did a good job of keeping us entertained for the 4 hours we stood there in the hot sun before the contest began even though they passed out thundersticks. Ever since last year's Krystal Square Off I have decided that thundersticks have to be the most annoying thing ever invented. Anyway, some old school funk type band played for a while and there were a few circus acts performed on the stage including jump ropers, weenie dogs who can do tricks, and a contortionist/gymnast type person. George Shea also did a pretty sweet Michael Jackson tribute--moonwalking and doing the MJ lean.


One of the best parts of the pre-show was Badlands Booker's rap about saving Coney Island. It kind of got down right political; people were yelling "TAKE US NOW" right along with Badlands and everybody seemed to get into it. It was awesome to be there right in the middle of it. Badlands Booker: if you read this you should totally post a recording of that song online.

Finally, at high noon, the big show had begun. The bunnettes came out on stage and it was cool to see some of them after reading the bunnette boot camp stuff online. We had been reading Zoe's blog and were glad she made it as a bunnette this year. Next, the eaters were announced. The eaters only had one introduction this year, not really giving them a lot of time to flaunt their stuff on stage. The intros actually seemed a little rushed. Pat Bertoletti came to the contest dressed as Tony Clifton, and as a long time Andy Kaufman fan, I thought it was an excellent idea! The crowds screamed for the favorites as they were announced, and everyone was excited to get the show on the road. We did notice that one eater was missing--Rich LeFevre. We didn't find out until a few days later that he was absent because of an illness. The judges were brought out and Beautiful Brian Seiken was judging right in front of us and gave Jamie his camera to take some pictures for him.

Around 12:40 the countdown started and the eaters began eating the first few minutes were chaotic to watch, not knowing where to look. It was exciting to be right in front of the stage, but it was also hard to see around the judges. Joey and Kobayashi looked to be neck & neck throughout most of the competition and Eater X definitely held his own as well. From where were standing it was hard to see Pat Bertoletti but we knew he had to be close as well. We had a really good view of Hall Hunt, Juliet Lee, and Humble Bob so we cheered them on from our spot in the spray zone.


In the end, Joey Chestnut won the contest eating 68 hot dogs and buns in ten minutes, Takeru Kobayashi in 2nd with 64.5, Pat Bertoletti in 3rd with 55, and Eater X in 4th with 53. Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas also set a new female record eating 41 hot dogs and buns.

After the contest, Jamie managed to get a left over hot dog and we went to the boardwalk. It was nice to finally sit down after standing up for five hours. We got a little sunburned during the contest, but that wasn't something a few beers at the after party couldn't fix. It was fun getting to hang out with some eaters and friends after the contest and we even met some people we hadn't met in person (Steakbellie, Crazy Leg's mom, & others). We even got a personal invite to the after-after party by none other than Crazy Legs Conti himself.

By 3:00, our stomachs were telling us it was time to go, and we headed back to Manhattan. We made a mad rush to McDonald's because we hadn't eaten in like 8 hours and nothing seemed more delicious at the time than a double cheese burger and a large chocolate shake. Bellies full and rested up, we got ready and went out to the after-after party. The night was filled with drinking many drinks, making new friends, blowing in a breathalyzer, and doing our best drunk white-girl dance. A fun night was had by all.

Sunday morning at 7:14am, we boarded our train and rode from Penn Station to Trenton, Trenton to Philly, and drove the long haul from Philadelphia to North Carolina, arriving back home Sunday night. Round trip, we spent 986 miles driving in a car and probably 200 miles on a train. Totally worth it--I would do it again tomorrow if I could.

Being at Coney Island on July 4th was the most American way I could ever imagine spending Independence Day. This will definitely be the first of many more July 4th trips to New York City!

For more pictures, from our trip click here!

We've got a few videos from our trip that I have yet to upload, so be sure to check back for those.

Thanks for reading, ya'll. See ya at Krystal on September 27th (...or maybe before, who knows)!
--Sadie

Day 5: Humans vs Elephants/Touring NYC

Friday morning greeted us with a list full of fun activities. We mapped our routes for the day which started by taking the subway from Manhattan to Coney Island to witness the first ever elephant vs human bun eating contest. Once in Coney, we walked around the boardwalk for a while and finally made our way to the Boom-A-Ring circus area for the morning events. As fans of all things white trash, we were excited to find Gravedigger (the monster truck) on display at the circus.

We met up with fellow eating fan, Valerie, who managed to get in the press area and was able to take some amazing pictures. Before the contest began, we were able to talk to Juliet Lee who is as lovely in person as she is in pictures. It was pretty exciting because she knew who we were even before we introduced ourselves.

Right before the contest began, there were some PETA protesters right outside of the gate yelling stuff about Ringling Brothers and how they treat their animals. Coming from small-town North Carolina, we had never seen any PETA protesters before in real life, so that was interesting. Anyway, the humans put up a good fight against the elephants, cramming as many buns as possible in their mouths, but the gentle giants prevailed in the end. It was actually pretty cute watching the elephants eat because sometimes one bun would fall on the ground and they would reach down and grab that single bun instead of a big bunch of buns on the table. In the end, the humans ate a combined 147 buns and the elephants ate a total of 505.

After watching mass bun consumption, it was time for us to do some eating of our own. Carrie, Jamie, Valerie, and I made our way over to Nathan's Famous on the corner of Surf and Stillwell to experience the glory of a Nathan's Hot dog--well they did, I had chili cheese fries instead. I am not a hot dog eater--at all--but I did taste a bite of Carrie's chili dog just to say that I had eaten one, and it was pretty good (for a hot dog).

We made our way over to the Coney Island Cyclone which was a pretty big damn deal for us because of our past roller coaster obsession. Any coaster enthusiast knows that the Coney Island Cyclone is the ride everyone must take at least once in their lives, and riding it was amazing! We each sat in our own seat and were tossed around on every turn and were lifted out of our seats, experiencing maximum airtime. The Cyclone is officially the best wooden coaster in the world!

Leaving Coney Island, we found our way through Brooklyn to Junior's restaurant for a slice of cheesecake. The slices were huge, and still being full from Nathan's, we decided to split a piece of devil's food cheesecake. Excellent choice on our part, because the cream cheese mixed with the dark chocolate was a tasty combination.

After consuming thousands of calories between Nathan's and Junior's we decided that it would be a good idea to walk back to Manhattan via the Brooklyn Bridge. Walking the bridge was probably one of my favorite parts of the trip because we were able to see great views of the city without being rushed.

Other things we did on our day of being tourists:
-Saw Wall Street/New York Stock Exchange
-Visited Canal Street and bought knock offs (Carrie got a purse, I got a watch. Both broke within 24 hours.)
-Found the outside shot of the Cosby Show house
-Saw the Dakota, where John Lennon was shot
-Went to Strawberry Fields
-Walked around Times Square at night
-Ate at the Magnolia Bakery (I had a brownie with cream cheese icing/toffee/pecans. DELICIOUS!)

Overall, our touristy day in New York was busy and awesome. Next post: 4th of July!

Full Circle

Long before our love for competitive eating developed, the Hungry Sisters used to be die-hard roller coaster fanatics. We took MANY family vacations throughout the eastern-ish part of the U.S. to visit some of the best amusement parks around. Between all three of us, we've at least covered Cedar Point, Disney World, Busch Gardens, Holiday World, Six Flags over Georgia, Carowinds, Kings Island, Kings Dominion, and others I can't even think of off the top of my head. We read CoasterBuzz religiously. Come to think of it, our love for roller coasters is also one of the factors of our then-developing Dairy Queen obsession--we stopped at many Dairy Queens off the interstate on these long family vacations.

We watched every Travel Channel show ever produced about roller coasters and amusement parks and even had a lot of them recorded on VHS. We rode Millennium Force the first year it was open; we dreamt of getting tossed around on the Coney Island Cyclone. The thrill ride is what thrilled the Carpenters.

Then...we all got old and went to college. The epic amusement park road trip became a thing of the past

Until now. Next Saturday, Jamie and I will unite our past love of roller coasters with our present love of competitive eating at the Kings Dominion Funnel Cake Eating Contest.

Maybe this is the start (or should I say re-start) of a new era of roller coaster themed trips. Now, if we could only have a Dairy Queen Blizzard Eating Contest IN an amusement park, our lives would be complete.

We'll be sure to post a review and pictures of this momentous event....but for now, let's take a stroll down memory lane, shall we?

Jamie, Carrie, & Me in front of Deja Vu at Six Flags over Georgia, Summer 2001

Daddy, Me, Carrie, & Jamie in a 4 hour line for Millennium Force--Cedar Point, June 2000

Memaw, Jamie, Carrie, & Me at the entrance to King's Dominion, June 2002

Thoughts on Nathan's

Joey Chestnut: 59
Takeru Kobayashi: 59
Tim Janus: 42
Pat Bertoletti: 38
Sonya Thomas: 34
Hall Hunt: 30
Bob Shoudt: 30
Juliet Lee: 29
Erik Denmark: 28
Juris Shibayama: 28
Tim Brown: 27
Eric Booker: 25.5
Patrick Vandam: 25
Rich LeFevre: 25
Crazy Legs Conti: 24
Allan Goldstein: 21
Pat Philbin: 19
Nathan Biller: 18.5
Pete Davekos: 18
Arturo Rios: 16
Kevin Ross: 14



It was a pretty exciting 4th of July, as always I was glued to my TV from noon to one, anxiously awaiting the countdown. Sadie, in her Mooresville apartment, called me a few times before and after to discuss the events. I was happy to hear "Sweet Escape" an IFOCE favorite song playing in the background during an interview. There just can't be competitive eating with out Gwen Stefani's musical talent, (and that one Eminem song?) serving as the soundtrack to the excitement ahead.

The introductions on ESPN were kind of odd. I wish they would have just shown the actual introductions so I could have seen the little things all of the eaters did. I thought Kevin Ross' (I believe?) James bond outfit was pretty sweet.

Also, I thought it was pretty lame that they didn't have the table lined up by their position in qualifiers. Why was Sonya Thomas and Juliet lee beside Kobayashi and Joey Chestnut? I know it made the table more symmetrical, AND Juliet looked really hot on stage, but it probably did not help push Eater X and Pat Bertoletti to eat as much.

My other complaint about the set-up is that there were only 3 bunnettes! there should be a bunnette for each eater in my opinion.

The contest itself, well you all saw it. It was intense. Yes, I have read complaints about Kobayashi pulling away a part of his hot dog after the buzzer and putting it back. From what I saw, they both had a LOT of hot dogs not in their mouths, but their hands. Anyway, I thought the announcement of a tie was appropriate. It was too close to ever call (at least from what I saw on TV...) however, a 2 minute eat-off would have been a better alternative to the "see who can eat 5 hot dogs the fastest".

All in all, I am glad kobayashi is back and in what seems to be full force. Joey Chestnut did a great job as always, and I didn't get to see hardly any of the others on ESPN, so I sadly have little to say except that I noticed that the last place ate only 14 HDB, and with my 9 at the qualifier, I just may make it to table-ender status someday. A girl can dream can't she? :]

--Jamie