Jack-N-Grill

Jimmy Mares and I meet up at the new Jack-N-Grill for some burrito eating. We took on the huge breakfast burrito not too long ago at the end of July.

Jimmy had to get permission before eating something. I didn't. I'm 38. If I want to eat, I am going to eat. I can understand how eating organizations may not want "their" eaters participating in non-sanctioned contests, but having to get permission to be allowed to eat something at a restaurant is just stupid. IFOCE not allowing challenges? Stupid. WLOCE not allowing challenges? WLOCE?!? Gimme a break!

To remind you, the burrito is: 15 potatoes, 12 eggs, some diced ham, green chile, cheese, 18" tortilla, smothered in green chile, red chile, and covered with more cheese. Jimmy replaces his ham with BACON. So do I.

His Mom and sister ordered one to share. They had leftovers.

As usual, my starting weight:


Talking before the eating:


This dude ordered a double hamburger topped with a SLAB OF HAM and a HOTDOG:


This is the guy who ordered the hamburger:


Jimmy before starting

And here I am:
My burrito was served on a smaller plate. I wasn't very happy about it because the extra room is needed because the burrito is so temperature hot & steamy. It is nice to be able to open up the tortilla to let out steam.

Powering through it

Jimmy got red & green chile

I got the green chile

He's fast

Really fast

Jimmy finishes in 13:51.

13:51?!?

C'mon.

Keep going

Last bites

Success!

23:34. Not too bad!

We both crushed our previous bests! My previous best was about 45 minutes. Jimmy's was just over 30 minutes. Main reason: the potatoes in the burrito. At the other location where we have eaten the burrito the potatoes are huge chunks. Here the potatoes are strips kind of like french fries (but not fried). That and the substitution of bacon for ham. The ham before was tiny bits. The bacon was in sizes like it was crumpled. When does bacon not kick ass?

Ending weight. As last time eating the burrito, I had to pee a bunch before the eating began so my starting weight was lower than pictured before.

I mainly went in to this as the next-to-last warmup for a few challenges in Las Vegas. In my prior challenges before this one, my focus was a problem. Not here. There were a few times that I momentarily lost focus on me and the food. But I got it back, was pleased, and it all went pretty well.

I took 3 challenges in my gear up for Vegas. Record in those: 2-1. Let's do this.

Video of the burrito eating at Jack-N-Grill soon.

It's A Bust

Cactus Jack's Saloon in Evergreen, Colorado has the Bust It Big challenge. Huge burger. Two enormous Coleman beef fresh-never-frozen patties, huge fresh-baked bun, and toppings. I completed this challenge a few months ago.

I went back to continue preparing for Las Vegas. I wanted to do the Bust It Big again, but with a few twists so it would be better preparation for Vegas. A couple of weeks ago I contacted the owners, Gary and Megan, about a customized Bust It Big: instead of a huge wide burger, make a huge tall burger. Nine 1/2-pound patties. White cheese. Bacon. And here's the big kicker: a couple of habanero peppers.

This was easily the best tasting challenge. Each patty was cooked perfectly medium, juices sealed in by a delicious crust. Melty cheese. Bacon: when does bacon not kick ass? Just the right amount of heat by the habanero slices. Yum! Megan and Gary, thanks for this!

Starting weight:


Photo of the Wall of Fame. That's me on the right. Some dude. And then some girl. She claimed to be "the #3 pro eater".


Here's the before shot. 4 patties were unbunned. 5 patties under the bun.


Each 1/2-pound patty was topped by cheese, bacon, and habaneros.


Very juicy. Very delicious.


How to begin?


Just dig in. Decided to eat 7 patties alone. Then a double cheeseburger to end it.



The fries were not part of the challenge. I ate them once in a while for texture change.










I hit the water too much. Ended up downing 3 glasses. Too much.












Officially there is no time limit on this Bust It Big challenge.

But at about 1:30 I called it with 1.5 patties and some bun left. Dangit!


Close!


Not finishing makes me sad.


Another picture of the Wall of Fame.


Full.

Ending weight with the food + water.


So I didn't get my picture on the Wall of Fame for the 2nd time. Oh well, I'll go back some time and do the Bust It Big under the menu rules. But again, Megan and Gary, thank you very much! Very, very delicious!

This was my 2nd challenge in my getting ready for Las Vegas. The stretch felt great. It was good too to try the habaneros. I came up a bit short, but that's OK. What's not OK is how unfocused I was. I never really got dialed in. Once the challenge begins I've got to focus on the challenge and not let anything else take me off the task. I did the burrito challenge last week, but I didn't get dialed in either but it was only 4 pounds so I could finish that one.

The goal for the next challenge: once it begins, keep the mind on the challenge and only on the challenge. Success would be great, but focus.

4 Pound Burrito

Until November 11th, I had taken a few weeks off from eating. To cleanse the colon and focus on the six-pack. T-bonz and I went to The Rock in Aurora to re-emerge.

Starting weight

The Rock has a 4 pound burrito challenge. It comes with a side plate of refried beans, lettuce and tomato. To complete the challenge you need to eat the burrito and also clean the side plate. I have completed this twice before so I thought this challenge would be a good stretch. And it was.


You can get it one of 3 ways: ground beef, chicken or bean. I went with the seasoned ground beef. And that's what was in the burrito: lots of ground beef. On top, hot green chile and lots of cheese.


And the green chile WAS hot. I didn't think it would be as hot as it was. And the spiced ground beef was steaming hot. But it was quite tasty.


After a while the ground beef became dry and tough to choke down. Going in I thought maybe 20 minutes to down the burrito first and then perhaps 5 minutes more on the side plate. I ended up finishing in 25 minutes but I do not know how that broke down between the two plates because I had to mix some of the sides into the burrito to cool down the temperature heat and the spicy heat.


It was a good stretch. I had not gotten a stretch since the Wing King Challenge at the West End Tavern in Boulder on October 14th so it felt good. I have a couple more challenges in the Denver area which should prepare me nicely for a few challenges in Las Vegas in December.



Ending weight

Afterwards, we stop by Sonic for some soft-serve...

And there's more: a full gallery of photos. And a good video.