Joey Chestnut will defend his hot-dog-eating record on July 4 at Nathan’s (photo courtesy Nathan’s Famous)
Sweikert Alley, Nathan’s Famous
1310 Surf Ave. at Stillwell Ave.
Friday, July 4, free, 10:00 am
212-627-5766
www.nathansfamous.com
www.ifoce.com
San Jose’s Joey Chestnut did it again last year, devouring a record sixty-nine hot dogs in ten minutes to win the Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest for the seventh consecutive year. Sonya Thomas, the number five overall Major League Eater in the world — Chestnut is #1 — took home the women’s belt for the third straight year by consuming 36¾ dogs. Chestnut also currently holds the record for apple pie, asparagus, brain tacos, brats, chicken wings, chili, corned beef sandwiches, eggs, fish tacos, funnel cake, grilled cheese sandwiches, Krystal hamburgers, horseshoe sandwiches, short form ice cream, jalapeno poppers, Kolaches, pastrami, Philly cheesesteaks, Pizza Hut P’Zones, pork ribs, pulled pork, poutine, salt potatoes, shrimp cocktail, shrimp wontons, tacos, tamales, and Twinkies, while Thomas is tops in Armour Vienna sausage, long course baked beans, buffalo chicken tenders, cheesecake, cherrystone clams, chicken nuggets, chili cheese fries, crab cakes, crawfish, deep-fried okra, fruitcake, Big Daddy hamburgers, thickburgers, jambalaya, Maine lobster, meatballs, oysters, quesadillas, sweet potato casserole, toasted ravioli, turducken, and whole turkey. The event will also feature live music by the Brooklyn Community Choir, the Heavenly Chillbillies, the Skyriders, and former competitive eater turned rapper Eric “Badlands” Booker. To make it all a little more palatable, Nathan’s will donate one hundred thousand hot dogs to the Food Bank for New York City. For a different perspective on the event, with a special focus on the Takeru Kobayashi controversy, check out Jeff Cerulli and Barry Rothbart’s documentary Hungry.