Championship eaters will be downing dozens of dogs at annual contest at Nathan’s in Coney Island
Sweikert Alley, Nathan’s Famous
1310 Surf Ave. at Stillwell Ave.
Monday, July 4, free, 11:30 am
Admission: free
212-627-5766
www.nathansfamous.com
www.ifoce.com
If there were a Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International French Fry-Eating Contest in Coney Island, we would seriously consider entering, because there’s nothing in the world like those fried taters. But there’s no such thing, so we’ll just have to settle for being spectators at Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest, where male and female champion eaters stuff their faces and fill their stomachs with all the frankfurters they can muster in ten minutes. The prize money for the 2011 event has doubled, from twenty to forty grand, so the competitors are sure to come hungrier than ever. For the first time, men and women will be judged separately; the ladies are headed by the number-five-ranked Major League Eater Sonya “the Black Widow” Thomas, while the dudes are led by four-time winner and overall #1 Joey “Jaws” Chestnut. The other women include Juliet Lee (#12), Larell Marie Mele (#32), Stephanie Torres, Michelle Lesco, Maria Suklin, Grace Lee, Laura Leu, and Lauren Gallagher, while the more colorfully named men feature Pat “Deep Dish” Bertoletti (#2), Tim “Eater X” Janus (#3), Bob “Notorious B.O.B.” Shoudt (#4), Matt “Megatoad” Stonie (#10), Pete “Pretty Boy” Davekos (#16), and Aaron “A-train” Osthoff (#17). The record of sixty-eight dogs was set by Chestnut in 2009, when he topped 2001-2006 champ Takeru Kobayashi by three and a half franks (followed by Bertoletti, Janus, Shoudt, and Thomas). Chestnut defended his Mustard Yellow Belt last year with a mere fifty-four, followed by Janus, Bertoletti, Thomas, and Shoudt again. There actually was a Nathan’s Famous World French Fry-Eating Championship held in March 2005 in Oceanside, which was won by Ed “Cookie” Jarvis, who downed 4.46 pounds of crinkle-cut fries in six minutes; Janus and Shoudt made it to the final four before losing. Expect a moment of silence this year for Murray Handwerker, who helped to massively expand his father Nathan’s business, which began way back in 1916; Murray passed away in Florida on May 14 at the age of eighty-nine.