Most people celebrate their first birthday with cake and one candle. El Loco celebrated theirs with a call-out for their first ever taco challenge - how many tacos could you eat in half an hour?
What is it about competitive eating competitions that brings out the voyeur in
Josh Vs Tacos
A group of us headed down to support Josh in his latest eating mission. He was already complaining he was hungry as soon as he arrived.
Ten taco commandments
The ten taco commandments were reasonably comprehensive, issued to every competitor along with a numbered bib. A total of 72 competitors registered, with eating to be conducted over two heats. By 7pm the place was heaving.
Mystery taco $5 and hot dog $9
How can you watch a taco competition without eating one yourself? The mystery taco turned out to be liver, backed up by a cheese-strewn hot dog and a couple of Coronas.
Maude Garrett, taco comp MC
Former 2DayFM presenter Maude Garrett was MC for the night, an entertainment highlight with her wacky running commentary and random interviews. Quote of the night: "I don't care how much your junk hurts, you cannot stand up!"
Maude showing competitors the recommended way to eat a taco
What's the best way to eat a taco? Maude had no hesitation in demonstrating, stuffing an entire taco into her mouth.
She got style!
Respect, sister. This is a woman who can also eat a cheeseburger in one bite.
It's taco time!
Game on! The challengers went out fast, demolishing the initial basket of tacos within minutes.
Taco challengers
Evidently the kitchen underestimated the eating speed of competitors as tables were left waiting for taco refills.
Taco line in the kitchen
Or maybe this was part of the plan, thwarting the old 'eat fast before your stomach tells you you're full' strategy.
Need more tacos! (Hi Dan Hong!)
The kitchen was swamped though, dealing with both customer dockets and taco challenge supplies.
Got chilli?
And here's where things got interesting. Competitors were warned that some tacos may contain chilli. Which may or may not get hotter with each round.
Water. Will. Not. Help.
By the time heat two was in session, it looked like the tacos were getting spiked like crazy. The winner of heat one, Moesha, cleared 13 tacos. In round two, Sammy soon became the last man standing.
What kind of heat are we talking about? Before the competition we'd had a chat with Dan who revealed he'd gotten his hands on a bottle of Mad Dog 38 Special Pepper Extract. This bad boy packs a whopping 3,000,000 Scoville heat units. To put this in perspective, Tabasco sauce sits at 3,500 Scoville units. Thai bird's eye chilli is 50,000. The habanero is 100,000. One chefs confessed "I had one drop of it. And my mouth was burning for thirty minutes."
Pain. Definition: see Sammy's face
Sammy's taco boat tally stood at a thirteen. Despite only one taco standing between a tie and outright victory, Sammy looked ready to throw in the towel. But don't ever underestimate peer pressure.
There is nothing quite like watching a mob of Sydneysiders descend into a boozed-up American frathouse chanting "EAT ONE MORE! EAT ONE MORE" with bloodthirsty urgency.
One small bite for man
And so Sammy tried to eat one more.
The crowd erupted.
Justin Hemmes with the winners
He couldn't finish it. But he's still a winner! He shares the winner's glory with heat one winner, Moesha.
Sammy and Moesha, joint title-holders of the first ever El Loco taco challenge
And what happened to Josh? He managed eight tacos before a particularly nasty chilli taco did him in.
El Loco manager Elise Reynolds with Justin Hemmes and the winners Sammy and Moesha
Congratulations to the winners Sammy and Moesha and props to all the competitors, especially you Josh!
View Larger Map
El Loco at The Excelsior Hotel
64 Foveaux Street, Surry Hills, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9211 4945 (No bookings)
Opening hours:
Monday and Tuesday 12pm until late
Wednesday 12pm-1am
Thursday to Saturday 12pm – 3am
Sunday 12pm -10pm
Related Grab Your Fork posts:
El Loco, Surry Hills (Aug 11)
Mexican - Dos Senoritas, Gladesville
Mexican - Flying Fajita Sisters, Glebe
That looked like it was such a fun event! And I love commandment vii. Heckling is permitted - that is just glee worthy.
ReplyDeletehaha maude was so entertaining! and i do love screaming along with a crowd tacoooo tacoooooooooooo
ReplyDeleteHAHAHAH Eat one more, eat one more! Gotta love it! It was such a fun night
ReplyDeleteAw man. Gutted I missed it.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, I think I know the guy who won from student housing days!
hehe great competition. wish i could have been there.
ReplyDeleteHaha looks like everyone had a blast! Wish I had gone and entered though I doubt I can do more than 6; have had 4 in one sitting before though, very filling!
ReplyDeleteWhat an awesome challenge! Happy Birthday to El Loco! Hmm maybe I should have attempted 6 tacos ;P
ReplyDeleteMy absolute favourite part of this is the disclaimer about not catering for dietary requirements.
ReplyDeleteDamnit! I was so going to attempt this if they'd give me raw vegan tacos! ;)
Oh what fun, I was hoping someone would pop along and take pics..... nice
ReplyDeleteomg I can't believe she fit a whole taco in her mouth!
ReplyDeleteSammy looks like he's going to cry, and I don't blame him - I have heartburn just reading about it!
ReplyDeleteI really have to get my a into g and go down to El Loco!
Such a fun night, but wow the crowds. Not sure if JoshVsFood has actually eaten since.......
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love this. I really wanted to go but The GD had made us such a lovely dinner at home I couldn't leave. Even though I'm sure he could have put them all to shame.
ReplyDeleteHow was the liver taco?
Oh no, poor Josh. Respect to those taco eaters.
ReplyDeleteSpectacular recount of the night! Haha Maude was very entertaining, I think I had more fun listening to her than watching them eat the tacos, until Sammy's last one =D
ReplyDeleteSounds like this was a hoot. Made me hungry for tacos!
ReplyDeletegood effort to Josh. I think I also spotted another friend of mine in the challenge!
ReplyDelete