Happy birthday, America!
We could launch into great detail about the historical relevance of Independence Day, but we are making the generous conclusion that most understand the significance of the holiday. (The Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, and thereby declared its liberation from Great Britain... Ask a fifth grader if you need additional details.)
Rather, we will divert our attention to a less weighty matter: Nathan's Famous Fourth of July hot-dog eating contest in Coney Island, Brooklyn. The competition, which takes place at noon (9 a.m. PDT), draws 40,000 fans to Nathan's beach-side surf at the Surf and Stillwell avenues -- as well as 1.5 million viewers to the ESPN broadcast.
In 1916, the winning competitor downed 13 hot dogs and buns in 12 minutes during the inaugural contest. The Berlin Wall fell before American Frank Delarosa broke the 20 dog-and-bun mark in 1991 (21½).
A decade later, Japanese eating champion Takeru "Tsunami" Kobayashi obliterated the world record and captured the coveted mustard belt yellow belt by consuming 50 dog and buns. The second-place finisher lagged far behind at 31 dogs and buns. Kobayashi won five-straight championships and seemed invincible... not unlike the 1953 New York Yankees. In 2007, American Joey "Jaws" Chestnut (66) and Kobayashi (63) battled in an epic contest that took on the US-versus-them overtones of a Little League World Championship. Although Nathan's reduced the competition from 12 to 10 minutes, three-time champion Chestnut (68) and Kobayashi (64½) continued posting post-Maris-like-shattering marks in 2009.
Consider that a single Nathan's hot dog and bun constitutes 309 calories of which 181 are fat (59 percent). Eat 68 hot dogs, and you'll have consumed 21, 012 calories -- liberally 10½ days worth. Hold the light beer and the potato chips.
Or consider an alternative: A couple of hot dogs, single-size serving of Pringles and a patriotic beverage called the "July Shooter." Preparing this cocktail requires you to "layer" different types of alcohol atop each other. Don't know what "layering" means? Check it out on Google... or Bing if you absolutely must. The cocktail's appearance evokes memories of the late 1960s dessert Jell-O 1-2-3.
Fourth of July Shooter
- ½ oz. grenadine
- ½ oz. vodka
- ½ oz. blue curacao
Pour grenadine into a shot glass. Float the vodka atop the grenadine, and then layer the blue curacao above the vodka.
Kobayashi sat out this year's Nathan's Famous hot-dog-eating contest because of a "contract dispute" with Major League Eating (MLE), a body that organizes competitive eating competitions. Yet, Kobayashi came to Coney Island on the Fourth and stood with the crowd to witness this year's 10 minutes of gluttony. Donning a "Free Kobi" T-shirt, Kobayashi reportedly disrupted the post-contest proceedings. New York Police Department (NYPD) officers arrested Kobayashi for trespass, resisting arrest and obstruction.
ReplyDeleteKobi, what the hell were you thinking? Too many nitrates.