You know the old saying, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.”
Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be the case with pizza eating contests.
On Thursday, three adventurous eaters accepted the city’s most intense pizza eating challenge at Max’s Coal Oven Pizzeria with “The Maximus” -- a six-pound, 24-inch pie dripping with cheese, pepperoni, sausage and meatballs from Max’s coal-burning oven.
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To complete the challenge, the pizza must be eaten in under two hours and “winners” gain bragging rights and VIP status with their names on Max’s chalkboard. Diners that attempt the endeavor but fail to finish every last bite must pay the $60 price of the pizza (Talk about kicking you when you’re down.)
Meredith Freeman, a petite (yes, petite), athletic 23-year-old who works in the Luckie-Marietta District was the main contender, trying to make up for a challenge she lost a few years ago at University of Virginia.
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“The challenge was to eat four large Domino's pizzas," she said. "I ate two in an hour then threw up."
This time around, Freeman prepared herself by eating large meals for the two weeks prior to expand her “eating capacity” and had a light breakfast the morning of the challenge.
An hour before go time, Freeman convinced a friend of hers, 26-year-old TJ Callaway, to join in. Was he prepared?
“Not at all!” Callaway said. “I just had a big lunch.”
The third contender was Jumoke Byrd, a new bartender at Max’s who decided to jump in at the last minute. Turns out, years ago, Byrd ate a 64-ounce steak, so the outlook was good for him.
The eat-off began at 3:40 p.m. and hopes were high. Freeman’s strategy was to start in the middle and eat the crust last as she felt the doughier parts would fill her up. She kept it classy with a fork and knife.
Callaway and Byrd dove right in, even folding slices to fit more into their mouths at once.
About 30 minutes in, everyone appeared to be going strong. Freeman and Callaway had finished close to a third of the pizza and Byrd lagged behind slightly.
But an hour in, it didn't look good. Byrd was leaning back in his chair; Freeman had her head on the table. As for TJ, he was on a conference call with work (remember, he hadn’t planned for this) with his pizza right in front of him.
At about 4:50 p.m., Freeman threw in the towel and the others followed suit.
“I had good momentum, but my body got the best of me,” she said.
Callaway said he would have fared better if he had more time to prepare. As for Byrd, he was back behind the bar, definitely moving slower than before.
You know what this means? Someone can still be the first to complete the challenge. Could it be you?