Top 10 Epic Man v. Food Challenges

The first entry on our list goes to the very first food challenge that Adam Richman undertook in the show’s pilot episode. After visiting some foodie destinations along Route 66, Richman stopped into The Big Texan Steak Ranch to take on their 72-ounce Big Texan challenge. He had one hour to eat a 4 and a half pound steak, a baked potato, a bread roll, beans, a shrimp cocktail and a salad . . . because health, right? While he seemed daunted at some points, he actually managed to finish with plenty of time to spare, in just 29 minutes. Not a bad start!

Do you love burritos? You might not be so keen on them after watching this episode. Richman headed to Grandma's K & I Diner to participate in the Travis on a Silver Platter Challenge. It involves eating an absolutely enormous burrito with a side of fries, all of which weighed in at a whopping eight pounds. Before Richman got there, only two people had ever managed to finish it and the host even said that it may have been the toughest challenge that had been attempted on the show. Even with multiple people working on it, food was the winner on this one.

You wouldn’t imagine that something as light and health as an omelet could bring a man down, but that’s exactly what happened in this season one challenge. Richman travelled to Seattle and paid a visit to Beth’s Cafe, which is known for its Southwestern Exposure challenge. About one in ten people manage to conquer it by eating a twelve egg omelet stuffed with beef brisket and a bunch of other southwestern style fixings. Richman was going up against a competitor for this one, a local guy named Adam who had beaten the challenge before. In the end though, neither of them was up for the challenge, though East Coast Adam came close!

If you’re not big on smoked fish, you might want to look away for this one. In Philadelphia, Spread Bagelry offers up the "Classic Whale" Challenge, which by the time “Man v. Food” got there, had never been beaten. It’s a three person challenge, but even so it’s an incredibly daunting one. A four pound bagel is paired with nine pounds of filling, including smoked salmon, cream cheese, red onions and capers. It is a shocking amount of food, and despite the help he had, this team was not able to finish it all. For losing, they had to pay for the cost of the plate: $250.

When you think of New York, you probably think of deli sandwiches, thin crust pizza and street meat. But curry? Not so much. Richman did sample some local delicacies while in The Big Apple, but also headed to Brick Lane Curry House in the East Village for their Spicy Phaal challenge, in which competitors attempt to eat what the restaurant deems to be the spiciest curry in the world. Adam did manage to finish this one, with only a bit of trepidation after the owner told him that someone who tried it started bleeding from the nose during their attempt.

In Detroit, Mallie's Sports Grill & Bar boasts one of the most over the top food challenges that we’ve ever heard of. The fact that a team to complete it can involve 40 people should be an indication of just how insane it is. The base of it is a gargantuan 190 pound hamburger, topped with 10 pounds of cheeses, four pounds of bacon, and a variety of vegetables. Even with the help of local firefighters, wrestlers, cops and athletes, the food still won on this one, with the team only eating about 160 of the 190 pounds.

The Alaskan food scene may not get a whole lot of attention, but viewers interest was definitely piqued after seeing the challenge in this episode. Richman headed to the interestingly-named Humpy's Alaskan Alehouse, to try out the so very punny Kodiak Arrest Challenge. Local specialties were the focus here, with king crab legs, Alaskan salmon and reindeer meat all featuring on the menu. He had an hour and a half to finish the seven courses of this meal, which totaled about six pounds in weight. In the end, Richman actually became the first person to ever win this one, and with 43 minutes to spare!

In season four of “Man v. Food”, the format was switched up so that competitors around the country could participate in challenges on the show, with Adam Richman as their coach. This challenge at Wintzell's Oyster House in Mobile, Alabama, featured "Big Joe" Evans trying to reclaim his first place title by eating 422 raw oysters in under an hour. It had been nearly a decade since he set a record by eating 406, but this time around he didn’t manage to make it close to 400. If you want to see Richman himself knock back tons of seafood, check out the Davy Jones Locker Challenge in the Long Island episode.

Of the 442 two-person teams who had attempted the Stuffed Pizza Challenge at Randy's Wooster St. Pizza Shop, only two had ever prevailed. One of these winners was Greg Maloomian, who teamed up with Richman to try to bring home a second win. They had to consume a 10 pound pizza, stuffed with an unimaginable amount of meat, cheese and vegetables, in under an hour. The thing that made this one so exciting is that they really left it down to the wire, finishing all their crusts with only a moment to spare.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
- Fire & Ice Challenge
Louisville, Kentucky

- 5 24-oz. Milkshakes Challenge
St. Louis, Missouri

- Mount Nachismo Challenge
Ann Arbor, Michigan

While many of the entries that made our top 10 are there because of the obscene quantities of food offered up, this one featured a totally normal amount of chicken wings. Just 10! So what makes this challenge so challenging? Well the Munchies 4:20 Café in Sarasota makes their wings pretty much as spicy as possible, using a combination of habaneros, cayenne and ghost chili extract. Richman had 20 minutes to eat them and wasn’t allowed to drink any milk to help ease the pain. He only managed to get two down before giving up, and this was the first time in the show that a spicy food challenge had bested him.