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GREAT EATS, BETTER FEATS
SINK YOUR TEETH INTO TASTY FOOD CHALLENGES AROUND TOWN
ASHLEY BARFOBOUSH
Mike Treat can't feel anything. The clock is ticking and his pile of wings is shrinking. His strategy is simple: just keep eating. Soon the Junction City sophomore's plate is clean and he feels the burning victory that comes with consuming 12 of the hottest wings in town in under six minutes.
Photo illustration Chris Bronson
Tasy treats: Many eateries in Lawrence offer a challenge for those who are game, like DonDon's sumo challenge, where eaters consume five bowls of rice in less than an hour.
Craving a similar challenge? Lawrence is full of them. Stretch your limit, and your stomach, with the following food challenges.
BLAZIN' CHALLENGE
The Location:
Buffalo Wild Wings, 1012 Massachusetts St.
The Challenge:
Eat 12 Blazin' Hot Wings in six minutes or less
Mike Treat, Junction City sophomore, ate his 12 hot wings in 43 seconds. He set the store record in August and scored his fourth Blazin' Challenge Survivor t-shirt. Treat says the challenge is draining, in more ways than one.
"The sauce is so hot it clears out your sinuses," Treat says. "Don't take your time or you'll think about how spicy it is."
Buffalo Wild Wings offers a selection of 14 sauces from Sweet BQQ to Blazin', which Manager Greg Johnson advises to keep away from eyes, pets and children.
Johnson has three rules regarding the Blazin' Wings Challenge: no water, no celery and no ranch dressing. "It's just you and the wings," Johnson says.
Winners and losers must pay for their wings but all winners leave with a t-shirt and their pride. Plus they get immortalized on the Blazin' Challenge picture wall. See if you can beat the national company record of 19 seconds.
BURGER CHALLENGE
The Location:
Jefferson's, 743 Massachusetts St.
The Challenge:
Eat a 2 pound hamburger and 1 pound of fries in 30 minutes or less
Four half-pound beef patties, six slices of cheese, eight slices of bacon, four onion rings and six deep-fried dill pickles on three hamburger buns may sound like it could feed a fraternity, but it's also enough to get your face on a dollar bill at Jefferson's.
Owner Jason Franklin and his staff wanted a challenge that Adam Richman, host of Travel Channel's Man vs. Food, would want to sink his teeth into.
With 15 attempts and only four winners, Franklin hopes the cold winter wind blows in more contestants. The steaming tower of meat and side of fries is free to those who finish what they start. Everyone else pays $25 plus tax.
"From what I've seen the fries at the end are the hardest," Franklin says. "Get it all down before you get full."
If the challenger gobbles it all, Sarah Franklin, owner Jason Franklin's sister, gets out her camera. She snaps a photo and puts the winner's face on a decorated dollar bill, which is placed on the wall of winners.
SUMO CHALLENGE
The Location:
DonDon Japanese Rice and Noodle Bowl Shop, 2223 Louisiana St.
The Challenge:
Eat five bowls of rice in one hour or less
LET'S BOW IN THE FIRST HOUR OF NIGHT
Kevin Nguyen thought he was on pace. He had one bowl of curry in his belly and four more on the table. "We were like, 'Wow, this is easy,' then we started looking at the clock and we had like 10 minutes left," Nguyen says.
The Shawnee junior tackled the Sumo Challenge with a friend whose picture is below his — on the Wall of Shame. DonDon celebrates the winners and the losers with an equal amount of wall space. Down any combination of five rice bowls in under an hour and join the three champions on the Wall of Fame. DonDon has six rice bowl options ranging from the Chicken Teriyaki-don ($5.95) to the Beef Curry-don ($6.25). Nguyen suggests choosing your combination wisely.
"We figured the curry was like liquid and would slide down but it was just too much to handle," Nguyen says. "You also have to watch out mixing the different flavors."
Come up with a better strategy than he did and get your food paid for in your new DonDon T-shirt. Finish four bowls and earn a 50 percent discount but still expect to see your face of the Wall of Shame.
The Location:
GOBILLA CHALLENGE
Wheat State Pizza, 711 W. 23rd St.
The Challenge:
Eat a 24 inch pizza in one hour or less
Eat dough to win dough at Wheat State Pizza. The 24 inch, one topping of your choice challenge pizza measures 2 feet in diameter and weighs 7.5 pounds.
"We'll give you a pizza and a bucket and start the timer," says co-owner Brad Remington.
Choke down the 16 slices, including crusts,
in one hour and you'll receive a check for $250
plus the $27.99 you paid for the pizza.
"I think it's the hardest challenge in town by
far," Remington says. "No one has won it yet."
More than 130 people have taken a bite out of the Gorilla Challenge at the Lawrence location but no one has walked away a winner — or $250 richer.
"Don't sit down and don't stop," says co-owner Jennifer Remington. Also don't throw up. Tossing your cookies results in disqualification from all competitions.
? RESEARCH LIBRARY
SPENCER RESEARCH LIBRARY
liea of Naisnith's rules hanging on the wall at Amyx Barber Shop, 842 1/2 Massachusetts St.
He said the copy has been there
Edited by Alex Tretbar
SUSTAINABILITY
Kansas Libraries will use the car to deliver on-campus mail
KU EcoHawks convert donated car to electric
BY KELLY STRODA kstroda@kansan.com
Josh Petty always liked tinkering with machines when he was
The full conversion is estimated to cost $55,000.
Student Senate passed a bill which gave the EcoHawks $2,500 to use for the conversion project.
younger. He'd
right now — no tires, a battered back fender and a missing front end. The EcoHawks removed the Jimmy's engine last week.
voucher. Hed work on his mom's broken awn mower until it was finally running smoothly.
out
Other funding for the project is coming from the EcoHawks' budget and sponsors.
Wires and tubes are exposed that some people will never see in their entire lives. Blue painting tape marks the wires and tubes — the gas pedal line here, air bag wires there.
Instead of a gas engine, the Jimmy will be powered by a main electric motor and two auxiliary motors, Petty said. The motors
Now he has a bigger project. Petty, a senior from Olathe, s team leader of the KU
"It's that hands-on learning that makes them the best engineers."
EcoHawks' GMC Jimmy project. The group is working to convert the car into a fully-electric vehicle. Petty said the group hopes to save the project completed by the end of spring.
The 1997 GMC Jimmy, a small sport utility vehicle, sits propped up on car jacks in the KU EcoHawks' garage on West Campus. It's a definite change of scene from the police impound at where the Jimmy sat for two years before being donated to the EcoHawks.
But for now, the conversion is a work in progress.
CHRIS DEPCIK EcoHawks advisor
will run using more than 1,000 rechargeable batteries. The batteries — similar to those that cordless drills use — are about the size of AA batteries.
The car looks a bit dilapidated
Just as each system in the car's engine has to work in unison, Petty said the group members have to work together as well. The 12 students working on the project have a different area of focus.
Jon Kalinowski, a senior from Wichita, is focused on power steering. He said he enjoys the freedom and hands-on learning that the project provides.
"I love the fact that we aren't just doing theory," he said. "We're not just sitting in a lab. We're not just on the Internet or reading books."
The students have to research.
After the car is finished, KU Libraries will use the car to deliver on-campus mail. The campus mail route includes main and West Campus buildings in addition to continuing education buildings on Kasold Drive. On a typical day, the KU Libraries mail vehicle travels about 22 miles.
theorize and then put their work into practice.
Petty said the electric vehicle would be able to travel 80 to 90 miles before a recharge.
"It's that hands-on learning that makes them the best engineers," said Chris Depcik, EcoHawks advisor and assistant professor of mechanical engineering.
- Edited by Lisa Curran
There shouldn't be any worry that the Jimmy won't be noticed. Petty said the EcoHawks hope to paint the frame lime green and the body white.
New biking club proposes local BMX racetrack
"It will almost be a billboard for the idea of sustainability," Lars said.
LAWRENCE | 3A
Lars Leon, associate librarian for KU Libraries, said the libraries encourage sustainability. The electric vehicle is another step in that direction.
LARRI-BMX seeks the city's approval of a plan to construct a course to fulfill Lawrence's BMX interest.
makes sense in historical context
Columnist Luke Brinker explains that the apparent jump in 18- to 24-year-old voters in 2008 actually wasn't all that dramatic. By comparison, Baby Boomers were driven to the polls by factors such as the draft.
Find extra football coverage in The Wave
INSIDE
Check out The Wave for up-to-date stories on Kansas football, including the scoop on new redshirt freshman Erick McGriff and commentary on fan attendance this season.
Classifieds...9A
Crossword...4A
Cryptoquips...4A
Opinion...5A
Sports...10A
Sudoku...4A
INDEX
TODAY 54 26
WEATHER
SATURDAY
6540
Sunny
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SUNDAY
71 45
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