You can almost hear the music. It’s something majestic and triumphant, like Carmina Burana, or the theme from 2001 – the sort of music that fills you with reverence, and a chest-puffing sense of valor and righteousness. It is the stirring anthem that should be played as a hero saves a baby, a young god rises for his coronation or … a man eats three dozen tacos in a single sitting. ¡Ay carumba! It’s easy to imagine the music they should play in the background at the Man v. Taco contest sponsored by El Borracho. The downtown cantina’s street festival on Oct. 10 includes games, music, traditional Mexican street foods and a contest inspired by the Travel Channel’s goofy Man v. Food TV show.
It’s not hard to qualify for the 30-minute eat-off – all you have to do is eat 20 tacos at once by Oct. 9 at El Borracho. That’s like, say, a snake dislocating its own jaw to swallow a hog whole. Ya see, it can be done!
First place gets a cool $1,000, so if you have the appetite of a young god, a pregnant whale or Shaquille O’Neal the day after making weight, consider going for the gusto.
– Byron Kerman
This article appears in Sep 1-30, 2009.