Man vs. Food

How I take on a Chipotle Challenge, vegan style!

Adam Richman never says no to a restaurant.  He travels the country and finds iconic places to eat and takes on just about any food challenge, including the hottest this or the biggest that…there isn’t any menu item he isn’t willing to try.

I was about to turn off Jay Leno the other night, when all of a sudden this food guy comes on.  On the travel channel, Adam has his own show: Man vs. Food.   He proceeded to say that one of his favorite places to eat was the East Coast Grill.  He was talking about eating the hottest chili ever too, crying, and drinking milk along with it to try and reduce the spiciness.   Then he ate a creamsicle at the end of the night!

Adam’s a Brooklyn guy and did a meat pizza challenge.  A 30-inch pizza topped with more than 5 pounds of meat.  Even with a partner, couldn’t finish the whole thing.  And how there is a challenge to eat a 72-ounce steak in Amarillo, Texas where the person is given one hour to finish…guess he did it in 29 1/2 minutes.

Jay eventually asked him what his cholesterol was and Adam never answered, but instead replied by saying he had lots of doctors and took supplements, beating around the actual question…and the kicker?  At the end he says that sometimes he goes completely vegetarian to “clean it all out”.  In fact, going vegan is a great idea if you want to clean out the sludge and/or rotting flesh and start feeling some major energy…there’s other wonderful benefits like better circulation, lower cholesterol, and clearer thinking, but that’s beside the point.

There are probably lots of foodies out there who are in love with the show.  But I’m wondering if he’s ever done a vegan food challenge of any sorts?   I’d like to see that.  I’m also saddened to think there are those of us out there that admire his meat-munching madness, which has gone so far as to establish it’s own show, based on the stipulations of uninhibited eating while encouraging viewers to have the subliminal desire of imitating his “manly” ways of eating meat.

While this could get touchy and I am tempted to approach the sexual politics of meat here, I’m going to cut to the chase and leave you with this: Indeed our society does promote the consumption of animals.  But at the end of the day, junk food and/or over-eating isn’t good for anyone.   And if you think for even one second that your “Man-liness Level” will increase by increasing your intake of animal foods, think again.  In my opinion, it’s more manly to save lives than it is to take them (one more reason among millions I love Rob).

Don’t you wish main-stream shows like this one could be used to cultivate compassion instead?