On June 25, 2011, Atomic Wings in Park Slope celebrated another anniversary by holding a wing and yogurt eating contest. They're partnered with Wicked Spoon Yogurt and both were giving away free tastings of their best treats.
I saw the sign announcing the contest earlier during the day so, being the OCD wing fan I am, I stopped in to check it out. I ended up talking to the owner for a bit and he seemed pretty excited about the whole thing and said they even brought in some real-deal competitive eaters. I tried to get in on the contest but he said they were good to go although he would keep me in mind if they needed anyone at the last minute.
I went home and told my fiance about it and she didn't seem nearly as excited about it as I was but, she did agree to go check it out with me.
By the time we got back there, the place was pretty crowded as they were giving away samples of wings and yogurt. I ended up tasting a few then, bought myself a 10 strip and a couple beers while I waited for the contest to start.
First up was the yogurt contest. This was an interesting event. I couldn't tell weather the competitors were gonna puke form the yogurt, pass out from the brain freeze or lose feeling in their hands as they shoveled melting yogurt into their face. The guy who won, ate a ridiculous amount of yogurt and took off immediately because he had to go to a family cookout in Prospect Park.
Before the contest started, they brought out a few tubs of blue cheese for each competitor that wanted it...a couple guys asked for ranch dressing. I knew right away they were amateurs and had no business sitting at the table with the rest of the esteemed athletes. I wanted to grab them and scream, "No one in their right mind eats wings with ranch dressing, get the hell out of here you waste of good chicken wing-eatin-amateur!"
The Atomic Wing Anniversary Wing Eating Contest was an amazing display of courage and honor. I picked up a few good ideas that I plan to incorporate into my own style and technique as I try to eat as many wings as possible.
One technique I was particularly fond of was "The Chamber Load." This is the act of placing a wing in the blue cheese while eating another wing. That way, it's ready to go as soon as you finish with your current wing. A good way to always have some delicious blue cheese dipped wings ready at your beckon call.
Here's a video of the finish:
