I feel ill just reading this article!
Barrientos got the idea for eating the 26x26 after watching an Internet video of a man finishing a 20x20 at In-N-Out, the Southern California hamburger institution legendary for preparing virtually any hamburger on the spot. A friend challenged him to match the anonymous man, and Barrientos agreed. After working the late shift at the Anaheim Convention Center and eating a light lunch, Barrientos and six other friends visited the Fullerton In-N-Out at midnight.
“We got there thinking I was going to eat a 20x20, and my friends would pay for it,” Barrientos said. After ordering the 20x20, Barrientos asked the cashier what the location’s record was. Years ago, the cashier responded, a man ate a 25x25.
Barrientos didn’t blink. “I’ll take a drink and a 26x26,” he said. The cashier didn’t blink. He told the cook to change Barrientos’ order. “That’s disgusting,” the cook responded as he began stacking patties in columns of four.
Around 2 in the morning, at one of the outside tables, Barrientos finally finished. He posed with the box that once held the 26x26. More pictures. Barrientos then visited a friend’s house, where he quickly fell asleep. He awoke the next day, feeling “a little bit heavier” but otherwise fine.
Barrientos hasn’t told his parents about the 26x26 because they would “freak out.” But other than experiencing a rapid heartbeat for two weeks afterward and “passing more crap than usual,” Barrientos didn’t notice any major physical changes. “I’ve always been able to eat a lot,” admitted the burly Barrientos. “It’s just one of the things I’m good at. It’s my only natural talent.”
Nevertheless, he doesn’t plan on joining the competitive-eating circuit: he’s just a Cal Poly Pomona computer science major who really, really likes to eat. “I’m sure I’ll try something else soon,” he says. “I hear there’s a 96-ounce steak in Texas . . . ”
I don't know if Texas can handle this kid! Perhaps they'd better make it two of those steaks . . .
Peter
4 comments:
The guy looks rather young to be having a "rapid heartbeat for two weeks," but that fast food can be worse than it looks, and it doesn't look good in the picture. When I lived in Los Angeles, I thought it was named for the ability of the food to go In and Out without much change in appearance, consistency, or taste (probably).
The 5 pound steak is in Amarillo. If you eat it all within one hour it is free - if they are still running the same promotion. But that is at least excellent beef, not ground beef for frozen fast food patties.
I assume the numbers have something to do with the size, but could you clarify for those of us not familiar with this institution?
It has been a long time since I was in LA, but I think it has something to do with the number of burgers. That would explain one of the numbers. I don't know where the repetition comes from. It may be just to make it seem to be more by repeating it. It seems nasty enough without repeating it.
The linked story indicates that a "20X20" is 20 beef patties glued together with 20 slices of melted cheese. One assumes that the numbers are usually equal, but there's no real reason why they should be.
JPG
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