Maximum Calorie Day 2008

This year's MaxCal competition is getting ready to start. In fact, it has started even earlier: since last year we had a couple contestants forfeit very early in the contest, AJ (AKA "Evil Caloric Genius") decreed that there shall be a qualifying round before the main competition. To gauge the potential competitors, everyone met at the Machine Shed in Pewaukee at 8:00am on September 27th. Each person had to consume one #11 "Hearty Man's Breakfast". I'll quote the Machine Shed menu for it's contents:

#11 Hungry Man’s Breakfast (TM). . . $9.79. For the hearty appetite...three “AA” eggs as you like them, complete with our American fries, plus smoked country sausage, thick-cut bacon, a slice of smoked ham and two large fluffy buttermilk pancakes topped with butter and warm maple syrup.

Of course, the MaxCal events are all about wretched excess (or perhaps wretchedness after excess), so all participants had to say "I Love Eggs." This magic phrase earns you another, free egg bringing the total up to four. There was a mound of potatoes, a huge lengthwise-split hunk of sausage, large strips of bacon, and two very large pancakes. Finally, whether you chose a biscuit, English muffin, or toast you got more than you expected: each was incredibly solid, and this reporter suspects they would sink like rocks if we'd have tossed them into the water pitcher. The Machine Shed gives you large quantities of tasty food for fair prices. Don't expect light food, or event any nutrituional information: they don't publish it. We estimate the breakfast was worth somewhere in excess of 1,000 calories. The emphasis, of course, is on Excess. :)

Once the multiple #11s were delivered, our would-be consumption champions fell upon them like a pack of slavering people who haven't had breakfast, and might not have had dinner the night before just to prepare. Actually, the velocity vinner... err, winner was Jim: since he had to run to drop of his kids, he finished off those two massive plates of food in just over ten minutes! One would suspect there was quite a bit of settling burps later. Pete and John finished later, followed by Doug, and finally AJ and Andrew finished up last. This was not a timed event, so our grizzled veterans took their time.


Andrew, AJ, and Jim (well, his knees)
are ready to dig into breakfast.

Half of Pete, John, and girlfriend.
She did not eat the crazy breakfast.
Neither did I.

Doug is mesmerized by the camera.

The successful qualifiers, minus Jim.
He had to run his kiddos to a sporting event.

Update: Due to scheduling conflicts, the MaxCal 2008 event has been cancelled.