Panda Sauce Eats Pasta Competition - 08/23/2009

I don't normally like to blog out of order but with an event of this magnitude how could I not? So without further delay we present tonight's main event, the first annual (and last) Panda Sauce Eats Pasta Challenge.

The Challenge: A three way Never Ending Pasta Bowl eating competition between Christine of folie à choisauce Danny of Kung Food Panda and Kevin of Kevin Eats

The Venue: Olive Garden @9253 Firestone Blvd, Downey CA. 90241 (562) 923-9773

The Rules: Whoever eats the most bowls of pasta wins. In the event of a tie, whoever eats more of the final bowl wins. Ordering rotates between the three competitors, but no pasta/sauce combination can be repeated. Competitors can take up to 20 minutes between orders of pasta. Falling two bowls behind the other competitors results in a loss. Failure to keep all the food down also results in a loss. Competitors may add whatever seasonings they wish to the dish, but other diners are not obligated to follow suit. Diners are free to eat or drink other food but it does not count towards the challenge. First person to lose pays for the entire meal at Olive Garden.

The Prize: 25-course custom chef's table menu at Providence.

For those who don't know the back story behind the bet, Danny posted his excitement at the return of Olive Garden's never ending pasta bowl. This led to much good-natured ribbing by Christine which in turn led to the original contest between them with the loser paying for both dinners. Kevin was a late addition to the competition and after much liquor-fueled bravado and trash talking the stakes were raised to a private dinner at Providence with the meal paid for by the losers.


Unlimited Salad and Breadsticks
Conventional wisdom would dictate never fill up on bread and salad. Indeed the boys followed this logic nibbling sparingly from plates of salad. Christine however defied common sense, starting with a full helping of salad and going through another bowl over the course of the meal.


Round 1: Linguine with Creamy Parmesan Florentine - Selected by Christine
I was so caught up in the competitive spirit, I forgot about taking the picture and just started eating. Surprisingly the whole group seemed to enjoy this pasta, the noodles were well cooked if a bit soft and the richness of the sauce was well balanced by the addition of spinach. The entire group polished this one off with ease and were eager to continue on with the challenge.

Round 2: Penne with Meat Sauce - Selected by Danny
A fairly safe selection by Danny, the penne is nothing to write home about, but the tangy meat sauce is a nice if pedestrian preparation. Not too difficult, and the boasts are beginning to fly in earnest.


Round 3: Orecchiette with Roasted Portabello Pomodoro - Selected by Kevin
Orecchiette or ear pasta is a round domed pasta shaped vaguely like a small ear (looked more like a hat to me but what do I know.) The pasta came out stuck together in clumps and tasted floury or undercooked at times. The paired sauce also sounded much better than it tasted. The doughy pasta and salty canned mushrooms made this painful to eat. In contrast to the last round all 3 competitors looked much less eager to continue with the tough fight ahead.


Round 4: Fettuccine Alfredo - Selected by Christine
Another classic, most nutrition guides tell you to avoid this one at all costs when dining out and they are right on the money. The pasta was decent and when combined with the sauce almost had a sweet butteriness. With no money at stake and no price to drive me on, I stopped midway through this bowl. Probably one of the better tasting selections but with over 1000 calories, not an easy one to get down. All three diners ate this one noticeably slower, taking breaks in between bites.


Round 5: Angel Hair with Five Cheese Marinara - Selected by Danny
Along with Round 3 this is up for worst dish of the night. The "noodles" came out in a large starchy mass while the sauce looked terrible and tasted worse. By this point, Danny was clearly falling behind; finishing right as the next bowl came. At the same time Christine established herself as the leader, finishing her pasta well before the other two.


Round 6: Whole Wheat Linguine with Marinara - Selected by Kevin
I expected the whole wheat linguine to be hideous and Christine's facial expression when she had her first bite confirmed it. Not having experienced it, I can only go by her tweet stating this course tasted like mush. Before even starting this course, Danny was sweating up a storm and appeared to be in serious distress, again only finishing as the next plate came to the table.


Round 7: Spaghetti with Creamy Parmesan Florentine - Selected by Christine
Having ordered all the available sauce choices, Christine chose to redo the first sauce, a lighter cream sauce with spinach. Probably the best tasting choice, Christine managed to finish hers in a few minutes. Kevin took about 15 minutes to get this one down, but finally managed to do so. After eating two bowls without a break, Danny took the entire 20 minutes before he had to order resting and finally called it quits after having one bite.


Round 8: Angel Hair with Roasted Portabello Pomodoro - Selected by Danny
Having thrown in the towel during the previous round, Danny took a perverse delight in ordering the worst pairing available for Kevin and Christine. Again the angel hair came out as a sticky mass, but this time the funk of mushroom assailed the two remaining competitors as they struggled to get the food down. Again Christine powered through hers, finishing in under 10 minutes. Kevin continued to struggle for the full 20 before giving up, leaving us with Christine as the winner.


Our third place finisher was Danny with six bowls. Interesting to note, of the people following this event on twitter, none expected Danny to emerge triumphant. See the relieved smile and flushed glow as Danny calls it quits. Apparently Danny passed out for 90 minutes after heading to his car to rest. The competition ended at 9 but he didn't leave till almost 11.


A valiant second place effort, Kevin finished a respectable 7.5 bowls and required 10 minutes in the car to recuperate before he was able to drive home. Watching him eat that last bowl was like watching a boxer push themselves relying on their spirit to keep them going but in the end it just wasn't enough


Congratulations to Christine "the Machine" Choi, winner of the Panda Sauce Eats competition. Finishing all 8 bowls while munching on salad the entire time makes the feat all the more impressive. Note the satisfied ladylike smile as she finishes her eighth and final bowl. Enjoy your dinner at Providence, you earned it!


I would have put the nutritional info for all three diners but it was made very clear to me that would result in swift and brutal retaliation.