I’m not going to lie, the last few bites were painful.
But I had come way to far to stop. Those small helpings of lettuce, rice, fried tortilla, pickled jalapenos and meat were the only thing that stood between me and what could only be considered one of the greatest victories in Insider history.
So I choked them down, one at a time and very slowly. After all, I didn’t want the previous 1.9 pounds of my Taco Gigante to make a reappearance all over the floor. When the last bite went down with about five minutes to spare, there was a real sense of accomplishment – and a feeling that I wouldn’t be able to move for the next few hours.
I don’t think I’ve ever been that full. But I’ve probably never eaten that much in one sitting, either. I can’t say Jon’s attempt to down a 2-pound taco went as well, but this is about my glory. You can read about his misery on the next page.
A couple weeks ago, we got an email from Ellen, who works for a PR firm that handles Margaritas. They wanted to announce their Taco Gigante Challenge and was wondering if we wanted to test our stomachs.
Jon was pretty confident in his eating abilities – he is after all a gas station hot dog aficionado. Me, on the other hand, I had my doubts. Sure I love to eat, but a 2-pound taco sounds like a lot – especially when you run down the list of ingredients.
It had steak, chicken, pork carnitas, taco beef, bacon, lettuce, refried beans, Mexican rice, salsa fresca, cheese and queso sauce. It’s then topped with crema, pickled jalapenos, picante and hacienda sauce, all sitting in a 12-inch crispy tortilla shell.
Like I said, on paper it sounds like a lot and when it’s plopped down in front of you it looks like even more.
I used my holiday eating strategy preparing for this. I ate a light breakfast early in the morning and a small snack mid-morning. So by 4:30 last Wednesday, let’s just say I was on the verge of starving. The few chips and salsa that our very nice waitress Fallon brought over was a nice warm up.
While this is anything but your typical taco, I had to take the first bite the way I would with any other one. Although that was the only one cause the shell apparently couldn’t withstand my powerful jaw and cracked in many places.
So I took the knife and fork approach along with breaking off pieces of shell and using the filling in a way like chips and dip.
It was so tasty that I just couldn’t stop myself from taking bite after bite. About 20 minutes into the hour long challenge, I was a little over halfway done. That was when I really thought I had a chance. For the next 10 minutes I continued my attack on the Taco Gigante. With half the time left, I was almost 75 percent done.
But my pace was beginning to slow and my stomach was starting to say ‘no mas.’ Of course, I didn’t listen. The end was in sight, and I was going to keep going to see if I could do it.
The bites were a little smaller and harder to get down and the taste just wasn’t as appetizing. It was becoming a bit of a chore.
Margaritas patrons kept checking in and Fallon updated us with time remaining. With about 20 minutes left, it was pretty clear Jon wasn’t going to live up to his assertion of easily finishing.
I had to keep going. As the 10 minute mark approached, there wasn’t much left on my plate. It was the jalapenos and chewy bacon that made things difficult, but I had come too far. This taco was not going to beat me down like it did to Jon. I even scraped the last pieces of rice and lettuce off my plate just to make sure I was done.
There were some congratulations and reminiscing about the previous hour. I sure was full though, and the walk to my car on Main Street was a little more difficult than on the way in.
So, now it’s your turn. The Taco Gigante Challenge runs through Oct. 27 and $1 of each purchase goes to End 68 Hours of Hunger. And if you complete it, you win free tacos for a year, which means one Taco Americano per week for 52 weeks.
If you want to see what’s it like to consume a 2-pound taco, check out our website cause there’s a video. Now, do you think you’re up for the challenge?
