If you’re familiar with these pages, you’re probably quite familiar with a little something called the Taco Gigante.
It’s the behemoth 2-pounder filled with seasoned chicken, taco beef, pork carnitas, bacon, lettuce, refried beans, Mexican rice, salsa fresca, cheese queso sauce, hacienda and picante sauces, crema and pickled jalapenos that Margaritas breaks out around this time of year, and yours truly famously failed to finish it in an Insider showdown last year.
Luckily, Concord’s police officers and firefighters are much better eaters than myself – or even Tim – and they showed off their skills last Tuesday (National Taco Day) for a little Battle of the Badges: Taco Gigante edition.
Margaritas hosted the Battle of the Badges last year, but it didn’t last long thanks to firefighter Ian Holm, who downed the whole thing in an astonishing 2 minutes, 57 seconds. This year, the threshold was higher: all five team members had to finish in order to declare a winner. And Holm wasn’t there this year, so the rest of the room would have a chance.
After the rules were explained, the 10 burly men were off to the races.
The atmosphere in the restaurant was like a WWE main event. You could barely move, and it was hard to hear anything other than the steady chant of “EAT, EAT, EAT!”
After only about 4 or 5 minutes, Officer Sean Ford raised his empty plate above his head, signaling he was done. A minute or so later, the police had a 2-0 lead.
Feeling the heat (get it?), fire kicked it up a notch and went on a roll. Within the next 4 to 5 minutes, the entire fire department cleaned their plates and held them high above their heads in victory, as though they were the Stanley Cup.
The end result was a lot of indigestion – and a lot of money for charity.
As the winning team, the fire department’s prize was a $250 donation to Operation Warm, which outfits kids in need with jackets in the winter. The police scored a $100 donation for Making Strides Against Breast Cancer, so there really were no losers in this event.
That said, the police have now lost in two consecutive years, so look for them to come back strong next year.
