The University of Wisconsin is known for its competitive edge, with football and basketball teams consistently ranked near the top in the nation. And it’s no secret that Madison students have a knack for eating and drinking.
So maybe it shouldn’t come as a surprise that this college town is home to the nation’s top-ranked collegiate competitive eater, UW senior Eric “Silo” Dahl.
Dahl treats eating like a sport, and his contest and challenge records prove beyond a doubt that he is the best around. Dahl is undefeated in both disciplines of competitive eating – challenges and contests – with a combined win tally exceeding 25 total.
But according to Dahl, achieving those standings isn’t easy. Instead, it requires a stricter diet than one might expect. Contrary to an overweight food champion stereotype, Dahl keeps himself in shape for eating by lifting weights and maintaining a diet as strict as any athlete’s.
“I eat one meal a day. Sometimes it’s almost like a challenge in itself just to take in so many calories,” he said. “I mean, I try to have a balanced diet, just that it’s usually all in the span of two hours or so.”
Dahl got his start in eating challenges when he and some friends ate at Big Red’s, a Philadelphia cheesesteak restaurant on University Avenue. When they saw the challenge, a three-pound steak sandwich in less than 10 minutes, one of them had to try it, and Eric volunteered. As it turned out, he didn’t just attempt the challenge, he demolished it – in all of five minutes, 52 seconds. Dahl said the challenge “wasn’t that bad,” which may be disheartening to the hundreds that have tried it and failed. Dahl said his time was the third fastest ever at Big Red’s, beating out the three- or four-hundred-odd people that had attempted it.
After that, Dahl recognized his talent and honed his skills. From cheesesteaks to pizza to no-handed pumpkin pie contests, Dahl said he does it all.
“I really don’t mean to sound cocky or anything,” he said, “but I haven’t found a food yet that slowed me down.”
He frequently travels the country to cash in on contests, which he said are more fun and challenging to him than individual food challenges. For those who don’t know the difference, a challenge is the mountain of food that you might see on a restaurant menu. Those who in a set amount of time, or at all, get a free t-shirt and maybe a photo on the wall. A contest is the state fair who-can-eat-the-most-apple-pie type competition in which the winner can take home cash prizes and serious bragging rights over rival eaters.
As the competitive eating season gears up in April, Dahl will be traveling for five out of the next six weekends to compete in Alabama, Illinois and upstate New York, to name a few locations. In Madison, however, he hopes to eventually set the record for the Man Vs. Food challenge at State Street Brats. The challenge involves two pounds of beef with another two-and-a-half pounds of toppings. According to Dahl, only one person has ever finished. While most restaurant patrons busy themselves deciding how to split the enormous burger, Dahl said he plans to split the last finisher’s time.
“He was also a competitive eater, I think,” Dahl said. “He did it in 20-something minutes; I’d like to try to get it under 10.”
Dahl hasn’t had any trouble competing against professionals in the past. In a recent turkey sandwich contest in Iowa, he devoured 25 sandwiches in five minutes, halving the time limit.
“I finished 25 sandwiches in five minutes then basically watched everyone else try to finish theirs for the next five minutes,” Dahl said. “I think the guy who got second was a professional, too.”
While Silo gears up for challenges across the country, Madison residents have at least five downtown challenge options to try and work their way up the competitive eating food chain.
At Mad Dog’s on Henry Street, the Clown Dog challenge has contestants eating two jumbo Vienna beef dogs on a double bun. According to Barry Goldberg, a self-proclaimed Mad Dog’s enthusiast, the dogs are the easy part. It’s the bun that takes some work.
A clown dog is comparable in size to the sandwich featured in the Motherlode challenge at Silver Mine Subs in which challengers eat a 16-inch sub weighing two pounds, four ounces, according to Silver Mine’s website. The enormous sandwich is tough to get down, even for the people who make it.
“On my second try, I finished it,” UW senior Matt Kostelecky said. “It was hard. … I always like sandwiches, but that’s a lot of food.”
The challenges only get larger in Madison at Rev Jim’s Roadhouse, State Street Brats and Big Red’s Steaks. The menu at Rev Jim’s lists the Double Glutton Burger as being made up of five pounds of beef, one pound of bacon and a quarter-pound of cheese, with other toppings and French fries. That is over six-and-a-half pounds of food in one sitting. Simply finishing the feast means Rev Jim’s will pay for it, saving the eater $34.95.
At State Street Brats, the new and improved Man vs. Food challenge dishes out two pounds of hamburger, a brat, another pound of cheese curds, toppings and a pound of fries and a 32-ounce beverage. Finishing in less than 30 minutes means the meal is free. According to Brats’ manager Matt Goetsch, there has only been one winner since 2010, when they increased the amount of food from 1.5 to 4.5 pounds.
“We used to have about 10 percent of people finishing that tried it,” Goetsch said of the lighter-weighing challenge. “It seemed too easy, so we had to make it bigger.”
Big Red’s challenge also has a time constraint, making it tough for eaters who take their time. To beat the challenge, a challenger has to finish a three-pound cheese steak sandwich in less than 10 minutes. This was Eric Dahl’s first food challenge, remember, which he said “wasn’t too bad.”
But Eric is a professional. Everyone needs to start somewhere, and sometimes a Badger just has to pig out.
To see videos of Silo in action, visit his Facebook fan page at www.facebook.com/ericsilodahl or his Youtube channel, www.youtube.com/edahl85.
