Reviewed by Forris Day JR.
I love to eat, no, I mean I REALLY love to eat!! Watching Travel Channels “Man vs. Food: season 3 makes me happy knowing that the world is full of great places to eat really unhealthy food in nice large quantities. Let’s face it…unhealthy food just tastes better than, say, spinach with a light vinaigrette dressing or whatever it is that healthy people eat. I don’t know because most of my friends eat junk. Sure, maybe I’ll be going to more wakes and funerals for people who’ve had heart attacks and strokes but you can bet there will be plenty of greasy, carb filled meals after the funerals and I’ll be first in line for seconds!
I had never seen “Man vs. Food” until I received the 3 DVD set from Travel Channel for review. I had heard of it from some of my fat friends…..I mean…from some of my friends who, unlike me, have cable packages that include the Travel Channel. If you’re unfamiliar with the show I’ll explain how it is formatted. The host Adam Richman, who by the way is instantly likeable and very funny, travels across the United States to take on unusual food challenges in which he generally wins a t-shirt and his name on the wall of fame at that particular restaurant. These food challenges are not for the weak of heart. Some examples of Adam’s season 3 demands is his bid to eat 5 pounds of chili covered hot dogs in Sacramento, California, an attempt to eat a 6 pound breakfast scramble in Syracuse, New York and an endeavor to chew down 9 pounds of steak in 40 minutes or less in Puerto Rico. Yes Puerto Rico is a Commonwealth of the United States, so it counts as traveling across the United States, but enough history…let’s move on. Each episode wraps up with a mock press conference where audience members get to ask Adam questions on the challenge, which is just one more clever touch of humor to this entertaining TV show.
Adam is able to complete many of the challenges, but sometimes he can’t and he concedes that the food has won the battle. He gets plenty of support from the live audience who dress up as food or wear funny shirts and cheer him on with repetitive chants such as “GO ADAM GO!”, “MAN VERSUS FOOD!” and one of my favorite chants “GUACAMOLE! GUACAMOLE! GUACAMOLE!!” I don’t even like guacamole but found that listening to the crowd chanting it to be really quite entertaining. I seriously enjoyed watching the show from Richmond Virginia where he takes on the “Stupid Wings Challenge” where he must eat 8 super spicy chicken wings in under 30 minutes. It was great watching him sweat and his eyes tear up and nearly pop out of his head as he takes bite after bite of these deadly hot wings. Is he able to complete the challenge? You’ll have to see for yourself, but a feat like that one seems like it would continue well into the next day, if you know what I’m saying.
The advantage to owning the 3 DVD set is no commercials. You can simply watch the show and never be interrupted by a single add. The great humor and really cool camera shots of the food make this a must have DVD set for the foodie in your life. “Man vs. Food: Season 3” has 21 episodes on it including a Bonus “Miami Live Special”.
… “Yes, I’ll take fries with that.”…
Scared Stiff Rating: 9.5/10
