Most people enjoy a good slice of pizza. Most people, however, probably couldn’t finish an entire pie. But join in with two friends and get $100 on the line and, suddenly, it might seem possible — even with a strict time limit.
Those are the conditions six teams underwent on Oct. 4 during Bright Eye Beer Company’s third annual pizza pie-eating contest — part of Fright Eye Fest, the fifth annual celebration to welcome Oktoberfest and the autumnal season. Teams of three faced off in a timed challenge, attempting to devour a traditional eight-slice cheese pizza in its entirety, as quickly as possible, with a maximum time limit of five minutes. On the line was a $100 gift card to Bright Eye Beer Co. for the winning team. The hungry teams were The Buffalo Chickens, The Buffet Brothers, Donnie and the Two Slices, Fellas on Walnut, J.T. Willy and the Girls and Three Regular Slices.
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The Buffalo Chickens took the victory in a blistering 2:50.02, with the nearest competitors still having more than two slices to finish. The team consisted of Long Beach local Joe Murdy, his high school friend Stephen Cacace of Oceanside, and Cacace’s sister, Long Beach resident Jennifer Derwin. “It’s a great social atmosphere,” Murdy said. “This event’s always nice. It’s family friendly. To get people to come out on a Sunday and eat pizza and have fun, it’s so silly. Were you hear for the donut twirl thing? That’s adorable.”
Earlier in the day, a kids-only food challenge tasked children with eating donuts suspended, safely, on an overhead string. After the pizza competition, which took place during halftime of the NY Giants-Arizona Cardinals and NY Jets-Chicago Bears games, attendees digested while watching the eventual Giants victory and Jets loss.
