Well. Wow. That was something, wasn't it? We aimed to create a spectacle, and that we achieved, with crazy spicy food, a crowd that seemed to thoroughly enjoy the show, TV coverage (what the hell?), and a fight to the almost literal death. What was not to love? And the Blue Spark was as awesome of a venue as anyone could have asked for!
Now, the food was something special this time around. Pretty much every dish was both tasty and spicy, and by the sounds of it the audience favorites were the Monterey pizza, the Savor Sweet suckers, Saranac's sausages, and Brain Freeze's mango habanero ice cream.
In fact, if you want to taste the latter, you can run down to Saranac right now and ask them for the "secret SpiceaWAR dessert"! It includes the ice cream and Savor Sweets unbelievably hot ghost pepper suckers, both which are awesome. And the $5 supports the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation!
A special shout out has to go to Rex's Burgers and Brews who 100% fulfilled their promise of making the spiciest wings known to man. Truly. I rarely have issues with hot wings, but these ones almost sent me to the bathroom. Much much respect! (Their regular wings, by the way, are not that insane, so go check 'em out.)
As for the final standings, it was a race to the finish, with only one warrior standing by himself on top. Worth noting is that one representative from each Spiceavore team placed in the top three:
- Chris (770 points): Folklore has it that Chris will devour anything you put in front of him. This, as it turns out, was entirely true and Chris's commanding lead persisted throughout the game. A deserving victory for Chris, who gave it all! Puke status: Occurred at 10pm the same night.
- Remi (650 points): Yours truly danced with the devil and was the only true challenger to Chris, but a weak finish in the trivia round contributed to my downfall. Puke status: Negative. People who puke, pft, seriously.
- KC (410 points): A surprise last second entry from last year's Spiceavore Blue Spark team, KC made a blazing comeback, one no-one had expected. Puke status: Unknown.
- Bart (400 points): Bart was close. So so close. Then, seconds before the start of the last round, he had to toss the towel in and cry uncle. There are incriminating photos of him curled up in pain in the bathroom, but we'll save him the embarrassment of showing those. (This is a family site after all.) Suffices to say, he had to give in, and the last round was only played by three contestants. Puke status: Very positive.
- Lars (300 points): The chicken suit gave him power, but, alas, he couldn't finish quite in the top ratings this time. Puke status: Unknown.
- Seen (300 points): He skipped the kilt, the source of his powers, and could not make it to the top this time. Puke status: Positive.
- Patrick (210 points): A strong opening gave way to a few middle of the pack placements, and Patrick couldn't live up to his international reputation this time. Puke status: Positive.
- Brett (110 points): The highest placing non-Spiceavore contestant, Brett tried, but sadly not hard enough. Puke status: Unknown.
- Mark (100 points): He kept his form up well until the insanely hot wings ended up being too much and he had to bow out in the middle of the round. Puke status: Unknown.
- Liz (80 points): Our one female contestant, Liz gave a valiant effort, but had the severe disadvantage of having two extra challenges from the Wheel of Misfortune to go through. And those challenges didn't give points. Puke status: Unknown.
- Adam (40 points): He tossed in the towel after the first round. This makes him the smartest person in this contest. Puke status: Unknown.
Want more? We'll have a post of the full score board and photos later in the week, showing off some of the madness captured by Team Rawr! Stay tuned for that.
As far as spicy food contests go, this third one will be our last and it couldn't have been a better event. Our thanks go to: Blue Spark, Savor Sweets, Big Sky Brewing Co., DJ Josh, Doma Coffee Roasting Company, Saranac Public House, Soulful Soups and Spirits, Brain Freeze Creamery, Fremont Brewing, Monterey Cafe, Pyramid Brewing, Red Bull, Red Couch Bistro, Rex's Burgers and Brews, Judge Ryan, LK Studios, Team Rawr Photography, Tacos Tumbras, Juan the MC, and Spike's Phillys. Particularly huge thanks to Patrick and Chris for really being the ones to make this happen.