Tuesdays on Friday
It wasn’t 66 hot dogs in 12 minutes, but Jason Shedlock, a top aide to D.C. Council Member Phil Mendelson, performed his own impressive feat of ingestion on Friday.
As part of a “friendly wager” hatched earlier this year, Shedlock ate a Ruby Tuesday Colossal Burger (1,900 calories, he says), a side of fries (300 calories) and a slice of carrot-cake cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory (1,500 calories).
“Luckily I did it, but I was a little worse for wear afterward,” he said. “I think I went to bed at about 9:30.”
The bet dates back to a news conference Mendelson held earlier this year to promote a bill of his that would force chain restaurants with 10 or more locations to provide nutrition information on their menus.
The items in question were props to help Mendelson argue for the bill. Although he supports his boss’s position, Shedlock thought the considerable caloric load was achievable.
“I could do that,” he recalls saying at the presser.
At which point, the challenge was on. Finally on Friday, Shedlock and his colleagues trekked to Ruby Tuesday in Tenleytown (with the piece of cheesecake in tow).
So did he win anything for his troubles?
“A stomachache,” he deadpanned. “I don’t recommend it.”
He also said he’d never consider entering a competitive eating contest. “I’m retired,” he said.
