Atomic Wing Eating Contest. ‘Nough Said.

Everyone knows I love wings… if you don’t know, read this for some background: Come Fly With Me. Well, over the past three years I’ve been in Boston (yes, I’ve been in Boston three years!) I have been searching for the best wings. So when a friend alerted me to an atomic wing eating contest at Vito’s Tavern in the North End with TV Diner’s Jenny Johnson, with free wings for the audience, I was all about checking it out.

And while it was my full intention to go and enjoy the atomic wing eating contest by watching, I was asked to participate, and well, I can’t say no to a competition, so I competed. I like spicy things, and I knew these were going to be spicy, I just didn’t know HOW spicy. A little bit more background: last year, I attended East Coast Grill’s Hell Night (skip to 1:44 mark for the wings) and ate the “wings of ass destruction,” and they were freaking intense. I only ate one and could barely breathe afterwards. One of the guys next to me at the table said he had also eaten the wings at East Coast Grill and the ones I was about to eat were hotter. What did I get myself into? I knew all too well. However, I set a goal for myself… one wing.

After a little waiting (building anticipation), three piled-high plates of atomic wings (a.k.a death) were set in front of eight (or so) contestants and 90 seconds were set on the clock. The crowd provided a wonderful countdown to the self-inflicted pain… 5…4….3….2…1… we dove in and everyone grabbed a wing.

Now, I don’t eat wings like most people, so in true kteb wing-eating fashion, I picked all the meat off the bone and neatly placed the meat in my mouth. I knew that if I let any of the wings touch my lips, they would fall off. Well, about 45 seconds in, the heat hit, it was painful, my throat was on fire, but I kept going and I was able to finish two and half wings or so. The winner… the guy across from me in the video below, he ate 7 (his method – strip 7 wings of meat, and in the last 30 seconds, shove it all in – it worked).

Honestly, it was so quick and the heat was so intense, I don’t remember and I am afraid I can’t explain it accurately, so here is a little video for you to see for yourself.

Thanks for watching… and if you are crazy enough to go try these on your own, Godspeed. The atmosphere at Vito’s was cool, they had a good selection of beers on tap (though, Stud Muffin ended up with a flat beer somehow), the guacamole and chips were spicy goodness, and it’s definitely a place we’ll go back and try for lunch or dinner.

Tags: Atomic Wings, north end, TV Diner, Vitos Tavern, Wing Eating Contest, Wings