[chanting] Man versus Food! Man versus Food!
I'm at Orlando's Cheers Sports Bar to take on the Team "Chow Down" challenge.
How many people have taken this thing on?
Many have tried, not many have finished.
If the hometown hero and I
finish this 8.5 pound pub grub feast in under 30 minutes...
It's a lot of food. I can't even eat a quarter of that.
...we each win a free T-shirt.
Chow down the challenge!
-[all cheering] -Who's gonna help me take on this challenge?
-[all cheering] -That would be me!
[all chanting] Joey! Joey! Joey!
-Joey, are you ready? -I am ready.
-Let's do this, Orlando! -[all cheer]
-[dramatic music playing] -[Casey] For years, food's army has grown unchecked.
Oh, my God!
Bigger...
Wow.
...spicier...
Whoo!
...bolder.
What is that?
But a hero rises...
That's tremendous.
...ready to taste the nation's most epic eats.
Uh...
-[crowd cheering] -I'm Casey Webb...
Yes!
...holding the banner of ma
and armed with years of experience in the restaurant industry...
[chanting] Casey! Casey!
...I go into battle.
-Bring out the steak! -[all cheering]
Food, your days are numbered.
It's gonna be a wild ride!
The mighty Casey has a taste for victory.
[whooping triumphantly]
-This is Man Versus Food. -[bell dings]
[bell dings]
[upbeat music playing]
My palette-expanding pilgrimage
takes me to Orlando, Florida
for a hunger-slaying sandwic
A seriously famous foot-lon
and a challenge so big I need to call in back-up.
Whoa, whoa, whoa. This is my part, man. What's going on?
Oh, this is your... I'm sorry.
Do you mind if I do it with you?
-No, no, yeah, yeah. -All right.
[together] Welcome to Man versus Food, Orlan
[Casey] I'll catch up with Joey later, but first, I'm exploring Orlando!
This sun-soaked city is hom to over a dozen theme parks
And, as great as the rides are,
equally thrilling is the food.
When it comes to Florida barbecue,
no spot has bigger fans than Pig Floyd's.
This star of the smoked meat scene
is grillin' up a fusion of fun flavors
that truly rock.
Opened in 2014,
Pig Floyd's has rocked the barbecue world
by inventing what it calls
Urban Barbakoa.
Think about someone doing barbecue
with like the barbecue meats...
-Yeah. -...but then putting a spin on it.
Cause it has just such a mix of flavors.
Orlando is a multi-cultural arena.
That's what this is. This is an infusion...
-That's what we should expect from our food, too. -Correct.
[Casey] Latin and Asian flavors infuse many favorite
like the honey sriracha rib
and a Big Floyd...
with smoked sausage, pulled pork, brisket,
citrus peanut slaw and spicy fries.
And no dish illustrates this delicious evolution
like the Matahambre.
Heaps of juicy smoked briske
topped with fried queso fresco,
fancy sauce, crispy potato sticks
and a perfect sunny side up egg.
There's a reason they call it the Hunger Killer.
The cheese with the brisket,
it's like something you've never had before.
You get that, like, nice umami from the meat.
But then like the tangy sweetness from the sauce.
'Cause usually brisket kind of stands on its own, right?
-Right. -It's like, brisket by itself.
-Maybe a little bread. -It's super good.
The egg is perfect on top.
Hunger's gone.
[Casey] I head to the kitche hungry for a taste of my own
Whoa.
Hey, Gavin.
Hey, what's going on, man? How are you?
-How are you, man? -I'm well.
This place is busy.
-[laughs] -Yeah.
So, what are we making?
We're gonna be making the Matahambre today.
It's gonna be also known as our Hunger Killer.
It's one of our most massive sandwiches that we have.
[Casey] Sandwich prep start with a whole trimmed briske
doused in a unique blend of yellow mustard
and pickle juice.
So pickle juice is a great marinade because it's acidic.
It's gonna not only flavor the meat,
it's also gonna tenderize at the same time.
After a generous coat of super-secret spice rub..
-That's a thing of beauty, brother. -Yeah, that's great.
[Casey] . ..the tangy, spiced brisket
gets the traditional low and slow treatment
for 12 hours.
The color is nuts.
Look at the bark on this thing.
Wow.
-It's charged with smoke. -Yeah.
-So tender and juicy. -Yeah.
It melts.
[Casey] Next we slice some queso fresco,
a creamy, unaged Mexican cheese,
and toss it in cornstarch
before it goes into the fryer.
Queso fresco itself kind of stays together when it's firm.
-Yeah. Yeah. -But when you melt it, it's like the gooiest cheese.
[Casey] Now, we're ready to build.
[Gavin] This is our fancy sauce.
Ketchup, mayo, garlic and olive oil, all mixed together.
[Casey] Lots of flavor.
-Holy crap. -Some brisket going on.
[Casey] Look at all that brisket. [chuckles]
Oh, yeah.
-[Casey] We got our fried cheese. -You have to. You have to.
This... and more special sauce.
-More sauce. -[laughs]
[Casey] And crispy potato sticks and a perfect sunny side up egg
and the Matahambre is ready for this hungry hombre.
The brisket is so tender,
it just, basically it melts in your mouth.
Nice.
A rich rub, that briny flavor just like seeped right into our brisket.
-[Gavin] Yeah. -And the fried cheese is just exploding...
within the sandwich.
And our fancy sauce is so go and it marries with the egg
It's like two different sauces, it's delicious.
You'd order that next time?
Yes.
This sando assassinated my hunger
but it's time to rise from the ashes.
[crowd cheering]
They're attacking the biggest plate of food I've ever seen.
[in sing-song voice] Oh, my God!
Team "Chow Down" challenge, you're getting buried!
-Sounds real tough, huh? -[both laugh]
-[crowd cheering] -[bell dinging]
[upbeat music playing]
[Casey] I'm in Orlando, Florida to take on the Team "Chow Down" challenge.
And if there's anyone who knows how to be in sync with his team,
it's my partner Joey Fatone.
But before we tackle over 8 pounds of bar food,
Joey's gonna show me how Orlando does hot dogs.
When you're craving dogs, no normal frank will do.
That's why I'm singing the praises
of Orlando's Fat One's,
where they're serving extra-long dogs
topped with the most heavenly of pile-ons.
-Hey! Can I get one Fat One please? -[server] Absolutely.
Whoa, you weren't kidding.
In 2018, New York native turned Orlando boy band superstar Joey Fatone
realized a lifelong foodie dream
and opened Fat One's.
I come for Joey Fatone,
but I stay for the biggest hot dogs in Florida.
I'm here for the hot dogs.
Each Fat One is a half-pound,
100% Angus beef hot dog
that stretches over a foot long,
topped with an array of unique flavor combination
inspired by Joey's life and travels.
They're kind of creating new things,
and things you wouldn't think typically go on a hot dog.
[Casey] That's not your mum's relish.
No, no. Not at all. So I mean, this is...
a game-changer right here.
Like The Angelo,
topped with whiskey infused bacon jam,
house-made aioli and jalapeno.
And the Kimchi dog,
topped with spicy kimchi, crunchy ramen noodles
and sriracha mayo.
Combination of flavor, the heat, the spice,
and the crushed ramen has the crunch you're looking for.
It's definitely worth the drive.
And it's phenomenal.
[Casey] But nothing is tearing up the hearts of hot dogs fans
like The Bensonhurst.
Named for Joey's Brooklyn birthplace,
it's loaded with creamy pimento cheese,
crispy bacon and chopped onion.
Think you'll find a dog like this anywhere else?
Forget about it!
[woman] One of the best hot dogs I think I've ever, ever had.
It's hardy, there's a good creaminess,
-with that pimento cheese that comes in on there. -[man] Yeah.
And it just compliments everything so well.
Everybody knows I'm a Joey Fatone fan.
And I'm definitely a Fat One's fan for life.
I love it.
[Casey] I head to the cart to make a Fat One with Fatone himself.
-Hey, Joey. -Hey! How's it going, buddy?
-Casey, good to see you, man. You doin' all right? -Good to see you.
-What are we making today? -Oh, we're making The Bensonhurst.
-Bensonhurst. -Yes.
You know, growing up in Brooklyn,
you know, you either get a slice of pizza or a hotdog
-on the street corner. -Right.
Not everybody's been to Bensonhurst.
-No. -So I'm trying to bring Bensonhurst to them.
I love it. So yeah, let's make this thing.
[Casey] Joey's pimento chees starts with a big block of cream cheese.
The South loves their pimento cheese.
But it was actually invented in New York.
-We just love cheese on dogs. -Exactly.
So this is another way to put cheese on a hot dog right there. Right?
Joey adds mayo and cheddar cheese
and slowly blends it togethe
We're throwing the pimentos now.
We wanna keep blending till they get really, really really in there.
Pimentos are tiny red peppers that are a little sweet,
not too spicy, which is why they're also called cherry peppers.
-I love-- look how creamy that is. -Look at that!
Joey's not messin' around.
-[Joey] Get it all in there. -[laughs]
[Casey] For an extra flavor boost,
Joey adds hot sauce,
onion powder, black pepper and fresh garlic.
And I think that's, that's pretty much it.
Get a little taste. Let's get that right there.
-Whoo! -[Casey] Whoa.
Go in there. Get it. Get it.
It's so creamy.
And tangy. Got a little bit of a bite.
A little bit of a bite, you taste in that cream cheese as well.
-It's got that little kick. Not too crazy. -No.
And we didn't even put it on the hot dog.
-I know. -We didn't put on the hot dog yet.
[Casey] Every Fat One gets a traditional New York City water bath.
-So we like to boil it in water first... -Yeah.
just so we can start cooking. And then we put it out on the grill,
on the flat-top here.
'Cause we want that little, you know, that little, that char and that snap.
And as we're doing that, if you wanna grab that bacon,
-we'll throw that in the pan right now. -Bacon.
-I'm a pretty good help, Joey. -Casey, thank you.
-[Joey] I appreciate that, brother. -You're welcome.
[Casey] With the massive dog grilled up...
It's bigger than my face.
It's bigger than his face.
[Casey] ...we can build the Bensonhurst.
Our creamy pimento cheese,
-half-pound dog... - [Joey] Like that.
...crispy bacon
and fresh white onion.
We give you the Bensonhurst!
-[Casey] God. -[Joey] Good Lord.
The dog itself, it's massive.
But the flavor is just, it's got the bite to it that we like.
-The snap. And it's all-beef hot dog. -Mm.
So you're getting that, that rich beef hot dog flavor.
The pimento cheese is creamy.
It's a little bit spicy.
It just adds a whole other layer.
And then we have the bacon on top of that.
It's crispy, it's crunchy, it's a little bit more fatty
And then we have the onion, which almost like refreshes the whole thing.
-Mm-hmm. Little brightness to you. -Right?
Total-- Brightens up everything.
-We've taken the all classic American stuff... -Right.
and ingredients that you use
or put on top of a hot dog, but combine them in different ways.
-You just did it your way. You did it the Fat One way. -Yeah.
-And it just knocks it out of the park. -Bam.
So Casey, I know you came here to see my hot dogs, you ate everything.
But you have a challenge, do you not?
I do. I have the Team "Chow Down" challenge
and I'm actually looking for someone to take it on with me.
-Wait, you have a Team challenge? -Team... team challenge.
So... can I help you with this?
I didn't... Yeah, you can!
I already assumed that you'd wanna be in the challenge.
-Do you wanna be in the challenge? -[Joey] Oh, you can assume.
-Count me in. -It'd be a freakin' honor.
-No, no. I'm in. -You're in?
-Yeah. -Yes!
Challenge accepted!
"Chow Down" challenge, you're going down town!
I hope so.
-What's the challenge? -Oh!
[Casey laughs]
-[crowd cheering] -[bell dinging]
[trombone music playing]
Hey, so, I had a quick question.
You ever take on a large amount of food?
Let's say like, eight pounds.
What would be your strategy?
-[squeaky voice] Bring a hungry friend. -[Casey] Yeah?
Pretty good advice.
I'm in Orlando, at Cheers Sports Bar
for the Team "Chow Down" challenge.
If Joey and I can take down this 8.5 pound feast in 30 minutes,
we get matching T-shirts.
"Chow Down" challenge,
you can't touch this Dream Team.
[upbeat instrumental rock music playing]
[Casey] In a city full of tourists,
Cheers is a locals' haven.
It's one of the little best kept secrets in Orlando.
It's everything that somebody wants to find that local place
where there's friendly peopl awesome food,
reasonable prices and it's everything
a guy like me could ask for.
I'm just gonna walk away. You guys just crushed it.
[Casey] From flame broiled burgers to quesadillas and Philly cheesesteaks,
Cheers dishes out some of the best pub grub in town.
But nothing compares to the Team "Chow Down" challenge.
An absurd array of bar food favorites
featuring onion rings, tater tots, loaded fries,
mac and cheese bites, double cheeseburger,
super spicy wings, French fries, loaded nachos
mini corn dogs,
another double cheese burge and pretzel bites.
It tips the scales at 8.5 pounds.
Today, it's Men versus Food
And hometown hero Joey Fatone
is joining my team.
But first, we need some intel from a former challenger.
Me and my buddy Pat took it on. He's a bigger guy.
-It went terribly. -[Casey] Oh.
So what would you say to eat exactly first?
We split the burgers.
Leave those wings...
way... way down the line.
Wings last?
Wings either last or second to last. Maybe celery last
to sort of calm yourself down there.
-Top spot. -...mentally, I see it.
I'm already at the finish line.
I don't know why, but I'm already there.
[Casey] Riding high on Joey's confidence...
All right, let's split up. Meet back here?
-Yep. -All right, go.
[Casey] ...I enter the kitch while he gears up for the challenge.
[inspirational music playing]
Hey, Joel!
-What's up, man? Good. -How you doing, man?
How many people have taken this thing on?
Many have tried, not many have finished.
Have you ever taken it on?
No. Not at all. I'm not crazy.
[laughs] All right. So, where do we start, man?
-We're gonna make... -Burgers.
[Casey] For the two double cheese burgers,
Joel throws down four four-ounce beef patties
mushrooms, two eggs
and melts on Pepper Jack and Swiss cheese.
And we stack 'em.
Oh, that's a good looking burger, man.
I could just eat that.
Now we go to the fryer and start the wings.
Oh, right, there's more.
-Those go down for about 15 minutes. -Okay.
-'Cause they're some big wings, so... -Yeah, sure.
We're gonna get a nice crunch on 'em.
[Casey] While the wings cook
we add fries, tater tots
and onion rings to the fryer.
These are gonna be GBD. That's Golden Brown & Delicious.
Next, we fry pretzel bites,
many corn dogs and mac and cheese bites,
and start to plate.
-[Joel] We have our fries. -Okay.
-Now we need to make those wings spicy. -Okay.
[Casey] Why's it in a weird little jar?
[Joel] 'Cause it melts plastic.
What's in there? Okay, I don't wanna know.
I don't wanna know.
Item by delicious item,
Joel loads all 8.5 pounds onto the tray.
I mean, it's a good looking platter.
[groaning] Oh, my...
You really didn't leave anything off of it, did you?
-Do you serve anything else here? -No.
[chanting] Joey! Casey!
Joey! Casey!
[crowd cheering]
[whooping]
[mouthing indistinctly] No way!
-[crowd] Man versus Food! Man versus Food! -[beatboxing]
Man versus Food!
[Steve] Okay, guys.
You're gonna have 30 minutes
for both of you to complete this.
Should you complete it,
we're gonna offer up some nice fine little T-shirts for you.
-Five! Four! -[Casey] You ready, man?
-[Steve and crowd] Three! Two! One! -Good luck.
-Good luck! -[crowd cheering]
[Casey] Our team strategy is to knock out the densest part of the challenge first
[muffled] That is amazing.
The burger's really good with the egg.
So good!
Don't back down on those burgers, boys! Let's do it!
[Casey] Joey sets the Fa-ton and finishes his burger in two minutes flat.
And I'm right behind him.
Team work makes the dream work, guys!
-[crowd cheering] -[Casey] We go for the wings next.
It's risky at this stage,
given how hot they are, but we need to make a dent in the 20-wing pile.
Whoo!
The challenge is messy, it's huge. I think it takes big appetite,
bigger stomach to win.
Clock is ticking, so they gotta just keep up with the pace.
[Casey] Using team work, we start to divide and conquer.
I'll get the tater tots.
I got some onion rings.
Five minutes in, we are perfectly in sync.
And as we move around the plate,
this is actually pretty fun
[chanting] Casey! Joey! Casey! Joey!
It's a lot of food. I can't believe how much food they've eaten.
I've seen Joey eat a lot more than that.
He's doing okay right now. He needs to be speeding up a little bit more.
They got 20 minutes left.
Come on, Joey. Keep it going, man. Come on, you got more time.
I got this, Ed!
Come on, Joey!
[Casey] We're tearing up the nachos
and nearly half the platter is put away.
[crowd chanting] Go Casey! Joey!
Tell that platter, "Bye! Bye! Bye!"
[Casey] We're feeling pretty confident as we near the 15-minute mark.
But we still got 18 hellish hot wings
waiting for us on the other side.
[laughs maliciously]
-[crowd cheering] -[bell dinging]
[crowd chanting] Joey! Casey! Joey! Casey!
[Casey] I'm in Orlando, Florida, taking on the 8.5 pound
Team "Chow Down" challenge
with my pal and local legen Joey Fatone.
Get into the Fatone zone, Joey!
I'm in it!
[Casey] We tore through the first half of this pub grub challenge.
But, 15 minutes in, carbs are starting to catch up with us.
[chanting] Smash those chips! Smash those chips!
[Casey] The only thing to d is keep moving.
Smash those chips! Smash those chips!
...moves everything around.
Let's get moving.
It seems like they're attacking the biggest plate of food I've ever seen.
They keep going. They're handling it so well.
Whoo! Let's go, Joey! Casey, let's do this!
[crowd cheering]
[Casey] With intense flavor lurking in every corner,
we've been avoiding the super spicy wings.
But, we've gotta get back to them eventually.
So, we attack... as a team.
[crowd chanting] Bring on the heat!
[muffled] Very hot.
[Casey] Okay, bad idea.
Back to the fried food.
-Even though wing's not crazy food ...flavor's so strong. -That'll kill you.
They should have saved the chicken wings for the end.
I know that they're trying to make room for other food that's still left to go.
But they're doing a great job.
[singing] ♪ Oh, my God ♪
Hey, guys. You guys making this look real easy.
-Ten minutes left. -[grunts]
Home stretch, let's go!
-[crowd cheering] -[Casey] The crowd is havin a great time.
[cheering]
But seven pounds of food and super-hot wings are weighing heavy on us.
[Casey] Yeah! Somewhere else
A happy place where best buds and teammates run free.
[serene instrumental music playing]
[crowd cheering]
I'm not throwing in the towel.
No.
With renewed vigor, we make our final push.
Crushing fries, tearing through pretzel bites,
annihilating nachos.
Your time is running out, sweeties!
-You got this! -[crowd cheering]
[crowd chanting] One minute left! One minute left!
[Casey] It's a sprint to the finish.
[crowd chanting] Five! Four! Three! Two! One!
[crowd exclaims]
[Casey] But our team comes up short.
[woman] Good job!
Thank you, Joey! thank you, Orlando. Thank you, Steve.
But unfortunately, in the battle of man versus food,
food won!
[crowd groans]
But we love you, Orlando! Thank you guys for being here!
[all cheering]