[crowd chanting] Go! Go! Go! Go!
I'm at The Hungry Monkey in Newport, Rhode Island
taking on the Go Bananas Challenge.
Six orders of French toast.
That's a lot of bread.
You're actually the first one to try it.
If I can finish this four-pound French toast feast in less than 30 minutes...
It looks beautiful, but it's enormous.
He needs to gorilla up.
[mimics gorilla roaring]
...I get a T-shirt and my photo on the wall of fame.
You got this!
Yeah!
-Come on. Come on. -[crowd cheering]
It's time to go bananas!
[crowd cheering]
[Casey Webb] For years, food's army has grown unchecked...
Oh, my God.
...bigger...
Wow!
...spicier...
Whoo!
...bolder.
What is that?
But a hero rises...
It's tremendous.
...ready to taste the nation's most epic eats
-Uh... -[crowd cheering]
I'm Casey Webb.
Yes!
Holding the banner of man
and armed with years of experience in the restaurant industry..
[crowd chanting] Casey! Casey!
-[Casey] ...I go into battle -[crowd cheering]
-Bring out the stack! -[crowd cheering]
[Casey] Food, your days are numbered.
It's gonna be a wild ride!
The mighty Casey has a taste for victory.
Whoo!
This is Man v. Food.
My tastebuds take me to Newport, Rhode Island
for a crave-worthy cover food combination,
a coastal clam creation,
and one incredibly crazy challenge.
Newport, get ready 'cause Casey's coming.
Newport, Rhode Island is famous for its Gilded Age mansions
and yacht-filled waters.
But this charming seaside hot spot at Narragansett Ba
also has some of the best bites in New England.
When you think New England, you think pubs.
And Newport's Brick Alley Pub is consistently named one of the best in the state.
Here, they're serving up that classic pub grub with a tasty Newport twist.
This place is right up my alley.
Located on Thames Street next to a literal brick alle
Brick Alley Pub has been a local mainstay in this coastal community
for more than 40 years.
It's an icon. It's been here forever.
Great food.
Great atmosphere.
Great drinks.
-Everyone finds their own reason to come here. -Right.
And the number one reason besides the 25 beers on tap
are the bar food favorites you can only get here
like the machaca nachos
loaded with eight-hour slow-cooked beef brisket,
or the wildly popular lobster Reuben
with Swiss cheese, sauerkrau and Thousand Island dressing
-[bread crunching] -[man 1] I mean, it's a fun twist.
Like, if you're a lobster guy like myself,
you know, you're looking to explore a little more
-than just your lobster roll... -[Casey] Yes.
...or the standard steamed lobster.
This is a fun twist on it.
-[Casey] Does it... -I love Reubens as well,
-so it's perfect. -Does it work?
Oh, it definitely works.
[bread crunching]
[Casey] But the talk of the town is a bowlful of broth
served with smoky sausage and local clams,
the Portuguese littlenecks,
an ode to the area's large Portuguese population.
Those look like big necks.
-[all laughing] -They're little ones.
[man 2] Yeah, they're pretty big. They're pretty big.
-So, we got clams that are what, probably local. -Yep, absolutely.
Albeit, living in Newport, you're right on the ocean,
so you're not gonna live on the ocean and...
-and not order seafood. -[Casey] Right.
-So this is as probably as fresh as it gets. -[man 2] Yep.
-[Casey] We're in Newport, right? -[man 2] Yep.
Personally, I like to just stick my face right in there.
That's kind of how I do it too.
I'm feeling a bit shellfish
I think I'll get some of my own
from second generation owner Ralph Plumb.
-Hey, Ralph. -Hey, Casey, how are you?
I'm doing great, man. This place is awesome.
There's a ton of history here.
-So, we're doing Portuguese littleneck clams. -[Ralph] That's right.
So, the actual recipe, where does that come from?
So, we had a chef here,
and his mother was of Portuguese descent and originated there.
But then, you know, some massaging here,
and we have the finished product.
So, where do we start?
We start with everything.
[Casey] Ralph starts by dropping everything into a hot pan,
beginning with garlic butter
then peppers and onions.
We're sharing, Ralph.
-What else we got? -Chourico.
Chourico. So this is the smokier Portuguese version
of the more commonly-known Mexican chorizo.
It's gonna add a ton of flavor to our clams,
hence the name Portuguese littlenecks.
So, what else we got, bud?
-[Ralph] We got the clams. -Clams.
So these are, uh, littleneck clams.
Littleneck clams are a smaller, more tender clam,
and they're perfect for grilling, steaming,
or even eating raw.
We could eat these raw right now.
Next, Ralph adds fresh garli pepper and crushed red peppe
then white wine.
We're making it pretty quick, but, like,
it's gonna take a couple of minutes to open these clams up,
which is the beauty about the clams.
-You know they're finished when they start opening up. -That's exactly right.
[Casey] The final ingredien is a little clam juice to round out the broth.
Cover it up.
[Casey] A few minutes steaming on the stovetop
and these littlenecks are ready to eat.
Nice.
Look at all that broth.
Gonna finish it with some bell pepper and cilantro.
That's so good. So much flavor.
All right. So we got our Portuguese littlenecks.
Perfect combo.
It's smoky.
It's a little spicy.
The broth is so rich and briny.
Clams are perfect.
It really kind of warms the heart, warms the soul at the same time.
I'm happy as a clam, but I'm about to go bananas.
Let's go, Casey! Gorilla up. Let's go!
-[crowd roaring] -[roaring]
Hungry Monkey, get ready for even a hungrier monkey.
-[monkey squeals] -That's me,
hungry monkey.
[Casey] I'm in Newport, Rhode Island
to take on the Go Bananas Challenge,
a four-pound fruit-covered French toast monstrosity.
But first, I'm stopping at a local lunch spot
that's a little cheesy on the eyes.
How does a cheese lover's paradise look?
Like Newport's Scratch Kitchen,
where they're revolutionizing both mac and cheese and grilled cheese
with the most indulgent of toppings.
It's not easy being cheesy.
Opened in 2015 by siblings Stef and Kyle Bennett,
Newport's Scratch Kitchen set out with a simple goal,
great food made from scratch
But what started as a modest menu,
has become a bastion for die-hard cheese fans.
[man 3] It's a temple devoted to the love of cheese.
It is a cheese lover's paradise.
[Casey] Forgot about burrito or bowl,
here you get to choose between grilled cheese or mac and cheese
with one of their 20 tantalizing topping combos.
How do you choose?
-You go through the menu one by one. -[laughs] You do them all.
Like the party dip.
Loaded with fried spinach, gruyere, and artichoke fondue.
Or go for the best of both worlds with the "fat kid,"
served with bacon jam, provolone, and a deep-fried mac patty.
So mac and cheese on grilled cheese.
So, do you mind opening it up for me.
We gotta deconstruct this. I gotta see this for myself.
-[man 4] It's a little stuck Here we go. -[Casey] Oh, I see. Okay.
So, it's crispy, fried,
and then it's between two pieces of bread...
-It's true. -[Casey] ...with cheese on the inside.
Just trying to wrap my head around it.
And you just get to give into your cravings and eat it with your hands.
[Casey] But the number one pairing is a match made in heaven.
Grilled cheese with chicken and waffles.
It is amazing.
The waffle is so good.
The chicken, amazing.
-A little sauce, a little mustard-maple sauce. -[woman 1] Maple.
[man 5] ...is delectable.
-It's... Oh, yeah. -So, it's sweet, and crunchy, and--
Savory, it's all of those.
[Casey] And the mastermind behind these meal-worthy mash-ups
is Chef Kyle Bennett.
-Hey, Kyle. -Hey, Casey, how are you?
I'm doing great, man. Thanks for having me.
So, with "Scratch Kitchen,"
I'm assuming that everything's made from scratch...
-Yep. Yep. -...for the most part.
For everything that we can make from scratch
-we do make from scratch. -[Casey] I love it.
I imagine that we're gonna be scratching the itch of some chicken.
[Kyle] Yeah, we're gonna fry up some chicken and waffles.
Where do we start?
[Kyle] Oh, we'll start with the fried chicken itself.
We just wanna gently even it out, the flat side
with a tenderizer.
[Casey] So, it's important to tenderize your chicken
so it ensures that it's gonna be cooked evenly on both sides.
Evenly and through, absolutely.
[Casey] A quick dip in egg wash, then breading,
and we can drop the chicken in the fryer.
While the chicken cooks, Kyle makes a sauce for the sandwich.
Next, we throw together the maple-mustard sauce.
[Casey] So, we're working with wholegrain mustard,
which is a thicker, coarser mustard
that's ground down just enough to form a paste.
[Kyle] We're just gonna add some maple syrup to it in equal parts.
Yeah, we're here in New England,
so I imagine we're getting some maple syrup from somewhere close,
-which is exciting to think about. -[Kyle chuckles]
[Casey] Look at that. Ooh, that's like the dark...
Is that Grade B?
Or is it Grade A? Which is it?
-Uh, Grade B. -Yes.
It's richer,
-and a denser flavor. -And more scrumptious.
Tons of nutrients in your Grade B maple syrup.
Love it. Like, both are great.
Grade A, Grade B. But I'd go with B every time.
And the chicken is up. Perfect golden brown.
We're ready to assemble our sandwich on the grill.
Two Belgian-style waffles,
maple-mustard sauce,
sharp cheddar cheese,
and crispy fried chicken.
Look how crispy that is. Did you see that?
It's bigger than I thought.
-Ready to go. -And then we just slide that on down.
Ooh. Look, a little sear on top.
[Kyle] Usually just give it a little split.
Chicken and waffle grilled cheese
-by Kyle and me. -Boom!
-[chuckles] -What he said, boom.
[laughing]
The fried chicken and the waffle come together like peanut butter and jelly.
Really, they do, 'cause it sticks to the waffle.
And then we have our maple-mustard sauce
that kind of just brings a sweet and savory one, two
And then the cheese.
The sharpness of the cheddar it just creams it all up.
Yeah, it's just like it should always be there, right?
-It's like why hasn't it always been there, you know? -[laughing]
Thank you for showing up, cheese.
I may be cheesed out, but I still have a sweet tooth to satisfy.
So, how much of this are we using?
[Derek Hall] Uh, the whole loaf.
I was afraid you were gonna say that.
I think the hardest part is getting that bread down.
It's gonna be a challenge for him.
Go, Casey! Go!
Go Bananas Challenge,
I'm not monkeying around.
[chuckles]
I'm not.
Don't do it.
I'm in Newport, Rhode Island at The Hungry Monkey
for the Go Bananas Challenge
If I can finish this four-pound powerhouse of French toast,
I get a T-shirt and my face on the wall of fame.
Look out Go Bananas Challenge,
'cause you're toast.
I'm here on official business.
-Monkey business. -[monkey squeals]
In 2009, The Hungry Monkey opened as a light-hearted ta on hearty homestyle cooking
And while this little cafe offers big lunch flavors,
the real draw for locals are the decadent breakfasts
So what is it? I mean, I see the food, it looks great.
What brings you here, though?
-It's a mom and pop place. -Yeah.
Sometimes you want local
-and you wanna support local. -[Casey] Yes.
-[woman 2] Yeah, it's comfort food. -[Casey] Comfort food.
So how comfortable is this food?
That looks really comfortable.
-[woman 2 chuckles] -[Casey] You can almost nestle up to it.
-It's like a little pillow... -[Casey] Yeah,
-it is like... -...but it's just gonna go in my mouth.
-Right, a French toast pillow right to the mouth. -[laughing]
[Casey] From pillows of stuffed French toast
to piles of corned beef hash
poached eggs and hollandaise,
Hungry Monkey is serving some bad-ass breakfasts.
But their ultimate overindulgence
is a four-pound French toast platter
loaded with sweetened cream cheese,
berries, bananas, and whipped cream.
They call it the Go Bananas Challenge.
[monkey squealing]
So, I gotta ask.
The Go Bananas Challenge,
it's four-plus pounds of French toast.
30 minutes to have six portions of this.
You sitting here having a few bites of yours
Well, think you can eat like a gorilla...
-[Casey laughing] -...you can make it.
No knife and fork.
-Forego them. [laughs] -Yeah, just hands.
Pound your chest a couple of times.
-Get in there and... -Show me your gorilla.
I would do... I would do something like this.
-[thudding] -[both laughing]
And then you just grab it and start eating.
[Casey] I mean, it's pretty... You can eat it like a sandwich, right?
-[woman 3] Yeah. -It looks like a sandwich.
It looks like a sandwich.
I think you're onto something actually.
-Yeah. -[both laughing]
[Casey] Enough monkeying around.
I gotta meet the maker of this breakfast monstrosit
-Hey, Derek. -Hey, what's up?
-How you doing, man? -How's it going?
[chuckles] It's going pretty good.
So, how did the challenge come about?
'Cause there's a challenge here, right?
Yes, there is a challenge, Go Bananas.
[Casey] Go Bananas.
So, people must be bananas to take it on,
or is there a lot of bananas on it?
Uh, both.
-[Casey] Okay. -Uh, but you're actually the first one to try it.
Oh, no one's ever taken it on?
[Derek] Nobody's ever taken it on.
-[Casey] Would you ever take it on? -No.
-[Casey] Why not? -Uh, it's just too much for me.
Too much food.
-I mean, for anybody, really. -Yeah.
All right. So, Derek, where are we gonna start?
Uh, we're gonna start with the, uh,
-French toast batter first. -Okay.
The French toast batter starts with a dozen eggs
mixed with milk, cinnamon,
vanilla, and sugar.
And we're ready for the Portuguese sweet bread.
Bread is bread is bread.
Portuguese bread just happens to be a bit sweeter.
Six orders of bread. I don't...
Okay. So... [chuckles] Okay.
I don't know if you can see this through the plastic.
You see how thick this is. This is pretty thick.
This is... This is thicker than most bread, would you say?
-Yes. -This is bread you would love with a sandwich.
One sandwich, or one French toast.
So how much of this are we using?
Uh, the whole loaf.
[exhales]
I was afraid you were gonna say that.
All 12 thick-cut slices of bread
get dipped into our egg batter,
then placed on the grill.
Twelve slices of bread, I mean, have you ever?
I haven't.
Have I?
After their flipped, we add six scoops of sweetened cream cheese.
What's next, Derek?
-We assemble. -Right.
Oh, this is a plate.
The French toast is stuffed with bananas,
blueberries and strawberries
Then we can plate this four-pound breakfast behemot
Six full orders of stuffed French toast
topped with even more berrie
bananas, whipped cream,
maple syrup, and powdered sugar.
The Go Bananas Challenge.
[crowd cheering]
Well, Casey,
thank you for coming to the beautiful city of Newport
and to The Hungry Monkey.
Derek, bring out the Go Bananas Challenge!
-Yeah. -[crowd cheering]
Yeah.
-Derek, bring back the Go Bananas Challenge. -[laughing]
You have 30 minutes to consume the entire plate of food.
Not only will you get this T-shirt,
but you will also have your photograph
on The Hungry Monkey wall of fame.
-[camera clicks] -[Tom] If you don't,
-you owe us $39.95. -[all laughing]
-All right. I'm sure I could pass the hat... -[all laughing]
Are you ready to accept the Go Bananas Challenge?
Newport, are you ready? [chuckles]
[crowd cheering]
-Yeah, I'm ready. I'm ready. -All right.
Folks, Casey's ready, so we're gonna count it down.
[all] Five, four,
three, two, one.
Go!
[crowd cheering]
[Casey] This dish is so daunting,
I don't know where to start
But a wise man once told me,
"It looks like a sandwich."
[Casey] So I'm going in hands first.
It looks beautiful, but it's enormous.
I think the hardest part is getting that bread down.
Bread is hard to chew and to swallow,
and it's gonna be a challenge for him.
[Casey] Before I can tackle all this bread,
I need to clear the way.
And a big task calls for a big utensil.
With some room to maneuver,
I get back to the French toast.
[crowd chanting]
[Casey] But the eggy weight of its gooey center is cementing my stomach.
And I still have a long way to go.
[crowd chanting] Man v. Food Man v. Food!
[Casey] I'm at Newport, Rhode Island at The Hungry Monkey
taking on a four-pound French toast challenge.
-[crowd clapping] -Show that thing who's boss, Casey.
[Casey] I have 20 minutes le with about two-thirds to go
but the stuffed French toas is starting to weigh me down
It is a whole loaf of bread over there.
I don't think I could do it in one sitting.
It's a mountain of French toast.
[Casey] With a brick in my stomach,
I need to pivot.
So I'm scooping out the cream cheese
and leaving the carbs for last.
[crowd cheering and clapping]
[Casey] Another five minutes down,
and I'm nearly halfway there
Casey, you have 15 minutes left.
We all know that you're up to it.
-Right? -[crowd cheering] Yeah.
Go, Casey! Go!
Go!
-Whoo! -[crowd cheering]
[Casey] With the crowd cheering me on,
the cream cheese is no problem.
[crowd chanting] Halfway! Halfway! Halfway! Halfway! Halfway!
[Casey] But then it's back to the bread.
[man 6] It's not just regular bread, it's the thick bread.
It's, like, that thick.
To finish it from here, he's gonna have to buckle down.
[crowd cheering]
[Casey] Pushing through the Portuguese sweet bread is starting to get to me.
It's like a French toast fog and I'm getting woozy.
There's only one thing left to do.
Casey can do this,
but he needs to gorilla up.
[mimics gorilla roaring]
[roaring]
-It's time to find my inner gorilla... -Yeah.
...and go bananas!
Go, Casey! Gorilla up! Let's go!
[crowd cheering]
[Casey] King Kong ain't got nothing on me.
[crowd chanting] Go. Go. Go. Go.
[chanting continues]
[chanting gets faster]
Whoo!
Come on, Casey. You're almost out of time.
[Casey] It's coming down to the wire,
and I'm not sure I can push through.
But I won't go down without a fight.
I truly believe in you! You got this!
-Yeah! -[crowd cheering]
[Casey] It's my final push.
[crowd] Ten, nine,
-eight, seven... -Argh!
...six, five, four,
three, two, one.
[crowd cheering]
Good try. Good try.
[Casey] But it's simply not enough.
Unfortunately, the battle of Man v. Food, food won.
[crowd] Aw.
But I love you, Newport!
-Whoo! -[crowd cheering]
Thank you! Thank you.
[crowd cheering]
Thank you.