The second season of Man v. Food, an American food reality television series hosted by Adam Richman on the Travel Channel, premiered on August 5, 2009. First-run episodes aired in the United States on the Travel Channel on Wednesdays at 10:00 PM Eastern time. Man v. Food was executive produced by Matt Sharp in association with the Travel Channel. The season contained 20 episodes and finished airing on December 16, 2009. On February 3, 2010, a special "Live" episode aired.
Man v. Food is hosted by actor and food enthusiast Adam Richman. In each episode, Richman explores the "big food" of a different American city before facing off against a pre-existing eating challenge at a local restaurant. Not counting the "Live" episode in Miami (which he won), the final second season tally was: 13 wins for "Man" and 7 wins for "Food".
Production The second season was first rumored in March 2009 when the Anchorage Daily News said that people from the show had contacted the owners of the Pepper Mill, home to "Fat Andy's Pizza Challenge". This challenge, still unmet after two years and 50 attempts, requires two people to eat a two-meat, two-cheese pizza in one hour or less. A successful challenger would win $500 in cash and have their photo posted on "Fat Andy's Wall of Pain". The challenge pizza, equivalent to four standard large pizzas, costs $49.99 and requires a full half-hour to bake. Although Anchorage was visited this season, the "Fat Andy's Pizza Challenge", however, was not aired.
As for filming dates, shortly after season one finished airing, Richman told an interviewer: "They [Travel Channel] want to start up again in May. It doesn't leave a lot of time for me". Season 2 started filming in Sarasota, Florida, on May 2, 2009.
Reception Joe Killian, culture critic for the Greensboro News-Record, wrote: "Caught the second-season premiere of Man v. Food last night and I've got to say, I think I'm hooked". Christopher Lawrence of the Las Vegas Review-Journal described Richman as "impressive" and "likable" saying "think a beefier Fred Savage, although one who somehow weighs less than he did last season". On his mastery of the spicy sushi roll challenge in Charleston, South Carolina, Katie Koch of the Charleston City Paper said: "This is a feat only an insane or highly admirable person could accomplish". After detailing Richman's ice cream challenge in the San Francisco episode, Joshua Gillin of the St. Petersburg Times noted humorously: "He is definitely one person who will be dropped by his health insurance". Jonathan Bernstein of British newspaper The Guardian described "mixed feelings" about the series saying he likes "the concept" and "the guy" but that the challenges make him "a little uneasy". Emley Kerry of Tiger Weekly wondered, "Why isn't he fatter? Or just dead?"
Episodes Episode Episode Number Original Air Date Winner San Antonio, TX 1 (19) August 5, 2009 Man Adam traveled to San Antonio, the home of the Alamo, in early June to tape the season 2 premiere. Adam visited Lulu's Bakery and Café to examine the plate-sized chicken fried steak and sample one of their famous cinnamon rolls (after the episode aired, Lulu's began shipping the cinnamon rolls statewide to meet popular demand). The chicken fried steak is as big as a plate and can be topped with gravy or homemade cheddar cheese queso. A six-foot slab of dough is slathered in butter, cinnamon and sugar, which is mixed together. The dough is then rolled and the cinnamon rolls cut and baked. They are then buttered again and topped with frosting. His next stop was Big Lou's Pizza for the barbecue brisket pizza and to tackle the "Big Lou Super 42". Adam sat down with Lou's extended family to try one of the restaurant's signature , monster supreme pizzas. Six pounds of cheese are followed by pepperoni, Canadian bacon, beef, Italian sausage, peppers, onions, black and green olives, tomatoes, fresh garlic and a final layer of cheese. It is so big that it has to be baked on a custom made conveyor belt. This episode's challenge, taped on Wednesday, June 3, was to complete the Four Horsemen Challenge at Chunky's Burgers & More. Adam had to eat one of Chunky's ultra-hot Four Horsemen Burgers in 25 minutes, then wait for an additional 5-minute "burn period" before he could drink or eat anything to cool himself off. The Four Horsemen Burger is a half-pound (0.23 kg) burger topped with sautéed jalapeño, serrano and ghost chili peppers, which are then covered in melted cheese and drenched in habanero sauce. The burger is so hot that while over 100 people had taken the challenge, up to this point only three had finished it. To psych himself up for the challenge, Adam went skeet shooting using burgers as targets. Wearing latex gloves to prevent spice burns, he was stopped by the first bite and was sweating and visibly in pain for over six minutes. Adam made a comeback, though, and managed to finish the spicy burger in time. He completed the five-minute waiting period before gulping milk to quench the flames, becoming the fourth person to complete this challenge. For his efforts, Adam's photo was added to the restaurant's "Wall of Flame". Adam later described this as the most excruciatingly painful challenge he had ever successfully completed.
NOTE: Lulu's Bakery and Café reappeared on the show in 2019, 10 years later, in which the show's new host, Casey Webb, took on the Cinnamon Roll Challenge, attempting to eat one of the 3-1/2 pound cinnamon rolls in one sitting.
Post-episode update: Lulu's Bakery and Café initially closed in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It permanently closed and liquidated assets in April 2021. Las Vegas, NV 2 (20) August 12, 2009 Food Adam went to Las Vegas, Nevada, in early May to hit one of a kind local joints. He first tried the fried chicken eggs Benedict at Hash House a go go. Known for their Vegas twist on comfort food, Hash House a Go Go serves huge portions for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Their breakfast offerings are mammoth and feature a culinary upgrade. Items such as 16 inch pancakes, meatloaf hash, bacon filled waffles, banana and brown sugar flapjacks and griddled french toast. A half pound chicken breast is breaded and deep fried. The fried chicken eggs benedict starts with griddled mashed potatoes, pasta, house made biscuits, tomatoes, spinach, hickory smoked bacon. The fried chicken breast is then placed and topped with scrambled eggs, grilled mozzarella cheese, scratch made chipotle cream sauce and rosemary garnish. He then visited Hot'n'Juicy Crawfish for Spicy crawfish. The crawfish is topped with a special proprietary secret sauce. There are five levels of heat to the sauce. The crawfish are poured directly into a pot with the selected boiling sauce. The crawfish are scooped into a plastic bag which helps steam flavor into the crawfish and then served to the customer. This episode's challenge was to eat the 2-foot, 6-pound Big Badass Burrito at the NASCAR Café in the Sahara Hotel and Casino in an hour and a half. Over 140 people have tried it prior to Adam's attempt, but only two had finished it. Adam's challenge was to become the third person to finish the burrito. Anybody who completes the challenge wins a "Conqueror" T-shirt and "lifetime access to the Sahara's roller coaster". The burrito is constructed with four 16-inch burritos and a base of lettuce, rice, beans, cheese and jalapenos is laid down. 9-hour braised beef and nacho cheese sauce is added and the burrito rolled up. It is then topped with beef broth, more nacho cheese sauce, tomatoes, black olives, scallions and scoops of sour cream and guacamole. Adam finished two pounds in the first 10 minutes. But, at the 35 minute mark, Adam hit the food wall and ultimately failed, surrendering with only a pound of the burrito remaining. For that, he was forced to wear a pink "Certified Weenie" T-shirt and get his picture posted on the café's "Weenie Wall of Shame". After taping for the challenge was complete, Adam spent an hour on a treadmill, telling the Las Vegas Review-Journal: "Being sedentary is incredibly uncomfortable. Despite the fact that the first 10 minutes or 15 minutes on the treadmill might suck, it actually does alleviate a lot of pressure, and you feel better". The Hash House A-Go-Go taping took place on Friday, May 8, and the NASCAR Café challenge was taped on Saturday, May 9.
Post-episode update: The NASCAR Cafe was demolished as part of the demolition and renovation of the former Sahara Hotel and Casino in 2013. Charleston, SC 3 (21) August 19, 2009 Man Adam journeyed to Charleston, South Carolina, for Lowcountry cuisine. This included a fried chicken sandwich with sausage gravy known as the "Big Nasty" at Hominy Grill and a shovel full of oysters at Bowen's Island. Plus this episode's challenge at Bushido; Hominy Grill is known for cooking Southern staples with a South Carolina flair. Adam first tried the shrimp and grits. Shrimp are dredged in flour and fried in a pan with double cut bacon, mushrooms, pressed garlic, a mixture of tabasco and lemon juice and topped scallions. They are then poured onto a bed of grits. To make the "Big Nasty," oil and bacon fat are heated in a pan. A buttermilk soaked chicken breast is then dredged and put into the pan. They fry the chicken in a skillet instead of a deep fryer in order to set themselves apart. The fried chicken breast is then placed on a homemade biscuit and topped with shredded white cheddar cheese and sausage gravy. Bowen's Island has been open since 1946. They source their oysters from the nearby mud flats. Before trying the oysters, Adam joins a local oysterman in harvesting them from the mud flats. The freshly caught oysters are then placed on a steel plate cooking apparatus behind the restaurant, drenched in water and covered in soaking wet burlap sacks and steamed. Adam then sits down with the owner to eat the freshly steamed oysters which are served with a shovel. They enjoy them along with fried boar stew which is a mixture of boiled shrimp, sausage, potatoes and corn. Adam arrived in Charleston on Sunday, May 24, taped a segment for the "Baseball Special" to air later this season on Tuesday, May 26, visited Bowen's Island on Wednesday, May 27, and tape the challenge at Bushido on Friday, May 29. The Charleston City Paper reported that "locals who have completed the challenge got first dibs on reservations [at Bushido] for the special night". To complete the challenge, one had to eat 10 spicy tuna rolls wrapped in nori with sticky rice and cucumber strips that escalate from mild to "feels like someone decided to light a match and burn you alive from the inside out". The three spiciest rolls also have a different pepper added to the roll; the "Level 8" sauce is made with a habanero pepper, then the "Level 9" sauce makes use of a green Thai chili, and finally, "Level 10" (Bushido's hottest sauce) uses a red Thai chili. This challenge had no time limit and most who complete it do so one roll per visit over several days or weeks, thereby earning the title of "warrior". Adam had to eat all 10 rolls in one evening (which would earn him the title of "legend" if he did so), a feat accomplished by only eight people out of 475 before him. Those who complete the challenge, both "warriors" and "legends", receive a commemorative headband and the honor of the Bushido staff bowing to them in subsequent visits, while "legends" get their picture on the restaurant's "Legends of the Roll" wall. Despite the intense pain of the escalating levels of the spicy tuna, Adam - taking some past winners' advice to eat the rolls quickly - managed to finish all 10 rolls in 16 minutes and 25 seconds (a new record set at Bushido), becoming the ninth person to win the title of "legend."