The sixth season of the food reality television series, Man v. Food, premiered on the Travel Channel December 4, 2017 at 9PM ET. It is the second season to be hosted by actor and food enthusiast Casey Webb, who took over for Adam Richman, the show's original host, in 2017. Webb visits local eateries in different cities to sample their "big food" offerings before taking on an existing food challenge in each city.
Webb's second-season tally for Man v. Food wound up at 8 wins for "Man" and 6 wins for "Food".
Episodes Episode Episode Number Original Air Date Winner Los Angeles, CA 1 (96) December 4, 2017 Man The first city on Casey's second Man v. Food journey was sunny Los Angeles, California. His first stop was Bruxie, known for their creative chicken-and-waffle sandwiches, including the "BAMF", a sandwich of fried boneless chicken topped with cavatappi-based macaroni and cheese (mixed with crumbled bacon and a homemade buffalo cheese sauce that is spiced with buffalo wing, Sriracha and hot sauces) and pepperoncini peppers, all sandwiched between two large homemade waffles with 5 slices of melted cheddar cheese inside. Casey next visited Meatzilla!, where he tried the "Beef Beef Burger", two Angus beef patties topped with melted American and Muenster cheeses, sliced pickles and onions (along with Sriracha ketchup on the bottom bun); Casey got this burger "Meatzza style", using a personal-sized pepperoni, Muenster and mozzarella cheese-topped pizza as the burger's top bun. For the challenge, Casey visited Genkiyaki in Lakewood to face the "Zombie Burrito Challenge", a burrito filled with shredded cheese, bacon-fried rice, teriyaki beef and chicken, fries, taquitos, mozzarella sticks, Flamin' Hot Cheetos, onions, cilantro, mild "Ninja Sauce", spicy "Death Sauce", and the ultra-spicy "Zombie Sauce" (a mixture of boiled habanero and cayenne peppers, Sriracha sauce, Tapatío hot sauce, Louisiana Hot Sauce, and 10 drops of a 3-million-Scoville unit ghost chili extract). This challenge evolved from a "Zombie Taco" challenge, and Casey was the first to try the new burrito challenge; while he had no time limit, he could not get up from the table nor could he drink anything for relief. His first few bites immediately overwhelmed him with the relentless spice level (causing him to sweat and experience the hiccups), but he powered through by taking progressively bigger bites. Fighting through the intense pain, Casey ultimately went on to be the first-ever winner of the challenge; for winning, he received a free T-shirt and got to sign his name on the restaurant's "Zombie Wall".
Post-episode update: Yelp, Trip Advisor and Foursquare users posted that Meatzilla! has permanently closed. Boston, MA 2 (97) December 4, 2017 Food Casey headed to the large colonial New England city of Boston for their biggest eats. He first visited the Boston Burger Company to try the "Pilgrim", a turkey burger patty (spiced with paprika, garlic and cumin) topped with melted American cheese, flattop-grilled Brioche-bread stuffing, cranberry mayonnaise, and gravy. His second stop was Durgin-Park, a restaurant that was established well before the American Revolutionary War took place, where he tried a prime rib which is dry-aged for a week before getting rubbed in red wine, ground garlic, smoked sea salt, rosemary, black pepper, and extra-virgin olive oil, blanketed with a layer of fat and slow-roasted for 4 hours to a medium rare, and served with various sides including Boston baked beans. Casey's challenge took place at the Irish pub Flann O'Brien's, where he would face the "Guinness Irish Breakfast Challenge", a Irish breakfast platter consisting of 4 fried eggs, 5 grilled bangers, 3 rashers, 6 pieces of black and white pudding, a pancake, home fries, grilled mushrooms, carrots and tomatoes, Irish baked beans, sourdough and Irish brown toast, fresh fruit, and also served with a pint of Guinness stout beer. Casey had 30 minutes to defeat this challenge which, prior to his attempt, had only been defeated by about 50 out of 400 challengers; victory would get him a free T-shirt and free dessert from the restaurant. Casey started the challenge strong by taking down a third of the platter in the first 10 minutes, sipping on the beer intermittently to help him further. At the halfway mark, however, the toast started to slow him down, at which point some patrons suggested that he make sandwiches using the bread and parts of the breakfast. The strategy seemed to work as it helped Casey eat faster, but it was not enough as in the end, he was not able to finish the breakfast in time. Though he failed, he did get his beer for free.
Post-episode update: According to news reports, Durgin-Park permanently closed after over 20 years in business in January 2019. The owners indicated it was no longer profitable as the reason for closing.
Post-episode update: According to news reports, Flann O'Brien's closed in December 2020. The building that housed it was later sold in early 2021. The owner reportedly closed the restaurant and sold the building in order to complete the purchase of another restaurant in Newport, Rhode Island. Louisville, KY 3 (98) December 11, 2017 Man Casey ventured to Louisville, Kentucky, referred to by many as "Bourbon Country". His first stop was the Silver Dollar, an old firehouse-turned-restaurant, where he tried the "Beer Can Hen", a hen prepared in a stock of salt, sugar, peppercorns and bay leaves, stuffed with garlic and thyme, then oven-grilled on top of a full open can of beer and doused in a lime-serrano glaze. His second stop was Wagner's, originally opened as a pharmacy and still a popular destination among jockeys and horse race fans alike, for their Hot Brown sandwich consisting of grilled turkey placed over Texas toast and topped with Mornay sauce, grilled diced tomatoes, bacon, and Parmesan cheese. After seeking challenge advice at Churchill Downs from jockey Jon Court, Casey visited Santa's Candy Castle in Santa Claus, Indiana, where he faced off against the "Fire & Ice Challenge", a challenge that only 4 out of 200 people have survived prior to Casey. The challenge consists of of popcorn coated in a 1-million-Scoville unit sauce (made with cheddar and blue cheeses, milk, and a super-spicy "Liquid Fire" chili extract) along with a frozen hot chocolate, all of which Casey had to finish in under an hour. Casey's strategy at the start was to alternate between bites of the popcorn and sips of the frozen hot chocolate, only to soon focus mostly on the popcorn; the popcorn, however, was unrelenting with its spiciness and quantity, and Casey started to struggle considerably. After getting to the halfway point at just over 20 minutes, the store's Santa Claus came out to inspire Casey to keep going, and Casey went on to inhale the popcorn and chug the remainder of his drink at 42 minutes and 5 seconds, becoming only the fifth person ever to win the challenge. For winning, Casey received a bumper sticker, a $25 gift certificate to the store, and a trophy. St. Louis, MO 4 (99) December 11, 2017 Food Casey's food-tasting journey brought him to the "Gateway to the West", St. Louis, Missouri. His first stop was Mama's "On the Hill" for the colossal "Meatball on the Hill", a plate of spaghetti topped with a monstrous meatball (made from a mix of ground sausage, veal, and beef) and smothered with of homemade marinara sauce. Next, Casey sampled some St. Louis-style barbecue at Bogart's Smokehouse by trying some loin back ribs (which are coated with a 23-spice dry rub and brown sugar, smoked for 4 hours, brushed with an apricot glaze, and charred with a blowtorch). For the challenge, Casey visited Schiappa's in Lebanon, Illinois, home to the "29-Inch Pizza Challenge" (which had been beaten by only 14 out of hundreds of challengers prior to this episode), where Casey would team up with a partner to eat a 29-inch pizza with 4 toppings (Casey chose green peppers, onions, black olives, and mushrooms, and also created a smiley face of pepperoni on the pizza). Casey's partner for the challenge was Ryan Maassen (who defeated this challenge 10 years prior to this day's attempt) and together, the two had to finish the pizza in under 30 minutes; victory would get them a free pizza every month for a year, free T-shirts, and their meal for free. Tackling the outer slices first, Casey and Ryan started the challenge strong by finishing over a third of the pizza in the first 5 minutes, but then started to struggle once the toppings started to slide off the pizza as they tried to fold the inner slices. The cheese started to harden and the pair struggled with chewing the crusts, causing them to lose more time; with 10 minutes left, they got their second wind and gave a final push to try to beat the challenge - even standing up to help the food go down easier - but in the end, their time ran out with only a few small slices of the pizza to go. Though not victorious, Casey promised that he and Ryan would come back to try the challenge again someday.