Bayou Blue man hones hot dog-chomping skills

LAURA McKNIGHT/STAFF

James Howell of Bayou Blue tackles a plate of hot dogs May 23 at Big Eddie’s Cafe in Bayou Blue. Howell is the only local person competing at a hot dog-eating contest June 7 at Sam’s Club in Metairie. If Howell chomps his way to a win June 7, he earns a seat at the table for Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest.

Laura McKnight

The activity at Big Eddie’s Café in Bayou Blue eases to a standstill as one of the men seated at the counter picks up a pair of bare hot dogs and jabs them purposefully between his jaws.

The hot dogs disappear into James Howell’s mouth at a brisk pace, his teeth gnawing them like a tree chipper. The hot dogs gone, Howell turns to a bun, which he dips into a glass of water to smooth its ride down his esophagus.

Howell is not just enjoying a mid-afternoon snack. He’s preparing for serious competition.

The 40-year-old Bayou Blue resident is honing his hot dog-devouring skills in an effort to eat his way into the Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest.

The televised competition, held annually at Nathan’s Famous Hotdog stand on Coney Island, N.Y., is sanctioned by Major League Eating and draws competitive-eating stars from across the planet, such as Takeru Kobayashi.

Howell is one of 15 competitors slated to battle for a spot on Coney Island during a regional qualifier set for June 7 at Sam’s Club in Metairie. The winner of the Metairie competition will join other regional winners at the Fourth of July contest in New York. The Metairie competition requires contestants to eat as many hot dogs as possible within 10 minutes.

"I just wanted to enter just to say I did it. It’s starting to turn into you better do it or else," Howell said, describing how friendly pressure has started to build from the staff and other regulars at Big Eddie’s Café. Howell, who visits the café near-nightly, entered the hot dog-eating contest on a lark, but has gained a base of enthusiastic fans at the small diner at La. 182 and La. 316.

"We’re all pushing for him," said David Nehlig of Bayou Blue, another regular at the eatery.

Big Eddie’s serves as an informal training site for Howell, with café workers and regulars egging him on as he polishes off plates of franks. Cooks serve Howell extra hot dogs to help him practice, and café owner Eddie Herron recently offered to sell Howell hot dogs at discounted prices, Howells said.

Howell plans to sport a Big Eddie’s Café T-shirt and ball cap, donated by Herron, while gobbling hot dogs in the contest.

The upcoming event in Metairie marks the first time a regional qualifier for the Nathan’s contest will be set in the New Orleans area, said Kristy Reed, spokeswoman for Sam’s Club. It’s also the first year for the discount chain to host regional qualifiers in its stores. When picking sites, the chain chose five cities that have never before held a regional contest, Reed said.

The Metairie competition pits Howell against eight other Louisiana residents as well as sport eaters from Alabama, Florida, Texas, Ohio, Tennessee and New York, Reed said. The contest includes first-time sport eaters like Howell as well as experienced competitive eaters like Juris "Dr. Bigtime" Shibayama of Murfreesboro, Tenn.

Howell bowls in a league and watches sports of any kind on ESPN, including the annual Nathan’s Famous hot dog-eating contest. But the 6-foot, 2-inch, 245-pound truck driver said he didn’t intend to be a hardcore competitor when he signed up for the New Orleans-area contest.

posted by Don "Moses" Lerman  # 11:23 PM