In March of 2012, I’m proud to say that I finished the Dagwood Sandwich in 24 minutes and then had a slice of chocolate cream pie.

The sandwich itself was delicious and had fantastic cuts of fresh meat. Pound for pound this meal is insanely cheap! And the fries are some of the best I’ve ever had. Kudos to the Ohio Deli!

I am no competitive eater. This was my first challenge. I’m 6’2”, 255lbs.

Here is how I did it:
Ate a big dinner the night before. Skipped breakfast but downed a lot of caffeine throughout the morning. Drove from Cleveland to the Columbus Zoo. The caffeine gave me energy to walk for hours which in turn built up my appetite.
I arrived at the Ohio Deli around 2pm starving. Sat down, ordered the Dagwood and two Old Fashioned Orange Sodas which comes in bottles.
When the meal arrived I started on the sandwich immediately. At 11 minutes I finished the sandwich and had one eighth of the fries done.
Once I finished half the fries I hit a wall of anguish and suffering. But then I belched a bit, the torment ended and I was able to carry on. The hardest part was the second wall of misery I hit with only 15 fries left. I am more proud of finishing those 15 fries than the rest of the entire meal. Fortitude, Grit, Triumph, Resilience & Determination are a few small words that come to mind when thinking of those 15 fries. My slice of pie arrived a few minutes after I finished the Dagwood and I somehow ate the pie with very little discomfort.

Advice:
- Plan for a late lunch
- Eat a large meal the night before
- Skip breakfast
- Stretchy pants
- Build up an appetite (drink caffeine and hit up the Zoo and walk for hours)
- Sip water, conserve room
- When eating the meal you will need to mix things up, switching back and forth. So conserve your pickle, bun & drink.
- Beware finishing the sandwich before eating many fries. Those fries may taste fantastic but eating a pound of any fries is a lot of salt to swallow at once. If I could do this over, I would plan it out so that I finish three quarters of the fries at the same moment I finish the Dagwood.
- Stand up, walk and chew, fart, belch, focus
- Bring people that will cheer you on, SIS BOOM BA!
- Don’t make any plans for 5 hours after this event

Thank you Ohio Deli!!
John

CMH G. reply: You pay either way. But at Neighbor’s Deli, if you can finish the Monolith Sandwich, you get it for free.