Man v. Food Nation Season 4 Episode 16: Pacific Coast Highway
Adam heads to the famed Pacific Coast Highway to sample various eateries. Adam is teaming up with high school history teacher Naader Reda to take on the Brahma Bull Challenge at local eatery Rib Line in San Luis Obispo. The Brahma Bull Challenge is a gigantic 4 pound tri-tip steak sandwich that must be taken down within the 42 minute record of the past winner, or sooner, thereby breaking the current record. Adam discovers only two people out of 50 have won the challenge. If Adam can coach Naader successfully Naader will win a trophy and free lunch every Friday at Rib Line until the challenge record is broken.
Adam’s first stop is at The Reel Inn in Malibu, known for their fresh seafood tacos. Adam checks in with the kitchen to see how they cook up their fish dishes. The chef creates a breaded halibut that is gently fried, then doused in a sumptuous sauce of garlic, wine, tomatoes and capers, then served with fries and cole slaw. Adam and the restaurant owner sit down to savor a plate of halibut together. As Adam places the fish in his mouth he compliments the restaurant owner on the freshness of the fish and how he can taste each and every ingredient.
Next Adam hits La Super-Rica Taquería in Santa Barbara, known for their meat tacos and Mexican fare. Adam runs into actor/comedian Kevin Pollak who is eating lunch and goes on at length about how good the food is there. Kevin describes his tacos while doing a spot on impression of actor Christopher Walken as Adam tries desperately not to fall out of his seat in laughter. Adam heads to the kitchen to see how the La Super-Rica Especial is made. The chef shows Adam how they marinate the pork with a special secret rub for hours. When the pork is roasted the chef pulls the meat apart and chops it. The chef splits open poblano peppers and fills them with cubes of Monterey Jack cheese and pork, then roasts them on the grill until hot and melty done and piles them on three hot toasty corn tortillas. Adam digs into a pepper and is amazed at the flavor, proclaiming the stuffed pepper absolutely kickass delicious.
Adam meets up with his protege Naader Reda for the Brahma Bull Challenge at Rib Line restaurant. The restaurant owner shows Adam how the beefy sandwich is put together. The owner cuts a 1 pound loaf of french bread down the middle, butters it with garlic butter then piles on 3 pounds of succulent beef tri-tip slices. The sandwich is topped with two sauces: one half topped with barbecue sauce (San Luis Obispo-style) and the other half topped with salsa (Santa Maria-style). Adam tries a bite of the tri-tip and thinks it’s flavorful and very tender, but is shocked by the size of the french bread being used for the sandwich. Adam decides he will advise Naader to win the challenge he needs to vary the flavor of the sandwich between the salsa, the barbecue sauce, and au jus.
Adam and the crowd chant “Eat That Meat!” as Naader begins the challenge. Naader starts out strong, pulling the sandwich apart and eating the meat first. Naader has a cup of au jus at hand to dunk the bread in, making it go down faster. Naader has gobbled up almost half of the entire sandwich within the first 5 minutes of the challenge! Adam notices Naader is not eating enough of the bread at this point and encourages him not to leave too much bread until the end or it will make winning the challenge difficult. Naader makes a tactical decision, calling for more au jus then pouring it over the french bread making it much easier to eat, impressing Adam.
Naader is making great headway until 32 minutes into the challenge when he hits the meat wall. Adam and the crowd encourage him, chanting “Naader, Naader!” as he struggles to get the rest of the sandwich down. Naader keeps dunking in the au jus as he eats, forcing through sheer will to take down the Brahma Bull sandwich. Naader is down to the last few minutes when he devours the last piece of tri-tip sandwich, winning the challenge at 40 minutes and breaking the old record of 42 minutes! The crowd cheers as Adam announces that today, in the battle between man and food, man won. Adam presents a smiling Naader with an official Man v. Food Nation title belt.
