Man v. Food Season 3 Episode 15: Butte
Adam travels to Butte, Montana to Trimbo’s Off the Hook Pizza to take on the Jumboli Stromboli Challenge. This massive stromboli weighs in at five pounds, stuffed with meat, cheese, veggies and sauce wrapped in a tasty pizza dough. Dozens have tried to win this challenge, but no one has succeeded in defeating the Jumboli Stromboli. If Adam takes down the Jumboli Stromboli in one hour, he gets a t-shirt that says “Holy Moli, I beat the Jumboli”, and his picture on the wall of fame. If he loses, his picture goes on the wall of shame with dozens of other photos.
Adam’s first stop is at Joe’s Pasty Shop, where they are known for their scrumptious pasties, filled with meat, potato, and onion. Adam is ready to try the Motherload Chili Pasty, a homemade pastry shell filled with steak, potatoes, ground beef, and onions, then smothered with their homemade chili, cheese and onions on top.
Adam heads back to the kitchen to watch Joe’s Pasty Shop owner Tom Laity put together the Motherload Chili Pasty. Tom cooks the meat, potato and onions, then sends the dough through an antique dough roller to create the pastry. Tom fills the pastry dough with the meat, potato and onions, then bakes the pasty for one hour. As the pasty comes out of the oven it is covered in chili, cheese and onions. Adam sits down to take a bite of the Motherload Chili Pasty and smiles as he says “That’s delicious…the flavor and texture of the crust is delicious!”
Next stop for Adam is Muzz & Stan’s Freeway Tavern, home to Butte’s famous pork chop sandwiches. Adam is interested in Freeway Tavern’s Wop Chop, a deep fried whole pork chop topped with cheese, lettuce, pickle, tomato and mustard on a fresh hamburger bun. Adam makes a pun as he says “That sandwich sounds like a Butte!” Adam visits the restaurant owner’s daughter Jolene Rohan in the kitchen to see how the Wop Chop is created. Adam finds out Muzzy, the owner and Jolene’s father, doesn’t let anyone else know how he cuts and pounds the pork chops, or the breading recipe for the sandwiches. Adam says “I am going to channel my inner Muzzy” as he tries to recreate the cutting of the pork chop, pounding, and breading to no avail.
Jolene is one of three people including her father who know how the batter is made for the pork chops. Jolene dips the prepared, breaded pork chops into the batter and slips them into the deep fryer, where they turn a luscious golden brown. The pork chops are pulled out, placed on a bun where they are dressed with cheese, lettuce, pickle, tomato and mustard. Adam takes a bite of the Wop Chop and sighs with happiness, telling Jolene “It’s so good, you’re so lucky you can have this anytime you want!”
Adam is ready to visit Trimbo’s Pizza for the Jumboli Stromboli Challenge. A montage shows Adam preparing for the challenge dressed as Butte hometown hero Evel Knievel in red, white, and blue jumpsuit with stars, and a red, white, and blue helmet. Adam is shown against a green screen riding a motorcycle and making a huge jump successfully, then holding up a Jumboli Stromboli in victory.
Adam arrives at Trimbo’s Pizza, where he visits with diners and compares the size of a normal stromboli, the specialty of Trimbo’s, and the humongous challenge stromboli he must take down. Adam heads back to the kitchen where restaurant co-owner Frank Trimboli shows him how the Jumboli Stromboli is made. Frank rolls out the eighteen inch pizza dough on a peel like any other pizza. The dough is filled on one half with a layer of mozzarella, sauce, fifty pepperoni slices, and more mozzarella. The next layer has two cups of spicy Italian sausage added, and more cheese and sauce. Another layer has genoa salami and capicola, then a layer of homemade meatballs, along with more mozzerella and sauce. The last layer has veggies: red bell peppers, onions, garlic, spinach and mushrooms. The Jumboli Stromboli is baked in the oven and topped with melted garlic butter.
Adam runs into the Trimbo dining room where the crowd cheers wildly. Adam sits at the table and the five pound Jumboli Stromboli is placed before him. Adam has one hour to eat this monster stromboli and win the challenge no other challenger has won. Adam dives into his first bite of stomboli and realizes it is steaming hot, making it more difficult to eat. Adam chows down as the crowd chants Man vs Food over and over. Five minutes into the challenge Adam is a quarter of the way through the stromboli, impressing the diners. At the ten minute mark Adam is half way through the stromboli and the crowd chants Go Adam, Go! Adam tells the audience “The richness is getting to be a lot” when referring to the layers of meats and cheese in the stromboli. As Adam finishes three-fourths of the stromboli the cheese starts to harden, making it harder to get the food down.
At twenty five minutes into the challenge Adam hits the food wall, telling the audience “It’s so rich!” Thirty minutes into the challenge Adam has two small pieces of stromboli left to eat and is struggling to complete the challenge. As the crowd chants for Adam to go on, he digs deep to devour the final two bites, winning the Jumboli Stromboli Challenge! Adam looks queasy as he accepts his t-shirt, his photo on the wall of fame, and cheers from the crowd. Adam tells the Butte patrons that today in the Jumboli Stromboli Challenge of Man vs Food, man won!
