Houston Chronicle matzo ball preview

February 8, 2008 at 1:49 am by ojrifkin · More posts about:Houston, Uncategorized

The Houston Chronicle has a preview of the matzo ball eating contest that will be held March 2 at Kenny & Ziggy’s Deli. The restaurant’s web site also has a page about the contest.

Comments (50)

50 Comments »

  1. nathanbiller said (Registered January 29, 2007)

    February 27, 2008 @ 1:53 am

    Who else besides me is entered in this contest? I might be bored Friday/Saturday night.

  2. Anonymous said

    February 27, 2008 @ 5:17 am

    I think you will find camarederie in Joey and Pat.

  3. DON'' MOSES'' LERMAN said

    February 27, 2008 @ 7:25 am

    I wonder if only 1 16 oz. bottle of water will be the only beverage as i t was in bens deli? if not the record if in fact the record gets broken it should have an * after it ,in bens the single bottle was all you got to drink..don lerman

  4. SyKoBOZO said (Registered September 17, 2007)

    February 27, 2008 @ 8:03 am

    This contest will mark the first time i will beat Joey and Pat at something to do with CE…..by that i mean i will be the first to show up at the event,HAHAHA……well later on i will try and post some of the things going on this weekend in Houston,so far Snoop Dogg is playing Saturday night,also on Saturday is the best UFC in awhile,Sunday Marilyn Manson is playing,and theres some Houston Rodeo stuff going on too….more later on…

  5. Rhonda Evans said

    February 27, 2008 @ 9:55 am

    Syko I’d like to see you knoock off some of the well knowns–maybe in a year or so. Who knows?

  6. Rhonda Evans said

    February 27, 2008 @ 10:03 am

    That’s a good point Don. But, you know, all records get broken eventually. However, that does not detract from the record that was previously set. Because records are relative to the level of talent that pervaded at the time it was set, and talent level is relative TO time; it increases with passing time.

    That all probably doesn’t make any sense, but if I try to say it differemtly, I’ll have to write a brief dissertation to get the point across, which will sound stupid as I probably do already.

  7. DON'' MOSES'' LERMAN said

    February 27, 2008 @ 11:17 am

    listen in order to break badlands matzah ball record you have to use only a 16 oz bottle of water , plain & simple . same goes with the peppers , you use milk in the contest and it was banned in previus contests and * should be put next to the record …don lerman

  8. Don''Moses'' Lerman said

    February 27, 2008 @ 12:03 pm

    once again at ruth & gussies matzah Ball contest they brought out shot glases of water ( some people came with thier own drink and had the destinct atvantage )I was given 5 shot glases of water to drink , I could have done better with more water ..don lerman

  9. i was there said

    February 27, 2008 @ 1:41 pm

    Ruth and gussie was a miserably failed attempt to duplicate Bens deli’s matzah ball contests. There was nothing like Ben’s which had that old fashioned family atmosphere. Another factor that left a sour taste in everyone;s mouth was that ruth and gussie contest tried to be like carmines meatball eating contest shoving 10 or 15 lbs of matzah balls in front of your face and see who could eat the most from the bowl. Nothing but a huge mess if you ask me

  10. nathanbiller said (Registered January 29, 2007)

    February 27, 2008 @ 2:47 pm

    Thanks Syko, although I know Manson tickets have been going for over $300 each on Ebay, so I’ll have to pass.

  11. Don''Moses'' Lerman said

    February 27, 2008 @ 3:05 pm

    I was there to the matzah balls were prepared by the chefs at the friers club not by ruth & gussie personel , they had no knowlege of how to cook a matzah ball they should have been made the size of a golf ball and let to expand by bioling instead they made them baseball size and pulled them from the boiling water to soon and hence they were mealy . like I said the eaters who came with there on drinks had the advantage over those recieving shot glasses of water ..don lerman

  12. Anonymous said

    February 27, 2008 @ 4:49 pm

    I can’t wait untill Joey Chestnut wins and breaks the record for matzo balls.

  13. Erik the Red said (Registered January 9, 2006)

    February 27, 2008 @ 5:30 pm

    Don, I did not use milk in Laredo so don’t put an asterisk next to my name please. I do agree with you, they should not have changed the traditional rules in Laredo but I am pretty sure Pat still would have won and still killed the record.

  14. badlands booker said

    February 27, 2008 @ 6:10 pm

    Records are made to be broken so good luck to all competitors and may the best eater prevail this weekend

  15. Don''Moses'' Lerman said

    February 27, 2008 @ 7:40 pm

    ErIc The Red I compelment you on your3rd place victory . had milk been allowe din my year win , Im not saying I would have put up pats numbers but it would have been close as for the coment anoyomous 440 and Eric Booker you dont break a record with different rules on adifferent playing field…don lerman

  16. SyKoBOZO said (Registered September 17, 2007)

    February 27, 2008 @ 10:40 pm

    ok heres whats going on this weekend in Houston Too Short on Friday @The Meridian,Citizen Cope @Warehouse Live (I,m working at that show),DJ BabyAnne @Rich’s – Saturday UFC best card in awhile,Snoop Doog @Warehouse Live,All That Remains @The Meridian,Michael Buble @Toyota Center,- Sunday Matzah Ball Contest at 2pm,Marilyn Manson @Verizon Wireless Theater,…countless smaller venues to choose from plus other kinds of clubs to choose from…Tim McGraw will be Starting the Rodeo on Monday night,Rockets and Denver are also playing Sunday night….look for a magazine called Houston Press,it has what’s going on around town,food,clubs,movies etc…Have A Nice Day 🙂

  17. SyKoBOZO said (Registered September 17, 2007)

    February 27, 2008 @ 10:59 pm

    hey nathan,im working the Manson show,if you really want to go,i will see if i can get a hook up….from what i have found out,theres some pretty big names doing Matzah Balls besides Pat and Joey,but im sworn to secrecy,:)…if any of the eaters need anything when they are here,directions,places to eat,bail bondsman,etc… i will post my number,im working Friday night but i will have it on,im off all day/night Sat,gotta watch UFC

  18. anonymous said

    February 28, 2008 @ 12:15 am

    DML
    Your record was impressive, but you make yourself look pathetic fighting its demise. Give it a rest. Roger Maris cheered on Mark Maguire. That’s how it should be.

  19. Philly Guy said

    February 28, 2008 @ 1:00 am

    Bozo,

    Hook me up with a flight and a spot in the contest and I’ll do it.

    JK

  20. Rhonda Evans said

    February 28, 2008 @ 7:53 am

    I also believe that records should count as being broken only when conditions or rules of the subsequent event are duplicated in the current one for that given food. This includes time, allowable beverage types and amounts, the exact variety of the given food used, as well as the measurement process (weighing versus “eyeballing”).

    I also think everything should be weighed, in order to minimize the subjectivity in a “sport” in which subjectivity is already rampant (i.e. dropping food under the table, food in cups, dunking vs no dunking, etc. Anytime food is not weighed you are allowing the subjectivity envelope to be stretched, versus taking the bull by the horns and weighing for a more accurate measure.

    Not weighing food sends a message that you have not a sport, but pseudo sports entertainment, like wrestling, whereby judges can help determine the placings to conform to their desires.

    Food for thought.

  21. SyKoBOZO said (Registered September 17, 2007)

    February 28, 2008 @ 8:19 am

    hey thanks Rhonda, but i still have a ways to go before anything like that happens,it,s my 4th event so im just trying to do better each event and learn as much as i can

  22. nathanbiller said (Registered January 29, 2007)

    February 28, 2008 @ 9:16 am

    Dude, the hook up would be incredibly awesome and vastly appreciated…no pressure though – thanks for the awesome hospitality – nathanbiller@hotmail.com

  23. Why Whine said

    February 28, 2008 @ 9:16 am

    Don, stop trying to find some “loophole” to say you still have this record, and that record. Everyone knows you are a great and legendary eater who HELD a lot of records, and STILL has some, but man….stop the whining!!
    It’s like Kobayashi saying he still has the hot dog record because someone may have used Kool-Aid Diet Strawberry to drink last year (not saying they did), and that wasn’t available on the market yet when he first broke the record….doesn’t that just sound silly to you?…You are too good for this, it makes you sound like a crazy, bitter old man…chill out, we all know you are a Hall of Famer!!

  24. SyKoBOZO said (Registered September 17, 2007)

    February 28, 2008 @ 10:03 am

    no problem,thats how we do it in Texas…let me see what i can do,i will let you know later..are you coming in on Fri,Sat or Sunday?

  25. Rhonda Evans said

    February 28, 2008 @ 10:35 am

    Good attitude SyKo. Remember: Pat Bertoletti and Hall Hunt were ranked nearly dead last in the top 50 only 2 1/2 – 3 years ago. Very few eaters start off with enough natural ability to be ranked in the top 10 from the outset (Only Sonya and Koby come to mind.), and I’ve followed CE since this millenium started.

  26. nathanbiller said (Registered January 29, 2007)

    February 28, 2008 @ 10:45 am

    I’ll be there all 3 nights – staying with a friend on N Stadium Dr.

  27. Don''Moses'' Lerman said

    February 28, 2008 @ 1:00 pm

    This is to why wine ; I lent my fame and credibily as bens 2000 matzah ball champ and entered the hot dog arena thus creating the sport of Competitive eating.as matzah ball champ I didn;t leave my house for over a month as I was busy doing telephone radio interviews , I sold th e contest & the sport to the p ress and public , you would think that the mle could have found a place for me in the upcomingcontest as ajudge or comentator ..don lerman

  28. nunya said

    February 28, 2008 @ 1:36 pm

    DML — waaaahhh waaaaaahhhh!

    Sport + Subjectivity = America’s Pasttime (MLB)

  29. nunya said

    February 28, 2008 @ 1:36 pm

    Balls & Strikes!!

  30. Carey said

    February 28, 2008 @ 2:02 pm

    Don, if you are going to post this here, I hope you don’t mind a little criticism on your claims. I am not telling you to shut up or stop whining, but I think a little more information is needed to back up these claims.

    “I lent my fame and credibily as bens 2000 matzah ball champ and entered the hot dog arena thus creating the sport of Competitive eating”

    the sport was already there. You won a contest, entered another. Maybe you did create the sport, but this doesn’t tell us how.

    “I didn;t leave my house for over a month as I was busy doing telephone radio interviews” (sic)

    really, that many interviews? You should try to come up with a list of all the interviews you did, I know it is a hugh task, but it might prove worthwhile to back up your point.

    “I sold th e contest & the sport to the p ress and public” (sic)

    did you get out of it what you put in? You weren’t working for the IFOCE doing this, were you? What contests did you sell to the public? Also, were they IFOCE contests that you are talking about?

    “you would think that the mle could have found a place for me in the upcomingcontest as ajudge or comentator”

    maybe they don’t think that you are good at judging or commentating. Perhaps they found others that are better at it.
    It seems to me that you considered yourself as something other than an eater in all of these contests. Which ever ones were for the IFOCE, if they asked more of you than that, and you gladly did everything you could above and beyond being an eater, then it sounds to me like you were being used.

    On the point about records, I agree that different rules would create a different contest, so records previously held should stay intact. I think that if a certain contest changed rules slightly, like what beverage can be used, then there is a gray area that should be discussed. Why Whine, Why not discuss them here?

  31. Don''Moses'' Lerman said

    February 28, 2008 @ 3:14 pm

    Carey , who the hell do you think you are to critsize me with this war & peace diatride of yours who asked you to put your 2 cents in this , I got 2 words for you and its not happy birthday,,,don lerman

  32. Philly Guy said

    February 28, 2008 @ 3:55 pm

    I think he’s wishing you good luck at the college contest. What a true sportsman!! I got two words for you too.

  33. Carey said

    February 28, 2008 @ 4:12 pm

    Well Don, I could ask you the same thing. I didn’t see your name on the heading, in fact, I don’t see your name associated with this contest anywhere. So, to re-state my previous comment, Don, if you are going to post this here, I hope you don’t mind a little criticism on your claims. I will keep putting my two cents in, thank you. And you can take that to the bank.

  34. Don''Moses'' Lerman said

    February 28, 2008 @ 5:12 pm

    Carey I:ll have you know that when i say that i did hundreds of radio phone interviews , that bens gave me a sprial notebook of it as a suverner Thou there were eating contests before me it wasnt deemed a sport untill I crossed over to the hot dogs , someday perhaps some eater in the far off future will knock your efforts in th e ce arena and your career and youl know how I felt …don lerman

  35. Don''Moses'' Lerman said

    February 28, 2008 @ 5:22 pm

    Let me just say this and I’ll put this issue to rest . in 2002 made up portfolios and sent them to every antacid manufacter every hot sauce co and nearly every food pervision company . detailed portfolois with news paper articles contest pictures and told them of the vertue of this new bergining sport Ce. thou they used my ideas I never recieved any credit I still have the return receipt requests to back up what I say ..don lerman

  36. nunya said

    February 28, 2008 @ 8:04 pm

    so you did a bunch of stuff but have nothing to show for it.

    well, i’ll have you know I scored 4 touchdowns in a high school football game for Polk High.
    then I made a highlight reel of my whole career and sent it to every college in america, but still no body gave me a look. but i have the proof that I made the highlight tape.

    pipe down, old man.

  37. US MALE said

    February 28, 2008 @ 9:37 pm

    Hey Nunya, How is your dog Buck and is your 74 Pinto still running?

  38. US MALE said

    February 28, 2008 @ 9:37 pm

    Sorry, 74 DODGE

  39. Carey said

    February 28, 2008 @ 10:31 pm

    Thanks, Pete and Don, I will try my best

  40. anonymous said

    February 29, 2008 @ 2:28 am

    carey you are an asshole . How dare you critique the great don lerman. The two words he had for you did not mean happy birthday or good luck but more like F– you.

  41. Don''Moses'' Lerman said

    February 29, 2008 @ 7:05 am

    look, enough said lets all put it behind us and move on….don lerman

  42. Carey said

    February 29, 2008 @ 9:24 am

    Thanks for that insight, but you are not him, so you are just putting words in his mouth. He isn’t mean like that, I am sure he was just wishing me good luck.

  43. anonymous said

    February 29, 2008 @ 9:27 am

    carey you are not an asshole. just because you’re like 50 and are entering a college contest or pick on atleast 2 mentally unstable people, doesn’t make you an asshole keep on keepin on

  44. Carey said

    February 29, 2008 @ 11:21 am

    There are some good points there, however they would be taken more seriously if you didn’t overexaggerate so much. 50? You must be somewhere around 18 to think I am in the same age bracket as that. I am still in college, and can do the contest, so I am going to do the contest. Are you saying you wouldn’t do it if given the opportunity?

    I don’t believe that either Don or Brian are mentally unstable. And I wouldn’t call what I wrote picking on them. They like to misinterpret things that they don’t understand. I would say the same thing to others, and it wouldn’t be taken the same way. The only thing is, these types of things don’t have to be said to others. I will admit sometimes I will throw in a big word just to confuse Brian, and get him upset over nothing. OK, yes, I pick on him. But not Don.

  45. Rhonda Evans said

    February 29, 2008 @ 12:40 pm

    Don, I just want to throw this out: The way I see things, you Charles Hardy, Badlands, Cookie, and a few others are very special. In my mind, visitors to this site are very, very lucky that you famous guys who blazed the trail in CE blog in, from time to time. In the scheme of things, that would be like Marshal Holman posting in a blog for amateur bowlers.

    To be completely honest, I feel offended for you when folks on this site don’t treat you with the respect you deserve. You don’t need, therefore, to exclaim your own accomplishments. Your CE deeds and accomplishments speak loudly for themselves and will forever reverberate through the CE annals.

  46. ummm? said

    February 29, 2008 @ 1:16 pm

    Carey = Danny Almonte

  47. Don''Moses'' Lerman said

    February 29, 2008 @ 1:45 pm

    thank you Rhonda for your kind thoughts ..don lerman

  48. beautifulbrian said

    February 29, 2008 @ 2:18 pm

    Ive always been mentally unstable. It’s the best way to get attention and i enjoy trying crazy things to get attention. Like this new album for instance. Something new becomes something old very quickly. People on this site or any other blog for that matter, take pleasure in determining what gets you upset or press your buttons. Once they have that all figured out they will fuck with you like there is no tommorow. Mr Carey is an intelligent individual . I might have read him the wrong way by a remark he made in the past which i assume was meant to be a joke. I guess he held it in for me from that point on. I say lets move on. Don gets sensitive every now and then and so do i. I think everyone does at one point or another . I have read other comments that are far less degrading about other eaters than what was written about myself and the person or person’s being mocked are ready to jump down their throats even if the comments come from alias or anonymous names. I think that just the idea that certain assholes know i frequent this site from time to time gives them the incentive to take pot shots or diss me from time to time. Its all good .Say what you may as long as you dont put your hands on me.

  49. Carey said

    February 29, 2008 @ 3:57 pm

    ummm? that is funny. Except they had good reasons to complain. With this competition, there is no age requirement, and I wouldn’t consider myself a ringer.

  50. ummm? said

    February 29, 2008 @ 5:05 pm

    so you’re more Johnny Knoxville in the movie ‘Ringer’ or Cartman in the South Park episode where he finished dead last in the Special Olympics?

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