It’s been a while since I did an eating challenge. Sure, I sampled SafeHouse’s OOMG Burger before it made its Milwaukee debut in January, but there was no way I wanted to try to conquer that humongous endeavor. Truthfully, now more than six years into this business—which is putting up record numbers, by the way!—and at 35 years of age, I thought I was past having to put myself through consumption-based challenges for clicks. I don’t have to, but I recently found a new Milwaukee eating challenge that I wanted to try. Plus, the world is ending and nothing really matters anymore.
Back in June, Crafty Cow in Bay View unveiled a brand new challenge that combines daunting poultry portions and intense spice. The “Heat And Repeat” challenge consists of a massive sandwich stacked high with three fried chicken breasts—one Nashville Hot style, a 414 Fire breast topped with ghost pepper sauce, and an MKE Lava breast that’s coated in a sauce with Carolina reaper peppers—along with pickles and snap pea broccoli slaw between two pieces of Texas toast. The $40 sandwich comes with a side of macaroni and a beer, which aren’t actually part of the challenge, but available if a competitor needs them to cool off.
Bold diners get 15 minutes to eat the entire sandwich and “keep it down.” There are no bathroom breaks, no additions, and no substitutions. Though Crafty Cow graciously offered delivery for the sake of this article, the Heat And Repeat is dine-in only. If successful, Crafty Cow will pay for the sandwich and they’ll give winners a $30 gift card. So far, only two people have completed the Heat And Repeat spicy chicken sandwich challenge.
Being someone who routinely enjoys Crafty Cow’s delicious Nashville Hot, I wanted to see if I could bump up the heat and be the third to finish it. Here’s my attempt. (My sincere apologies for the gross chewing noises and heavy breathing. As you can see, that sandwich did a number on me!)