David Brown, of Elizabethton, earned the title, for the second time, of Lone Star Steakhouse’s National Champion of the Ribeye, after eating 100 ounces of steak and two sides in 36 minutes on Thursday night.
Afterwards, off the clock, his server jokingly asked if he saved room for dessert, so he asked for a dessert menu and ordered and ate a slice of apple pie with ice cream.
His former record of eating 80 ounces was broken by an Oklahoma man who completed 82 ounces.
Brown said he held all the food down and experienced “a little indigestion that evening.”
He prepared this time, which he had not done in the past, by eating only a salad and steamed vegetable on Wednesday, then a bowl of cereal and an apple on Thursday.
“By then I was starving,” he said.
When he arrived, his goal was to eat 96 ounces, but when he had eaten all but the last few ounces, he ordered 4 more ounces to enter the triple digits.
“I walked out feeling good,” he said. “I could have eaten more, probably another 10 ounces.”
He received a call Friday from Lone Star CEO Scott Smith who said he was going to fly in from Texas to shake his hand and congratulate him.
“I asked if we could sit down and have a steak together,” said Brown, to which Smith agreed.
According to Elizabethton Lone Star General Manager Tanya Miller, a bit of a rivalry has developed between her store and the Broken Arrow, Oklahoma location.
“I really think that this record will hold for a while, but Broken Arrow is very competitive, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they try to beat it,” she said.
According to Service Manager Robin Kirkham of the Broken Arrow store, Harold said that he would come back in and do it if his record was broken.
“He’s trying to stay on top,” she said.
Brown said he is not going to attempt to eat more than 100 ounces.