Comparing the Alaska episodes of 'Man v. Food,' 10 years apart 🍔
Some weeks, I know what show I want to watch for AK IRL. Other times, it comes down to me searching "Alaska" and seeing what comes up. Yesterday was the latter, and I came across Man v. Food.
Basically, the show highlights "big food." Adam Richman hosts the first four seasons of the show, and Casey Webb takes over for season five onward. Both guys made their Alaska debuts on-screen, first Adam in 2009 and Casey a decade later.
Of all the [Man v. Food] challenges, the only one that I would legit go back and eat as a meal, in Alaska, Adam said in an interview last year. I'll never forget my mother's like, 'I really don't like the name of this challenge.' It was called the Kodiak Arrest. Before, the chef got really, really drunk, and if he listens to this, brother – you know you were in the bag.
Adam's Anchorage episode begins in Talkeetna (lol), where he visits the Roadhouse for some old school breakfast. At the RH, you used to be able to get cinnamon rolls and razzy rolls (cinnamon rolls with raspberry filling) the size of your head. Unfortunately, the only way you can eat their breakfast in 2026 is by booking a room.
Just down Main Street, Adam heads to West Rib to attempt the Seward's Folly Burger Challenge.
The burger is 4.5 pounds, plus another pound of fries. I posted on Facebook to see if I knew anyone who had tried to eat the monstrosity, and within 20 minutes got a message from a high school friend.
In 2014, Cooper and I tried to tackle the burger. We had to recruit a couple other friends to help. The chef cut it into fourths for us. It was a complete mess haha.
Adam's last stop is Humpy's, which is the only Anchorage restaurant he eats at in his episode. There, he takes on the Kodiak Arrest Challenge, a six-pound meal consisting of three pounds of crab, a 12-ounce reindeer sausage, seven 2-ounce salmon cakes, six ounces of mashed potatoes, six ounces of veggies and a mixed berry crisp. Adam has 90 minutes to eat it, and finishes with 43 minutes on the clock.
It looks like Humpy's has changed the menu of the challenge to seven crab nuggets, 14 inches of reindeer sausage, four pounds of crab, side dishes, mixed berry crisp and ice cream in an hour.
Humpy's has a virtual hall of fame, with photos and small descriptions of each winner, including where they live and their finishing time. Champs get a t-shirt that says, "I got crabs at Humpy's." A guy named Jefory is the current reigning champ with a time of 12 minutes and 10 seconds. Good lord.
There's something called a newscaster voice, where people who work in TV develop a very similar voice and tamber. Latter Man v. Food host Casey is giving Guy Fieri voice.
The freshest catch is in Alaska's seaside big city, Anchorage.
Debatable.
Casey goes to the Slippery Salmon, which closed a while back. I never ate there so I don't have any personal experiences to share, but Casey chats with some locals who say they like the joint because you could get king crab in almost anything on the menu – including king crab grilled cheese and crab benedict.
How is that different than any other Benedict that you've had? Casey asks a customer.
Crab, she says.
LOL. During Casey's season 8 visit, all I wanted was to see him buy crab out of a truck with a hand-painted sign that reads, "ALASKAN KING CRAB." But we can't always get what we want.
They go north to Talkeetna, where he tries The Bachelor from Denali Brewpub – a three-blend meatloaf made of reindeer, pork, beef, roasted red peppers, onions, eggs, pepper and salt (Brewpub omits breadcrumbs and oats in their loaves). My go-to order in high school was the Caesar salad with chicken, and a side of sweet potato fries with ranch. I looked up their menu of current prices, which would have my meal cost $37, before a drink and tip.
Man v. Food's Wiki page says the Anchorage Daily News wrote about the second season in March of 2009 when producers reached out to Pepper Mill about Fat Andy's Pizza Challenge (as in Andy Kriner: true story), where two people could attempt to eat a 12-pound pizza in under an hour. Winners would receive $500 and have their photo added to "Fat Andy's Wall of Pain," but the challenge never aired.
Kind of a trip to see restaurant prices from 17 years ago, though. Regular size combo pizza with butter crust at Pepper Mill, $13.99. Blue York steak, $10. Fresh roasted turkey sandwich, $9.95. Eight-ounce cheeseburger, $9.99.
(total watch time: 42 minutes)
I GOT A TEXT! 📱 'Love Island' S8 begins June 2
We recently finished watching America's Culinary Cup on AK IRL'S Discord, and will be wrapping up our other two shows, Survivor 50 and Top Chef in the next week or two. Up next on the watch party calendar: Love Island.