The Origination of the Food Marathon

Recently the LA Times, the Travel Channel and the Food Network have been doing stories on food trips; where the restaurant is the destination. Famous Fat Dave even takes you along in his cab for such a trip. This is my story:

In November of 1996, I returned home to Los Angeles from Madison,
Wisconsin. I was about three months into the best years of my life.

College at the University of Wisconsin was as cold and beer-ridden as
you would expect, and I loved every minute of it. Unfortunately the
menu of bratwurst and cheese left a lot to be desired.

So, I was home for the long Thanksgiving weekend, which only left one
day of freedom from family, errands and much needed sleep. I met up
with a few friends who were also home visiting family, and we were
stuck with one of the worst dilemmas a college freshman could face;
In-N-Out or Henrys Tacos . Or Yuccas. Or Tommys. Or any of the other
countless, greasy, west-coast-only establishments that serve up
different variations of meat and cheese delicacies.

The unanimous decision was to make a marathon out of it and stop at
each place. As everyone knows, the key to lasting through a marathon is
pace. To keep a safe pace we chose to eat one item from each
restaurant/stand. Thus began the Food Marathon.

Since the initial three-stop marathon, we've expanded and specified the
course. We've done a Mexican-food-only marathon, a San Fernando Valley
marathon and an LA Weekly Best-Of Issue marathon.

Stay tuned for posts about the past two marathons (the '50+Miler' and 'NYC Chinatown').

This blog will not just be about Food Marathons, however we're very excited for the ten year anniversary in a few weeks. Much more to come...