That’s right, we’re making this a habit.  I’ve covered a lot of sports in this city, and I can honestly say there aren’t many events more unique than Great Mex’s parking lot taco eating contests, on Atherton in the looming shadow of the Long Beach State Pyramid.  And, like all Long Beach competitive events, there are storylines, strategy, and yes, even superstars involved.

Defending champion Roland Milutin arrived about fifteen minutes before the start of the event, eliciting a wave of groans from the assembled competitors.  After all, Roland ran away with the previous competition, taking home the top prize of $200 easily—he said he was going to use the money to help pay his wife’s college tuition.  When the clock started running at 6:15 Thursday evening, it was soon apparent that Roland had a worthy challenger in Dan Steinbacher.  Dan and Roland went taco for taco, plate for plate, pacing each other almost exactly to fifteen.  Then Roland pulled away, topping his previous win’s total by scarfing down a total of 22 tacos.  Dan finished in second, tied with Scott at 18 tacos; both took home $100 of free shirts.

All told, the 21 competitors ate 268 tacos—not bad, considering the entry fee was only ten bucks!  Stay tuned for news about more taco contests down the road, and be sure to check out our awesome highlight video from the event! 

Disclosure: Great Mex is an LBPOSTSports.com advertiser.