By LARRY MAIER
There's a lotsa matso
Local residents chow down for charity
Big Mike Bitelli, a 20-year old Oceanside resident who plays defensive lineman at Nassau Community College, arrived with a posse in tow. His buddy, John Migliano, bragged about how his pal had once eaten nine Big Macs in one sitting. John's little brother, Joe, spoke in awe of his enormous friend's ability to put it away. He eats a lot...fast, said Joe.
Walter Pavlock, a 41-year old laborer from Baldwin, was a bit more low-key when he made his entrance. Pavlock arrived at Ben's Delicatessen in Baldwin with his three children and claimed to have never even seen a matzo ball before that day, though many fellow contestants considered this a psych job.
Fern Director, of Oceanside, said that despite recently losing 50 pounds, her husband Donald intended to do some serious damage and eat some serious matzo.
He's been training all his life, said Fern as she poked her husband's ample belly. He's ready.
The three local men were among the more than 30 contestants who took part in a regional-qualifying round of Ben's Charity Matzo Ball Eating Contest held at Ben's Delicatessen in Baldwin on Jan. 18. For a $25 entry fee, contestants received a $20 Ben's gift certificate and two free Islander tickets. Most contestants also received stomach aches.
The winner was promised a spot in the finals, which will be held at Ben's Manhattan (207 West 38th St.) on Tuesday, Jan. 30, and a shot at the $2,500 grand prize. All proceeds from the evening's event went to the Interfaith Nutrition Network which fights hunger and homelessness in the New York area. Last year, the event raised over $6,000 for the charity.
Never again, said Pavlock as he slumped in a booth after his first round heat. Actually, Pavlock was the leader after round one, eating 4 and 1/2 matzo balls. Pavlock's effort was commendable but, ultimately, his inexperience with matzo balls showed and his total was easily eclipsed by some heavy hitters in the second round, including Bitelli.
Contestants came is all shapes and sizes, but Bitelli had to be considered the pre-contest favorite. I eat all the time, said the 6-foot, 6-inch 325 pounder. Bitelli said that his only real concern was the time limit. Contestants were given 2 minutes and 50 seconds to devour as many baseball-sized matzo balls as they could.
There were two additional rules to the contest. First, contestants needed to completely finish each matzo ball before moving on to the next one. And second, any contestant who threw up would be disqualified.
Competing in the second round of action, Bitelli was impressive as he woofed down seven matzo balls to take over the lead. If I had more time I could have eaten more, belched Bitelli. In the Manhattan finals, contestants will be given 5 minutes and 25 seconds to gorge themselves. With more time I could probably have eaten 12.
Bitelli's effort was appreciated by Levittown resident Donald Lerman, who ate 12 matzo balls in last year's finals to win the event. Lerman was on hand to check out the competition and called Bitelli's performance impressive.
As for Director, he entered the contest with a definite strategy in mind. His plan was to drink no liquids prior to or during the contest and to cut the matzo balls into halves before eating them. Despite his grand scheme, Director couldn't match Bitelli. However, he did manage to chow down 6 matzo balls and impressed the crowd by ordering and consuming a hot dog with relish immediately after his heat.
It looked as though Bitelli's total would hold up until the second to last round when Woodmere resident Mark Romoff stuffed himself with 7 and 3/4 matzo balls. Romoff's victory was assured when the final few contestants fell short of this impressive mark.
Despite his heartbreaking loss, Bitelli said he learned a great deal from the experience and has vowed to return next year. I'm very disappointed with myself, said a sluggish Bitelli during a telephone interview the day after the event. I should have eaten faster at the beginning. I was still hungry when I was done.
Pavlock has recanted his never again
