A BBQ joint gone up in smoke and the home of the Johnny B. Goode challenge raided by the sheriff's
department – not so Goode after all! These iconic Man V. Food locations lost the challenge.
Adam Richman stopped in Knoxville, Tennessee towards the end of the third season to try
out some signature barbecue dishes. The main challenge of the episode took place at Sweet
P's Barbecue and Soul House, where Richman tackled the El Gigante Comida Challenge,
which involved a whopping five-pound barbecue burrito. But before that challenge, Richman
visited a restaurant that's gone the way of the dodo: Dixson Bar-B-Q. While at Dixson Bar-B-Q,
Richman tried the Pigburger: pork patties made from rib trimmings,
steamed onions, and a mixture of Dixson's signature hot and sweet barbecue sauces.
Dixson Bar-B-Q was a restaurant people would
often recommend to those looking for some great local Knoxville places.
"If I want an authentic Knoxville pigburger, where do I go?"
"Dixsons."
"Dixsons Bar-B-Q."
Despite the restaurant's stellar reputation, the location apparently no longer exists.
According to a Reddit comment, the restaurant was shut down after a fire.
Early in the tenure of "Man v. Food," Adam Richman visited Boston, Massachusetts in Season 1,
Episode 8. There, he stopped by East Coast Grill & Raw Bar in Cambridge to try its signature
spicy feast known as "Hell Night." On three nights each year, the restaurant transformed
its menu with a spicy collection of ingredients designed to test even the toughest heat-lovers.
While attending Hell Night, Richman tried the Blistering Pasta From Hell, which was
made with black pepper fettuccine and a sausage ragu that contained three ghost chile peppers.
"This is the hottest pepper in the world. He's gonna go straight. Are you sure?"
After Hell Night, the episode ultimately brought Richman to
Eagle's Deli and Restaurant, where he tackled the Eagle's Challenge,
which included five pounds of beef, 20 slices of cheese, and 20 slices of bacon
The Boston episode aired in 2009, and East Coast Grill & Raw Bar enjoyed continued
business for an additional seven years. In 2016, though,
the restaurant closed after a 30-year history in Cambridge. According to Whim,
if you visit the location today, you will come across a new business called Highland Fried.
Adam Richman stopped in Richmond,
Virginia in Season 3 of "Man v. Food," where he took on the Stupid Wings Challenge at Caliente,
one of the toughest challenges he said he ever faced. He teased the episode on Twitter, saying:
"One of the hardest damn challenges in all
three seasons. I can promise y'all a great, great episode."
Before he ultimately conquered that challenge, though, he first visited The Black Sheep,
a restaurant located near Virginia Commonwealth University that was widely known for its
larger-than-life sub sandwiches. Measuring in at 2 feet long and weighing in at 2.5 pounds,
these submarine sandwiches were so large that they were affectionately known as "battleships,"
each one named after an actual U.S. military cruiser. Richman ordered the U.S.S. Brooklyn,
which was a sub made with Jamaican jerk chicken and cabbage slaw topped
with roasted banana ketchup, served on a baguette filled with peach chutney.
"The smell of this jerk is so good. I am not talking about Kevin in a rude way."
Richman seemed mighty impressed with the sub joint – so much so that he even returned to The
Black Sheep to feature it on Travel Channel's "Adam Richman's Best Sandwich in America."
Unfortunately, several years after the Richmond episode of Man v Food aired,
The Black Sheep closed its doors permanently after its lease was up in 2017. This would
not be the last time the Battleship sub sandwiches would make an appearance,
however, as Richmond Magazine reported that the restaurant's former owners reunited in
January of 2022 for a pop-up event in the city. The pop-up event featured a few of
The Black Sheep's signature Battleships that fans could preorder for takeout.
Las Vegas, Nevada is filled with immersive themed destinations, from the famous hotels
along the iconic Las Vegas Strip to numerous restaurants, shows, and attractions. The
larger-than-life imagery, from the pyramid structure at the Luxor to the replica Eiffel
Tower at the Paris Las Vegas, could make you think that there is something here for just
about everybody. So it should come as no surprise that Las Vegas was once home to a NASCAR Cafe.
Not only did this restaurant attract NASCAR fans from far and wide, but it was also a
magnet for those seeking food challenges like Adam Richman. When "Man v. Food" stopped in Las Vegas,
Richman visited the race car-themed restaurant at the Sahara Hotel and Casino. There,
he tackled the Big Badass Burrito, which weighed in at six pounds and measured two feet long.
Those brave enough to take on this burrito had an hour and a half to eat it in its entirety.
NASCAR Cafe, however, would not be so lucky in the long run. Just a few years after Richman's visit,
the restaurant was closed and demolished as part of a renovation at the Sahara hotel.
As the search for food challenges continued in the show's second season, "Man v. Food"
found itself in Baltimore, Maryland, where Adam Richman stopped at Obrycki's Crab House
and Seafood Restaurant. While the episode focused on more steak-centric challenges,
Richman couldn't pass up the city's claim to fame as a go-to destination for fresh seafood.
"Get it the f— away from me. Rah! Jah!"
He headed to Obrycki's, where viewers got to catch a glimpse
of the restaurant's crab cakes and steamed crabs. Speaking to customers and staff,
Richman was repeatedly sold on the restaurant's signature crab dishes.
Despite all of the high praise coming from hungry diners in the "Man v. Food" episode,
the original Obrycki's would not last in the long run. According to the restaurant's website,
you can still visit Obrycki's, though not in its original location. It shuttered its Fells
Point restaurant and can now be found at the BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport in concourse B.
Early on in the first season of "Man v. Food," Adam Richman visited Columbus, Ohio. The challenge
in this particular episode was found at Ohio Deli & Restaurant. There, Richman tackled the
Dagwood Sandwich, named after the classic cartoon character Dagwood Bumstead. The sandwich weighed
in at 2.5 pounds and was made with smoked turkey, ham, roast beef, and cheese, and it came served
with a side of french fries. Challengers had just thirty minutes to complete the sandwich
and winners of the challenge got a commemorative t-shirt that said: "I Defeated the Dagwood."
"It was delicious. But do you know what's even more tasty?
The sweet taste of success. And a hint of garlic mayo."
Unfortunately, the walls of Ohio Deli & Restaurant would not stand much longer,
however, as the iconic location burned down in a fire in late 2014.
Season 3 Episode 9 of "Man v. Food" was located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and its surrounding
suburbs, including Edmond, where Adam Richman found himself at the Steak & Catfish Barn. There,
Richman took on the Fried Catfish Challenge, which involved attempting to earn the title
of "Top Cat" by eating more catfish in one hour than anyone else had before.
"Will I be top cat? Or will the fish take me to school?"
At the time of taping, the record was 28 catfish, meaning Richman's challenge was
to consume 29 catfish in 60 minutes. Edmond Life & Leisure reported on Richman's visit,
noting that in the month that followed the episode airing in 2010, the restaurant saw
a surge in business. Restaurant owner Dino Smalley shared with The Oklahoman that the
spike in crowds would occur every time the Oklahoma City episode was re-aired.
Though the restaurant enjoyed a bump in business immediately following the episode airing,
the owners were close to retirement age and seemingly decided to end things on a high
note. A few years after the "Man v. Food" episode aired, Steak & Catfish Barn closed,
and Smalley and his wife, Maria Vitale, moved to her homeland of Italy.
"It's just been a really good run, doing this. It just wears you out."
Someone else took over the business for a while,
but since then, the restaurant has permanently closed.
In Season 2 of "Man v. Food," Boise, Idaho was one of the featured cities visited by the production
team. The challenge of this particular episode took place at Rockies Diner, where Adam Richman
had to survive the Johnny B. Goode Challenge. This challenge included the Johnny B. Goode Burger,
a menu item that by itself was a challenge to eat in a reasonable amount of time. The burger
was made with three third-pound patties topped with cheese, onions, pastrami, and a hot dog,
all of which came served open-faced and smothered in chili. In addition to the burger,
Richman had to eat an entire plate of chili cheese fries and a milkshake.
"Welcome to your nightmare made real. Bink bink bink bink."
All three items — the burger, the fries, and the milkshake — had to
be consumed in less than 30 minutes. The prize for completing the challenge was a
Fender guitar. As of the episode being filmed, only 30 of the 1118 challengers
had come out victorious. Richman would rise to the occasion and become the 31st winner.
But it turned out that this challenge had an expiration date, because Rockies Diner closed
suddenly in 2019 due to a seizure of the property by the local sheriff's department. Apparently,
the restaurant owed over $60,000 in unemployment taxes. The restaurant
did manage to reopen for a short period of time, but the COVID-19 pandemic delivered
a one-two punch that Rockies Diner ultimately could not recover from.
Season 3, Episode 14 brought Adam Richman to Portland, Maine, as well as its surrounding
areas. In the town of Arundel [uh-RUN-duhl], the production team stopped by the Tradewinds Cafe
to take on the Manimal Challenge. The challenge required diners to consume a number of Tradewinds
Cafe's more notorious menu items, including the Ochoburger, which included eight patties,
two hot dogs, french fries, a soda, and a milkshake — all of which totaled five
pounds of food — in just 20 minutes. Though the thick milkshake proved to be a tough adversary,
Richman ultimately came out on top, completing the Manimal Challenge in the allotted time.
Since the airing of the Portland, Maine episode, however, Tradewinds Cafe shut its doors,
according to WCYY. The restaurant's Yelp page also lists it as closed. So, if you're trying to seek
out all of the "Man v. Food" challenges yourself, this is one you would have to recreate at home.
The last restaurant on our list was located in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. Adam Richman visited
the Gulf Coast for an episode of "Man v. Food Nation," sampling unique foods in Mississippi,
Alabama, and Florida. His first stop was at The Shed BBQ and Blues Joint,
where he tried smoked pig that was made in a custom-built smoker called the RoboHog.
The smokers used to cook the signature barbecue would ultimately be the location's demise. The
Sun Herald reported that less than a year after the episode aired,
The Shed burned down in a fire that was caused by a smoker. Despite the unfortunate turn of events,
the restaurant notified its customers that it expected to be serving up food by the next day.
Though the original version of The Shed no longer exists, it would rise from the ashes. Business
returned soon after the fire, according to a tweet sent by The Shed, albeit not in its original
structure. A visit to the website today will show that The Shed has indeed made a comeback. So while
you can't visit the location you saw on the show, you can still get a taste of that same BBQ flavor.
"Get a beer, listen to some blues, have a rib. Life is perfect."