Food Network Comes to Nashville Seeking Ginormous Food

While I’m normally not a fan of over-the-top conspicuous consumption food shows like the one that made Adam Richman famous and was also rumored to have turned his liver into pâté. But people apparently love to watch other people eat things that are bigger than their heads, so new iterations of these sort of shows keep appearing on your television tubes.

One of the latest big food Food Network shows is called Ginormous Food and is hosted by Josh Denny, a man who claims in his Food Network bio that his favorite burger topping is “other burgers.” The next episode of his show focuses on Music City and is titled “Nashville’s Titans of Tennessee.” Premiering on Friday, Feb. 3, at 7 p.m. Central time with subsequent airings over the following week, the show depicts Denny seeking out some crazy large local plates.

Perhaps the craziest dish featured on the episode comes from a restaurant I have to admit I’d never heard of, Bellevue Diner at 7071 Old Harding Pike. Chef Adel has come up with something special to show off to Denny, who I hope to God didn’t try to eat all of it. Unlike Richman’s Man vs. Food, there’s not necessarily the expectation that one human can consume these featured dishes, which is fortunate considering Bellevue Diner serves up a 17-pound chicken gyro sandwich.

His second stop is at local hot chicken favorite Pepperfire where chef-owner Isaac Beard whipped up a new menu dish that is a super-sizing of an item that was already pretty mondo to start with, the AppleJack. The Battle Royale is a quadrupled AppleJack, four deep-fried grilled cheese sandwiches, almost two pounds of hot chicken tenders and 1.3 pounds of cinnamon apples all stacked atop one another. Pepperfire suggests that diners tackle this particular dish as a team effort.

Denny’s final revelation is a Piranha’s, a Pittsburgh-themed bar and grill where Steelers’ fans are still swallowing their sadness after the recent AFC Championship loss to the Patriots. (Don’t yell at me. I was rooting against the Deflators, too!) Already known for excessive sandwiches, Piranha’s brought out the big gun for the show, their Titan Cheesesteak, made with six pounds of steak topped with one pound of cheese, three pounds of coleslaw and hand-cut fries. I’m not certain if there’s any sort of reward for finishing up this sandwich by yourself, but I’m hoping it includes an angioplasty and a good colon cleanse.

If you have a prurient interest in stuff like this, enjoy the premiere this weekend. I’ll be checking the channel guide for a show called Salad Wars or something like that.