Shula’s steak challenge has been tried by 80,000 restaurant visitors, with only two people ever completing the challenge. Restaurant visitors have no time limit in order to complete the challenge. Shula’s steak challenge features a 48 oz. porterhouse steak grilled live for Adam to feast on. Adam has 20 minutes to finish the entire steak, not much time to accomplish this impressive feat. Shula’s uses the best angus beef steak available for the challenge.

The crowd cheers Adam as the show starts. Adam points out the many tailgate snack foods available for the audience featuring local restaurants providing Philly cheesesteaks, hot wings and huge deli sandwiches for the crowd.

Pre-taped segments showed Adam visiting local restaurants to sample their best dishes. The first taped segment shows Adam visiting Sarussi restaurant and sampling their Cuban sandwiches. Adam tries their Cubano sandwich “The Sarrusi Original”, a 16 inch by 4 inch sandwich filled with 20 slices of baked ham, 15 slices of Cuban roasted pork, 8 slices of mozzarella cheese, freshly baked bread slathered in garlic butter, then the meats are topped with pickles and a spicy sauce. Adam takes a bite, closes his eyes as he relishes the taste, then tells the restaurant owner he wants to move next door to the restaurant because the sandwich is so delicious he would eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Another taped segment shows Adam visiting Joe’s Stone Crabs restaurant to taste their “Joe’s Jumbo Stone Crab Claws” special. Adam finds out fishermen catch stone crabs and remove one claw, which grows back in six months. This means the crabs continue to live and regrow their claws instead of dying like most caught crabs do. Adam tries his hand at cracking some of the crab claws with a mallet, not so easy to do as he finds out. Adam finally gets the chance to try the crab claws and mentions how sweet and flaky the crab meat is. Adam and the restaurant owner finish the meal with their famous Key Lime pie for dessert.

The next taped segment shows Adam visiting La Moon restaurant to try their stacked hot dog special “Supermoon Perro”, a 9 1/2 inch long dog. This gigantic hot dog features an all beef hot dog, chorizo, bacon, melted mozzarella, fried shoestring potato sticks, mayo, pink mayo, ketchup, homemade mustard and a pineapple sauce, topped with a hard boiled quail egg speared into the hot dog. Adam is dubious about the addition of the pineapple sauce but becomes a convert quickly as he bites into the delectable hot dog.

Adam runs a few live food challenges for the audience during the show. The first challenge takes four audience members, two New Orleans fans and two Indianapolis fans who chow down on huge 10 pound angus beef hamburgers to see which team can eat the most burger in 15 minutes. The hamburgers are cut in quarters using hacksaws. In the end, the challenge is won by the Indianapolis team who receive free t-shirts, to great cheers from the crowd. The second live food challenge for the audience features hot wings using habenero sauce. Each team must down three hot wings each to win the challenge. Two teams of three linebackers comprise the challenge, including Travel Channel host Dhani Jones. The wings go down one by one, with Dhani’s team winning the hot wing challenge. Glasses of milk are ready to be drunk after this hot sauce challenge.

The last taped segments show Adam gearing up for the big steak challenge with the help of coach Don Shula, who gives him a pep talk and takes him through a number of football warm-up exercises. Shula delivers a taped message near the end of the show to encourage Adam during the final minutes of the food challenge.

Adam is backstage preparing for the challenge, iPod buds plugged in his ears. Adam focuses, pacing back and forth before the event begins. Adam arrives to the challenge dressed in a black tuxedo. Suddenly Adam tears away the tuxedo to reveal a t-shirt and jeans as the crowd screams approval. The announcers talk about the event as if its a football game, giving odds on Adam’s chances to win the challenge. The announcer states Adam’s wins this season so far for Man v. Food are 24 wins for man vs 14 wins for food. The 48 oz. steak for Adam’s Shula’s steak challenge arrives on the plate. Adam dabs the juice of the steak behind each ear like perfume, then begins the 20 minute steak challenge while the audience chants “eat that meat”, “yes you can” and “let’s go Adam, let’s go” over and over.

Adam devours the steak quickly and is 1/3 of the way through the steak at the 4 minute mark. After 12 minutes Adam has 24 oz. of the 48 oz. steak eaten, but starts complaining about his jaw hurting from the excessive chewing of the steak. The announcers states Adam seems to have the “meat sweats” and might have a “beef drunk” going on as Adam rolls his eyes at the amount of meat and wipes his brow while eating. The steak cam shows up close how little is left of the steak on the bone. At 7 minutes Adam asks coach Shula’s son if the two bites from the steak bone he has left qualify as the final bites and he says yes. Adam downs the first bite, grimacing from jaw pain, then stands to announce the final bite, finishing the steak challenge with 3 minutes and 23 seconds left on the clock. Adam completes the challenge to cheers from his fans and once again, in the challenge of man vs food, man won.

Watch Man v. Food Wednesdays at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT on The Travel Channel.

First Adam visits Woody’s restaurant in downtown Hartford, known for their gigantic and delicious specialty hot dogs. Of the nine hot dog specials Adam decides to try their famous “Deputy Dog”. The Deputy Dog is a 1-foot long hot dog topped with pulled pork, melted sharp cheddar cheese, topped with barbecue sauce on hot dog bun. Adam declares the Deputy Dog one of his favorite all time hot dogs he has ever tasted.

Adam visits Doogies, another hot dog institution in Connecticut. The “Doggie Dog” is a gigantic meal, featuring a 2-foot hog dog covered in sauteed onions and peppers, homemade chili, cheddar cheese and bacon sauce, served on three German-style buns. Adam loves the addition of sauteed peppers on the hot dog.

The next place on Adam’s Hartford food tour is the world famous Ted’s Restaurant. Adam is there to try their famous steamed hamburgers with melted cheese. Steamed hamburgers are a local tradition in Connecticut. The burger meat is placed in square shaped trays then steamed in a metal steam box to cook the burgers. The cheese to top the steamed burger is also melted in these same square trays. The steamed cheesy burger comes with home fries covered in melted cheesy goodness. After trying the steamed burger Adam says its like “pulling up a blanket of ooey-gooey cheese” over yourself. Adam says “yum” while eating the burger, telling the viewers they must come to Connecticut to try this cheesy steamed burger.

Adam arrives at his destination for the Randy’s Wooster St. Pizza Shop’s 10 lb. Stuffed Pizza Challenge. The 22-inch stuffed pizza is made of 3 pounds of dough, ground meatballs, pepperoni, crumbled bacon, five fresh vegetable toppings, and 3 pounds of ricotta, pecorino romano and mozzarella cheese.

Adam’s partner in the challenge is a previous Stuffed Pizza Challenge winner Greg Malumi, who goes by “The Great Moomise”, part of one of two teams who beat the challenge. The challenge has defeated 442 teams of competitors to date. Adam and Moomise have one hour to finish off the gigantic stuffed pizza. If they win they get to inscribe their names on the challenge booth, winning free t-shirts and hats. If they lose their names are included on the “Wall of Shame”.

Adam yells “let’s get this pizza party started”. The crowd chants “Man vs Food” as they begin their food battle. Adam and Moomsie must each eat 4 whopping slices of stuffed pizza. Adam’s strategy is to eat the filling of the pizza first while Moomsie goes the entire slice route. Moomsie downs 2 full slices while Adam eats the stuffing of 2 slices, leaving crust to the side. Adam declares Moomise “a machine” when it comes to eating the stuffed pizza. At 35 minutes into the challenge Moomise is almost done with his slices while Adam is ready to down the pizza crust he set aside. Adam struggles with consuming the dough. Moomsie finishes his pizza slices with 15 minutes to go. As they head to the finish line Adam gives up eating the rest of the dough. Moomsie steps in and starts eating part of Adam’s dough, surprising Adam and the crowd, who cheer them on. Adam finds a second wind and with Moomsie’s help, completes the challenge with one second to spare. Adam becomes a first time champion while Moomsie celebrates his second win in the challenge. Adam declares in the stuffed pizza challenge of men vs food, today men won.

First Adam checks out Rutgers University and partakes in their tailgating party. Next Adam visits Harold’s Deli. Every food item at Harold’s Deli is BIG. A deli specialty is their monster matzo balls the size of softballs, floating in chicken broth. The deli doesn’t miss a beat when it comes to sweets, serving up a decadent 6 layer chocolate cake for dessert. One of Harold’s Deli’s best selling items is their 10 pound triple decker deli sandwiches you’d need an army to help you eat. Adam’s sky high sandwich is stacked with corned beef, pastrami and turkey, a 12 inch tall deli sandwich in all. Adam disects a portion of the meats and stuffs them between the bread to dig into a portion of this humongous sandwich.

Next Adam visits the Stuff Yer Face restaurant where stromboli’s are king and come in sizes baby, large and huge. The popular 2 pound Italian meat and cheese stuffed pizza dough sandwiches are a campus classic at Rutgers University. Adam asks if he can make his own combo and the answer is yes. Adam requests a huge 18 inch sandwich made of beef sirloin, grilled chicken, cheddar cheese, brie cheese, carmelized onions, fresh onions, tomatoes and fresh spinach, topped with a spicy ancho chipotle sauce. Adam takes a bite of his stromboli and is in heaven.

Adam arrives at campus to take on the R.U. Hungry grease truck for the Fat Sandwich Challenge. Adam must eat 5 Fat Sandwiches in the Fat Sandwich Challenge in 45 minutes. With 20 mouth watering sandwich options Adam orders up his 5 competition sandwiches: Chicken Fat Cat, Veggie Fat Cat with fried veggie burger, Fat Romano and 2 Fat Koko steak sandwiches. As Adam gets ready to start the food challenge, Rutgers University students chant “Adam, Adam” and “sandwich, sandwich” to cheer him on. Adam tears into the first of 2 Koko steak sandwiches. Adam finishes the first Koko in 4 minutes and his second Koko sandwich in 13 minutes. Adam digs into the Fat Romano next. As Adam starts to scarf down the third sandwich a former contestant in the challenge tells Adam to slow down. Adam jokes “I always practice safe challenge, I always use a condiment”.

Adam starts to feel full at the twenty minute mark while eating the Fat Romano sandwich and hits the meat wall. Adam is struggling with the third sandwich with 18 minutes left. He finishes the Fat Romano and starts in on the Chicken Fat Cat. The crowd chants as Adam barely finishes the Chicken Fat Cat with 4 minutes left to down the Veggie Fat Cat. Adam does everything he can to down the Veggie Fat Cat. Halfway through Adam must concede to the meat wall and give up the challenge in the last minute of the contest. Adam throws down the half Veggie Fat Cat sandwich and tells the students in today’s challenge between man vs food, food won.

First Adam visits El Guero Canelo to try their popular hot dog wrapped in bacon. El Guero Canelo’s specialty “Sonoran Dog” features a bacon wrapped hot dog in a soft homemade hot dog bun, covered in pinto peans, tomatoes, onions, jalepenos and their special mayo sauce. Adam wonders about the mayo sauce instead of the traditional mustard but grins with delight when tasting the pork on pork goodness of the “Sonoran Dog”.

Mi Nidita is known for their huge platters of Mexican food. Mi Nidita’s was good enough for President Clinton to eat at so why not Adam. He sits at the booth Clinton sat in and as he waits, does a great Clinton impression. Adam wants the same plate of food the president ate and its a big platter of food. This 2 pound plate features a chili reneno, tamale, enchilada with red sauce, pinto bean tostada and their most popular item, their shredded beef taco. Adam dives into the plate of food and proclaims “me likey” when he bites into the delicious shredded beef taco.

Adam arrives at Lindy’s Diner on 4th to face the OMG Burger Challenge. Adam watches behind the scenes as his burger tower is being made. The burger features 12 Angus beef patties, swiss and cheddar cheese, toppings and a spicy chipotle sauce. If Adam can finish the burger challenge in 20 minutes he gets his meal for free and a picture on the wall of fame as a winner of the challenge. If Adam doesn’t finish the burger in 20 minutes he can still win a place on the wall of fame if he finishes.

Adam begins the OMG Burger Challenge to chants of “go Adam go” and “Man vs Food” by the crowd. Adam divides the burger into sections then tears into the first few patties of Angus beef hamburger. Adam comments on how good the meat is and how rich the burgers are. As Adam hits the 20 minute mark he proclaims the challenge is “nucking futs” as he hits the meat wall. He’ll have to pay for the meal but keeps trucking along eating the burger to finish the challenge. At the 44 minute mark Adam gets down to the last bite of the burger and finds his courage to finish the last bite. The crowd cheers as Adam proclaims victory stating in today’s OMG Burger Challenge, man won.

First Adam checks out a barbecue featuring a gigantic platter of food at Osborne Family Farm, with proceeds from the barbecue benefiting the Little Rock Police Department. The barbecue platter is served on a cafeteria tray (because it is so big) with 4 pounds of a half whole chicken, beef rib brisket, turkey legs, sausage, a pulled pork sandwich and sides. Adam goes nuts over the the delicious brisket barbecue and after tasting the brisket licks his fingers ’cause its just that good.

Next Adam arrives at Cotham’s Mercantile to try out their famous hubcap cheeseburgers, available in double, triple and quadruple sizes. The burgers are a huge 8 inches wide and 1 pound in weight and come with lettuce, tomato and pickle. Adam tries the enormous quadruple cheeseburger and gets a tasty side of double-dipped onion rings. Adam can barely get a bite out of the burger, it is so enormous. Adam proclaims the burger and onion rings delicious.

Adam begins his super spicy challenge at The Mean Pig BBQ. The “Shut Up Juice” challenge has such hot sauce on the sandwich that most people survive through two bites and call it quits. If Adam wins the challenge he receives a “I Survived the Shut-Up Juice” t-shirt. Adam is cheered on by the crowd, signs the hot sauce waiver and prepares for the scalding sauce by wearing latex gloves. There is no time restriction to the challenge, simply eating the whole sandwich then keeping it down for five minutes. Adam tells the crowd “let’s see if the Mean Pig sauce can shut me up”. Adam takes his first bite and is shaken by the heat of the sauce. Two bites in and Adam is crying and shaking his head at the thought of taking another bite of the habanero inferno sauce. Adam gathers his strength and fights through the sandwich, unable to speak due to the heat. Adam has three bites left and struggles. Encouraged by the crowd Adam manages to down the last three bites and suffers the five minutes afterwards to complete the challenge. Still suffering through the heat and pain, Adam declares today in Man v Food, man won.

First Adam visits the Roadhouse to try their breakfast special the “Roadhouse Standard”. This big breakfast features scrambled eggs, bacon, home fries and a side of Roadhouse’s famous sourdough pancakes. The sourdough starter was made years ago and has been used to make all their pancakes since the opening of the restaurant. Adam devours the breakfast and is amazed at the flavor of the sourdough pancakes.

Next Adam visits the West Rib Deli & Pub for their “Seward’s Folly”. This gigantic burger features two 1 pound patties of Caribou meat, topped with 12 slices of Swiss and American cheese, 12 slices of bacon, 1 pound of ham, carmelized onions, slathered in their house “FatAss Sauce” (made with mayo, bacon, horseradish and balsamic vinaigrette), served on toasted sourdough bread skewered with a tall Alaskan flag and a pound of fries on the side. Adam tries to take a bite of the towering sandwich, commenting on the smoky flavor of the Caribou burger, and is amazed at how good the sandwich is.

A short clip shows Adam fortifying himself for the Kodiak Arrest Challenge, bravely trekking through the Alaskan wilderness on snowshoes. As Adam narrates he talks about the dangers of the wilderness, then states its crazy trekking in the Alaskan wilderness and hops on a plane to get him out of there.

Adam travels to Anchorage to Humpy’s Alaskan Ale House for the Kodiak Arrest Challenge. No challenger has completed the challenge and Adam can’t wait to try the fresh Alaskan seafood featured in the challenge. If Adam eats the entire plate of food in 90 minutes he will win a “I Got Crabs at Humpy’s” t-shirt and be the first person to complete the challenge.

As the crowd cheers Adam on the humongous Kodiak Arrest Challenge 6 pound platter of food arrives consisting of 12 ounces of reindeer sausage, seven wild Alaskan salmon cakes, 3 pounds of king crab legs, sour-cream-and-chive mashed potatoes, assorted vegetables, and mixed berry crisp with ice cream for dessert. Adam must crack the crab legs open and this sets him back fifteen minutes before being able to chow down. Adam attacks the reindeer sausage and mashed potatoes first, then dives into the delicous salmon cakes, finishing all this in 22 minutes. Adam begins to eat the king crab meat and hears heavenly voices, saying this is the best crab he has ever eaten. As he finishes the crab at 40 minutes into the challenge he faces the final decadence, the dessert. Adam has some difficulty facing the dessert but manages to slowly chip away at it and finishes the meal with time to spare. Adam wins the t-shirt and admiration of the restaurant crowd, proclaiming in the Kodiak Arrest Challenge man vs food, today man won.

First on Adam’s Brooklyn agenda he visits Brennan and Carr, one of his favorite local hangouts. The restaurant is famous for their hot beef sandwiches dipped in beef broth. The owner Eddie explains to Adam there are three ways to enjoy their dipped beef: Dingle Dangle (meat dipped in broth), Double Dip (meat and bread dipped in broth) and the Knife and Fork Job (meat and bread soaked in broth). Adam usually gets the Double Dip but today he’s trying something new, the Double Dip Gargulio, their delicious roast beef sandwich paired with burger, cheese and onions, and dipped in their famous broth. Adam tries the juicy sandwich and loves it.

Next Adam visits L&B Spumoni Gardens restaurant to have one of his favorite hometown treats, their Sicilian style square pizza. L&B Spumoni Gardens was founded in 1919 and specializes in Italian classics. The pizza is simple with fresh ingredients: San Marzano tomatoes, mozzarella cheese on a homemade crust, topped with olive oil. Adam’s family has eaten at L&B Spumoni Gardens for four generations. Adam savors the taste of his hometown pizza. Adam’s t-shirt features the slogan “Keep the Dodgers in Brooklyn”.

Adam arrives at Buffalo Cantina for his Suicide 6 Wings Challenge re-match, determined to win. Adam must down six hot wings in six minutes to win the challenge. The last challenge he managed to eat only one wing before calling it quits. Adam goes into the kitchen to see what diabolical elements make up the blistering sauce for the Suicide 6 Wings. The sauce is made of Jalepenos, Chile de Arbol, Habenero and pure chili pepper extract. Adam dips his fingertip into the sauce, tries it and curses because it is so hot.

As Adam sits down to face the Suicide 6 Wings Challenge again, the crowd is screaming for their hometown hero. A sign in the crowd reads “Food Dude”. Adam tears into the the first hot wing and is overwhelmed again. Fighting back the pain of the blazing hot sauce Adam reminds himself he’s doing this for Brooklyn. Adam uses the cooling ranch sauce to help the wings go down. He says his entire mouth is burning after just one wing. Adam tears through each wing while the crowd is screaming its support. As Adam downs the last hot wing he is crying and obviously in pain but succeeds, telling viewers that the heat of the wings is like a hot star landed in his stomach. Adam declares victory for his hometown Brooklyn, New York, stating in the Suicide 6 Wings Challenge Man vs Food, today Man won.

Adam’s first stop in Detroit is dueling hot dog spots located right next to each other. The restaurants are two of the most popular hot dog restaurants in Detroit and feature delicious hot dogs served up with their own famous chili. The Lafayette Coney Island hot dog uses specialty dogs with a special spice flavored chili, spicy mustard and vadalia onions while the American Coney Island restaurant goes old school with old fashioned American chili, yellow mustard and spanish onions. After trying both of the competitors hot dogs. After trying both of the competitors hot dogs it comes time for Adam to vote on the best hot dog in Detroit. Adam stands in front of the competing restaurants, gets ready to state his preference then realizes he’s late for an “appointment” and runs off.

Adam’s second Detroit restaurant stop is to Slows Bar BQ, famous for their delectable barbecue items. Adam tries their Triple Threat, an enormous sandwich featuring pulled pork, bacon and ham. There are a number of different barbecue sauces Slows Bar BQ offers to their customers. Adam chooses a sweet and spicy version to dip his sandwich in. Adam takes a bite of the gigantic sandwich and hugs the cook. He’s impressed with the amount of meat on this pork fest of a sandwich at Slows Bar BQ.

Adam arrives at Mallie’s Sports Grill and Bar to take on the biggest burger challenge ever on Man v. Food, a 190-pound burger with all the fixins. Adam’s co-contestants include a KISS tribute band, a women’s roller derby, a Motown singing group, masked wrestlers and other assorted Detroit locals. Adam and the forty contestants fill the room and get ready to eat. As the challenge starts they get started chowing down. In this sea of people there are contestants who are already looking for their second plate of burger and Adam joins in as well.

Adam is making a valiant effort downing the second plate of burger while others are slowing through their first plate of food. Adam grinds to a halt hitting the meat wall at the very end of his second plate and most of the other challengers are in the same boat. A few brave souls venture into a third plate of the humongous burger and they too grind to a halt. The majority of pounds of burger have been devoured but there are still pounds left to pass out as competitors give in. The giant burger succeeds in defeating Adam and his fellow contestants. Adam, declaring defeat from a too full stomach, states that today food won.

Adam’s first chow down in Baltimore is at Chaps Charcoal Restaurant, where they serve scrumptious pit beef sandwiches. One of their popular sandwiches is “The Raven”: pit beef, turkey, corned beef topped with onions, barbecue sauce and American cheese, then coated with their special Tiger Sauce. Adam digs into the sandwich with gusto. For TV trivia fans, a fun fact: I caught a glimpse of Adam’s t-shirt at Chaps Pit Beef restaurant. Fans of cable show “The Wire”, set in Baltimore, might recognize the logo on his shirt “Carcetti for Mayor” as a character from the well-known TV series.

Next Adam travels to Obrycki’s Crab House and Seafood Restaurant, famous for their seafood, especially their cracked crab. Adam looks on as the owner grabs blue crabs for the meal, aiming a live one at Adam who cringes and jumps back from the swinging crab claws. Owner Rob Cernak teaches Adam how to crack open their delectible fresh cooked blue crabs with a mallet to reach the rich crab meat inside the shell.

Finally its time for Adam to face The Great Steak Challenge at Steak & Main restaurant. Two dozen challengers so far have tried the challenge but only four have succeeded. Adam must devour 74 ounces of steak and one pound of side dishes in one hour. The challenge features five of the finest steaks available including Filet Mignon, Flat Iron, Delmonico, Prime Rib and New York Strip.

The crowd is revved up and cheering Adam on. Adam dives into the steaks, finishing the Filet Mignon, Flat Iron and Prime Rib after twenty minutes. He hits the “meat wall” as he calls it when eating the Delmonico steak, and uses the sides to help get it down. He’s looking queasy at this point and the crowd is chanting “Man v. Food” to encourage him. As Adam eats the New York Strip steak he is struggling with every bite, standing up and taking a breather before final bites. Adam gets down to three bites of steak and can’t make it through the challenge. So close! He pays up the $140 bill after a courageous try at besting The Great Steak Challenge and admits today “food won”.

Adam begins his visit to Washington visiting Ben’s Chili Bowl, famous for its beef chili. The meat based chili smothers many of the food items at the restaurant. Adam samples the chili half smoke, a half beef/half pork hot dog covered in their famous meat chili. Adam is in chili heaven.

Next Adam travels to Horace and Dickies to try out their fried fish sandwich. Adam watches the head cook, known as “Big Mama”, fry up some major fish fillets. The regular fried fish sandwich uses four fish fillets; Adam chooses the big version of the sandwich featuring six huge fish fillets with eight slices of bread. Adam takes a huge bite and sings the sandwich’s praises.

Adam’s acting sketch involves him evolving into a typical politician on the campaign trail, dressed in suit and tie, smiling, holding babies and shaking many hands with a fake grin all under the watchful eye of Washington monuments.

Adam finally arrives at Chick and Ruth’s Deli, ready to begin his food challenge. The crowds cheers him on as Adam is teamed with Heather, another contender who will be competing along side him in the food challenge. Adam gets to choose his flavors of ice cream. He learned from the last failed ice cream challenge to stick with one flavor of ice cream for shakes. Six individual shakes are blended then poured into a gigantic drinking glass with straw. Paired with this is a giant meat sandwich. Adam must consume both the sandwich and giant shake in less than one hour.

Heather can only finish a quarter of her shake and hasn’t even taken a bite of her giant burger before surrendering to the challenge. Adam attacks the giant shake and finishes half the shake and part of his sandwich before Heather folds. Adam hits the wall two-thirds of the way through the challenge but finds space and finishes off the six pound shake and a one and a half pound sandwich in less than one hour. The crowd cheers his victory. Adam states in the case of man vs food, man won.