Yesterday, at the original Nathan's Hot Dogs in Coney Island, the Annual 4th of July Hot Dog eating contest was held. Takeru "The Tsunami" Kobayashi is now the six time champ by besting second place Joey Chestnut. Kobayashi ate 53.75 hot dogs besting Chestnut by 1.75 dogs. This is the closest that an American has come to Kobayashi, last year's separation was a whole 12 dogs!

Kobayashi eats the hot dogs by splitting the frankfurter in half, swallowing both parts at once, and then dipping the buns in water, Sprite, or 7-Up and stuffing it in his mouth. Kobayashi has a condition called gastroptosis, an abnormal downward displacement of the stomach. It is unclear whether this condition plays a factor in his eating ability.

I've had these hot dogs before, I find the casing too tough and little flavor in the actual dog. They serve beer at this location which is quite an odd sight for me since I'm from NJ and you can't get alcohol at fast food places. Their fries are quite delicious, especially with cheese and bacon bits!