UP junior devours a five-pound calzone to set a record at Nicola's Pizza and Pasta
By Aaron O'Connell
Junior Ryan Livingston sat, looking somewhere between determined and miserable, clutching two inches of doughy crust in his hands.
A student dressed in a full-body purple man suit and sporting a white headband was rubbing his shoulders saying, "C'mon, Ryan, you can do this!"
Patrons who had long since finished their food looked on in fascination. In the distance a phone sat playing "The Final Countdown" by Europe.
Livingston was about to accomplish a feat no person had up to this point. He was about to finish Nicola's five pound calzone challenge. As he dunked the last part of his crust into the water and finished the behemoth, the restaurant cheered.
"Ryan was really struggling until he got an emotional boost by an appearance from purple man," junior Joe Kurtz said.
Luigi Cortese, the owner of Nicola's Pizza and Pasta, came over and congratulated Livingston on being the first person to ever have accomplished the challenge.
"That was some good food," Livingston said, pushing himself back from the table. "I really don't want to touch any more food for awhile."
"Would you ever do it again?" an onlooker called.
"No," Livingston responded without hesitation.
Livingston and most of his cheering section then stood to leave the restaurant. Junior Peter VanDomelen had removed the hood of his purple man costume, and joked about punching Livingston in the stomach.
Livingston had finished five pounds of crust, pepperoni, italian sausage and cheese. This contest, hosted by Nicola's, a local North Portland restaurant, challenges customers to finish a five-pound calzone in under an hour. Those who win get their calzone and their drink on the house and their photo placed in the entryway of the restaurant.
Before Livingston, the closest person had gotten through only about four pounds of calzone. Cortese welcomes everyone to try the challenge and beat Livingston's top time.
"I'm hoping there's someone who can beat his top time of 58 minutes," Cortese said, who was also cheering Livingston on to victory the day he finished the calzone.
"He's top dog right now, you know? I hope someone challenges him," Cortese said.
But being the first to beat the challenge included some serious recovery time, according to Livingston.
"I went home and sat down on the coach and didn't move for two hours." Livingston said. "I tried to go over to (a friend's) and got sick, and then I got sick when I came back."
Eventually, Livingston had decided that his bed was the best place to go. Full recovery, he said, took about 12 hours.
Cortese laughs as he pictures how full Livingston must have been.
"I bet his stomach was like..." Cortese said, stretching his hands out in front of him in the shape of a huge circle.
Had Livingston not beaten the challenge, Cortese would actually have altered the size of the calzone to give competitors a better shot.
"I was going to change to four pounds because no one could accomplish it, but then Ryan came along," Cortese said.
Now, because Livingston, at 6 feet and 185 pounds, was able to finish, all competitors will be held to the same standard.
Cortese stresses that the contest will be unavailable during the restaurants' peak hours, Friday and Saturday between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m., or too close to the restaurants closing time of 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday. Nicola's is closed on Sunday and Monday.
Cortese hopes more people will compete in the future, and that the top time will eventually be shaved down.
"I believe that 58 minutes can be beaten. Someone out there is gonna take (Livingston) out." Cortese said. "I gotta get the word out there."
As for Livingston, he can still recall his initial impression when the calzone was brought to him.
"Holy shit."
