Super Bowl Sunday was a big day around Richmond, and not just because of the big football game. At Mekong Restaurant in the West End, hours before the game, something magical was happening. It was the return of the annual Pho King challenge, in which contestants competed to see who could down a giant bowl of pho (pronounced “fuh” …and yes, that does mean what you’re thinking it means about the way the name of this challenge is pronounced) and a liter of dark Belgian beer (and keep them down) the fastest.
Super Bowl Sunday was a big day around Richmond, and not just because of the big football game. At Mekong Restaurant in the West End, hours before the game, something magical was happening. It was the return of the annual Pho King challenge, in which contestants competed to see who could down a giant bowl of pho (pronounced “fuh” …and yes, that does mean what you’re thinking it means about the way the name of this challenge is pronounced) and a liter of dark Belgian beer (and keep them down) the fastest. The winner for the previous two years had been our own John Reinhold, but rather than go for the hat trick, he decided to step down this year in favor of hosting the event. Reinhold’s trained, handpicked successor was Deejay Greenberg, and Deejay’s most vocal challenger was RVA Magazine/Radio Rubber Room’s Dan Anderson, but everyone was shocked when the trophy was instead taken by a dark horse contender known only as The Black Hole. Photographer extraordinaire Todd Raviotta was on hand to document the chaos that ensued once the event began, and he brings us this excellent photo-animation montage, set to legendary 80s anthem “You’re The Best” by Joe Esposito, or as you probably know it, “that song from The Karate Kid.” Feast your eyes on the glory that was the 2012 Pho King Challenge.
Video by Todd Raviotta
Still image by David Hunsaker
Words by Andrew Necci
