Local native seeking spot on TV’s ‘Man v. Food Nation’

John Lomascolo is confident enough that he can finish 5 1⁄2 pounds of greasy barbecue food in less than 30 minutes that he’s even willing to do it on national television.

The 23-year-old Colonie native is lobbying the Travel Channel’s “Man v. Food Nation” to give him a chance to do it. Lomascolo, a first-year law student poised to begin school at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee, is among five finalists vying for a chance to appear on the show with host Adam Richman. He’s hoping to do it by taking down the Graveyard Burger at the Wagon Train BBQ in Rotterdam.

“It’s a tougher one,” he admitted Tuesday during a phone interview. “But I think I can do it.”

Lomascolo has a medium build but an appetite that’s large. He said he comes from a large Italian family that is used to taking down huge quantities of food in a sitting.

Of course, the amount Lomoscolo is proposing to consume as part of the challenge is usually enough to feed a family. Wagon Train co-owner Rit Frederick said the Graveyard Burger starts with a pound of ground beef and is topped with two fried eggs, 8 ounces of pulled pork, 8 ounces of beef brisket and 8 ounces of macaroni and cheese, four strips of bacon, four pieces of cheese, 8 ounces of coleslaw, onion slivers and deep-fried jalapeno peppers.

In the Wagon Train’s challenge, a customer must finish the foot-high behemoth in 30 minutes or less to get the meal for free, their photo on the restaurant’s wall of fame, a personalized parking space out front for 30 days and a T-shirt. Failing to finish the Graveyard Burger means paying the full price of $29.95 and getting their photo on the wall of shame.

All 15 people who have taken the challenge so far have failed. That’s not much of a surprise when considering that groups ordering the massive meal to split seldom walk away with a clean plate.

“We had a family of five come in the other night, and they couldn’t finish it,” Frederick said.

In truth, the Graveyard Burger was almost tailor-made for the types of challenges Richman has embraced in the past and now chronicles as part of his new show. Restaurant manager Steve Capitimmino, who acknowledged being a big fan of Richman’s, said he had the host in mind when formulating the challenge with Frederick.

They initially rolled out the Tombstone Burger, a smaller cousin of the Graveyard that weighs in at a relatively paltry two pounds and change. People were downing the Tombstone without much difficulty, so the duo decided to up the ante.

“I figured we have a lot of great items on the menu; this would be a great way for people to try everything.” Capitimmino said.

Lomascolo, who also describes himself as an avid Richman fan, is no stranger to such challenges. He’s put back a 2-pound hamburger in 8 minutes, vanquished a 4-pound burrito with another half-pound of side dishes and also finished a 6-pound pizza in challenges at other restaurants.

Lomascolo figured the challenge at the Wagon Train was perfect for Richman’s show and submitted a video to producers earlier this summer. Earlier this month, he received word back that he was a finalist in a contest that will be decided by online voting on the show’s Facebook page.

Lomascolo is now hoping a little help from the public before Thursday’s deadline for voting will bring Richman to the Capital Region to experience some of the great food it has to offer. And he’s looking forward to being the first to finish one of the area’s most prodigious consumption challenges.

“I think this would be like perfect,” he said.

Categories: Schenectady County