Someone will win $1,000 this weekend by inhaling a five-pound, three-foot-long burrito. The Burritozilla Scarfing Contest, put on by downtown San Jose taqueria Iguanas, has already held preliminary rounds at each of its four locations to identify the city’s fastest eaters.

“At one of our stores, we actually didn’t have anyone finish the burrito,” says Chelsea Taylor, an assistant manager. Still, Jacob Larry, Edward Ching and Dax Swanson conquered the family-sized tube, and they will compete at the final chowdown, hosted in the downtown location from 2 to 4pm this Saturday.

The Burritozilla is gargantuan. Three tortillas enfold a cushy bed of cheese, hearty scoops of beans, meat and rice, in addition to thick ribbons of pico de gallo, guacamole and sour cream.

“For a lot of people, we’ll just have them hold out their arm, and it’s about that length,” says Taylor. “I’ve actually had someone get sick on me. It sucked. But you do have to sign a waiver saying we are not responsible for any stomach issues. It’s a big burrito.”

The fastest finisher in the history of the Burritozilla is the newest champion of the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest, Matt Stonie, a San Jose native. In a stunning YouTube video, Stonie wolfs the log in one minute and 50 seconds.

“The reaction to that from all of us was like, ‘Holy Crap!’” says Taylor. “It looked like he didn’t chew it, he was just swallowing.”

But Stonie won’t get a shot to officialize his dominance. The competition sticks to amateur face-stuffers. Training is loosely forbidden, but the strategy is simple: gobble as fast as you can and ignore the confused protests from your rapidly filling body.

“If you don’t finish it within 30 minutes, you’re most likely not going to finish it,” Taylor says. “As soon as that 30-minute mark hits, it starts to expand in your stomach. And it gets a little cold, so it’s harder to chew.”

The Burritozilla is popular outside of timed scarf-offs, though it is usually split between two or three people. Solo challengers of the legendary meal have about a 15 percent success rate. For many, it is a gut-stuffing exercise in humility.

“I get this all the time.” Taylor says. “They’ll say, ‘I got this, I got this,’ and then I bring it to their table. And they’ll go, ‘Oh, I don’t got this.’”

Iguanas
330 S. 3rd St., San Jose. 408.271.9772. www.burritozilla.com.