Headed to the Krystal Square Off VI World Championship in Chattanooga on September 27? The fun doesn’t have to stop after the last burger is scarfed down. Here are some other exciting things to check out while you’re in town:

Outdoor Activities
Known for its breathtaking natural beauty, Chattanooga is the perfect town to best experience the great outdoors. Take a bike ride or go whitewater on the Ocoee River. Stop and smell the roses at the Reflecting Riding Arboretum or simply head out on a picnic at the 353-acre Booker T. Washington State Park overlooking the Chickamauga River. A couple of Krystal Chiks make the perfect picnic snack.

Family Fun
Bringing the kids? Chattanooga’s happy to have them! The city has hundreds of activities that are sure to please any member of the family, starting with the legendary roller coaster at Lake Winnepesaukah amusement park. Your son will have hours of fun at Insane Paintball (the biggest paintball facility in the country) while your nature-lover daughter will get a kick out of the zoo. Be sure to grab a couple Krystal Blitzes before you head out: trust us, you’ll need the energy.

History Lessons
Just because you’re on a vacay doesn’t mean learning has to take a backseat. Brush up on your trivia while visiting famous battlefields of Chattanooga.

Natural Wonders
Chattanooga is one of the most beautiful cities in the world, and no trip would be complete without exploring its beautiful nooks and crannies. The Lost Sea, Chattanooga’s gorgeous underground lake, and Tennessee’s largest show cave, the Cumberland Cavern,  are but a couple of places to see Chatt’s natural wonders.

Classic Chattanooga
Of course there are some sites you just have to see while you’re in Chattanooga. A trip to the Tennessee Aquarium and the mother of all caves, Ruby Falls should always be first on any Chattanooga visitor’s itinerary. Explore the classics with a classic: Keep a sackful of Krystals handy while you zip around town.

As host of the annual Krystal Square Off World Hamburger Eating Championship, Krystal has become an avid fan of the famed competitive eating greats and loves to give a shout out when possible. Luckily, we’re not the only ones!

Eat Feats recently posted the following poll: Top Male & Female Competitive Eaters of 2008 and the votes are in. However, after much debate the top spot is still undecided. Nominees include:

Male
•    “Furious” Pete Czerwinski
•    Joey “Jaws” Chestnut
•    Bruce “The Hangman” Pobanz
•    Takeru Kobayashi “The Tsunami”
•    “Beautiful” Brian Seiken
•    Don “Moses” Lerman
•    “Crazy Legs” Conti
•    Tim Janus “Eater X”
•    Arnie “Chowhound” Chapman
•    “Gentleman” Joe Menchetti
•    “Pretty Boy” Pete Davekos
•    Brad “Old School” Sciullo
•    Rich LeFevre “The Locust”
•    Patrick “Deep Dish” Bertoletti

Female
•    Sonya “The Black Widow” Thomas
•    Natsuko “Gal” Sone
•    “Little” Tomoko Miyake

We can already think of a few food major-leaguers that aren’t on the list. And, is it just us, or do we need some more women in the game? Tell us who you think deserves the title of best competitive eater.

Tis the season for family traditions, and for Jacksonville locals John Hires and John Evans, that means it’s the time of year for Krystal. For these Hall of Famers, Krystal is the place that Hires and Evans gathered with their moms, dads and children to enjoy monthly family outings, celebrate football game wins and even rejoice a baptism.

Now, Hires and Evans are excited to join another fellow Krystal fan, Hall Hunt, while they celebrate another special occasion with their family and friends – the official Krystal Lovers Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.

Also a Jacksonville local, Hunt is one of the world’s top professional eaters and veteran Krystal Square Off competitor since 2005. After consuming thousands of Krystals for training, Hunt earned the title of “Mr. Steamer Pack” at his local Jacksonville restaurant.

Come meet the infamous Hall “Hoover” Hunt and join the celebration with Hires and Evans on Monday, Dec. 15 at 6:30 p.m. at the Krystal located at 3515 St. Johns Bluff Road, where we will unveil the inductees’ very own life-size Krystal Hamburger box. You won’t want to miss it!

Check out this video of Pastor John Hires’ throwing a Krystal Christmas party for his youth group…

Click here to read their full stories…

Krystal Square Off V runner-up Pat Bertoletti just posted a video on YouTube of Eric “Badlands” Booker performing his Krystal Rap backstage at this year’s World Hamburger Eating Championship. The hook-filled, ready-for-radio song has the competitive eating legend laying down rhymes about “the burgers that come in the red box, burgers that you can only get in the Deep South.”

Watch it below or on YouTube here. Heads up: for some reason it was filmed sideways.

You can also check out a studio recording of Badlands’ ode to the famous, small, square hamburger over on his Facebook page (here) and a right-side-up video of him performing the rap at the Nashville Krystal Square Off Qualifier (here).

Badlands is one of the giants in the sport of eating and came off a two year retirement this year after reportedly dropping 90 pounds. A finalist at both Krystal Square Off I and II, Badlands finished in 11th place at this year’s Krystal Square Off with 41 Krystals in eight minutes.

Competitive gurgitator Rich LeFevre, who holds the distinction of being the only speed eater who has competed in all five Krystal Square Off finals, recently devoured a 120-ounce porterhouse steak plus two sides at Brand steakhouse in Las Vegas, and local online video channel RawVegas.tv was there to film his feat in all its glory.

Watch the video below or here.

Most impressive is how “The Locust” carried on a casual conversation with interviewer Dan Michalski of Thrillist.com as he easily put away the seven and a half pounds worth of steak, which had he not, he would have had to pay its $267 tab.

Of note, according to the menu at Brand, the 120-ounce steak is billed for six people. Something else to chew on: the steak is equivalent to approximately 57 Krystal hamburgers, which is four more than the most LeFevre has ever eaten in a Krystal contest.

Watch Man Eats 120oz Steak/Sides and Lives on RawVegas.tv

The Krystal Square Off V World Hamburger Eating Championship will be in the spotlight tonight on ESPN as the network’s prime-time television newsmagazine, E:60, takes an in-depth look at the sport of competitive eating. The program airs at 7:00 p.m. ET.

A camera crew from E:60 covered several stops along this year’s Krystal Square Off tour, including qualifiers in Nashville and Knoxville and the World Hamburger Eating Championship in Chattanooga. Among the competitive eaters who will be showcased include Takeru Kobayashi, Joey Chestnut, “Crazy Legs” Conti and Tim “Eater X” Janus.

A press release from ESPN describes the coverage as follows:

There are 80-100 competitive eating events a year at venues across the country. The top two are Nathan’s in New York and Krystal’s hamburgers in Tennessee. In a sport replete with colorful personalities, E:60 correspondent Jeremy Schaap takes an in-depth look at competitive eating . . . Highlights include interviews with some of the greatest “eaters” in the world such as Takeru Kobayashi, Joey Chestnut, Juliet Lee, “Crazy Legs” Conti and Tim “Eater X” Janus.

If you missed the action at this year’s Krystal Square Off, head over to the Krystal Square Off blog for coverage, podcasts, videos and photos.

“After experiencing the [Nathan's] contest the last three years and the Krystal [Square Off] finals the last three years, I would say that Krystal is now our Super Bowl.  I know other eaters that are saying the same thing.  It doesn’t really matter though as everyone has their own opinion.  Regardless, they are both still our big two events.  I think you all know which one I would prefer to win. Give me a K – R – Y – S – T -A – L.”

- Competitive eater “Humble” Bob Shoudt, on the Krystal hamburger eating contest vs. Nathan’s Hot Dog eating competition.

*Image courtesy of Valerie Bromann via www.humblebob.com

First it was Joey Chestnut winning Nathan’s hot-dog eating contest…again.

Now, Takeru Kobayashi appears to be back on track with a win over Chestnut in Singapore yesterday.

Next up for the goliath gurgitators…the Krystal Square Off V in Chattanooga on September 28.  We’ll announce the qualifying dates, prize money and more info soon – so check back.

And to read more about yesterday’s Chestnut vs. Kobayashi match up,  including Kobayashi’s “sex symbol” status, check out the AP story in the LA Times.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ran a story online Friday about local competitive eaters Loren “Bubba” Yarbrough, Paul Barlow and Larry McNeil practicing for the upcoming qualifying rounds of the Krystal Square Off V.

The eating trio are all hoping to make it to this year’s final table in Chattanooga on September 28, so they participated in a 2-minute round at a local Krystal in Atlanta.

Each put up a good showing as Yarbrough and McNeil easily downed the 15 Krystals they started with while Barlow left only four on the table.

We have to say, Yarbrough and Barlow are definitely making the eating rounds this summer.  If you’ll remember, they recently competed in a bacon eating contest against a local radio show host.

We hope all the practicing will pay off.

See the entire AJC article here, which goes on to discuss how they entered the world of competitive eating and what their families think about their sport.

Also, be sure to check back with us tomorrow as we’ll share the full-length feature along with photos of the eating practice round at Krystal, which are scheduled to run in Tuesday’s paper.

And don’t forget to visit the Krystal Square Off website for any information regarding local qualifying rounds.

Our friend and Krystal hamburger competitive eater Hall “Hoover” Hunt posted the results for the most recent Major Leauge Eating Poll today on his blog.  These rankings take into account the Nathan’s Hot Dog eating contest, making the results pretty interesting.

Krystal Square Off champion Joey Chestnut remains in first place, however, three-time Krystal hamburger eating king Takeru Kobayashi has now moved up two places to take second (he was previously ranked fourth).  The move-up by Kobayashi bumps Patrick “Deep Dish” Bertoletti down to third place.  Tim “Eater X” Janus moves up one spot to take fourth, and Sonja “The Black Widow” Thomas, someone we haven’t heard a lot about lately, jumps two spots to round out the top five.

You can see the entire Top 25 list on Hunt’s blog.

Looking at today’s rankings is making us that much more excited about this year’s Krystal Square Off V.

Anyone want to go ahead and throw out their predictions for this year’s top place finishers?

Remember to stay tuned for information on how to qualify for this year’s final table on September 28 in Chattanooga, TN.  You can also check out www.krystalsquareoff.com for the latest Krystal Square Off news.