Fiery Eating Contest and More at Chinatown Summer Nights

By Lesley Balla

As the summer winds down, so do the big blowout events across town. One to catch this Saturday is third and final Chinatown Summer Nights, a day chock-full of delicious antics. Each weekend there are demos by local chefs, Battle Chinatown cooking competitions, food trucks, live music and KCRW DJs, and it's all free (except for the food and drink you buy). But since this week's theme is "fire," things will really heat up at the eating competition.

If you have it in you, brave souls can go for glory by swallowing spicy Chinese dumplings, chicken wings, Szechuan-style tofu, beef stew in spicy tomato sauce, pig stomach in pepper soup, frog with chilies, and spicy stir-fried lamb testicals (!!) while host Eddie Lin (Deep End Dining) shames or cheers you. The rules: the last person to drink the milk wins, and in the event of a tie, the competitors will have Thai chile or habanero throwdown. Whoever survives that can cool off at the beer garden after. Eating contest at 7:30 PM; the event goes from 5 PM to midnight.