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Vegas woman gears up for Houston's gyro-eating contest

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Miki Sudo of Las Vegas recently ate 40 hot dogs and buns, a rookie record, to qualify for Nathan's July 4 Hot Dog Eating Contest in Coney Island. Sudo, 27, is coming to Houston on May 19 to compete in the sixth Niko Niko'€™s World Gyro Eating Championship at the Houston Greek Fest.

Miki Sudo of Las Vegas recently ate 40 hot dogs and buns, a rookie record, to qualify for Nathan's July 4 Hot Dog Eating Contest in Coney Island. Sudo, 27, is coming to Houston on May 19 to compete in the sixth Niko Niko'€™s World Gyro Eating Championship at the Houston Greek Fest.

Michael Hidrosollo

Miki Sudo is the greatest thing to hit the crazy world of competitive eating since sliced hot dog buns.

Forty hot dogs and buns, to be precise.

That's how many HD&B (competitive eating lingo for hot dogs and buns) the Las Vegas bachelorette ate at a recent qualifying contest for the Nathan's July 4 Hot Dog Eating Contest in Coney Island. The Independence Day tradition will be televised live on ESPN.

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Forty hot dogs is the all-time record for a rookie, man or woman, in Major League Eating, the governing body of competitive eating. The only woman ever to top 40 hot dogs in a sanctioned event is veteran Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas, the legendary queen of Major League Eating. Thomas ate 45 hot dogs at age 45 in 2012.

She's threatening 46 hot dogs this year.

Sudo, 27, is coming to Houston on May 19 to compete in the sixth Niko Niko's World Gyro Eating Championship at the Houston Greek Fest. The gyro contest is always a highlight of the festival, held on the grounds of St. Basil the Great Greek Orthodox Church, 1100 Eldridge Parkway. The gyros start gyrating at 2 p.m.

Sudo will be competing against defending champ Joey "Jaws" Chestnut, the most famous eater since Adam and that apple, and Matt "Megatoad" Stonie, Major League Eating's Rookie of the Year for 2012, plus other ranked eaters like Andrew "The Bear" Kogutkiewicz, "Nasty" Nate Biller, Kevin "The L.A. Beast" Strahle and Eric "Badlands" Booker.

That's how new Sudo is to the sport of competitive eating. She doesn't even have a mean, nasty nickname.

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I'll help her … Miki "The Gates of Hell" Sudo. That's hot.

Niko Niko's, which claims to sell more gyros than any Greek restaurant in America, is putting up $5,000 in prize money for the contest. The record is 21 gyros in 10 minutes, held by Chestnut and Pat "Deep Dish" Bertoletti.

Sudo is the new girl in town, the sex symbol of competitive eating. She is 5 feet 7 and weighs 125 pounds with a curvy figure and blond hair tied in a topknot.

That's 125 pounds at the start of a contest, and her figure is curvier after the final buzzer.

"I can gain 10 pounds during a contest. I've never been pregnant, but I know how it will look on me. When I'm done with a contest, it's totally uncute," she laughed.

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She's eaten 12 pounds of pho in one sitting, a 28-inch pizza in 22 minutes, 147 chicken wings in 17 minutes and don't forget those 40 hot dogs in 10 minutes.

Sudo, a special events planner in Las Vegas, started by accepting restaurant challenges, like "finish the 7-pound Mega Burger in one hour and it's free." You've seen these challenges on the TV show "Man v. Food."

Except this time it's "Woman v. Food," and Sudo rarely pays the price for, say, eating a 9-pound bowl of Ramen noodles. She polished it off with minutes to spare.

"I never realized I had this talent - to eat a lot of food at one time. It's funny, but I grew up in New York and didn't know about the Hot Dog Eating Contest. I had heard of competitive eating but didn't know if it was a hobby or a sport. I think of it as a competitive activity now. But I'm making money, and I'll be in Coney Island on July 4," said Sudo, who holds a degree in business from the University of Nevada at Las Vegas.

"I don't know how long I'll do this. I'm going to do as many contests as I can. They're fun. I do think I'll be incredibly nervous on July 4. I've heard that 40,000 people will be at the contest. That's a little intimidating. Plus, I'm excited to meet Sonya Thomas. She's the greatest female eater in history. I hear she's really nice, but she may be looking out for me. She's No. 1, but I'm the new kid."

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Sudo and Thomas will meet one time before the hot dog chow down. They're both entered in a pepperoni roll contest May 25 in West Virginia.

I asked Sudo, who is single and currently without a boyfriend, if men are intimidated when they learn about her moonlighting job.

"Some guys get a kick when they find out. Some are appalled. But I eat pretty normal on a date. Plus, I win so many restaurant gift cards in contests that I usually pay for dinner," she said.

Sudo said she will not enter a contest if it's a food she doesn't like. For example …

"You'll never find me in an oyster or crawfish contest. I get squeamish just thinking about them. I won't do a contest if it involves dismembering or beheading an animal."

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But look out, gyros.

"I love Greek food. I'm ready for this contest. I want to win."

My money is on Stonie, however. Last year, I was Stonie's personal judge at the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest in Coney Island. He finished fourth with 48 hot dogs. I'll be in his corner come May 19 at Greek Fest.

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Ken is a daily columnist in the Star section, as well as writing Drive-thru Gourmet reviews and the Pethouse Pet of the Week feature.