Ice Cream Challenge at the Jersey Shore

My eight year old son and I walked into Hoffman's in Point Pleasant to see if he could eat three pounds of ice cream in 6 minutes. What kind of mom am I to let him try this?!

I very well knew he wouldn't get close to winning that t-shirt, but it sure was fun to let him try!

It all started when we saw Adam Richman's Man Vs. Food on the Travel Channel where he tries to beat food challenge winners to get his name in lights. Every once in a while they'll re-run the episode where he tackles the Jersey Shore, from Seaside to LBI to Pt. Pleasant.

So when Benjamin saw Adam try to eat The Octopus he begged me to take him to Hoffman's.

When we got there, he was asked to choose eight scoops of their incredible homemade ice cream (each scoop being bigger than both of my fists combined) and eight toppings....plus a mound of whipped cream and, of course, the chocolate syrup smile and cherry eyes. It was a boy's dream come true.....only he needed help carrying it to the table and eating it. I was happy to oblige.

Now normally I love ice cream sundaes...but my child chose toppings like Nerds and other candy that I simply couldn't have finished if I tried.

Although overall it was delicious, there was no way we were gonna even get close to finishing it. What we did get, though, was lots of pointing and staring and even strangers walking over to our table to watch us and laugh. It was a fun time.

I was told, by the way, that two teenage girls were in recently to face off in that challenge against each other and they both did it! Three pounds each in 6 minutes! Their secret was bringing their own spoons...and even using their hands when necessary.

I think it was a good lesson for Benji to see just how big the gap between his eyes and his stomach is!