Two Minnesota Sandwiches on Man v. Food ‘Best Of’ List

It's been nearly 15 years since the world of extreme eating was brought front and center to our TV screens with the launch of the show Man v. Food.

Back in 2008, original host Adam Richman cross-crossed the country finding the most over-the-top food challenges for the Travel Channel audience. Each episode would culminate in Adam (man) or the menu item (food) winning the struggle.

That version lasted for four seasons, before being revived in 2017 with a new host (Casey Webb) and beginning with season eight, a new home, The Cooking Channel.

Get our free mobile app

In honor of the show's 15th anniversary and the 175 episodes that have been recorded so far, Mashed has compiled a list of the 12 best sandwiches ever featured on Man v. Food.

Two of the 12 are from Minnesota.

In May of 2018, Casey made a Season Seven stop at Lu's Sandwiches in Minneapolis for the 'Food Bánh Mì Sandwich Challenge', featuring a 2.5-foot, 4-pound bánh mì sandwich - a French baguette filled with marinated pork shoulder, pork paté, cilantro, cucumber, pickled carrots, daikon, jalapeños, green onions, mayo, and butter.

The other Minnesota sandwich to make the Mashed list was also featured in Season Seven with a July 2018 stop at Northern Waters Smokehaus in Duluth.

Northern Waters Smokehaus

Casey was there for the 'Man Pig's Trough Challenge', which features three slices of homemade pie topped with 4 scoops of vanilla ice cream and other fixings, but during that visit tried the restaurant's best-selling sandwich, the Cajun Finn, which is made with smoked Cajun salmon, onion cream cheese, roasted red peppers, pepperoncini, and lettuce on a rustic stirato roll.

The sandwich is so popular that Northern Waters even sells a Cajun Finn Sandwich Kit online for $70.

Those are just two of the eight stops that Man v. Food has made in the Tri-State (South Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota) in the past 15 years.

The others:

Season1 (March 25, 2009): Minneapolis - Meterbratwurst Challenge
Season 3 (October 6, 2010): Des Moines - Adam Emmenecker Sandwich
Season 4 (October 5, 2011): St. Paul - Lucy Challenge
Season 5 (September 4, 2017): Des Moines - Showdown Challenge
Season 7 (July 23, 2018): St. Paul - Food Holy Crêpe Challenge
Season 8 (March 10, 2020) Deadwood - Cowboy Showdown Challenge

Check Out This 1962 Listing of Sioux Falls Bars and Restaurants - Do You Remember Any?

Check out this collection of Sioux Falls bars and restaurants. We have Giovanni's Steak House, The Rainbow Bar, Harry's Hamburgers, Eagle Bar and Lounge, Pancake House, Nickel Plate, and more. Do you remember any of them? Or how long any lasted?

Iowa Palmer Company's Twin Bing Products

Can you even really claim to live in this part of the country if you've never had a Twin Bing?

WHAT IS A TWIN BING?

"It consists of two round, chewy, cherry-flavored nougats coated with a mixture of chopped peanuts and chocolate. The Twin Bing was introduced in the 1960s," -Wikipedia

Not only has the TB been a staple of the Sioux Empire for over half a decade, but the makers of the classic candy have also infused the unique cherry and chocolate flavor into lots of other things.

Inside Minnesota's Largest Candy Store

I had been to Minnesota's Largest Candy Store once before, but they did some pretty cool things since the last time I was there. They added a bunch of superheroes, Star Wars stuff, and a candy band.

According to their Facebook page, Jim's Apple Farm is actually how the now huge candy store got its start. It is located in Jordan, MN and you can't miss it. It is a huge yellow building.

Even though candy is mentioned in the name, they have a little bit of everything. They have fresh baked pies and cookies and fudge. We walked in and it smelled amazing!

They also have the largest selection of sodas! Then there is chocolate and taffy and gummies and chips and puzzles and games. So much stuff!

They even have a Zoltar machine like in the movie, Big. I had to check that out. He told me the only helping hand is at the end of my arm. Gee, thanks Zoltar.

There were even crickets and worms! Not gummy worms, but actual worms.

They also have candy from all over the world!

The store is seasonal, however. November is their last month of operation for the season.