Vegan Wing Bowl pokes fun at Philadelphia bacchanalia

Philadelphia’s Wing Bowl may be know for many things, but healthy food is not one of them.

That’s what makes the Vegan Wing Bowl such a hoot. Conducted Saturday at the Abbaye bar in Northern Liberties, the event is the brainchild of the Philly Roller Girls.

Erica Vanstone, the announcer, says that there is a macho, jock, carnivorous attitude that surrounds professional competitive eating. They stage vegan WB as a way to “honor vegan jocks.” Of the 60 league members more than half of them are vegetarian, and 10 are vegan.
In two-minute bouts, or “jams,” as each round is called in roller derby, competitors with names like Legs Benedict took their places to see how much damage they could do to a one pound plate of vegan “gluteny goodness.”

At the last minute, last year’s champion dropped out, leading some to suspect he was stepping aside for his wife to take first this year. Last year, his wife came in second.

But to everyone’s surprise, Moria Miller nearly cleared her plate in the last two-minute jam. It was a surprise to everyone except her boyfriend, Scott, who took all the credit for driving her there. “We were training all morning,” he explained. “I drove her here, and she was reading articles on speed eating the whole way over.”

Editor’s Note: In a previous version of this story, Moria Miller’s first name was spelled incorrectly. NewsWorks regrets the error.