Travel Channel's Food Wars takes on Pueblo sloppers

A Flickr photo

What's up with Pueblo getting so much attention for its food scene? Not only did the city earn the tenth slot on Livability's recent list of "Surprising Food Cities", but last week the Travel Channel came through town to pit two variations of the city's culinary crown jewel against one another for its new Food Wars series.

The green chile-smothered burgers, appropriately named "sloppers" (the soupy, gloopy mess of a dish looks not unlike the Velveeta + ground beef + salsa dish of dubious origin often referred to as "barf dip"), are said to have originated in Pueblo.

Food Wars had two Pueblo restaurants, both of which serve "sloppers," duke it out during last week's taping: Gray's Coors Tavern and the Sunset Inn. Who takes home the prize? According to the Pueblo Chieftain, the episode will air sometime in late May.

The crew of the show, hosted by Camille Ford (who totally looks like a cross between Rachael Ray and Nigella Lawson, no?), has been crisscrossing the country in recent months, contriving throwdowns between various regional specialties such as Italian beef in Chicago, jumbo pizza in D.C, and cheese-filled burgers called "Ju(i)cy Lucys" in the Twin Cities.