When the clock stopped, Jerry had laid to waste seven steaks -- an impressive showing, [Jim's Steaks owner] Abner Silver and [Jim's Steaks manager] Elie Rosenblatt admitted. At this time, Jerry slunk to the bathroom and barfed, while I asked Abner about the record holder. And after what I found out, Jerry should not be ashamed, apparently she is a world-class eater. In 1978, in an effort to generate publicity for his establishment, Abner decided to have an eating contest. One night on the news, he saw a human-interest story on Olivet, MI native Lynda Kuerth who had broken the Guiness Book of World Records title for banana split eating. After making a few phone calls to the television station, Abner got in touch with Lynda and agreed to fly her to Philly and give her a place to stay for the competition. That year, Lynda ate 10 1/2 steaks in an hour and a half, and later that year she appeared in Veteran's Stadium and broke the Guiness Book of World Records in hot dog eating (without the bun). She ate 23 hot dogs in a minute and a half [actually 3:10]. The next year, she returned to Jim's to break her own record by eating 11 steaks. No one has been able to come close since. Oh, and how big is Lynda, who now lives a quiet life in Michigan with a husband and two kids? "She was about five ft., eight and about 135 lbs.," says Abner. "She had an amazing metabolism."