One of the nice things about having dinner with Pat Bertoletti: You never have to feel as if you've overeaten, even if you make a complete pig of yourself. He's the nation's fourth-ranked competitive eater according to the International Federation of Competitive Eating (ifoce.com), which regulates and promotes the growing sport and last year doled out about $247,000 in prize money nationwide to top "gorgers," "masticators" and "gurgitators," to use eating circuit lingo.

And when it was over, there was greatness: The winner was tiny, 98-pound Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas, who broke her old world's record and set a new one by scarfing 46 crab cakes in 10 minutes. …

Maybe you've heard of Thomas, who is 38, manages a Burger King at Andrews Air Force Base and is the darling — and No.1-ranked American "gurgitator" — of something called the International Federation of Competitive Eating (IFOCE) tour.

George Shea is president of the International Federation of Competitive Eaters, a Manhattan-based organization that sanctions events and tracks nearly 100 active ''gurgitators'' on the circuit. ''Long Island is a hotbed of eating,'' he said when asked why so many Long Islanders are world-ranked gluttons.