February 21, 2008
For nearly 42 years, 340-pound Pat Corbett thought all he was good for was being known as the man who can eat an entire plate of the biggest pasta dish available at Richmond’s Joe’s Inn.
Not anymore.
Corbett’s aptitude to consume the restaurant’s Loaded Spaghetti Dinner and have room for dessert has placed him among the ranks of the greatest of his kind: Michelangelo, Winslow Homer and Norman Rockwell. The Smithsonian Institution announced this week that the 41-year-old’s talent of devouring an entire plate of noodles baked with mozzarella cheese, mushrooms, pepperoni, pork sausage and meatballs doused in meat sauce has been elevated to a globally-recognized art form.
“Fauvism, romanticism, impressionism and Pat Corbett. We’ve never seen anything like it,” said Petrice Benedickt, an assistant curator at the museum. “His works are satisfyingly indulgent, yet uncanny in his ability to make it to the bottom of the plate.”
Added Benedickt: “This is an incredibly talented, one-of-a-kind fat bastard.”
In an exclusive interview at the Shields Avenue restaurant, Corbett said his eating technique of the famous large pastas at Joe’s is unsurpassed. His tools are a simple fork and knife, his canvas an oval-shaped, cream-colored ceramic plate topped nearly four inches high and 11-inches across with a meat-encumbered spaghetti.
“The ethereal colors mix with the soft composition of the sauce and bring a sweet aroma to the palate, an inspiring aura of warmth and richness,” Corbett said of the $13.95 pasta dish he can put away within eight minutes of reception and a single glass of water. “No napkin necessary.”
Starting slowly, Corbett orders a house salad topped with Joe’s acclaimed Parmesan peppercorn dressing and softened with the red hue of crisp, quartered Hanover tomatoes. With its tangy salve, the light repast evokes the viscosity of the spaghetti as it journeys through Corbett’s esophageal tube, while the peppercorns give the sensuous meats added traction as they slide ever-so-slowly into an over-sized stomach, he explains.
Achieving a sense of movement in the Joe’s Inn ambiance of tranquility, calm and crowd typically lined up out the door on a Friday night, the artist starts the pasta and begins circling the plate with the knife, carving away the baked mozzarella cheese off the dish to unhinge the nearly three pounds of contoured noodles and meat from the canvas.
He then begins his latest masterpiece.
“After highth school,” Corbett says, breathing through his nose as he takes large, rhythmic bites, “I wath admittghed to the cughlinary inthstituth of Cthicagho but dethidegd to thtay in Richthmond to dedicathe mythelf entirely to eatingh.”
Once finished tranquilly ingesting, Corbett added: “What can I say? The harmony of this art really comes from somewhere inside of me.”
The Smithsonian’s Benedickt called Corbett’s forkwork “unparalleled” in his field, while his attention to detail in extruding every highlighted dollop of yellow butter from the packets included with Joe’s white bread is “simply breathtaking.”
“Most artists only start from a white canvas,” she said, ”but this is a man who is so inspired by his craft that he doesn’t stop until his canvas is white - or, as he puts it, until he becomes a card-carrying member of the Clean Plate Club.”
Comments
Guy Who Lives Above 3 Monkeys Tired Of Asking Everyone To Keep It Down
Nick Cavalieri, who has lived in the apartment directly above 3 Monkeys Bar and Grill since November, is getting "more than fed up" with having to continuously tell his neighbors to be quiet, the 30-year-old said today.
"Monday through Sunday, I hear those guys partying pretty much every night," Cavalieri said. The University ...
