Born in a Barn Burger
Wyoming’s Born in a Barn has been doing burger specials since St. Patrick’s Day 2013. Why? Why not! St Paddy’s traditions are peculiar in the States, but they can also be very tasty. The Born in a Barn Burger tasks customers with eating a burger made with 14 patties, one pound of fries, and a 32-ounce soda.
10-pound pizza
Most of us stay away from 10-pound 30-inch pizzas because, well, who’s got the time to eat all that? Turns out a few people over in West Logan, West Virginia, where you can find this mammoth pie at Giovanni’s Pizza. The record time currently stands at 11 minutes 43 seconds. Think you can beat that? You can’t.
The Pho Superbowl
A bowl of regular pho can take you down even when you’re hungry, so imagine a bowl featuring three pounds of noodles, three pounds of meat, and three litres of broth. At Seattle’s Dong Thap Noodles, punters can attempt the challenge whenever they like. If they win, they receive a $100 reward. Downside: you have to walk around with three pounds of noodles, three pounds of meat and three litres of broth inside you for the rest of the day.
Baronator Challenge
Baron’s Pub in Virginia is a blast at the best of times, not least thanks to their special burger challenge. Don’t be deceived by the photo composition at work here, this is still one giant burger. Diners can win a free meal if they finish this three pound burger served with cheese, mushrooms, onions, tomatoes and a side of fries.
The Dozer Challenge
“That puny thing?” we hear you saying. “Even I could eat that.” Oh yeah? Go on and try then. This may look like a bigger-than-average burger but it’s actually a one-pound patty. Rozzi’s Lakeshore Tavern in Vermont invites people of all shapes and sizes to tackle this monster. The worst part is, after you’ve eaten one, there’s a second burger challenge to beat as well.
72-ounce steak
We’ve all seen the Man v. Food episode with The Big Texan, haven’t we? We know a 72-ounce steak when we see one, and it remains horrifying to all with tiny stomachs. Big boy Adam Richman tackled this thing fairly easily but he was a trained professional. He had a regimen. You, dear reader, are merely human.
Kookamonga Challenge
Ludicrous. This is a burger so big it transcends the usual “Only in America!” chuckle. It’s a four-pound beef farce designed to make idiots of ordinary Hawaiians looking to challenge themselves. Participants only have a single hour to finish this bad boy, which is served with monster fries just to be on the safe side. We’re surprised you don’t have to sign paperwork before eating this.
Monster Nachos
Nachos, which exclusively come in bigger portions, are one of those dishes you often mistakenly believe are easy to eat. Yeah, sure, it’s just chips, salsa and cheese! This plate right here is five pounds of chips, waffle fries, beef and more. South Dakota’s OverTime Grill gives you a precious 45 minutes to finish this thing all by yourself, not that anyone gets past the ten-minute mark.
Five Five Burger
Highway 55 Burgers has become a staple of many food challenge vloggers and it’s clear to see why. This 55-ounce burger, portion of fries and a 24-ounce drink are daunting to say the very least. And you only get 30 minutes to finish it! If you don’t, you have to pay for the meal. This is just free money for Highway 55.
20 Wieners
20 hotdogs with no time limit? It should be a doddle but in practice, it is very tough. It’s not just the pork you have to deal with but the bread, too. That’s what gets most customers at Rhode Island’s Gators Pub. If you finish all these, a 32-ounce beer or milkshake, and a pound of fries, you get it for free. If you fail, you have to cough up a mighty $25.
Mean Pasta
There are a good few challenges at P-Dub’s Sports Bar and Grille in Pennsylvania including the Ghost Wing Challenge, the Big 76’er, and the Himesburg Challenge. For us, the most lethal is the Mean Pasta Challenge, made up of a pound of pasta and ten giant breadsticks. Punters have to pay $17 just to try it. And they’re only given ten minutes on the clock. If you win, you get a shirt. Woo!
Smash the Beaver
No, Smash the Beaver challenge isn’t some corrupt college initiation task. It’s a food test featuring a seven-pound burger, six pieces of bacon, four pieces of cheese, three eggs, arugula, and pickles. Hop on over to Aaron and Jack’s Snack Shack in Monmouth, Oregon if you’re looking to increase your chances of a cardiac arrest in your 40s.
Fat-N-Skinny Breakfast
Why wasn’t this on David Chang’s Ugly Delicious? Presumably, because it tastes like feet. Sausage patties, waffles, eggs, gravy… they’re all welcome at Ohio’s worst breakfast cafe. Participants are given 25 minutes to eat every last drop and speck of this meal which gives them 23 hours and 35 minutes left to live after. Whatever happened to plain old bacon and eggs?
The Pig Out Omelette
May God have mercy on the soul of any person who has ever eaten, or is considering, eating this. Mr and Mrs J’s Family Restaurant may be a stellar establishment but they’re serving up one of the worst plates in culinary history here. We can’t even see what’s underneath, but we know it’s definitely too much food. Gobble all this up within the hour and you get a free t-shirt!
Nine Pound Patty
You see that big butcher’s knife sticking out of the top? That’s not some attempt to hold this giant 9-pound burger together. It is the desperate act of a man who was tasked with eating it. He took one look at the thing, saw red, and fetched a knife from the kitchen. We’d love to say this burger couldn’t hurt anyone anymore, but it has and will continue to do so.
14-Pound Burrito
Stop laughing. This isn’t some joke entry designed to enrage you all the way to the comment section. The 14-pound burrito is beneath the mountain of fries. That’s what makes this challenge all the more frightening: it makes a good first impression. You think you can wolf it down without breaking a sweat. And then you strike gold, aka meat. Fun fact: this challenge comes with tongs.
Mount Olympus Challenge
Another entry, another gastronomic burger. We’ve cropped out the faces of the men about to tackle it as they sadly succumbed to such violent meat sweats that their hearts actually began beating beyond their rib cage, much like a Looney Tunes character overcome with love. Head to New Jersey’s Clinton Station Diner for this burger… if you dare.
Feedback Challenge
Here you have a full rack of ribs, half a pound of pulled pork, chicken, brisket, and sausage apiece, plus two different sides and two pieces of cornbread. Kentucky’s Rib Shack serves the meal on a shovel. It is six pounds of meat after all. And if you manage to eat it all, you get your photo on the restaurant’s wall of fame!
78-Ounce Steak
Montana’s Bull Mountain Grille sees your Big Texan 72-ounce steak and raises you a 78-ounce steak. We recommend you opt for the regular 12-ounce, 16-ounce, 20-ounce, and 40-ounce sizes while watching some dreamer, or soon-to-be loser, take on this challenge from a safe distance. Afterall, who doesn’t like to watch someone vomit while dining at a restaurant?
Giant Banh Mi
Banh mi? Banh this sandwich is more like it. Credit where credit’s due, Lu’s in Minneapolis doesn’t short-change you with ingredients here. This is good quality stuff you’re putting in your stomach but it’ll still have you reeling for the next week all the same. If you can take down this 3.75-pound sandwich in under 25 minutes, you gain honorary Vietnamese citizenship.
The Dog Central Challenge
Hmmm, nothing says a good meal like the name “Dog Central”. Thankfully, this challenge isn’t anything to do with man’s best friend and more to do with meat in tubular form. Three foot-long hotdogs, fries, onion rings, and a 20-ounce drink stand between you and $10 and a free meal. Pack $25 incase you lose, though…
15 Dozen Club Challenge
Those with an extinct gag reflex to the front of the queue at New Orleans’ Acme Oyster House. Locals have been enjoying the slimy seafood for years but only in the past decade have punters been coming in from all corners of the globe. Why? To take on their 15 Dozen Club Challenge in which 180 oysters have to be eaten in one sitting. If you want to carry on after hitting the mark you can. The record stands at a staggering 528 oysters.
The Pounder Challenge
You don’t have to be Joe Napoli to know that this is one bad pizza. Over at Pizza By the Pound in Kentucky, authenticity isn’t a big thing. They’re more preoccupied with creating pies that can put you in an actual coma, never mind a food one. This eight pound pizza is free if you can finish it within an hour and you’ll also receive a $100 bonus.
Ultimate Destroyer Challenge
This pizza is much better looking, even if its size accounts for all the dough in Italy. Over at Old Shawnee Pizza in Kansas, punters can get their chops around a 30-inch, 11-pound pie for a $100 prize. 18 slices, one hour. Do you think you have what it takes? It’s okay to say no.
Adam Emmenecker Challenge
Confused? That’s a plate of pork tenderloin, topped with buffalo chicken tenders, white cheddar sauce, fried cheese curds, Texas brisket, applewood smoked bacon, cheeseburger, spicy pickle, and surrounded with a pound of fries. The Travel Channel put this meal on the map when Adam Richman tried and (failed) to finish it on an episode of Man vs. Food. Approach with caution.
The Kitchen Sink Challenge
Our guess is that this meal is named not in reference to the phrase “everything but the kitchen sink” but because it looks like something made from the gunk found in one. This giant deep dish pie comes with 11 toppings, not that you can see any of them thanks to the melted cheese. Head to J&J’s Pizza Shack in Indiana for this one.
MAC Daddy Pancakes
One of the few entries on this entire list that looks appetising, the MAC Daddy Pancakes can be found at Hawaii MAC 24/7 in the Aloha state. This is three 14-inch slabs of pancake goodness. Finish it within 90 minutes and you can walk away with a free meal. Please bear in mind that a very small percentage of people have taken it on and won though…
Broken Yolk Cafe Special
Sometimes a good plate of slop is what you want after a hard day at work. This meal, however? It’s just too much slop. The next time you’re in Meza, Arizona, check out the Broken Yolk Cafe, whose special is a 12-egg omelette packed with cheese, beans, mushrooms, onions, chilli, and biscuits. Anyone who can’t finish this in the space of an hour has to make it rain to the tune of $25.
Kodiak Arrest
Finding good food in Alaska can be tough. Finding good food that also comes in mammoth quantities in Alaska can be even tougher. Humpy’s Alaskan Alehouse is the exception. Their Kodiak Arrest Challenge features a foot of reindeer sausage, seven crab nuggets, three pounds of Alaskan King Crab, various side dishes, and a wild berry crisp with ice cream. You have just 60 minutes to eat all this.
Wintzell’s Oyster Challenge
You might not associate Alabama with excess seafood but you will after visiting Wintzell’s Oyster House. These guys are nuts for shellfish. One of the most ludicrous plates in the United States, punters are expected to eat 422 oysters in the space of a single hour in order to achieve immortality in the form of a framed picture on the wall.
Slider Challenge
Hamburger slides are a smaller, easier alternative to the classic hamburger… unless you visit Chompie’s in Tempe, Arizona. Competitive eaters have to eat a dozen sliders, consisting of brisket, potato latke, and jack cheese in a challah bun, as well as a pound of onion strings. Oh, and you have to do it within a 30-minute timeslot.
Gorilla Dumpster Challenge
How does 100 ounces of beef, lamb, chicken, and pork chislic sound? Awful right? If it gets your motor running then you ought to head down to Urban Chislic in South Dakota for the Gorilla Dumpster Challenge. On the side, you’ll have to cope with a double order of kettle chips, cheese curds, and fries. Ridge Lindberg holds the record, destroying the platter in 27 minutes and 25 seconds.
Bearwich Challenge
Here’s something not for the faint of heart (or stomach): two pounds of pulled pork, two pounds of brisket, and one pound of coleslaw, on top of one and a half loaves of Italian bread, drizzled in ghost pepper BBQ sauce. Plus, that’s without mentioning the two pound side of mac and cheese! Punters have 30 minutes to beat the Bearwich.
Schwätzer’s Schnitzel Challenge
Schwätzer’s isn’t that genuine of a German restaurant but they make up for it in OTT food challenges, namely their schnitzel challenge. Participants go up against two pounds of schnitzel, a thick coating of mushroom gravy, and a double order of beer-battered fries. If your plate is empty one hour later, you’ll get a shout-out on their Facebook!
Hibernator Challenge
The breakfast over at Sylvia’s Cafe includes eggs, cheese, and a choice of vegetables, bacon, ham, or sausage, topped with corned beef hash, two more eggs, and surrounded by bacon, sausage, and ham. On the side is a stack of buttermilk pancakes and a biscuit. There’s a $30 bill for those who fail to eat it all.
Jumbo Curry
This jumbo plate is made up of four and a half pounds of curry and three pounds of rice. Simpliststic, isn’t it? Nothing too overstacked and complicated. But it’s the sheer volume that will get you if you’re not careful. Finish this within 20 minutes and you’re a Kenka restaurant legend. Fail and you’re just another deadbeat.
Chicken Fry Challenge
Love fried chicken? Kendall’s Restaurant in Ohio is waiting for you. Three Original Chicken Fried Steaks, with two scoops of mashed potatoes or fries, a side salad, two servings of green beans, a biscuit, and two cinnamon rolls. To earn the respect of the state, you must complete this challenge within the hour. Ouch.
Cheesesteak Challenge
We all love a Philly cheesesteak but a 20-inch one with two pounds of steak? That’s a little too much food. Pudge’s Steaks knows what they’re doing here. They know you can’t finish this, what with the extra drink and five orders of fries that go along with it. Man, it does look nice though. Eat half, and take the rest in a doggy bag.
22.5-pound prime rib
No frills here, ladies and gentlemen. That’s just one mighty mound of meat. 22.5 pounds to be exact. What’s the prize? Having a caricature of you on the restaurant’s wall of fame, as well as a jumbo cut named in your honour. Yep. You finish this prime rib and you could have one named after you forever more. Or until someone else eats one.
Benny’s Challenge
If you’ve got $40 and don’t value your money or your health, you can take on this challenge down at Benny’s in Virginia. There are strict rules here. If you start before the signal, vomit, or share pizza or crust, you will be disqualified. Don’t lie about your amateur status either. Benny’s puts you under a three day review to gauge your history and experience. Sounds like a whole lot of fun!
