Meals That Will Blow Your Mind and Tip the Scale
by Erica Walsh
Warning: This article is only for those with stomachs of steel. We're taking you on a tour of the country's most extreme eateries including a 60-pound burger, an 80-pound pizza and fried Twinkies. Throw out your scales and pile up your plates -- these are extreme pig outs.
Denny's Beer Barrel Pub
Clearfield, PA
Two hours outside Pittsburgh you'll find Denny's Beer Barrel Pub, home of the world's biggest burgers. To put these burgers in perspective, the average hamburger is about 1/4 pound of beef; at Denny's, the burgers start at 2 pounds. From there, weights of these monster burgers increase to 6 pounds, 15 pounds, all the way up to the 62-pound Beer Belly Buster. Dressed with 5 pounds of cheese and 7 pounds of additional toppings, the Beer Belly Buster can serve up to 200 people.
Country Pancake House
Ridgewood, NJ
Flapjacks, johnnycakes, hot cakes, pancakes -- call them what you like. At Country Pancake House you're guaranteed to find the country's craziest selection of supersized pancakes. Their menu features over 120 different kinds of pancakes including: smoked salmon and onion, prosciutto and blue cheese, pineapple and ham, and shrimp pancakes. These griddle concoctions are created at the customer's request and are available in two sizes: the medium, 8-inches wide and four to an order and the large, over a foot wide and two to an order. Add some huge toppings to your order, and chow down on a 5-pound, 2,500-calorie breakfast. After all, it is the most important meal of the day.
The Chip Shop
Brooklyn, NY
When in doubt, fry it. At The Chip Shop in Brooklyn, New York, you can experience the greasiest, crispiest, fattiest fried food there is. Owner Chris Sell opened the restaurant in 2001 and brought his passion for frying British chips to New York City's popular outer borough. French fries are the tamest item on The Chip Shop's menu; unique options fresh from the fryer include hard-boiled eggs, pudding, mac and cheese, candy bars, cupcakes and Twinkies. This last delicacy features 780 calories and 28 grams of fat.
Big Mama's & Papa's Pizzeria
California
In California, Big Mama's & Papa's Pizzerias have 18 locations serving up the biggest deliverable pizza in the entire world. The giant Sicilian is a 54-inch-square pizza featuring over 20 pounds of dough, 1 1/2 gallons of tomato sauce and 12 pounds of mozzarella cheese. Orders for this monstrous meal must be placed 24 hours in advance to line up the ingredients and manpower needed to create the world's biggest pizza. Add up to 30 toppings, and a four-man team with a flatbed truck will deliver this 80-pound pizza to your door -- to the tune of $200.
Ben & Jerry's
Waterbury, VT
Ice cream is America's most popular dessert, and no two names are more famous in the biz than Ben and Jerry. These two big names know how to create a big dessert -- the Vermonster ice cream sundae features 20 scoops of ice cream, four bananas, four ladles of hot fudge, 10 scoops of walnuts, three chocolate chip cookies, one fudge brownie, two scoops of your favorite toppings and an obscene amount of whipped cream -- all served in the Vermonster bucket. This dessert is packed with 14,000 calories and 500 grams of fat -- that's the average person's dietary consumption for an entire week and some serious brain freeze.
Jack-n-Grill
Denver, CO
Jack-n-Grill serves up the biggest most extreme Mexican food in the country. Their breakfast burrito is filled with a dozen eggs, 15 ounces of chili and weighs over 7 pounds. Other extreme menu options include: enchiladas packed with five tortillas, 10 ounces of ground beef, cheese, onions and a generous dollop of guacamole; and the extreme burger is topped with a hot dog. Ladies -- if you can finish the 7-pound burrito in one sitting, you'll eat free at Jack-n-Grill for the rest of your life. That's right, free for life.
R. U. Hungry
New Brunswick, NJ
The R.U. Hungry sandwich stand is serving the ravenous students at Rutgers University in New Brunswick "fat sandwiches" till the wee hours of the morning. At this stand, anything and everything can be served between two slices of bread. The "fat moon" slaps two eggs, two strips of bacon, 2 chicken fingers and French fries on a roll. Even more outrageous, the "fat Philly" takes a cheesesteak and adds gyro meat, two chicken fingers, two mozzarella sticks and french fries. While not exactly brain food, these sandwiches have been a staple in New Brunswick and for the RU students in need of a late-night "snack."
Heart Attack Grill
Chandler, AZ
Heart Attack Grill in Chandler, Arizona, is the country's most perilous pig out. Its menu is a killer catalog of the greasiest, fattiest foods featuring one staple ingredient: lard. The Quadruple Bypass is the menu's aptly named deadliest meal: 2 pounds of ground beef soaked in lard and served with all the fatty fixings, including killer french fries. The restaurant's ER-themed décor is a playful reminder that its menu is serious...like a heart attack.
