Eagle’s Challenge
September 23, 2009
Eagle's Challenge
Eagle’s Deli: This place is becoming a Boston institution that all Bostonians have to try. It is already well known amongst the Boston College crowd as the place to come if you have a HUGE appetite and want a burger. So some places just make a really big patty (See the Kookamonga) but Eagle’s Deli is one of those places that makes a standard ½ Lb patty and then stacks them higher and higher. They stack them all the way up to the Eagles Challenge which is 8 patties on one burger. That is crazy! Eagle’s deli has a saga on how the Eagle’s Challenge came into existence and it all started when the owner of Eagles Deli decided to make a double burger and called it the Godzilla Burger.
Now that is more than enough burger for me but not for Eagle’s Deli and so they doubled it to create the Cowabunga Burger with 2 Lb of meat and it is also server up with 2 Lb of fries. Now who was the first person to eat this burger is lost to time but Eagle’s Deli decided to make an even bigger burger at 3 Lb with 5 Lb of fries which was polished off by Shawn Reilly and then Paul Jones finished off the 4 Lb burger with 5 Lb of fries. And so we arrive at the 5 Lb Eagle’s Challenge with 5 Lb of fries. So far no one has yet to finish this behemoth but it will be named after the first person who does. To give you an idea of how great of a task this is lets get an idea of what people are attempting to eat, the Eagle’s Challenge is 5 Lb of Burger, 20 slices of cheese, 20 pieces of bacon, a giant pickle, and 5 Lb of fries. This is about 12 Lb of food! Over 1,500 have tried, none has succeeded.
Justin “Crazy Eater” Lallatin
Address: 1918 Beacon Street, Brighton, MA 02135
Phone: 617-731-3232
Map: http://tr.im/zwXp
The Double Bypass Burger
September 2, 2009
Double Bypass Burger
The Vortex Bar & Grill: First impression of this place is that the front entrance has been styled like a giant skull with psychedelic red vortex eyes. The craziness doesn’t stop with the décor that is more like your local fun house than a place to get some good grub and some crazy eats. The burgers here have been voted the best in Atlanta and so this places draws the crowds and people love the place for all these reasons and plus for the waitresses all dress hot.
This place is great for the burger lover who doesn’t just want to stop at a bacon cheese burger. They even have an Elvis burger that has a crazy combo of bacon, peanut butter, and fried bananas. The King would have loved this burger. If you want unique but you don’t want to go totally crazy you can get the bacon blue cheese burger or a chili verde burger.
You want to go really crazy and you already have an appointment to see your cardiologist then why not get the Double Bypass Burger. This thing is crazy goodness that will make you want more. It starts off like all their burgers, a 1/2LB patty. Then add 3 fried eggs, 4 slices of american cheese, 6 slices of bacon. Now this all sounds good but not way over the top crazy, just a couple extra eggs and slices of bacon. Vortex takes it over the top by forgoing the bun and instead they make two grilled cheese sandwiches and slap all that good fillings in there. That is some crazy eats!
Justin “Crazy Eater” Lallatin
http://www.thevortexbarandgrill.com/
Address: 438 Moreland Avenue, Atlanta, GA 30316
Phone: 404-688-1828
Map: http://tr.im/xJ1c
The Thurmanator
August 17, 2009
The Thurmanator
Thurman Cafe: I think it is great that getting “Thurmanized” is part of the local jargon in Columbus and what they mean is that by having your first Thurman burger, you have been “Thurmanized”. That is a good sign of things to come. Thurman café serves up 17 different types of burgers plus 5 that are sometimes on the menu as specials. Each of these burgers start off as a ¾ LB patty and when burger starts with that you know you are going to have something good coming your way.
This placed opened originally as a bar and has evolved into a great place to get burgers, so the décor is that of your typical bar & grill. They have lots of different appetizers to try, so if you are with a group and you don’t think that a ¾ LB burger is enough for you be sure to get some of their hand cut fries, maybe even put some cheddar cheese on there also.
The ultimate burger that they serve here is the Thurmanator. This burger was developed for the competitors that come for the Arnold Bodybuilding Classic and if you have ever watched “World’s Strongest Man” on ESPN you know these are big boys and any food made to satisfy them is some Crazy Eats. The Thurmanator is a standard Thurman combined with a bacon cheddar burger, so it is a 1 1/2LB burger topped with ham, bacon, cheddar, provolone, american cheeses, mushrooms, and onions.
Justin “Crazy Eater” Lallatin
http://www.thethurmancafe.com/
Address: 183 Thurman Avenue, Columbus, OH 43206
Phone: (614) 443-1570
Map: http://tr.im/wxB5
The Kookamonga
August 14, 2009
The Kookamonga
Kooky Canuck: You know the burger is huge when out of about 2,000 people that have tried to eat it only 5 have succeed. What is even crazier is that one guy has done it 3 different times! This is what you get when you challenge the Kookamonga and try to eat the 7½ LB burger with 4 LB of beef, 1½ LB of veggies on a 2 LB bun, all in 60 minutes.
When you read the list of ingredients you just wonder what on earth someone is thinking to try and eat it. The buns look like the size of a cushion for a stool, and there are two of them, no slicing them in half. To get an idea of how big the patty itself is think about those 5 LB logs of ground beef you buy at the store and only cutting a pound off of it. To not skimp on the quality they use 80% ground chuck, which is the same quality they use on their high quality burgers. Then they put on 8 slices of cheese, a whole onion, a whole tomato, and some lettuce.
You look at this burger and you just wonder what would possess a man or woman to even try and eat this thing, let alone eat it 3 times. Now you have 60 minutes to eat it and yet the record holder ate it in only 7 minutes 36 seconds. The name of this man will be familiar from my last post, Joey Chestnut, the eating machine. This is truly Crazy Eats.
Justin “Crazy Eater” Lallatin
crazyeats@gmail.com
Address: 97 South 2nd Street, Memphis, TN 38103
Phone: (901)578-9800
For Map: http://tr.im/wr0J
note: as seen on Man v Food on the Travel Channel
The Burger from HELL
August 11, 2009
Coyote Bluff: This place is know for one thing, the “Burger from HELL”. All the burgers here start off at 1/2lb and are covered with a stainless steel bowl after flipping to cook them all the way through with steam, now that is a novel idea that I will have to try sometime. You ever do that to melt the cheese on your own burger creation? I have, it works great! There are ten different burgers that they offer but the “Burger from HELL” is a whole other beast.
The “Burger from HELL” starts life like the rest of the burgers but that is where things go all wrong, or right, and that depends on your point of view. They then turn this into some real Crazy Eats by adding a cup full of grilled jalapenos, some homemade habenero sauce and cayenne sauce are add to this inferno. To finish it off they smother it in a handful of mozzarella and cheddar cheese on top then put the stainless steel bowl over it to melt it into a delectable piece of hell.
This place is full of good, hearty food and they have a strong following so expect line. Also get the chili cheese fries, 2LB of fries, 1LB of cheese and plenty of green chili’s on top for some more spice. Look forward to eating in a classic old greasy spoon and enjoy yourself.
Justin “Crazy Eater” Lallatin
crazyeats@gmail.com
Address: 2417 S. Grand Street, Amarillo, TX 79103
Phone: (806) 373-4640
For map: http://tr.im/wl1C
note: as seen on Man vs Food on the Travel Channel
