Help me get fat for free.

March 23, 2005 5:14 PM

I need help finding websites for restaurants that offer the "finish this gigantic meal in an hour and it's free" type of special. I'm looking for restaurants anywhere in the world, if they even exist outside of the US.
posted by greasy_skillet to Food & Drink (28 answers total)

In Texas the most famous one is the Big Texan in Amarillo.
posted by rolypolyman at 5:31 PM on March 23, 2005

McSweeny's!
posted by fixedgear at 5:38 PM on March 23, 2005

Beau Jo's Pizza in Idaho Springs and Denver, CO.

"Earn a spot in Colorado Mountain Legend by attempting "The Challenge", a 12 - 14 pound Sicilian monster for two hearty eaters. Few have met the Challenge and won, but those who do, receive one hundred dollars and free T-shirts."
posted by wsg at 5:45 PM on March 23, 2005

Here's a small list. I'm sure there are plenty more hiding in every nook and cranny of the country. Post pictures of your adventures.
posted by stuart_s at 6:00 PM on March 23, 2005

This is my favorite AskMe question since the one about the Godzilla costume.
posted by Dr. Wu at 6:30 PM on March 23, 2005

I'm really curious about why you're asking. Are you just really good at eating?!
posted by abbyladybug at 6:31 PM on March 23, 2005

I can tell you this: that concept has not reached asia. it just wouldn't work because gluttony is so frowned upon here.

i wish it did, though. i'm too skinny. good news is they do have a few all-you-can-eat ice cream parlors here. when it comes to asians and ice cream, that previous rule i spoke of, just goes right out the window.
posted by timyang at 6:37 PM on March 23, 2005

Muddy River Smokehouse in Portsmouth, New Hampshire has The Squealer:

FINISH 1 RACK OF ST. LOUIS PORK RIBS, 1 LB. AWARD WINNING PULLED PORK,1/2 A HICKORY SMOKED CHICKEN, 1 PINT MASHED POTATOES, 1 PINT BBQ BAKED BEANS AND 1 PIECE OF CORNBREAD AND YOU WILL GET:
A $25 MUDDY RIVER GIFT CERTIFICATE, A "I GOT PORKED AT MUDDY RIVER SMOKEHOUSE" T-SHIRT, AND A FREE ENTRY TO OUR 1ST ANNUAL ALL YOU CAN EAT RIB CONTEST.

They have photos on the wall of those who've attempted it. Small women have the highest success rate.
posted by schoolgirl report at 6:41 PM on March 23, 2005

If you can eat more than 18 hotdogs in a sitting, go for Spike's Junkyard Dogs in Providence, RI. If you eat more than 6, you get a t-shirt. More than the winner (according to this site, it's up to 17 now), and they'll clear your tab. These are real hotdogs though, so you'd better be hungry!
posted by fionab at 6:44 PM on March 23, 2005

Sorry, Tim, I know of a few in Japan, including the Coco Ichiban curry challenge, which is only 1 kg of curry rice in an hour. Eat it all and it's free. Never done it myself, that's more than I want to eat.
posted by planetkyoto at 6:45 PM on March 23, 2005

timyang: isn't it the case that many Asians are lactose-intolerant? Seems funny that the only all-you-can-eat establishments are of the dairy kind. I believe you, of course - I just think it's weird.

(In high school, I participated in -- and failed miserably at -- a "drink a gallon of milk in an hour" contest. Though I didn't finish the milk, I at least kept it down; my competitor, who was and surely still is Japanese, could not. We got it all on video.)
posted by Dr. Wu at 6:49 PM on March 23, 2005

Sorry - I should try to post useful responses.
This book, as well as the other recommendations on its amazon.com page, would probably be of some use to you.
posted by Dr. Wu at 7:21 PM on March 23, 2005

Why am I suddenly reminded of a John Candy movie?
posted by quam at 7:42 PM on March 23, 2005

21 scoops of ice cream, plus toppings -- free if eaten within the hour, else it's $19.95. (There's also a "Baby Dare to Be Great" which is something like ONLY 14 scoops of ice cream.) People do try to finish the sundae. The Parlour will engrave a small name-plaque for all those who attempt but can't finish it (the wall of losers!) The, um, lucky winners get their name & hometown engraved on a much, much larger wall plaque . . .
posted by oldtimey at 8:03 PM on March 23, 2005

Eagle's Deli near Boston College has a Godzilla Burger that is a pound of beef and a pound of fries. If you finish it you get your photo put on the wall of fame, but I'm not sure if it's free.

Here's an article about the Eagle's Deli and the burger
posted by pelletierm at 9:37 PM on March 23, 2005

Here's a travel channel article called World's Best Places to Pig Out. It includes the Eagle's Deli from my previous post (Go Eagles!)
posted by pelletierm at 9:51 PM on March 23, 2005

The delightful local Xtreme cafe (only place in the county with a wood burning pizza oven) has a 24" pizza challenge. Eat the whole thing to yourself, and you pay nothing and get a t-shirt. Haven't tried it myself yet, I know how you can mess up your digestive tract by putting too much in it (it's really not worth it).
posted by wackybrit at 10:50 PM on March 23, 2005

I remember seeing a place featured on Food TV that has a deal about eating a giant beef steak about the size of your head that is more like a roast than a steak. I'm suprised it hasn't shown up here in this thread.

Is there one for Cheetos? If so, I'm there!
posted by wsg at 1:10 AM on March 24, 2005

When I lived in Oxford (UK) there used to be a Fatty Arbuckle's that offered a 'challenge' (not sure what it was, only ate there once and didn't try the challenge) - I'm sure that involved prizes and a free meal. When I was last in Oxford, though, it wasn't there. Praps gluttony is out of fashion there.
posted by altolinguistic at 3:06 AM on March 24, 2005

There used to be an ice cream store in North Haven, CT called Wimbledon's and they had a huge ice cream thing that if you ate it in under 45 minutes, they renamed it after you and added one more scoop for the next person to attempt. Last time I was there it was called the "Steve" and it was about 18 or 19 scoops.
posted by SheIsMighty at 5:40 AM on March 24, 2005

Response by poster: This is great, thanks everyone! Keep 'em coming.
posted by greasy_skillet at 6:15 AM on March 24, 2005

Danny's Beerbarrel Pub in PA has a 9lb burger. Here's some links!

Snopes
A blog about the girl who actually finished it.

Of course the link to the pub's page about the burger seems to be down. Maybe the challenge is over.

There is a similar burger in Vegas.
posted by bDiddy at 7:00 AM on March 24, 2005

My mistake. It's Denny's Beer Barrel Pub.
posted by bDiddy at 7:07 AM on March 24, 2005

Damnit: the one I could think of (only because I was there last Friday night) and schoolgirl report beats me to it.
posted by yerfatma at 9:54 AM on March 24, 2005

planetkyoto: Sorry, Tim, I know of a few in Japan, including the Coco Ichiban curry challenge, which is only 1 kg of curry rice in an hour. Eat it all and it's free. Never done it myself, that's more than I want to eat.

You don't have to go all the way to Japan, either. Coco Ichibanya has several locations in Hawaii, around Honolulu, and they do the challenge (the walls have dozens of Polaroid photos of past "winners")... so you could take a Hawaiian vacation and - depending on your intestinal fortitude - save big on food expenses!
posted by pzarquon at 11:48 AM on March 24, 2005

State Street Brats in Madison, Wisconsin, has the Big-Ass Burger Challenge. Finish a two-pound burger, fries and 24 oz. drink in thirty minutes or less and get your money back (and a free t-shirt!).
posted by handful of rain at 4:47 PM on March 24, 2005

I've done the 1 pound burger / cheese / 1 pound fries (Godzilla burger) thing at Eagles, and it's not free. It's more like $8. However, you get a pin that says "I pigged out at Eagles" and you get a polaroid taken that you're allowed to affix to the wall anywhere you can find space. You also get to write the message of your choice at the bottom of the polaroid.

They do have another challenge there, something like 4 pounds of beef and 4 pounds of fries. That's the beginning of the free-meal class. You can also go upwards from there, and if you eat more patties and fries than anyone ever has, they name a new class after you (I think it currently goes up to like 5 or 6 pounds).
posted by rxrfrx at 6:48 AM on March 25, 2005

These places sure offer lots of free T-shirts. Wonder what size they may be...
posted by Termite at 6:16 AM on March 28, 2005