I first heard of “The Big Texan” when I first arrived in the US and was working for Blue Cross/ Blue Shield in Chicago. I was 25 years old and one of the “old-timers” told me of a restaurant in Texas which served a humongous steak – and the best part of it was that it was FREE if one could eat it in an hour with the usual trimmings! At the time I had an appetite which was impressive by almost any standard and I was confident I could accomplish it – but Texas seemed a long way to go for a free steak no matter what the size!
I know that I could not do it today – age and other factors have taken its toll on my capacity to eat. Today I share an entree and appetizer with Mini and it satisfies both our appetites! So you young ‘uns take full advantage of your capacity to eat because I assure you, it will not last!
But I digress – the steak is still being served at “The Big Texan” in Amarillo, Texas. If you can eat a 72 ounce steak, plus a shrimp cocktail, baked potato, salad and dinner roll in an hour, it is free! You have to pay for the meal in advance – $70 – and it is refunded to you if you can actually accomplish the feat. When the restaurant first opened in the 60s’ the steak was less than $10!
According to the “The Big Texan” website:
“The oldest person to eat the steak was a 69 year-old grandmother. The youngest person to eat the steak was an 11 year-old boy. A couple from Henderson, NV, have eaten the steak dinner at least 10 times since their first attempt 1995. Both of them usually complete the meal in less than 30 minutes.
Frank Pastore, who was a professional pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds, ate the complete steak dinner in 9 and 1/2 minutes (May 3, 1987). Pastore actually has eaten the steak dinner seven times. The record was broken by Joey Chestnut on March 24, 2008. He ate the entire meal in 8 minutes and 52 seconds.”
So what does all this have to do with Britain? Enter the “Scooby Burger” – Britain’s latest attempt to emulate the good old American burger and American portion sizes! Here is what it looks like:
And the composition of the Scooby Burger? According to the Telegraph:
“The Super Scooby is loaded with four 1/4lb beef burgers, eight rashers of bacon, eight slices of cheese, 12 onion rings, heaps of salad and three sauces. At 2,645 calories, it exceeds the daily recommended limit for men by 145 calories. The burger stands at six inches tall, has a circumference of 13 inches, and weighs in at 1.5kg – the same as a family-sized roast chicken. It also comes with an extra side portion of chips.”
Is it free if one eats it within certain time limits? Well, not quite! “The Jolly Fryer takeaway in Filton, Bristol, are offering customers the meal for £10 – and provide a free can of diet coke for anyone who can finish it in one sitting.”
How many free diet cokes have had to be doled out to customers meeting the challenge? Apparently none to date – according to the owners of the burger joint “the challenge of “beating the beast” has so far been unsuccessful.”
Better not tell that to those Texans – they would be contemptuous of the limeys who cannot down, what to a Texan, is just an over-sized burger!
How about 25 fair sized (3-4″ diameter)Uzhunnu Vada? Would it compare with the Scooby Burger or Big Texan. If not in calories, it would produce enough gas to light up a fireplace on a cold winter night…but those stats of people who downed the big texan are incredible, this coming from someone who back in the day, ate a 28 egg omelette <:)
that burger looks so disgusting…worse than any in-and-out burger..and peter u..i cannot believe you ate a 28 egg omelette — that’s AMAZING!
A 28 egg omelette is pretty impressive by any standard – both in terms of quantity and the amount of cholesterol you consumed. But then that was probably in the days before you worried about mundane stuff like cholesterol!
Re the vadas, you have a point – but I was then in my mid-40s’ when I had begun slowing down in terms of my capacity to eat. But it must give you an idea of what I was capable of 20 years prior t that when the idea of trying out for that free steak crossed my mind.
The free steak idea was really a great marketing ploy – it brought lots of free publicity and apparently thousands have tried to accomplish the feat and I think only 14% ever succeeded! All those who did not had to have helped the coffers of the restuarant!!
Yea it does look kinda disgustin but i guess it has to be tried once….but ranachayan i have gulped in 4 McD burgers in one sittin though my stomach fills in as soon as i have my mom’s idli…i cant ve more dan 2 of dem…lol
Vishal, 4 McD burgers shows a healthy appetite but I’ll refrain from posting what I used to be able to eat at a single meal in days gone by:)