I'll admit, it was the picture that got me. There's something about giant Cheeseburgers that makes my mouth water. The mustard, the pickles, those teeny weeny onions... if only they all looked that good! An interesting article though about branding

From: http://www.ahamburgertoday.com/archives/2006/10/cheeseburger_as_brand_interface.php

Interesting essay from a branding-marketing standpoint on the nature of user interface as brand identity. (Think iPod — the clickwheel interface and white headphones are instantly recognizable without the need for the Apple logo on the product's face.) Carry that through to food, as the folks at Information Architects did, and you have the McDonald's cheeseburger:

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A while ago I posted pics from the Schiappa's web site showing Pat "Deep Dish" Bertoletti, Joey "The Jaws" Chestnut, Tim "Eater-X" Janus, and Hall Hunt basking in the spoils of their victory of the 29" Schiappa's Pizza Challenge. The challenge was for a team of 2 to eat the 29" pizza with 4 toppings in less than 30 minutes. Little did I know that both teams managed to finish in less than 6 minutes!!! Here are some happy snaps prior to them absolutely destroying this mammoth Pizza.

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And the burger wars continue! Clinton Station Diner has now made claim to the World's Largest commercially available hamburger, "The 8th Wonder". This 28" wide, 11.5" thick, 105 pound monstrosity was created today at the Clinton Station Diner in Clinton, NJ. With previous massive burgers like the 7lb Zeus burger, and the 50lb Mt Olympus under their belts, it was no surprise that Clinton Station was secretly devising a way to beat the latest winner in the Big Burger Wars, the 78.5lb entry from Bob's BBQ and Grill in Pattaya, Thailand. Looks like they've brought the title back to the USA!

From: http://competitiveeaters.com/2006news.htm

10/29/06 - OMG! 105 Pounds! ARE YOU KIDDING ME??
History was made at the Clinton Station Diner yesterday by setting the new World Record for the Biggest Menu Hamburger in the world appropriately dubbed "The 8th Wonder" (interestingly enough this is also the 8th type of burger offered at Clinton Station Diner). Mere words cannot express the totality and enormity of this massive meat monster. The dimensions on this bad boy measured out to be 28 inches in diameter and 11 1/2 in height and a whopping 105 pounds in total weight.

Photos courtesy of The Association of Independent Competitive Eaters

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The "Big Bertha's Big Ass Burger Challenge" sounds pretty simple, and rather easy for the seasoned eater. Knock it all over in 30 minutes, and they pick up the tab! I personally like the fact they give you a 32oz beer!

From: http://www.mooserestaurantgroup.com/berthas/burgers.html

1 lb. BURGER
1 lb. FRIES
2 lbs. BEER (32 oz.)

Eat the whole lot in 30 minutes or less, and get a picture of your big, sloppy, burger-eatin' mug on the wall of fame. Oh yeah – Bertha will pick up the tab too!

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The GigaMac is simple. Take 3 Big Macs, stack, eat. Anyone can do it! Another fine entry from our Japanese supersizing friends!

From: http://blog.mantiddesign.com/2005/12/diary_20051221_wed.html

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Wouldn't call this a huge challenge, but at least they give you a free dessert for the trouble... shame it doesn't say where it is...

From: http://hcs.osu.edu/ukstudy2000/postcard/mattcod.htm

We ended our tour of Bodnant Gardens rather famished. Well, at least some of us were famished. So on our way to Llandudno we stopped at a fish and chips shop and had a meal. Matt was HUNGRY! So he ordered the chef's challenge, which was a huge piece of deep-fried cod, chips (fries) and 'mushy peas.' The chef's challenge was that anyone who finished such a voluminous meal would get a free dessert...

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Now this is just wierd. It's a Godzilla-like giant japanese food monster made out of what looks like hamburger buns, salt and pepper shakers, Miso soup bowls, pans, and various other vegetables. The google translation didn't make much sense either. Still pretty funny though!

From: http://pulog1.exblog.jp/m2006-03-01/

How is? It probably is the truly unique mysterious person? The unkind treatment [tsu] making wonder cooking eat densely, it is the strange animal which it makes the person with ESP whom sense power you can use. The boy who has become the person with ESP is hard on by super power and the [tsu] begins vengeance densely..... uh, whatever!

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Pat "deep dish" Bertoletti, and a few of his IFOCE buddies (Tim "Eater-X" Janus, Joey "The Jaws" Chestnut and Hall Hunt) went on a road trip to take up the $500 Pointersaurus 28" Pizza Challenge. The challenge, a "$500 prize to any two-member team who can demolish an entire 10-pound, two-meat-topping, 28-inch pizza in an hour without leaving the customer area." The pizza weighed in at about 10-12 lbs. How long does it take a professional competitive eating team to demolish one of these? Oh, only about 14 minutes! Here are the pics Pat Bertoletti sent in

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At this years Eurochocolate Perugia, 4 Italians created what is believed to be the worlds largest chocolate igloo (and the only chocolate igloo I've ever heard of!). Weighing in at around 3.6 tonnes, it contains 360 bricks, and will melt if the temp goes above 30C.

From: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061016/od_nm/chocolate_igloo_dc;...

PERUGIA, Italy (Reuters) - Four Italians have constructed what they believe is the world's first full-sized chocolate igloo but they have yet to solve an age-old problem.

It still melts.

"It was a tough thing to do, much more difficult than building a normal snow igloo," Marco Fanti, 45, who used to race cars in desert rallies, told Reuters as he stood beside the 1.65-metre-high, dome-shaped traditional Inuit shelter made of some 330 dark chocolate bricks.

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[From A Hamburger Today] Sick of the same-old cut out pumpkin for Halloween? This guy turned his pumpkin into a Supersized hamburger! Awesome effort! (Jury is still out whether that's real meat in the middle!)

From: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pguyton/275304691/

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