There's no doubt about it, American cuisine is known for its deliciously fattening comfort foods and unnecessarily large portions. It's about time we embrace our giant dishes and take advantage of the options.
From burgers to pho to donuts and everything in between, Americans know how to supersize just about everything. With some dishes clocking in at the same weight of a small child, you're going to have to see it to believe it.
Prepare your stretchy pants because here are some of the biggest dishes that you can order in the United States.
XL 30" Pizza (Big Pie in the Sky)
You're going to need to bring a couple friends if you order a pizza from Big Pie in the Sky in Georgia. This pizza is supposed to feed 8 to 10 people. If you're feeling especially hungry and only have one friend to bring along, you might as well try their Carnivore Challenge.
You get one friend and an hour to try to eat the 11 pound Carnivore Pizza. Only seven teams have ever done it, but can you make it eight?
Mt. Olympus Burger (Clinton Station Diner)
The Clinton Station Diner knows how to appeal to giant burger fans. With emphasis on the giant. They offer the 50 lb Mt. Olympus Burger, 7 lb Zeus Burger, 3 lb Atlas Burger, 2 lb Hercules Burger, and 1 lb Achilles Burger for all levels of dedication to the cause of eating massive amounts of beef.
This just in... Clinton Station has recently added "The 8th Wonder" to their menu, a burger with 50 pounds of meat alone. That means over 105 pounds in total. It'll cost you over 300 dollars, but it's enough food to feed a small army.
7 Pound Breakfast Burrito (Jack N Grill)
At Jack N Grill in Denver, CO, you can go for the breakfast burrito challenge that gave Man Vs. Food a run for his money. If 5 pounds of potatoes, a dozen eggs, 1/2 pound each of ham and cheese, onions, and chile sounds like a bit much, any other smothered burrito or 10 oz. burger you order will come out weighing at least a couple pounds.
164 ounce Moscow Mule (PHD Terrace)
If any one drink could offer 100% assurance that it's going to be a crazy night, I think that this Moscow Mule is it. Stop by PHD Terrace in New York City for beautiful views and this monster of a drink that will set you back $185.
Double Bird in the Hand (Two Birds Chicken)
This is not a sandwich for the faint of heart. Featuring meat from an entire chicken grilled or fried and piled high on a cornmeal sandwich bun with slaw and special tiger sauce, the double bird is almost as big as Two Birds' entire storefront, which is inside a food hall in Irvine, CA.
3 lb Cinnamon Rolls (Lulu's Bakery and Cafe)
All I have to say is thank god I don't live near Lulu's in San Antonio, Texas, or else I would be gaining 3 pounds a day. But that might not even save me, because you can order Lulu's famously delicious giant cinnamon rolls in the mail.
72 oz. Challenge (Big Texan Steak Ranch)
In case you haven't heard it enough, everything is bigger in Texas. From cinnamon rolls to steaks, the portions just keep getting bigger and bigger.
At the Big Texan Steak Ranch, you can show down on a steak weighing in at 4.5 pounds. For those looking to conquer the whole challenge, they'll have to have a baked potato, shrimp cocktail, salad, and bread as well. If you finish in an hour, it's free.
1 lb. Lasagna (Delmonico's Italian Steakhouse)
Although Delmonico's Italian Steakhouse offers a truly impressive 1.5 pound Delmonico Steak that could make this list on its own, it's an Italian classic that I want to draw your attention to.
Delmonico's does everything big. That means a whole pound of meat, cheese, sauce, and pasta when you order their impressively delicious lasagna.
619 Cali Quake Burrito (El Pollo Grill)
If you're wondering what exactly 15,000 calories looks like, here you go. Although you won't find the 619 Cali Quake Burrito on the menu, El Pollo Grill does advertise it as a food challenge or sharable entree in the restaurant.
The great thing about El Pollo Grill is that the quality is just as high as the quantity. They offer truly authentic, and delicious, Mexican cuisine.
Monster Roll (Deli Sushi and Desserts)
This is one sushi roll that is totally worth your 32 dollars. Deli Sushi's Monster Challenge Roll is equivalent to eight regular rolls. If you do the challenge, you have to finish the Chubby Roll version in under 15 minutes. If you're just looking for a giant roll, you can upsize any one of their flavored rolls.
The Kitchen Sink (San Francisco Creamery Co.)
This giant ice cream concoction from San Francisco Creamery Co. is literally served in a kitchen sink. It starts with three bananas, then up to eight flavors of ice cream, topped with eight servings of toppings, more whipped cream than you can imagine, chopped almonds, and cherries on top.
One person can take it on as a challenge, if they dare, to win free ice cream for a year. Or, you can order and share with friends. They say it should feed up to six, but I'd only bring a couple to be safe.
6 lb Burrito (White Rabbit Truck)
This food truck offers up a traveling filipino burrito challenge across California. Between the swiss cheese, garlic fried rice, 3 lbs of meat, six eggs, and six large tortillas, that's one heck of a hybrid.
Competitors get 45 minutes to finish, but if you split it with friends, you can enjoy it at your own pace.
JumbO'Bagel (O'Bagel)
This behemoth of a breakfast sandwich was never actually meant to be a single serving, but I wanted to include it anyway. O'Bagel must have to do some serious engineering to get that bagel to the water to boil and then in the oven to bake to crispy perfection. Then, all that remains is to pile it high with all of your favorite ingredients.
Grim Reaper Burger (Lucky's Burger)
This burger's name should be enough to scare off the lighthearted burger fans. If that's not enough, maybe the 8 lb weigh-in will give them a hint. The patty itself is 4 pounds, topped by 8 slices of cheese, 7 fried eggs, a dozen pieces of bacon, and an entire mountain of onion rings.
Prepare the defibrillator. I'm going in.
The Big Fat Fatty (Fat Sal's Deli)
Fat Sal's Deli was recently featured on Food Network's Incredible Edible America, so you know they're the real deal. They serve over 40 sandwiches, but the one I'm drooling over is the Big Fat Fatty.
It's only available as a food challenge for one in the restaurant, but at $50, it's worth the shot at naming your own sandwich. To conquer the challenge and get a spot on the menu, you'll need to eat your way through 5 kinds of meat, cheese, eggs, onion rings, 3 sauces, and a 27" bun.
The Giant Sicilian (Big Mamas and Papas Pizzeria)
Big Mamas and Papas may be one of the only chain restaurants on this menu, but they have a huge accomplishment to boast.
They offer The Giant Sicilian pizza, which is the world's largest deliverable pizza. It clocks in at a minimum of $250, but for a 54" by 54", 200-slice pizza, that's pretty good bang for your buck. It's a pizza for a whole party.
5 lb T-Rex Cookie (T-Rex Cookie Company)
T-Rex Cookie Company only has two sizes: big and gigantic. While 1/2 pound may be the more appropriate portion size, I've got my eye on T-Rex's 5 pound cookie.
They have a rotating variety of flavors, but you can always rely on finding chocolate chip, snickerdoodle, peanut butter, and the award winning sea salt caramel.
Giant Deli Sandwiches (Harold's New York Deli)
At Harold's New York Deli, giant is the norm. Every sandwich comes piled high with whatever single meat or combination of deli meats sounds good to you. Single orders feed at least two people, but if you want the full experience, order a triple decker.
For just under $100, you can feed up to eight people with their famous Abe Lebewohl, with corned beef, pastrami, russian dressing, and coleslaw on rye.
As if the meat wasn't enough, Harold's also sells a variety of monstrous 5-layer cakes. Talk about a food coma.
Super Slice (Pizza Barn)
If you're ready to travel to Yonkers, NY, you can visit Pizza Barn, the home of the Super Slice. It comes in a variety of flavors, from cheese to white spinach to meat lover's and everything in between. No matter what toppings you choose, it'll be a whopping two feet long.
Super Bowl (Dong Thap Noodles)
Portion sizes for pho are naturally bigger than your average bowl of soup. Dong Thap Noodles takes that idea to a whole new level with their Super Bowl. The challenge allows competitors an hour and a half to conquer four liters of broth, four pounds of meat, and four pounds of noodles.
Casual pho lovers, if anyone who wants to order this bowl can be called that, can just pay $45 for the super bowl, but defeating it will win you $100.
22" Mega Dog (Family Pizza)
Family Pizza, located in Connecticut, offers a hot dog that could literally feed the whole family. Measuring 22 inches long, the longest hot dog in New England can come topped with any combination of cheese, onion, bacon, sauerkraut, and beef chili. You may need an extra long table for this one.
Manuel's Special Burrito (El Tepeyac Cafe)
The menu at El Tepeyac Cafe says that this 18 inch monster feeds two to four people, but it's also available as a single person challenge. While the challenge version only comes in chile verde pork, casual diners can order it with a number of meat options.
BLT (Tony's I-75 Restaurant)
Absolutely everything on the strangely diverse menu at Tony's I-75 restaurant throws the idea of portions out the window. From a BLT with a whole pound of bacon to burritos larger than your average dinner plate to dozen-egg omelettes, you won't leave Tony's hungry.
Texas Sized Donut (Round Rock Donuts)
The name just about says it all with this donut from Round Rock Donuts. The Texas Sized Donut is the size of a dozen regular donuts and takes up the entire fryer in the back of the bakery. I would highly recommend getting one with chocolate frosting because why not.
Oh My Burger 8 lb Burger (Oh By Burger)
Oh My Burger's mission is to provide freshness, quality, convenience, and good service. They sure do make it convenient to ignore portion sizes with their 8 pound burger.
It'll cost you $50 to try to conquer this behemoth of a food challenge, featuring a 16 ounce shake and 12 ounces of fries to go along with your 10 patties, 10 slices of cheese, 10 pieces of bacon, 1/2 pound of pastrami, 6 ounces of onion rings, barbecue sauce, signature sauce, lettuce, tomato, onion, and a bun.
If that sounds like too much, take it a step down to the classic Oh My Burger. It's only got three patties.
XL XLB (Drunken Dumpling)
Make sure you stop by the Drunken Dumpling early in the day to try their specialty extra large soup dumpling. They only make 25 of these dumplings that are as big as the entire steamer.
The XL XLB is a little bit of everything, with crab, scallop, shrimp, and pork stuffing in a mixture of chicken, pork, and vegetable broths.
The Monster Sandwich (Sarge's Deli)
If you take a ruler to "New York's Largest sandwich," you would see that it is a towering 9 inches tall.
Sarge's Deli certainly doesn't skimp on the meat for their Monster Sandwich Burger challenge. It's stacked with Corned Beef, Pastrami, Roast Beef, Fresh Turkey, Salami, and all the normal sandwich condiments.
If you don't have $50 to spend on a sandwich, go for their giant triple decker club. Sarge's high quality deli meat takes the classic sandwich to a new level.
2 lb. Combo Burrito (Sam's No. 3)
This place has not only won several awards for their green chili and greek specialties, but they've also been featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. Even Guy Feiri was impressed by the sheer size of the menu, only to be topped by the 2 lb Combo Burrito.
Not only is it under 10 bucks, but it comes with taco meat and black bean filling smothered in pork green chili and topped with the usual fresh lettuce, tomato, and cheese. There's also a 2 pound vegetarian version. Or if you're more of a breakfast person, there's a burrito option with 6 eggs.
Mom's Homemade Pancakes (Henhouse Cafe)
If they're called Mom's Pancakes, they automatically have to be good, right? That sure is the case with these trays of carby goodness. Each pancake is approximately the size of a manhole cover, so the menu's warning "may cause drowsiness" doesn't seem like too far of a stretch.
Everything! (Hash House a Go Go)
I suppose that to make a splash in the big cities that are home to Hash House a Go Go, you have to go big or go home.
They pride themselves in their "twisted farm food," which, to my understanding, is just gigantic versions of every traditional dish you can think of, using high quality ingredients. From chicken and waffles to stuffed burgers to two pound sandwiches, no one's going home hungry.
As you can see, just about anything can be supersized if a creative chef puts their mind to it. I can't wait to see what portion sizes are going to be shattered next.