16 Of The Most Epic Restaurant Food Challenges Across The US

There's something undeniably American about restaurant food challenges. Our nation's 4th of July festivities even include a food challenge in the form of an annual hot dog eating contest. Now, if you've ever wondered how Nathan's Famous started its contest, the oft-told tale traces its roots back to a group of immigrants who tried to prove how American they were by eating the most hot dogs. While that story isn't exactly true, the contest has been going strong since 1972, helping inspire various food challenges at restaurants around the country.

Of course, given the number of food challenges offered across the U.S. — many of which were made famous by television shows like "Man versus Food" — numerous YouTubers and TikTok influencers have made a career by taking them on. But the question remains: Which restaurant is offering the most difficult food challenge out there?

To be clear, the most difficult doesn't always mean they're the biggest. Sometimes, an epic food challenge isn't about quantity or volume. It may come in the form of ultra-hot wings that have most people questioning their life choices up to that moment. Without further ado, here are 16 of the most epic food challenges found in the U.S., which aren't for the faint of heart.

For anyone who's never seen "The Great Outdoors," please put it in your watch queue now — the food challenge is one of the most iconic food scenes in cinematic history. John Candy's character faces off against a piece of meat called the Old '96er, and it's not very far off from a legit steak challenge that's been going on since 1962. The official story says that the founder of The Big Texan noticed how customers were challenging each other to finish bigger and bigger steaks, so he decided to make things official.

It started out with a challenge to eat the most 1-pound steaks in 60 minutes, and the first winner ate 72 ounces of steak. That turned into the 72-ounce steak challenge that's still going — but it's not just about the steak. You'll also have to eat a baked potato, an order of shrimp cocktail, a salad, a roll, and there's butter, too. The steak-eating challenge made this Texas restaurant world famous, and at the time of this writing, it has about a 12% completion rate with more than 98,000 attempt.

bigtexan.com

(806) 372-6000

7701 I-40 East, Amarillo, TX 79118

The first Michelin-starred BBQ joints were in Texas. But if you want to talk about quantity, you might need to head to either North Carolina or Connecticut, and find a Bear's BBQ location. You'll find the Bearwich Challenge there, and although it's marketed in such a way that suggests it's a meal fit for a grizzly bear, we'd go as far as to say that the bear would probably check out.

Challengers are faced with 2 pounds of pulled pork, 2 pounds of brisket, a full pound of coleslaw, and 2 pounds of mac and cheese. There's also one and a half loaves of Italian bread, but here's the trickiest part: There's a pint of ghost pepper BBQ sauce that has to be finished off, as well. Let's be clear here. Ghost peppers are considered one of the super-hot peppers of the world, clocking in on the Scoville scale at between 855,000 and 1,463,000 Scoville heat units. (For comparison, a jalapeño is between 2,500 and 5,000.) Finishing all of that in 30 minutes — then keeping it all down for another five — nets challengers $500 in the end.

bearsbbq.com

Multiple locations

Prime rib has been a staple of Las Vegas buffets for a long time, but we're betting those buffet owners might start to panic a bit if they were to hear that someone from the Ward's Prime Rib Hall of Fame was on their way. This is a food challenge that's a little different, in that there's options.

The idea is simply to eat one of the largest cuts of prime rib on the menu, and get your name on the Wall of Fame. Sounds easy? Well, more standard sizes include the 8-ounce, 16-ounce, and 24-ounce pieces. Yet the sizes we're talking about include options like the 88-ounce Big Mixx, the 176-ounce Wrecking Ball, and the 360-ounce Good Golly Miss Molly. Not only is that the record as of this writing, it's also named in honor of competitive eater Molly Schuyler, who took around 90 minutes to finish off 22.5 pounds of prime rib.

wardshouseofprime.com

(414) 223-0135

540 East Mason St, Milwaukee, WI 53202

With a name like Kooky Canuck, you might expect this to be something like a casual sports bar in a major Canadian city. It's actually in Memphis, though, and leans hard into things like poutine, maple bacon burgers, and Canadian whisky. Of course, there's also the Kookamonga challenges, and there's three in total.

The one-person challenge features a 7.5-pound burger with 4 pounds of meat, and the rest in a bun and toppings. The two-person challenge is a 12-pound burger (with six pounds of meat), and the four-person challenge is a whopping 25-pound burger (with 12 pounds of meat). If you're thinking that sounds impossible, it apparently isn't: The records are 4 minutes and 43 seconds for the single person, 15 minutes and 59 seconds for two people, and 23 minutes and 12 seconds for the four-person challenge. There's technically a 60-minute time limit for the single-person challenge, as well.

kookycanuck.com

(901) 578-9800

87 S 2nd St, Memphis, TN 38103

Just a bowl of curry? Easy, you say? Well, give this one a shot, then get back to us. Phaal curry is one of the hottest types of curry around, after all, and just look at the thing. That's the kind of red that only exists in nature in a few places, and they're all volcanic (which kind of says it all). Recipes vary, but usually use some combination of ghost peppers, scotch bonnets, or fiery habaneros, which brings up a question of whether or not it has any flavor.

With that in mind, BrickLane Curry House's version is reportedly made with Carolina reapers, which are between 2 million and 2.2 million on the Scoville scale (law enforcement-grade pepper spray starts at 2.5 million, for instance). While people have completed this challenge, there's only been a few winners per year — if that many. You'll have to sign a waiver to try it beforehand, too, and to be clear, we are in no way suggesting that you do.

bricklanejc.com

(201) 402-4950

136 Newark Ave, Jersey City, NJ 07302

When the San Francisco Creamery updated the rules of its food challenge back in 2014, they included specifics about just how this works. Time limits were determined by the fastest competitor, and once that dropped below 30 minutes, it stayed at 30 minutes. It didn't take long until Molly Schuyler took just 6 minutes and 41 seconds to finish it in November 2014. 

Now, let's talk about what's in this monstrosity. It starts with the eight scoops of ice cream, but there's also three bananas, eight toppings, whipped cream, nuts (which can be swapped for another topping), and cherries. It's worth mentioning that this all has to be finished, and that includes any drips or drops that hit the table, too. Oh, and finally? It's in the rules that you'll have to use a spoon, and not your hands (you're not a savage, after all).

sanfranciscocreameryco.com

(925) 926-0228

1370 Locust St, Walnut Creek, CA 94596

Oysters are definitely a love or hate sort of thing. If you hate them, you might want to look away. Heck, even if you love them, you might want to look away, because things are about to get wild. Acme Oyster House has a handful of locations along the Gulf Coast, and it also has the 15 Dozen Club. It's a challenge to eat 15 dozen oysters in an hour, and you can stop counting on your fingers — that's a total of 180 oysters.

There are a lot of people who have done it, because technically, you only — and no, we can't believe we used the word "only" here — have to eat those 15 dozen to be included in the club. There's always those people who have to be overachievers, though, and at the time of this writing, the record-holder is at the Metairie, Louisiana location, and it's Sonya Thomas of Alexandria, Virginia. She finished 52 dozen oysters, and please, stop trying to do the math in your head (it comes out to 624 oysters).

acmeoyster.com

Multiple locations

Food challenges are a strange thing, because there comes a point where you likely find yourself thinking you can do it ... if it wasn't for the time limit. That's almost the case with this epic challenge, but don't worry: We said almost. Plus, if you finish the Red Rock Saloon's Unforgiven Challenge, you'll get a shirt and a spot on the Wall of Fame.

This challenge features two ½-pound burgers (both with cheese and bacon), along with a deep fried chicken breast and basket of fries. It seems reasonable, we thought, until we saw the 23-minute time limit. Now, it's not clear why there's only 23 minutes, but there's also the last little thing on the menu in six ghost pepper wings, making it all the more epic.

redrockmilwaukee.com

(414) 431-0467

1225 N Water St, Milwaukee, WI 53202

Massive breakfasts aren't without precedent. In fact, traditional full Irish breakfasts were designed to be a practical thing that farmers would sit down to in the morning, knowing they'd be too busy to eat during the rest of the day. Yet even those hungry farmers might have second thoughts about Minnesota's most extreme breakfast, which is known as the Breakfast Barbarian.

This thing comes with six eggs (in your choice of prep), six pieces of bacon, four sausage patties, two slices of ham, hash browns, and toast. That's all served on a hubcap-sized pancake, and it comes with a time limit of 60 minutes, too. You'll get a free meal and a T-shirt out of the deal, though only you can decide if it's worth it to chow down on this monstrosity of a breakfast. It weighs in at somewhere between 8 and 15 pounds, in fact ... give or take.

thenicolletdiner.com

(612) 399-6258

1333 Nicollet Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55403

Take a peek at the menu at New Jersey's Clinton Station Diner, and you'll find a section called Burgers of the Gods. They include go from the one-pound Achilles (not a god) and the two-pound Hercules (technically a half-god), all the way up to the 8th Wonder, which is a 105-pound burger with 50 pounds of meat. (Just for perspective, we'll add that also weighing about 105 pounds is the standard rottweiler, a Hellfire surface-to-air missile, a baby hippo, and a two-month-old foal.

That last one is designed for 10 people, and you'll need to finish the whole thing in an hour. The prize is a completely respectable $2,000, but at the time of this writing, the 8th Wonder will cost you $557.19. Other, smaller challenges are designed for other groups. The 50-pound Mt. Olympus is for five, the 15-pound Zeus is designed for one, two, or three people, and if one person finishes the Atlas (with its three pounds of beef), then it's free.

clintonstationdiner.com

(908) 713-0012

2 Bank St, Clinton, NJ 08809

Check out the Wall of Fame winners of the Kodiak Challenge at Humpy's, and you'll see quite a few who finished in the last seconds of the 60-minute challenge — including one who won with just four seconds remaining. On the other side of that, the record holder at the time of this writing finished in 12 minutes and 10 seconds, and if you need more proof that everyone is different in their own weird and wonderful ways, we don't know what to tell you.

We will, however, tell you what they're eating, because there's so much going on in this one that it's hard to tell from that photo we've shared. The challenge includes four pounds of Alaskan King crab, seven crab nuggets, 14 inches of reindeer sausage, a helping of wild berry crisp, some ice cream, and a few sides. You'll get a T-shirt and a spot on the Hall of Fame, but we also have to point out that the price is currently $450.

humpysalaska.com

(907) 276-2337

610 W 6th Ave, Anchorage, AK 99501

At the time of this writing, the Big Pie in the Sky site says that 24 teams of two have successfully completed the Carnivore Challenge. It's not specified how many teams have given this a shot, and it also doesn't say how many people have, well ... shall we say, refunded their attempt in the process? We're going to guess that based on the massive disclaimer — and the warning that you'll get a $40 cleanup fee added onto your bill if you don't make it to the bathroom or outside and away from the restaurant — we'd hazard a guess that it's happened more than once (or twice).

The challenge is pretty straightforward. Two people have an hour to eat an 11-pound, meat-covered pizza. In 2016, professional eaters Randy Santel and Nathan Figueroa finished in 17 minutes, while the first winners of the challenge finished in 33 minutes.

bigpieinthesky.com

(770) 420-8883

2090 Baker Rd, Kennesaw, GA 30144

If you've never had one before, you might wonder what makes a Mexican torta different from a sandwich. The answer is ingredients, with a torta generally being made with breads, fillings, meats, and toppings specifically associated with the different regions in Mexico. Not even the torta can avoid being turned into a food challenge, though, and this one's been taken stateside and turned into La Super Torta Cubana.

This is another challenge with a ridiculous time limit of 23 minutes, and that's practically no time at all for a massive torta that's literally rolled out to the table on a cart. Talking about ingredients is a big, long list of things, and it includes chorizo, bacon, beef, breaded beef, ham, cheese, lettuce, beans, onions, pickles, and tomatoes. There's probably some more stuff in there, too, but it's really easy to get lost in the details. Finish and you get a free meal and $100, but this is the kind of meal that even stops the pros.

lavecindadlv.com

(702) 431-0056

953 E Sahara Ave, Las Vegas, NV 89104

The Monster Burrito Challenge at Eduardo's Lokos Tacos has a familiar formula: Finish the burrito in 30 minutes and you don't have to pay for it, you'll also get a t-shirt, and you'll get yourself into the restaurant's Monster Burrito Wall of Fame. There's a catch, of course, and it's a whopping six pounds, most of which is meat. There's toppings — like sour cream and lettuce — on the side, and finishing everything is, of course, mandatory.

When Adam Moran (AKA Beard Meats Food) did the challenge in 2025, there were 10 people on the wall. Not one to be deterred, he opted for the beef and reported that the burrito was absolutely delicious, which undoubtedly helps when you're doing something like this. It definitely seemed to, as he finished in around 16 minutes.

facebook.com/EduardosLokosTacos

(352) 742-1181

226 W Alfred St, Tavares, FL 32778

We don't often take bets, but here's one we're pretty confident in: The current record for finishing the Stellanator at Stella's Bar & Grill is going to stand for a long time, maybe even forever — and forever is a long time. The record was set back in 2014 by Molly Schuyler, and it's the kind of challenge that's so big, you'll need to make a reservation for it.

Before we tell you what record she set, let's talk about what it is. In 45 minutes, challengers have to finish off six burger patties served with six fried eggs, six pieces of cheese, 12 pieces of bacon, and toppings like lettuce, tomatoes, fried onions, pickles, jalapeños, peanut butter. That's on a bun, of course, and there's an order of fries with it, too. Also, the record was set at 3 minutes and 40 seconds, so we think we might have a tough time finding anyone to take our bet regarding how long it'll stand.

stellasbarandgrill.com

(402) 291-6088 

106 Galvin Rd, Bellevue, NE 68005

When Adam Moran of "Beard Meats Food" stopped at the delightfully-named Zeke's Eatin' Place in Ontario, California, he was a little taken aback by the Wagon Wheel Pancake Challenge. The challenge had been around for 36 years at that point, and it didn't seem too bad: Three massive pancakes and a few dollops of butter. However, he saw the problem immediately, as those pancakes were going to cool really, really quickly. Consequently, they were really, really hard to eat.

Challengers have 20 minutes to finish, and Moran had a massive cheering section. Everyone in the restaurant got so into it that it prompted him to note that this was precisely why he took on so many American challenges: It was just a heck of a lot of fun. And yes, he finished.

zekeseatin.com

(909) 984-2900

1855 E Fourth St, Ontario, CA 91764