Denny's 2 Pound Challenge!!!

Date: April 4, 2009

Time: 4:45 pm

Place: Denny's Beer Barrel Pub - Clearfield, PA




Mission: Complete the monster 2 pound Denny's Pub challenge in under one hour.

The challenger:


(Me)

The 2 pound Opponent:


(Check the size next to the water bottle!)

Now check it next to my head!




(my buddy, Dan, also tried the challenge!!)

Ok, here are the stats on this burger, so you know what I was dealing with:

Burger: 2 pounds
Cheese: 5 slices
Bun: More than I thought
Mayo: Slathered on the top bun
Onion: Half an onion at least.
Tomato: Full tomato at least.
Banana Peppers: A bunch
Lettuce: 5 large leafs. (or should it be leaves? Anyone?)
And a mystery ingredient that I will name later.

The top bun, I would say, was probably the same thickness as the burger, which was a good 2 inches at least.

I had a strategy going in, based on the trial run I did (check the archives if you want to read that story.) My plan was simple:

1. Deconstruct the burger immediately so the mayo wouldn't contaminate the rest of the burger. This was due to my inability to eat the mayo in the trial run, thus causing me to gag.

2. Eat the mayo bun first, so it was gone.

3. Eat the veggies...the tomato, onion, banana peppers, lettuce. A salad, if you will, before the main course.

4. Chow on burger, bun, burger, bun...

5. Finish and lapse into a burger induced coma.

I deconstructed and went to work.


(My three piles...bun, toppings, burger. NOTE: the fries in the foreground were not mine...my buddy, Dan ordered them...he was cocky.)


(They wouldn't give me a fork, but they didn't say I couldn't use the pickle's spear to help me!!)

As I went to work on the lettuce. I was shocked to find under it a mystery ingredient...relish. I HATE relish! I took the first little bite and gagged...I would have to get creative. Dan recommended mixing it with a bite of other stuff. It worked!!



But, as you can see from the next photo, I began slipping into the burger induced coma a little early!



I shook it off and soldiered on.



I was slowing down with 20 minutes left on the clock...



...but I knew the end was near. With 10 minutes left, I knew the dream was over. I never gave up, but I knew I would never make it in an hour. Just for the record, I don't think I would have made it period. I was just about over eating hamburger, and bun. Maybe in an hour and a half...maybe not.


(Defeated...)


(Thumbs down...)

Like with the trial run, I still had about 1/2 pound to go on the burger...



...but I still had the entire bottom bun.



Defeated, I ordered a shot (cause I wanted the shot glass for a souvenir) and slammed down the fire water...bleeech!





And then we left...no fanfare, no name on the plaque, just two ordinary Joe's stuffed and defeated by the 2 lb. Denny's challenge.

In case you were wondering, here's how my buddy, Dan, finished...



He ate all the burger, but little of the bun or toppings. Oh, and a bunch of fries!

Over all it was a great little trip...special thanks to Dan for everything! Especially the great company and putting himself in misery to try the challenge with me. Thanks, Dan!!

And to all of you readers...sorry, I let you down!!

Denny's Trip Update

******************UPDATE********************

The trip to Denny's Beer Barrel Pub is on schedule for Saturday, April 4th. I will be attempting the giant two pound burger. Please comment any words of advice or encouragement that I can take with me on my journey...I will bring back tales of the monster, photos and hopefully the tee shirt that comes with slaying the monster!!

Wish me luck!!

Happy St Patrick's Day!!

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!


(Downtown Indy - Green Canal)

Those who know me know I love this holiday. We Gillespie's really embrace our Irish roots. I decided Hendrix should share in my enthusiasm, so I dressed him in his first St Patty's Day outfit and snapped some photos.

Enjoy!!


(Big St Patty's Day cheeser!)


(Sitting still for once!)


(Isn't he cute??)


(Coming at ya!! He was standing and fell right as I was taking the photo!!)

Ok, now go drink something green!!

What is my Mail Trying to Tell Me??

My birthday isn't until April, but already I'm feeling old. Why you might ask? Well, it's because of some disturbing mail I received today.

Either I AM getting old, or someone is playing a cruel, cruel joke on me!

(click photo to enlarge)


Yes, that's right, sonny, I got an invite to get me some Depend adult diapers. Note the $2 off coupon!! BONUS!!



And, in case I wasn't sold on buying some of these, here is a nice incentive!!

An Alien Invasion!

The clock had just rolled over to 3:30 am. The morning found me outstretched on the couch with Hendrix carefully perched on my chest. The street light from across the road peeked through the window. The normally busy road was calm.

Suddenly, the white light shifted to an intense red, accented by a pulsing yellow. The white street light was engulfed in darkness as an image moved into view. The blinds obscured my view, but I was sure the large object with the glowing red and yellow light could only be one thing.

A UFO!

Panic began to set in as I pulled my arm around Hendrix, as if I could protect him from the impending alien invasion. Why did they choose Indiana? Why Columbus? Why my house?!?

My mind began to race with thoughts of what was in store for me. Maybe they would abduct me? Blow me up? Mind probe? ANAL PROBE?!? Fear...the thought of pain...the thought of the unknown...

Then, the light began to swirl again, and within seconds, it was gone. I was spared!! The UFO had passed me by.

Wait a minute, I think it was just the Garbage truck picking up my trash. Yeah, that was it, never mind.

UPDATE: Burger Trip

With the Big Burger Trip only days away, I called my "burger buddy," Dan, and worked on finalizing the plans.

Me: "You ready to kick some big burger butt!!"

Dan: "Yeah...kinda, I have this bad cough, I'm going to the doctor to get it checked out."

Me: "Crap...well, let me know what you find out."

A few hours later:

Dan: "Dude, just found out my cough is pneumonia."

Me: "Double crap!"

Dan: "I have some meds, I should be fine by Saturday, though."

A few hours later:

Dan: "My prescriptions are $200..."

Me: "Let's just pontpone."

Dan: "Yeah, that sounds like the best plan.

So, it looks like I will try and conquer the two pounder the first weekend in April. Two more months of preperation...that 2 pounder will be conquered!!

Round One: Tony vs the Two Pound Burger Trial Run

The challenge was set...2 lbs of hamburger, 8 hamburger buns, one tomato, half a head of lettuce, 6 slices of cheese and a 1/4 cup each of ketchup, mustard and mayo.

All of this in one hour.

I know what some of you are thinking..."oh, that's easy, I could do that no problem!!" But consider this: this burger is the equivilent to eating 8 Quarter Pounders from McDonalds. (that's eight Royales with cheese, for my European friends...)

EIGHT!

This is no easy task.

(click any photo to enlarge.)

(The goods.)




(One 2 lb. burger patty.)


(The burger cooks.)


(The burger goes on the fixins.)


(Add the cheese...)


(...and the buns...)


(Enter the challenger!)


(One hour time limit.)


(I'm ready to chow down!!)



(5 minutes in...)


(Still looking good.)


(10 minutes down...)


(Oh, I got this!!)


(Looks like I'm about half way through. It is at this point I realize I should have paced myself a little better. I tore through the first half, but I was definitely slowing down.)


(15 minutes in...)


(Iffy at best.)




(20 minutes in...)


(Ugh...I really hit the wall at this point.)




(25 minutes in...)


(It's not looking good.)


(The half way point.)



(At this point, I was gaging...not because I was full, not because of the bread...it was partially the burger, but mostly the condiments. The mayo was making me cringe!!)






(35 minutes in...)


(I could tell at this point that another bite of burger would be impossible. The burger and condiments were killing me.)


(I ate the last bun, and prepared to throw in the towel.)


(40 minutes in...)


(That's it...it's all over!!)


(Put a fork in me...I'm done.


(I'm throwing in the towel.)


(I finished choking down the last bun top.)


(I had one and a half bottom buns, and a little less than half pound of burger left.)


(The challenger had been defeated!!)

Before I ate, we made predictions on the outcome of the challenge.


(Hendrix wrote this note...awe, isn't he sweet, he loves his daddy no matter what happens! Yes, that's what it says...I'm his dad, I know!!)


(I predicted domination...I was wrong.)


(Becky was right, she knew I could not defeat the 2 pounder.)

Overall, I learned a lot. Pace myself more, maybe eat more burger and less buns first, as the buns were easy to eat at the end. And above all, hope like crazy the mayo isn't as thick at Denny's Beer Barrel Pub!

The trip is February 21st...I will post my results soon thereafter!!