7 ridiculous food challenges near Indy

Does eating bore you? Have you seen every episode of "Man v. Food"? Do regular portions at restaurants leave you staring sadly into an empty fridge while your significant other berates you for having eaten too  much again?

Restaurants in and around Indianapolis know your pain. They want to help. They've created challenges — menu items featuring exorbitant amounts of food that you can eat, often within a specific time limit, in one sitting.

We've picked seven particularly gnarly challenges for you to try, from monstrous burgers to stacked sweets.

It's not overeating, honey. It's winning.

'THE MAVERICK'

Teddy’s Burger Joint is all about patties and buns, but its biggest menu item is the Maverick. Food-lovers have one hour to consume this meat monstrosity’s two  2½-pound patties and 1-pound bun. Maverick challengers can choose their toppings, but the finished product has to weigh 8 pounds.

A 24-hour notice is required to participate in the challenge because Teddy’s orders its buns from Taylor’s Bakery.

Be warned: only one person has conquered the Maverick, but he has done it twice.

Want the burger but not the burps? Order the Maverick as a family meal and enjoy it with 10 orders of fries and 10 drinks for $100.

Where:Teddy’s Burger Joint, 2222 W. Southport Road, Indianapolis.

Price: $35.

Prizes: T-shirt and your meal free.

'DOUBLE ALL-IN'

The breakfast of champions, it turns out, is a 6-to-7 pound heap of potatoes, scrambled sausage, six scrambled eggs, diced ham, green peppers, onions and jalapenos. All topped with cheddar cheese, of course.

This early-morning food challenge has an element of luck to it in keeping with Best Bet Breakfast and Lunch's  poker theme. Patrons must pick from a deck of cards to determine how long they have to finish their meal. Times range from 30 minutes to an hour.

For those who aren’t quite so ravenous, a half-order of the same meal exists.

Where:Best Bet Breakfast and Lunch,14300 Mundy Drive #1300, Noblesville.

Price: $21.50.

Prize: T-shirt.

'THE 'BIG UGLY' ONE POUND'

At least 80,000 of these burgers have been sold, but not everyone can finish it. Bub’s Burgers and Ice Cream has been offering the Big Ugly since the first Bub's opened in Carmel in 2003. Diners win the challenge if they eat the entire burger, bun and optional toppings.

Where: Bub’s Burgers and Ice Cream, 210 W. Main St, Carmel.

Price: $19.65.

Prize: Your picture on the wall.

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'THE BIG STACK'

Not every food challenge has to be savory. Indulge your sweeter side with 12 pancakes from Bub’s Cafe, Bub’s Burgers and Ice Cream’s sister restaurant.

The pancakes aren’t small, either. Each is the size of the average dinner plate. They’re so big that no one has won the challenge since Bub's Cafe opened in 2007 despite “plenty” of people who have tried.

Syrup is optional.

Where:Bub’s Cafe, 220 2nd St. SW, Carmel.

Price: $39.99.

Prize: Your picture on the wall.

THE 'CROCTAIL'

Think of a traditional Cuban sandwich but doubled in size. The croctail is a 2-foot, 3-pound sandwich with epic contents: sweet ham, freshly roasted pork, lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise, mustard, pickles and provolone and Swiss cheeses.

“Croc Kings,” or those who finish the sandwich, are few in number. Only six of the 12 people who have wrangled with the croctail have come out on top.

Where:Taste of Havana, 815 Broad Ripple Ave., Indianapolis.

Price: $22.99.

Prize: Your picture on the wall, T-shirt and your meal free.

'THE ROCKSTAR CHALLENGE'

Grab a friend for this 30 inch, one-topping pizza challenge. Four large Rockstar pizzas are combined to create the pie, and two people must finish it in 45 minutes to win. Failure to munch results in a picture on the “wall of shame.” Losing also gets you a free T-shirt … if you want others to know you couldn’t cut it with the ultimate slice. Don’t worry, though. Only three people have won the challenge.

Where:Rockstar Pizza,922 E. Main St, Brownsburg.

Price: $49.99.

Prize: Your picture on the wall, T-shirt and a $25 Rockstar Pizza gift card.

'THE CHALLENGE'

This one might be considered more of a meal challenge. Eat two 1-pound burgers and 1 pound of french fries in 45 minutes to claim victory. Burgers come fully dressed, which means tons of lettuce, tomatoes, mayonnaise, pickles and onions.

Where:Shelby Street Diner, 3623 Shelby St., Indianapolis.

Price: About $26.

Prize: Your picture on the wall, trophy, T-shirt and your meal free.

Call IndyStar reporter Danielle Grady at (317) 444-6152. Follow her on Twitter: @dgrady1222.