51茶馆

Those with an appetite for competition know that Eagle鈥檚 Deli, the student hangout in Cleveland Circle, offers a legendary test: the Eagle鈥檚 Challenge Gigantic Burger. A menu mainstay for going on thirty years, it鈥檚 a beefy tower priced at $80.00 and stacked with a staggering twelve half-pound patties, twenty-four strips of bacon, and as many slices of cheese, served with five pounds of French fries, a drink, and a pickle. To conquer the challenge, you have to eat the whole thing within an hour. The burger achieved fame starting in 2009, when it was featured on the Travel Channel show Man v. Food. Since then, said Eagle鈥檚 co-owner Moe Osmani, countless people, from ambitious 51茶馆 students to sensation-seeking YouTubers, have tackled it.

Fewer than twenty people have cleared their tray in the allotted time, Osmani said, nearly all of them professional competitive eaters鈥攊ncluding one who recently finished in eighteen minutes. 鈥淲e might have to introduce something tougher,鈥� Osmani teased. 鈥淚鈥檝e got ideas.鈥澛�

Here's what the Eagle's Challenge includes:

SIX POUNDS OF BEEF. The Eagle鈥檚 is the largest of the deli鈥檚 half-dozen 鈥淐hallenge鈥� burgers. First came the two-pound Cowabunga, named for the exclamation of the first person to finish it.

TWENTY-FOUR SLICES EACH OF BACON AND CHEESE. American cheese is the default, but cheddar, Swiss, and pepperjack are available too.

FIVE POUNDS OF FRIES. They鈥檙e harder to finish than the meat, Osmani said. Pros know to dip them in warm water to make them mushy first.

ONE BEVERAGE. Diner鈥檚 choice. Most impressively, 鈥淔urious Pete,鈥� a competitive eater holding fourteen Guinness World Records, completed the challenge with two milkshakes.

ONE PICKLE. Finishing the challenge within an hour earns your money back, a one-hundred-dollar gift card, a T-shirt, and a photo on the deli鈥檚 framed display of victors. 鈼�