Las Vegas: This burger isn’t your typical pub grub

People who haven’t resolved to lose weight during 2013 may be up for a culinary dare during their next trip to Las Vegas. The Pub at Monte Carlo – inside the Strip hotel of the same name – is betting $29 you probably can’t down an 8-pound cheeseburger plus a 32-ounce glass of beer (or root beer) within 45 minutes.

If you can, the meal is on the house and they’ll throw in a complimentary T-shirt.

The Pub Challenge has been on offer for a little more than a year and of the 150 or so diners who have dared to try, only three have succeeded in finishing the burger, which measures about 10 inches in diameter.

“I think people are scared of it,” Executive Chef Tim Radigan said, only half–jokingly.

Don’t expect this order to be delivered to the table quickly. Radigan starts with a 4-pound patty of ground Angus beef, which takes 30 minutes to cook, 45 minutes if it’s ordered well-done.

To the meat and the 2-pound bun, the cooks add a full pound of cheese and a pound of veggies (lettuce, tomato, caramelized onion and jalapeno pepper) before finishing it with a “secret sauce.” The burger’s not for dieters; it has 11,000 calories.

“The bun is what stops a lot of people (from completing the challenge),” the chef added, pointing out that bread expands once it reaches the stomach.

Radigan advises serious contenders against snacking on onion rings or their unique cinnamon-and-sugar sweet potato fries while waiting for their monster meal. And, there probably won’t be room, either, for the make-your-own s’mores for dessert.

Guests who throw in the napkin can share the burger with others. The price, however, jumps from $29 to $49.

Don’t worry if the restaurant’s website says the Challenge needs to be completed within 30 minutes. I’m assured that’s an error - not that the extra 15 minutes will probably help.

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