Top 5 Melbourne eating challenges

Kodiak Club

Fitzroy

This may be the most low-brow version of 60 minutes you will ever witness/participate in. One challenger, one hour, and 60 buffalo hot wings. Whether you finish them all, and are hence rewarded with eternal glory on the honour/shame board, and no bill, will depend on which you value more – your dignity, or $90.

Misty's Diner

Prahran

Following the American belief that ‘bigger is better’, Misty’s created its gargantuan ‘Challenge Burger’. $35 gets you five patties – yup, a whopping 1.2 kilos of sheer burger. Eat that, along with 200 grams of fries, in 14 minutes and you’ll get a free tee (“I smashed the Misty’s diner challenge”- date shirt!) and your photo on the fame wall.

Outback Jack's

Docklands

Carnivores, this one's for you: a one-kilo steak. Spend less than 30 minutes on the grain-fed beef (and eat 500 grams of veg and wedges) to get a $30 voucher. Or you could choose to walk away with an Outback Jack’s tee shirt. Go on, show the world you’re a future champion of the competitive eating circuit.

Captain America’s Hamburger Heaven

Ferntree Gully

As a Time Out reporter recently pointed out – nowhere is as star-spangled as Captain America – not even America. Take a shot at the burger challenge title, ($28, a 1kg double burger with 600g of chips on the side) or hell, why not just challenge yourself? Order up a slab of ribs, cheese fries and some Billy the Kid shooters (Kahlua, Bundy, tequila). God bless the USA.

Taco Bill's

Windsor

Nowhere else in Melbourne – or all of Australia – offers as humongous a margarita as Taco Bill’s nefarious ‘Pancho Villa’. Finish the gargantuan $30 cocktail, aka ‘the fishbowl’, and you’ll win yourself a take-home sombrero. BYO insulin for this one.

High Tech Burrito

Hawthorn

From August 17 to September 6, you'll have the opportunity to try and shove a 750g burrito down your gullet (within ten minutes) for the rich reward of a tee-shirt. If you're one of the three fastest challengers, you'll go into the grand final for a chance to win burritos for a year. Warning (y'know, in case the effects of smashing a burrito the size of your head haven't hit home) the torpedo is laced with jalapenos, habanero hot sauce, and, just for good measure, a slash of spice made from the Guinness World Record's number one hottest chilli – the Naga Jolokia.