Beat It: For local restaurants, eating challenges are good business.

Published March 24, 2011 in the Memphis Flyer

When Shawn Danko opened Kooky Canuck, he wanted to include a food challenge to add to the fun nature of the restaurant. He created the Kookamonga Burger, which is four pounds of fresh ground chuck, two pounds of custom-made hamburger bun, and one-and-a-half pounds of lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, onions, and cheese. (Accompanying fries are optional.) Eat the burger in less than 60 minutes, and it's yours for free.

Anyone who has laid eyes on the burger can see that finishing it is nearly impossible, but that hasn't stopped 2,895 people from taking the challenge. To date, only eight people have succeeded. One of them, Roger Robinson, who lives in Southaven, has won three times. Patrick Bertoletti, a professional competitive eater, holds the record for fastest time (7 minutes and 15 seconds)...(Read more).