A big appetite calls for special restaurants that offer huge portions of their specialty dishes. Some of these Illinois hot spots offer challenges and will cover the cost of the meal if you can actually eat the entire thing! Whether you have a giant craving for ice cream, burgers, or pizza, the following restaurants are the ideal spots for BIG food in Illinois.
Home of the world’s largest ice cream sundae, Margie’s Candies is a dream come true. The world’s largest sundae features a half gallon of ice cream and flavors from across the U.S. Aside from the enormous sundae, this candy shop wonderland offers a wide variety of ice cream favorites made with homemade fudge and toppings.
Bartolini’s specializes in delicious meatballs and offers a 10-pound meatball sandwich challenge for meatball lovers. This giant meatball sandwich features 40 meatballs on a three-foot French bread with loads of gravy, cheese, and peppers weighing a total of 10 pounds! Anyone who beats the latest record wins $1,000.
Known for their Big Daddy Challenge, Johnny’s Beef challenges their patrons to take on their double-sized Big Daddy burger and a full serving of their famous chili cheese fries. Their famous classic burgers, fries, and Italian ice are widely recognized in the Chicago area.
For a big breakfast, look no further than Charlie Parker’s Diner in Springfield. Charlie’s Famous Giant Pancake measures 16 inches, and if that’s not big enough for you, order the Four Stack Giant Pancakes. If you can eat the entire platter, Charlie Parker’s will pay for it.
Known for their stadium pizza, which measures 18 inches by 26 inches, Nonna’s Pizza doesn’t play around with pizza. If you can’t go that big, attempt to take on their 18-inch extra-large pizza. For over 40 years, Nonna’s Pizza has been serving fresh, big pizzas made with dough made daily in-house.
If “Man v. Food” comes to this joint, you know they serve huge portions. Lucky’s Sandwich Company offers a challenge called “The Lucky’s Challenge” where participants must choose three sandwiches and finish them all in one hour. As you can imagine, these are hefty sandwiches stacked with toppings.