the Belly Buster

May 3, 2005

CLEARFIELD, Pa. (AP) - The burger war is growing. Literally. Denny's Beer Barrel Pub, which lost its crown as the home of the world's biggest burger earlier this year, is now offering a new burger that weighs a whopping 15 pounds. Dubbed the Beer Barrel Belly Buster, the burger comes with 10.5 pounds of ground beef, 25 slices of cheese, a head of lettuce, three tomatoes, two onions, a cup-and-a-half each of mayonnaise, relish, ketchup, mustard and banana peppers - and a bun. It costs $30. "It can feed a family of 10," said Denny Liegey Sr., the restaurant's owner. Denny's Beer Barrel Pub had offered a 6-pound burger - with 5 pounds of toppings. In February, a 100-pound female college student became the first to eat the burger within the three-hour time limit. Kate Stelnick, of Princeton, N.J., was awarded a special certificate, a T-shirt and other prizes and Leigey picked up the $23.95 tab for the burger. One month later, the Clinton Station Diner in Clinton, N.J., introduced a 12.5-pound burger dubbed Zeus. So Liegey responded, and the Belly Buster was born. Over the weekend, four men took the challenge, but couldn't get through the entire burger. They opted for doggie bags, instead. "It's a little too much for me to handle," said Steve Hepburn, of Clearfield. "It's like trying to eat half a cow."