Gluttony: Eating your Heart out in the City

If your vice of choice is gluttony, hop on the next train to Brooklyn. Don Chingon, a modern Mexican eatery that opened in Park Slope this August, promises to push our love of gluttony to the extreme with the “Gran Chingon Challenge.” After paying $150 to enter, participants must consume a 30-pound burrito and a ghost pepper margarita in under an hour. If you can handle that meal within the time limit, you’ll walk away with a 10 percent stake in the restaurant. The challenge began on Oct. 19, but a victor has yet to emerge. Not a fan of Mexican food? Here are few other, slightly less-outrageous good challenges to try around the city.

Lone Star Bar & Grill
8703 Fifth Ave. (Brooklyn)

If an insatiable hunger ever strikes while you’re in Brooklyn, mosey on over to Lone Star Bar & Grill. Their menu features dishes typical of a sports bar such as chicken wings, burgers and ribs. For the truly hungry (and slightly crazy) diner, there’s always the 87 oz. Beef Challenge, during which competitors must devour an 87 oz. steak — that’s about five and a half pounds — and one side dish in under an hour. If by some miracle you’re able to finish, the meal is free and you walk away with a T-shirt and a picture on the restaurant’s wall of fame. Be warned, however, that failure comes with an $87 price tag.

A Salt and Battery
112 Greenwich Ave.

As a classic British fish and chips shop, all of the food at A Salt and Battery is pretty filling. But if a normal serving of fried fish and potatoes isn’t enough for you, don’t worry. The restaurant’s “Fat Bastard Seafood Eating Challenge” consists of one pound of fried fish, one and half pounds of chips, a side of mushy peas, two sides of tarter sauce and a Coke. If you finish in under 20 minutes, your meal is free along with a T-shirt and a place on their wall of fame. If that sounds just a little too extreme, you can still get the glory if you can clean your plate in half an hour. However, you’ll still have to pay your tab — the “Fat Bastard” will cost you $25.

Sarge’s Deli
548 Third Ave.

Sarge’s Deli, opened by retired cop Abe “Sarge” Katz in 1964, has been a 24/7 mecca for lovers of classic Jewish deli fare for over fifty years. Their extensive menu encompasses everything from blintzes to whitefish salad, but the deli is probably best known for their collection of gut-busting sandwiches. If a Triple Decker isn’t enough to satisfy your hunger, you could always attempt to tackle the “Monster.” For $41.95, this colossal sandwich comes with corned beef, pastrami, roast beef, turkey, salami, sliced tomato, lettuce, coleslaw and Russian dressing all piled on slabs of thick-cut rye bread. There is no time limit and winners receive a free T-shirt upon completion of the challenge.