Hog Attack

The Route 62 Diner in Yucca Valley, CA is home to one monstrous eating challenge: The Hogzilla Burger. In years past, the challenge was one huge 2 lb  patty. In 2011, the diner decided to switch the challenge into a "King of the Hill" patty tower. Devour a bigger tower than the previous champ and you're the winner.

Matt "Sweet Tooth" Cohen was the second champion under this format. He polished off a 9-patty burger and fries in 18 minutes, earning himself a t-shirt and a champion's poster on the wall. There's no time limit on this challenge but "Sweet Tooth" didn't dawdle.

Each patty weighs a quarter pound, thus Matt put down a 2.25 lb burger. I became the next champion (2.5 lbs) until I was dethroned by local eater John Rivera of Joshua Tree. We traded the title back and forth a few times, leading to a dramatic photo in the local newspaper.

Not sure why the Hi Desert Star News put this photo in the business section (I'm kidding - it was pretty far back), but it works. The photo was taken in October 2011, mere minutes before I tore into the burger, taking down a 15-patty burger to reclaim my spot at the top for the third time. John looked on as I finished my 3.75 lb burger with a side of fruit. No doubt he's hungry for another title. I'll be ready.

The diner is literally down the street from the school I work for. The posters of the first two challenge wins adorn my classroom walls, always leading to interesting comments from students and parents. For the most part, they want to know how I got into this and why I don't weigh 400 lbs.

So far I don't have a good answer. Maybe I should have studied biology instead of history.

The Legend of Hogzilla

Yucca Valley is home to an interesting restaurant that shares space with a Harley-Davidson Motorcycle dealership. The Route 62 Diner is open Monday through Saturday for breakfast and lunch. The interior was comfortable, there were a couple jukeboxes, and I noticed a fair amount of 1950s and 1960s memorabilia.

And for those who like their food extra large, Route 62 Diner offers the Hogzilla Burger Challenge for $16 (as of November 2009). That's a 2 lb patty with all the fixings on an oversized bun along with a basket of fries.  The motorcycle theme was cool - how often do you find a burger named after a bike?

The burger looked really good. It comes with a lot of vegetables. There's a few slices of American cheese hiding beneath the onion rings, tomatoes, and lettuce pieces. Just think of it as a salad on top of a huge meat slab.

After getting through the burger, I emptied the fry basket onto the plate. Anyone familiar with restaurant challenges will testify that this isn't a huge pile of fries. It was barely a half pound. I've probably eaten more fries at Jack in the Box or McDonalds. Unfortunately, these fries didn't impress. The burger was much fresher and fuller of flavor.

If you finish the combo inside of one hour, you'll get your picture on the wall and take home a t-shirt proclaiming your victory over the Hogzilla. My visit was back in November 2009, when a leisurely finish in 36 minutes was proclaimed a house record. The "shocked" manager told me I was the 16th successful person to tackle the Hogzilla.

Honestly, this place is a little remote. I wonder how many people have eaten the burger by now. Maybe someone's eaten two. Just rode in on their bike, chowed down, and roared off.