The restaurant eating challenge is one of America's most celebrated and well-known gastronomical traditions. Recently this phenomenon has exploded onto the national, and even the global scene, with the soaring popularity of showcase competitive eating events like Nathan's 4th of July hot dog-eating contest at Coney Island.
But for those less inclined to devote themselves to a life of hardcore eating, there are plenty of local venues to fulfill even the most powerful food craving and the fiercest competitive spirit.
Here in Baltimore, there is no exception. For those willing to make the trek and prepared to stomach a ridiculous amount of food, there is Chewy's BBQ. Formerly Chewy's on Charles in Mount Vernon, this local favorite recently moved eastwards out of the city to 5200 North Point Blvd in Dundalk (or Edgemere), Maryland.
Although the location of this one-time Baltimore mainstay has changed, the menu has been preserved, including, most importantly, the restaurant's trademark five pound Fat Boy burger.
The Fat Boy burger, truly a culinary masterpiece (amongst oversized beef burgers at the very least) is five pounds of pure, delicious beef topped with cheese, lettuce and anything else you could possibly ask for in a burger, truly is the flagship dish at Chewy's. Besides the sheer size of the burger - and it is overwhelming - there is not all too much to distinguish the Fat Boy burger, with the exception of one key detail.
Chewy's offers a stunningly good deal to anyone willing to take a seat across from the five pound behemoth that is the Fat Boy burger: Anyone who manages to eat the whole burger within a one-hour time limit eats free at Chewy's for the next year.
This deal alone necessitates a weekend excursion to Dundalk to try one's hand at taking down the Fat Boy burger. Chewy's is conveniently open six days a week, Monday through Thursday from 10 AM to 10 PM, Fridays from 10 AM to midnight and Saturdays from 10AM to 8PM, but realistically, the best opportunity for Hopkins students to pay a visit to the restaurant would be during one of the weekend slots. A car is essential, but if you get that far, Chewy's does have plenty of parking around the clock.
If Hopkins students are lucky enough to get their hands on a car for a couple of hours on the weekend, driving out to Dundalk and Chewy's BBQ would undoubtedly be worth the trip. The allure of free barbeque and burgers for a full year is (or should be) hard to pass up, and the experience alone is worth the try. And for those who would prefer more a conventional lunch or dinner choice, or who simply want to snack on something from the cheering section, Chewy's has a full menu as well, serving a platter of delectable-sounding dishes ranging from hickory-smoked beef to southern-pulled pork and apple-wood smoked ribs, to salads for those who wish to distance themselves from the Fat Boy burger as much as possible.
Chewy's serves breakfast, lunch and dinner and is relatively cheap, with prices set at $5.95 for a standard Chewy's burger and $4.95 for a pit-turkey sandwich. The Fat Boy burger is not cheap - it will set you back $22.95 (remember that it is five full pounds of hamburger meat) - so this challenge truly is reserved for only the most determined of eaters. But this only makes a triumph all the more rewarding.
Once again, Chewy's BBQ is located in Dundalk, Maryland, about 30 minutes by car from the Homewood campus. Although it is slightly off the beaten path, for anyone interested in trying to eat a five pound burger in an hour, or even just to watch a worth attempt, Chewy's is a great place to pick up some quality barbeque at a local favorite.
It's a good excuse to get away from Hopkins for a few hours, and better yet, you might just find a reason to return weekend after weekend, if you're willing to try the Chewy's BBQ challenge.
