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It's time for some gastronomic feats of strength.
(Credit: iStockPhoto)

Remember the 5-Pound Philly Challenge at Jake’s Sandwich Board that we recently mentioned?

Turns out there’s a lot more where that came from, at places all around the Philadelphia area.

Looking to pack on some pounds? Want to substantiate your Philadelphia pride? Just trying to stare in amazement at the incredibly brave souls who would endeavor such gustatory extremes? Whatever your reason, we won’t judge.

Here’s our list of the best and boldest of the extreme eating food challenges that you can find in and around Philadelphia. Do enjoy.

• Delicatessen: Now through next Wednesday, January 19th, the restaurant is running a competition to see who can complete their newly introduced “Big Macher,” a 24 oz. beast of a pastrami sandwich, in under 15 minutes. The current record is just over 7 minutes. The top six finalists will be invited to compete the following day, Thursday, January 20th, to finish the 48 oz. “Maccabee.” The winner gets a catered pastrami party for 25, and hopefully not coronary artery disease.

• Joey’s Famous Philly Cheesesteaks: The Ultimate Death By Cheesesteak Challenge, soon to be featured on Food Network’s Outrageous Foods, consists of a two-foot cheesesteak loaded with mushrooms, sweet peppers and fried onions. Complete it? You get your picture on the “Wall of Death.”

• The BRGR Joint: Order the “OMG BRGR” and answer “How high do you wanna go?” in stacked hamburger patties. You can pile up to 11. Good luck getting a mouthful of that.

• Tony Luke’s: Remember the “Ultimate Philly Cheesesteak” featured on the Travel Channel’s Man v. Food in September 2009? It’s still around, and you can try it yourself. For $43, you get a 20-inch bun covered with six heaping piles of steak and cheese, and topped with a half-pound of fried onions, for a total weight of about five pounds.

We’ve got nine more below, including a five-pound burrito, a Shame Burger and a sandwich known simply as “The Annihilator.”

• Machismo Burrito Bar in Manayunk: Five pound burrito, 20 bucks, one hour. Finish the burrito (which includes saffron and brown rice, pinto and black beans, chicken, sour cream and cheese), get $20 (plus a free drink) if you do it in less than an hour.

• Brick House Tavern + Tap: “Brick Burgers,” which you can stack up “brick by brick,” come in XL (regular, 8 oz. burger), XXL (one pound burger), and XXXL (one-and-a-half pound “super beast”).

• Tony’s Family Restaurant: The Annihilator challenge threatens to do just that to your stomach. You have an hour (without leaving the table) to finish a five-and-a-half pound platter: two-and-a-half pounds of roast beef or pork with a half pound of provolone cheese piled inside a freshly baked one-pound Vienna bun (call ahead before you arrive and they’ll have one sent in fresh for you). The Annihilator is then smeared with the eatery’s own horseradish sauce and served with a side of one-and-a-half pounds of onion rings that ALL must be completed for the competition. If you’re successful, you eat for free ($36 value) and win a T-shirt that reads “I Conquered The Annihilator.”

• The Wishing Well: The SHAME Challenge pits you, eater, against two “Double SHAME Burgers” each with two 8 oz. all beef patties, two pieces of scrapple, four slices of American cheese, two fried eggs, two orders of hand cut fries and two pints of beer. The rules: you must complete it within 45 minutes (with zero bathroom breaks), plates and glasses must be wiped clean, and you must stay seated for five minutes after the challenge is complete. If you’re successful, you get your $40-value meal comped, win a $25 gift card and get your photo on the “Wall of Shame.” Think you can be the 6th of the 5 people (out of 100 attempters) who have succeeded?

• Jake’s Sandwich Board: The 5-Pound Philly Challenge pits customers against five pounds of “all things Philly” edibles; if you finish in 45 minutes, the bill is comped, otherwise the total comes to $34.95. On the menu? A two-foot steak, brisket or pork sandwich weighing about three pounds, four soft-pretzels, twelve TastyKakes, two dozen Peanut Chews, and a Champ Cherry Soda to wash it all down.

• Drinker’s: The Drinker’s Challenge entails eating 33 tacos in 13 minutes, for which you get a T-shirt, a bottle of taco sauce and a name-engraved plaque on the wall, plus the tacos for free. And by “you” we mean the one woman who managed to complete the challenge thus far, at all three Drinker’s locations, no less!

• Philly Taco: Not an official, restaurant-sanctioned challenge, but nonetheless a hall-of-famer. Head to South Street. Obtain an authentic Philly cheesesteak from Jim’s. Wrap it in one giant slice of delicious pizza from Lorenzo’s. Enjoy.

• Buddy’s: Match up against “The Enemy”: 16 patties of beef, 16 slices of cheese, 8 strips of bacon served on two buns with a large order of fries and a side of cheese sauce. Finish in under 25 minutes and it’s free. Plus you get a T-shirt and your picture on the wall.

• Winner’s Circle Sports Grille: Join the Monster Burger Hall of Fame by cleaning your plate of three separate half-pound patties of fresh Angus burger served with a pound of french fries. Time to beat? 5 minutes 30 seconds.

Know of any more crazy burger, cheesesteak, wings or other food challenges we should add to our list? Let us know in the comments or via email.

And just for fun, check out this video of the making of the Ultimate Philly Cheesesteak at Tony Luke’s from Man v. Food.