14. Kooky Canuck — Memphis, TN; Cordova, TN
If you’re coming to this downtown Memphis establishment, don’t believe, for a second, that your New Year’s Resolution will remain intact.
Kooky Canuck is a greasy spoon that’s designed to kill your dreams of eating healthier, not advance it, with a menu stacked with burgers, fries, comfort foods, and many other staples of West Tennessee life.
Kooky Canuck, which has caught on with many Memphis-area eaters, is most known for their food challenges.
First, there’s the “Kookamonga Challenge,” which challenges hungry eaters to woof down their signature burger, which is four pounds of beef, topped with lettuce, tomato, onions, pickles, and cheese, and the fixin’s that come along with it, in under an hour. Do it, and you get it for free and have your picture put on their Kooky Canuck Wall of Fame.
Fail, and you’re $36.99 in the hole.
If you’re really hungry and are up for a jumbo challenge, then the “King Kookamonga” may be for you. It’s the same as the original, but with six pounds of beef instead of four. Fail this one, and it’ll cost you $51.99.
Then, there’s the “Humonga Kookamonga,” which is 12 pounds big. Fail this, and you’re out of nearly $100. You don’t have to do the challenges to have a calorie-busting good time here, as there are plenty of normal-sized burgers and other staples that will do achieve the same goals as the challenges.