One Big Hamburger

Other places might brag about big hamburgers. But the Shady Lady restaurant/tavern in Wardner (above Kellogg) delivered on that boast. Here, Matthew Gardner’s (red head just behind giant cheeseburger) family is enjoying one of the ha-huge burgers in August 1985. I recall a 10-pound hamburger served to columnist Doug Clark and I by the Shady Lady owner (Wes Aamodt?) in that time period. We hardly put a dent in the burger. It was massive. However, I did off a 42-ounce steak at Wally’s Wolf Lodge Inn once. (Photo courtesy of Matthew Gardner on new Old School North Idaho Facebook page)

Here’s an Associated Press story from January 1985 about the giant Shady Lady cheeseburgers:

WARDNER, Idaho (AP) - When it comes to hamburgers, the Shady Lady Saloon in northern Idaho concedes an ounce of beef to no one. Wes’ Shady Lady Burger, named after creator and tavern owner Wes Aamodt, is so big it is served on a pizza pan. It consists of five pounds of beef garnished with 16 slices of cheese, a whole sliced onion, two tomatoes, a layer of pickles, a mound of lettuce and the buns, which are 16 inches across and barely fit on the tavern’s widest pizza pan. The $22.50 sandwich is about four inches thick and weighs more than 10 pounds, says Aamodt. Aamodt cooked his first giant burger a few months ago, as ”a gag on a gal who was just trying to rib me” about not getting enough to eat from his regular quarter- and half-pound burgers. The Shady Lady Burger, which easily feeds a dozen people, has proven popular for birthday parties or groups. The burger is free if anyone can eat it all, but Aamodt isn’t worried. ”Nobody has eaten it all yet,” he said. ”The closest anybody has come to eating it all has been two slices. That’s about a pound.”

Question: Describe the biggest burger you’ve ever eaten?