with help from John Marcotte

It all started—as you would expect—when we were drunk. Somehow my cousin Greg and I got on the topic of eating and we got into a little argument about who could eat more. I told him that I was going to go to In-N-Out and eat a 10×10, 10 beef patties, 10 slices of cheese. The strange thing was, it still sounded like a good idea to me when I sobered up.
Greg and I are the same height (6’2”), weight (200), and age (20), so all things considered, it was a fair contest.
I picked up a 10×10 on the way down to Santa Barbara with my best friend Miles. We stopped at the Salinas In-N-Out. I easily ate the 10×10. Hell, I even managed to scarf down an order of fries and a soda on the side. I called up Greg and let him know the game was on.
I pretty much forgot about the whole thing, until about a month later. I got a phone call from Greg. He started talking trash saying that he did an 11×11—no problem—with fries and a soda. He held the record for about two weeks. Then I was ready for a 12×12—no problem. I called Greg to tell him the news and to talk a little trash. That’s when things started to escalate. Greg decided to eat a 15×15. He figured that would be a gastro-intestinal knock-out punch.
A few months passed by and I pretty much decided that he was all mouth and no stomach. I called him out. He responded that he didn’t have a chance to go to In-N-Out. OK, that’s actually pretty legit. The nearest In-N-Out is more than a half-hour from our school. It was hard for either of us to get to an In-N-Out. That didn’t stop me from talking a little more trash.
A few weeks later Greg still hadn’t topped my 12×12, but I tickets to an A’s game in the City, so I decided to go for the jugular and take Greg out of the game permanently. I would eat a 20×20. I brought my friends Jason and Wendy to act as witnesses, and also because I figured one of them might know CPR. We even left early so that I would have lots of time to slide all that beefy-cheesy goodness down my throat.

On the drive to meet my hamburger destiny, I began to get nervous. A 20×20 is a whole lot of meat, and quite frankly—I was scared. I took a deep breath and reminded myself that nerves are for wusses—like Greg.
“I will have a 20×20 and a soda,” may go down in history as the best thing I’ll ever say in a fast-food establishment. The cashier looked up from her register, to make sure I was serious. I was. With a stunned look on her face, she began to enter the order into the register. Apparently a 20×20 is complicated, because it took a good five minutes and about three employees to get it entered in. By this time everyone that worked there had heard about the order and one by one they came over to look at the freak while I was waiting to pay. I think I’m now a permanent part of In-N-Out lore.
They charged me about $22. I’m pretty sure that they didn’t charge me for a few of the patties. Sure, it may have been a technical snafu from a complicated order. But I choose to believe that they gave me the discount to recognize the greatness of what I was attempting to accomplish. At any rate, they were all on the burger. I counted.

They called my number. I could feel my stomach acid churning as I walked up to pick up the order. I told myself it was just because I was really hungry. Five employees handed me the burger. I’m guessing they all wanted to be a small part of greatness. When they handed me the tray, I got a new theory: it takes five people to carry this thing. It was heavy.
After actually seeing the thing, Jason and Wendy decided that there was no way I could eat it. And even if I could, I probably shouldn’t. I decided that unwarranted optimism was my first line of defense. “Meh. No problem.” I sucked down some Sprite and dug in.
I started with four patties with cheese and the bottom bun. They went down fast. The middle sections were trickier, as there was no bun to grab. But, no guts, no glory—I grabbed another four off the bottom. Cheese oozed between my fingers. I ate them
Five minutes in and eight patties were gone. I was averaging better than a patty per minute. I started on the next 4 patties. At this point the entire staff of In-N-Out dropped the pretense that they cared about the drive-thru window, other customers, etc. and all gathered around my booth to watch me eat. They were all surprised to see how far I had gotten.
One of the cooks finally spoke up and said, “I am so proud that you are eating my burger. The only time we have ever seen one anywhere near that big was a practical joke we did on our friend for his birthday and he only ate seven.” I think he may have been crying. I ate another four. 12 down—eight to go. The staff reluctantly went back to work, leaving a spy. One employee was busy sweeping the same two feet of floor in front of the trash can. There wasn’t any dirt there. But he only had eyes for my burger.
Right about then I started feeling it. I nursed the Sprite for a bit. Then got a refill. It took almost 15 minutes to eat patties 13 through 16. The staff lost interest. Even my friends became skeptical. Jason told me point blank, “You are never going to finish that thing.” I started to believe him.

By this time, I was chewing on rubber. After 16 patties, even delicious In-N-Out makes you want to shoot yourself. Another 20 minutes passed as I struggled with the last four patties. There were only about four or five bites left, but those four or five bites seemed impossible.
It wasn’t that my stomach was ready to burst. It was just the pain of swallowing. Each bite I had to fight down because it was like I forgot how to swallow. My saliva glands mutinied. They wanted no part of the 20×20. I guess that is the body’s reaction when it wants you to stop eating. I felt drained. I hunched over the tray and poured soda and water down my gullet to lubricate the way for the last four patties. It was me or the burger, and damn if I was going to let some USDA Choice Beef get the better of me. I hunched over the tray and poured soda and water down my gullet to lubricate the way for those last four bites.

I finished the bite number four, grabbed a glass of water, threw my keys to Wendy, walked straight to my car and laid down in the back seat. I thought I was dying. Is beef poisoning a disease? It should be.
In all seriousness, this was by far the hardest thing that I have ever done in my entire life. I was in more pain then when I broke my arm. I passed out in the back of the car, and slept for a good hour and thirty minutes until we got to the ball park. Jason woke me up.
I felt a little better, but I still felt like God had abandoned me and the terrible, satanic beef devil had devoured my soul. Did you know that if you eat enough ground beef, you start to feel like ground beef? At that point I wouldn’t have been surprised if someone told me I looked like ground beef.
We met a few more of my friends in line. Brett took one look at me and said, “You look like shit. Did you finish?” They all began to laugh until Jason said, “Sure did.”
The power of beef brought silence to the masses. No one thought it was possible. They were dumbfounded. Brett actually tried to buy me a jumbo dog during the game. I just shook my head and laughed.
By the end of the game I felt a lot better. So I sent Greg a text message that read, “Consider the 20×20 in the record books, bitch!” It may have been a stupid idea when we were drunk, and stupider yet when we were sober, but that 20×20 is now my claim to fame. The story has traveled far beyond my immediate circle of friends, and I think people look at me differently now. Perhaps with a mixture of pity, admiration and fear.
As a follow up, I bet some of you are wondering how it all came out. Well, it came out the same way it went in, four patties at a time.






































January 1st, 1970 at 12:00 am
September 15th, 2005 at 5:05 pm
I haven’t seen a college kid swallow that much beef since we put a pledge in the “circus seal circle” my senior year.
September 16th, 2005 at 9:14 am
There’s an image I needed stuck in my head first thing in the morning.
Thank you, Russ.
September 16th, 2005 at 6:53 pm
[...] zu essen. Schaut euch doch die Galerie an, am besten mit leerem Magen. Bonne appétit! PS: 20×20 wurde auch schon ausprobiert, da könnte ich allerdings nicht mehr mithalten.
[...]
September 17th, 2005 at 1:56 pm
Me too.
September 27th, 2005 at 10:16 am
Re: i went to la
nevermind that the article itself links to this dude and his 20×20
http://ww...
October 13th, 2005 at 10:07 pm
Lets go and do this again….I’ll buy…you eat it and then let me punch you in the stomach….ok? Cool
-Hoopes
October 15th, 2005 at 11:02 am
Dude, that’s awesome! A little gross, well, really gross, but awesome none the less.
November 1st, 2005 at 11:04 am
18 October 2005 - Burgers
We’re 672 miles away from a White Castle Slyder.
We’re 1043 miles away from an IN-N-OUT Burger burger, Animal Style. Maybe next time I’ll try my hand at a 20×20.
At least we’re only 1.4 miles away from a Whataburger. I could go for a Whatabur…
November 9th, 2005 at 12:52 am
i remember eating that monster. Sophmore year of high school. took me 40 min. flat. cashier asked me 3 times if i was sure i wanted it.
November 15th, 2005 at 4:33 pm
You are my hero.
November 15th, 2005 at 4:44 pm
Bloody norah! Thats a lot of beef!
I tip my hat to you Sir Beefalot
November 17th, 2005 at 2:17 pm
holy crap, that’s insane.
If you’re ever in SF, give me an email, I’d love to pay for your meal of an even more epic proportion if you’re willing
November 29th, 2005 at 8:13 pm
dude… I eat at that In N Out!
In fact, one time while we went through the drive through, the girl working there told us that there once was a 200×200 that they served in stacks of 50. So I think someone out there has you beat.
heh… my friends would always get 8×8s and 9×9s at least twice a week in high school…
November 30th, 2005 at 7:48 am
He’s only beat if that 200×200 was made for a single person to eat. I don’t believe that’s humanly possible.
I know that there are probably people who have eaten more somewhere out there. But we have pictures and a story for this guy.
December 1st, 2005 at 4:11 pm
I bow down before you, oh god of meat.
December 17th, 2005 at 4:38 am
December 19th, 2005 at 8:46 am
20×20 - is that all? My little sister could do that. I once ordered a couple of 20×20’s for myself and my girlfriend. She could only eat half of it, I think she was just acting all dainty, so I finished her other 10 and left the burger place a bit hungry. I went home and had half a dozen pizzas delivered to round out the meal. A burger isn’t newsworthy until its at least a 65×65 with supersize fries and drink.
January 3rd, 2006 at 5:24 pm
THat took a lot of guts man. Are you you didn’t get guniss in the act to record this? I mean a 20 x 20 is no easy feet. I barly took on a 5 x 5 man.
Really you have proven that something can even surprise me. This shocked me out of my mind that you ordered it, even more that you achived it. To me it feels like you just conquered the mont everest of the burger world.
January 28th, 2006 at 3:21 am
January 28th, 2006 at 7:24 pm
January 31st, 2006 at 1:35 pm
Wait… they don’t have Sprite at IN-N-OUT… only 7-up. LIES!!
February 2nd, 2006 at 11:38 am
that is nothing my friend sol ate a 30 x 30 about a month ago at the in n out at lemon grove
February 2nd, 2006 at 12:21 pm
If your friend ate a 30X30 lets see the pictures.
February 4th, 2006 at 10:26 am
It’s been done already and documented…probably about more than a year before this one too.
February 5th, 2006 at 9:18 pm
Ours is better.
February 6th, 2006 at 6:22 pm
After reading the story I could not believe this is true.
When I think about all the stupid things I did when I was 20ish… I could see myself attempting it!
Even if this was not true, I still have to give kudos to the great story!
February 7th, 2006 at 1:15 am
February 22nd, 2006 at 6:45 pm
February 28th, 2006 at 10:00 pm
That’s most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard
You are my hero
M@!!©
March 1st, 2006 at 1:59 am
April 6th, 2006 at 4:07 pm
IV been hearing rumors that two high school (Clark Magnet High School) students in 10th grade are challenging for 25×25. They said there going to do it in the summer LETS SEE WHAT HAPPENDS.
April 8th, 2006 at 9:26 am
YOU ARE A GREAT MAN!
These other clowns that say their friends ate more are liars till they send us evidence.
“For those about to EAT, we salute you.”
April 12th, 2006 at 3:29 pm
They aren’t liars till they send evidence. If they ate it but don’t have a picture, they ate it just the same. Maybe Jeet is a clown and a liar till s/he can prove they didn’t eat it.
April 21st, 2006 at 2:03 pm
Here’s the 100×100
April 21st, 2006 at 2:05 pm
http://www.supersizedmeals.com/food/article.php?story=20060125050438458
May 1st, 2006 at 9:22 pm
I know you might be impressed with the 20×20 and might think of it as a record, which for you it is, but I have two stories that break that. I work for an IN-N-OUT in Newbury Park,CA and have sold a 22×22 to a person and watched this guy eat the entire thing with no trouble. But that is nothing to the record our store holds in the company. We have sold 3 huge burgers, a 300×300, a 400×400, and a 500×500. Not one person ate, but a group of people because each year a fraternity (i dont know which one) from CLU got it for there initiation party.
May 2nd, 2006 at 5:52 am
May 9th, 2006 at 4:59 pm
May 12th, 2006 at 11:31 am
June 15th, 2006 at 4:36 am
June 18th, 2006 at 4:06 am
July 11th, 2006 at 10:43 pm
god damn
July 12th, 2006 at 4:54 pm
Wow! I love In-N-Out and I can hardly manage to eat just a regular burger from there. I applaud you! I think they should make shirts after you, “I ate a 20×20 and all I got was the opportunity to pay for it.”
July 21st, 2006 at 1:41 am
what ino was that?
July 25th, 2006 at 5:49 am
July 25th, 2006 at 9:32 pm
Someone needs to call the great Joey Chestnut (ate 52 hot dogs at the hot dog eating contest a few weeks ago and lost only to Kobayashi) and have him give this challenge a try….I think he lives in San Jose
July 26th, 2006 at 8:09 pm
I think you’re lying. Where is the video proof?
August 16th, 2006 at 7:28 pm
Thanks for doing your part to protect the environment, through your heroic efforts you have sucessfully reducecd the amount of methane released by beef cattle into the atmosphere. From a fellow environmentalist and carnivore, I salute you.
August 31st, 2006 at 11:05 pm
[...] seems like the largest any single person has eaten is a 20×20 burger [badmouth] [...]
September 24th, 2006 at 1:47 am
Awesome effort! Good to see you made it all the way through, congratulations! Now you can bask in the victory that comes from joining this exclusive club. Oh, and I’ve posted your story on SupersizedMeals.com!
Billy
September 24th, 2006 at 1:58 am
Al ‘Elmer’ Fudd: yeah, right…
Shawn: 400×400? 500×500? wtf? Are you serious? Where are the photos? WE NEED TO SEE THE PHOTOS!!! haahah!
Dan: Eric “Badlands” Booker did a vid on G4 TV, starting to eat a 100×100. It was more of a show though, he only ate a few pattys before they ended the segment. Shame, would have been great to see a competitive eater knock one of those over. If anyone can do it, it’s him, Joey or Kobayashi! Here’s the link to the G4 pics and vid, http://www.supersizedmeals.com/food/article.php/20060223155121547
Billy
September 25th, 2006 at 8:07 am
October 2nd, 2006 at 11:05 pm
As an In-N-Out Burger purist, I believe if you want a 20×20, you should order 10 Double-Doubles. Part of the unique dining experience that is In-N-Out Burger are the goodies that come on the Double-Double. Order it Animal Style and you get bonus goodies. When I visit In-N-Out Burger, I don’t order a 4×4, I get two Double-Doubles. I do it out of respect to the Double-Double: the greatest cheeseburger ever. Out of respect.
October 25th, 2006 at 5:40 pm
October 27th, 2006 at 5:53 am
No wonder you yanks are fat cunts. lol
October 27th, 2006 at 1:03 pm
Maybe if our food tasted like the crap they serve in Britain, we’d be skinnier — but then our teeth would probably rot away, so it’s a trade-off.
November 26th, 2006 at 4:08 pm
WOW! I’m amazed! Greetings from Brazil and thanks for so much fun reading that
December 8th, 2006 at 5:18 am
January 10th, 2007 at 6:42 pm
January 12th, 2007 at 8:18 am
January 22nd, 2007 at 11:47 pm
January 29th, 2007 at 12:47 am
February 7th, 2007 at 3:49 pm
February 10th, 2007 at 2:59 pm
February 14th, 2007 at 4:55 pm
February 16th, 2007 at 9:06 pm
this weekend, my friend elaina and i are going to go to an in n out located in southern orange county, california, where we live.
THE FOLLOWING IS COPYRIGHTED INFORMATION!! COPYRIGHT NIKKI AND ELAINA 2007.
we are going to document how many in n out double doubles we can eat. what makes this funny is that i am 5′1 and 100 lbs and she is 5′7 and 125 lbs, yet we can eat like no bodys business.
(and we’re both cute oc girls) we will be the next johnny knoxvilles of mtv, but girls. think of it: a simple life and a jackass combined. with our own television show, we will see just how much we can eat.
in n out is just the beginning.
we are going to edit the footage we obtain this weekend and put it up on you tube shortly! i’ll keep you guys posted!
till then check out our temporary website,
http://www.geocities.com/justhowmuch
February 16th, 2007 at 9:16 pm
http://www.geocities.com/justhowmuch/home.html
sorry thats the actual address. ^^
March 16th, 2007 at 9:25 am
April 4th, 2007 at 5:36 am
April 6th, 2007 at 8:56 pm
May 9th, 2007 at 9:19 am
May 15th, 2007 at 3:24 am
May 16th, 2007 at 12:42 pm
May 22nd, 2007 at 6:43 pm
June 1st, 2007 at 4:34 pm
Me and some friends took down a 100×100 but what was week was that in and out didn’t make anything higher than a 4 x4 anymore, so we got like 25 of them things and ate till we almost puked. Then we got drinks
June 6th, 2007 at 1:09 pm
July 4th, 2007 at 1:34 pm
July 5th, 2007 at 11:41 pm
July 12th, 2007 at 1:33 am
July 16th, 2007 at 10:17 am
[...] In-n-Out: the 20×20 Wikipedia: In-N-Out Burgers digg_url = ‘http://www.badmouth.net/in-n-outs-secret-menu/’; [...]
August 1st, 2007 at 8:26 pm
August 12th, 2007 at 12:23 am
September 4th, 2007 at 1:04 pm
September 14th, 2007 at 6:44 pm
Was In-N-Out ever in Gainsville, FL say 18 years ago?
September 26th, 2007 at 11:37 am
October 4th, 2007 at 3:20 am
Now that is something for the record atleast you can say you have accomplished something, I can image how it came out we had a bar b que contest man the way it comes out hurts more then going in. Thats is a story to hold on to.
October 5th, 2007 at 6:06 am
November 10th, 2007 at 4:33 pm
November 15th, 2007 at 4:35 pm
December 15th, 2007 at 11:16 pm
December 16th, 2007 at 7:53 pm
http://money.cnn.com/2005/05/03/pf/biggest_burger/
December 18th, 2007 at 1:56 pm
December 19th, 2007 at 1:28 am
[...] guide to the secret menu to Eric Albertoni’s stomach-churning pictorial on surviving the ingestion of a 20×20, In-n-Out has long been Badmouth’s favorite fast-food [...]
January 10th, 2008 at 1:22 pm
February 4th, 2008 at 10:19 am
March 19th, 2008 at 3:09 am
April 4th, 2008 at 12:11 am
that’s sick
April 5th, 2008 at 6:32 pm
Awsome feat and great storytelling–thanks for shareing. It’s too bad all these other jerks got into the fold trying to tour off thier lies…go for 25 x 25
now
April 16th, 2008 at 5:57 am
April 20th, 2008 at 8:37 am
[...] In-n-Out: the 20×20Wikipedia: In-N-Out BurgersIn-n-Out: 100×100What Up Willy! [...]
May 8th, 2008 at 8:44 am
May 11th, 2008 at 4:00 am
May 20th, 2008 at 1:34 pm
viletastic!
May 29th, 2008 at 8:21 pm
June 13th, 2008 at 10:46 am
26×26…yes this is real.
http://www.ocweekly.com/features/summer-guide/the-night-merwin-barrientos-ate-a-26×26-in-n-out-hamburger/25350/
July 18th, 2008 at 7:50 pm
Hello. I think you are eactly thinking like Sukrat. I really loved the post.
July 23rd, 2008 at 2:57 pm
July 30th, 2008 at 8:49 pm
August 19th, 2008 at 12:41 am
August 19th, 2008 at 9:36 pm
August 25th, 2008 at 2:26 pm
[...] yeah. The contest may have some guts, but it doesn’t have the glory of finishing a 20×20 at In-N-Out. SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: “Monster burger free to finishers”, url: [...]
August 25th, 2008 at 2:27 pm
[...] yeah. The contest may have some guts, but it doesn’t have the glory of finishing a 20×20 at In-N-Out. SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: “Monster burger free to finishers”, url: [...]
August 28th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
September 6th, 2008 at 9:03 pm
September 8th, 2008 at 4:38 am
September 11th, 2008 at 12:59 am
September 24th, 2008 at 12:28 am
September 28th, 2008 at 2:17 am