Call that a big burger?

As you get older the decisions you make start to define you.

So some people choose to hit the books, work hard and become experts in their field.

Others are all about becoming 
successful family folk or pursuing 
vibrant social lives.

Me? My legacy might turn out to be a bit different at this rate.

Everyone knows how Christmas 
dinner goes, right?

Relatives meet, make small talk about the year, the weather, how much people have grown.

Conversation round our table was a little different this year.

‘When’s your next challenge, Matt?’ ‘How did you feel after eating that volcano pizza, Matt?’

‘How are you still alive, Matt?’

Yes, while once I was a fresh-faced lad with dreams of a distinguished 
career in journalism, it seems my 
lasting mark thus far is being 
recognised for eating a series of really big things really fast.

The questions continued into the new year, worryingly from many people who don’t know me that well but had seen my fat face buried in a humongous burger on the pages of this very 
newspaper.

But, like the weary showbiz 
entertainer given one last shot at the big time, who am I to deny an audience what they want?

So fresh from my last stomach-busting challenge I went in search of another in my one man bid to become Lancashire’s answer to Man v Food’s Adam Richman.

Matt v Food you could call it if there’s any desperate TV types reading.

“Look at this bad boy, a TRIPLE DECKER burger,” bellowed the boss one day at work, while proudly showing all and sundry a picture of said beast.

Well, I don’t need asking twice.

So it was that I found myself at Frankie and Benny’s at Walton-le-Dale’s Capitol Centre to have a look for myself.

Now it’s important to say at this point that these burgers aren’t advertised as challenges of any kind by the company.

They’re just pretty big burgers which, thankfully, taste as good as they look.

I went for the doubled up chicken burger (£10.75) which comes with two hearty great slabs of chicken and onion rings making up the third ‘deck’. The chicken was juicy and the salad fresh, making it a very pleasant eat indeed.

It wasn’t quite in the same league size-wise as others reviewed on these pages but, as mentioned above, they are never advertised as such so the comparison would be unfair.

What they are though is plenty for anyone with a decent appetite and it left me pretty stuffed.

The wife meanwhile went for a single decker bacon cheeseburger (£10.75) which she did say could have done with being a touch more juicy but again tasted very good and was a decent plateful.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a true ‘big food’ eating experience without a bit of prep before the main event...so rest assured, I had a full garlic bread pizza (£4.25) to myself to start.

After all that I sat back satisfied I couldn’t eat another bite.

But then the wife ordered brownies and ice cream (£4.95), so I thought I’d have a bit of that as well.

Chuck in a large glass of decent red (house merlot, £2.05) and a couple of soft drinks and the bill came to £44.80.

As a side note, the service from the staff for our visit to F&Bs was excellent...and they also do a 15inch pizza range which they say is ‘family size’.

Well, that’s their opinion. Maybe next time...

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