Mammoth Pudding Takes the Cake!

So… I’m sitting at my desk working away on the Fab Food Blog (and other things) and from the other room comes the voice of my dear roommate, Erin, insisting I drop everything and look something up on the Net: “Find out what The Hungry Horse is! And get a pic of their Monster Yorkie!”

[PHOTO]

“Throw up the Devil Horns!” exclaims the online ad for The Monster Yorkshire Pudding.

The Hungry Horse is a British pub chain specializing in classic English comfort food: Bangers and Mash, Fish and Chips, Cornish Pasties and the like. But they also cater to the contemporary taste with dishes like Tikka Masala, Lasagna and Piri Piri (Central African-spiced) Burritos. Then there’s the Megasaurus, a 20 oz. Rump Steak served with French Fries, Onion Rings, Buttered Green Beans, Mushrooms and half a Grilled Tomato. That’s 1 1/4 pounds, or 557 g of beef! Your average upgrade burger is 1/4 to 1/3 pound, or about 115 g to 150 g. Anyway way you weigh it, it’s a huge piece of meat. The price of this monster meal? About (US)$18, at today’s exchange rate. A relatively cheap way to feed four…

You’ll have a blast just surveying their menu!

Among the other gargantuan meals on offer is that Monster Yorkshire Pudding Erin wanted to find out about. It’s pictured above, in all its glory… She saw an ad on the sidelines during an English Premier League Soccer broadcast. They’ll advertise anything at English soccer games!

Anyway, this beast is huge! I calculate that, with the giant pudding, all those sausages and all that Mash and Peas, it comes in at about three pounds and at least 2,600 calories! Again, enough to feed four! And that doesn’t count extra gravy which, apparently, is served on the side. Erin, who is famous for her Yorkshire Pudding, was suitably impressed. She wants to make one herself – next time we have company for dinner to help us eat it!

This post is mostly for fun, but…

But it’s also to point out that Menu Madness in the restaurant biz has not abated. If anything, the situation is getting nuttier by the day. Rather than featuring just one far-out dish, The Hungry Horse has a whole menu page of ’em, taking the nuttiness and desperation to a whole new level!

If Erin actually does make The Monster Yorkie, I promise I’ll update you – as soon as I can manage to move from the table.

~ Maggie J.