14 Foods That Are Actually Bigger In Texas
Everything's bigger in Texas. This is a boast you've probably heard before, no matter where in the world you reside. While this saying likely started due to the sheer size of the Lone Star State, it has taken on a life of its own and inspired a pervasive culture of bigness. To that end, jumbo belt buckles, large landmarks, and supersized food items have emerged in support of Texas pride. Restaurants that cater to both locals and tourists have created menu items that reflect this need for everything to be as large as possible, and a lot of them are actually quite marvelous.
Every state has some wild food challenges, but Texas just might hold the crown where eating large foods is concerned. Mounds of beef, oversized sweet treats, and breakfast spreads fit for a god can all be found throughout the state. Whether you want to compete to be among some of the best eaters or simply enjoy a whole lot of something on your plate, these 14 Texan foods are proof that some things are indeed just bigger in Texas.
1. Big Texan Steak Ranch's 72-ounce steak
There's nothing that embodies the spirit of Texas quite like a big slab of meat, and the enjoyment of a good steak is something most Texans share. Yet, sometimes there's more to eating large than just supersized eats, and so Big Texan Steak Ranch in Amarillo has a long history behind its iconic 72-ounce steak challenge. The ranch-style restaurant has been feeding cowboys for decades and is one of the oldest food challenges of the country still enjoyed to this day.
Based on the meal originally ordered in the '60s, the modern-day challenge requires contestants to eat a full 72-ounce steak, a baked potato, three fried shrimp, salad, and a bread roll. Diners must complete the meal in under an hour without outside help. If it sounds like a lot, it is. This food challenge is widely known as a big one, and was one of the most colossal on Man v. Food. It certainly helps that the steak dinner is pretty great and cooked to your liking. Yet, only around 11% of contestants come out victorious. Those who finish the challenge don't have to pay the $72 bill and get to see their victory recorded in Big Texan Steak Ranch history.
2. Round Rock Donuts' Texas-sized donut
Foodies with a sweet tooth know that one of the only things that is better than a fluffy donut is a donut the size of a steering wheel. Luckily, Austin's Round Rock Donuts' Texas-sized donut is still just as fluffy as normally sized donuts. They can come glazed, frosted, or sprinkled; you can also customize them with lettering or special toppings.
Round Rock Donuts' largest donut, which could be worn as an oversized hat, comes in a box that could hold at least a half dozen regular donuts. Eating one of these jumbo donuts is similar to eating a dozen regular ones, though, so we'd suggest "Lady and the Tramp"-ing it with a few friends.
The great thing about this donut isn't just its size, but the fact that it is made fresh. This means it's entirely possible to walk out with a still-warm donut, which may be the closest thing to Heaven on Earth. The Texas-sized donuts are made daily and kept in stock due to their popularity, though. So, if it's not warm, it is still bound to be fresh.
3. The Ol' South Pancake House's mega pancakes
A pile of pancakes is typically called a short stack, but whoever came up with that term never saw the stack of pancakes that The Ol' South Pancake House offers. You may never want to see another pancake again after coming face-to-face with its mega pancake challenge. Eating six pancakes doesn't sound too tough, though, right? When you consider that each of the mega pancakes in the challenge is bigger than your head and thick to boot, though, you can start to imagine what this food challenge could do to your body. Each pancake weighs at least a pound, meaning diners have to consume 8 to 10 pounds to win.
Hundreds of people have attempted the mega pancake challenge, but since 2023 only four have walked away victorious. The rules are simple: diners must eat their not-so-short stack of pancakes in one sitting and in under an hour. They can use butter and syrup as they wish and have any drink Ol' South offers. If they are successful, their pancakes are on the house and their photo goes up on the wall.
4. Jackie's Ham-N-Eggs' fresh baked biscuit
Breakfast has long been deemed to be the most important meal of the day, as it fuels us to kick off our day. It's almost a given that Texas would want a supersized breakfast, and Jackie's Ham-N-Eggs sure does deliver. Not only does the Lewisville breakfast joint have pancakes bigger than your head and omelets that can hardly fit on a plate, but its biscuits are the size of bricks. Luckily, as a fluffy and soft side item, the texture of the roll is anything but brickish.
You've heard of biscuits and gravy, but what about a biscuit and gravy, singular? Jackie's Ham-N-Eggs' biscuits are so large that just one is more than sufficient when it comes to pairing them with its house sausage gravy. The biscuits can also be ordered à la carte, and a single order can easily be split between two people while offering a generous portion to each. At under $5 a pop, the homemade hot biscuits are also a delicious steal.
5. Big Lou's 42 inch pizza
Ever have a hankering for enough food to feed a 15-player basketball team? Big Lou's Pizza in San Antonio, Texas has mastered the art of feeding a boatload of people with its supersized pizza pies. Its biggest pie comes in at a whopping 42 inches, with pizza slices as big as your forearm. Though each of its 16 slices is hefty no matter how you cut it, servers can double or even triple-cut the pies for easy distribution.
With big pies comes the need for big tables, and Big Lou's has made space for your whole family to crowd around its massive pizzas. You'll have plenty of time to chill at a table before the main event arrives because pizzas can take up to two hours to prepare. From a simple cheese pie to a fully loaded "super topping" feast, this oversized meal can set you back $78 to $108 and is made from scratch in-house daily.
If the 42-incher wasn't already an impressive feat for a pizza oven, Big Lou's 62-inch pizza occasionally comes out of retirement, as well. Even having done the much larger pie regularly in the past, the pizza joint is often considered the home of the largest pizza in Texas.
6. Nick and Sam's tall cake slices
Though Texas is known for its love of beef, the tender cuts at Nick and Sam's Steakhouse are actually not what leaves diners walking out with rave reviews. The Dallas restaurant's delectably moist cakes sit so pretty at seven layers high, and long sparkler candles make the stack stand even taller. The rainbow version of the cake sees a different color on each layer and is topped with gummy bears. The cake also comes in chocolate, red velvet, and a variety of other sweet flavors.
Nick and Sam's is a popular, upscale restaurant for events like birthdays. Typically, the cake used for birthdays is the vibrant rainbow tiered cake accompanied by a light-up cloud of cotton candy that helps illuminate the rainbow cake and its accompanying rainbow pastel ice cream. This Texas-sized dessert is best shared with a group, or else you're in for one major tummy ache.
7. Richter Bakhaus' cinnamon rolls
Getting jumbo food right can be tricky, especially in the precise realm of baking. Making a baked good larger can come with complications once you hit the oven, but Richter Bakhaus' loaf-sized cinnamon roll doesn't sacrifice quality to achieve its immense size. The San Antonio bakery maintains an evenly soft and gooey texture throughout its cinnamon rolls even though these treats are large enough to satisfy up to six people's sweet tooths.
The vanilla icing that coats the cinnamon roll helps to achieve this gooeyness and sets Richter Bakhaus apart from cinnamon rolls covered with the more typical cream cheese icing. The rolls are hand-dipped into the thick, sweet topping, and pastry lovers can pick up one of these made-from-scratch marvels for $8. This is a steal considering how large they are and that they're freshly rolled and baked every morning, and are even made throughout the day if the restaurant sells out of the rolls early on.
8. Happiest Hour's trash can nacho tower
Big eats have become something of a novelty in Texas, and the Dallas bar Happiest Hour has taken full advantage by rolling out a menu of oversized bar food. Its creativity knows no bounds as it serves up jumbo pretzels in the shape of its logo, 6-pound cheeseburgers, and a Ferris wheel of wings. It's the restaurant's tower of nachos we have come to admire here, though. They are served in what looks like a small metal trash can that is ceremoniously dumped onto a plate before your eyes. They're even bigger than they look, and at least four people can happily chow down on the menu item for a seriously filling appetizer or meal.
The nachos are a medley of ground beef, guacamole, sour cream, black beans, pico de gallo, pickled jalapeño, and a mix of queso and cotija cheese that helps the tower keep its form after being dumped from its metal mold. The design helps distribute the toppings throughout the dish, meaning no dry chips from the top to bottom of the tower. Sadly, you don't get to take home the metal can, but the full belly and memories made are all yours for the keeping.
9. Flip's Patio Grill's Texas sized cheese sticks
Mozzarella sticks are a classic finger food, but Flip's Patio Grill has created a monster of a cheese stick. Its Texas-sized mozzarella sticks are a two-handed affair and look as though four normal-sized cheese sticks have been Frankensteined into one. If you're up for consuming an alarming amount of fried cheese (who isn't?) head over to either Flip's Patio Grill locations in Fort Worth or Grapevine to order the monster mozzarella sticks.
Only three of these cheese sticks are served per order, but thanks to their size you're probably getting more than if you were to order the appetizer elsewhere. The cookie-cutter, frozen-to-table mozz sticks you're used to seeing in restaurants are nowhere to be found here. Flip's Patio Grill's oversized appetizer is hand-breaded before fried and served with either ranch or marinara sauce, meaning you get the classic taste of a mozzarella stick with the texture of a handmade, Texas-sized dish.
10. Kenny and Ziggy's The Zellagabetsky
At first glance, Kenny and Ziggy's appears to be similar to any other Jewish deli, even if its menu items can be a little tongue-in-cheek. However, it does have one thing on the menu that you won't find anywhere else. The Zellagabetsky is a giant of a sandwich, one that most have only seen the likes of in an episode of "Scooby Doo."
This eight-decker sandwich is layered with six different types of meat, along with swiss cheese, coleslaw, sweet peppers, and a tasty Russian dressing. At 4 pounds, this pile of meat is one of the largest deli sandwiches in Texas.
We are sure Shaggy could make quick work of the Zellagabetsky, but we're not sure anyone else is up to the restaurant's challenge of eating this sandwich. The Houston delicatessen invites diners to eat the entire sandwich by themselves in one sitting. While it won't waive the $115 price of the sandwich, you will score a free slice of cheesecake if you win. We're not confident that you'd want it after consuming such a large pile of meat, though.
11. Chris Madrid's Wemby Burger
Texas is chock full of burger challenges, but Chris Madrid's puts its special touches on the popular trend. Four beef patties make up the bulk of the Wemby Burger, named in honor of the San Antonio Spurs center and power forward Victor Wembanyama, who stands over seven feet tall. While his namesake burger may look small by comparison, the stacked patties are nothing to underestimate.
The patties are slathered with a generous helping of melty cheddar cheese, a trait other Chris Madrid's dishes are known for. Topping the burger is a mini figure of Wembanyama, which diners can keep as a token of the huge meal they've just had. Those who tackle the challenge of consuming the entire burger themselves also win a shirt and some major San Antonio street cred. Your photo will also go up on its wall of fame, so wipe the burger grease off your face before saying cheese.
12. The Wagon Wheel's chicken fried steak
Chicken fried steak, also often known as country fried steak, is an iconic Southern comfort food everyone should try before they die. The Wagon Wheel in Eagle Pass has taken the classic dish and supersized it in typical Texan fashion. Not only is the chicken fried steak a massive slab of meat so large it's served on a small pizza pan, but it's pretty tasty as well.
Family-owned and operated, The Wagon Wheel takes great care in its choice of meat and the creation of its dishes. The beef is locally sourced from a local market every single day, hand-battered, and cooked to order. It is then smothered in gravy that's packed with flavor. At over a pound of fresh-cut meat, the homegrown restaurant's signature dish is one of the biggest chicken fried steaks currently up for ordering in the Lone Star State.
13. Pecan Lodge's The Trough
We can't talk about Texas cuisine without mentioning Texas-style barbecue. Beef and grilling is the lifeblood of Texans and you can't get far without coming across one of the state's many BBQ joints. Deep Ellum's Pecan Lodge has a relatively small menu, but at its center, you'll find its crown BBQ jewel: The Trough. This menu item contains over 3.5 pounds of beef and pork. Pulled pork, brisket, sausages, and pork and beef ribs make up the masterful meal. As a palate cleanser, enjoy the bed of onions and pickles served alongside the meats.
The Trough is a medley of all the smoked meats that Pecan Lodge offers, so it's the ideal choice for anyone wanting to get a taste of everything it specializes in. You get much more than just a taste with the combo platter, though, as it is loaded with enough meat to feed four to six people. Demand for the tender smoked meat can be high, but those wanting to order The Trough can head to the express lane to get their orders in ahead of the rest of the line!
14. Honorable Mention: Cafe Olés 60-ounce margaritas
While not technically food, Cafe Olé deserves a mention for its massive margaritas. An oversized margarita is the perfect fusion of large living in Texas and a classic Mexican recipe. These 60-ounce margaritas are served up in downtown San Antonio along the city's famed River Walk.
Enjoying a huge marg while looking over the water seems like luxury living. You don't have to stick to a traditional margarita in this vision, though, as Cafe Olé offers many fun takes on the beverage, both on the menu and with specials. The Mexican restaurant also has over 30 different types of tequila behind the bar for additional modifications.
Cafe Olé serves massive margs in what is likely the largest margarita glass you've ever seen. For reference, a large pitcher of beer is typically 60 ounces. While some could likely down a beer pitcher in an evening, margaritas are a different breed. For safety's sake, the restaurant requires that at least two people take on one of these fish bowl-sized drinks.