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I used to be very serious about competitive eating, at least as serious as one can be about such a tongue-in-cheek "sport." Every July 4, more than fireworks I looked forward to the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest so I could watch the great masticators of our time such as Joey Chestnutt and Takeru Kobayashi tear through 50+ hot dogs in 12 minutes.
So when I heard of the Eagle's Nest restaurant in Eagle Lake, Minn. and its infamous Duke Burger, a 3+ lb. behemoth of melded ground beef and bun, my mouth watered at the opportunity to rip it to shreds and claim my place in eating history.
Like a beacon calling the hungry drivers of route 14 to take a break from the road for a nice meal, the Eagle Lake water tower marks the location of the Eagle's Nest, which has been open for more than 34 years and has been serving the Duke for more than 20. And last Friday, I answered its call and went into the Eagle's Nest, ready to destroy the larger than life meal.
Unfortunately, my place in history was less than solidified after failing to even come close to conquering the Duke Burger.
Voted best burger in Southern Minnesota, the Duke Burger gives its proprietary location of Eagle's Nest a legend, something "world famous" to boast. This of course has lead to people coming from all over to try to take down the legendary burger.
"We call it 'world famous' because it actually is," said Eagle's Nest owner Dave Dittrich. "When international students and visitors come (to America), they want something odd, but completely American, and what's more American than a burger?"
Dittrich, who bought the bar from his father Les, the inventor of the Duke burger, went on to say that the people you'd expect to finish the Duke are rarely the ones that do. He remarked that more often than not it's the scrawny guys that finish it over the big jock types. Three women have completed the burger and two of them have been Minnesota State students.
"They were two really tiny girls that each finished it solo and it blew my mind," Dittrich said.
Dittrich said the restaurant doesn't have a comprehensive list of those who have finished it, but he plans on making a Facebook page soon so people can easier submit their photos of eating and finishing the Duke.
Minnesota State student Mike Marzinske, who grew up just more than 20 miles away from the restaurant in Lake Crystal, Minn., has been among those that have defeated the gargantuan meal.
"My bowels weren't regular for at least three days afterward," Marzinske joked.
Marzinske, who ate the burger as part of a competition with a friend about a year ago, finished the meal in just under an hour, using a technique of cutting the burger up in fourths, then eights and finally small, manageable portions.
Other than pride and experiencing the legendary burger, however, there isn't an exact incentive for eating the Duke, something that could turn potential buyers away.
"I was disappointed I didn't get a shirt or my picture on the wall," Marzinske said.
Yet while the Duke itself is seemingly incentive-less, it doesn't mean its restaurant is without incentive as well. With lower than average prices and above-average taste from dishes featuring great burgers and one of the best philly cheese-steak sandwiches you will ever encounter outside Philadelphia, the Eagle's Nest is well worth the 10-mile trip for anyone looking for a new place to eat delicious food.
Nate Brennan is the Reporter variety editor
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