Jack-N-Grill, Denver, CO

Jack-N-Grill……what can I say. It is one of those perfect holes in the walls Mexican restaurants in the Hispanic neighborhood that you know immediately upon walking through the door that you will be in for a treat. It is usually a very authentic treat, but for some, the general grittiness and sort of worn/dirty feeling of those places is not the experience they want or eat in. Unfortunately that is your loss and not mine:) The place is divided into to two dining rooms; the bar with some higher bar tables and the main dining room where you can see the chefs in action. “A seat yourself” kind of service is completely compensated with a very humble and happy staff; a staff that I believe are all family members or at least friends of the family.

So how did I find this place???? I watched Man vs. Food on the Discovery channel and they have an item on their menu that has drawn many to this place to test their manly and/or womanly hood. It is the giant 7lb breakfast burrito which in short contains 1lb of potatoes, 1lb of cheese, 1 lb of ham, 12 eggs and more. The topping is the standard of any smothered burrito in this joint; Green Chile, Red Chile or Christmas (half green and half red).

What did I eat….well of course I opted for the giant burrito smothered Christmas style. As soon as it was ordered the heads started turning almost as they all overheard my order and now wanted to see the freak show I was going to put on. I knew this is something I had to try but not sure what to expect. I also had a side bet going with a co-worker for this challenge. As the server served me the burrito she gave me the instructions: 1. Take all the time you want 2. You are not allowed to go to the bathroom 3. No help from anyone 4. Finish it and your picture goes on the wall of fame.

She also gave me her personal advice….Eat as fast as you can otherwise your stomach will start to understand what you are doing to it. After that a few “Good Lucks” were shouted at me from the bar but it didn’t do too much for my confidence. After 15 minutes I was knocked out by the burrito. I had eaten a mere 1/3 of the monster and I had nowhere else to go. My stomach was at a breaking point, my mouth was watering kind of like it does after a bad shot of Jose Cuervo and all I could think of was to get this plate away from my view and give me the check. As you can understand I lost this battle and will never try it again.

Beyond that I also tried their guacamole which was out of this world and the plates of food, including Tacos, Enchiladas and Cocidos looked amazing. This is a place I will return to during my next visit to Denver and make my regular Mexican place once moving there….can’t wait to take someone else there..

Overall Rating: 4
Food Rating: 5
Cost: $$ (when including a traditional cerveza or margarita)

2524 N. Federal
Denver, Co 80211
http://jackngrill.com/