I took on Sacramento’s biggest burger — 10 patties, 10 slices of cheese. Could you finish it?

The line cook’s eyes lit up as he looked out of Hot Bunz’s open kitchen across the pass. “You got a 10x10?” he asked, a grin stretching across his face.

Hot Bunz’s 10x10 smashburger, unlisted on the menu but advertised on the burger joint’s popular Instagram page, reigns the Sacramento burger lover’s ultimate challenge. Few have attempted it, and even fewer have finished.

A pair of Martin’s potato buns groan under the weight of 10 crispy Zabiha Halal burger patties and 10 melted slices of American cheese. With grilled onions, scant tomato, lettuce and pickles and a tangy, mayonnaise-based sauce, it comes out to 2,900 calories, Hot Bunz owner Diana Mkhitaryan wrote in an email.

Mkhitaryan and her husband Sam opened the original Hot Bunz at 3084 Sunrise Blvd., Suite 1 in Rancho Cordova in September 2022. The 10x10 debuted in June, about a month after Hot Bunz’s second location opened near Sacramento’s southern border at 8251 Bruceville Road, Suite 150.

Ten people had previously ordered the 10x10 at the Rancho Cordova location when I visited last week, and seven had finished it, general manager Serena Carr said. Thin smashburger patties do at least keep things a little more reasonable than if it were 10 full-sized meat discs. But still, 2,900 calories.

I only planned to have a few bites from the $20 hulking tower of crispy beef and gooey cheese, which toppled over into the red-and-white checkered tray. I even got a side of fries dusted with the salty house seasoning mix to balance things out. (Hey, fries qualify as vegetables when you’re eating 10 beef patties!)

Then Carr asked, “Are you going to finish that?” and as someone easily susceptible to peer pressure, that was all I needed. This beast would have to fall.

I started feeling full about halfway through my 10x10, and began to lose hope as I glanced down at what looked like a very normal-sized burger remaining. Sodium intake was another problem: I filled up stomach space with one water cup after another in a vain attempt to counteract all the salt the cheese and patties carried.

The task took about an hour and wasn’t particularly fun near the end. There’s no refund or reward for finishing, but I’m proud (I think?) to say I ate the entire 10x10 — fries, too. My appetite didn’t return for another 24 hours, and it will be a little while before I walk down Burger Road again. But hey: I’m now one of eight people to finish, at least at the Rancho Cordova location.

I first heard about Hot Bunz from Marcus D. Smith, The Bee’s reporter covering Elk Grove, who billed it as a fun, low-key date spot. Marcus is either a lot more casual with his dates than most, or doesn’t order the drippy, messy 10x10 in front of prospective partners.

It’s likely the latter, because outside of its gargantuan gimmick, Hot Bunz does have enough to separate itself from corporate fast food chains. Patties are fresh, not frozen, and available as single or double smashburgers, in salad bowls or crumbled into macaroni and cheese served over fries.

Yet Hot Bunz embraces its outrageous side so much that it recently began teasing a five-pound, 20x20 smashburger online. No one has yet managed to vanquish that behemoth, Mkhitaryan said. Whoever does it first, send evidence of your conquest to me — and your cardiologist.

What I’m Eating

My first job out of college was covering business for the Amarillo Globe-News, the Texas Panhandle’s newspaper of record. While I missed many things about California (family, mountains, etc.), I’ve yearned for one thing in particular since returning to Sacramento six-and-a-half years ago: top-tier Southern barbecue.

In Placerville, of all places, I believe I’ve found the region’s best Texas-style barbecue. Hog Wild Bar-B-Que is Mary and Steve Fulmer’s ode to meats cooked low and slow, available by the pound or as a gut-stuffing lunch.

Unbeknownst to me, I visited Hog Wild a few hours after a local TV station aired a package on the restaurant’s participation in Guy Fieri’s new Food Network show “Best Bite in Town.” That meant the two most popular items, baby back ribs and 16-hour brisket, were sold out by 3 p.m. — they might last until 5 on a normal day, but call ahead to reserve yours if worried.

No matter. The pulled pork was perfectly balanced, a rich, stringy mess that charred up at the edges. St. Louis-style ribs might not be native to the Lone Star State, but their sweet glaze caused the edges to crisp up into delicious little meat candies.

You can try those along with oozing jalapeño-cheese sausage on three-meat, three-side platters for two to eight people ($51-$186). Meals for one ($21-$26) are priced based on the number of meats and sides.

Housemade desserts from Mary’s mother Margie are worth tasting as well, including whole pies available to-go. A dense crème de menthe brownie ($6) topped with green frosting and an Andes chocolate mint made for a fudgy end-of-meal refreshment.

Hog Wild Bar-B-Que

Address: 38 Main St., Placerville.

Hours: 11:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday, 11:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday, closed Monday and Tuesday. Regularly sells out of most popular items before closing.

Phone: (530) 622-3883.

Website: https://www.hogwildbarbque.com/

Drinks: Beer, soda and cider. Twenty-two-ounce draft pours, including Texas’ classic Shiner Bock, are half-off from 2-4 p.m. Wednesday-Friday.

Vegetarian options: It’s a barbecue joint. But sides such as cranberry-studded coleslaw, potato salad and macaroni and cheese are delicious across the board.

Noise level: Relatively quiet.

Outdoor seating: Four patio tables.

Openings & Closings

▪ Melty began slinging fancified grilled cheeses on April 9 at 486 Howe Ave. in The UV shopping center. It’s the first California location for the Utah-based burgeoning chain, which serves up sandwiches such as the BBQ brisket melt (burnt ends, pepper jack and cheddar cheeses, carmelized onions, and Sweet Baby Ray’s barbecue sauce).

▪ Biryani & Chaat will hold its grand opening Thursday at 4800 Granite Drive, Suite B-11 in Rocklin. The South Indian restaurant’s flagship rice dishes are buoyed by gutti vankaya (stuffed eggplant), Vijayawada-style chicken and ulavacharu paneer (soft cheese cooked with horse gram).

Boomba Tea opened Saturday at 2784 East Bidwell St., Suite 300 in Folsom’s Broadstone Marketplace. The boba cafe’s food options include ramen, popcorn chicken and Spam musubi.