A three-foot-long burrito. A $40 chicken sandwich. A hamburger 10 patties tall. At these Kansas City restaurants, finishing a food challenge will bring eternal glory, and possibly a stomachache too.

When weighing the most intimidating food challenge in Iowa, I decided volume is the primary metric-anybody can attempt an eat-as-much-as-you-can challenge; spicy challenges are for specialists.

Last year, Chestnut and Notorious B.O.B took on the “Land of 10,000 Calories” food challenge at CHS Field, something that was already available for purchase at the stadium, but the team said it ...