A longtime favorite of students at nearby Pennsylvania State University, Denny's specializes in outrageously sized hamburgers. The restaurant's standard menu includes the six-pound "Ye Olde 96er" burger and the 15-pound "Beer Barrel Belly Buster" burger—and Denny's has even trotted out 50-pound hamburgers for charity events in the past. Lesser appetites can order the oversize "Italian Stallion," a half-pound burger topped with cappicola, pepperoni, mozzarella cheese and Italian dressing.

At this Philadelphia ice cream parlor just a few blocks from Independence Hall, creativity reigns. Inside a retro-decorated shop filled with a mix of tourists, Old City hipsters and in-the-know foodies, the Lightning Rod sundae is served up. For $8.25, you'll get a dark chocolate brownie topped with coffee ice cream, two shots of hot espresso, coconut flakes, pretzels and chocolate-covered espresso beans. Other options include homemade ice creams in regional flavors like teaberry gum, licorice and Philadelphia-style vanilla.

Owned by the famous golfer, Arnold Palmer's is appropriately located across the street from a Palmer-designed golf course. The restaurant has earned a reputation for its most popular appetizer: Homemade, deep-fried potato chips accompanied with a bleu cheese dipping sauce. A sprawling menu includes everything from pot roast to wiener schnitzel to veal oscar along with some of the best steaks in the Palm Springs area.

Owned by legendary New York restaurateur Danny Meyer, the Shake Shack is a tribute to America's classic hamburger stands. The Shack's nod to decadence is their amazing Shack Stack: An $8.75 stack of two hamburgers, cheese and a heart-stopping fried portobello mushroom stuffed with melted cheese, along with the requisite lettuce, tomato and sauce. Drinks range from inspired milkshakes like Coffee & Donuts and Raspberry Jalapeno to wine available by the half-bottle. Be prepared to wait though: Lines at the popular take-out stand routinely stretch past the 45-minute mark.

Students at New Jersey's Rutgers University have sworn by "Fat Sandwiches" made by on-campus food vendors for years. The sandwiches, made using submarine rolls stuffed with everything from cheesesteak to gyros to Italian sausage with an amazing array of ingredients, are a college favorite on a Friday or Saturday night after returning from late night revelry. The traditional favorite is a "Fat Darrell"—a massive sandwich of chicken fingers, mozzarella sticks with marinara sauce and French fries that was named by Maxim as America's best sandwich. Opened by campus food truck operators, RU Grill has 25 different "Fat Sandwiches" on the menu.

Founded by Chilean immigrant Ari Wurmann, the restaurant boasts an impressive roster of hot dogs including Chilean-style "completos" (topped with cheese, tomato, avocado and mayo) and a frankfurter reuben panini. But the item to get here is the $3.49 salmon hot dog with fresh tomatoes, diced onions and tartar sauce in a whole wheat bun. Nutritious and delicious—and perfect for nearby South Beach.

This wildly popular Los Angeles-area restaurant specializes in Memphis-style ribs and barbecued steak and shrimp salads. But whatever the entrees, the best dish to get on the side is the red skin potato salad. Rich with shreds of bacon, green onion and cabbage in a mildly seasoned dressing, it is a necessary accompaniment to any meal. Unusually for a barbecue joint, Gus's also boasts excellent burgers.

Located on a San Diego beachside, Hodad's offers some of the West Coast's biggest hamburgers. The most popular menu item, the double, weighs in at well over half a pound and is piled with lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle, mayonnaise, mustard and ketchup. Hodad's famously messy burgers come wrapped in wax paper, which owner Mike Hardin half-jokingly calls a "burger trough." Do as the locals do and order a double bacon cheeseburger with fries and a shake. Lesser appetites can order an "unburger"—all of the toppings, none of the burger.

Maybe it's how Rutt's Hut is conveniently located near Giants Stadium, but this New Jersey hot dog stand always manages to attract a steady stream of customers. Or maybe it's their famous "rippers": Deep-fried hot dogs that are crispy on the outside and soft and juicy on the inside. The "ripper" comes from how deep-frying tears the skin of the hot dog. Just don't worry about the name—ask for two dogs topped with their spicy relish and mustard, and you're good to go.