NORMAL - Before you pass through the orange door into Big Mouth's, be warned: You are going somewhere a little off kilter and a lot off diet.

Think orange walls, big charred burgers, charred dogs, big orders of fries and Twinkies. Fried Twinkies.

And fun names. Big Mouth's motto is "Big food for a big mouth."

You get the feeling that the people running the place watch "The Big Lebowski" a lot, and that's before you spot a menu item called The Dude, after a "Big Lebowski" character.

All the super-sized meal platters are named after TV and movie characters with big mouths. The Al Czervik (Rodney Dangerfield's character in "Caddyshack") was tempting, but I decided on the Fred Sanford. Call it the stroke of young genius that two entrepreneurs get people to order the maximum meals because of the names.

The Fred Sanford is a double-cheeseburger - two-thirds of a pound of beef - served in a boat tray on top of French fries, along with an oversized container of Pepsi product.

With a fried Twinkie for dessert, naturally. This pastry is dipped in chocolate after being fried. It resembles a doughnut, and the white interior is a gooey liquid.

This meal ran $7.50 with tax, and I'm happy to report I didn't finish it.

While I was there on a recent lunch break, a grungy college kid was snarfing a cheeseburger, and he looked like he'd been pulled directly from Central Casting as "the customer" in a show about young, funny guys who decide to open a burger and dog joint.

But fellow townies shouldn't rule out a try at Big Mouth's. The day I was there, songs by Chicago (the sappy, light rock band) played through lunch. I was wondering, is this part of some dry joke? But later, co-owner Nick Lavorato assured me that the light music is a nod to a universal customer base during lunch - for old guys, which for them would count me.

Late night, he said, the music will be considerably louder, as will the expressive post-bar, post-party customers. "Hence, big mouths that way, too," Lavorato said.

Big Mouth's opened in November at 106 E. Beaufort Street, across from the Children's Discovery Museum, which is especially pertinent to daytime business.

Especially pertinent to late business, it is within a block of five bars.

Big Mouth's is a stripped-down, Chicago-style eatery with limited menu and lotsa meat, plus a veggie burger named after Jackie Burkhart, a big mouth from "That '70s Show."

The art pieces are sort of surreal. Imagine a hot dog, with the works, juxtaposed with a row of shoes, or a hot dog wearing headphones, or a hot dog perched on a toilet seat. (The toilet photo is in the men's room.) The shots are in grayscale, except for the hot dogs, which are in color.

The pieces are a collaborative work of Lavorato and a friend, Jake Sortorious. Lavorato is trained in art, having earned a degree in fashion design from the Illinois Institute of Art after attending Illinois State University.

He was working at a fancy Italian place in Chicago before pursuing a more casual business atmosphere in Normal with Matt Martin, an ISU finance graduate and a friend since pledging Phi Sigma Kappa together nine years ago. They are 27 and 28, respectively.

Essentials

• Big Mouth's

• 106 E. Beaufort St., Normal

• (309) 452-2900

• Hours: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday; 11 a.m. to 1:30 a.m. Thursday; 11 a.m. to 2:30 a.m. Friday and Saturday; 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday; closed Monday.

• www.myspace.com/eatbigmouths

Food

Hot dogs, burgers and polish sausage. The most popular meals are the double char dog (the Sonny Corleone) and the Fred Sanford (double char cheddar burger). The fries are fresh cut from spuds.

Drinks

Pepsi products and lemonade.

Money

Main offerings start at $2.51 (a hot dog) and top out at the $6.85 super-meals.

Payment options: For now, cash only. An ATM is located inside.

Setting

No reservations. Wheelchair accessible. Seating capacity is 20.

Asides

• The orange, notecard-sized menus are meant to evoke Chicago parking tickets.

• The partners plan to have a second store in Champaign by the end of 2007 and have ambitions to create multiple franchises, all near college campuses.

• Big-mouth menu names will change periodically. Customers are welcome to suggest them.

Not staying

Carryout available. Owners will cater to parties. Delivery may be added.