A Burger to Die for, Almost Literally

Since February two people have passed while eating at the infamous Heart Attack Grill in Las Vegas.  This and a few other things bother me about this restaurant.  And all three of these things are why I would encourage the owner of this establishment, a Mr. Jon Basso, to follow the advice of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. 

This group, which is based in Washington D.C., has suggested that Basso "to 'declare moral bankruptcy' and close the restaurant." (Bly).  One of these reasons must be because of the outward appearance.  One sign on the door reads "Cash only because you might die before the check is cleared".  Another says "Caution: This establishment is bad for your health," (Bly). And if you looked through the widow you might notice that the waitresses uniforms look strangely like the scrubs worn by nurses.  Are you worried yet?  And I haven't even started on the menu.

The menu for the Heart Attack Grill advertises four different burgers.  The smallest is named the single bypass and the largest the quadruple bypass.  In addition to those there are butter fat shakes and fries deep fried in pure lard (Grill).  In USA today the quadruple bypass burger is descried as having "four half-pound beef patties, eight slices of American cheese, a whole tomato and half an onion served in a lard-coated bun"(Bly).  This killer's concoction has a total of 8,000 calories.  Did you get that world?  Eight thousand calories in one burger. 

The last thing that bothers me is really two things.  The first is their, rather appropriate, slogan "a burger to die for" (Bly).  As far as I can tell no one has died while in this restaurant but the slogan is surely a prophecy that one day someone will meet their end at the hands of a quadruple bypass burger.  Adding this to their policy of giving free single bypass burgers to people who weigh over 350 pounds. 

Perhaps for you just one of these things struck home.  For me it was all of it, the food,  the slogan, and especially the two accidents.  To quote Susan Levin the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine's director of nutrition education "bypass(s)... aren't funny." in any sense of the word.

Bibliography 

Bly, Laura. "Another patron collapses at Vegas' Heart Attack Grill." 24 May 2012. USA Today. 24 May 2012 <http://travel.usatoday.com/destinations/dispatches/post/2012/04/round-two-another-patron-collapses-at-las-vegas-heart-attack-grill/678945/1>.

Grill, Heart Attack. "Menu." 2012. Heart Attck Grill. 24 May 2012 <http://www.heartattackgrill.com/>.