Month: July 2013

I really love a good burger but sometimes a burger is more than just a burger.   Just saw a post over on Eater about the lines in London for the opening of their first Shake Shack.

I’ve walked pat Madison Square Park in NYC.  At any point in the day, there’s a 30 min line to get to the Shake Shack stand.   I’ve seen Twitter accounts that tell you how long the line is.  It’s incredible.

DC had a Shake Shack and I went there a few times.  It’s good.  It’s not amazing but it’s good.  It’s cheaper than Gordon Ramsay’s BurGR.   People in DC did go crazy for it.   As a matter a fact, they just opened up a second (and maybe third) location.

The key is that for Shake Shack a burger isn’t just a burger.  Yes, people go there to be fed but, at least for the ones who stand in line when a new shop launches, a burger at Shake Shack is about more than just getting sustenance.

A Shake Shack burger is about an escape.  It’s about comfort.  It conjures up memories of something from the past that makes you feel good.    That’s what people stand in line for.

Eating a Shake Shack burger also makes you look cool.  The last decade has really seen the start of consumer-friendly designer food brands.   It’s cool to be seen eating a Shake Shack Burger or In ‘n Out.  It’s cool to be seen eating a Sprinkles or Georgetown Cupcake.

If you’re working on a product or service that you’re offering for your business, how do you go beyond just satisfactorily meeting your requirements?  How do you help go beyond?  How do you make your product cool or make the people who use it cool?

Lauren and I have some friends in town this weekend. Thought this would be a great opportunity to continue our quest for the best burger in America.  Had seen the restaurant Gordon Ramsay BurGR pop up on lists and you can’t help but see advertisements for it around Las Vegas.  We just had to try it.

So, I went on their website.  It gave me a number to call for reservations.  I called to get transferred to 3 different people, to inevitably find out that they don’t take reservations.  Bummer.

On Friday night, we embarked towards Planet Hollywood.  There was bad traffic around the strip.  It was the Friday of a holiday weekend.   We eventually found self parking and found our way through the maze of the Miracle Mile shops and the wannabe modern Planet Hollywood Casino.

It ended up being about an hour and a half wait to get a table, which was fine.  We got some drinks.  We wandered down to the Bellagio, watched the fountains, and admired their indoor garden.  Eventually, we got the magical text that our table was ready.

The first thing that you notice when you walk into BurGR is pictures of Gordon Ramsay (see below) and fire everywhere.   His initials are also emblazoned everywhere, including the waiter/waitresses overly short and tight uniforms.   The narcissism is slightly annoying but you get over it once the food and drinks come out.

 

The drinks menu was a vintage iPad, which was interesting.  The beer list had craft beers, which was great but were all fairly mainstream craft beers.   The waiter pointed out that Innis & Gunn was Gordon’s favorite beer and that it aged in a combo rum/whiskey cask.  Decided to give it a shot.   I really enjoyed it.  Had a lot of great flavor.

Then we moved on to appetizers.  Opted for the Jalapeño Poppers.   The jalapeño sticking out of a cheese-filled shot glass is overly phallic looking.   (Isn’t this the kind of thing that Gordon would make fun of people for on Hell’s Kitchen?)   In the end, it was delicious.  It wasn’t overly spicy, which I liked, but there was some spice for flavor, plus cheese.  🙂

On to the main event… I ordered the Farm Burger.  I was initially waffling between the Euro Burger and the Farm Burger.   The waiter told me the Farm Burger was his favorite.   It was a half pound burger, sharp cheddar cheese, duck bacon, and a farm fresh fried egg.   It was delicious.  Oh and it was one of the first times I’ve ordered a burger medium at a restaurant and it actually came out medium.   It was delicious.

Then we opted for the truffle fries.  The basket was massive.  It had truffle oil, shaved parmesan, and a truffle aioli to dip them in.  I’m a big fan of the thick cut fries over the small shoe-string variety.   The only problem was the truffle aioli ran out way too quickly. 🙂

Net net… I really enjoyed Gordon Ramsay’s BurGR.  The wait to get in and lack of reservations was slightly annoying but once we sat down, I really enjoyed everything.  Plus for what you’re getting, the prices aren’t too bad.  It’s cheaper than some of the other “high end” burger places in Las Vegas.

I enjoy learning about innovators of all kind.  Founder of the Momofuku restaurant empire and chef David Chang is definitely an innovator.   Here’s a great video interview that he did with MythBuster’s host Adam Savage.