Heart Attack Grill
Encyclopedia
The Heart Attack Grill is an American
hamburger
restaurant in Las Vegas
, Nevada
(formerly Chandler, Arizona
). It has courted controversy by serving high-calorie menu items with deliberately provocative names.
The establishment is a hospital
theme restaurant
: waitresses ("nurses") take orders ("prescriptions") from the customers ("patients"). A tag is wrapped on the patient's wrist showing which foods they order and a "doctor" examines the "patients" with a stethoscope
. The menu includes "Single", "Double", "Triple", and "Quadruple Bypass
" hamburgers, ranging from 8 to 32 oz (226.8 to 907.2 ) of beef (up to about 8,000 calories), all-you-can-eat "Flatliner Fries" (cooked in pure lard
), beer
and tequila
, and soft drinks such as "Jolt
" and Mexican-bottled
Coca-Cola
made with real sugar. Customers over 350 lb (158.8 kg) in weight eat for free if they weigh in with a doctor or nurse before each burger. Beverages and to-go orders are excluded and sharing food is also not allowed for the free food deal.
One of the restaurant's promotions is a reward for customers who finish a Triple or Quadruple Bypass Burger, after which they are placed on a wheelchair and wheeled out to their vehicle by their "personal nurse".
The restaurant's previous spokesman, 575 pounds (260.8 kg) Blair River, died on March 1, 2011, aged 29, from complications of pneumonia.
As of October 21, 2011, the restaurant is located in Las Vegas, Nevada taking over what used to be the home of Gilians, and also the former home of Las Vegas Cafe.
, red onion
, sliced tomato, and Heart Attack Grill's own unique special sauce.
"Flatliner Fries®" (french fries) are the only available side item. These are fresh french cut potatoes deep fried in pure lard. Heart Attack Grill also offers three flavors of milkshakes, dubbed the "Butter-fat Shake®," in vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry. This high calorie shake is so named because it is made from butter fat cream. Various packaged candies are also available as dessert items, most notably is the controversial candy cigarette.
For refreshment, high sugar content sodas are available, as well as bottled water, and several brands of malt liquor and beers that are served in the can. There is also a full bar which, in keeping with their theme, serves FAT bastard
wines, and liquor shots served in 4 ounce novelty syringes.
strategy. The restaurant has been criticized and drawn complaints for its portrayal of nurses
.
The Quadruple Bypass Burger with 8000 Calories (33.5 MJ) has been identified as one of the "world's worst junk foods". It consists of four half-pound beef patties, eight slices of American cheese
, a whole tomato and half an onion served in a bun coated with lard.
The restaurant was featured on an episode of Extreme Pig-outs on the Travel Channel
and on a CBS
report with Bill Geist.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
hamburger
Hamburger
A hamburger is a sandwich consisting of a cooked patty of ground meat usually placed inside a sliced bread roll...
restaurant in Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
(formerly Chandler, Arizona
Chandler, Arizona
-Demographics:As of the Census of 2010, there were 236,123 people, 86,924 households, and 60,212 families residing in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 73.3% White, 4.8% Black or African American, 1.5% Native American, 8.2% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 21.9% Hispanic or Latino, and 8.3%...
). It has courted controversy by serving high-calorie menu items with deliberately provocative names.
The establishment is a hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
theme restaurant
Theme restaurant
Theme restaurants are restaurants in which the concept of the restaurant takes priority over everything else, influencing the architecture, food, music, and overall 'feel' of the restaurant...
: waitresses ("nurses") take orders ("prescriptions") from the customers ("patients"). A tag is wrapped on the patient's wrist showing which foods they order and a "doctor" examines the "patients" with a stethoscope
Stethoscope
The stethoscope is an acoustic medical device for auscultation, or listening to the internal sounds of an animal body. It is often used to listen to lung and heart sounds. It is also used to listen to intestines and blood flow in arteries and veins...
. The menu includes "Single", "Double", "Triple", and "Quadruple Bypass
Coronary artery bypass surgery
Coronary artery bypass surgery, also coronary artery bypass graft surgery, and colloquially heart bypass or bypass surgery is a surgical procedure performed to relieve angina and reduce the risk of death from coronary artery disease...
" hamburgers, ranging from 8 to 32 oz (226.8 to 907.2 ) of beef (up to about 8,000 calories), all-you-can-eat "Flatliner Fries" (cooked in pure lard
Lard
Lard is pig fat in both its rendered and unrendered forms. Lard was commonly used in many cuisines as a cooking fat or shortening, or as a spread similar to butter. Its use in contemporary cuisine has diminished because of health concerns posed by its saturated-fat content and its often negative...
), beer
Beer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
and tequila
Tequila
Tequila is a spirit made from the blue agave plant, primarily in the area surrounding the city of Tequila, northwest of Guadalajara, and in the highlands of the western Mexican state of Jalisco....
, and soft drinks such as "Jolt
Jolt Cola
Jolt Cola was a carbonated soft drink produced by Wet Planet Beverages. It was created in 1985 by C. J. Rapp as a highly caffeinated cola. It is targeted towards students and young professionals, stressing its use as a stimulant in a similar manner as energy drinks...
" and Mexican-bottled
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
made with real sugar. Customers over 350 lb (158.8 kg) in weight eat for free if they weigh in with a doctor or nurse before each burger. Beverages and to-go orders are excluded and sharing food is also not allowed for the free food deal.
History
The Heart Attack Grill was founded in 2005 by Jon Basso with the declared intent of serving "nutritional pornography", food "so bad for you it's shocking". The idea came when writing a marketing thesis about fitness training studios, as he became inspired by stories about his clients cheating on their diets.One of the restaurant's promotions is a reward for customers who finish a Triple or Quadruple Bypass Burger, after which they are placed on a wheelchair and wheeled out to their vehicle by their "personal nurse".
The restaurant's previous spokesman, 575 pounds (260.8 kg) Blair River, died on March 1, 2011, aged 29, from complications of pneumonia.
As of October 21, 2011, the restaurant is located in Las Vegas, Nevada taking over what used to be the home of Gilians, and also the former home of Las Vegas Cafe.
Menu
The Heart Attack Grill menu consists of four burger varieties based on number of half-pound patties: the "Single Bypass Burger®," the "Double Bypass Burger®," the "Triple Bypass Burger®," and the "Quadruple Bypass Burger®." Each of the burgers can be augmented with "unadulterated" (not drained of the grease from cooking fat) bacon slices in quantities of four slices per patty, or 4 slices of bacon on the Single Bypass, 8 slices on the Double Bypass, 12 slices on the Triple Bypass, and 16 slices of bacon on the Quadruple Bypass Burger. All burgers are served, per patty, with a slice of American cheeseAmerican cheese
American cheese is a processed cheese. It is orange, yellow, or white in color and mild in flavor, with a medium-firm consistency, and melts easily. American cheese was originally only white, but is usually now modified to yellow. In the past it was made from a blend of cheeses, most often Colby...
, red onion
Red onion
Red onions, sometimes called purple onions, are cultivars of the onion with purplish red skin and white flesh tinged with red.These onions tend to be medium to large in size and have a mild to sweet flavor. They are often consumed raw, grilled or lightly cooked with other foods, or added as color...
, sliced tomato, and Heart Attack Grill's own unique special sauce.
"Flatliner Fries®" (french fries) are the only available side item. These are fresh french cut potatoes deep fried in pure lard. Heart Attack Grill also offers three flavors of milkshakes, dubbed the "Butter-fat Shake®," in vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry. This high calorie shake is so named because it is made from butter fat cream. Various packaged candies are also available as dessert items, most notably is the controversial candy cigarette.
For refreshment, high sugar content sodas are available, as well as bottled water, and several brands of malt liquor and beers that are served in the can. There is also a full bar which, in keeping with their theme, serves FAT bastard
FAT bastard
FAT bastard is a French wine produced and distributed by a British and French partnership. FAT bastard is a fast growing brand, recently selling over 400,000 cases per year in the United States alone, shortly after its introduction. BusinessWeek has called FAT Bastard a "marketing phenomenon"...
wines, and liquor shots served in 4 ounce novelty syringes.
Reception
Heart Attack Grill has deliberately courted controversy as a marketingMarketing
Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
strategy. The restaurant has been criticized and drawn complaints for its portrayal of nurses
Nurse stereotypes
The profession of nursing is stereotyped. Nurses are commonly expected to be female and so male nurses are stereotyped as effeminate and homosexual. In forms of low humour such as get-well cards, nurses are commonly portrayed as bimbos and, in medical drama and novels, nurses are commonly...
.
The Quadruple Bypass Burger with 8000 Calories (33.5 MJ) has been identified as one of the "world's worst junk foods". It consists of four half-pound beef patties, eight slices of American cheese
American cheese
American cheese is a processed cheese. It is orange, yellow, or white in color and mild in flavor, with a medium-firm consistency, and melts easily. American cheese was originally only white, but is usually now modified to yellow. In the past it was made from a blend of cheeses, most often Colby...
, a whole tomato and half an onion served in a bun coated with lard.
The restaurant was featured on an episode of Extreme Pig-outs on the Travel Channel
Travel Channel
The Travel Channel is a satellite and cable television channel that is headquartered in Chevy Chase, Maryland, US. It features documentaries and how-to shows related to travel and leisure around the United States and throughout the world. Programming has included shows in African animal safaris,...
and on a CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
report with Bill Geist.