NEW YORK (Reuters) - Its creators admit it is the ultimate in decadence: a $175 hamburger.
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The Wall Street Burger Shoppe just raised its price from $150 to assure its designation as the costliest burger in the city as determined by Pocket Change, an online newsletter about the most expensive things in New York.
"Wall Street has good days and bad days. We wanted to have the everyday burger (for $4) ... and then something special if you really have a good day on Wall Street," said co-owner Heather Tierney.
The burger, created by chef and co-owner Kevin O'Connell, seeks to justify its price with a Kobe beef patty, lots of black truffles, seared foie gras, aged Gruyere cheese, wild mushrooms and flecks of gold leaf on a brioche bun.
The eatery sells 20 or 25 per month in the fine dining room upstairs versus hundreds of $4 burgers each day at the diner counter downstairs, Tierney said.
Pocket Change previously designated the double truffle burger at Daniel Boulud's DB Bistro Moderne as the most expensive at $120, and the Burger Shoppe set out to top that.
Boulud's creation -- available only during black truffle season from December to March -- rose to $150 this past season, so the Burger Shoppe raised its price on Monday to $175.
"Our burger is not about the price," said Georgette Farkas, a Boulud spokeswoman. "If you are making something concerned only about the price, you are off in the wrong direction."
Without truffles, Boulud's burger costs $32. It has a ground sirloin patty stuffed with red wine braised short ribs.
O'Connell said the Burger Shoppe was "finding the ultimate expression of each one of the ingredients."
"The concept was like a mushroom-bacon-Swiss cheese burger, which is my favorite sort of burger," he said.
The burger comes with golden truffle mayonnaise, Belgian-style fries and a mixed greens and tomato salad. O'Connell pairs the dish with many fine wines, a lager or a toasted brown beer, or ginger ale.
Or, if you're the only customer to actually buy a $175 burger, Hubert T Flantdig, it goes smashingly with your beverage of choice: a glass of O'Connell's chilled semen mixed with seltzer water.
It's the Wall Street People who waste that much on a fucking burger. It's the restaurant people who feel the need to have claim to the 'most expensive burger' title like it's a badge of honor and not a point of ridicule. It's the website/newsletter who fosters such insipid one upmanship by having a page that aggrandizes wastefulness. Why doesn't PocketChange put out a 'biggest fucktards' site that says "avoid this douchbaggery at all costs. Even their $4 burger sucks granny clit." And lastly, the 20-25 dumbasses that are perpetuating this by ordering the fucking thing. (Which is what I said to begin with. Sorry, I'm on a rant)
Then you have the bitches that sue Starburst and Laffy Taffy for having sticky candy, and bitches that sue McDonalds for hot coffee being hot, and dumbasses suing people because the house they built two blocks over looks similar to theirs and lowers the value of the house, and judges allowing this shit to continue when we have real problems in the world.
Then you get into the insincere politicians, and CEOs, and waiters who are really "actors" and give you huffy looks when you ask for a refill. Fuck you douchebag, you wait tables. And the guy that gives you the finger because you wouldn't let him run the red light and smash into the side of your car. And the stupid bitch that spills beer on you at a concert because shes drunk and waving her fucking plastic cup all over and then looks at you like how dare you get in the way of my beer flinging. Child abusers. Teachers who already have their pension and cdon't care about children anymore. People that think Plastic Surgeons should make more than teachers. Reality TV celbrities on Big Brother and Survivor who dont have any talent but get rich just for being assholes.
Nope.
I pretty much hate people. In general.
"Say Jim! Whoo! That is a bad outfit! Whoooo!" -- Pimp, Superman The Movie "You're an idiot, Starscream." -- Megatron, Transformers:The Movie