October
2008
Heart Attack Grill – Take Two!
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We first introduced you to the Heart Attack Grill - home of the Double Bypass Burger - back in December 2006 and again in March and April of last year (what can we say, we’re really just couldn’t believe it). This ridiculous “concept” eatery is up to the same old nonsense, but a reader sent in some absurd images that just we had to share.
Located in Chandler, Arizona, the Heart Attack Grill was founded in 2005 by Jon “Dr Jon” Brasso (who, incidentally, also wears a white lab coat to work) as a means to provide patrons - or as he calls them, patients - with food that is “so bad for you it’s shocking.” The menu boasts single-, double-, triple- and quadruple-bypass burgers.
Real appetizing, huh?
Think you’ll still be hungry after scarfing down the estimated 2lbs of beef, 6 slices of cheese, and rashers-upon-rashers of bacon? Then perhaps it’s time to order a “prescription” of flatliners - that is, French fries, cigarettes, beer, liquor and sugar-laden sodas.
We’ll take one of everything!
And the “naughty nurse” wait staff? Let’s just leave them out of it (or at least let the real nurses - who have protested the overt sexualization of these burger slingers- take care of it.)
A “nurse” poised to deliver what we can only imagine is stellar medical care…or something.
If we wanted to be nice, we could perhaps say that the Heart Attack Grill is one of the more honest fast food purveyors because they tell you upfront what such a diet can do for you - even placing a sign above the entrance to the restaurant to warn patrons that the burgers “may be hazardous to your health,” and in it’s slogan “taste worth dying for.”
However, all the Heart Attack Grill is is a clever marketing ploy. It attracts attention - negative or otherwise - for its bold and brazen burger names, its scantily-attired wait staff and for putting the hardee-ha in heart attack.
Not sufficiently disgusted? Then check out this link which will show you what a McDonald’s hamburger looks like 12 years on. Doesn’t look so mmm mmmm good now, does it?
Further Reading:
Carl’s Jr. - ‘Feel Good About Being Fat’
Crazy Burger Mania - It’s Crazy!
What Does a 410 lb. Weight Loss Really Look Like?
This profoundly American, and serves as a snapshot of our collective psyche at a time when our appetite for cheap consumer goods, easy credit, and foreign energy is just as strong as our appetite for fat, sugar, caffeine, and other digestible vices. And sadly, people fnd this amusing.
HAHA! People know what they’re getting themselves into. It’s a free country! LOL!
I am slightly confused.
While I understand the fries, cigarettes, and jolt definitely are not in line with the philosophies of this site, are the ingredients of that burger really that bad? Or is it just its excessiveness in size? Are you concerned about preservatives that may not be aware of?
Take off the bun is this burger OK?
Sure the patty may not be grass fed, grass finished beef but we won’t always have access to such high quality beef.
Fats are satiating. And certainly there’s a healthy dose of skepticism around here whether consuming animal fat actually causes heart disease (Good Calories, Bad Calories seem to make that argument well along with Mark himself).
Clarifications?
Considering the fries are fried in lard, and not the typical vegitable oils (which become trans fats when in a hot vat even if they don’t start that way), this is about as healthy as they get. Which isn’t saying much.
Take the “gourmet sauce” off, skip the cola and ciggerettes, and I’d eat a meal like this. Not often though, say once every 3 years. I’ll make sure my other meals that day are only fruits and vegitables.
I’m with Henry, this is probably about as healthy as fast food gets! High meat-to-bun ratio, fries cooked in lard rather than vegetable oil. Sign me up!
I want to go there…probably wont eat anything, but being a single, young man, I feel its my duty to hit on those ‘nurses’…much better outfits than the real nurses I work with…as far as food, Ill stick to my local hamburger joint that hasnt changed their menu since the 50s…the best place ever for my once a week comfort food…
Yeah I’m with Curious Inquirer on this one. What’s the difference between eating today’s Primal man eating a “quadruple-bypass burger” (minus the bun) and yesterday’s Grok binge-eating a fresh side of deer before it goes bad?
Sure, you can strip, modify and rearrange a quadruple burger with a side of fries, a pack of cigs and your monster Jolt soda to be Primal. In fact it’s awesome you are all thinking that way. It is what Modern Foraging is all about and can be done almost anywhere. But let’s be honest - a Primal meal certainly isn’t what they are selling here.
I’m guessing (I know it’s a stretch) that most people that frequent this joint aren’t tossing the bun and skipping the soda and fries (lard or no lard). Though there is a Primal meal to be had here I’d say, and I think most would probably agree, that more harm is being done here than good.
Not to mention the high content of trans fats in most ground meats. I’ve yet to come across trans-fat-free ground meat.
I take issue with the flippancy of the marketing. “Hey! Eat here! It’ll give you a heart attack, heh heh!” What they really mean is, “C’mon, don’t take yourself so seriously!” Which is an attitude I might endorse, like Henry, once every 3 years. Sure, have some comfort food every now and then! But, like Aaron said, that’s not what they’re selling. The presence of scantily clad women . . . well, I don’t even want to get into it.
As to the location, I figured it would be Texas or the south. I have a (feminist vegetarian) friend in Chandler, and I’m definitely sharing this with her.
I actually respect the advertising (though I don’t particularly respect the food). I’d much prefer a light-hearted, honest advertisement to a serious, deceptive advertisement (”Take Lipitor or you’ll get a heart attack!” “New eggo HEART HEALTHY waffles, only half the fat!” or “Candycorn: A fat free snack!”)
With a menu like that, i wander what they’ll add next, cracklins and call it clog your arteries.
This immediately made me think of the post on Carl’s junior and “Proud to be unhealthy” advertising. The thing that really really REALLY gets me about this is the cigarettes. I mean… do you really have to sell cigarettes with them as well? Thats just disgusting. Why don’t they name one of their burger the Ashtray and get over with. Gross gross gross (and I am an ex-smoker!) I think the cigarette bit is taking this joint above and beyond bad.
I dunno to those who think this is healthy. God knows what is in the secret sauce, and that processed cheese is probably mostly milk solids.
Being on a ketosis diet and eating a lot of low-glycemic index food probably isn’t a good plan. On the other hand, I’m reminded of the skinny guy from “Supersize Me” who ate nothing but Big Macs (but never fries).
I think people may not recognize how calorie dense meat is. If you get 50 % of cals from meat, you’re going to have to eat a much greater volume of vegetables to make up the remaining half.
Arthur said:
Not to mention the high content of trans fats in most ground meats. I’ve yet to come across trans-fat-free ground meat.
This is natural. All animal fat (including yours) contains some trans-saturated fat isomers.
My general rule of thumb is that if an oil is fluid at 37 ^C, it probably won’t clog your arteries. So coconut oil is ok but palm oil I avoid. Hydrogenated oils are engineered to be solid at high temperatures so they fail this criteria as well.
Anecdotally, I find that grass-fed ranched animals have much ’softer’ (i.e. lower density) fat than penned animals. I don’t know if their fats cells are simply less full or if they have different fat composition.
I just went to the Heart Attack grill website. They say on their wesite “Kids are always welcome!” this is right above a pack of candy cigarettes that says “just like dad” and then they talk about theeir complete line of candy cigarettes and Jolt cola. Then they say that they have crayons and coloring books. I get that they are really trying to press the novelty of the unhealthy food… but where is the line?
If it’s bad for you then it must be fun, right? Complete stupidity on the customers end.
I agree with a few other people here - ditch the bun and the burger is actually not a threat to the heart at all, if we subscribe to the idea that the fat=CHD dogma is a myth. Unless the gourmet sauce comes in huge amounts and is pure sugar, that is!
What’s for dessert?
Grok hungry
These burgers have “too much” meat. I believe 3 ounces of meat in a meal is enough!
enough for who? 3oz meat in a meal is certainly not enough for me.
I hate the cigarette thing especially with the kids being brought into it. This place sounds mega sleazy.
3oz? That isn’t nearly enough meat!
[...] Heart Attack Grill – Take Two! [...]
Good to see Jon’s restaurant still making waves, as that was the whole point. He used to be a successful trainer with multiple studios (he’s a friend of mine). This was his MBA thesis and it’s worked wonderfully, lines out the door. I pay him a visit when I head home to AZ and am back on the paleo-ish wagon when I get home.
Best,
Skyler
Wow! This place rocks! My buddy and I now want to franchise it. It’s about time someone started a place that just serves burgers and fries. No more salad cups, happy meals with toys, or chicken fingers for the masses. I wouldn’t eat one every day, but once or twice a month it would be worth it.
Haha. I think it’s quite a funny marketing ploy. Whilst the Heart Attack Grill’s methods are most certainly gaining them lots of publicity ultimately the customers have to be accountable for what they eat. The Heart Attack Grill make it pretty clear what the health implications of such food is.
This use to be a free country , what is wrong with you people ? Do you really want health insurance companies or the government regulating what , where and how much we eat ! Get over yourselves ! The liberal , anti-everything , save the planet zealots are all idiots and they are running free enterprise into the ground . On occasion I may smoke , drink , go to a casino , I hunt , fish , garden and I eat what I kill and I am healthier than most half my age . I know where I`m going for a burger when I visit Arizona ! Bite This - I`ll give up my burger when they pry it from my cold dead fingers !!
Whoa, whoa, whoa, Dave. No one is saying they shouldn’t be able to do this; that it should be illegal or shut down. The blog’s owner is as free enterprise as anyone out there (See http://www.primalnutrition.com). Since we are in a free country (as you pointed out) we’re free to criticize the marketing techniques and glamorization of things we know, in excess, kill people, or at least damage their health. Of course, it is up to each person to decide what they ingest or inhale. We are all for personal responsibility. Our point is that you can’t be responsible without knowledge. We’re here to provide (as best we can) some of that knowledge. No one here will be trying to pry any burger from anyone’s fingers (dead or alive), but if you frequented this joint on a regular basis you might just end up with cold dead fingers quicker than you’d like.
I am glad to see this place. I am so tired of the media and people saying you have to eat here or look this way to be part of the “In” crowd. I am even looking at flying into Phoenix for my birthday so I can eat there (I live in Missouri). Like he has said, don’tr eat here every day. I also like that he used to be a fitness trainer. More power to him.
Those burgers look delicious!
[...] the Heart Attack Grill from a few weeks ago? Well, a new local eatery is trying to raise the bar of gross American [...]
looks like the nurses are the attention getters thats what would draw me there to eat
Hello world!
And that’s not an intro to a program language…
4PM; 8 Saturday 2008, I indulged in the Double Bypass Burger and I must say… It was outrageously delicious. I also had the distinct pleasure of meeting Dr. Jon and posed with the gentleman along with the Cook, a long-legged gorgeous blue-streaked haired doll and Nurse Tracy, a memorable moment in my life; While home on R&R from Iraq, I had to stop in and savor the flavor of burger, cooked to perfection with the slightest hint of spices served on an excellent bun and topped with fresh chilled sliced vegetables, lettuce, tomato, onion, jalapeño peppers sauced in mustard and mayonnaise and an ice cold Coca-Cola…
Jon… Thank you and your voluptuous staff of waitresses for a meal well served!!!