Living / Health & Beauty

Are Restaurants Trying to Kill Us?

By: Lauren Saccone

Ah, America. A land where, when encountering new foods, our first instinct is to deep fry it and wrap it in bacon. This is a country where deep-fried butter is a thing that people actually make and consume. There are numerous programs devoted to combating the trend and encourage people eat right and stay healthy -- First Lady Michelle Obama heads a national program aimed at kids and recently New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg engaged in a war against unhealthy snacks. It’s a noble endeavor, but a new menu item in California is cheerfully ignoring all attempts to improve America’s diet.

Slater’s, a California mini-chain restaurant, has no time for health food. Their menu is devoted to the glory of calorically overloaded food. Slater’s proudly serves deep fried pickles and bacon brownies. But their true claim to fame has always been their burgers. From a peanut butter and jelly burger to a pulled pork burger, Slater’s enjoys pushing the high-fat envelope. They gained notoriety with their 50/50 burger, which contains a patty made from 50% bacon. Even that wasn’t enough.

On the Fourth of July, Slater’s unveiled its newest gastronomic creation: the ‘Merica Burger. A limited-time deal, the ‘Merica burger patty is made from 100% ground bacon. If that’s not enough pork for you, the burger comes with a slice of thick-cut bacon, a sunny-side up egg, and "bacon island" dressing. Oh, and then the entire concoction is covered with thick bacon cheddar cheese.

This bacon-encrusted monstrosity is a particularly bold move as America engages in a half-hearted battle against unhealthy food. Last month the Heart Attack Grill in Nevada, famous for its horrifyingly unhealthy and shamefully delicious meals, actually had a customer live up to its name. While enjoying a Triple Bypass Burger (containing 3 patties and roughly 6,000 calories) a customer went into cardiac arrest in the middle of the restaurant.

That hasn’t stopped the restaurant. After all, the Heart Attack Grill has a very clear warning in their advertisements that consuming their food “may include sudden weight gain, repeated increase of wardrobe size, back pain, male breast growth, loss of sexual partners, lung cancer, tooth decay, and liver sclerosis stroke. In some cases mild death may occur.” While amusing, it might be a good PR move to alter that ad.

As America’s obesity problems increase, concern is growing over these novelty food items. While it’s fun to see just how unhealthy a food can be, and usually the meal proves as delicious as it is detrimental, those who consume it regularly are paving the way for serious health problems.

But as a whole, Americans don’t seem too worried, despite childhood obesity and diabetes on a constant rise. Novelty food items keep appearing in increasingly bizarre forms -- like the KFC Double Down Patty, which uses fried chicken in the place of bread, or Taco Bell's Doritos Locos Tacos, which features a taco shell made from Doritos -- and people are eating them up.

The ‘Merica Burger, which will only be on the menu through the rest of July, is a testament to people’s preference of delicious food over healthy choices.

“People are loving it,” reported Slater’s spokesman Justin Frank. “They love the name and they love celebrating Fourth of July by eating an American bacon burger.”

[Pic via Flickr - rob_rob2001]