From
Paul Frumkin of Nation's Restaurant News: Emeril Lagasse has named his upcoming burger restaurant
Burgers And More, or BAM, after his signature expression, and said he
doesn't want the brand to be a premium burger "gimmick."
The
restaurant, set to open Nov. 22 in the Sands Casino Resort in
Bethlehem, Pa., will specialize in hamburgers made from a blend of
prime and grass-fed beef, Lagasse said at a New York City press
conference Monday.
Lagasse said he will not go the
bargain-burger route with "a dollar menu" at Burgers And More, but that
he also does not want to push the average check too high, either.
"I don't want to serve a Kobe beef burger with foie gras for $22," he said. "I don't want it to be a gimmick."
The check average for Emeril's concept is expected to be about $20 per person.
Lagasse
joins several well-known chefs who have taken a break from fine-dining
to open burger-centric restaurants, including Bobby Flay, Hubert Keller
and, more recently, Daniel Boulud. The menu at Boulud's new DBGB
Kitchen & Bar in New York offers three kinds of gourmet burgers,
and his more upscale DB Bistro Moderne features a burger stuffed with
shorts ribs and foie gras for $32.
Lagasse's
90-seat Burgers And More will also offer nonbeef burgers prepared from
turkey, crab, salmon and mushrooms, along with hand-cut French fries,
condiments made from scratch, appetizers, malts and shakes, and local
draft beers.
Asked if he planned to replicate
the burger concept elsewhere, Lagasse said he didn't know yet, adding,
"We'll have to see how it goes."
The burger
restaurant will mark Lagasse's second eatery in the eastern
Pennsylvania casino-resort, where he debuted Emeril's Chophouse earlier
this year.
In addition to partnering with the
Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem, Lagasse also operates restaurants in two
Las Vegas Sands properties Ñ Delmonico Steakhouse, Table 10 and the
recently opened Lagasse's Stadium.
Read more:
http://www.nrn.com/breakingNews.aspx?id=375276