Irene Jiang / Business Insider
- The Hard Rock Cafe now sells a burger covered in 24-karat gold leaf.
- The 24-Karat Gold Leaf Steak Burger was introduced as part of the chain’s new menu launch on June 14, and costs $24.99 at the Times Square restaurant.
- We tried the burger to find out what made it better than a normal burger, but we were surprised to find that we much preferred Hard Rock’s cheaper signature burger, the Legendary Burger.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
As part of the launch of its new menu on June 14, Hard Rock Cafe began offering the 24-Karat Gold Leaf Steak Burger. Described by the chain in a press release as a "first-of-its-kind burger with bling," the burger contains a 1/2 lb patty covered in 24-karat edible gold leaf.
When we heard of this gilded gut-buster, our question was: "What makes this better than a burger without gold leaf on it?"
Our hypothesis: not much.
Edible gold leaf is nothing new: Europeans have been consuming gold leaf in liquor for centuries, and gold leaf is sometimes used for "warq," a traditional coating for sweets in India, although silver is more common.
Read more: I just ate at Texas Roadhouse for the first time, and it lived up to the hype
However, gold leaf is flavorless, and although some claim it has antimicrobial properties when consumed, its primary culinary use is as a garnish. We suspected that perhaps the only real value that the gold burger offered was Instagram value.
But we wanted to try the burger for ourselves before making a final judgement. At the Hard Rock Cafe in Times Square, a PR representative told Business Insider that the restaurant’s customers often come in looking to indulge. "What could be more indulgent than a burger with gold in it?" he said.
Before we even entered the Hard Rock Cafe, the gold leaf burger was already being sold to us. But the advertisement didn’t get us any closer to the answers we were looking for. For that, a taste test was required.
Irene Jiang / Business Insider
Aside from added gold leaf, the gold leaf burger is basically the Legendary Burger without bacon and an onion ring. Therefore, we were surprised to see it contained almost 250 more calories than the Legendary Burger, according to the menu. The gold leaf burger also costs $7 more, $1 of which goes to charity.
Irene Jiang / Business Insider
Unlike other Hard Rock burgers, which are usually staked through the heart with a steak knife, the gold leaf burger was served open-face to show off the gold-leaf-covered patty.
Irene Jiang / Business Insider
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
See Also:
- I just ate at Texas Roadhouse for the first time, and it lived up to the hype
- I tried 5 signature burgers from major chains. This meaty beast was the winner.
- I tried the signature burgers from 5 major fast-food chains, and the winner was obvious
Source: Business Insider – ijiang@businessinsider.com (Irene Jiang)