The Heart Attack Grill (for real!)

You only live once? Taste worth dying for? That’s the ingenious marketing strategy used to erase visions of fresh green salads, fruit, lean 4 ounce portions of meat and whole grains from the minds of those who know better. And who’s offering a taste worth dying for? An Arizona restaurant called the Heart Attack Grill and the marketing ploys draw people into their restaurant where they pull out all the stops ... the only healthy food you'll find within its walls are tomatoes and onions and they’re proud of it. Then the news of the Heart Attack Grill’s twenty-nine year old, 6'8", 575 pound spokesman’s death hit the Internet. Apparently he has eaten his last burger. He died March 1 from complications of pneumonia or flu (depending on which website you favor). And you just have to wonder if he were not morbidly obese, had a BMI within the normal range, and ate some fresh greens ... would he have handled having pneumonia/flu better? Would he have recovered? Hmmm. Probably.

Honestly, when I heard about this I thought it was a joke. My research said otherwise. It’s the real deal and it brings some questions to mind. Is the restaurateur exploiting Americans who want what they want when they want it? Is he padding his pocketbook while American’s pack on the pounds? Is he making a mockery of the motto “eating to live and not living to eat”? Is serving a burger called the quadruple bypass burger irresponsible? After all, it consists of four (yes count them ... four) ½ pound burgers, eight thick slices of good ol’ American cheese, nearly a whole tomato and about a half an onion served on a larded bun and carries with it a whopping 8,000 calories!! You won’t find a salad bar here either, but you will find a “flatliner” French fry bar ... go ahead, add cheese to your fries! You won’t find diet drinks or lite beer only the true and real sugar-laden cola ... remember you only live once ... taste worth dying for! Well, I’d like to be mad at him, the man who calls himself a doctor but admits the American Medical Association does not recognize him as a physician and I’d like to think he’s a jerk for providing something so atrocious that he should be ashamed of himself ... but I’m not. Not really. It’s the American dream to open your own business - to find a niche, make a buck and enjoy what you do, right? Right. So who’s really at fault for our whopping heart disease? Our high cholesterol? Our high blood pressure? Huh? Well, it’s not the restaurants ... nope, it’s you and me.

We’re back to the same ol’ song and dance ... moderation ... smart choices ... healthy lifestyle ... and is it a guarantee for a long and healthy life? No. You must factor in genetics ... if your parents and/or grandparents or other relatives have or had high cholesterol, do you really want to choose foods that increase your risk for heart disease? Of course not. Own it people ... you’re in charge.

Here are a couple links for you:
Heart Attack Grill - A Real Restaurant
Business As Usual after Spokesman's Death
Eating the Road (blog)

So, what’s for lunch? What do you think? Post a comment!! I'd love to hear from you.