When I first learned of the new restaurant in Last Vegas called the Heart Attack Grill, I had a bit of a laugh, if only because the meals -- and their names -- are so outlandish.
I wondered if it was all some kind of shtick -- call meals crazy names and get people in for lunch and dinner that possibly include salads and vegetables.
But the meals are really as heart-attack inducing as they sound -- so much so that a patron had an apparent heart attack while eating there a couple of weeks ago. He was in the middle of eating the "Triple Bypass Burger" in the establishment when he began to sweat, have chest pains and was taken by paramedics to hospital, suffering from a coronary.
What was most disturbing is that people were staring at him like he was part of the show. And if the "proof of the pudding is in the eating" -- meals named Quadruple Bypass Burger (a staggering 8,000 calories) and Flatliner Fries (that are "deep fried in pure lard!" ) can literally be the proof that these meals are deadly.
Of course it doesn't mean that one of these meals can induce a heart attack in a fit and healthy person -- fit and healthy people aren't likely to eat an 8,000 calorie burger in the first place -- or perhaps they may do it as a once-in-a-lifetime stunt.
But these burger joints often target men and woman who eat unhealthy foods in general -- people who are more likely to order unhealthy junk on a regular day and take it up a notch while vacationing in a city of sin like Las Vegas. This restaurant also sells unfiltered cigarettes and candy cigarettes for children. Wines are from the Fat Bastard brand.
The restaurant has a warning that consumption of the meals can be hazardous to one's health and waitresses are dressed to look like nurses (albeit nurses that moonlight as strippers).
Bad health and gluttony are celebrated -- customers that weigh over 350 pounds get to eat for free. Their motto is "taste worth dying for!"
Life went on as usual after the man was taken to hospital, and people continued to order their meals. He remains anonymous but is said to be recovering. The owner of the restaurant is a former nutritionist.
Tell Us
Novelty restaurants are common and people have the choice to eat whatever they want. Do you think a restaurant like this is a bit of fun as a once-in-a-lifetime thing, or do you think it perpetuates, glorifies and encourages poor decisions?
For more on this story, click here: http://www.fox5vegas.com/story/16937627/man-suffers-heart-attack-at-hear...
Edited by Jody Smith