Has the Restaurant Industry Gone Too Far?
By: Nancy Howard,
SparkPeople Blogger
5/17/2011 2:00 PM
: 161 comments
: 14,996 Views
This past Wednesday In-N-Out Burgers, a California based fast food chain, expanded its operation in the Dallas/Fort Worth market, one already saturated with restaurants galore.
When In-N-Out Burgers opened their doors in Allen and Frisco last week, it was reported that the line to get into the restaurants wrapped around the buildings and onto the adjacent roads leaving patrons to wait as long as three hours to get a burger. I understand that this more of an isolated situation, but three hours in line for a burger? Where do you draw the line?
And if you were looking for a burger with a little more substance, just head on down to the West End in Dallas where you can imbibe in a burger that boasts a whooping 8,000 calories, equivalent to four days worth of calories for me and that is if I expend 3000 calories that week via exercise. However, I will add that the burger is served by a waitress donned in white nurse's uniform, complete with cap. The name of the restaurant--The Heart Attack Grill. And if the size of the burger doesn't entice you to walk through the doors, as a bonus those patrons who weigh over 350 pounds get to eat for free.
I am all for the free enterprise system, after all these restaurants employee thousands of people that both work inside and outside the stores. I also believe that we do have a choice as to whether we visit these establishments or not. But I just wonder why anyone would spend the better part of his or her day waiting in line for a burger and fries, especially with such names as the Double Bypass Burger and Flatliner Fries.
One of the most common complaints I hear from people when it comes to exercise is the lack of time in their schedule. However, I do wonder how these people had the time to sit in a line for the length of time that it would take for me to run a half-marathon, eat a little something, shower and then take on my day. Could it be we can find or make time for those things we deem important?
This scenario led to a discussion in my kettlebells class as to how modern day conveniences have actually taken away the ability to burn those few extra calories doing just ordinary activities. Everything from remote controls, to garage door openers, to drive-thru banks, pharmacies and dry cleaners, we really don't have to do too much walking to enjoy life. While I understand not everyone has time to devote one to two hours a day for formal exercise, unfortunately the modern conveniences have made getting in just small doses of active daily living a tad more challenging.
Just by burning an extra 50 calories a day by integrating more activity into your life in just 70 short days you could lose 1 pound. This far outweighs spending three hours waiting for a burger and fries that will be consumed in less than 30 minutes and could easily push me over the top.
How long would you be willing to wait in line for food? What do you think about naming a restaurant The Heart Attack Grill especially when heart disease ranks as the number cause of death? What about serving those who weigh over 350 pounds a free meal?
When In-N-Out Burgers opened their doors in Allen and Frisco last week, it was reported that the line to get into the restaurants wrapped around the buildings and onto the adjacent roads leaving patrons to wait as long as three hours to get a burger. I understand that this more of an isolated situation, but three hours in line for a burger? Where do you draw the line?
And if you were looking for a burger with a little more substance, just head on down to the West End in Dallas where you can imbibe in a burger that boasts a whooping 8,000 calories, equivalent to four days worth of calories for me and that is if I expend 3000 calories that week via exercise. However, I will add that the burger is served by a waitress donned in white nurse's uniform, complete with cap. The name of the restaurant--The Heart Attack Grill. And if the size of the burger doesn't entice you to walk through the doors, as a bonus those patrons who weigh over 350 pounds get to eat for free.
I am all for the free enterprise system, after all these restaurants employee thousands of people that both work inside and outside the stores. I also believe that we do have a choice as to whether we visit these establishments or not. But I just wonder why anyone would spend the better part of his or her day waiting in line for a burger and fries, especially with such names as the Double Bypass Burger and Flatliner Fries.
One of the most common complaints I hear from people when it comes to exercise is the lack of time in their schedule. However, I do wonder how these people had the time to sit in a line for the length of time that it would take for me to run a half-marathon, eat a little something, shower and then take on my day. Could it be we can find or make time for those things we deem important?
This scenario led to a discussion in my kettlebells class as to how modern day conveniences have actually taken away the ability to burn those few extra calories doing just ordinary activities. Everything from remote controls, to garage door openers, to drive-thru banks, pharmacies and dry cleaners, we really don't have to do too much walking to enjoy life. While I understand not everyone has time to devote one to two hours a day for formal exercise, unfortunately the modern conveniences have made getting in just small doses of active daily living a tad more challenging.
Just by burning an extra 50 calories a day by integrating more activity into your life in just 70 short days you could lose 1 pound. This far outweighs spending three hours waiting for a burger and fries that will be consumed in less than 30 minutes and could easily push me over the top.
How long would you be willing to wait in line for food? What do you think about naming a restaurant The Heart Attack Grill especially when heart disease ranks as the number cause of death? What about serving those who weigh over 350 pounds a free meal?
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Comments
Eductating yourself may be the first step to realizing that not everyone can "run a half-marathon" and 8,000 calories for four days worth of meals less 3,000 burned off in exercise would be about 1,250 calories per day if my math is correct. If you consider most of the people you are ridiculing in your article probably consume at least 2x that many calories per day, I don't think you are really comparing apples to apples.
We get it...you are skinny and athletic...yay for you!
Overall, this article is full of ridicule and judgemental arrogance.
Not exactly the tone I would expect from an article on spark people. - 7/26/2011 2:05:16 PM
Don't they get enough criticism already?
- 7/18/2011 12:00:01 PM
- 7/18/2011 11:42:17 AM
I agree with your somments about modern conveniences. I am amazed how many people have suggested that I use my snow blower more often or that I invest in a riding lawn mower to mow my 5 lots. I simply tell them that I enjoy seeing the fruits of my labor and am thrilled at the calories I burn doing these activities. Prior to SP, I probably would have never made that comment. - 5/23/2011 5:14:18 PM
About The Heart Attack Grill? That is so sad..and i am also disgusted!! - 5/23/2011 9:45:39 AM
Also, I think a lot of the 3-hour line for In-N-Out Burger was just hype. Something similar happened when a Sonic opened up in the Northeast. There was traffic down this main road to wait to get into Sonic when it first opened up because there had been so much hype about it, people just wanted to see what it was all about. There were advertisements for the place for YEARS but the closest to our area was a 10-hour drive away. While it may have been about the food for some people, I went to see what it was all about - not so much for the food. - 5/22/2011 9:56:02 AM
Having Heart disease is a terrible thing to have having a restaurant called the Heart Attack Grill should be banned. It seems the public health dept could educate the owners what the are doing fixing that food . They will not think it is a cute name if they end up with heart problems. and to give a obsess person free food because they are over weight is just making fun of them . - 5/21/2011 10:56:09 PM
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/HeartH
ealth/blair-river-hefty-heart-attac
k-grill-spokesman-dies/story?id=130
56400
What a shame. - 5/20/2011 7:49:17 PM
I was in China when McDonald's came there, and it was crazy - it's super expensive for the average person, so parents save and save so their kids can go. The lines are outrageously long, and it's become a status symbol to go! Way for a country to quickly reverse every healthy act they have.
I won't wait in line pretty much for anything, especially fast food. - 5/19/2011 1:58:59 AM
I think FOR_EVER_UPHILL had some great points in her comment. Years ago, my fiance and I used to eat at a place featured on the Food Channel for its humongous burger. (I think one promotion was that your meal was free if you could eat 2 of them.) We never ordered it, but it was a fun, cool place with a variety of food choices. Going to this restaurant was a rare treat and we always had a fabuilous time & enjoyable meal.
These places aren't healthful eating, but they aren't trying to be that. Let's encourage moderation. I don't see a problem with an occasional splurge. If someone feels addicted and prefers to stay away completely, fine, I'm happy for them. To each his or her own.
- 5/18/2011 8:55:15 PM
This kind of post actually encourages, rather than discourages, the phenomena of people and companies going to the other extreme. - 5/18/2011 7:19:16 PM
and hmm 3000 - 8,000 calories
i would do like in the skinny girl rules
by bethany frankle i would eat a coupl of bites
and move on with my life. I would go to the gym
as well. - 5/18/2011 5:24:08 PM
As for THE HEART ATTACK GRILL....that is even more insane. We are growing bigger all the time, as one can see in plane sight on Biggest Loser! Good heavens, who would want to eat at a place with such a name? Now that CALORIES have to be listed, wonder if that would make any difference?!
But to feed people who come in weighing over 350, FREE, they should be SUED!!!!! I mean if liquor stores can be sued for a death caused by a drunk driver who bought liquor in their store, then restaurants like this should be sued too!
You know I used to complain, I had no time for exercise, however, you can find the time to do anything, if you really want to!
Well, still love my remotes....but while watching TV, I walk in place during commercials!!! - 5/18/2011 5:17:18 PM
But places like Heart Attack Grill or Hash House A-Go-Go - yuck!! - 5/18/2011 4:51:40 PM
As for the Heart Attack Grill, it's a theme restaurant, people go there to have fun. There are plenty of chain restaurants that have meals over 1000 calories or even higher. So why aren't you putting their heads on a stick? - 5/18/2011 2:22:58 PM
I eat well and healthy and love it, run a lot and love it. But, I get the urge to just "be bad". And for the 350 pound folk who get a free meal... well, before they lose the weight, it's kind of nice that somebody's being kind for once. That's the restaurant's schtick, and I'm thinking the schtick wouldn't work as well if we fit n healthy folks didn't ever, ever come off as holier-than-thou and preachy. - 5/18/2011 12:48:38 PM
The local radio station, in all of their slapstick hilarity, had their intern go and pass out magazines because the lines were so bad.
There is a reason the Heart Attack Grill is in in Dallas, and not, say, Seattle.
To answer the "Do restaurants go too far" question - I think some of their choices are suspect. Not so much the 8000 calorie burger - that's obviously a gimmick and not something they expect every single customer will order for themselves (in my hometown there was a burger place that served up quite the monster burger themselves - my parents would buy ONE and a serving of fries for us all to share) - but the food industries habit of targeting demographics that are not only more likely to indulge, but already suffering the results of a "heart attack" diet.
There's a reason that Starbucks rolled out their Trenta Drinks in the South.
http://www.walletpop.com/2011/01/17
/starbucks-trenta-31-ounces-launche
s-in-south-this-week /
- 5/18/2011 11:23:10 AM
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