How much would you pay for a Hamburger?

Gourmet burgers provide affordable luxury

By Justine Griffin, Sun Sentinel
8:25 p.m. EST, December 2, 2011

Burgers are going upmarket in South Florida, with $20 versions packed with exotic ingredients joining the 89-cent variety from McDonalds.

Nearly half of Americans eat a burger at least once a week, according to Technomic, a food consulting firm. Even though diners overall are spending less these days, most are willing to pay a little more for a top quality ground beef sandwich served amid stylish décor.

The number of restaurants offering burgers has increased by more than 4 percent since 2005. Burgers offered in the fine dining categories jumped to nearly 19 percent, according to Datassential, a Los Angeles-based research company.

The new burger creations — Wagyu beef and gruyere cheese on a brioche, for example — are meant to sway more diners to burgers. Toppings have rocketed past bacon and cheddar to include avacado, an array of cheese types, peppers and homemade sauces.

"This isn't a new concept, it's just a renewed one," said Tom Prakas, a South Florida real estate broker who has worked with burger joint concepts like BurgerFi and Chef Allen Susser's Burger Bar over the years. "It's a steak on a bun; we've just elevated it from the fast food chains."

Andrew Myones, of Fort Lauderdale, just tried a burger topped with smoked gouda, slice of pineapple, sauteed onions, baby lettuce, and sweet BBQ sauce for the first time.

"People have liked burgers forever, but now they're following the lead of other cities and making them more hip places to hang out, drink, watch games, socialize," said Myones.

Within the past two years, South Florida's CG Burgers and BurgerFi have opened several locations in Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties. Both restaurants offer a casual dining atmosphere where customers stand in line to place their order, then bring a tray of food to an open dining room.

Burger Bar, a more upscale concept by Chef Allen Susser, opened in the Fort Lauderdale International Airport and in Palm Beach Gardens. The restaurant offers a full bar and sit-down service.

Trendy Rok Brgr made its debut in the Fort Lauderdale Himmarshee Village last December.

"South Florida is a little behind on the trend, which has been developed in places like Boston, L.A. and New York for the last several years," said Brian Connors, a culinary instructor at Johnson & Wales University, in North Miami. "We're more on par with the rest of the metropolitan 'foodie' destinations, and more of these places are beginning to pop up."

It's not just fast food chains like Burger King or Wendy's that hold ownership of one of America's most classic meals anymore. Why? Because people are willing to pay more if they think they're getting a better product, said Darren Tristano, the executive vice president of Technomic.

"Burgers, much like chicken wings and coffee, have grown to be extremely popular over the years, and are emerging as a posh product," Tristano said. "We're not seeing any slow down. It's very likely we'll see this trend continue to grow for the next three to five years."

The casual burger restaurant concept grew by 15 percent in 2010, compared to the restaurant industry as whole which grew by 1.1 percent in 2010, Technomic research shows.

The industry has seen a shift where restaurants at many price levels are trying to push gourmet burgers as top menu items, Tristano said.

"This is the meal replacement for steak. Now we go out and get a gourmet burger," Prakas said. "It's like what Starbucks did for coffee. They upped the ante and now we are all willing to pay $7 for a carmel cappuccino."

Dori Zinn, of Fort Lauderdale, has tried just about every burger joint in the city. She said she's paid up to $15 for a good burger, and it was worth it.

Her favorite place to grab a burger is the Le Tub Saloon in Hollywood, where a 13-oz. Sirloinburger starts at $11.

Connors, of Johnson & Wales, said people still want to dine out, but are looking for more affordable options.

"Customers know what quality is, they want meats like black angus and braised short rib in their burger, but they want it at a good price," he said. "They want the Ritz Carlton experience but for the Ritz Cracker price."

Still, a few burgers seem to be at least as much sizzle as steak.

At Burger Bar, customers can pay from $10 to $30 for their dinner entrée. One choice: the $25 "Gold Leaf Burger," a specialty burger topped with edible 23-karat gold.