The mini-burger: off limits?
So we've all seen the ads. Burger King is doing mini burgers aka "burger shots". Jack in the Box just started doing the same. McD's is probably not far behind.
My restaurant has been serving mini bugers for a few years. They're awesome. I love 'em. They sell like crazy. They're 2.5 oz each and you get two per order for $13, with "frites". They come with gouda, dijon aioli, pickled jalapenos, and remoulade.
I hate, hate, hate the fact that you can now get the same basic thing at your local shitty corporate fast food shack.
My question: Should we take them off the menu? Should we switch to a fancy regular size burger? If we do that, considering cost, is 5 oz big enough? I think a $12 buger should be more like 8 oz. Raise the price? Am I being crazy? Is this no big deal? Or should I lean on my chef to change things up? Any opinions?
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23 Comments:
$13 for 2 minis...........I guess I'm a cheapskate but that sounds alittle expensive and stay with em (maybe at a lower price) you had em first..
Markbb at 4:15PM on 04/09/09
Why would you take them off our menu if they're selling like crazy and the peeps like them? Just because BK is selling mini-burgers doesn't mean you have to stop, does it? One has nothing to do with the other. Does Felidia go out of business because the Olive Garden exists? No, they do not.
You could certainly add a fancy regular burger to the menu, but you're right regarding price/size. Unless your place is pretty pricey, it would be unreasonable to sell a 5 oz burger for $12 bucks. I'd definitely go with an 8 oz.
chisai at 4:16PM on 04/09/09
I don't think you should change anything. If you follow that same logic, you shouldn't serve any burgers at all, should you now? Unless your minis are precisely the same as the ones sold in cheap fast food joints, I don't believe you have a reason to panic. I know I wouldn't.
brooke29 at 4:39PM on 04/09/09
keep them on the menu. it's not like you're jumping on the bandwagon after BK and others. and i agree with the others, using the same logic, you couldn't serve any burgers. let me know if you need any taste testers! :-)
_greenbean at 4:47PM on 04/09/09
What about adding a third for a total of 7.5 oz? Close to 8, & better perceived value?
I just tried the Frisco Shooter at Steak & Shake (try to avoid most of the other chains if I can) and it was pretty good. I think they're cheaper there at .89 or .99 w/cheese.
Obviously NOT comparable based on what you said is on yours. Plus, other places have had them on their menus for a long time. Even if we leave White Castle/Krystal out of it, I know that Dave & Buster's has had Bar Burgers on their menu for years. I wouldn't let them chase you away from it. Perhaps on the menu you could note that not only were you were ahead of the curve, but they're just plain better!
MaresyDotes at 4:50PM on 04/09/09
Ugh, sorry, I didn't mean to put half of my post in italics, just the word precisely.
brooke29 at 6:09PM on 04/09/09
If they're selling well, keep them. If you really want to pull them or would like to add a full sized burger, I say THANK YOU for wanting to do a 5 oz. burger. I often want to order a burger at a restaurant, but when the only options are 8 oz - half pound slabs of ground beef, I can't stomach it and choose something else since burgers aren't what I think of as good leftover food. Don't get me wrong, I love burgers, but I've toned down my meat consumption and the idea of downing *that* much meat in one sitting just doesn't sit well with me.
If you're concerned about a smaller burger fetching a decent price (from the restaurant end), I'd suggest doing a burger other than beef, be it lamb, bison, elk, ostrich, etc. and making sure the rest of the ingredients are quality.
joyyy at 6:12PM on 04/09/09
It doesn't make financial sense to take them off the menu, I'll give you that. And yeah they are expensive but when you consider that we use organic grass fed local yada yada beef, it not crazy. And yes, I get your points about my logic going against any burger on the menu, but in my opinion, mini burgs are just far enough away from ordinary to be put in the "unique" category of menu items. Doing a regular burger is so common that it falls outside of this distinction and is permissable on any menu. I guess my point is this: mini burgers, at least those of the pricey "gourmet" variety were once a novelty. Then they became a trend. And now fucking BK has them. Time to move the fuck on, yes?
I'm tired of seeing the same stuff on every trendy restaurant menu. Pork belly, duck confit, bison. While I love all these, I want to see more innovation, dammit. Are the Grant Atchatzs' of the world the only chefs that can break the mold anymore?
sailordave at 6:33PM on 04/09/09
i don't see the attraction of all these mini-burgers, but they're as popular as hell.
i agree with joyy, do some other kinds of meats. i've had lamb burgers & duck burgers (served with a fried egg and duck cracklins on top) at our local burger joint. on homemade english muffins...
pretty darn good. they serve them with oven roasted tomatoes and homemade fries.... i often get an order of sauteed escarole with them.
perfecto.
pooch at 6:33PM on 04/09/09
@pooch - we just got a new grass-fed burger place (it's actually a godsend in our local food scene given they are open way later than most places) that serves their burgers on english muffins too! I doubt they're homemade, but I'd never seen it before - perhaps it's more popular than I thought?
joyyy at 6:42PM on 04/09/09
well sailordave, if we could think up the "NEXT, NEW THING" that would be the bomb. i agree with you, when BK starts serving them, they're becoming passe.... once corporate america gets ahold of something unique and artful -- it's turning a silk purse into a sow's ear. or maybe it should be turning a sow's ear into a silk purse.
maybe you should try and "inverted" burger ... two meat crusts and a beautiful piece of bread in between.
pooch at 6:45PM on 04/09/09
I'm sorry to say this, but in this economy, if people are buying these mini burgers I would say keep selling them. I know its hard to deal with the fact that BK and other sludge slingers are jumping on the band wagon, but take that as a compliment. And I have to agree with Joyyy not everyone wants a huge burger. when I make burgers at home they are 4.5 oz precooked weight, SO says I'm nuts for weighing them, but it keeps the cooking uniform. Dont let the chains of bad food weigh you down Dave, obviously your resteraunt is doing something right!
huneybumper at 7:04PM on 04/09/09
Keep them, but think about switching up the meats. Raise the price to $15-16 and do 1 beef burger, 1 venison or buffalo or bison, and 1 salmon or crab (or let the guests choose which ones they want). Mixing it up will help differentiate between your unique stuff and fast food schlock.
Obviously I have no clue what your kitchen/staff/supplier limitations are, but its an idea..
Embackus at 7:29PM on 04/09/09
Keep em on the menu. Hopefully you sell beer. Goes well with Sliders. And I don't care what the Mega Food Factories are selling. I rarely eat there. So stick with it..
Ribster at 8:41PM on 04/09/09
Well, if they're selling I certainly agree that it'd just be silly to drop them. If I were in your predicament, I would certainly keep them on the menu, but hype yours as well: Instead of worrying about equating the BK ones w/ yours, go for the gusto and point out the obvious differences instead. Something on the order of, "If you think our minis are like those other ones, try ordering theirs with gouda, dijon aioli, pickled jalapenos, and remoulade!"
Best of luck, and please keep us updated!
Robbo at 1:23AM on 04/10/09
If I am going to pay 2 siders for $13.00 it better be Kobe Beef. But if they sell then more power to ya.
pjracz10 at 2:35AM on 04/10/09
sailordave,
I don't think the BK and McD customers would necessarily be your customers. It sounds like your restaurant caters to a more discerning eater. Keep those mini-burgers if they are a hot seller. Stay with what works as you consider the next trend. Your core product need not take a back seat to risky new ventures.
smallkitchen at 7:45AM on 04/10/09
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Keep them on the menu.
bobbob at 8:07AM on 04/10/09
If you want to introduce some more innovative things, do a promotion--like have a discounted meal that is a little unique every day, and then make it part of the rotation.
If you're sick of the miniburgers, why not only sell them on certain days? Or switch things around a little bit--like have a 'two mini burgers' OR a five ounce patty menu option? Perhaps different sauces, and let the customers mix and match?
Or do a 'going away for a few months' miniburger promotion, and then bring them back for summer...
HeartofGlass at 9:29AM on 04/10/09
I say keep them on and add some additional choices. One of the things I like about mini burgers is it allows you to try a few different choices. When I am in the mood for burgers it's almost inevitable I will look at the menu and want to try every burger on it and then I am stuck trying to just pick one, which seems so unfair. With mini burgers I don't have to settle for just one.
Martini Me at 10:02AM on 04/10/09
@joyy, that's great.... we have many of our good local restaurants serving locally grown meats (when they can) ....grass fed if possible. so much more flavor.
@sailordave - ok looks like the majority says "keep the mini's" -- there's an old russian proverb - "better is the enemy of good"..... so, wtf!
pooch at 2:39PM on 04/10/09
$13 for 2 tiny burgers sounds crazy to me. Sure, you give all those great toppings...but at that price, I'd most definitely go to Burger King. However, based on your price and more gourmet toppings, it sounds like your audience is very different than BKs so I don't necessarily think theyre going to affect your business much...
Hillary
Chew on That at 4:12PM on 04/10/09
Ok. Y'all have convinced me that I'm just being...picky, and maybe tragically ambitious like hamlet...
If it ain't broken, don't fix it, yes?
sailordave at 11:06PM on 04/10/09