Thursday, July 5, 2012

Hot enough for you? (Burger, that is.)

National chain Red Robin now offers two burgers with the getting-famous ghost pepper, estimated on the Scoville heat scale at about 800,000 to 1,000,000+ units. (For comparison, jalapenos and Tabasco sauce rank somewhere in the 3,500 to 8,000 range; habaneros rank about 350,000 and a chart linked to by Time magazine says law enforcement grade pepper spray ranks between 2,000,000 and 5,000,000+ units.)

So Red Robin is serious. it's got the Fiery Ghost burger, with ghost pepper sauce and fresh-cut and fried jalapenos on top of pepperjack cheese; and the Cry Baby, which adds crispy onion straws tossed in sriracha dry seasoning, plus onions sauteed in Cholula hot sauce, pepperjack and ghost pepper ketchup.

“We are very excited to offer our guests two distinctly-Red Robin approaches to one of the world’s hottest chiles,” Dave Woolley, executive chef with Red Robin, said in a press release. “Our most adventurous guests will love how the Fiery Ghost Style tests the extreme limits of their taste buds, while the Cry Baby ... (takes) a more mild approach to the flavor of chiles and infusing both Latin American and Thai culinary influences.”

Meh, says heat blogger Scott Roberts here.

Tried it yet? Let me know... Zach Owens, assistant general manager at the 3415 Toringdon Road store, says he's a spicy guy and deems the Fiery Ghost burger "pretty hot. I need my drink with that one." (He recommends a milkshake, by the way.)

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Look at the size of those patties! Red Robin is nothing more than a glorified McDonald's, Wendy's, or other such garbage slinging outfit. Absolute nonsense; But I bet they'd go over good in Leningrad or red China. These "burgers" are an insult to every home loving, free thinking American on the planet.

freddy said...

The health problems stemming from cheeseburgers have nothing to do with the burger or the cheese or the mayo. They have everything to do with the fluffy white bun - a testament to the metabolic damaging properties of simple, refined carbohydrates. The bun jacks up insulin levels and elevates the simple hamburger to a high-glycimic food, the kind of which are linked to obesity and type-2 diabetes.

Yet, most restaurants - and virtually all fast-food restaurants - don't offer a whole-wheat alternative to the standard fluffy white bun. Why not?

Anonymous said...

Red Robin is a great chain. I have been happy with the food quality and customer service every time I've been there.

Anonymous said...

My main gripe with RR is the cost. If I go there for lunch with some coworkers and get a soft drink, I'm not leaving without be $12+ poorer.

That having been said, I rarely get to indulge my pepper-head anymore, and I may just have to see if this burger will shed some endorphins.

Anonymous said...

Amen Freddy. I would also like to see more establishments embrace the wheat bun.

Anonymous said...

They don't embrace the whole wheat bun because it tastes like cardboard.

Anonymous said...

I like how none of these comments have anything to do with the actual post.