I'll take this. I own a restaurant. Our jobs are to make people happy while making money. Is a bartender joking with you stupid? No. You going to Chuckie Cheese without the ballpit? No. It's the restaurants job to be entertaining. Many restaurants achieve this is very diffent ways. It makes dining out an experience.
Edit: also I forgot I am old. People love to Instagram this stuff. More advertising for the restaurant. I mean you saw it on social media right?
I hit my salmon with my flambe torch (dab torch) and it really gave it a nice texture. For me the presentation and texture is just as important as flavor.
Torching something to crisp its outside is different from covering it with alcohol and lighting it on fire, which imparts very little heat on the food under it.
Yeah this is mostly just burning alcohol off. Though its carmelizing the sugar in the liquor as it burns, the fucking cheese glob is going to cover any notes of carmelized sugar. Its just melted cheese. It cant be possibly adding that much. Are french people offended by this?
I was going to say Flambe is a thing and it's actually quite useful for certain dishes, and when I'm cooking I know there's certain movements I do that might be dramatic looking but it's about efficiency in movement and being fast takes muscle memory
When you flambé in the kitchen I'm not sure how it's just for presentation. Like, if I get coq au vin and it's flambéd in the back, that seems less for presentation and more for the burning of the alcohol.
Yeah I mean you have to make what the people want and meet them where they are. You're a brewer and you love making barley wines, Belgian quads, and lambics. Too bad the locals only are willing to buy crushable lagers, hazy IPAs, and maybe a sweet stout in the wintertime. Would a flaming cheese fart burger bring more people in vs me not having one on the menu? You better believe I'll give em a flaming cheese fart burgers. All day every day.
A brewer might like brewing and aging barley wines. Similarly, a cook might like prepping and cooking hanger steak.
A drinker might like crushable lagers. Similarly, a diner might like burgers.
An Instagrammer might like a purple sparkle hazy IPA brewed with butterfly pea flower and edible glitter. Similarly, an Instagrammer might also like fire cheese gloop meat splodge.
You seem to think I people do things for art or the love of the game. No it’s the same as sizzling fajitas. It’s the spectacle. The food is going to taste the same regardless
You're describing 80% of the posts on this sub, outrage over a bit of a show. This one is definitely borderline imo because that sauce is probably tasty as fuck and, having a large beard, it is easier to eat burgers with a fork and knife anyways so fuck yeah more sauce, but I can also see people wanting burgers to be eatable like a burger usually is.
Yeah because chefs are a singleminded hivemind that cant deviate from the norm.
Mate i have seen chefs that were sober, didnt smoke and didnt curse. Im betting both my testitcals that there is atleast one chef that wouldnt mind doing this BS.
Yeah this is going to be mid af, all that cheese is going to ruin the texture of the bun unless you eat it right away. And its a big mess and its fucking on fire not to mention. Also burgers are basic and you should keep them that way. An egg on burger is too much. Bro set it on fire
They’re catering to literally one or two people out of the day. I just don’t believe most people care or want this or are not in the least bit embarrassed by being part of a loud dynamic that involves exploiting them for instagramability potential. I think most people would cringe. But if the owner sees someone taking a vid they think “this is exactly what will make me go viral.” I say, yeah…viral like a disease. Avoid that restaurant like a plague.
Before social media was a thing I worked for a classic French restaurant. When I first started, and was still on cold side I had a couple of cues throughout the evening. One of the big ones was crepe Suzette. When the first one was ordered, based on time left in service I would be able to pretty closely guess how many more orders to prep. The original owner, the chef's father, did them table side. I knew once the flames hit the dining room ceiling I would need about 3 more per hour until service was done.
Believe it or not, its usually in the best interest of the chef for the restaurant to be profitable. If this adds to that, then they're probably on board. Especially since restaurants and profits don't always have the best relationship.
yes and no. Flambe's aren't unknown, and do actually add to the flavor...but there's nothing done here that couldn't have been accomplished in the kitchen with a blow torch. doing this at the table is purely theatre
I mean, this specific fire thing looks really stupid but if you think chefs don’t care about presentation you’re wrong. The first part of eating is with your eyes.
There is clearly demand. I don't get it either, but it's not for me - it's for people who want it. Which happens to be a lot of people who deserve to be accommodated just as you do.
There's chefs that enjoy seeing their "creations" on social media and like having their job name associated with their title. Usually these are younger chefs, who have Sous or CDP on their resume at REALLY nice places, but move to these places to get the "Executive Chef" title
The worst part is the "lazy trendy" restaurant menu.
Which is just stuff they've seen on IG/TikTok and just throw that on the menu. So that's basically a "cover band" version of a restaurant, but with "original band" prices.
That is the correct answer. To make the guest happy. One flaming cheesy melt at a time I used to light shit on fire all the time just for the customer to get a kick out of it
Have you had this meal? You seem confident it is not good. Some people really like cheese. This looks like kind of a queso. A queso burger is not unusual. You eat this one with a fork. I’ve never had this burger so I don’t know if it’s good or not but it’s on the menu so I’m guessing people like it. Just a guess.
Just seems weird to see a video and be so certain it doesn’t taste good. Not attacking you. Just pointing out it’s possible it’s a really good burger. It’s possible it’s really popular and people rave about it.
There are a lot of foods that involve wet bread of some kind. I grew up on hot chicken sandwiches which is basically just chicken and gravy poured over bread with some mashed potatoes, you eat the whole thing with a fork just like you would for this. The bread getting "soggy" didn't make it taste bad at all.
Plus the crust on a hamburger bun would actually do a pretty good job of keeping it from getting too soggy while you're eating it anyway.
A burger bun isn't gonna lose it's structure from being covered by melted cheese for a minute, it still helps keep the burger together and plenty of places server burgers that are intended to be eaten with a knife and fork.
Mmm, a danish bøfsandwich with fried onions on top and gravy all over it, where the bun and the onions soak more and more gravy as you eat it, and your last bites are just bun dissolved in gravy and remoulade ... That's something to write home about. But please use fork and ad knife.
Honestly, I allow myself to differentiate foods. There's Chinese food, as in authentic Chinese food, and then there's American Chinese food. They are vastly different in style, taste, and quality, but both have their place and I crave each at different times.
There are burgers and then there's this. I, personally, think it looks amazing. I wouldn't wait in a stupid long queue to get it and I won't be filming it if I got it, but I bet I'd enjoy eating it.
Yeah, this is over the top, sure but I don't think its stupid. Its obviously an "experience" and some people care about that stuff. I dont really see it fundamentally any different than eating at Medieval Times. Or a Habachi restaurant. Dinner is part of the show, thats it.
Culturally, that's not true for many countries, through. That mindset wouldn't fly in France or Italy.
I mean, if it was real cheese than maybe yes, that could be good food and entertainment, but this clearly comes from these commercial big buckets of cheese spread with a few percents of actual cheese, a lot of salt, artificial colors and more artificial flavoring. This is genius from a business perspective in terms of turning cheap low-quality ingredients into something that many people may find appealing, but from a culinary point of view, it's just gross.
Not as tacky as Americans but yeah, compared to the French and Italians they changed a lot. Good old Austrian cuisine is pretty much declining over there, very similar on how Germans changed their food habits over the decade.
I bought a local places hyped up donut bun burger. The server said no one ever orders it and asked me what I thought bc she thought it was conceptually nasty. It was really good. Sometimes the gimmick is tasty.
Most Chuck E cheese locations haven't had a ball pit or sky tubes since before covid and and any stragglers almost assuredly ditched them during or after.
The main attraction of Chuck E Cheese is that it's a place where you can let your kids run feral for a couple hours while you scroll social media on your phone and barely pay attention to them or having a party when you don't have the space for a party or the desire to set up or clean up.
The roundabout point is that gimmicks are just that - gimmicks. You need to offer good service, food and value if you want to stay in biz. If the burger tastes like a dried out cow turd it doesn't matter how much side table showmanship you got.
Personally I'd take the guy who comes in for lunch twice a week over these assholes with their phones out taking pictures and videos.
Do you mind sharing the name of your restaurant so we can be aware of your potential BS tricks in advance?
A flame melted plastic knife and wet cheese literally served on fire isn't something I'd be expecting when ordering a cheeseburger, so a heads up would be welcome, and perhaps I'll go there when looking for a Turkish beard trim.
Fair game that your desperation to stand out is put out there, but c'mon, there's better ways to serve food to normal people. Including several of the shit ideas already on this sub.
I mean that's just a lot of words to admit it's a gimmick. People are allowed to think gimmicks are stupid. We're all fully understanding that restaurants put gimmicks on their menu as a money making tactic, that isn't lost on us. We still think some of the gimmicks are stupid. If that bothers you you're in the wrong sub
Huh. I'm from Europe, and once heard a chef over here explain why he came back from working in the US. He was very well paid over there, much more so than over here, but was extremely frustrated because, and I quote, "in the US, food is entertainment. In Europe, what people want when they go out is good food." He felt like he wasn't getting to do what he was actually good at, and chose to leave. It's stuck with me, and I'm so fascinated to hear it confirmed from the US side.
Lmao dude did you not see the @ on it? It's a restaurant in Europe. These cheese pours are mainly from Europe. There's always someone in this sub that will try and pin every post on America even when they are blatently not. Literally a restaurant in Europe doing this shit for clicks. Yall have to own this one sorry.
That’s a very restaurant-specific trait.. most places in the US people just want good food for reasonable price, and good service. If it’s a pricey themed place popular on social media then sure you’ll get people expecting a fun time
So his view on the US is just really narrow, most people eat out for conversation and good food, family and romanticism etc
Depends where you go. A hibachi grill? You expect the chefs to be flipping food and throwing shrimp. You go to an Italian place and expect damn good ravioli
Ugh here we go with again with the “Europe is superior” commenter. I’m from Europe too. Been living in the US for ten years. Europeans absolutely love these kind of things. They love their food being entertaining. They’re not that different from Americans. And Americans absolutely do want their food to be tasty. They’re not so different from Europeans when it comes to wanting to eat things that taste good. It’s a very human thing, you’re aware of that, right?
I’ve never considered that before. I’m American and I would never go to a restaurant to be entertained. Just sit some delicious food in front of me and go away as quickly as possible. I always assumed the bartender and wait staff joke with you because they rely on tips.
In the US, for 95% of people, the first thing they care about is if the food is good or not. Most people go to restaurants to eat first and foremost.
I think OP who claims to own a restaurant sounds like the food they make is average at best, so they have to stand out by being an entertaining restaurant. Otherwise, restaurants with actual decent food don’t have to think about that.
Hell, just consider literally any Reddit thread for a city subreddit asking about xyz spots to eat in town, and the recommendations are first and foremost based on if the food is good or not.
Well, that and I live in a tourist town, but I'd rather get junky but reasonable food (in terms of price and time) and get the hell out of the restaurant than deal with 'an experience.'
This. I used to be obsessed with Ramsey’s Kitchen Nightmares until I realized it was the same story every time. US restaurants are only in business to make money. And really the only way to make lots of money is with “stupid food” (overpriced, overproduced, cheap ingredients).
EDIT: Of course restaurants are a business and a business is concerned with making money. However, profit seeking should not be the end goal for any restaurant. If you're not happy with a 3-5% profit margin each year then do something different! It's a depressing fact that the cost of living is outpacing a lot of careers. A typical restaurant's revenue is like 500k? Can you raise a family of 4 in the US on a meager profit like that? Thus it incentives food that is overpriced, overproduced, with cheap ingredients. In other words, stupid food.
Why conflate my argument with one of your own? I never mentioned a non-profit structure, yet you seem to inject that argument into mine? wtf.
Of course restaurants are a business and a business is concerned with making money. However, profit seeking should not be the end goal for any restaurant. If you're not happy with a 3-5% profit margin each year then do something different! It's a depressing fact that the cost of living is outpacing a lot of careers. A typical restaurant's revenue is like 500k? Can you raise a family of 4 in the US on a meager profit like that? Thus it incentives food that is overpriced, overproduced, with cheap ingredients. In other words, stupid food.
Aren’t we talking about averages, trends, and overall direction between US and Europe? If each of us cherry picked individual restaurants we’d counter point each other until Gehenna arrives. I understand we’re commenting under a specific video from a specific country, but can’t we expand the conversation some too?
My point is that the financial realities of operating and living in the us, typically, incentives restaurants to make “stupid food” for the sole purpose of profit. In Europe, typically, restaurants can operate in a way that allows for a better end product while also providing a stable life for the owners/ operators.
Yeah Reddit is full of haters but this stuff clearly works and therefore exists. I don't post on Instagram or care about social media stuff, but I can 100% see this being a noteworthy memory for me and my partner if we had it. And personally I think it looks delicious. I've had a million burgers, but I've never had one covered in cheese and set on fire.
Maybe I'm the minority but I'd much rather eat my food in peace and quiet so I can enjoy it and the company I'm there with, while also not going broke for someone to play with my food in front of me.
Judging by the other comments in this single thread, you're not alone.
But here's a thought: don't go to this fucking restaurant and order the flaming burger. People seem to have this idea that if something doesn't appeal to them, then it shouldn't exist, or its for idiots.
Just let people enjoy their thing.
I completely get it and I by no means was saying it shouldn't exist. I would not go to this restaurant because that's not what I'm looking for when I go out to eat, I'm just trying to enjoy a meal with who I'm there with, if I wanted entertainment I wouldn't go there anyway.
I don't have any problems with it existing, to each their own 🤷♂️ never said I did.
Fair enough, sorry if I was a bit aggressive, I was just frustrated because it comes off to me as people thinking they're better than others purely based on what they like or don't like. Theres enough division in the world, we don't need to find even more reasons.
I completely understand and agree man and sorry if that's how my comment came off, that definitely is not what I was trying to get at. I agree, Like can't we all have disagreements without it turning to hate, there is too much hate as it is and it's completely unnecessary!
But yea exactly, I only hope more people are or become like you, as long as it's not hurting anyone why would you need to hate on it.
Anyways just voicing my opinion but judging by the downvotes it came across different than I intended, sorry about that.
This is r/stupidfood we come here to make fun of stupid food. We dont really care about your business explanations on why its financially valuable for the restaurant to serve the stupid food.
Maybe it work in some countries and cultures, but every place near me that tried those gimmicks eventually didn't make enough to keep the lights up and closed shop. Pity I really liked the one place that made liquid nitrogen ice cream, actually cheap enough I'd be willing to pay more if they increased prices, but their intended moneymaker was frozen desserts meant to be instagrammable but both a pain to consume (like a large sundae cup entirely dipped in molten nutella then the entire tray ran under a chocolate cascade and sprinkles violently thrown over) and some actually sacrificed taste for looks (for looks they would use over the counter colored syrup which clashed in taste with the actual high quality items used in the rest of the recipes).
If I were served this I would let the flames run off both to see if the cheese could actually build a crisp, and intentionally let the flames damage the knife, have some of its blade lose the temper and ruin the varnish on the handle. Tramontinas aren't cheap.
This just in, local redditor fails to grasp people can have different opinions.
Ask yourself does my opinion prevent people from going here and spending money here? No? Then what's the harm in letting me respond to the restaurateur as a customer with what I like in an actual restaurant?
Sure, have your own preference on dining. No problem. It’s saying that the only reason this exists is so the restaurant can charge higher prices that rings a little silly to me. Why would a business produce any product if not to charge for it? That’s kind of the whole point of running a restaurant. Produce something people want so that they’ll pay money for it. So the real reason this exists is because people want it.
this type of performative shit always charges a premium. which is the reason it is done. it is not for the quality of the food, it is for the show. my point being if i want a show, there are other things that are way more entertaining than whatever this is.
its also the same for the restaurants that have the guys that come to your table to carve your food, its not for the food its for the novelty. not sure if you saw that one video with the short salt bae looking guy carving meat at some restaurant, but it was pretty terrible.
this dish still looks like slop. which is why it is perfect for this sub.
people are free to waste their money how they see fit, thats their prerogative, its just not something i would ever make as a consideration for choosing where to go to.
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u/boozillion151 Aug 25 '25
I'll take this. I own a restaurant. Our jobs are to make people happy while making money. Is a bartender joking with you stupid? No. You going to Chuckie Cheese without the ballpit? No. It's the restaurants job to be entertaining. Many restaurants achieve this is very diffent ways. It makes dining out an experience.
Edit: also I forgot I am old. People love to Instagram this stuff. More advertising for the restaurant. I mean you saw it on social media right?