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Wednesday, 17 January 2007 07:07 |
| John North
Editor & Publisher |
"He-he-he... Three things to enrage leftists: fatty food, scantily clad women and a restaurant that welcomes smokers! Thatës cool!"
ÇƒÓ A posting on forum at freerepublic.com
ï
The recent controversy surrounding the Heart Attack Grill in Tempe, Ariz., certainly got some leftistsë pulses racing and (excuse the pun) provides food for thought.
In this age of political correctness, the grill has chosen to go in a diametrically opposite direction, featuring specials that truly could be called a heart attack on a plate.
For
instance, the eatery offers a Quadruple Bypass Burger, which includes
two pounds of beef, two layers of bacon and four layers of cheese. This
culinary masterpiece is served by waitresses clad in naughty nurse
uniforms.
The eatery
garnered nationwide attention when a nurses group complained about
grill owner John Bassoës misuse of the term "nurse" in reference to the
waitresses. The complaint, in turn, prompted a letter from the state
attorney generalës office, informing Basso that he was illegally using
the term "nurse."
In response,
Basso said the term "nurse" was used as parody on his Web site,
heartattackgrill.com, and that it clearly noted that "none of the
women pictured on our Web site actually have any medical training, nor
do they attempt to provide any real medical services should you have a
heart attack eating at our restaurant..."
The grill
continues to operate, having reaped much publicity ÇƒÓ and many customers
ÇƒÓ from the controversy that has jolted the so-called "pleasure police."
While I aspire
to live a long life and personally try to avoid such cuisine, I feel
that Basso has every right to serve whatever he chooses, within the
dictates of the law.
Whatës more,
Basso proved himself quite a savvy entrepreneur with his unique fare ǃÓ
and heës obviously an ace in marketing. The value of the publicity ǃÓ
good and bad ÇƒÓ that he has received must be stratospheric.
As for the
"naughty nurse" get-ups for the waitresses, it certainly appeals to a
deep-seated fantasy of many men and appears to me to be harmless fun.
While
appreciating the professional standing of nurses, I think their
associationës complaint shows they are taking themselves way too
seriously.
Surely the
nurses are in the best position to appreciate the irony here ÇƒÓ those
who consume a steady diet of the fare at the Heart Attack Grill either
will get fat and, hence, not be attactive to the "naughty nurses," or
die ÇƒÓ perhaps an even more unattractive option all around.
Still, I canët
help but wonder if a customer ever faked getting a heart attack at the
grill in the hope of getting mouth-to-mouth resuscitation from a
naughty-nurse waitress, even if she hasnët had any real medical
training.
ï
John North, publisher and editor of the Daily Planet, may be contacted at publisher-at-ashevilledailyplanet.com.
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