BURGERS ARE HOT (SO ARE THE CUSTOMERS)
The Dish,Videos
God are we disappointed. Once we heard that Lush Burger was finally opening in North Scottsdale, we knew that meant only one thing—Paris Hilton! Tyda would finally get his chance to make a video with the heiress (like that’s never been done before). So we headed up to Lush today and waited and waited and waited. But no Paris.
So, we stayed and ate some food. Which, thanks to Matt Carter (Zinc Bistro, Mission), was pretty damn good for unofficial Day Number Two. (The place opens tomorrow.) Carter’s crazy about Harris Ranch beef, a product from Nebraska he says is “far superior to most ground beef being served in this state.” A little salt, a little pepper, and his job is done. But there’s a business model to tend to—so where he’s obligated to offer an alternative, he does so by infusing roasted green chilies and pepper jack cheese into the meat, making for a mouthwatering combo of flavors. There’s also turkey, ahi, veggie, and others.
On the side, our truffle fries were delicately seasoned and the wings weren’t wings at all—they were actually all drumsticks (probably so the Scottsdale ladies could enjoy some white meat without having to navigate small bones – har har har). Thinking about the ladies one step further, the folks at Lush also put a perfect mousetrap on the menu: Veuve Clicquot by the glass for $12. There’s absolutely no way Lush is making a cent off that glass of wine, but where there’s Real Housewives of DC Ranch drinking Veuve Clicquot, there’s a scene. Smart move.
Speaking of scene, let’s get back to Paris. It turns out the reason she didn’t show up is because she wasn’t invited. We had the wrong Hilton family. Lush is owned by Suzi Hilton (whose husband is Steve Hilton, CEO of Meritage Homes), and Shane and Sheri Sender (who own more Subway restaurants than Jared’s probably been to in the last year), and run in-part by Joshua Berk. Now, Berk’s an interesting part of this equation. Although he’s a designer and architect by trade, he spent nearly a decade connected to the Sam Fox family of restaurants. So although Berk didn’t design Lush, he’s doing “really, what I think I was meant to do, which is in the restaurant business.”
Berk learned a ton while with Fox, and at Lush, he and Shane get to work out an operational groove and take their collective expertise to the next level. (Truth be told, the pair had been working on another restaurant concept for a while, one where Berk designs and manages, but Lush won the race.) Serving food from consulting chef Matt Carter, all at prices that refreshingly do NOT take advantage of the moneyed neighbors, we’d say they’re off to an incredible start.
Burgers: $8-$12
Salads: $7-$10
Sides: $2-$4
Desserts: $1-$6
Lush Burger
DC Ranch Crossing
18251 N. Pima Rd.
(480) 686-8908
www.lushburgeraz.com
5 Responses to “BURGERS ARE HOT (SO ARE THE CUSTOMERS)”
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I think Harris Ranch is in California, not Nevada, and it’s certainly being served in Arizona. You can buy it as Sunflower Market and it’s flavor-free, so what up with the ‘tude, Matt?
Well…went to Lush tonight to support a new local establishment in the DC Ranch area. Knowing it was opening night we arrived well before the dinner rush but somehow still had to wait over 30 minutes for the “fast-casual” experience. Wanted this to be a great place but didn’t even get to stay and finish our meal. When asking wait staff about our order, we were first ignored by the gal who stopped by the table and then when approaching the counter for an update, received nothing but rolled eyes and snide comments. Feeling less than welcome, put food in boxes to eat at home only to open up and find rare burgers that should have been medium well.
Wanted this to be a great experience, but I spent $40 (2 burgers, 2 kids meals) for a 30 minute wait and food waste I had to put in my own trash can. Only apology I received was “sorry, it’s our first full night and you should come back and try us again after a few days.” Let me know if you want me to try it again on you. I won’t be spending my funds on another burger at lush.
Living in Ahwatukee, I’ll probably never make it up to Lush Burger, but I gotta say that was a nice little interview
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Went to Lush Burger tonight (5/5/10). The Money Burger was great (kobe), very flavorful- I devoured it. The person above needs to cut the place some slack on the 1st day being open. Day two was very pleasant, everything seemed smooth.
The staff went out of their way to be helpful, I forgot to ask for cheese, when I went back up to order it they would not let me pay for it. Do not expect that every time of course.
Kid friendly, great menu (shakes/malts, salads etc). Go support em!
Jay Son…
Would like to support my local burger joint, but the attitudes, the inability to give a crap about our meal inquiries (opening night or not) left me more than turned off. Why should we expect establishments of any variety to provide sub-par service once they open? If they weren’t ready to open, they should have moved their first day. I’m happy to try it again…but not on my dollar. I didn’t even get to try the $40+ worth of food b/c it was undercooked and raw.
PD