"danny meyer" news and stories

New York's golden child, Shake Shack is growing slowly (seven locations in three cities). Washington D.C.'s favorite Five Guys is growing not so slowly (620 locations in 48 states). And the ubiquitous Burger King (12,000 locations worldwide) is attempting to innovate with the Whopper Bar. But which comes out on top?

We caught up with FOX Business Network Reporter Chris Cotter following his Burger Battle tour of New York City.

Round 1 Shake Shack:
The Argument: Founder Danny Meyer says they're about, "community, great ingredient sourcing, and warm hospitality." Shake Shack purchases wind offsets for 100% of consumed energy, composts restaurant waste and sources their meat from vegetarian-fed, non-antibiotic Black Angus cows.
On Five Guys: The Shack is moving into Guys' D.C. territory, but not before the Guys came NYC. "We love when they came to our backyard and I don't think that Washingtonians are going to stop eating Five Guys just because Shake Shack comes."
On Burger King: "I don't think that we're taking on giants." Meyer says he's committed to building burger shacks "where people come together to be with people. Not...where people drive through quickly to eat cheap calories."
Cotter says: "Meyer isn't focused on the big guys. He's looking at quality with details like proprietary wine and beer."

More after the jump ...

Shake Shack -- the popular string of burger and frozen custard stands that launched in New York City's Madison Square Garden in 2004 -- is shaking it up with a new Times Square outpost and a new hot dog in honor of the Miami Heat's acquisition of NBA star LeBron James.

Miami's Shake Shack is offering the Le-BRAT James, a grilled bratwurst "bringing the Heat with Tabasco simmered onions," Eater reported.

The Le-BRAT was originally a one-day menu item in New York and was a culinary attempt to woo LeBron James to choose the New York Knicks. The Shake Shack Facebook page describes the hot dog as having the "taste of victory!" Oh well. It still looks delicious.

Meanwhile, Shake Shack is expanding in New York City with the opening of its first Times Square restaurant -- the Theater District Shake Shack, which is located at 8th Ave. and 44th St.

It's taken a few years to be absolutely sure, but it seems we have ourselves a bonafide nationwide trend: upscale museum restaurants.

Make no mistake -- while it's partly about the food, it's a lot about the art, too, and probably even more about the money. Just ask Arthur Manask, president and CEO of California-based Manask and Associates, which helps cultural institutions with their restaurants, catering and other things like gift shops.

"Museum directors said 'hey, we'd really like to elevate this experience so when people come visit our museum, part of that experience will include dining,'" Manask said -- particularly at art museums.

For those keeping score, Danny Meyer has found yet another way to capitalize on his famous customer-service skills. The king of the Union Square Hospitality Group, which includes New York classics like Union Square Cafe, Gramercy Tavern and Eleven Madison Park, has long been revered for his ability to make his guests feel uniquely appreciated. So why not leverage his reputation? He's calling the new venture Hospitality Quotient, and his reps have dubbed it a "learning business focused on helping individuals, corporations and organizations to understand and apply the transforming power of hospitality."

Prosecco is a celebratory and affordable sparkling white wine sure to jump-start the Thanksgiving festivities. In this sweet sparkling recipe from "Mix Shake Stir," prosecco tops peach liqueur for an elegant sip.

Get the recipe to this cocktail along with many others after the jump.