Day 6: Hard Rock Cafe - Mary's Notes

Oy! Sometimes you get an idea into your head and it's just hard to let go. When Nashville's Hard Rock Cafe re-opened earlier this spring, after closing several weeks for renovations, the restaurant that first made us drop our collective jaws with a $7 burger (oh, how innocent we were in 1994) has raised the stakes by offering a $13 burger ($13.95, actually). Although I wasn't there for a burger at the discovery visit, just as Lux Interior once asked, "What's inside a girl?" I wanted to know what was between the buns. This afternoon, in the name of gastronomical investigation, I found out.

Juiciness: 5. This was not a dry burger by any means, but apparently the buns are pre-grilled for "fronts" and stored warm. As a result, maybe the bun soaks up whatever juice the burger would normally drip onto the plate. Or my shirt. No drippage at all.

Flavor: 7. Okay, tough call here. It was a good burger. It had a clean, fresh taste. It was well-seasoned with pepper. But it didn't have a very beefy flavor.

Attractiveness: 7. Nicely put-together and good looking but I have to admit: it was just too much for me. The difference between the $8 (inflation) and the $13 burger at the Hard Rock appears to be about 4 ounces of meat and a matter of toppings.

Atmosphere: 10. The Hard Rock re-designed everything about the place and the new look is fantastic. Even with all the eye-catching displays, the overall look manages to be comparatively minimalistic for Nashville, with lots of clean lines. Major props.

Digestivity: I'm giving it a 6, but it's just hard to tell how much is because I just ate fatty red meat and how much is because I ate 10 freaking ounces of it of my own free will. I suspect it could be much worse.

Overall Experience: 7. Thank you sir, but if I do have another - and I likely will - it will be the 6 ounce deal.